Lothaire Read online

Page 29

 

  "You speak in riddles as usual. " Helen had stabbed her sword into its sheath with an exasperated thrust. "Hes a pathetic parasite. I would die of sorrow if I was ever connected to one such as him. "

  But they had spared him, and the golden-eyed Valkyrie had furtively dropped coins for him as theyd ridden off on their white steeds.

  An age had passed before hed met Nix again. Both of them had sought to capture a sorcerer whose castle was under siege by an invading army of stone demons, one of the more brutal demonarchies.

  Nix had planned to save the sorcerers life in order for him to fulfill some undisclosed role in the future; Lothaire wanted to drink his blood and steal his legendary knowledge.

  The two of them had decided to work together. They would let the demons defeat the sorcerers army and break into his mystically protected hold. Then Lothaire and Nix would swoop in to snare the sorcerer for themselves.

  As he and the Valkyrie had lain in wait on an outcropping overlooking the clash, Lothaire had worked on a ring puzzle, listening to the Valkyries chatter, surprised that he agreed with everything she said.

  Shed praised the sorcerer for taking no wife, spawning no offspring, and developing no friendships. "He has no weaknesses. The stone demon king will have no leverage to force magics from him. "

  Lothaire preyed on those very vulnerabilities. Which was why he himself garnered no friends. A choice, not a lack . . .

  With a claw-tipped finger, Nix had pointed out soldiers in action, giving commentary. "Idiot. Larger idiot. One-horned idiot. " Hed grunted in agreement. "Oh, watch this! Watch this one," shed said from time to time, predicting a particularly gruesome slaying on the battlefield.

  Soon theyd begun conversing, mainly about how foolish immortals could be, until their talk had turned personal.

  "Have you no mate, female?" hed asked, intrigued with her, though she was his natural enemy.

  "I was betrothed to Loki for a time. Which did not proceed smoothly for obvious reasons. So for now I am an unrepentant manizer. " At Lothaires blank look, shed said, "That will be amusing in the twenty-first century. "

  "If youre a soothsayer, tell me my future. "

  "I cannot. I still see nothing on you. Very few render my foresight completely blank. "

  In the hour before dawn, Lothaire had said, "I grow weary of waiting, Phenix. Stay if you like, but I will tarry no more. "

  Her eyes had gone hazy. "Patience, Lothaire. You must learn patience. "

  Hed drawn himself to his full height, furious that shed dared to scold him. "The day I take orders from a madwoman who begets lightning will be my last. " With a mean laugh, hed tensed to trace away.

  Just as he began to disappear, hed spied a demon vaulting the overhang, sword at the ready. Leave the Valkyrie to her fate, Lothaire had told himself. She means nothing. Shes an enemy!

  Yet hed hesitated. Perhaps hed been less jaded then; perhaps hed had nothing better to do. For whatever reason, hed returned to her side to slay the male-just as the castle boundaries fell. . . .

  In the coming years, theyd stalked common foes, growing to trust each other, at least enough to watch each others backs when on extended hunts. But Lothaire had never learned patience, and his obstinacy put them at odds on occasion. Her lucidity continued to dwindle.

  Still, theyd had much in common, and a grudging respect had grown. He remembered once confessing to her, "Phenix, you are the only one-"

  "Lothaire!"

  He jerked his head up. "What?"

  Elizabeth was frowning at him. "You and Nix?"

  He shook himself from his reverie. "We belong to different Lore armies, the Pravus and the Vertas. She is guiding the Vertas, and I side either with the Pravus or with no one-whichever suits my Endgame. "

  "Why didnt you ever kill her? Thats what you do to your enemies, right?"

  A difficult question to answer. At length, he said, "Though a foe, Nix is the only one I know who matches me in age and knowledge. " In madness and weariness. "We have a history. " And so his life would be altered without her in it. "I decided long ago that I could always kill her, but I could never bring her back. "

  "I see. " When Elizabeth took another drink, condensation from the bottle dripped to her chest, meandering down. As his gaze followed, his mind easily turned from the past to this very enticing present. "I believe I answered your question. " He raised his brows at her top.

  With a huff, she tugged the material aside more. "Do you think about me when youre away?"

  "I think about how youre soon to die. A fine sacrifice for Saroya. "

  As she pulled over her top, Elizabeth asked, "How much time do I have left?"

