Benedek had the oath scored into his back, the oath he took to his lifemate. The one that said he lived for her. To find her. The one that every one of his brethren who had resided in the monastery had carved into their backs. But if he was truthful with himself, he knew he had lived for vengeance, not for his lifemate. He hadn’t believed in lifemates. Not the way the others had. He had believed it was his sacred duty to rid the world of monsters. He still believed that, even though he knew he was becoming one of those very monsters. Now, he didn’t know what he believed. He would have to wait and see.
If there was one thing Benedek had learned in his centuries of hunting, it was patience. The predator didn’t catch his prey if he movedtoo fast or too soon. He became invisible. A ghost in the darkness, blending with his surroundings. Stalking so silently and so slowly that even that movement was impossible to detect. Since the betrayal by his family at such an early age, he thought of himself as dead. He was walking the earth, hunting monsters, but his prey didn’t see him coming because it was impossible to see the dead.
Would his lifemate bring him back to life? He had mulled over that question while in the monastery. Was it even possible? It didn’t feel as if anyone could have enough light in them to strip away the darkness in him. He wasn’t even certain if when he bound his lifemate to him, she could restore his soul. The part of his soul he retained was tainted and tattered. He had thick scarring throughout his soul that could never be erased. Certainly, that web of scarring covered his heart, blocking all access to it.
His lifemate wouldn’t be getting a bargain. Still, she would have his unswerving loyalty, something he would demand in return. She might be capable of slaying demons, but she would never have the expertise to kill him. Lifemates had access to the mind of the other. He would monitor her to know her thoughts and intentions. That way there would never be a moment when she could plot his demise without his being aware.
We are surrounded.Nicu’s voice interrupted his thoughts.
Benedek knew the enemy had begun to stalk him and the others as they made their way through the darkness toward Nachtbloem. The night was cold. Icy cold. Frost covered bushes and grass. Icicles dripped from the branches of trees. He knew the night would be considered beautiful with the way the moon peeked through the rolling clouds to cast light on the ice, turning everything silver. Yet he saw…gray. Only gray.
How many times had he listened to humans describing colors? He had vivid memories of his past—the treachery and betrayal of his family and others he had considered friends or allies while younger, but he had no memory of color. He saw the world in a gray void. He couldn’tremember a time when he saw in color. Sometimes he wondered if he ever had.
They believe we are surrounded,Benedek conceded.The Smolnyckis have seamlessly blended into the night. Those believing us caught in their trap have yet to realize there are three other hunters with us.
He felt nothing for his prey. Not contempt or fear or animosity. He was a hunter, and he was good at what he did. This was all so familiar to him after centuries of battling the vampire. Over time, the vampires had changed, grown more cunning. A master vampire had protection now from lesser vampires, as they banded together to be more effective against the Carpathian hunters. Benedek and the others had adapted to what was the new normal. They knew they would face multiple vampires of varying skills. That in no way bothered any of the ancients. In centuries of hunting, they’d seen it all.
Benedek was the bait. It was a role he was comfortable in. He drew out the enemy by striding, seemingly unaware, deeper into the large orchard of Caucasian wingnut trees. Most of the trees were mature, tall at variations from forty to sixty feet. The trunks were wide, round and deeply creased with dark gray bark. Due to the time of year, the leaves had fallen, leaving the enormous branches bare of their finery. Many of the trees still carried nutlets, although they had turned brown.
The trunks were enormous, and the root system large and complex, running beneath Benedek’s feet as he strode through the grove. Mixed in with the wingnut trees were a few ash and alder trees. As he rounded each of the trunks, he noted whether the tree shivered with animosity, appeared ill or had sap running down a crack. All would be indications that a vampire had taken up residence inside the tree.
Vampires were an abomination against nature, and nature always retreated when they were close. Grass withered and turned brown. Flowers shuddered and closed their petals, turning from bright colors to a dull, shrunken, sickly yellow. Even clean river water would retreat with repugnance from the vile undead that went against the natural order of the universe.
Three inside tree trunks. One in the ground inside the roots,he reported to the others.
One has taken the form of an owl,Nicu added.Two are in with the group of bats. They’re making their way toward you.
No master vampire so far,Benedek said.To have so many pawns, he’s been around for a while. To keep this many pawns, he has to be capable.
He must be close,Nicu added.He will want to be the general, orchestrating the battle. His ego will demand that.
Benedek had skills he’d developed over the centuries. Like Nicu, he’d become feral and as dangerous as the animal predators they encountered. He had all the instincts, the ability to smell and see the most minute traces of his enemy when he hunted. Every cell in his body, every hair on his head and on his body, provided him with information on his prey. When Benedek locked on to whatever he was tracking, he never stopped until he had found and destroyed it.
Have not caught the scent of the master,Tomas reported.Two more pawns moving through the grove toward you, Benedek. I recognize one. He was called Elek. Slimy little toad. He turned some centuries ago and doesn’t seem to actually fight off a hunter. He leaves that to his companions.
The one with him,Lojos added,is named Odon. He thinks quite a lot of his abilities. He has killed two hunters, which elevated him to a higher status.
That’s most likely why Elek has stuck to him like glue,Mataias chimed in.I met Odon once before he turned. He seemed strong and determined to hold out for his lifemate. There are few surprises left to us, but had I been a wagering man, I would have bet on Odon making it.
Benedek slowed his pace. They would need to throw off their attackers to gain even more of an advantage. Whoever the master vampire was, he commanded the fealty and obedience of nine underlings. That was quite a bit to rule when vampires were notorious for egos.
I believe we have two apiece,Lojos said.Benedek, don’t be greedy and kill them all before we have a chance to shift.
Benedek rolled his wide shoulders as he turned around and beganto walk back toward the tree trunks where he knew three of the vampires had secreted themselves.I feel I might be rusty. And I could use the exercise. Time to get the party started.
Deliberately he stopped close to the root system where a fourth vampire lay in wait. Benedek brushed his hand along a trunk. As he did so, he opened a small laceration on his skin, just enough that the enticing blood of an ancient would fill the air with temptation. Keeping up his act, he cursed in his native language and shook his hand so that droplets of blood were dispersed in the air. Passing his hand over the cut, he closed the laceration and then looked down at it as if inspecting it.
He’d used the ploy often when several vampires attacked at once. Newly made vampires could never resist the lure, and it was difficult for more experienced vampires to pass up Carpathian blood. The blood was extremely powerful. Once tasted, the vampire could form an immediate addiction to it, often unable to resist the craving to the point where they forgot about fighting and only lived to get more of the blood however they could.
By carelessly cutting himself and seeming to be oblivious to his surroundings, Benedek appeared as if he might be unskilled.
The master vampire will caution them to wait for Odon and Elek to get into position,he warned the others.We should be able to pinpoint him when he does.
Two of the trunks closest but just slightly behind him and to his left began to split, black ooze running like a river of tears down the widening crack. A third tree began to rupture, the bark no longer healthy. The excretion was thick and slimy. Along with the sludge, beetles poured out of the opening.
The ground grumbled and moaned as if the wind could reach beneath the dirt to the tree roots. A black oily substance bubbled up in several spots as a host of beetles burst through the carpet of dead leaves and debris.
Two of the three vampires hiding in the tree trunks close toBenedek began to emerge from the trunks that split apart as they fixated on his blood.
