Page 65 of Bloodgrove

But it was too late. They jumped on him. One bit into his waist, another tilted its head far enough to reach Will’s neck between his ear and the spiked collar. Another licked the blood from his forearm where it seeped from the wounds beneath the manacles, then drove its teeth into the tender skin.

Will wept, unable to wrench himself away.

Their fingernails clung to him like a vise. Their rotten breath, heavy with the smell of copper, filled his nose. They were ravenous, sucking and licking, rubbing themselves against him. He lost himself in the burning and pulling, his eyes falling shut as the sea carried him away. Cold depths opened beneath him and dragged him down until the last light of the surface disappeared.

Sunrise came and went.

They dragged in a weeping woman who bled from countless bites.

“Drink,” the elder said, forcing the victim’s arm against Will’s lips. “Your blood is more precious than hers.”

Will shook his head, but he was too weak to resist. Someone pressed a bite wound to his mouth until blood ran down his throat. He swallowed because he had not given up yet. Because somewhere inside him, hope still lived.

Noon came and went. It was a rainy day. Ice mingled with the drops and hammered against the windows. The world beyond the cloudy glass blurred into a grey sea.

The vampires drank from him, never enough to kill him, but the pain remained constant. His fingers and arms were so numb they might have been made of ice, and the blood they fed him did nothing to ease his thirst.

Sunset came.

The younger vampires, who descended from the rafters only occasionally to drink from him, stood at the windows and watched the sun sink. It had not been strong enough that day to harm them inside the building.

Soon, more would come, they whispered.

Will drifted through his frozen sea and wondered whether he would meet the Albatross there. Its touch held no warmth. It, too, was only a beast imitating humanity. But it was familiar. It was the monster he knew.

How could he let him die here?

The ocean was so vast and silent, the final glimmer of light so small above him. He did not even have the strength to swim toward it. What would happen to his magic when he died? When his bones touched the earth, would a palace grow from them if that became his final thought? A castle of black ice, raised from the darkness of the sea. Light would seep through its ceilings but never reach the floor.

Would his bones become his last sacrifice? Not merely a toe, but an entire man.

Chapter 34

Agunshot tore through his dark ocean and sent the waves trembling.

Will opened his eyes.

The room was empty except for the elder vampire, who paced back and forth. His teeth clicked together, and his fingers twitched. Will could not remember when the creature had last drunk from him. Was the effect already fading?

“Hunters,” the elder spat. “So someone has come to rescue you after all. As though they could! You belong to us now. We will feed you and bleed you. We will keep you like the animal you are.”

Suddenly, a black streak shot up the stairs and leaped at the vampire’s chest. Savage growling and barking followed as a second beast appeared. The dog sank its teeth into the vampire’s arm, and when he flung it away, it tore free a large strip of grey flesh.

The vampire recoiled and hissed at the dogs, but they refused to be intimidated. They bared their teeth and planted themselves between Will and the vampire.

Will nearly laughed with joy. Only one man had dogs like these. Their silken coats were unmistakable, even matted with blood and filth.

“You lost,” Will managed.

A battle raged below. Help was almost within reach.

The vampire crouched and abandoned the final remnants of human behavior. But he never launched another attack, because the dogs’ master appeared in the doorway. Brown blood dripped from his coat and ran along his drawn rapier. Steel plates reinforced his leather armor, weapons covered every available inch of him, and everything about him looked deadly, down to his murderous expression.

Mr. Arcos reached the vampire with a speed no human should have possessed. The elder sprang at him, fingers crooked into claws, jaws stretched wide. The two predators crashed together, and Will saw only Arcos seize the back of the vampire’s skull. His fingers drove into bone, and the vampire screamed. Bloodlust turned to desperation. The creature tore at Arcos’s coat and even reached the skin beneath, but Arcos remained unmoved. He forced the vampire’s head farther and farther back, bone cracking beneath his grip, until the neck broke and the throat split open. Growling, Arcos ripped the elder’s head from his body and hurled it into a corner. The lifeless body fell to the floor, where Arcos drove his rapier into its chest. When he twisted the blade, the corpse convulsed, and Mr. Arcos repeated the motion. The corner of his mouth twitched into a grimace. His dogs waited patiently beside him, perfectly tame once more.

“That is for touching what belongs to me,” he growled under his breath.

Will almost failed to hear him. Perhaps Mr. Arcos had not realized he was conscious. Perhaps Will was still trapped in a dream, because for one heartbeat, he thought he saw red in the ambassador’s eyes.