He exploded into action, and he was fast. These last years in the monastery could never take away the speed and experience of his centuries of battle. To keep fit and in practice, each evening the ancients gathered to fight, using weapons and hand-to-hand combat. They stayed sharp that way, and it helped to occupy their minds.
He knew he was risking his honor to go into battle; that risk was the very reason he had entered the monastery in the first place. He was far too powerful. Had lived too long. He would be a vampire few could kill. This was his lifemate, and he would defend her with his last breath even if he risked the ultimate dishonor.
Gabrielle screamed and fought the vines holding her in place. Andre barked a command to Teagan and she disappeared, obeying him instantly. Gary was only barely aware of those things. His attention was centered on the raging beast claiming Gabrielle. The man was tall and strong—abnormally so, even for a Carpathian. His shoulders were broad, his chest heavily muscled. His eyes glowed red, vicious, predatory. He hit like a jackhammer, slamming his fist straight at Gary’s heart, his white teeth exposed. His teeth showed his state of mind and it wasn’t good.
Gary dissolved fast before the fist could penetrate his chest. He came up behind the Carpathian, reaching to circle his neck with his arm, to lock around him in an effort to break his neck. Thick black hair spilled down the intruder’s back, and the hair went wild, became alive, slashing ropes of razors that cut flesh when touched.
Around him, Gary could feel the frenzied energy spilling out in every direction. Gabrielle, nearly hysterical, desperate to be free, terrified for him. Terrified of the predatory creature that had attacked him. He could feel the energy pouring off the stranger, so broken, so far gone, the darkness in him absolutely crushing. Surprisingly, Gary’s own emotions were much easier to control in the face of the threat.
He had no idea who Aleksei was, but so far, Andre hadn’t made a move toward them, which he would have had the crazy ancient been a vampire. Still, Gary wasn’t about to allow anyone to hurt Gabrielle, and this man had to be responsible for the vines holding her prisoner. She’d been jerked backward a good fifteen feet and slammed hard against the monastery gates.
With Aleksei’s razor-blade hair, Gary had no choice but to release him and jump back. He needed to keep his distance and use modern weapons. This was an ancient Carpathian, possibly a vampire, and no matter how much power and knowledge Gary possessed, he didn’t have this hunter’s experience. He needed to use intellect to defeat him, not brawn. He was outmatched and he knew it, and that meant he had to press and press until he was completely played out. The one thing he couldn’t allow his opponent was time.
He leapt back and pulled his weapon. He’d been developing ways to fight vampires since he’d first become Gregori’s friend. He’d perfected several. He flew back, his body now protecting Gabrielle, as he drew and fired his weapon. Aleksei simultaneously whirled and came at him, his features sheer stone, eyes blazing with fury.
The small gun was lightweight and fit in the palm of Gary’s hand. To kill a vampire wasn’t all that easy. One had to extract the heart and incinerate it. The gun rapid-fired several lethal circular bullets—claws of steel. The discs, high velocity, were sharp enough to penetrate through flesh and bone and designed to burrow deep.
Once fired, the disc locked on to a target—the withered low-level beat of the undead’s heart—surrounded the organ and clamped down. As soon as the claw had the heart in its grip it emitted a high-pitched screech that signaled, even during a loud battle, the heart was ready for extraction. The second trigger on the gun activated the extraction. The entire process took the same amount of time it took to fire a bullet.
The disc hit true. Aleksei stumbled back under the impact, his hands going to his chest. Gary fired a second disc as Aleksei reached into his own chest to pull the claw from inside his body. The ancient didn’t make a single sound. Not one. He didn’t even blink. If he felt pain, he didn’t show it, but he did dodge the second disc with blurring speed, coming at Gary so fast there was no time to move, no time to think of anything but survival. All the while Aleksei rushed, his hand continued to remove the claw from his chest.
Aleksei had no time to puzzle out the reason his lifemate continued to cry out for his opponent’s safety. He couldn’t take the chance that Gabrielle would be hurt in the battle, and a Daratrazanoff was between them. Close to her. Far too close to her. He felt Andre moving in his mind, telling him to stop, but that didn’t make sense either. Andre knew that a lifemate was never to be touched by another man. Never. To break that sacred rule was punishable by death, no matter the lineage of the offender.
As he whirled toward Gary, using both speed and movement to prevent the crazed Carpathian from using his weapon, Aleksei sent the wind rushing around them, driving the man away from Gabrielle with a series of fireballs aimed at him raining out of the night sky. The two combatants came together in a fury of blazing fire. The flames came out of the wind, firebombs dropping to surround them, to hold the two in the center, moving them back away from Aleksei’s lifemate. He was careful that the fireballs were well away from her, but the flames prevented Gary from getting near her.
“Stop them, Andre,” Gabrielle shouted, terrified for Gary. She struggled against the vines, and the more she struggled, the harder the tough wood bit into her skin, until blood began to trickle down her arms. “He’s going to kill Gary.”
She could see nothing now but the wall of flames. Strangely the fire wasn’t in the least bit hot to her skin. Still, not seeing what was happening between the two men was far worse than witnessing it.