Page 150 of Kick the Candle (Knight Games 2)
The nightmare snapped. I saw him go over the edge in Kai's body. The possessed nekomata hurled himself at Bathory who rolled backward, ass over tea cup, as Kai pummeled her with everything he had.
Upon seeing this, Naill got his miniature, probably golden, undies in a bunch. "My lady? My lady?" he blubbered, dancing around the skirmish.
"Call the others!" she demanded between clawing Kai's face and rolling on top of him. Big mistake. Kai shifted. With a series of blood curdling pops, his bottom jaw elongated into a long, toothy snout, and razor sharp claws extended from his knuckles. One swipe sent Bathory flying, blood pouring from her neck and chest. Kai's nekomata exploded out of the camel hair coat, a tawny haired whirling devil.
But Bathory wasn't born yesterday. Hell, she wasn't born last century. Her wounds healed themselves in seconds and she readied for his attack. Taking advantage of the same weakness I'd detected in the shifters, she waited until he was in a full out run, then leapt sideways, hitching onto the creature's mane and tossing a leg over its back. As her arms clamped around Kai's throat, he bucked wildly. Naill bounced and clapped near the fray like some pre-pubescent cheerleader.
I took the distraction as an opportunity to work on my bindings. By bending my knees, a feat only possible by pressing them together to the point of pain, I was able to slide my back down the rough stone and loosen the ropes. If I strained my neck, the tips of my fingers could reach the gag. I yanked it out of my mouth and cast it aside. With a little more contortion, I was able to move one wrist to my mouth. The rope dug into my bloodied skin, but I set my teeth to work.
As I maneuvered the binding, it occurred to me that my years as a bar rat in college actually might pay off. I'd tongue-tied plenty of cherry stems into knots in my day. This was just the opposite, right? Only I wasn't as drunk or as distracted with whatever fraternity cohort was on the barstool next to me. Still, I had skills. The knot loosened slightly between my incisors.
A growling mass of supernatural rage rolled between the fire and me. I paused momentarily but there was no way Bathory or Kai was paying any attention. Both were bloody to the point of serious injury, even for the undead. She was ghostly white from loss of blood, and he gushed red where she had torn into his front leg.
Victory! The rope loosened enough that I knew I could pull my hand out. Only, now wasn't the time. An army of undead emerged from the woods, at least thirty vampires, some of whom I recognized from the Mill Wheel. Bathory's reinforcements swooped down on Kai, ripping him apart, limb from limb. I watched in horror as the nightmare inside emerged from the beast's body, a smoky black cloud of menace, and pinged around the incompatible undead before racing toward me. The cloud paused as if considering my body, but then plowed into Soleil.
"Get out of her," I seethed.
"Not a chance," Soleil said in a tenor version of her voice. "This is the safest place to be. The fae is the only one on this merry-go-round Bathory can't kill without harming herself.
Soleil was made of sunlight. I guessed ripping her open would be dangerous for a vamp.
Everyone stopped. I flattened on the altar, effectively playing dead.
Bathory glared at Soleil over my stomach. "Smart. Only once I am immortal, Soleil's talents won't be able to hurt me." Bathory staggered back toward the book, weak from the loss of blood.
"My queen," Naill called, wrestling a bound man forward. "I had them bring this for you from the bar."
The human looked around forty with a balding head and beer belly. I had a flash of sympathy, then remembered that if he was hanging out at the Mill Wheel, he was likely paying vamps to compel young girls to have sex with him. My sympathy faded.
Bathory gave Naill a small nod, then sank teeth into the man. There was a moan, gurgles, loud swallowing and then a thump as his drained body hit the dirt.
Slowly, painstakingly, I worked my hand free from its binding, hooking my fingers in it to keep it from falling. I did not want to draw attention. Timing was everything.
"Now," Bathory said, "the cauldron."
Naill dragged a pot almost as large as he was to her side. "Yes, my lady."
Oh dear Lord. If that nugget got his nose any further up her ass, he'd become a permanent part of her backside.
He handed her a silver-hilted dagger. She lifted it in her still bloody hand and strode to my side. Her perfectly arched brow lifted. "Nice knowing you, witch. Too bad about your caretaker. Looks like you won't be coming back from this one." With both hands gripping the hilt, she raised the dagger above her head until her upper arms covered her ears, then with one final gaze at my chest, plunged the steel toward my breastbone.
The movement was lightning quick, but so was I. Some part of me, the goddess of the dead part I suppose, knew what she would do before she did it. Rick had said that everything I needed was inside of me and surely he was right, because at that moment, I knew every undead cell in the super standing next to me. I owned what she was. I had knit her out of the ether in some former life.
Releasing the binding, I rolled out from under her falling dagger. She howled an obscenity as the blade hit the stone and not me. I rolled back, flattening the knife under me while bringing my elbow to the side of her head. Three of my limbs were still bound to the table but I used what leverage I could get to throw my entire bodyweight into it, aiming not for her head but through it. She hissed, and fell to the ground.
Quickly, I began working the knot on my other wrist. I wasn't fast enough. I'd barely loosened it when she popped up next to me. One hand gripped my throat while the other clawed my shirt open.
"There are two ways for me to cut out your heart. Since you've taken my knife, we'll do this the old fashioned way."
I punched into the side of her head as her nails dug in over my heart. Her grip on my neck was brutal, and the lack of oxygen made my vision swim. I thought I was dead, until a black wind blew over me, knocking Bathory's hand away. From my supine position, I watched the darkness collect into a familiar vampire.
"Julius!" Bathory growled. "Back off. The book is mine."
"Over my undead body," Julius crooned. He brushed a stray tress out of his face and lowered himself, ready to brawl.
I turned my head to see the Mill Wheel vamps close in around the two, but Julius hadn't come alone. A small army emerged from the darkness. I recognized Gary right away. His nocturnal eyes passed over me but didn't linger.
"Leave now, Julius, or I will be forced to end you," Anna said.
