My uncle stands over him, crossbow swinging, then he looks over his shoulder at the camera, at me.
He nods.
He wanted me to see this. And he’s coming for me next.
Dominik
“Are you fucking kidding me?They staked him?” Viktor’s voice splits through my head like a knife. “Well? How long has it been?”
There’s some murmurings which could be my guards. I’d like to open my eyes, but they feel welded shut.
Someone slams me in the chest. I feel my body buck wildly, my lungs gasping for air which they don’t need and my brain finally clicking into gear.
“You were lucky he didn’t cut off your head,” Viktor says, the huge gargoyle looming over me with an outstretched hand. “But he has done a number on your nice suit.”
He pulls me to my feet. I look down at the damage. I am a mess. The jacket is entirely ruined. Viktor stands in front of me with the stake in his hand, a drop of black blood hanging off the tip.
“Van Helsing.”
“I think you pissed him off,” Viktor intones.
“He has my mate,” I snarl, instantly gripping the collar of the huge gargoyle. “They have Lucy.”
Viktor easily plucks my hand from his clothing and shakes his head.
“Nothing is as easy as it seems,” he rasps. “Especially mating.”
“FUCK!” I rage, glaring around at my guards. “Where did they take her?” I launch myself at Attila but find I’m being held back by a great stone arm.
“They don’t know. They were locked in the other hall as soon as you entered this one, super concentrated ultra-violet light keeping them at bay.”
Now I look at Attila, I see his face is covered in scorch marks, as are the rest of my guards. A couple have hands which are almost burnt to a crisp.
They tried to get to me.
But Van Helsing could have killed them. And instead he chose not to. I was a warning. He wanted my vampires to slink back into the shadows without me.
“What in the hell are you doing here?” I growl at Viktor. “You work for Ferenc.”
“Ferenc asked me to keep an eye on you,” Viktor says, throwing the stake into the fire. “Admittedly it was because we didn’t trust you about your brother, but it would appear it was a good idea, given you just got staked.”
“As you can see, I am absolutely fine, so you can go back to your werewolf master and report in.”
“It looks to me like you need all the help you can get.” Viktor looks at my injured troops.
“It’s nothing a feed can’t fix,” I respond.
“I doubt you have time for such niceties,” he says, pulling a pack from his back and delving inside.
To my immense surprise, he throws each of my guards a blood bag. They all devour the meal in greedy gulps.
“I don’t pay you for your services, Viktor.” I shake my head. “Why would you even do this for me?”
“Perhaps because gargoyles are guardians,” he says with a stone shrug. “Perhaps because those who dared to come out of the shadows to close the vault deserve more of my time than others. Especially where their family is concerned.”
“You’re doing this for Lucy?”
“I’m doing this for my own reasons, Dominik. And I suggest you get your vamps working on where your mate is rather than discussing semantics with me.”
