Into the Fire (Night Prince 4)

“Thanks ever so, poppet,” Ian snapped.

I waved a hand. “From what Blackstone said, you deserve it, so stop whining and take your punishment like a man.”

“You heartless little harpy!” Ian said, slack-jawed.

I just waved at him again in a dismissive way, but what I was really doing was edging my glove down. No, I wasn’t really intending to leave Ian to his doom, even if I did think the sorcerer had a valid grudge. If we could manage to get past this force field of a mist, I could make mincemeat of Blackstone with my whip. With how far below we were now, though, my whip couldn’t reach Blackstone even if it could penetrate the mist, and since Vlad hadn’t touched him yet, he couldn’t burn him.

“Aren’t you forgetting something?” Ian added, futilely kicking as one of those silver roots curled up his leg and then drove into his calf. “You need me,” he finished.

Vlad eyed the sorcerer controlling those deadly silver roots, then glanced at Ian. “Maybe all we need now is him.”

Chapter 13

“Filthy ingrate!” Ian said with a snarl as that silver root plunged into his thigh next. Another one began to slide up his other leg, and a third reached perilously near Ian’s groin. For the moment, though, they had stopped coming after me or Vlad, so the sorcerer was considering what we’d said.

“Come on, you don’t even know who we are, so it’s not smart to kill us, too,” I said, looking away from Ian to fix a steady gaze on Blackstone. “It might be more trouble than it’s worth.”

“And who are you that it’s in my best interest to spare your lives?” Blackstone asked, not sounding very worried.

“New members of Mencheres’s line,” Vlad responded at once. “Both of us less than a year undead.”

I schooled my features so my surprise didn’t show. Why would Vlad say that? His reputation was more fearsome than Mencheres’s, and didn’t Mencheres say he had enemies in the magical world, too? What if Blackstone was one of those enemies?

The blond sorcerer’s mouth pursed as if he’d swallowed something sour. “Baby vampires,” he said, sounding both contemptuous and resigned. “You shouldn’t be near a place like this, let alone with Ian. Didn’t your sire warn you about him?”

Vlad hunched, somehow managing to look guilty and sheepish. “He did, and we know we shouldn’t have come, but Ian swore he’d show us the time of our lives.”

Once again, I was glad for all my years performing on the carnival circuit or I would have gaped at Vlad. Even his voice had changed. Gone were his usual deep, commanding tones. Now, he actually managed to sound scared and conciliatory, and if he hunched his shoulders any more, he’d break his collarbones.

Blackstone let out an annoyed sigh. “Too many people saw me force you out here, and your sire considers you too young to be responsible for your actions. Very well, it’s your lucky night.”

With that, Blackstone said a few words and flicked his fingers in a way that hardly looked magical, yet at once, an opening appeared in the steellike mist above us. Ian tried to hop over, but even more roots entangled him. Blackstone shot an arch look at him, then bent down and held out his hand to us.

“Jump, like you did before. I’ll grab you and pull you up.”

Vlad’s smile showed all his teeth as he grasped me firmly to him and jumped, his other hand extended. When Blackstone grasped it, Vlad let him pull us all the way out of the ditch, and then fire shot from his hands.

Blackstone’s scream was cut off when his mouth filled with flames, and I winced when both the sorcerer’s hands exploded, leaving only charred stumps at the end of his arms.

“Well done, you magnificent bastard!” Ian crowed. “Now, finish him! His magic will stop when he’s dead.”

Vlad glanced behind us, making sure that no one was coming to Blackstone’s aid. Then he shoved the sorcerer to his knees.

“You must be the earth mage Ian was telling us about, yes?” When Blackstone only glared at him, Vlad let the flames coating his hands flare higher. “I can heal you by giving you my blood, or I can burn you to death. Decide which you’d prefer.”

After another glare, Blackstone nodded, his mouth too charred to reply any other way. If he’d been a normal human, he’d probably be dead, but his magic was strong.

“Still getting stabbed by silver while stuck in a pit,” Ian called out, but Vlad ignored him.

“Do you know a sorcerer named Mircea? He’s a vampire, very handsome, with curly black hair and coppery-colored eyes.”

Blackstone shook his head. Vlad’s grip tightened where the sorcerer’s hand used to be until another smoldering bit broke off. “Don’t lie to me,” he said in a frightening whisper.

The sorcerer shook his head no more vehemently. Vlad sighed. “That would be too easy, wouldn’t it? Don’t suppose you know anything about blood-bound spells?”

A shrug that seemed to say, Some. Vlad leaned closer. “What about a spell that binds two people together flesh to flesh and blood to blood, so strongly that killing one person kills the other person, too?”

Blackstone’s eyes widened in surprise. Vlad made another disappointed sound. “No, didn’t expect you to. You just stick to the things you’re best at, don’t you?” At the sorcerer’s nod, Vlad said, “So do I,” in a conversational tone. Then his grip tightened and a red glow suffused Blackstone. The sorcerer screamed soundlessly and I expected an explosion, but surprisingly, Vlad let him go. o;Thanks ever so, poppet,” Ian snapped.

