Total pages in book: 158
Estimated words: 145341 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 727(@200wpm)___ 581(@250wpm)___ 484(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 145341 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 727(@200wpm)___ 581(@250wpm)___ 484(@300wpm)
Skyler? That bit of information alarmed Afanasiv. Skyler and Dimitri kept a residence in Siberia. Not just anywhere in Siberia but in the vast forests that fell under the rule of the royal house of wolves. Dimitri maintained a wolf sanctuary. He fought hard to keep the wolves healthy and their habitat from shrinking. He’d had the foresight to realize humans would begin to cut down the trees and kill the wolves, seeing them as a menace to livestock. From the beginning, he had made it his priority to keep land for the wolves. Whether or not he had known all along that the massive tract of forest fell right in the middle of Lycan territory, it had, which added an additional safety feature for the wolves—but not necessarily for Dimitri or Skyler.
Siv processed the information at high speed, as he did all things. Mars had made a bargain with the head of Lilith’s army. He believed himself invincible. There had to be other vampires just like him. Prince Vitus very well could have made the same pact. Vampires lied with every breath they drew, yet they expected the demons from the underworld to keep their word. That made little sense. Siv pulled away from the obscene contact, sickened by every image in Mars’ head.
The bull continued his swaying and moving, taunting Siv. “You don’t really know who I am, do you?”
Afanasiv shook his head. “The real question should be whether you know who I am. Allow me to introduce myself. You should know my name before you kill me. I am known as Afanasiv Belan to our people. I have lived in a monastery for centuries, but prior to that, and for some time after, I have hunted ones such as you for more centuries than I care to count.”
There was a long silence. The wind answered him, blowing hard through the snow. The powerful gusts disturbed the branches in the trees, setting them clicking wildly. Flurries of snow fell from the needles clinging to the branches as the wind whipped through the canopy and brush. He heard the soft whisper of a voice in that wind, cleansing the images tainting his mind that the vampire had put there. His lifemate. Magical. How did she know what to do? How was she able to reach him without connecting and sharing those foul images?
“Afanasiv Belan? The ancient?” Mars asked for confirmation.
The vampire shouldn’t have made such a grave mistake. To ask Siv to clarify his identity was the same as admitting he was taken aback by the information. He should have played it cool. Simultaneously, the ice around the waterfall began to crack. At first the sound was a mere crackle here and there. Then the force of it began to roll like thunder, picking up speed as icicles broke off, falling to the ground. Sheets of ice calved off the waterfall, crashing to the jagged ice-covered rocks below.
Siv nodded slowly. Mars seemed mesmerized by the sound of the ice breaking and Siv’s nod. Afanasiv burst into action, using his speed as Mars suddenly went into motion, rushing straight at him. Siv used their combined speed to penetrate the solid chest of the vampire, shifting his arm and hand into that of a solid burning spear, incinerating the black acid as he made his entrance.
The vampire screamed and tore at Siv’s neck and shoulder with his teeth. He used his claws to tear at Siv’s chest to try to get at his heart. Afanasiv shut down all ability to feel pain. One part of him monitored the crumbling ice sculpture that had been the waterfall. Vitus was either fleeing or he was coming to Mars’ aid. Siv never stopped the steady extraction of the heart from Mars’ body.
There was no hint of sound to warn either the hunter or the vampire, but suddenly Garald was there, his sword catching the blinding blue light of Vasilisa’s crystal ceremonial sword as he raised the blade high. The edge came down between the hunter and vampire, flashing blue and black as it cut through the vampire’s wrists so the massive claws fell to snow-covered ground, where they tried to dig their way back to their master. The blade never stopped moving, arcing back up toward the vampire’s throat to slice right through his neck cleanly.
Mars’ head, with vicious teeth still snapping wildly, bounced halfway down the slope, pouring wiggling parasites and black acid onto the pristine white snow. The moment the parasites and acid touched the surface, blue flames erupted, springing from one to the next until the fire had consumed the head, parasites and acid completely. Even the teeth were gone. The hands and talons suffered the same fate.
Siv tossed the withered heart into the air, and the whip of lightning hit it, incinerating it on contact, then the whip followed it down to the body, burning it as well. Afanasiv immediately bathed his arms and chest in the healing energy as he surveyed the waterfall. Vitus was gone. He’d fled, abandoning the others, choosing not to aid them.