Hearts in Darkness (Nikki & Michael 2)

"Keep away from her, or I promise you, I'll tear your cold heart out of your chest.” He kept his voice flat, devoid of any emotion. But anger rose in him, as well as fear. Elizabeth was a bigger danger to Nikki than she had ever been to him.

She raised her eyebrows again. “Touchy. One might be inclined to think you cared for her." He shrugged. “She suits my current needs, and I have no wish to make another." A red cloud of annoyance flashed through the link. Nikki was awake. And listening.

"I'm sure she does,” Elizabeth murmured. “She looks ... athletic. Boringly so." The annoyance became a cloud of indignant anger, and he had to bite down on his amusement. Boring was one word he would never use to describe his and Nikki's lovemaking—what little there had been of it so far.

"However,” Elizabeth continued, pushing away from the door frame,"I did not come here to discuss your thrall. Your presence has presented me with something of a quandary." Tension knotted his gut. He watched her carefully, knowing from the past that she would give no warning if she chose to attack. “You cannot take the teenager."

"Don't be tedious, Michael. I must. What I don't want to do right now is have to kill you."

"Presuming you could."

Her smile was that of a mother indulging a child. “What is the point of protecting him? Without me, he is nothing. An empty shell."

"I don't mean to protect him, Elizabeth."

"Ah. Well. I can't let you kill him. Not yet."

Her canines were beginning to show. She was anticipating the fight, even if she wasn't yet ready to actually fight him. “Then we are, as you say, at an impasse."

"Not really,” Nikki muttered and flung out her hand. Energy seared through his mind and across his skin. Elizabeth's eyes widened in surprise, and she jerked backwards, tumbling down into the well. After several seconds there was a splash, then silence again.

"That witch deserved a good dunking. Boring indeed!" He grinned, even though he knew the sudden swim would only make Elizabeth angrier—make her more inclined to go after Nikki.

He grabbed her hand and pulled her to her feet. “I take it you've recovered from the trip through Matthew's memories?"

>He clenched his fist against the surge of anger. He'd seen this done before, though thankfully only rarely. Matthew had, in some sense, become a thrall, but not one like Nikki. In Matthew's case, his mind and his will had been sucked from his body, leaving him little more than a robot, waiting to fulfill the wishes of his master. It took a vampire with exceptional telepathic abilities to achieve such a thrall. He could never have done it, despite the fact his gifts were very strong. But Elizabeth could. Michael, what's wrong with him?

His mind has been wiped. His anger surged through the link. He felt her wince, then her growing horror. What do you mean, wiped?

Just that. Let's go in for a closer look.

She regarded him doubtfully. Do you think it's safe?

Yes. The trap door had already been sprung, and there was no feel of magic in the air. Cordell was either extremely confident no one would find their way through this darkness, or he was a fool. Maybe even both.

He helped Nikki step over the hole, then guided her past the metal spikes that had threatened to skewer him, and the loose stone that had opened the trapdoor. No sense in hitting it a second time, just in case Cordell wasn't a fool and he did indeed have a second trap waiting.

"Matthew?” Nikki let go of Michael's hand and walked across to the teenager. There was no response from him, no spark of life. It was if she were facing a robot. A chill ran through her. She squatted down beside him and gently pinched his cheek. “Matthew?"

Michael stopped behind her and crossed his arms. His anger was a storm crowding the link. He knew who was behind this, even if he wasn't saying. Not that it took great intelligence to guess that it was probably Elizabeth.

The teenager didn't respond to either Nikki's touch or her words. She glanced up. Michael's face looked as grim as she felt. Why would someone do this? He's only a kid, for God's sake. They could have just asked him to do what they wanted. They didn't have to do this. No, they didn't.

She bit her lip, studying Matthew again. What are our options now?

He is little more than a robot. He has no future like this.

What he was really saying was that they had no option but to kill him. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. I know. But you can't. Not yet. Maybe whoever did this to him could undo it. No one can replace what has been wiped.

She bit her lip. Can you touch what remains? We need to know why they kidnapped him. If we can't save him, we have to at least try to stop this from happening again. Nothing remains in him, Nikki. Nothing but memories, and the need to obey. Memories? Michael might not be able to access memories, but she could. She dug a hand into her pocket. Matthew's watch had survived the dunking, but Michael grabbed her wrist before she could wrap her fingers around it.

Damn it, don't be a fool. His mind voice was as fierce as his grip. You risk losing yourself in his thoughts.

Then be my anchor and pull me out if you feel it's dangerous. He'd done it before when Jasper had kidnapped Jake. We have to try this, Michael. It's our only chance. He sighed. That was one of the things she loved about this man. He was willing to admit when she was right, and he didn't go on arguing endlessly.

Get comfortable on the bed. I'll open the link fully and keep watch. The minute I feel your thoughts begin to blur into his, I'm pulling you out.

Though she wasn't entirely sure what he meant, she nodded and sat down on the bed beside Matthew. The teenager didn't move, didn't react in any way.