Dark Song

Ambrus, yes, Elisabeta, I see him now. He is very busy, Sandu said. He has two servants with him, guarding his back.

His servants are like him. Elisabeta was quick to give out the information. Instinctive, like animals. Fierce in battle. They always go for the belly and genitals. If you have spotted two, there will be three others concealed nearby. Ambrus hunts with a pack. He is the one I would consider the most dangerous in battle. Cornel is the strategist. He can plan a war, but Ambrus is the fighter. His servants are close to having the skills of a master vampire without being one.

Ferro didn’t like the sound of that. Sandu wouldn’t hesitate to take on Ambrus and his pack of servants. He was an ancient and they did one thing—they destroyed vampires. He had no lifemate and no reason to continue his existence. Ferro chose to make his stand with Sandu. Sergey was not going to escape him again, not unless he was dying or dead, but he had to make certain Sandu had a fighting chance to survive.

Ferro. Her soft little protest trembled, but Elisabeta pulled it together for him. Addler is sending two of the newly made vampires to the door of the nightclub. He is watching to see what happens. A couple just drove up in a car. He wants to use them as bait. The vampires will tear them to pieces.

He heard the trepidation in her voice. How many servants does he have left? He knew the master vampires had counted on their servants coming through the city, but the hunters had quietly wiped out most of them.

Only two. He is very upset. He has two servants but also two of the newly made vampires with him as well.

That meant that the Carpathian numbers were growing as the hunters were tracking the last of the servants of the master vampires to the nightclub. That was a plus.

I have Addler in my sight as well as the vampires and the couple. Have stopped the couple from getting out of their car. They are driving away, Petru reported.

All of them felt the buildup of energy in the air as Addler attempted to force the couple to turn around. Both newly made vampires took to the air to fling themselves at the windshield. Petru waved his hand and both dropped from the sky, feathers bursting from their shrunken bodies so that they appeared to be nothing more than two owls. As he did so, lightning forked across the sky and thunder crashed.

* * *

Lightning had been lashing the city for what seemed nearly a quarter of an hour as the storm stalled, bringing heavy roiling dark clouds, thunder and an endless electrical show that kept everyone off the streets. A series of lethal sizzling bolts hit dead center on the roof of the extremely popular Asenguard Nightclub. Sparks flew in every direction, rising into the air, a colorful display rivaling that of fireworks.

Over and over the jagged lightning bolts continued to hit in exactly the same spot. Each hit was precise, as if directed by laser beam.

Elisabeta tried not to wince each time a bolt struck. The weaves of protection held, but that didn’t stop the shaking of the building from the strength of the blow. Each time the rocking was so strong it nearly knocked the three women off their feet.

“That is Cornel, knocking politely,” she announced solemnly as they clung together.

Lorraine and Julija burst out laughing with her. Elisabeta found herself amazed that she could be sharing laughter when the night was lit up with bolts of lightning aimed specifically at the rooftop where the three of them were standing.

“How very polite of him,” Julija said. “I suppose we should be just as eloquent in our response to him.”

Lorraine and Elisabeta automatically stepped back to give Julija room. She was from a powerful Carpathian lineage, but she was also a direct descendant of one of the most powerful mages in the world. She lifted her hands and began to weave her spell, concentrating on that small pinpoint where the tip of the bolt was directed with each strike.