He barked out a laugh, and I glanced back at Barnabus, who was stepping closer to Lazarus. I swallowed, feeling a wave of gratitude—of not him only coming to my aid…but of him shifting to his human form. He had said he didn’t feel comfortable in that skin anymore…yet here he was, all to help me.
“I had hoped my suspicions about sensing you were a mistake,” Barnabus mused, pulling Lazarus’ attention back to him as the tension spiked between them.
I could feel both of their hatred for each other saturating the air, and I forced myself to use the momentary distraction to think of a way I could attack Lazarus without him being able to predict my move. His strength and speed easily gave him the upper hand.
“I’m sure you would have loved that,” Lazarus taunted as he opened his arms wide, a beaming smile stretching his face almost comically. I might have laughed if I didn’t know how dangerous he was. “But here I am, Barnabus. The bigger question, however, is where have you been all these years? I thought you were dead like the others, yet here you are,aliveand coming to the aid of my Kyella.”
“Yours,” Barnabus snorted, as if amused, before his face contorted into one of disgust. “You were always this side of delusional, though, weren’t you? Kyella is not yours.”
“She is!” Lazarus snarled.
The two of them were much closer now, circling one another with narrowed eyes. Barnabus’ brow was pinched as Lazarus considered him with a clenched jaw and sneer. The tension in the room thickened, intensifying until I could practically feel it billowing over my skin. I tried to edge myself closer to where Barnabus would circle around, but I could see Lazarus tracking my movements.
“Delusional,” Barnabus repeated before speaking to me. “Has he hurt you?”
Before I could respond, Lazarus' face reddened as he seethed, “Her well-being shouldn’t matter to you.”
“Barnabus,” I spoke evenly and quietly, drawing his attention now that he was closer to me. “His power, we have to be careful, I figured out what it is—”
“In a way, though,” Lazarus spoke over me, flashing a dark smile, “I am glad you two seem to care for one another. It will make this next part all that much sweeter. I have a suspicion that her tears will taste so very sweet.”
Stand back, Empress. Let me handle him.
Barnabus took a threatening step toward the old god, his chin tilting up confidently as he said, “There is no next part for you, Lazarus. Your time is coming to an end.”
Lazarus’ smile turned sinister. “It’s no wonder none of my brethren stood a chance against me. After all this time, you still haven’t figured out what I can do, have you? So incredibly idiotic.”
Suddenly, Lazarus’ face tightened, his eyes boring into Barnabus, and Iknewhe was using his mind control on my friend. Barnabus jolted, pain exploding across his face as his eyes rolled back. His shoulders jerked back as a tremble went through his entire body. I jumped back as Barnabus let out a vicious snarl and turned toward me sharply, his sword raising in my direction.
“What are you doing?” I whispered, heart breaking at the sight of his sword pointed in my direction.
No!
He would never turn on me.
Any recognition or spark of affection was gone from his eyes. Instead, something akin to hatred seemed to be rolling over him as a sneer lifted the corner of his lip.
Shit.
I knew within the depths of my soul that this wasn’t happening by choice.
“He will do exactly as I tell him to,” Lazarus drawled lazily, as if this display of mind control was as easy as breathing for him. “I have figured out your punishment for giving away what was mine, Kyella. It is clear Barnabus is one of the many that you seem to have given your heart to, so you must kill him. Either that, or he will kill you. Someone's blood will stain these floors.”
“Absolutely not,” I hissed, enraged as I stepped back. Barnabus moved forward, and despite his expression, his body moved with a jolting, rocking motion, as if fighting against Lazarus’ control over his mind.
“You must earn back the honor of my affection.”
Before I could say a word to Lazarus’ ridiculous notion, Barnabus sprinted toward me, his sword pointed right toward my chest. I narrowly avoided the object by quickly diving to the side before springing to my feet. He came to a stop after passing me, turning sharply before launching himself at me again. His movements seemed much slower and strained than I assumed he was capable of in this form.
I dodged and avoided each of his repeated attacks as Lazarus shouted in the background. I couldn’t afford to pay attention to him though, my entire concentration on Barnabus as our dance through the room became faster and faster. I saw him struggling to fight Lazarus’ control, his skilled and agile movement interrupted by stunted and jerky stops. Barnabus’ brow furrowed in concentration and pain.
“Barnabus, you have to fight it! I know you can!” I shouted, hoping to somehow get through to him.
All the sudden, Barnabus came to a complete standstill, his sword dropping to the floor. Lazarus approached, with his hands clasped behind his back, with a smug smile on his face. “He won’t respond to you, Kyella.”
Barnabus didn’t respond or react physically, but his eyes were filled with pain and frustration. Could he still communicate like normal? We had to figure out some type of plan—we had to work together to defeat Lazarus. There was no other way.
“Do you see now, what I mean about power? About everything I can give you? Barnabus is an old god like me and look at him!” Lazarus motioned to the man frozen next to him. “It is all too easy to control him, which is why it was so easy to twist even my own kind to fight and wipe out the dhampyrs before forcing them to kill one another…”
