18. Leia

Chapter 18

I drew a deep breath as I watched Nic walk into the fire and stepped after him, flinching as the sparks surrounded me. It should have been hot. The sparks should have singed my skin, but I didn't feel a thing. If anything, passing through the portal sent a wave of cool air over me, although my amethyst pendant and the charm bracelet at my wrist all tingled against me like they recognized the magic.

Nic stopped so abruptly on the other side that I almost walked straight into his back. I could barely see past his broad shoulders, they formed a perfect shield, and his back was like a slab of granite.

A man a short distance away laughed, and the sound started a slow roll of fear rising through me, rearranging all of my organs as it went.

"Nicolas." The man who'd laughed greeted Nic in a sing-song voice. "How nice of you to also drop by my home. As you can see, I'm already having a small party for my close friends and family. Ah, but I see you've brought friends and family of your own."

I glanced around Nic to view the man who was speaking, and I stopped. He was familiar, so familiar. I flashed back to when Francois had eaten with me in his dining room, and the portrait on display there. This was Francois's father. He'd created the monster Francois had become.

He also needed to die.

As I watched him, sheer fury began to replace my initial fear, and I relaxed into the new emotion, letting it fuel me, drawing strength from it, allowing it free rein within me. I hadn't been this filled with rage since Francois had killed Dad in front of me, and I welcomed the icy heat back.

It made me strong.

And now that I was vampire, it brought clarity and additional strength. My vision sharpened and the sights and sounds of the garden wrapped around me. There was something dead here, in this space. Something decomposing and rotting that marred the damp, green smell of the foliage and stole any beauty that should have existed. My gaze drifted to a row of small mounds in the grass, and I shuddered. I could have joined the dead things.

Maybe that had been the plan.

Movement ahead of me and to my right caught my attention, and I looked up, meeting the hot gaze of Francois.

His lips moved. "Ma petite."

I didn't need to be able to hear him to know what he'd said.

He held his hand out like even now I might go to his side, but I was back in the battle at the shifter property, watching my father dangle from Francois's grip as he gasped for the breath he needed to survive.

And he hadn't survived because Francois had ripped his throat out right in front of me.

As I watched.

I released a blood-curdling holler, a whooping war cry, and I dodged around Nic, only one man in my sights. This was what I had come for, this was my moment.

Francois's eyes widened at first, his surprise and shock easy to read at my unnatural speed as I moved toward him. Then anger glowed in his eyes as he realized what I was, and he swung his gaze briefly behind me, to where I'd left Nic.

I whooped my intention to battle again, and his attention returned to me. Some of the anger had bled from his eyes, the red glow diminishing, and I nearly slowed as I recognized the same hopelessness and loneliness I'd always seen him in. He looked even smaller now that he stood beside his father, like the older man somehow diminished his son, stealing the power I knew Francois possessed.

Defeat radiated from Francois. I could almost smell it over the decay.

A female vampire stepped in my way, her shoulder against my chest, and I lost my forward momentum, but not for long as I slashed out in front of me and my claws caught the side of her face. Blood spurted from deep gashes as I ripped half of her face off, and a howl rose from her as she clutched a cheek that was little more than ground beef now.

Her eyes flashed and she tried to grab me, but I reared back and smashed my fist into her face, splintering bone. Then I reached into her chest and ripped her heart free, retching at the sudden slimy feeling between my fingers.

All the hand-to-hand training in the world with Jason couldn't have prepared me for this.

I sought out Francois again. He hadn't moved from the spot and instead watched me, his eyes wide, his mouth gaping. Oh, yes, I was different now. I wasn't the same woman he'd kidnapped from Baton Rouge and kept in his museum of a home. I wasn't the same woman who'd watched him rip out her father's throat.

And I wasn't the same woman who'd been powerless against him.

I was strong now, and he was mine to kill.

This was the time for my vengeance.

Understanding started to permeate Francois's gaze as I flung out an arm to rip the still beating heart from another young vampire who thought his strength could match my purpose.

But no one in this garden wanted a death as badly as I did. No one here deserved to kill as deeply as I did.

I was Francois's reaper, his angel of death. I'd release him from whatever torture he found here on Earth.

I dispensed with more fledglings, each kill easier than the last rather than tiring me, and still Francois only watched, like he'd already surrendered, like he wanted my final justice.

