“Okay, witch,” the blonde muttered. Was she the muse? “You’ve got your fourth in here. Do your shit.”
Rose had no idea what the muse was rambling about but…
The witch started chanting.
“Bend to break, bend to break,” the witch called out. “Bend to break, my fucking magic to take…bend to break…”
Rose twisted her hands against the bands. Was it her imagination or did the band around her right wrist feel looser? Was it…bending?
“Bend to break, bend to break.” Now the angel’s voice was joining hers. “Bend to break, my magic to take…”
Simon ignored them. His eyes burned down at her. “You think humans are helpless? I learned the magic to change life. To imprison. To control. I learned the darkest powers when I first began to hunt. I learned that with the right pain, any creature can break. And that was my key. I broke so many, but I found my way back to her.”
He started…moving the knife. Cutting her chest.
He’s cutting out my heart. Rose screamed.
“Bend to break,” the blonde’s voice—the muse—was the loudest of all. “Bend to break, my magic to take. Bend to break—”
“You’re extra special, you see,” he kept cutting, still ignoring the other women as if they were of no consequence. “Because you weren’t born to be a vampire. You were a human who was made—you’re the one with the magic of rejuvenation that I need. You came back from death once. You were brought back. And your heart will bring her back, too.”
“Who?” God, she hurt! “Who are you bringing back?”
He paused. “My Helene. My wife. A beast took her, but I will make her live again. She will come back to me. I’ll pay any price. I’ll do anything…” The knife cut again. “Just like your shifter.”
No, no, he was nothing like Julian. Not a damn thing. And he was cutting her heart out of her chest while she just lay there, trapped.
“You know why you were warned never to be staked or burned?” Simon asked.
Her chest felt as if it were on fire.
“It’s because Luke Thorne wanted to protect your heart. He knew it was the center of your magic. A heart that came back from death to beat again, a heart that was brought back not through the bite of a vampire, but through pure dark magic.” He exhaled. “The perfect heart for me.”
And he pressed down with the knife again.
“No!” The cry broke from Rose…and so did the band around her right wrist. Her hand flew up and locked around his hand.
He stilled. His eyes had gone wide with shock.
“My heart isn’t…for you.” Her breath heaved out. “It…already belongs…to someone else.” Then she twisted his wrist. He was leaning over her, shocked, and she used that against him. She drove the blade into his chest.
He lurched away from her, but it was too late. The knife was hilt deep in him. He staggered back then his knees seemed to give way as he fell to the floor.
Her breath heaved out. “Okay, okay…keep up that chanting…and get me out of here.” Blood pulsed from her chest. She was bleeding like a stuck pig, but she still had her heart. And Simon wasn’t going to get it.
***
He heard her scream and the world fucking stopped for Julian. Rose’s cry was full of pain and fear and he went a little crazy. He didn’t shift back into the form of a man, he was too far gone for that. He leapt out of the grass and ran straight for the building.
He heard a wolf howl behind him.
The guards started screaming. They fired their weapons, but he dodged the bullets as they flew at him. The dirt kicked up near his body as the bullets thudded into the ground.
Then he was on the first guard. He slammed into the bastard and his teeth sank into the guard’s throat. The man never had a chance to cry out.
“Freaking monster!” The other guard yelled. “Go to hell!”
Julian whirled around.
But the wolf beat him to the attack. Rayce jumped onto the other guard, sending him crashing down.
“Guess that means you have to deal with me.”
Julian turned at the taunt. The scent of brimstone made his nose twitch. The guy was shifting in front of him, transforming into the stone figure of a gargoyle. Growing bigger, stronger, and standing between Julian and the thing that mattered most to him.
I’ll get to Rose even if I have to claw this bastard apart.
Time to see if his panther’s claws were really strong enough to cut stone. He was betting they were.
He growled then sprang forward. His mouth was open, his sharp teeth bared and—
The gargoyle was grabbed from behind. Hefted high up into the air by…Leo?
“My turn, you sonofabitch,” Leo snarled. “Let’s see how well you fly without your wings.” Then he grabbed the stone wings and he shattered them in his grip. As the stone rained down, Leo shot higher and higher into the air, taking his captive with him.
One less problem.