My Lord Eternity (Immortal Rogues #2)(52)

Jocelyn licked her suddenly dry lips, her heart painfully trapped in her throat. If her plot failed, then Lucien would be killed and she would once again be at the mercy of this horrid monster.

No, she firmly thrust the traitorous thoughts aside.

She would not fail.

Straightening her shoulders, she met the feverish gaze with a stubborn determination.

"Not until you have allowed Lucien to pass."

Amadeus snarled at her bravado. "I will endure no tricks."

"No tricks." Slowly she reached up to remove the Medallion from her neck and held it out.

"No, Jocelyn," Lucien gasped.

She ignored his outburst as her gaze remained on the wary vampire. "Send him to me."

There was a long pause before Amadeus reached out to push Lucien toward her. "Go to her."

She forced herself to remain in place as Lucien painfully staggered forward, his hand covering a gaping wound that spilled blood over his fingers.

"Jocelyn," he gasped weakly, his eyes glazed with agony, "do not do this."

"I must, Lucien," she said softly. "Forgive me."

"No..."

"Enough," the vampire growled, moving forward with an icy fury. "I will have the Medallion."

Jocelyn gave a nod of her head. "Very well. Take it."

Sending up a desperate prayer, she tossed the Medallion toward the spot she had marked upon the floor. It arched through the dim shadows before landing upon the dust. At the same time Lucien gave a wrenching moan.

"No."

With a gloating laugh, the vampire was already scurrying toward his prize.

"Too late, Lucien. Your foolish slut has already given the Medallion of her free will. It is now mine."

"Amadeus," Lucien choked.

Sinking to his knees, Amadeus reached his fingers toward the amulet that glowed with a golden light.

"Already I can feel the power. Glorious power..."

Lost in his haze of lust, the vampire did not notice as Jocelyn suddenly turned and reached for the shutter. He did not even realize his danger until a rosy shaft of morning sunlight angled through the window to land directly upon his crouched form.

For a heartbeat the world seemed to halt, then to Jocelyn's amazement a tendril of smoke rose from the vampire. It was swiftly followed by a sudden flare of fire that engulfed Amadeus even as he struggled to his feet.

"No," the tortured vampire screamed, futilely attempting to bat out the flames that were consuming him.

In horror Jocelyn watched Amadeus stumble about the room, his shrieks sending shivers down her spine. He was being burned alive, his body turning to ash as he fell to the flagstones and gave one last scream of fury.

Silence descended, and with agonizing slowness the flames flickered out one by one. Jocelyn remained locked in sick disbelief until at last there was nothing left but the gruesome darkness upon the dust.

Heavens above, she had done it.

She had killed a vampire and saved Lucien.

Thirteen

With her horrified gaze still upon the black marks on the flagstones, Jocelyn was at last shaken out of her shocked disbelief as Lucien gave a low groan and sank to his knees.

Shaking off the odd fog that clouded her mind, Jocelyn hastily lowered herself beside his weak form.

She had not gone through all of this only to have Lucien die on her now, she silently swore, her hands reaching out to stroke the satin of his hair.

"Lucien, you are wounded."

"Give me a moment," he murmured, his voice so low she could barely discern his words.

"Shall I go for a doctor?"

With an effort he lifted his head to regard her with a strained smile. "A doctor would be of little use to me, I fear."

She bit her lip at his teasing words. "Oh... of course."

"Do not fear. I heal very quickly."

Hoping that he was not merely attempting to disguise how injured he truly was, Jocelyn shifted so that she could wrap her arms about him and pull him against her. She needed to have him close. She needed to feel the beat of his heart and his sweet breath against her cheek.

Instantly she was surrounded by his warm strength, and she could at last draw in a deep breath. There was a great comfort in simply having him near.

"I am not hurting you, am I?" she demanded in concern.

"No." He shifted so that they were both leaning against the hard stone wall and released a faint sigh. "This is much better."

Jocelyn buried her face in his shoulder, breathing deeply of his masculine scent. She was still reeling from her horrifying experience, and while she had never allowed herself to doubt that Lucien would come to her rescue, she could not deny that the past few hours had tried her nerves to the very limit.

Confronting a crazed vampire would have terrified the bravest of souls.

"Lucien, I was so frightened," she whispered in broken tones.

Surprisingly he placed his fingers beneath her chin to tilt her countenance upward. The golden eyes glittered with a smoldering fire.

"Unfortunately you were not frightened enough."

"What?"

"Why did you not flee when I commanded you to?"

She wrinkled her nose at his stern tone. To her relief, she could already sense him regaining much of his strength.

"Because I do not take commands from you, Mr. Valin," she reminded him in crisp tones.