Hatred for him burst through her veins. “Let’s find out.”
Charging forward with all the strength she had, she landed a right hook to his jaw. His head whipped to the side, but as she’d expected, he recovered instantly. Angered, he reciprocated with a lightning-quick blow to her shoulder, sending her flying across the yard.
She crashed into a tree trunk and cried out as her bare back scrapped against the bark, but she fought the pain. “What are you after?”
Lazarus ran a hand over his dark hair, as he continued to circle her. “It’s time to bring the darkness out of the shadows.”
Nexi rose to her feet, ignoring the ache of her back, unsure of his cryptic statement. But only one truth mattered. “The Council will never allow you to succeed. You failed before. You will fail again.”
A slow smile spread over his sleazy face. “That was then, and this is now. Your powers will fulfill my destiny to lead the vampires in a new world. One where we don’t kneel at humans’ feet—but they kneel at ours.”
Nexi glared at him in disgust. Her fists tightened and profound revulsion filled her as he continued, “With what your blood will give me, the Council will be left with little choice other than to comply with my demands, or they shall all die.”
Perhaps she hadn’t allowed herself to believe that all of this was because he desired the power in her blood, because right now she wanted to gut this vampire for his stupidity. All the deaths up to this moment, and even Kyden’s broken condition, were for nothing.
Somehow what she would say next was the sweetest revenge. Lazarus had spent all this time anticipating this moment. He’d gone to unthinkable measures for power. And she was about to send his entire plan crashing down around him.
“Prepare yourself for bad news.” At his slow tilt of his head and inquisitive look, she added, “I don’t have any magic.”
One second he stood a few feet away and the next his hand was wrapped around her neck. He had her pinned up against the tree trunk, her feet dangling. Her body heated as the air oddly seemed to increase around her.
“Are you lying to me?” He almost cooed the words at her, as though luring a kitten.
“No,” she managed.
His cruel eyes diminished as darkness swept across her vision, then he released her and her butt hit the ground with a heavy thud. Her head pounded and she struggled to her feet, only to have him grab her throat again, lifting her inches off the ground.
Rage stormed in the pinpoints of his eyes and his grip tightened. “You’re a lying little bitch,” he screamed into her face. “All witches have powers.”
“Not…this…one…”
Chapter Twenty-One
A loud curse echoed around Nexi, as the darkness threatened to consume her. The pain at her throat was a dull ache as the world drifted away. On the verge of blacking out, she found herself suddenly floating as Lazarus threw her across the yard as if she were an empty beer can, sending her straight into another tree.
Smacking her head against the trunk, she tumbled to the ground, blood oozing down her neck. Now more aware, she inhaled and pain laced her lungs, concentrating in one spot then blasting up her body. His throw had clearly shattered her rib, but she did her best to push past the pain. She wouldn’t give Lazarus the satisfaction or the advantage of knowing he’d injured her.
Rising to her feet, she breathed shallowly so her broken rib didn’t hinder her. Before she managed to straighten her back, he grabbed her arm and yanked her up, and she screamed out in agony.
“This is quite the dilemma, isn’t it?” He sneered. “Your mother was much easier to kill. Rather pathetic, even. She used all of her strength to protect you and it drained her magic, leaving her defenseless—stupidity on her part.”
Nexi’s rage took her to a place she’d never travelled. The thirst to kill was more than revenge, but downright hunger to make this vampire bleed, to stand over his body and watch the life drain from his eyes. “It’s because you don’t know love,” she roared. “You wouldn’t know what it’s like to care for anything or anyone but yourself. You’re not capable of understanding such a thing.”
His chin lifted high. “Of course, I don’t. I’m a vampire.”
“No,” she snarled. “You’re an a**hole.”
His mouth curved, amusement lighting his dark eyes. “Some might see it that way.”
He forced her back against the tree, and she gasped as pain shattered her ribcage. He ran his fingers along the side of her face, trapped her in his harsh stare. “I suppose I’ll have to keep you around until this power comes in then, won’t I?”
