Lily looked between the two camps, and it was clear neither side had any intention of backing down. In this case, she knew she couldn’t avoid the bloodshed. Which was a shame, because what Ludo had said to her was beyond intriguing. It could all be a lie. But then again, the man who could explain what she was to her could well be the one Ty was trying to protect the Ptolemy from.
Damn it, why couldn’t anything ever be easy? But she needed to stay with Ty. More, the Dracul were unknown to her. It was a chance she couldn’t take.
“If this Vlad wants to talk to me,” Lily said, “he can come and find me himself.”
“It doesn’t work that way, gadje,” Ludo said. “But if it did, trust me, you don’t want Vlad Dracul hunting you down.”
“Just the same. If it were that important, he’d have shown up,” Lily replied. “So I think I’ll stay put.”
Ludo sighed. “You know I’m going to take you anyway.”
“Don’t talk to her,” Ty said. “Not another word. She stays with us. And Vlad Dracul can go to hell.”
“Have it your way.”
Lily saw the flash of pleasure cross Ludo’s face as he began to circle them, along with his two companions. He’d been hoping to fight, she realized. But then, he’d known she wouldn’t be given up. Lily pressed into Ty’s side. He and Jaden, in contrast to the trio of Dracul, were as still as statues, though their eyes missed nothing. They were also utterly silent, though Lily suddenly heard Ty’s voice in her head as loud as anything.
Stay close. I’ll protect you.
Apparently he could make her hear him, even if he couldn’t hear her. Lily didn’t bother to retort that she could protect herself. She figured she’d try and show him instead, though she was a bundle of nerves. Could she defend herself? Did her abilities even work this way?
It seemed that if she wanted to know, this was the time to find out.
She was just beginning to gather her power when Ludo lashed out, drawing blood with a slash across Ty’s cheek. He made not a sound, though she knew it must have hurt. Ludo, on the other hand, chuckled.
“First blood, cat. Be prepared for a lot more.”
And just like that, the power was there.
It occurred to Lily, a split second before she returned fire, that all it seemed to take with her was fury. It might have frightened her a little had she been capable of seeing anything but the blood dripping down Ty’s cheek.
“Don’t touch him,” Lily spat, and the power was a flood, rising, rising within her until she knew it was going to come pouring out. It was terrifying, and exhilarating, and oh God she couldn’t stop it if she tried….
When the second vampire made a grab at her, all she had to do was grab a fistful of his shirt and give a mental push. There was a flash of light, a screech, and a body flew through the air to slam into the pavement halfway down the street. In the moments afterward, when all the others had turned to stare at her, Lily took full advantage. She gripped the female, lifted her off the ground with both hands fisted in the front of her shirt, and hurled her in much the same manner as the first vampire, who was now struggling to his feet. All she could think of was the dream and the way the temple vampires had fought.
Red haze drifted over her vision, and in her ears rang the cries of the doomed. Her people… her people…
She smelled fire.
She saw Ludo, and knew only that he was the enemy. In her head, she could hear the woman shouting at her, and the words poured from her own lips in a voice that was both hers and not hers.
“You will not take what is mine!” she cried, and this time light flashed from her hands as she reached for Ludo. But she did not throw him, only held on as the power tore through him, whipping his head back and forth. A wild wind came up out of nowhere, screaming along with her. She began to speak in a language that was not her own, that her conscious mind didn’t understand.
The rational part of herself that had not been subsumed could only watch in mute horror.
I curse you in the name of the Mother.
I curse you in the name of the blood eternal.
She felt the world at her fingertips, the night opening within her like a dark flower, full of possibility and fully, eternally hers. She was a child of the Mother, the one most favored. The only one left.
The pentagram and snake burned her skin like white-hot fire.
“Lily!”
Somehow, she heard him shouting her name, and the storm, both within and without, stilled. Lily came back to herself all at once, and it was nearly overwhelming. She had been adrift in some dark and raging sea of power and anger, and then she was simply herself again.
Lily blinked as she looked around, bewildered. The street was empty, though garbage was strewn around it as though there had been a particularly windy storm. Jaden and Ty were staring at her and looking even paler than usual.And she was still clutching Ludo’s shirt. The vampire was barely on his feet, and she could feel his trembling. Even as she realized he was there, he began to fall. Without even thinking, Lily moved to take his weight and was mortified when he flinched at her touch.
