A Midsummer Night's Demon

chapter Seven

Lyn watched her attacker land with a sickening thud amidst the thick tangle of Banyan trunks. She heard the bark crack from the impact and watched Ky leap into the air, landing in front of the downed man. She gasped at the sight. Ky covered at least twenty feet in one mighty bound. No one could do that!

The two men fighting before her could not be human, but she didn’t think they were demon either. So, what were they? She didn’t have long to ponder the question.

They spun around the park like a tornado, moving so fast her eyes could not register their kicks and punches as their bodies flew apart, then back together. However, she heard every blow when it connected, the sounds of bones crunching and the slap of skin clearly audible to her ears with each blow. Lyn found it impossible to tell the two apart with both men wearing black, only hair color differentiated them.

The world exploded around them when their blurred masses neared one of the trees or the scrub palms giving evidence of the fierceness of their battle. Lyn watched the palm fronds fly through the air, their shredded branches fluttering as they floated to the ground in surreal contrast to the fast and furious movements of the fighting men.

Daelyn screamed, and jumped sideways to avoid a body flying toward her. Someone hit her foot when she leapt, tossing her off balance. She landed on her knees, the hard ground biting into her flesh. With pain radiating in both legs, Lyn pushed to her feet. Her injured knees threatened to give out. The world tilted. The pain and dizzying brawl made her unsteady. Unable to run, she staggered backward to sit once more on the base of the statue to watch the terrifying battle.

****

Ky slammed the vampire into the ground sending detritus flying into the air around them. He pulled a knife from the sheath attached to the waistband of his cargo pants. His breath sawed from his lungs as he dropped to his knees and aimed the blade over the vampire’s heart, looking for the opportunity of a clean, quick kill.

Raziel’s hand clamped around Ky’s wrist in a fierce grip, to keep the knife from finding purchase in his chest. The bones in his wrist flexed as their arms shook from the struggle. Raziel raised the arm with the cuffs, his hand landing on Ky’s forearm to pin the free cuff between his hand and Ky’s arm. Pain coursed through the agent’s body to widen his eyes, and the smell of his burnt flesh accosted his nose.

Raziel placed a bent leg between their bodies as he pulled Ky toward him. The debauchee pushed his leg out at the same instant he raised his arms and flipped Ky over his body. Raziel followed through, never releasing his grip so they came to rest with Raziel in the dominant position straddling Ky’s body. His hand pinned one arm above Ky’s head, the other, posed above Ky’s chest, held the blade turned downward. He leaned his body weight down to force the blade closer to Ky’s heart.

“Oh how the tables have turned,” The debauchee’s voice carried a menacing timbre.

The blade sank closer to Ky’s sternum. “This isn’t over yet.”

Ky gritted his teeth and summoned his strength to pull his arm free from Raziel’s hold. With a mighty thrust, he forced his hand into the chest of Lyn’s attacker. Ky’s fingers pushed through the muscle and sinew, seeking the beating organ within.

Raziel threw his head back, and roared in pain. He glared down at Ky’s arm protruding from his chest. Raziel’s eyes went wide, his face contorted in either shock or pain. Ky expected the vampire to recoil, try to escape, but instead of pulling away his opponent leaned his weigh forward, pushing the blade into Ky’s flesh.

The slide of the blade burned through his skin, and pain lanced his body. He saw the hilt of the dagger sticking from between his ribs. Although not a killing blow, the wound would weaken him. He needed to end this now. Luckily his opponent’s move had also brought his hand deeper within the chest, and he wrapped his fingers around Raziel’s beating heart.

Determination helped Ky to push aside the pain and focus. He gathered power to him, pulling it from nature’s energy around them. He fostered it, helping it to build until it threatened to consume them both. The massive pulse of power rolled from his body, the wave so strong it became visible as it rippled out from his center. He willed it toward the vampire, sending his form flying backwards though the air. The movement pulled Ky’s hand from the chest, the vampire’s heart held in his closed fist.

Knowing the fatal strike had killed Raziel, Ky’s thoughts turned to Lyn. He sat up, still holding the heart in his hand to find his mate. She seemed unharmed physically. However, he could not be so sure she’d survived mentally. He could only imagine what went through her mind when her gaze landed on her attacker. He followed her line of vision, watching Raziel’s blood soak his shirt and pool beneath his crumpled body.

A fresh wave of pain lanced through Ky’s body, pushing a groan from between his clenched teeth. His eyes locked with his heartmate’s. Wrapping his free hand around the hilt of his knife, he pulled the blade from his chest with a quick yank. The warrior’s face contorted with pain as the dagger slid back through his sinew and skin.

Daelyn’s gaze shifted from his gory blade to the bloody heart still in his hand. Her breath left her lungs in a huff. She grabbed her stomach, and doubled over to heave its contents.

Ky scowled, watching his mate lose her dinner. He wanted to comfort her, bely her fears. Try to explain what she’d witnessed.

After tossing the heart aside, he rolled onto his hands and knees. Pain tore through his body. His muscles protested each movement, but the warrior struck the pain down, forcing his body to obey, so he could press off the ground. Unable to rise to his full height due to his wounds, he stood hunched, taking heavy breaths from his exertion and the pain. With practiced ease, he stuffed the blade back into its sheath, unconcerned with the blood that flowed from the wound in his chest.

Lyn’s spine straightened as Ky made his way to her on staggering feet. Noting her gaze rested on his torso, his eyes dropped to the wound on his chest. His shirt hung in ruins, strips of the material dripping blood. The wound in his chest had already closed perceptibly.

Ky sensed her panic rise. She looked confused, afraid. He approached her but she took a step back, her gaze still on his wound. She brought her hand to her mouth and swallowed several times before finding her voice.

“What…” Her eyes locked with his. “What are you?” she asked in a small voice.

Ky held out his hand, and winced when he realized blood painted his flesh. His? The vampire’s? He lowered his hand, wiping it on the side of his leg, watching as his mate took another step away from him. “Lyn, wait. I can explain.”

She narrowed her eyes in disbelief. “No, you can’t.”

“I can. Please give me a chance to explain.” He took another step forward.

She retreated another step, clutching her purse to her chest. Tears welled in her eyes, tearing his heart in two. “Please don’t hurt me.”

Ky stopped his advance. She feared him. And he couldn’t blame her. He’d wanted her to leave the minute he’d arrived at the park as much for her safety as to keep her from seeing the battle. Of course, she had not done what he asked. He should have known she would want to remain behind, to help him if needed. He should have told her what her attacker was then maybe she would have left like any reasonable being. Now, she not only knew her attacker was something other than human, but that he was too. He’d really made a mess of this.

“Lyn, sit down. We need to talk.”

She shook her head violently back and forth, sending tears spilling down her cheeks. “What are you?” she repeated in a whisper.

He took a deep breath, letting it out slowly between his clenched teeth. The warrior scrubbed a tired hand down his face, his body weak from the loss of blood combined with the amount of energy he exerted during the fight. Exhaustion made his limbs heavy, and he still had so much left to do to be sure no evidence of the battle would be found come morning. He swayed on unsteady legs that threatened to no longer support his weight.

Lyn deserved an answer. He needed to tell her the truth about himself. And what that meant for her. As his mate, she would have to convert, become like him in order for them to have eternity together. The alternative would be to love her for the rest of her years, watch as she grew old, then die. And that grim alternative made bile push into the back of his throat. He could see no other way. He had to tell her.

“I am a vampire,” Ky admitted in a soft voice.