I waved a hand. “From what Blackstone said, you deserve it, so stop whining and take your punishment like a man.”

“You heartless little harpy!” Ian said, slack-jawed.

I just waved at him again in a dismissive way, but what I was really doing was edging my glove down. No, I wasn’t really intending to leave Ian to his doom, even if I did think the sorcerer had a valid grudge. If we could manage to get past this force field of a mist, I could make mincemeat of Blackstone with my whip. With how far below we were now, though, my whip couldn’t reach Blackstone even if it could penetrate the mist, and since Vlad hadn’t touched him yet, he couldn’t burn him.

“Aren’t you forgetting something?” Ian added, futilely kicking as one of those silver roots curled up his leg and then drove into his calf. “You need me,” he finished.

Vlad eyed the sorcerer controlling those deadly silver roots, then glanced at Ian. “Maybe all we need now is him.”

Chapter 13

“Filthy ingrate!” Ian said with a snarl as that silver root plunged into his thigh next. Another one began to slide up his other leg, and a third reached perilously near Ian’s groin. For the moment, though, they had stopped coming after me or Vlad, so the sorcerer was considering what we’d said.

“Come on, you don’t even know who we are, so it’s not smart to kill us, too,” I said, looking away from Ian to fix a steady gaze on Blackstone. “It might be more trouble than it’s worth.”

“And who are you that it’s in my best interest to spare your lives?” Blackstone asked, not sounding very worried.

“New members of Mencheres’s line,” Vlad responded at once. “Both of us less than a year undead.”

I schooled my features so my surprise didn’t show. Why would Vlad say that? His reputation was more fearsome than Mencheres’s, and didn’t Mencheres say he had enemies in the magical world, too? What if Blackstone was one of those enemies?

The blond sorcerer’s mouth pursed as if he’d swallowed something sour. “Baby vampires,” he said, sounding both contemptuous and resigned. “You shouldn’t be near a place like this, let alone with Ian. Didn’t your sire warn you about him?”

Vlad hunched, somehow managing to look guilty and sheepish. “He did, and we know we shouldn’t have come, but Ian swore he’d show us the time of our lives.”

Once again, I was glad for all my years performing on the carnival circuit or I would have gaped at Vlad. Even his voice had changed. Gone were his usual deep, commanding tones. Now, he actually managed to sound scared and conciliatory, and if he hunched his shoulders any more, he’d break his collarbones.

Blackstone let out an annoyed sigh. “Too many people saw me force you out here, and your sire considers you too young to be responsible for your actions. Very well, it’s your lucky night.”

With that, Blackstone said a few words and flicked his fingers in a way that hardly looked magical, yet at once, an opening appeared in the steellike mist above us. Ian tried to hop over, but even more roots entangled him. Blackstone shot an arch look at him, then bent down and held out his hand to us.

“Jump, like you did before. I’ll grab you and pull you up.”

Vlad’s smile showed all his teeth as he grasped me firmly to him and jumped, his other hand extended. When Blackstone grasped it, Vlad let him pull us all the way out of the ditch, and then fire shot from his hands.

Blackstone’s scream was cut off when his mouth filled with flames, and I winced when both the sorcerer’s hands exploded, leaving only charred stumps at the end of his arms.

“Well done, you magnificent bastard!” Ian crowed. “Now, finish him! His magic will stop when he’s dead.”

Vlad glanced behind us, making sure that no one was coming to Blackstone’s aid. Then he shoved the sorcerer to his knees.

“You must be the earth mage Ian was telling us about, yes?” When Blackstone only glared at him, Vlad let the flames coating his hands flare higher. “I can heal you by giving you my blood, or I can burn you to death. Decide which you’d prefer.”

After another glare, Blackstone nodded, his mouth too charred to reply any other way. If he’d been a normal human, he’d probably be dead, but his magic was strong.

“Still getting stabbed by silver while stuck in a pit,” Ian called out, but Vlad ignored him.

“Do you know a sorcerer named Mircea? He’s a vampire, very handsome, with curly black hair and coppery-colored eyes.”

Blackstone shook his head. Vlad’s grip tightened where the sorcerer’s hand used to be until another smoldering bit broke off. “Don’t lie to me,” he said in a frightening whisper.

The sorcerer shook his head no more vehemently. Vlad sighed. “That would be too easy, wouldn’t it? Don’t suppose you know anything about blood-bound spells?”

A shrug that seemed to say, Some. Vlad leaned closer. “What about a spell that binds two people together flesh to flesh and blood to blood, so strongly that killing one person kills the other person, too?”

Blackstone’s eyes widened in surprise. Vlad made another disappointed sound. “No, didn’t expect you to. You just stick to the things you’re best at, don’t you?” At the sorcerer’s nod, Vlad said, “So do I,” in a conversational tone. Then his grip tightened and a red glow suffused Blackstone. The sorcerer screamed soundlessly and I expected an explosion, but surprisingly, Vlad let him go.