And it would feel good to stomp his heart beneath my foot.

Around me, the noise of other battles raged, the growls of vampires ripping through the air and providing the bassline to the sounds of shredding skin and pained howls.

My whole world slowed, and my focus narrowed to only one thing—Francois. I only saw him.

Only he existed.

My head quieted as I blanked out all sounds of battle and tapped into the vampire predator side of myself.

I was done being prey.

Francois was mine now.

But I was ripped from my sole focus when a huge vampire slammed into me from the side and tumbled me to the floor. We rolled under his momentum, and when we came to a stop, he grinned menacingly down at me, saliva dripping from his sharp fangs as he pinned me beneath his weight.

"Well, well…" He breathed putrid breath all over me. "The new Queen of Baton Rouge. This will be my pleasure, Your Majesty."

He laughed, and the sound grated over me. Then he lowered his head and the touch of his breath on my skin sent me back into the memories Nic had hidden, the ones of being attacked during my first trip to New Orleans.

The fear raced back over me, and I writhed to free myself from this vampire's grip, bringing my knee up sharply and connecting with something soft. He yowled in pain and reared back, and I reached for Nic along our bond, borrowing strength from him as the urge to spill blood overtook any self-control I'd managed to hang on to.

Fresh determination surged into me, and I moved so fast the vampire's bones snapped as I ripped myself from his grip. He shouted out his pain again, and I laughed, a sound I didn't recognize as it emerged from me, loud and cackling.

And manic.

I wasn't under anyone's control anymore, and I didn't need permission or a hand to stay my behavior. I rolled us so I sat straddling the vampire, and his face paled, becoming that of the walking corpse he was.

I'd be more than Francois's reaper today, and it would be my pleasure to end as many of these vampires as I could. They threatened everything about my current existence and future just as surely as they'd taken my past. They couldn't be allowed to continue.

I hesitated, thoughts surfacing from deep in my brain… Human thoughts, thoughts my new vampire side pushed back against. I didn't want to spill blood. I didn't care about the others, I only wanted to end Francois… But my new instincts flared. I had a vampire's strength and reflexes, and a new fledgling's thirst for blood, no matter how much that repulsed my human side.

I growled, pure instinct making the noise, and the vampire's eyes bulged as he watched me.

My gums ached as my fangs descended, and I smiled at him. "Are you ready to meet your new queen?"

He shook his head, desperation creating lines of panic on his face as his vampire features receded, remolding his face to something much softer and more human. But his change in appearance didn't alter what he was or the fact he would have ripped my throat out mere moments ago.

And it didn't dull my bloodlust.

I took a moment, savoring the feeling as it rose through me, willing more, abandoning myself to the loss of control.

But this opportunity was too good to lose. I jumped off the vampire I'd pinned down, watching as he scrambled to his feet. His eyes were wild and black with fear as he looked at me.

"You're crazy," he hissed. "You belong here in New Orleans."

I shrieked as I leaped toward him, and he wasn't quick enough to run away. I'd learned from Francois, and I'd learned well as I slashed my hand across the vampire's neck. Skin dangled from my claws as a fresh plume of blood spray spurted in the air, covering me in red, warm droplets.

I licked my lips, capturing some of the blood, and shrugged. I'd had better.

The vampire staggered backwards, his hands at his throat as he tried to hold himself together, but air gurgled out of the hole I'd created and his chest no longer inflated. I advanced after him, stalking him, waiting for that sweet moment of final death.

I glanced at Francois, who was still watching me, deep fascination mixing with the twitch of approval on his lips. Oh, yes, I was the monster he'd created. He'd given me this rage, and he'd shown me what to do with it.

I dropped the pieces of the vampire's windpipe. I'd never know his name now, and I didn't care. He deserved to die due to his alignment with Francois.

Due to his alignment with the fucking man who'd killed my father in front of me.

I fell on the vampire, clawing at him even as he entered his death throes. I shredded the clothing I could reach, gouging deep into his skin and snagging my claws on sinew and muscle, ripping him apart as his blood ran in a slick stream over the lawn.

Finally, when the blood slowed to an ooze and he was just a mass of flesh, I turned to Francois. He was my endgame.

He alone was my prize.

My emotion had all bled away, replaced by a cold, hard killer.

I could take care of myself now.

I could kill.

And I'd come for Francois.

