“That is a question you should ask our friends.” He lifted one hand toward the men behind me. “It is none of my concern.”
So it wasn’t just him involved, and it probably wasn’t just these two men. I could kill them all, and the operation might continue.
I tightened my grip on my sword. At least it would be a start.
I launched myself at the vampire, swinging my sword through the air. He evaded me, just barely, and my sword came to life, singing through my mind.
The vampire grabbed for me, and I whirled away, slashing at his belly as I went, but missing again.
“You do not fight like a mercenary,” he said, dodging another strike.
Our movements had put me in the corner, with the vampire’s back to Steifan and the two men. Steifan had his sword aimed one-handed at the men while he tried to open the girl’s cage with the other.
The vampire grabbed for me again, regaining my full attention. “You don’t fight like a soldier either. You are something else.”
I slashed at him again. He now knew my skills, I may as well tell him. “I am a hunter of the Helius Order, and I have come here for your head.”
My hood fell back as I evaded his next lunge. My braid whipped out, following my movements.
“Such red hair,” he said, taking a step back. “I have heard of a red-haired hunter being servant to another of my status. To what master do you belong?”
I slashed toward his belly again, and he hopped back. It was more difficult to get close when he wasn’t attacking me. All he had to do was stay out of reach. “What does it matter?” I growled.
He took another step back, placing himself near the doorway. “I would not kill the servant of another ancient, lest I bring the rest down upon me. I know our laws.”
Curse it all, he was about to run. The Seeing Sword echoed through my mind, urging me to throw it. I obeyed before I could even register the vampire’s movements. If I was wrong, and he still intended to attack, he could easily end me.
My sword sailed true, landing with a meaty thunk in the middle of his back. He had been turning to run. It was a good thing. I hated to be wrong.
Not sparing a glance for Steifan and the others, I hurried toward the vampire, withdrew my sword, and took his head.
Blood splattered across my cheeks. I lifted my sword, then turned toward the men. Steifan had managed to get the cage open, but the girl was still in it. She appeared to have fainted.
I took a slow step toward the men, depending on my bloody sword and splattered clothing to scare them. Scared men would tell a multitude of secrets.
“Who are you working for?” I asked. “How many others are there?”
Both men lifted their hands, pressing their backs against the wall. “It wasn’t our fault. The vampire bespelled us. We had to do what he wanted.”
I neared the men, then extended my bloody sword, poking at the fat coin pouch on one man’s belt. “If he bespelled you. Why did he feel the need to pay you?”
The man’s eyes bulged.
I shifted my sword beneath his belt, pointing the tip at his groin. “If I were you, I would not lie again.”
He gasped, plastering himself against the wall. “Please, I’ll tell you everything. I’m not the man in charge. I’ll give you the man in charge.”
I smiled. “Now that’s more like it.”
I lowered my sword a fraction, then my smile faded. I sensed something else down here, something near. My thoughts went muddy and I nearly dropped my sword as the glamour closed in around my mind like an iron trap.
Chapter Thirteen
I pushed against the magic cloud in my mind, maintaining my tenuous grasp on reality. Steifan’s blank expression let me know Ryllae’s ointment wasn’t strong enough to withstand Egar’s magic. The two men we had been questioning stared off at nothing, and the girl was still unconscious. I was on my own.
I sensed Egar as he entered the room. I chanted the ancient words Ryllae had taught me in my head, and visualized myself pulling free of Egar’s glamour. I was able to take two steps, turning around to face him, but that was it.
He lifted his blue eyes from the vampire’s corpse to observe me. “I see you have learned a new trick. Does this mean you have located the one I hunt?”
The force of his magic lessened, allowing me to speak. “Even if I had, I would not give you what you want. How did you find me down here?”
The corner of his mouth ticked up. “These canals begin in the highlands, bringing water down throughout the entire city. I kept sensing fresh blood beneath my feet, and eventually I found an entrance. It is so easy to find a meal when your prey is already locked up in a cage.”
I remembered the ancient saying some of his victims had disappeared. “This was your clue on how to solve my murder. This was what you refused to tell me. How long have you been stealing the vampire’s victims?”
He shrugged, stepping around the vampire’s corpse to approach me. “Not long. Weak mortals are not my preferred prey, but the vampires will eat anything.”
I thought he would come to stand before me, but instead he stepped around me. I was able to shuffle my feet enough to follow him with my eyes. He stood before one of the men, looking him up and down.
Faster than I could follow, he shoved his hand through the man’s chest, then ripped out his still-beating heart, cradling it in fingers turned to claws. The man slumped to the ground, dead. He never even screamed.
My heart pounded in my head as I willed myself to move. I chanted Ryllae’s words and imagined myself
