Betrayal's Gift

Chapter Fifteen

He reached her side and laid a hand on her shoulder. She jumped startled, under his hand and turned to face him, her smile friendly. He looked into her eyes as she boldly met his. He passed through her shields as if they weren't even there and planted a memory deep in her subconscious.

Screams echoed in her mind as bloody images flickered. His grip on her shoulder tightened as he made the memory realistic and horrifying. The things nightmares were made of. The feel of her own blood on her hands imprinted itself into her memory. The pain, the intense agony of being brutalized and abused became reality. She could hear the echo of her own screams in her ears as her world went black...

She was walking to the hotel after the show and was in no mood for trouble. Her head hurt. Her chest was aching from the pain that she carried around continually since Varagon had kicked her out. A shadow swooped overhead and was ignored carelessly. Why had he done that to her? What crime had she committed that was so wrong?

By loving him? Was that her crime? She laughed bitterly. That could have been it. The dry leaves skittered on the pavement past her as the wind began to blow in gusts. A dark figure loomed up out of nowhere. She halted and spoke, hating how typically female the words sounded.

"Who are you? What do you want?" Eerie husky laughter echoed down the empty street, bouncing off the buildings and magnifying. The deserted empty street. Before the fact that she was alone had been a comfort. Now it was a threatening menace.

"My name is Julius." The lithe figure stepped forward into the light of the streetlight. "And I want my brother's soul." The light gleamed off of his eyes like a feral animal and the cloudy night threw dark shadows at him so that only his face could be seen. Silver eyes gleamed at her as his smile flashed at his own melodramatic humor. "My brother has excellent taste in women. I'll have to remember to tell Varagon when I see him again."

"What do you want with Varagon?" her tone was harsh and her fear hidden well. Her eyes were cool, pulse steady. For all her bravado, she was scared. No amount of shielding could have prevented Julius from knowing just how afraid she was. He didn't despise her for her fear. It was good that she was afraid. His knowledge and skill had been gained over many millennia of existence and she was no match for him. Her fear revealed her intelligence.

"Feel my pain."

With those softly spoken words, a pain like no other she had ever encountered struck her with excruciating force. Her small body twisted in on itself as wave after wave swamped her. Her knees started to buckle as she felt swords, knives, bullets, and worse slice deeply into flesh. Burning like she had never imagined engulfed her body, mind and heart. Wounds appeared as she struggled to remain upright. No one could bear up under that much pain striking at once and she sank heavily to the ground with a moan.

He stood before her, smiling evilly. His molten silver eyes glowed with malice and a terrible voracious hunger that she was just beginning to understand. A creature that had been through all of what she had just encountered knew only pain and suffering. Nothing at all of mercy or forgiveness.

"This is a message for my brother. See that he receives it." He bent down and gently lifted her broken body into his strong arms. She tried to fight it as he looked deeply into her eyes, mesmerizing her but it was no use. His silver swirling gaze entranced her and she felt herself falling into them.

She found herself leaning forward and sinking her newly developed fangs into his well-muscled chest. The rich blood flowed into her mouth and made her crave more. He made her drink deeply before he released her from the compulsion. To make it worse, he released her in mid swallow so that she realized what she was doing and tried to jerk back choking. He laughed at her horror and her vain attempts to retreat. He held her head to him and forced her to finish. His grip on her waist was unbreakable. "Do you want to know what women are good for?" he growled in a mock of romantic passion next to her neck as she drank. He spoke out loud deliberately so that she could feel his fangs brushing her vulnerable skin as they lengthened. She trembled despite herself at his implications. He jerked her against him tightly when she didn't answer. "If you don't answer me, then I have to go looking for the answer elsewhere." Before she had a chance to build any type of shield, he thrust his mind into hers smoothly.