1Endless Night:

Fires of Hell and Heaven

Part 3

Amethyst was standing in the middle of the yard, a dark shadow bathed in silvery moonlight. He reminded me a little of a ghost, the contrast of the white of his skin against the black of his clothes and hair giving him an ethereal quality. It took no stretch of the imagination to imagine him doing the Hollywood thing and rising from a coffin to prey on mankind.

At our approach, he didn’t move. And though I couldn’t see his eyes, I could feel the weight of them as he watched us. He was angry, angrier than I’d ever seen him, and rightfully so since I was essentially his property.

The stranger bid his minions release me and I found myself face down on the turf, not restrained but not entirely free with them standing to either side of me as they were. Not that I really wanted to do anything just then.

The werewolves had kept their tender attentions to my chest and abdomen, nothing that would show unless I stripped. Nothing serious though it hurt plenty to move.

“Aubrey.”

I raised my face at his soft voice. I didn’t have to have empathy to hear the rage in his tone. If he was happy with the fact that I wasn’t too terribly hurt, he didn’t show it. I winced and curled my fingers into the cool grass. /I tried to tell you. Seems he has a bone to pick. Just a guess though./

“I took the liberty of disciplining your mongrel. His manners are atrocious,” the stranger announced loudly, his voice giving away how impressed with his own actions he was.

My master didn’t seem to share the sentiment. I wished I could have seen the look on the intruder’s face when Amethyst chose to ignore him entirely. “Hm.” My master crossed the yard and crouched down before me, seemingly oblivious of the two werewolves flanking me. Though, realistically, I didn’t think these two could do much against Amethyst. They didn’t exude power as was common of their kind but I had a feeling they were much weaker than anyone else in the yard. Then again, their master didn’t give off the slightest hint of power either.

I found myself being drawn up to my knees and careful hands being run over my body. This close, I could see the frown on Amethyst’s face when I flinched at the pressure to my new bruises. There might have been a cracked rib or two as well but I wasn’t complaining. The last group of werewolves I’d run across had done way more damage.

“You know,” my master murmured, just a hint of relief mixed with the anger in his voice, “you’re a fucking moron at times, right?”

I frowned back. /You said I wasn’t allowed to Hunt./

Violet eyes rolled expressively. I had the impression that he was very close to reaching out and choking me. “Kicking someone else’s ass before they kick yours isn’t considered Hunting. Amongst normal folk, that’s called self defense. Do I need to fucking spell things out for you?”

My eyebrows went up. Maybe Amethyst didn’t understand our contract so well. I would definitely need to sit down and have a little chat with him later over the matter. Any which way I was to look at it, fighting and defense were all part of the Hunt.

“Child. Leave your pet and attend me.”

I almost felt sorry for the stranger for my master was an expert at infuriating behavior. Amethyst remained seated while he ran his fingers through my tangled curls. A part of me understood that he was using me to enrage the rude intruder, but another part of me very much wanted to punch Amethyst for treating me like a dog. He, as well as everyone else, had a nasty habit of doing that.

“Your hospitality is lacking,” the other vampire hissed. “Did your attachment to such a foul creature take away what sense you had? Where is that sibling of yours? Maybe she can give me the treatment as is my due—”

With a snarl, Amethyst was standing and had the smaller wolf bent over backwards, the vampire’s sharp claws poised at a soft neck. The werewolf squirmed, yelping and stilling when Amethyst drew blood. As for me and the other wolf, we both seemed to have had the same thought and decided that getting away from the furious vampire was for the best.

I don’t know about the wolf, but the fact that Amethyst’s eyes were a brilliant, glowing purple was enough to scare the piss out of me.

Amethyst smiled at the intruder and shifted his grip on his captive’s hair. The smaller wolf was a smart one and he didn’t bother to fight, which was good because there were no illusions in our minds that my master wouldn’t rip the man’s throat out.

The stranger, though, didn’t seem all that intimidated. More the pity for him and his simple mind.

“I don’t believe you remember us too well then.” Amethyst’s voice was deadly, almost cutting. The sound of it made me shiver. “I’ve always been the nicer twin. On the other hand, I find your manners lacking for a guest. You should never have laid a hand on what is mine.”

For some reason, his words made me feel better. Not enough to make my wounds go away but enough to buoy me into gaining my feet. Who knew my master was so possessive?

The stranger flicked his gaze to me as I stood with his disgust evident on his face. “You threaten a brother over this half-breed mongrel?”

Amethyst snorted, “Clarence, that half-breed mongrel could have killed you if he hadn’t been so hung up on my orders. I doubt the fact that you are Elder would have hindered him in the least. Probably would have made him piss on your corpse instead.”

/I somehow doubt that./ I informed my master with a grimace of distaste. /Gutting him for the ravens would have done./

“I don’t think that making things up is—” the intruder, Clarence, started again.

“For fuck’s sake, man!” Amethyst snarled, his eyes glowing brighter. The wolf under his claws whimpered but remained still. “Are you so fucking stupid you can’t recognize a demon when you see one? I would have thought the tail would have given him away!”

Startled, the man looked at me more closely. His eyes widened as he took in my appearance in whole. I don’t know what he was seeing before but the expression on his face when he realized his mistake was almost comical. “I didn’t—I thought—he looked like one of those mutant creations the wizards are making nowadays. I honestly didn’t know.”

“Yeah. Sure.” The rage was beginning to seep from Amethyst’s voice along with the glow from his eyes. He threw the wolf to the ground and stepped back, his body still tense but his face full of disgust. “Get lost before I tell him I’d like to see you in little pieces.”

The other vampire’s eyes were wide. “Of—of course. I apologize for my behavior.” The fact that Clarence practically ran out of the clearing was enough to make me laugh. He looked as if the hounds of Hell were on his heels. The werewolves he’d brought with him weren’t far behind. They didn’t appear as cowed as their master but there could be many reasons for that. Chief among them was that they were probably stupider than him.

“Aubrey.”

“Hm?” I glanced over at Amethyst. His voice sounded strange, almost faint, and his skin had taken on a sickly cast. I frowned.

As I watched, he hugged his arms and shivered. “Be a dear and go find me a horse. I think I’m hungry.”

And just like that he wilted dead away into a faint.

I stared at his prone form laid out in the moon dappled yard and sighed. Beyond the fact that Indigo wasn’t going to see this any other way but my fault, it was embarrassing that my master had just swooned like a girl.

I suppose I should be happy he waited until the visitors left.

TBC