Survivor - By Kaye Draper Page 0,83
it. I broke her nose and she howled. It was enough to distract her and her brother. Haine threw them off in a surge of brute strength and I rushed to get between them, sliding to a crouch. Cynthia was on the ground; she had hit her head on the table when she fell and her eyes looked unfocused. It would take a while to heal the head injury. Viktor was still mobile though, and he started toward us.
I snarled a warning at him, but he kept on coming. My eyes met Peter’s and I knew that he could feel my intentions. I willed him to understand, to trust me. I had no way of knowing if he could hear me or not. He turned his head to Leah and her voice rang out in the room. “Viktor, stand down!”
I stood and took a step back, uneasy with the truce. I stiffened when I bumped into Haine. Oh yeah, he’s still there.
“So nice of you to decide to play fair, Leah,” he purred. It was Haine’s voice, but the cadence was completely off, and there was a touch of old-world that Haine’s voice never had. I hoped the others heard it as well.
A long arm slipped around my waist, just below my breasts, pulling me back against Haine’s tall frame. “Come out from behind your little toy soldier and play, Leah dear,” he taunted. “You seem to like this girl,” He bent to nuzzle my neck and I stomped on his foot. I struggled, but it was like being in a steel trap. “I’ll let her go if you come over here.”
No one moved. Haine turned his head to whisper in my ear, loud enough that the others could hear. “But why didn’t you go to defend your master as well, little girl. Is it because we are lovers?”
Peter growled and Leah put a hand on his shoulder. “Who are you?” Her voice was steady.
Haine lifted his head, and laughed. “I’m your death, bitch and I’m taking your sniveling little coven with me. John’s ways are a disgrace to our kind. Vampires grow weak and timid.” He sighed. “But, if you refuse to bargain…”
He shifted my hair to the side. He was strong, but my incredible flexibility allowed me to twist away from him. Understanding slowly dawned on me. It all began to make perfect sense. Haine had told me once that if he ever tried to bite me, I should let him. I met Peter’s eyes, seeing the confusion there… and quit struggling.
Haine’s teeth sliced into my neck and there was a moment of perfect union. It was similar to when I had taken his blood, but more. I felt like something inside me had been completed, and I realized we were fully bonded now. I closed my eyes and let Haine, and whoever was inside him, into my head.
Rotting darkness seeped into my mind. I could sense intent there. He still thought there was something special about me. I had killed his minion, so I must have some sort of special ability. He wanted whatever it was I had. He thought it would help him get to Leah. He didn’t understand- couldn’t have even guessed- that Peter and Leah, and even Haine were the kind of people to protect someone simply out of kindness. I suppressed my will and let him come, not fighting it as I felt the slimy presence flow from Haine to me.
Greed and hatred filled me, coiling around my conscience like a wisp of black smoke. The master vampire was old, older than anything I could imagine. His presence was choking, but I drew it in until I felt him fill me. Then I stopped being passive.
I knew the moment he realized that I was aware. The presence started to leave me, but I clung to it, holding his mind- his will- inside my own. Haine’s arm tightened around me in a spasm of surprise, and he was once again in control of his own body.
The oozing blackness inside my head began to burn. “Son of a bitch!” I dropped to my knees, jerking away from Hiane to hit the floor with a jarring impact. The presence inside me wanted me to crawl to Leah. It was desperate, focused only on her death. If I died in the process, well, that would just be a bonus. He was furious that I had managed to trick him, that I could overpower him enough to contain