The pain in her chest was sucked away as he sandwiched their bodies together. Nexi watched his beady eyes rake over her face and sickness rolled through her at what she saw in their depths: desire. Leaning in toward her, he pressed his mouth against her cheek, his fangs trailing over her skin. “You’ll be useful to me in more ways than—”
Hitting him square in the nose with her head, she didn’t allow him the chance to finish that statement. Revulsion made the sense of fear, the knowledge she was in serious trouble, not stand in comparison to the horrific thoughts engulfing her. Hell would freeze over before she’d let him come anywhere near her body.
A loud crack echoed through the backyard before Lazarus grunted. With a sneer marring his face, he grabbed her hair and proceeded to drag her over to Kyden. “Learn this, witch—if you don’t behave, I’ll make you suffer.”
She winced at the ache in her skull, matched with the piercing pain in her chest, as he tossed her to the grass and turned to Kyden. “And I’ll start with removing this guardian from your life.” Twisting Kyden’s head, Lazarus sank his fangs deep into Kyden’s neck, causing him to scream out in torment.
She didn’t care how screwed she was at the moment—and she was royally f**ked—common sense and care for herself ceased to exist in her mind. Rushing forward, she slammed into Lazarus with such strength it detached his lecherous mouth from Kyden’s neck, sending him flying across the yard. He landed by the herb garden, then jerked his head toward her, eyes blazing with ferocity.
His lip lifted in a snarl, his fangs gleaming in the moonlight, then he appeared right in front of her. Before she could anticipate what pain he might inflict, he hit the side of her head with his open hand and she flew into the air.
Dizzy, she couldn’t tell how high he’d thrown her, and she fought to remain conscious as the warm air rushed across her skin. Lazarus’s strength and speed outdid her. He had the ability to pulverize her in two seconds flat and she knew—without a doubt in her mind—he planned to torture her.
The reality of her situation weighed heavily upon her, even as she fell through the air. She only had one chance to save Kyden, and no matter what happened, she had to try.
She finally hit the ground, her head smashing against the grass where she once picnicked with her parents, and her back followed. Regardless of the suffering her body endured, she jumped to her feet. She couldn’t stop fighting…not yet. Narrowing her eyes on the vampire who stalked her, she yelled, “Come on, you f**king coward, show me what you’ve got.”
A single breath later, Nexi ate her words. Lazarus landed a punch to her jaw, snapping her head back. Raw agony sliced through her and blood rushed down her face to drip onto her chest. Not as if that stopped him, or made him pause to let her recover, he pummeled her with a hard blow to her gut tossing her several yards.
The world, for a few seconds, faded away, her head spinning and her vision blurry. That was, until Lazarus’s snicker cut through the haze. “You’re brave. I’ll give you that.”
Pushing herself up onto her hands, Nexi spat blood. Her entire body throbbed with an anguish she never believed one woman could survive. A low groan sounded above her, and she now realized Lazarus had sent her directly in front of Kyden.
She lifted her head, staring up at the guardian who had put himself in this situation for her. His proximity somehow strengthened and comforted her. She drew confidence knowing they were a team. It was them against Lazarus. He’d trained her for this moment, but now his words to her held more weight—the fight had gone on too long and now she was weakened. A few more of those blows and he would knock her out, kidnap her, and do god knows what with her.
What troubled her more than her own safety were thoughts of Kyden’s life. Would someone else she cared about die because of her? He needed her to help him and she had failed. Defeat sank in and she could’ve cried, if she weren’t so angry.
Turning to Lazarus, she found him approaching her, and his superior expression made her blood boil. Anger so rich and raw filled her, making her hands quiver. Time slowed around her, each second more drawn out than the last.
If Lazarus held her captive until her magic came in, and took her the way he planned, evil would seep into everything that was good. No matter that she truly didn’t understand the details, she understood well enough that Lazarus as a leader would mean full destruction of the worlds.