My Lord Immortality (Immortal Rogues #3)(53)

He stumbled, but thankfully he was swift to recover and was racing down the dark path with gratifying speed. Whatever his lack in intellectual prowess, William had always been large and physically strong. She offered up a silent prayer that Sebastian would rescue her brother before the henchmen who belonged to Drake could find him. She did not doubt for a moment that the stubborn vampire was following as closely as he dared.

Watching as William disappeared into the shadows, Amelia slowly turned back to the impatient Drake. She had done all that she could to protect her brother. Now it was time to pay the cost of that protection.

As if sensing her dark thoughts, the vampire stalked toward her, harsh greed etched upon his face.

"There will be no further delays."

"No," she agreed softly, pulling the dagger from her sleeve. "The time has come."

Drake came to an abrupt halt, but his lips twisted with cruel amusement rather than fear.

"How very charming," he drawled. "Do you think to frighten me with that bauble?"

She grimly lifted the dagger higher. "Do not come any closer."

"Or what?" He deliberately stepped forward. "You will attempt to harm me? Fool. You are no match for my powers. Shall I demonstrate?"

The chill in the room abruptly deepened and to Amelia's shock, the solid form of the vampire began to blur and fade. An ominous fog began to swirl and Amelia was forced to choke back a scream as she realized that the vampire was shifting himself into that strange mist.

It was a bizarre, horrifying spectacle.

"No," she breathed.

An eerily hollow laugh echoed through the cottage. "You are a pathetic animal who only lives because you possess my Medallion. You cannot harm me, Miss Hadwell."

Grasping the last, frayed edges of her courage, Amelia lifted the dagger and firmly turned it about until the sharp point was painfully pressed to the frantic beat of her heart.

"I have no intention of harming you, Mr. Ramone. I intend to use the dagger upon myself."

Sebastian was aware he was being followed from the moment he entered the thick copse of woods. With fluid motions he slid behind a large tree and allowed the two shuffling men to walk past him.

He did not so much as blink before he was launching himself toward the two and knocking them to the ground. They remained inhumanly silent as he connected a blow to one in the chin and then leaped to his feet to kick the other in the side. Bones crunched beneath his attack but neither hesitated as they awkwardly pushed themselves upright and lunged toward him.

He grimaced at the realization that the men had been caught within Drake's Compulsion. He could already smell the stench of their decay. Nothing short of death would stop them now.

Easily avoiding their outstretched hands, he caught the nearest man about the neck. Holding him before him, he crushed his throat with a sense of regret. The second he dealt with just as easily, allowing the heavy body to drop to the soft ground.

Damn Drake, he silently cursed. The men would have died of starvation within days, or by the hand of the treacherous vampire, but he resented the fact that he had been forced to harm another.

With a shake of his head, he turned from the motionless bodies and sternly turned his thoughts back to the reason he had entered the woods in the first place.

Amelia.

Not far ahead he could sense her presence. She was still alive., but he was vividly aware of the horrible terror that clutched at her heart. Just as he could sense the reckless fury that filled Drake.

He had to reach her before she did something desperate.

He had barely taken more than a step, however, when there was a loud crashing in the trees ahead of him. Within moments, William came plunging through the overgrowth, his expression wild-eyed and his hair standing on end.

With a low growl of impatience, Sebastian waited for the boy to stumble to a halt before him.

"William."

"Milly," William panted as he reached out to grasp Sebastian's arm. "Bad man."

"Yes, I know, William."

"Milly, Milly," he repeated, shaking in his frustration at not being able to speak of the danger to his beloved sister.

Reining in his the impatience, Sebastian placed his arm about the boy's trembling shoulders.

Amelia would expect him to care for her brother with the same tender concern that she would offer. It was now his duty to ensure that the boy was kept safe and secure.

"Amelia will be fine, William. But I must go to her." He firmly lifted William's face to meet his own gaze. "There is a carriage just beyond the trees. I want you to go to it and remain inside. Can you do that?"

He gave a slow nod. "Yes."

"Good lad."

Careful to escort the unnerved young man well away from the bodies lying on the ground, Sebastian pointed William toward the carriage he had left beside the narrow lane. Once he was assured his charge was safely headed in the proper direction, he sharply turned to make his way back through the trees. With the henchmen disposed of, the young man should be quite out of harm's way.

Nearly seething with impatience, he ran through the shadows, his need to reach Amelia so overwhelming that he barely noted the familiar tingles that rushed over his skin. He did not desire to be delayed yet again. Not when he could sense Amelia's dread shuddering through his body.

Unfortunately, Nefri was not a vampire to be ignored, no matter what the urgency. Stepping directly in his path, she held up a slender hand that brought him to a sharp halt.