Much Ado About Vampires

Liches, like Eleanor. Brother Ailwin is a lichmaster.

“Take the Tool,” Ailwin ordered the two liches, who started toward me, but Alec leaped in front of me.

“Like hell you will,” he growled.

“Halt!” Brother Ailwin cried, spinning Pia around so we could see her face. The point of the dagger slid a tiny bit into her neck, making her eyes open wide. She stared at Kristoff, who obviously was only barely restraining himself from smashing Brother Ailwin into monk pulp. “One move from either of you, and I’ll remove her head. You, woman. Come here.”

“How do you know I’m a Tool?” I asked, then closed my eyes for a moment. “I cannot believe I just said that sentence.”

“I can,” Eleanor said.

I took a deep breath and asked, “How do you know that I’m a Tool of Bael?”

“You are glowing,” he said simply, and added as an afterthought, “And I heard that one of my rivals had a lich who stole the Tools, but they were later imbued into three individuals. You are obviously one of those individuals, and with you at my side, I will have no difficulty in destroying the other lichmasters.”

“What an excellent idea, one I heartily approve of. Please keep her in chains, too,” Eleanor requested, but by now, no one was paying her comments any attention.

I put my hands on my hips as I faced Brother Ailwin. “You seriously think I’m going to let you use me to hurt other people? You’re nutso. Hey, now!”

The two robed liches moved fast, both grabbing one of my arms and pulling me forward, past Kristoff.

Cora—

If I can knock them down, do you think you can use me against him?

You will not risk yourself in such a manner.

Yeah, well, I’m not going to let him use me to hurt other people, either. Especially Pia. She’s nice. I like her. Eleanor is starting to get on my nerves, but I suppose it would be wrong to hope she’s knocked out or something.

It would be wrong, although I understand your sentiment. And I like Pia, as well, but I will not allow you to come to harm. He will become distracted in a moment. When that happens, I want you to run toward me.

How do you know he’s going to be distracted?

Because Kristoff is about to strike.

I glanced at Kristoff. He looked furious, but I didn’t see any signs he was about to leap forward.

I have a better plan. One that won’t put anyone at risk.

Cora—

“Right, here I am,” I said, shaking off the two monks, striding forward until I stood next to Pia. “Let her go.”

“Gladly,” he said, releasing Pia and giving her a shove toward her vampire.

Less than a second later, he grabbed me by my hair, spinning me around, the knife now at my throat as he started to pull me backward through the door, the two monks on either side of him. “Now we leave.”

Oh, yes, that was a better plan, Alec said in a disgusted tone.

O ye of little faith. Get ready. You’re about to wield a bona fide Tool of Bael.

“No,” I said, digging in my feet, wincing when the knife cut into my flesh.

“Come, woman,” Brother Ailwin said, jerking my hair backward.

Here we go. Ready?

Corazon !

Rather than fight Brother Ailwin, as he clearly expected me to do, I threw myself backward against him, relieving the tension of the blade against my neck enough to allow me to spin around and face my abductor. I slammed my knee into his groin at the same time I jammed a thumb into his nearest eyeball, sending him to his knees screaming bloody murder.

Before I could do more, an Alec-shaped blur flashed by me, and I was thrown across the room, narrowly missing a table to careen first into Eleanor before rebounding onto Kristoff, who shoved me toward a chair and leaped forward to help Alec. Brother Ailwin had stopped screaming as Alec lifted him off the ground by his throat.

“Now, lichmaster, let me tell you how I deal with those who would use my Beloved,” Alec growled, his voice so menacing it made me pause for a moment. It was the voice of the man who had seen his salvation cut down before him, the man who had murdered a woman, the same man who was filled with so much agony, it would have driven anyone else insane long, long ago.

“Dear god, I think my back is broken.” I helped Eleanor to her feet from where she lay smashed against the wall, her arms and legs moving feebly. “Seriously, man-stealer, you need to go on a diet. Ouch. Double ouch.”

I pushed Eleanor gently onto the couch, and spun around to help Alec.

The spotty monk, who had been sent flying when Alec attacked Brother Ailwin, suddenly yelled and tackled me, throwing me to the floor. “Harm him, and I will use the Tool against you, Dark One!” he cried, one hand clutching my hair, his knees on my back as he pinned me to the ground.

“The hell you will!” I snarled. “I refuse to be used!”

“You cannot refuse. You are a Tool,” Brother Ailwin said, his face turning bright red as Alec’s stranglehold eased up.

The spotty monk yanked me up to my feet, holding me in front of him like a shield.

“Yeah? Well, maybe I’ll just use myself, then!” Can I do that?

No.

Damn! “Fine, then. I won’t use myself. But I refuse to let you use me!”

“You cannot refuse,” Brother Ailwin repeated, his color fading as Alec released his death grip on the lichmaster’s neck. “You are a Tool; the power flows from Bael through you.”

“Well, maybe I just won’t let that power out of me. Did you ever think of that?”

“Oh, let him use you,” Eleanor said, passing a hand over her forehead. “I’ve got a hell of a headache and want to get out of here. I just want to go home.”

“Home?” I asked, distracted. “You were dead!”

“Even the dead have homes,” she said primly, brushing her blouse. “I had a very nice little cottage in the seventh hour of the Underworld. My roses were about to bloom when I was yanked out of there. Since Alec has so plainly lost his mind, I will go back to my cottage and roses and Gregory, the handsome soldier who lived next door.”

“You have a boyfriend in the Underworld and you’re yelling at me for stealing Alec?” I asked, aghast at her nerve.

“Gregory isn’t a boyfriend. He’s more a friend with benefits.” She considered Alec for a moment before she sighed. “He’s not as handsome as Alec, but he’s not a bastard like him, either.”

“Lich!” Brother Ailwin told Eleanor in a haughty tone of voice. “You will be silent while your betters speak!”

“Oh, that’s going to go over well,” Pia muttered.

By the time Eleanor got done chewing out Brother Ailwin, everyone was snappish.

“Right, we got off track,” I said, trying to look as badass as Alec. “But the fact remains that I will not let Bael’s power pass through me, so you might as well just give it up.”

Unhappily for my plan, Ailwin looked anything but worried. In fact, he shrugged and, with a petulant look at Alec, smoothed out the collar of his shirt. “You would destroy yourself if you were to try that.”

Alec—

No ! I forbid you to even try that. Now we will do this my way. “Let go of my Beloved and I will not destroy you,” he said in a conversational voice to the monk holding me.

“Brother Godwin would not be so foolish as to do that,” Brother Ailwin said, nodding to the spotty man who held me. “Perhaps a little demonstration of how serious I am to possess the Tool is in order. You may use her to destroy the Dark One, Brother.”

“Jesus wept!” I swore at the same moment Alec lunged toward me.