  "Possibly a week. "

  She gazed away, taking another swig of beer as she adjusted the material. The next shift would bare one impudent nipple. "At any time, were your thoughts tender toward me?"

  Hed mused on destroying Elizabeths soul, and he might have felt a whisper of something. "Do I look like the type of male who would have tender thoughts, girl? Now youre being ridiculous. "

  When her eyes widened slightly, he snapped, "What?"

  "Nothing. "

  "If theres to be no more tat, then lets get to the tit. "

  "Hmm. Maybe Ive changed my mind. " She ran that sweating beer bottle down her cleavage. Just where hed thrust his shaft a week ago. "Dont you wish you could see-and touch?"

  "Ive spent the last seven days wishing I could touch. Now I plan to. " Before she could react, hed traced to her in the light, grabbing her before he burned, then returned with her to the apartment.

  He could smell the sun in her hair, could see new freckles on her nose. Golden skin, wicked tan lines . . . her skin was hot.

  "Let me go!" She shoved against his chest. "What do you want from me now? Maybe theres a quarter inch of my skin somewhere that you havent spunked yet. That it?"

  "These days away from me have made you bolder. Foolishly so. But Ill bring you to heel. "

  She thrashed against him. "I hate you!"

  "Feelings mutual," he grated with difficulty, the rana burning. Blyad!

  Of course he hated her.

  She was a mortal, ignorant even of the danger he presented to her. His hand wrapped around her throat. "I could throttle you so easily. Squeeze the life right from you. "

  "Do it!" she screamed, her eyes fierce. "And stop talkin about it!"

  "You wont incite me to kill you," the vampire said. "So cease trying. If I were going to do it by my own hand, I would have by now. "

  For the briefest second, Ellie thought she saw him frown, as if hed just realized that was true.

  Cant lie, huh? When he eased his grip on her throat, she stumbled back. "Im not screamin at you because I want you to kill me, Im screamin because you make me sick! Youre supposed to be some kind of Lore brain-iac? But youre fixin to choose Saroya over me? Why are you too stupid to see whats just in front of you?"

  "In front of me? You mean the mortal shrieking at me in a thick hillbilly accent? The ignorant human with no accomplishments? Perhaps Im smart enough not to lower myself to a creature like you. "

  "Im not ignorant. I have a degree!"

  He raised a blond brow. "Assuredly. It says H. S. after it. In any case, theres more to knowledge than a degree. Youve never been outside of your own state, never encountered any kinds of people but your own. "

  "Because Im young! Ive been in prison since I was a teenager. You have no idea what I wouldve done if that bitch of yours hadnt hijacked my body. You cant have it both ways-you cant ridicule my ignorance when you had a hand in shaping it!"

  "No idea what you would have done? Id wager you would have lived in a squalid trailer with wailing brats clinging to your apron while you watched TV all day. "

  Hed just done Lothaire-speak. "You dont think thats what I wouldve done. You dont believe that at all. "

  Double take from the vampire. But he recovered, saying in a bland tone, "This grows tedi
ous, Elizabeth. Shut up and undress. "

  "Get Saroya to do it! Or maybe she finds you as hateful as I do!" A muscle ticked in his jaw, warning her that shed pushed too far. Dont care. Already dead.

  "You court my wrath because youve never truly witnessed it. Ill remedy that right now. "

  He yanked her against his chest. "Lets take a trip. "

  "You said your enemies would find me!" To be a demons whore . . . ?

  "Ill cloak us. Again, the one you need fear most is me. " In the space of a breath, hed traced her into a cave. But he hadnt fully teleported them; they stayed in some kind of hazy twilight.

  Still she could scent musty earth and rot, could hear flies buzzing. Once her eyes grew used to the dim light, she saw corpses.

  The savagely beheaded bodies of young men. Dozens and dozens of them.

  Gore, severed limbs, crushed skulls. Splatter on the dank cave walls.

  She wouldve vomited the contents of her stomach, if shed been of weaker constitution. Or if she hadnt beheld a similar scene in her own home five years ago.

  When she could trust her voice, she asked, "You did this?"

