35. Death Threats and Late Arrivals
CHAPTER 35
Death Threats and Late Arrivals
T he fourth door didn't open into a hallway like the others. It revealed a large workspace that might have been an office at one point. Several long tables covered in papers and computers took up floor space. Warm lights hung from the ceiling. They must've still been underground because there were no windows.
It wasn't the change in scenery that had Ryker's heart racing and his stomach dropping. It wasn't even the dozen impressive guns trained on his group or the multiple strands of deadly Death and Earth Elf magic hovering threateningly in the air.
No.
That was caused by the too-beautiful-to-be-real vampire standing in the middle of the group of rebels.
Jelisette de la Point's cold, obsidian eyes drilled into Ryker's, and a malicious smile crept across her features. Dressed in black training leathers, she looked like a warrior vampire from the time of the Four Kingdoms.
"Greetings, Captain Waterborne." The violent vampire strode towards him and smirked. "Going somewhere?"
Hatred coiled in Ryker's gut, and keeping his stolen weapon trained on Jelisette, he snarled, "You bitch. "
She did this, somehow. Set Brynleigh up. Ryker could sense it in his gut.
"Is that any way to speak to your mother-in-law?" Jelisette raised a brow.
"Fuck you. Brynleigh doesn't see you as a mother, and neither do I."
Both he and his wife were sorely lacking in the maternal department.
"I would have kept her as a daughter, you know," Jelisette said cruelly. "Once, I thought she'd be able to replace me. But now I see the truth. My progeny is nothing but a lying, backstabbing bitch."
He growled.
"I tried to offer her the world. I gave her immortality and rules to live by, and what did she do?" Jelisette's lips curled into a hateful sneer. "She threw it all away. She told you everything . How dare she think she can play me and the Black Night? Your wife is nothing but a fucking waste of blood. I should've let her die all those years ago."
Ryker wanted to rip Jelisette's heart out of her chest.
His finger found the trigger. The gun probably wouldn't kill the vampire, but shooting her would feel fucking incredible. "Don't speak about my wife like that."
Brynleigh deserved all the respect and care in the world, and he would ensure she knew exactly how amazing she was.
Once he survived this.
He glanced at the collection of weapons.
If he survived this, he amended.
His analytical mind had already surveyed the situation, confirming what he'd already suspected: they were probably fucked. Even with their stolen weapons, their tattered group wouldn't be much of a match against the rebels.
As if confirming his thoughts, his shoulder throbbed again, reminding him of his injury.
Jelisette bared her fangs.
"Did you really think I was so stupid?" She stepped towards him. "I know Brynleigh stole the cipher. What kind of idiot would I be if I didn't have my entire house under constant surveillance?"
Ryker swallowed. "What did you do?"
The vampire's smile widened, and for the first time, Ryker glimpsed the true predator living beneath Jelisette de la Point's skin. It was as though she was peeling off layers, letting the mask of the well-adjusted woman fall away from her features. Even the other rebels took a step back.
Promises of a painful, drawn-out death glowed in the vampire's ancient obsidian eyes. Rolling her sleeves to her elbows, Jelisette displayed her Binding Mark and curled her fingers into claws.
"Isn't it clear?" Jelisette answered. "I arranged all of this. I'm going to take great pleasure in destroying you. Then I'm going to find your wife and ruin her, too. She'll be begging for death by the time I'm done with her."
Ryker clenched his fists, and an animalistic snarl rumbled through him.
"Bring it on," he growled.
Madness glinted in Jelisette's eyes, and in Ryker's gut, he knew this was the end. Making it out of here alive had been statistically improbable before, but now it was clear it wouldn't happen.
His heart twisted. He wished he could return to this morning and give Brynleigh one last kiss. Tell her he loved her one last time.
But this was it. There was only so much a fae bound by prohiberis could do against a vengeful vampire, a dozen guns, and deadly Death and Earth Elves.
Jelisette moved so fast that he could barely track her.
One moment, she stood in front of him. The next, she stole Ryker's gun and threw it halfway across the room before he could react. It clattered against the ground, reminding him exactly how helpless he was against such a powerful vampire.
Ryker lunged, and Jelisette swung out of his reach.
He ran at her, and she blurred around him. He spun, but he wasn't fast enough.
The vampire wrapped her arms around his stomach, flinging Ryker through the air.
He roared, arms flailing as he landed on a table. Pain flashed through his back, and the wood beneath him splintered.
The other rebels circled the Choosing participants, training their guns on the captives .
Jelisette cackled.
Insane. She was truly insane.
Gasping, Ryker rolled off the broken table and stumbled to his feet. Before he could take a single step, Jelisette threw herself at him. She moved with a speed unlike anything he had ever seen. Even Brynleigh had never moved this fast.
Jelisette was a blur as shadows streamed from her hands like ribbons. She grinned and snapped her teeth at him like a feral animal. She formed a shield of pure night and threw it at him.
The impact slammed him into the wall, and he groaned.
Damn the prohiberis.
Damn the rebels.
Damn it all.
Jelisette was toying with him like a cat playing with a mouse.
He peeled himself away from the wall. Every single movement hurt more than the last. It took a lot to kill a Mature being, but this…
He wouldn't be able to do this for much longer.
Especially since Jelisette seemed amused more than anything. That was the worst part about this horrid game.
Jelisette threw another wall of shadows at him. He rolled to the left, but she blurred across the room, grabbed his bad wrist, and pulled.
The bone snapped, and Ryker roared as fire ran through him.
He would not welcome death with open arms. He struggled, ignoring the flashing, searing pain as he tried to wrench his hand away. He would fight with everything he had until he had nothing left to give.
Jelisette smiled, her hands circling the captain's neck. Her nails dug into his skin, and she squeezed.
Ryker roared and thrashed against the vampire, clawing at her arms.
His lungs tightened, and black spots filled his vision. He couldn't breathe.
Death drew nearer.
But then, the strangest thing happened.
The overhead lights flickered.
Somewhere in the distance, a scream rose.
An alarm blared.
For the briefest moment, fear flickered across Jelisette' s face.
It was gone as quickly as it appeared, but Ryker had seen it.
Jelisette pulled her hands off Ryker's throat and threw him towards the others.
He landed in a heap, his body slamming into the ground. Gasping, he drew in deep gulps of air as fire ran through him.
"Well now, Captain," Jelisette said. "It seems I may have a better use for you after all."
Hands seized Ryker and roughly pulled him back. He didn't spare the rebels a glance, though. Instead, his gaze locked on the ground.
Tendrils of blessed black darkness snaked across the floor. Different from Jelisette's shadows, these were ones that Ryker recognized.
Hope sparked deep in his soul.
Another scream came from nearby, piercing through the silence of this place of death.
One of the Death Elf rebels stumbled back. "What the fuck? What's happening?"
A third cry rose through the air, this one even closer.
Ryker's chest warmed with pride, and despite the brokenness of his body, he felt lighter than before.
He knew that darkness like he knew his own soul. It called to him.
The scent of copper filled the air.
He met the Death Elf's gaze and smiled. "My wife has arrived."