Page 25 of Immortal Hunter
Vesper and Celia chanted as they approached the cellar, and after a moment, the hinges melted, and the thick wood doors flew apart. Kára streaked past them and down the stairs, keeping to the left, hoping she had understood Ewan’s message and the directions would give her the barest hint of an advantage.
A blast of icy power hit her square in the chest, and she went down, hard. Her muscles wouldn’t respond to her urgent commands to move. Unable to even blink, she strained at the spell as Brue laughed from the end of the long, dimly lit hallway. “As if he would risk taking you on unaided. Foolish girl. You are no match for my magic.”
“Andyouare no match for mine,” Vesper shouted. “Brue, you have brought a curse upon our coven, and we will end you for it.”
Celia grabbed Kára’s arm and yanked her to her feet. A few whispered words of protection, and the dark magic fell away. In front of them, Vesper crafted a spell to thicken the air, making it almost impossible for anyone but Kára to see. Her enhanced vision could just pick out Brue’s silhouette. “Go now, Kára,” the young witch whispered. “We will take care of our own.”
Spells ricocheted off the walls, bits of stone and wood pelting Kára as she slipped past Brue and followed her heart towards Ewan—and her sire.
* * *
Ewan
The dungeon shook, as if the whole of the Earth were angry. Along the right side of the room, Hagen pulled a blade off a table full of weapons, shackles, and dark magic talismans he and the witch had been whispering over for hours.
Ewan had pretended to be unconscious, and he’d heard a bit of their conversation. If Hagen drew Kára’s blood with the dagger, she wouldn’t be able to heal, and the shackles had been spelled to be unbreakable—even for a vampire as strong as she was.
He’d agonized over how to warn her, and hoped his single direction, not right, but left, would meansomethingto her. It was such a pitiful message, but he didn’t know what else to do. If Kára could distract Hagen, Ewan thought he was strong enough to trigger the crossbow, and as long as he threw his entire body to the left when he did so, he might survive the wound.
“Kára, ya’ canna let him touch ya’!” Ewan called as his mate burst into the room with a snarl and a stream of vicious curses aimed at her sire.
“He is old and slow,” she said as she ducked and rolled, sweeping her leg and catching Hagen in the shins. He went arse over tit but didn’t drop the dagger. Kára darted to the left, using the wall as leverage to vault over Hagen’s head, just out of reach.
Her own blade glinted in the light from the candles along the walls, but she didn’t try to attack Hagen. Instead, she threw the knife at the crossbow, and the old-fashioned weapon canted. Fuck. Ewan fixed his gaze on the wooden arrow. It was still aimed at his chest, and she’d knocked it in such a way that his plan to trigger the weapon and live…would now fail. “No!” Ewan moaned, and Kára’s head whipped towards him.
Her moment of distraction allowed Hagen to launch himself onto her back and drive her to the ground. Ewan strained at the cuffs as Hagen pinned his mate face down on the stone floor and buried the dagger deep between her ribs.
She screamed, and the scent of her blood filled the room.
“You are mine, daughter. You have alwaysbeenmine. If you had accepted that from the start, the human would not die at your hand.”
“Go…to…hell,” she managed as she struggled under his weight. “I wasneveryours.”
Hagen twisted the blade, and Kára groaned, then went limp with a weak whimper.
“No! Kára, please,mo chridhe. Fight him!”
His mate didn’t move, and her sire pushed to his feet, strode over to the table, and then turned to smile at Ewan. “I told you I would make her drain you. As soon as she feeds from me, she will do anything I command. And her guilt…I will be able to use that to torture her for an eternity.”
Kára tried to push herself up but collapsed again with a whimper as Hagen stalked over to her and used his booted foot to flip her over, driving the knife deeper into her back. “No…please,” she whispered.
Hagen took her wrists and bound them in the thick chains in front of her, then used the end of the chain to pull her along the floor close to the platform. “Watch her, human. Watch as she becomes mine.”
Slashing at his own arm with his fangs, Hagen pulled the blade from Kára’s back, yanked her up, and held her mouth to the wounds. “Drink, daughter. Drink and realize your full potential.” Kára struggled weakly, but there was so much blood pooling at her feet, Ewan didn’t know how much longer she would even remain conscious.
He felt it the moment she was no longer his, the moment the dark magic took hold and gave Hagen control. Their bond, which had felt like a reassuring warmth, a constant presence pulling him to her, was suddenly a shadow of its former strength. Yet…it had not faded completely. Was there a chance? Could she fight him?
His captor released his hold on the chain, and Kára swayed on her feet, but didn’t otherwise move. Her eyes had turned from their usual dark blue to deep crimson, and as Ewan stared at her, he found no recognition in her gaze. Nothing of the woman he loved.
“Kill the human,” Hagen ordered. “Slowly and painfully. Make him suffer as the first act of your new life.”
Ewan could feel Kára struggle, but Hagen only had to repeat his order for her to move. Her steps were slow and halting, and her blood dripped onto the floor in a shiny ref trail behind her.
He couldn’t let her kill him. He could spare her that. Wrapping his hands around the chains holding him up, he lifted his feet off the platform, his knees almost reaching his chest before he let go and his weight slammed down, triggering the crossbow.
The arrow whizzed by Kára’s ear before it pierced his bare chest. He’d expected it to hurt. But instead, it was more like an odd pressure. Staring down at the thin piece of wood, he marveled at how little blood there was. He’d calculated correctly. Her attempt to save him had ensured that the arrow would pierce his heart.
His vision started to go glassy, and darkness crept along the edges. Kára stood in front of him, confusion in her dull eyes.
