Darkness Eternal (Guardians of Eternity)

“You really should learn how to stay in your grave, Marika,” she gritted.

Marika gave a toss of her dark curls, prowling forward with an expression of blatant anticipation.

It was a look that always came before the pain.

Hours and hours and hours of pain.

“What’s the fun in that?” she demanded.

“The fun is that I would be rid of your miserable existence forever. The mere thought makes me giddy with joy.”

Marika halted mere inches from her, her frigid power wrapping around Kata like chains of ice.

“What happened to my sweet Kata who prayed every night that her sister would be returned to her?”

Kata clenched her teeth. She wouldn’t flinch, she wouldn’t flinch, she wouldn’t flinch . . .

Her chin tilted, her expression defiant. “She realized that her sister had become a monster.”

“A monster?” The dark eyes narrowed in suspicion as Marika leaned forward, sniffing the air around Kata. “So says the woman who reeks of her vampire lover. Where is he?”

Kata swore. So much for being a distraction.

“You know, Marika,” she said, desperate to keep the demented woman’s attention locked on her. “It took me awhile, but I realize now that becoming a vampire wasn’t what made you evil.”

“No?”

“No, it’s your lack of anything resembling a heart.”

Marika’s shrill laughter sent a chill down Kata’s spine. Dear goddess, it was bad enough that the woman walked around with her sister’s face without adding a creepy cackle.

“Kata, if I didn’t have a heart would I have made sure that we would be kept together even after death?” Marika pressed a hand to her unbeating heart. “What could be more sentimental?”

“That was selfishness, not sentimentality. You were only trying to protect your own skin by forcing Sergei to bind us together.”

“True. Now, however, I have a much more basic reason for appreciating the spell.”

“And what’s that?”

With a pout, Marika stretched out a hand to run a crimson nail down Kata’s cheek, leaving a trail of blood in its wake.

“I’m feeling a little peevish at my unfortunate death. I was, after all, destined to rule the world,” she complained. “Let’s hope a few centuries of punishing you will help ease my disappointment.”

Her churning fear was briefly forgotten as a flare of pure relief raced through her. She didn’t know what the hell was going on, but at least Marika believed she had died.

It gave her hope.

“Tell me, Marika, was it Laylah who struck the killing blow?” she asked sweetly.

The dark eyes flashed with fury. “The bitch got lucky.”

Kata smiled. “Do you believe in karma?”

“I believe that the sins of the daughter must be paid by the mother.” Marika lifted her hand, her fingers curled to slice her claws through Kata’s tender flesh. “Starting now.”

Braced for the blow, Kata was unprepared for the flash of movement from directly behind Marika. Thankfully, her crazy-ass sister was equally oblivious and, even as she swung her hand toward Kata’s face, Uriel was slamming into her with bone-breaking force.

Kata stumbled to the side, struggling to keep her balance as the two predators hit the ground with enough force to split the earth. Uriel managed to land on top, his fist slamming into the back of his opponent’s head with a sickening crunch.

It wasn’t a fatal blow, but it should have been enough to put the female vamp out of commission for a few minutes. Instead Marika turned with a fluid motion and sank her fang’s into Uriel’s throat.

Kata’s heart faltered as Uriel grabbed Marika’s hair and ripped her from his flesh, his blood gushing from the wound. His roar of pain echoed through the glade, sending animals fleeing in terror.

Barely aware she was moving, Kata had snatched up a large branch that was nearly hidden in the grass and was charging forward. At the same time, Uriel was lifting his sword and with one sharp motion he was plunging it into Marika’s heart.

Kata halted, shuddering at the sight of her sister sprawled on the ground with a massive blade sticking out of her chest.

She hated the miserable, sadistic creature with every fiber of her being, but it was still disturbing to see the image of her sister pinned to the ground like something from a horror film.

Waiting for Uriel to finish the kill by cutting out the vampire’s heart, Kata sucked in a shocked breath as Marika grasped the blade with both hands and yanked it from her flesh.

It shouldn’t have been possible. Such a wound should have paralyzed her at the very least. Not even the most powerful demon could shrug off a huge, gaping hole in the center of their chest.

Caught off guard, Uriel was barely able to yank his sword from her grasp and hastily rise to his feet before she was launching her attack.