“Don’t!” he wailed. “Get away!”
Lily watched helplessly as Jaden stepped forward to take him.
“I’ve got it,” he said, and Lily hated the wary way he looked at her now. What the hell had happened to her? She wrapped her arms around herself protectively and shivered, but not from the cold. She didn’t even want to look at Ty, didn’t want to see the horror she was sure was there.
“You going to be all right?” she heard Jaden asking Ludo. The Dracul vampire’s voice was weak at first but quickly gained strength. That, at least, was encouraging.
“I’ll be fine,” Ludo snarled, shaking away from Jaden to stand on his own. He looked at Lily balefully, his eyes spitting dark fire. “You’re right. The Dracul can come after you himself. I want no part of this.” Then he looked at Ty, just behind her shoulder. “Take her to the Ptolemy. I hope she kills every last damned one of them.”
Then he was simply gone. A small winged shape flickered into the air and vanished. Lily watched it go with a heavy heart. Even among freaks of nature, she was considered a freak. And here, she didn’t seem as able to control it. She was slipping, and she didn’t know why.
All she knew was that wherever she had gone, Ty’s voice had brought her back.
Jaden’s voice claimed her attention then. “Holy God, woman. What got into you?”
She opened her mouth, but nothing came out. What could she say? Slowly, reluctantly, she turned to look at Ty. His expression revealed nothing, but she knew that he would take the first opportunity now to deliver her to Arsinöe and run. Just as anyone who had ever seen one of her “episodes” had run.
She didn’t really blame them. But that didn’t ever make it any easier.
“Lily,” he breathed. “What happened?”
The world began to swim as the reality of what had happened landed on her with immense force. The power was a high, but the comedown was an awful bitch. She swayed but didn’t reach for Ty. She knew better. He wouldn’t be wanting to touch her now.
“The red-haired woman from my dreams,” Lily said, having to force herself not to slur her words. “The priestess, or whatever she was.”
Ty frowned. “Priestess?”
Lily shook her head, and wished she hadn’t. The motion was nauseating. God, it had never been this bad before. But she’d never thrown so much force before. “Vampire priestess. I don’t know. I could hear her in my head. And then it wasn’t me anymore.”
She was stunned when she felt his hands on her, though she thought it was only to prop her up. She was sliding fast. Too much output, not enough energy to keep going afterward.
Crap.
“Who’s this woman, Lily? What are you talking about? What have you seen?” He sounded almost frantic, but there was little she could tell him and even less she could explain. Besides, she was sliding toward the darkness now, warm and welcoming. There was no time for small talk.
“She rules the House of the Mother,” Lily said, and saw Ty’s face change. “But she died, a long time ago. Her people were slaughtered. And she says I’m the only one left. I carry her blood. Somehow…”
He looked stunned. But Lily had no time for it.
“That’s not possible,” Ty said.
“Yes, it is,” Lily replied, feeling her legs buckling, relieved that she was going to get to escape if only for a little while. “But you’re going to have to catch me while you figure it out, okay?”
The last thing she felt was his arms around her as consciousness slipped away.
Chapter SEVENTEEN
SHE HAD NO IDEA how long she’d slept, only that she awoke to a comfortable bed and delicious warmth.
Lily opened her eyes slowly, finding herself in an unfamiliar room. It was small, tidy, and lit with only a single flickering candle that had burned almost all the way down. Her shoes had been taken off, but everything else remained. However, she had been tucked neatly beneath a soft and faded quilt. And the warmth, she saw, came from the enormous black cat lying up against her.
Ty. She knew it was him immediately. He was sleeping, drawing in deep, even breaths. Despite the fact that Lily thought it was likely daylight outside, she moved carefully, not wanting to disturb him.
So this was the form that made him a vampire outcast, Lily thought, fascinated that the animal beside her could be the man she’d been with all week. He hadn’t changed form around her, though she wasn’t sure what he did on the occasions he vanished to get the sustenance he needed. She’d only seen him like this once, and then it had been fleeting.
One thing was for sure: just as no one would ever mistake him for a domesticated male, he was never going to pass for a house cat.
He was long and sleek, stretching half the length of her body. His fur gleamed black in the flickering light, and his frame was muscular, more like a wildcat built for hunting. Which he was, Lily knew. She lifted her hand, momentarily uncertain.