Page 10 of Eternal Kiss
When she didn’t take the bait, Darius licked his finger, eyeing Dinah. He had to be confused as to why she wasn’t out of her mind with hunger. I had to admit I was too, but the only thing that made sense was the fact that she was my beloved with my blood in her now, and that gave her strength and willpower she wouldn’t normally have. How much? I wasn’t sure. And that was what kept me from turning her loose.
“Because you were never a leader, always in Constantine’s shadow. And without someone pulling your strings, you wouldn’t be in my territory.”
“Let’s just say I’m not the only one tired of hiding my true nature. You should have left Con in charge. He knew vamps are the superior species.”
“We may be stronger and faster, but if humans found out about us, it would be chaos. Vamps are grossly outnumbered.”
“So what? Lillith created us to wreak havoc, not hide from the world. She grew tired of seeing her first Ancients cower, so she made a new batch. Ones who have the balls to be what we were meant to be.”
Fuck, the Ancient had shared what we are. That explained why a made vamp had a sword. “Did Lillith mention that her first Ancients are also stronger?” Deepening my voice, I commanded, “Toss the sword aside and get on your knees.”
Darius dropped down, the blade landing at my feet. Dinah picked it up, and I grabbed her free arm before she could take a stab at him. This time, I compelled him to answer. “Who are you working for?”
“Montrose Halligan.” I didn’t recognize the name, so I assumed he was the Ancient.
“What were your instructions?”
“To take Dinah to the female, then wait on you to find her. While you were distracted, take your head. Only you moved her before I could get to you. I followed you here, but there were too many guards to get inside quickly. I killed them.”
“And who is the female?”
“I never got her name.”
“Where can I find Halligan?”
“A house in the Garden District. Used to belong to a Doug Caan.”
“You should have stayed out of my territory.” I stepped forward, shoved a clawed hand into his chest, and removed his heart, dropping it in front of him. Within seconds, he was nothing but ash.
“Lukas?” Laurent appeared in my living room, and upon seeing Dinah with a sword, held his hands up. “Who wasthat?” He pointed at the ashes while eyeing Dinah, keeping his distance.
“Constantine’s old second, Darius. He was working with someone named Montrose Halligan.” I scrubbed my bloody hand down my face. “Why are you here? What about the restaurant?”
“The two males you had guarding Doug’s house didn’t report in on time, and when Stefan couldn’t get ahold of them, he went to Doug’s and found them dead. He tried calling to warn you, and when you didn’t answer, he came to the house. Since you weren’t there, he called all the vamps he had patrolling the city to check all your houses. When it was reported you were here, Stefan pulled up a map and showed me where this house was located. I grabbed my sword and ran like the wind. As for the restaurant, I ended each vampire. Thankfully, you stopped them before they killed any humans. I made sure that those who had been fed from healed. I instructed Justine and one of the other servers to vacuum up the ashes while I gathered the vamps’ clothes and took them out to your car. I convinced the manager to erase the security feed for the entire evening. When the restaurant was free from any evidence of what happened, I instructed them to return to the meals.”
“You have my gratitude. And Stefan’s.” I was thankful Stefan knew Laurent was trustworthy. They had met several times over the years.
Laurent waved him off. “It seems I was late to the party. Why didn’t your coven member who noticed you here step in after calling Stefan?”
“I can only assume he’s dead since Darius had a sword.”
“And if he had a sword, that means he got it from an ancient.” Laurent glanced at Dinah again who was swinging the weapon back and forth.
“That was my thinking. Darius said this Halligan is at Doug’s house.”
“Then that’s where we’ll start.”
“Dinah.” When she looked at me, I said, “Please give the sword to Laurent. I need to clean up, and you need to feed again.”
Dinah handed the sword over, then stalked off to the kitchen.
Laurent stared after her. “You turned her?”
“Yes. I found her left for dead among some bushes.”
“But she’s… How is she so calm?”
“Remember when Roberto turned Melisandre?”