I smiled at him. He smiled back. He knew.

The game was on.

I stood from my latest kill, covered in his blood, nothing but the tang of copper in my nose, and I began to walk toward Francois. I didn't need to run. He wasn't trying to escape.

He was waiting because he knew he needed this.

I was going to free him.

I paused and cocked my head. My bond with Nic resonated with another battle, and I glanced in the direction of my mate. Francois's father was running in his direction, but Nic was ready. His determination spilled over into me, and I basked in it.

I didn't need to worry. I didn't have the emotional space to worry.

I had only one goal.

I hadn't fully accepted that vampires were killing machines until now, but we were.

A new cold-blooded element of me switched on, sliding into place, and logic overrode all emotion. I knew what needed to be done.

Still, Francois waited, his familiar half smile in place, his hand still out like he was inviting me to dance.

And perhaps he was.

This would be our most complicated dance yet. Our final dance.

I nodded at Francois as sudden pain tugged at my bond with Nic, and I hesitated again. The urge to protect him nearly overwhelmed me—a human emotion encroaching on my moment of clarity. It propelled me to leap toward Francois. I needed this fight to be over. I needed to help Nic.

Every fiber of my being tugged me toward my mate.

Francois was no longer the most important piece of this chess board. I just needed to deal with him and go.

The pleasure at the idea of Francois's death had faded. Now it was just another task that needed to be done. I needed to follow through.

But I'd jumped too early, and he was ready for me.

He caught me easily, and clutched me to his chest. "Really, ma petite," he purred. "I know it's been a while, but there's no need to throw yourself at me." His gaze should have held the hard humor that matched his words, but I found only heat there as he pressed our bodies closer together. "And I find myself content that Nicolas has done all the hard work creating you. Now, it will be my pleasure to own you."

I tried to rip myself away but his hold was steel around me.

"Ah, ah, ma petite," he chided, but his eyes glowed the dull red I was used to seeing there when we were close. "Although I do like this new side to you." He dropped his lips to my neck. "I like this ferocious side very much indeed."

I froze. I was covered in blood, and Francois liked it. I must have looked exactly as he looked when he killed Dad. He believed us to be the same.

"You're less fragile now. Less breakable. You require less care." He met my gaze again. "But I still believe you to be perfect." He hesitated. "Just one taste? I can make it good for you."

The old insecurity I'd seen in him before flared in his eyes, and I caught my breath at the hope shimmering there.

I fought again, hoping to take him by surprise, but he just shook his head, his gaze turning sad.

"We could have been good together, Leia," he whispered, and I tensed at the use of my name. He never did that, and the vulnerability it lent him made my heart ache briefly.

I shook my head. No. I wouldn't feel sympathy or pity for a monster. Francois had killed my dad. He was a murderer many times over, if his garden was any evidence, and he needed to be stopped.

I struggled again and he abruptly released me. "All right." He sighed. "I can see you want to show me your new skills." He grinned. "But it really isn't necessary. You have always been my end game, ma petite."

Desperate, and with another loud war cry, I shot forward on a burst of speed faster than any I'd accessed before, and I swiped Francois's face, aiming for his eyes. But he jerked back, and I merely slashed his cheek. A wound opened immediately, and blood dripped down his face. It shone almost black, rather than the bright red I'd expected.

Francois tutted and glanced down at his shirt. Then he shrugged. "What's a dry-cleaning bill between lovers-to-be?"

"I will never be your lover," I ground out between wild swipes in his direction, but I was losing my control over the situation in allowing Francois to goad me and also checking on Nic via our bond. My focus was slipping.

I sped toward him again, throwing my body weight at him, trying to overbalance him and gain the upper hand as I had with the previous vampire, but Francois laughed as he allowed himself to fall and clutched me to him.

We landed on the blood-slick ground, and he rolled us, pinning me beneath him. "If you'd wanted to lie down with me, you only needed to have said. I could have found somewhere much more…" He sucked in a breath. "Comfortable." His gaze changed again, becoming lucid as he looked at me. "We could have had so much. I would have given it all to you. But you resisted." Then he shrugged, the movement expansive and characteristically Gallic, evidence of his heritage. "But maybe this is the way it must be between us. My plan has certainly worked."

He lifted an eyebrow and grinned, the tips of his fangs pressing against his lower lip.