Lethal Rider

did to stay calm, and right now, he borrowed the trick, clicking his thumb on the saddle’s pommel. One, two, three. Breathe. One, two, three. Breathe.

It worked. Only slightly, but it worked. Oh, he was still going to rend Aegi bodies from limb to limb, but he’d do it in an orderly, calm fashion.

And if either she or the baby had been harmed in any way, the calm thing was going out the window. If The Aegis wanted a war, they’d gotten one.

* * *

Sacrifice? Sacrifice, as in kill? Regan backed away from her colleagues so fast she slammed into a rolling tray, knocking it over and sending instruments clattering to the floor.

“Fuck you,” she breathed. “Fuck every one of you. You’re not touching my son.”

“Regan,” Lance said, so calmly her hair stood on end, “you agreed. When we came to you in the beginning, you agreed—”

“I agreed to get pregnant. Jesus Christ… I didn’t agree to kill my baby!”

“Be reasonable, Regan. It’s not your baby. It belongs to The Aegis.” Juan stepped closer, and the room began to spin. “It’s not really a baby anyway. It’s a demon. A demon whose death will save mankind from untold horrors.”

“Untold horrors? You sound like a narrator from one of those fifties nuclear preparedness films.” Regan’s chest tightened around her madly beating heart. They were serious. They honestly had no problem murdering a newborn infant. “You idiots! Thanatos can sense this baby. He is going to find us, and he’s going to slaughter every one of you.”

Lance shook his head. “We planned for that. We have it on good authority that the Horsemen can’t open a Harrowgate on a boat.”

Regan grew lightheaded, so dizzy that she threw out a hand to catch herself on the wall. “Who told you that? It’s a lie.” She had no idea if their claim was true or not, but at this point, she’d say anything to stop this insane plan of theirs.

“We know it’s true.” Omar flanked her left side, and now she was surrounded. “Let’s make this easy on everyone. It’s the only way, Regan.”

Okay, calm down…think…think. “You can’t touch me.” She doubted the hysteria in her voice was helping anything. “This demon, as you call him, is protecting me.”

Lance smiled. “Again, we planned for that.” He gestured to one of the techs standing near the doctor. The tech opened a cabinet and removed a tray laden with candles, packets of powder, a ceremonial bowl, and a few objects Regan didn’t recognize. Another tech brought in a cage containing a live rabbit.

“Blood magic?” She was going to throw up. “You’re going to neutralize him with an evil spell? You can’t know it’ll work. You could kill him!” She realized instantly what a stupid thing to say that was, given that the goal was to kill the baby.

They’d been possessed. That was the only answer. Her colleagues, the people she considered to be her family, the ones who had fought beside her, shared her Aegis ideology, and given her a home, had to be under the influence of evil. Somehow, Pestilence had gotten hold of them, that son of a bitch.

Well, fuck this. Pivoting, she slammed her fist into Lance’s face. Power sang through her, and he went airborne, crunching into a bulkhead and sliding motionless to the floor. Hands grabbed her from behind, but again, the baby’s energy exploded, and she turned in time to see Omar cartwheel into a doorframe and slide bonelessly to the floor.

“Stay back,” she snarled. “You’ve seen what I can do. Next person who tries to hurt me gets a taste of my soul-sucking talent.” Another bluff, since it wasn’t even tingling inside her.

Keeping her eye on everyone, she reached behind her and opened the door. Once in the passageway, she ran as fast as she could toward the deck, hoping to force the helicopter pilot into flying her off the boat, but when she heaved open the door, disappointment shrouded her like a sodden blanket.

Son of a bitch, the bird was gone.

She heard the fall of running footsteps behind her. Don’t panic. With as much calm as she could muster, she slammed the passageway door and spun the locking mechanism. A mop propped nearby became her best friend as she grabbed it and jammed the handle through the door’s lock handle to prevent it from spinning. It wouldn’t hold them for long, but she figured she only needed a couple of minutes. She hurried to the chest of Aegis supplies and grabbed a crossbow. Beneath the weapon was a large wooden box. Inside, lying on top of gray egg crate foam, were vials of milky liquid.

Qeres.

She snared a vial, and with adrenaline boosting her, she rushed to the motorized lifeboat on the starboard side of the ship. She could see the shoreline from here, and thank God the seas weren’t rough. This was doable.

Awkwardly, she climbed into the hard-sided raft, grabbed the control box, and flipped the switch. In a grind of gears and a jolt that left her gasping for breath, the craft lowered down the side of the ship.

She heard shouts above, and as the little raft plunked into the water, the shouts turned to curses.

“Fuck! Reverse the winch. Pull her up!” The mushy voice belonged to Lance, and she almost laughed at the knowledge that the blow she’d delivered must have broken a few teeth.

“Too late.” With a flick of her wrist, she disengaged the clamps that held the raft to the rigging, and her little boat floated free. She aimed the crossbow at Lance’s head as he peered over the side of the ship. “Go to hell, assholes.”

With one hand still holding the weapon, she pushed the motor ignition button, and the small diesel engine roared to life.

In a matter of minutes, she was far enough away from the Aegis ship to finally take a deep breath. To relax. Except then she looked ahead to the land and the pier there jutting out into the water, where she saw a figure take form as she got closer.

A large, armored man stood like a statue, his hair blowing in the wind, lashing his face. Thanatos. Breathing became a chore. Oh, God, she could feel his cold rage from here. She didn’t believe he’d hurt her, even accidentally, but what if he blew the way he had the day he took out most of the island’s population?

Her mouth went dry and her throat closed up as she guided the boat up to the rickety dock. His boots struck the wood with menacing thuds as she tried to come to her feet. She couldn’t tell if her legs were unsteady or the boat was rocking, but either way, she could barely stay upright until his hand snared hers and lifted her effortlessly to the dock.

Finally, she met his gaze. And wished she hadn’t.

All that icy anger had glazed his eyes with a glassy sheen of murder. His gaze raked her from head to toe, gauging, she assumed, her health. When he finished, he cast a Harrowgate and wordlessly led her through it. When they stepped out into the aftermath of the bloodbath in front of his keep, the day’s events hit her like a sledgehammer to the ribs.

The blackened remains of dead vampires mixed with the blood and body parts of dead Guardians. Guardians who had, most likely, not known exactly what the Elders had planned. They’d been considered acceptable losses for the greater good, hadn’t they? All around them, hellhounds were … doing what they did to their victims. Regan’s stomach churned at the sight and stench of death.

There were no words. Just horror and despair and the need to get her baby to safety.

Thanatos, still clutching her hand tightly, strode into the keep, never once looking at her. Inside, he dropped her hand and made a beeline for the library. She followed, closing the door behind her, as if that would shut out the death, the betrayal, the whole world.

Thanatos, his back to her, stared at the cradle in the corner. “Were you involved in this, Regan? Did you know The Aegis was going to take you and attack my people?”

“Did I—?” She sucked in a harsh breath. He’d thought she’d betrayed him. Again. “No. God, no. I had no idea what they had planned.”

“Even so, did you go willingly?”

She looked down at her belly, unsure how to answer.

“Regan?” he prompted.

“I got into the helicopter willingly. I know you don’t trust them, but I had no reason not to. But when the