Slowly, the water in the ancient cauldron began to bubble. When a thin gray mist rose in the air, Izabela repeated the chant, stronger this time. “By the power of earth and sea, I bid thee reveal the whereabouts of Saintcrow’s woman to me.”
The mist changed, grew darker, thicker. A drawing appeared showing what looked like a stone crypt set in the mouth of a cave. A pile of bleached bones lay scattered beside the crypt, the grave clothes in shreds.
Izabela added another drop of Saintcrow’s blood. “By the power of earth and sea, reveal the crypt’s location to me.”
The drawing of the crypt faded and a map of England appeared. A blood-red cross marked the location.
Smiling, Izabela pulled her cell phone from her pocket and took a picture of the map, and then called Saintcrow.
He was on her porch before she bid him goodbye.
“Come in,” she said, stepping away from the door to allow him entrance.
“Where is this place?”
She handed him her phone. “Do you recognize the location?”
He nodded. “It looks like the Dales. There are a lot ofcaves scattered through England and in the cliffs along the coast. Some of the old English royalty buried their dead around there centuries ago. Are you sure that’s where she is?”
Izabela shrugged. “Nothing in life is guaranteed. You of all people should know that.”
Chuckling, Saintcrow pulled the witch into his arms and planted a kiss on her cheek. “You can have as much of my blood as you want if I get Kadie out of this,” he said, and vanished from her sight.
“As much as I want,” Izabela said, looking pleased. “You can’t ask for more than that.”
~ * ~
It took a bit of searching before Saintcrow found the right cave, identified by the old bones and grave clothes lying beside it. Lifting his head, he opened his preternatural senses searching for some sign of Kadie, but there was nothing but the scents of old death and decay. Odd, he thought, until he detected a faint trace of preternatural magic.
Saintcrow grunted softly. Trelaine had obviously worked some kind of spell to mask any sign of his or Kadie’s presence.Standing there, Saintcrow did a slow turn, the back of his neck prickling with the certain knowledge that he was being watched.
He was about to enter the cave when a thick net interwoven with silver touched with dark magic covered him from head to foot and a half-dozen men materialized around him, dragging him to the ground. Saintcrow cursed his foolishness. He’d been so worried about Kadie, so sure Trelaine was just a brash fool, that he had underestimated his opponent. It was only natural that Trelaine would have prepared a trap of one kind or another far ahead of the time he planned to reveal his whereabouts. It’s what he, himself, would have done.
Several minutes passed while Saintcrow struggled to free himself from the net.
“Stop struggling or she’s dead!” The voice came from the mouth of the cave.
Saintcrow gave up the fight immediately. He turned his head to the left as a tall, slender vampire with blonde hair and brown eyes stepped into view, his smirk filled with victory and a hint of madness.
Kadie stood beside Trelaine, a thin-bladed knife at her throat, her hands bound in front of her.
Saintcrow cursed under his breath. Her wrists were red and swollen where the silver touched. In some places, the skin had been burned away.
“All right, you’ve got me,” Saintcrow said. “Now let her go.”
“All in good time.”
“What more do you want?”
“I told you. I want your power. All of it. I intend to drink you dry,” Trelaine said, with a cackle. “And then your power will be mine! Think of it! The power of a thousand years.”
Saintcrow muttered as oath as he wondered if anyone had ever tried to steal a master vampire’s power and if so, if they had survived. Rage flooded his being at the thought of Trelainestealing his power, of never holding Kadie in his arms again. But he was willing to sacrifice anything, even his life, to save her. “What about Kadie?” he asked. “Once you’ve got what you want, will you let her go?”
Trelaine threw back his head and laughed. “You’ll never know.”
Kadie screamed when Trelaine dropped to his knees and buried his fangs in Saintcrow’s throat while his companions looked on, their expressions blank.
Kadie felt a wave of hope when, in a sudden burst of speed and power, Saintcrow threw off the net, grabbed Trelaine by the throat, slammed him to the ground, and threw the net over him. The vampire let out a scream as the silver infused with his own magic scorched his skin.