"Yeah, but the question is, who are you trying to help?" I snarled. "It's certainly not us!"
"Beloved, this is not doing any good. Cease baiting Sally," Alec said with a little squeeze. "The seneschal promised us that she would assist us with our plans, and despite the recent events, I expect she will do so."
Sally giggled. "Well, as for that - "
"Right. I think I've had just about enough of this," Eleanor interrupted as she strolled forward to Sally. "I know I've had enough of your inane comments, and as for you . . ." She turned to face Alec and me, her eyes narrowed slits. "I've definitely had all I intend to take from you two. Wedding, indeed. Not with my Dark One, you don't. It sounds cliche to say this, but I'm going to nonetheless: If I can't have him, no one will."
I screamed as Alec shoved me away from him, not so much because of the fact that I stumbled over a bit of twisted floor tile and ended up careening into the tangled legs of a piano that lay upside down, but because Eleanor grabbed Diamond and, holding her in front of her, directed a massive blast of black-edged light from Diamond directly at Alec.
"Nooo!" I shrieked as Alec was thrown backward a good forty feet, blood flying in an arc, splattering against the wall as he hit it before sliding down to slump into a pile on the floor. My heart stopped dead in my chest as I stared at Alec, the dark power channeled by Diamond having torn open his chest and shoulder, and ripped away half his throat.
Kristoff and Pia ran to him as I slowly turned to look at Eleanor, my heart, my blood, everything in me, frozen in horror as I realized she had just killed the man I loved.
I started toward her, my movements at first jerky, but by the time I took three steps, I was running, bent on nothing more than her utter and complete destruction. She killed Alec! My Alec!
Kristoff ripped off a strip of his shirt and bound it around the remains of Alec's neck. It would do no good, I knew. Alec couldn't possibly survive such devastating damage. He was dead, and with him had died my heart.
"Vengeance, you know, can be either a satisfying thing or one that lacks satisfaction," Sally said absently, polishing one of the rings she wore.
I stopped as Eleanor, who had been watching Kristoff look up and shake his head at Pia, smiled.
"Diamond," I said softly.
She glanced at me, her face ashen as she watched Kristoff bow his head over his friend. Pia dropped to her knees, sobbing. The two other vampires moved over to examine Alec's body.
Rage filled me, consumed me, gave me strength when I wanted to do nothing more than scream the agony that I knew was just on the edge of my awareness, waiting to suffocate me.
Alec was dead, and I would destroy Eleanor if it was the last thing I did.
"Go to Sally," I said, my gaze on Eleanor.
Diamond moved quickly, sliding out of Eleanor's reach to stand on Ulfur's far side.
"Um . . ." Jane backed up a couple of steps. "I think maybe we should go."
"I'm not going anywhere," Eleanor said, a brittle smile on her lips as she eyed Sally. "I have five hundred years of revenge to dole out, and I intend to enjoy every moment of it. I don't know who you are, missy, but I do know that you have annoyed me, and I don't intend to put up with anyone annoying me ever again. First you'll go, then I'll use that blond strumpet to take down the one who stole my soul, and then I may just clean up the room before I head out to bring order to the chaos that is the world. You, Jane, you may live, but you're no longer in charge - I am."
Sally, oddly enough, wasn't paying Eleanor any attention. Her gaze was on me, speculation evident in her eyes, and just the merest hint of a smile softening her mouth. "Do I take it you've had a change of heart?"
I met her gaze, allowing her to see the full measure of my fury. "I have no heart left."
"Very well." Sally inclined her head in acknowledgment, turning to face Eleanor as I moved over the few yards to Sally's side.
This would be my last act, I knew. I would go out in a blaze of righteousness, though, claiming vengeance for Alec's death.... A sob caught in my throat, threatening to choke me. I swallowed it down, fighting to focus on the woman before me. There was no time to grieve for Alec, to mourn the loss of our future; there was only time for me to do what needed to be done, and then I would allow Bael's power to consume me.
"Just what do you think you're going to do? " Eleanor asked suspiciously, shooting a nervous glance at Jane as the lichmaster began to back up toward the door. "You don't . . . no, you couldn't. Jane, she doesn't have the power to use the woman, does she?"
Sally's smile grew.
"She's a demon lord," Jane almost stammered - the words tumbled out so fast. "She can do anything she wants. I think I hear some members calling. I'd better go see what they want - "
She was out of the door before Eleanor could do so much as blink.
"Such a smart woman, Jane. I've always liked her. Caring, too. And so good with the liches," Sally told me. "She has endless patience with their fussy ways."
"A demon lord? Oh . . ." Eleanor's demeanor changed from aggressive to subservient. "I . . . uh . . . I didn't mean any offense, if you took it. It's just that she took both my soul and my Dark One." Eleanor pointed at me.
Sally considered me with newfound interest. "Mercy. I had no idea you had all that in you. Did you threaten her with untold torments, as well?"