Page 25 of Between Bloode and Death (Between the Shadows #5)

CHAPTER

TWENTY-FOUR

Khent couldn’t have been more impressed with Valentine if he’d tried. She’d deliberately baited him, stalling for time in order to get her magnificent pet here for protection. Imagine the female having a gargoyle at her disposal.

When alive, they had immeasurable strength and skill in battle. He’d wanted a dead gargoyle for years, but to find one, he’d almost have to destroy it to kill it. And decimating it wouldn’t allow it to be in working order when reanimated.

How did she get such a glorious piece? This creature seemed in full fighting form. A hardened—pun intended—warrior. An inspiring and lethal tool.

Valentine Darkmore had nearly taken Khent down.

He found that so damn sexy; it was all he could do not to take her back to his room. Instead, he had to fight the gargoyle to prove his mettle.

Not to her, he told himself. To the others. My pride is on the line, after all.

He dodged the winged beast but took a brutal hit to his shoulder. Literally being hit by a rock with the strength of a Nimean Lion. Annoyed, Khent shot up off the ground in a burst of speed and knocked the gargoyle up into the air, shot up and away like a cannon.

It would take the gargoyle a few seconds to recoup, giving Khent a chance to join Valentine once more. “I plan to defeat your champion, then…” He frowned. “Where is the traitor?”

She cleared her throat. “Oh, er, Talon went home. I’ll send Grizz with him if you’ll see reason and leave him alone.”

“After he challenged me?”

“No way,” Rolf called in a loud voice, though he now stood only a few feet away. “That eagle is yanking your chain, bro. You can’t let him get away with that.”

“Shut up, Rolf,” Val said with a frown. “This isn’t your business.”

Next to him, Kraft and Riley watched, clearly entertained.

“Did she say not his business?” Riley mock-whispered.

“She totally did.” Kraft’s wide grin made Val distinctly uneasy.

And then Rolf was there, right in front of her, his smile showcasing sharp white teeth. He had his mouth on her neck before she could blink.

Khent ripped him away without a sound.

She knew for a fact Rolf could have torn out her throat. He hadn’t. Instead, he whipped his head around to wink at her before facing off with Khent.

Unlike Khent’s battle with Grizz, his fight with Rolf was silent. And deadly serious.

Grizz landed between her and the others, now watching the reaper and draugr move across the grass in a blur of speed, bloode flying as they ripped into each other.

Kraft frowned. “You know, this isn’t so fun anymore. Where’s all the trash talk and swearing?”

Riley sighed. “Yeah. They got serious. Should I…?”

“Go get her. I’ll monitor the human.”

“Valentine,” Val said, annoyed. She was more than just “the human.” Wondering whether or not she should keep Grizz around for protection, she hadn’t decided when Kraft shook his head.

“Might want to lose the gray guy. With him gone, Khent will want to end the fight to protect you. Especially if he knows you’re at our mercy.”

“Our?”

“Well, I’d say my mercy,” he confided in a lower voice. “But Riley likes to be included with all our dangerous escapades. And your buddy did try to kill us, so…”

She sighed. “Fine. Just forget about the poisoning already, would you?”

“Maybe. I’ll see.” He grinned.

She found herself liking him when she should be wary around all the vampires. Those Of the Bloode had earned their reputations as fierce, merciless killing machines. She wasn’t used to them having senses of humor. Winking, mating.

Kraft stared after Riley as if he loved her. How odd.

Val patted Grizz on the arm. “Go home and protect the house, Grizz. Talon especially, okay?” Make sure he doesn’t hurt himself, she added mentally.

Grizz nodded shot into the air, vanishing in a blink.

Kraft watched in awe, his gaze wistful. “I had one tiny fight with a few gargoyles once. It wasn’t serious though. I never got to battle a warrior suited up for war. They really are super strong and magic resistant, eh?”

“Yes.”

“How’d you get him?”

She didn’t mind answering, since Kraft had been right. Khent glanced her way several times now that Grizz had gone. The intensity of the fight visibly waned.

“I flew over to Romania and talked to him when he was still alive. He was a solitary guard and having problems with the strigoi over there. It was only a matter of time before they killed him, and he knew it. But with me, he could retain his power, most of his personality, and continue his mission in life into death.”

“Mission?”

“All gargoyles are different. Grizz was born to defend. The strigoi steadily conquered the magir settlements around them for decades. The newest master is throwing his all into rebuilding his empire. The strigoi want everyone dead ASAP. The magir Grizz were defending moved out. Grizz had been tasked with protecting their village, unfortunately. So he couldn’t leave. ”

“Tasked?”

“Pledged. That’s how some of the older generations operate. I gave him an out, a reason for living beyond death.”

“An interesting story,” Khent said as he joined them, sounding breathless, which told her he’d worked hard fighting Rolf.

Spotting the grinning draugr, she didn’t worry about hurt feelings.

He saw her looking at him, clenched his hands together, and held them up, giving a victory shake. “I won! I won!”

Khent shot him a lethal glare. “You did not, jackass. Ignore him, Valentine.” He took her under his arm and led her away.

“Where are we going?”

At that moment, Mormo appeared on the lawn wearing jeans and a tee-shirt, his white hair cropped short and spiked on top. To Val’s surprise, he looked fairly normal except for the red eyes and shockingly good looks.

Khent steered her around him, but Mormo’s eyes remained on the scarred and denuded bits of lawn, in addition to the crater in the middle of it. “What in the name of Chaos is this?”

She felt a swell of magic as they hurried into the house and to Khent’s room.

When he locked the door behind her, she felt a stirring of trepidation.

Then he was in front of her, his presence large, threatening.

Tension ratcheted between them.

Neither spoke.

She swallowed her nerves, and his gaze settled on the racing pulse point at her neck. When she opened her mouth to break the silence, his gaze moved to her mouth.

And stayed there.

She couldn’t help her nipples beading, her entire body fizzling with a sexual attraction that seemed to swell from out of nowhere.

Oh hell, who was she kidding? She’d been hot for the deadly predator since she’d first seen him.

What did that make her? Some kind of freak for sure.

Except he was staring back at her with the same intensity. For all that the fanger insisted she was so much less than him, that look in his eyes said otherwise.

“You owe me a forfeit, human,” he said in a low, seductive voice. His eyes turned red, and when he smiled, she watched his fangs grow.

To her astonishment, that wasn’t the only thing growing as he watched her.

So why did she find herself moving closer to him when the smart thing would be to run far, far away?