As she played gun tug-of-war, she saw Thad a short distance away. "Tiger! Ah, thank gods."

He turned to her with a wobbly smile, cal ing out, "You don't wanna kill me?"

"You're such a douche!" she yel ed in answer, which made him grin wider. Then she noticed who he was with.

Thad was fol owing Lothaire like a puppy; the kid hiked a thumb at the vampire, then gave her an okay signal. "No, Thad, get away from him!" She snatched the gun free, aiming at Lothaire.

Click. Click. Empty? Bal s! Hate guns.

But as she watched in disbelief, Lothaire stole behind Volos, casual y raking his claws across the centaur's back legs, severing tendons. Volos began teetering, his legs bending at weird angles.

Like a shot, Lothaire was in front of him, calmly sidestepping Volos's swords as if he could predict exactly where the centaur would swing. The vampire stretched out one long arm and severed Volos's throat in a rush of blood.

When Lothaire cupped a handful of it to his mouth, Thad cried, "Dude! That's disgusting."

"It's mother's milk." The vampire walked on as if he'd merely stopped to tie his shoe.

Stil scrambling for purchase, Volos dropped one sword to clamp his gaping throat; Natalya took advantage, catching the weapon. She used it to lop off Volos's forelegs, sending him toppling forward.

"Give your nephew my regards!" With a scream of victory, the fey took his head.

Revenge. One down, one to go. "Grab your trophy, Nat, and let's book."

As Natalya sliced the queue from the back of Volos's head, Regin grabbed Thad's shoulder. "What were you doing with Lothaire?"

Thad pointed. "He's getting away! We've got to stick with him."

"No way, kid. That leech is bad news! Evil as hell."

"Not all vampires are evil-I'm not! And he saved you two, didn't he? He's strong enough to get us out of here. After we find the Blademan."

"Blademan?" Regin gazed at Lothaire fearlessly striding forward through the commotion. He was like a snowplow as beings cowered. Lothaire can take me straight to Chase. "I'm fol owing him." She snagged Volos's second sword from his clenched fingers.

"Oh, fine!" Natalya said. "Just be wary, Thad. And take this." She handed him her sword, preferring to load glass shards between her knuckles again. "Swing first, ask questions later."

When the three of them caught up to Lothaire, he frowned at his new retinue of immortals but didn't deign to annihilate them.

As they passed Carrow's cel , Regin peered inside, but the occupants were long gone. No piles of ash remained either, so Regin was hopeful. Brandr too was missing.

She spotted Chase just as Lothaire tensed in front of her. The magister was fighting his way through the ward, somehow fending off waves of creatures.

Regin and the vampire said in unison, "He's mine."

Lothaire turned to her with silky menace, his bloodstained face as hard as a marble statue's. "Chase remains alive for now. Or you do not."

Regin was raising her sword and opening her mouth to argue when vampires traced all around them.

Red-eyed Horde vampires. Who looked surprisingly enraged at Lothaire.

"We've been searching for you, Lothaire," the largest one said. "Did you think we wouldn't find out that you betrayed the Pravus?"

Another added, "The Enemy of Old has clearly all ied with the Vertas, now working with a Valkyrie, a fey, and a..." He gestured toward Thad.

The leader said, "You freed the rage demon king. He guards the well with his queen. There's no retaking it."

"Was that I?" Lothaire shrugged nonchalantly, but his eyes were reddening. "Ah, yes. It was."

Regin had heard about him freeing Rydstrom, a Vertas demon king, and had mul ed the vamp's motives. But then she'd learned that Lothaire had extracted a high price for his cooperation: Rydstrom's vow to give the vampire anything he wished in the future.

"Shal we get on with this, then?" Lothaire sighed. "I've pressing business to attend to."

The vampires appeared astonished by his gal . Most of them began to converge on Lothaire, Natalya, and Thad, but a trio closed in on Regin, separating her out.

One told her, "You've slaughtered so many of our brothers, Valkyrie, over your unending lifetime. At last You'll pay."

"We're not going to kil you," said another. "Not at first."

They began tracing all around her, delivering blows, then disappearing before she could strike with her sword. The torque made her so sluggish. ...

One backhanded her, whipping her head around. Blood flew from her lips, her staples straining.

Another's hit sent her skidding across the glass-strewn floor, leaving a trail of crimson like a mop swipe. The third lifted her limp body by the neck and a thigh and flung her into a swaying stone wall.

Before she could scramble out of the way, the wal col apsed over her, pounding her body into the floor.Pain exploded all over; consciousness wavered.

The vampires weren't finished. One snatched her hair to drag her from the rubble as she shrieked. As if in a dream, she heard Chase's answering bellow.

Suddenly the glint of a sword flashed at one vampire's throat. His head tumbled to the ground.

The remaining pair turned on their attacker.

Chase. Standing just there. His eyes were blazing, his body larger, his muscles swel ing with his berserkrage.

They rushed him. With uncanny speed, he sliced through one's neck, seizing the other by its throat.

Squeezing, squeezing. His brutal power ... The vampire's eyes bulged just before Chase separated its head from its body.

Then Chase ripped free the masses of concrete that covered her as if they were feathers. "Hold on, Valkyrie." With unexpected gentleness, he scooped her up, clasping her to his chest. "I'm gettin' you out of here."

"Hate you." She was too weak to fight him. So dizzy. To black out now, with enemies all around? Her Valkyrie instincts screamed for her to be wary.

"Hate me all you want-after I save your life."

As Chase lifted her, she gazed back at the fight. Lothaire was still surrounded in a battle to the death.

Natalya and Thad had escaped? Yes, Natalya had somehow snagged a charge thrower and was threatening to fire it as she backed herself and Thad out of the clash. He was scanning the area, yelling, "Regin!"

Regin drew a breath to cal for them-

"Ah-ah, Valkyrie." Chase shoved his gloved hand over her mouth as he took off in the opposite direction.

Only when they were clear did he remove it.

"Why ... save me?" As she struggled, his pitiless face grew blurry. Gazing down at her, he growled, "Because I'll protect what's mine."




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