His lips curled at the naive immortal above him. And then I need to replenish my strength. "A hand, if you please."

"Sure thing." He lay flat at the edge, extending his arm down. "I'm Thaddeus Brayden. Cal me Thad."

Lothaire took his hand, his eyes locked on Thaddeus's neck, on the spot just below the metal torque.

His fangs throbbed for that skin.

As always, he had to be very careful whom he fed from-he balanced forever upon a razor's edge-and younger was ever so much better for him.

With a surprising strength, Thaddeus hefted him up to safety. "What's your name?"

What manner of creature was he? Usual y Lothaire could tell at once, but this boy's species eluded him. "I'm Lothaire. The Ally of Old." Not a lie. A female had once cal ed him that. "On to terra firma, then."

"Terra whatta? Oh, yeah, sure thing." Once they'd moved from the gorge to more stable ground, the boy said, "Good to meet you, Mr. Lothaire."

"Seems I owe you a debt of gratitude, Thaddeus." Lothaire seized him by the neck, yanking the boy's back to his own chest.

"Wh-what the hel are you doing?" he demanded, futilely struggling.

As Lothaire lowered his head, he murmured, "Now I'll owe you a blood debt as well." He sank his aching fangs into the male's hot neck, drawing deep. ...

Chapter THIRTY-FOUR

You don't want to mix it up with us tonight, Flicka," Regin warned the centaur king. Of course, he did not have a torque and had somehow scored not one but two swords. "Just let us pass."

He stalked closer, swinging those swords with super-natural speed. Eyes on Natalya, he said, "Vengeance is mine."

"You have no quarrel with the Valkyrie," Natalya said. "Let her go."

"She's a leader in the Vertas. This is our opportunity to crush all of you."

Regin calmly aimed her rifle. "You're an easy target. Lots of surface area to wound. Big-game hunting's my new fav-"

He charged them; Natalya screamed, "Regin, fire!"

"I'm going to grease him right now!" she yel ed, pul ing the trigger.

Nothing.

She banged the gun against her upraised knee, then tried again. Oh, shit.

Volos bore down on them with his swords swinging, one ton of irate centaur male.

Regin ducked and chucked her rifle at him-he sliced through it. Natalya flung six shards of glass at him. They plunged deep into his flanks, but he didn't seem to feel them.

With a scream, the fey leapt for Volos's side, swiping her poisonous claws across his body. But the centaur was unaffected.

Regin realized why. The torque had neutralized all her powers-which meant her poison.

While Natalya gaped, Volos kicked out his back legs, his hooves speeding for Regin's chest.

Fire. On me? Wake up. ...

Declan forced his eyes open, shaking off the blackness.

Fuck! His armored vest was on fire. He jerked upright, shrugging free of the armor, knowing it was the only reason he still lived.

He scanned the area for the Sorceri. But they were gone, no doubt certain they'd kil ed him.

And while he'd been out, the Queen of Stone's mountain had risen until the facility's entire framework shifted.

Realization sank in. There was no containment, no retaking the instal ation. This structure was about to crumble to the ground. It was done. There'd be no self-destruct override.

So how long until the sequence timed out? He squinted down at his watch.

Less than half an hour left.

Mere minutes to get Regin to safety, and only one shite option available to him.

As soon as he'd lurched to his feet, nearby creatures turned their heads in his direction, ears or noses twitching. Eyes zeroed in on him. "Blademan," they whispered. "It's the magister."

They attacked in a wave. He reloaded the rifle and opened fire, burning through another clip.

Too many of them. No time to reload. He shouldered the rifle and drew his sword, slashing his way toward Regin's ward.

In midstride he slowed, canting his head. Regin's scream.

Over the pandemonium, the roars and explosions, somehow Declan had heard her.

He pushed hard in that direction, evading opponents instead of engaging them. Sounds seemed to dim until all he could hear was his heart thundering.

His body began to change. Blood pumped to his muscles-they drank it in as though starved for it, growing, strengthening.

Final y he knew what to cal this.

Berserkrage. A beast stirs within me.

For the first time in his life, he didn't resist, gave himself up to it. Never had he felt the transformation like this. Because I've never done what I was born to do. Protect her.

Lothaire recoiled from the boy, spitting a mouthful of blood.

Blood that was part vampire, yet masked by something else he couldn't place. Lothaire wasn't often surprised, but this had taken him unawares.

Blyad', we don't drink our own! He spun Thaddeus around, clutching his upper arms. "What are you?"

He gave him a shake. "What-are-you?"

The boy turned owl eyes up at him. "Th-they told me I'm a vampire."

Lothaire spat once more. "Then they've only got half the story." He released him with disgust, his fangs aching so badly they'd likely turn blue.

"Are y-you gonna bite me again?" he asked, his gaze darting toward the frenzied combat ahead.

Lothaire scanned for another victim. "Consider me immune to your charms." He started forward, beings diving out of his way.

"Uh, okay. I'm just gonna trail behind you, mister, if you don't mind. Let you run interference."

Without slowing, Lothaire said, "You are as insignificant to me as a fly."

"I'll take that as a yes. So where're we headed?"

Lothaire absently said, "To find the Blademan." And get my ring. Finally. He stormed toward Chase's office.

When ghouls mindlessly rushed them, Lothaire dispatched them readily. Any creatures stupid enough to attack him paid with their lives.

The boy had begun gazing up at him worshipfully.

As he should.

"Wait, Mr. Lothaire," Thaddeus yel ed from behind him. "Those're my girls up ahead! Or they used to be. Might wanna kil me now that I'm a vampire and all . But they're fighting with that gigantic horse thing.

Can you take him out and save them?"

Lothaire cast him a chil ing glance over his shoulder. "Aid a Valkyrie and a fey?"

The boy swal owed. "For that debt of gratitude?"

Lothaire eyed the centaur. Volos had pledged no all egiance to him.

If you're not with me ...

Regin leapt back, narrowly avoiding Volos's hooves, tripping over a headless body. Natalya was still ducking under Volos's swords, but he was too fast. Just a matter of time.

Surveying the area, Regin spied another gun-this one attached to a downed guard's hand. She clambered across the floor to it, but the man was still alive, barely. When she yanked on his rifle, he yanked back with one hand, holding in his entrails with the other.

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."

Darkness took her.

Chapter THIRTY-FIVE

Declan cradled Regin's limp body in one arm; with his other, he struck with his sword, clearing a path for them.

Stil fil ed with that incredible power, he effortlessly slashed through the melee. With every back and forth swing of his blade, he cleaved off heads, adding to the carnage.

Mangled bodies lay everywhere. Heinous creatures devoured fal en soldiers, raping others. Some beings had weapons, which meant that the storage area had already been raided.

He glanced down, saw a female's severed arm, still covered in a sleeve from a blood-soaked lab coat.

Dixon's oversize glasses lay crushed beside it in the same copious pool of blood. She couldn't have survived that.