  "Ah, Elizabeth, now do you see what Im capable of? Slaughtering an entire pack in their own den bored me. My heart never even sped up, my bloodlust never quickened. I yawned loudly when I worked ones head free. The last thing he ever heard was me tsking over my impoliteness. Youd do well to fear my fury, to understand that my very name strikes fear in the hearts of those who know me-for a reason. "

  "I understand that youre scary, sick, and perverse! I understand that the Enemy of Old and Saroya the Soul Reaper are absolutely perfect for each other. Two broken puzzle pieces jammed together. "

  Again, her words struck a nerve. His hand tightened on her arm, his expression promising pain.

  "Is this what your life is like?"

  He sneered, "Most nights for millennia. "

  "Then I feel sorry for you. Thats right-Elizabeth, your pet, the peasant you scorn, the body-pities you. " She gazed at his face. "Uh-oh, weve got that muscle tickin in your jaw. Spells trouble for me! Whats the matter? You cant take it when someone tells you like it is? Im probably the first person to do so in centuries. "

  Was there a flicker in those red eyes?

  "Like it is," he grated. "And how is it that you could possibly pity me?"

  "Im twenty-four years old. Ive spent more than twenty percent of my life on death row. And Ive still known more happiness in my short life than you have in your unending one. "

  Chapter 31

  That Elizabeth would fucking dare! "As usual, you speak about things your mind cant even comprehend!"

  "Me? I bet you dont even know what happiness is!"

  Lothaire wanted to snap, "Of course I do!" But he . . . didnt.

  He believed hed known it as a child with his mother, but he couldnt remember those early years vividly, not after eons had come and passed, not after his life had become devoted to revenge.

  And he couldnt resurrect whatever hed felt then, because he hadnt felt anything approaching it since.

  He often spied on others, studying their ways. Hed watched two Sorceri sisters snickering over wry jokes. Hed observed Lykae roughhousing, then laughing so hard theyd had to hold their sides. They experienced happiness; Lothaire did not.

  He knew he was different from others. And yet, he couldnt ascertain if he was unhappy-since that would mean he could recognize the opposite.

  "Well, do you know what it is?" Elizabeth demanded.

  Cant lie. Contentment, happiness, satisfaction-all these things were unfathomable to him.

  One of the reasons he fought so hard for his Endgame was that hed surely be content once all his vows had been fulfilled. Once his toiling had finally ended.

  She gasped. "You dont know. How ignorant am I? Ive sat in my squalid trailer, experiencing something your mind cant even comprehend!"

  "I might not kill you, but I could hurt you, break your fragile bones!"

  "You would. Youd hurt the one person who could teach you to be happy!" She grasped her forehead. "Oh, God . . . now?"

  Saroya rises? "Elizabeth, you do not recede. You finish this with me!"

  She narrowed her eyes up at him. "Just keeping the terms of our

  deal. If Saroya wants her turn, then Im supposed to get out of the way, right?"

  "You little bitch, dont you run from this!" His voice boomed in the cavern.

  "Uh-oh, here I go. . . . Whoa, whoa, receding right before your eyes. Red Rover, send Saroya right over. See how happy the Soul Reaper can make you!" And then she collapsed.

  Lothaire yanked her to him, catching her just as Saroya said, "Where am I? I sensed blood and violence. "

  He gave a furious yell. Elizabeth had mocked him, gotten the last word, then receded purposely! Fucking throttle her!

  "Lothaire, what is wrong with you?" Then Saroya scowled, fighting to stand on her own. But he left his hand on her arm, keeping her cloaked. "Why am I dressed thus? Oh, my skin!"

  Get control. Before he crushed Saroya in fury. Inhale. Exhale. "The mortal proves . . . vexatious. " And confounding. She continued to astonish him at every turn.

  "You cant handle a human girl?" Saroya peered around at all the carnage. "But look at this splendid slaughter! Yours?"

  Elizabeth had been disgusted. Saroya not only accepted what he was, she exulted over it.

  "Are there no more lives to take? All of these are completely spent. Selfish Lothaire. " She toed a severed leg. "Why have you brought Elizabeth here? Does this have something to do with the ring?"

  "I make progress on that score. "

  "So you have no ring to give me and no lives for me to take-though I havent killed in years!" She kicked a decomposing head, then winced in pain at the contact. "Are you always so selfish?"

  "Yes," he answered absently. They couldnt remain here any longer. He could only half-trace two people for so long. In an instant, he returned them to his room in New York, releasing her.