Dianne Duvall: Darkness Rises

I am so in love with you, she professed.

I love you, too , he said, eyes acquiring an amber glow .

I know. Don’t let that distract you tonight. I don’t want you worrying about me. I can kick ass like the rest of them.

He raised her hand and pressed a kiss to her knuckles. As you wish.

You’re totally lying and are going to worry about me anyway, aren’t you?

Again, you know me well.

Seth appeared in their midst. Chris and the Seconds are in place. Time to go to work.

Stay sharp , David advised.

All nodded and drew their weapons.

Seth and David vanished. Krysta thought at first that they had teleported, then realized as sounds of their flight reached her ears that they were just so freaking fast that they had only appeared to.

Roland, Sarah, and Marcus shot off after them.

Melanie and Bastien followed.

Richart teleported.

Krysta, Étienne, and Lisette raced forward.

Ethan, Edward, Yuri, and Stanislov brought up the rear.

Anxiety filled Étienne as they whipped through the trees, feet barely touching the ground, making no sound that would alert the guards to their approach.

Krysta was a fantastic fighter and lacked nothing in the confidence department. But she wouldn’t be fighting vampires this time. Her ability to see auras would not aid her as they did with vampires and . . .

He just wasn’t sure how she would react to killing humans.

We’re at war , she thought, and lives are at stake. Immortal. Vampire. Gifted one. And human, if these people succeed in creating their army of supersoldiers. I’ll feel the same way killing them as I would if I were in the army fighting to defend my country.

How did you do that? he asked, nonplussed.

Do what?

Read my thoughts?

You were . . . what is it you call it? . . . projecting or broadcasting them.

Big-time, Lisette added.

And still he worried.

An explosion rocked the night.

The forest they navigated parted and a twenty-foot fence entwined with razor wire loomed.

Étienne leaped it easily and held his breath until he saw Krysta do the same.

An alarm sounded, wonk wonk wonking at deafening decibels.

Gunfire erupted as guards swung around to face the threat and fired blindly at the blurred figures racing through the yard.

Several soldiers cried out as Richart, Ethan, and Edward went to work eradicating them.

Bullets whizzed past and filled the air like swarms of mosquitoes. Étienne dodged as many as he could as he and Krysta followed Bastien and Melanie to the wooden structures beside the main building.

Étienne didn’t know how Seth and David had gained entrance to the main building, but the brick facade looked as though a wrecking ball had hit it several times.

Screams rent the air. The scent of blood thickened on the breeze.

Étienne saw crimson liquid spurt from Krysta’s shoulder and clenched his teeth.

I’m fine , she said. Stop worrying about me .

Easier said than done.

Ahead of him, Bastien swore foully as Melanie burst through the door of one of the barracks without waiting for him.

Étienne headed into another, Krysta right on his heels.

Merde . This must be one the damned day guards used because the fucker was full. Men in T-shirts and boxer shorts were already leaping out of bed and grabbing weapons, having been given a few seconds’ warning by the damned alarm that continued to blare outside.

Étienne never slowed. Swinging his katanas, he barreled through them like the bulls of Pamplona. Howls of pain ensued.

At the opposite end of the room, he stopped and spun around.

Krysta remained in constant motion, zigzagging from side to side as she cut down the soldiers and herded those still standing toward Étienne’s deadly blades.

Two more bullets hit her. Pain erupted in her side and her thigh.

Gritting her teeth, she powered forward, glad she had chosen to wield katanas tonight rather than the shorter shoto swords. The longer blades worked well against humans with guns and seemed to scare the hell out of them at the same time.

The humans’ auras took on a dark, muddied red as anger and fear seized them.

Krysta wished their auras would warn her when and where they intended to shoot, because those damned bullets stung!

She was so glad Étienne had transformed her. Had he not done so, she would be down on the floor, bleeding to death.

Étienne started working his way back toward her.

The scent of fear mingled with the strengthening odors of blood and death.

A tranquilizer dart whipped past, narrowly missing her ear.

Crap!

She singled out the shooter and . . .

Oh. She had meant to knock the weapon from his hand with a katana, but overextended herself and severed his hand.

Screaming, the soldier gripped his wrist and sank to the floor.

A bullet struck her in the shoulder.

She faltered.

Krysta! Étienne shouted mentally.

Right. She swung at the next soldier. And the next. And the next. Stepping over bodies as she methodically made her way toward Étienne.

Something stung her neck like a bee . . . and the world went black.

Étienne took out two soldiers with one swing and glanced through the shifting bodies that still fought to check on Krysta.

A dart hit her in the neck.

Her knees instantly buckled and she hit the floor hard.

“Krysta!”

One tranquilizer dart shouldn’t have felled her like that. It should have only made her woozy. And he didn’t see any other darts sticking out of her.

Krysta!

She didn’t move. Didn’t respond to his shout. Just lay there like a corpse.

Étienne? Lisette said. What is it?

Krysta’s down!

He plowed through the soldiers, cutting as he went.

How could there still be so many?

Melanie burst through the door, zipped over, and knelt beside Krysta.

Either she had heard his mental shout or Lisette had told her Krysta needed help.

Étienne kept one eye on them as he battled the damned mercenaries.

Melanie yanked out the dart. “Listen to my thoughts,” she called over the racket. Can you hear me? she asked as she pressed two fingers to Krysta’s neck.

Yes. Something’s wrong. She was just hit with the one dart. She lost consciousness instantly.

Okay. Don’t panic. She’s alive.

That relieved him a little. Seeing Krysta drop like that had scared the hell out of him.

Melanie delved into a pocket, withdrew an autoinjector full of the antidote, flipped the lid, and jammed it against Krysta’s neck.

Nothing happened.

Bullets peppered Étienne’s chest.

Focus! David rebuked him. He and Seth must be listening in and monitoring the situation.

Étienne impaled the shooter. Dropping a sword, he grabbed the man’s automatic weapon and opened fire on the soldiers rushing toward Melanie and Krysta, still swinging his other sword at the soldiers closest to him.

More bodies sank to the floor.

Krysta’s eyelids fluttered, then lifted.

“Can you hear me?” Melanie asked her, leaning in close to draw eye contact and to be heard over the alarm and screams and sounds of battle.

Krysta nodded. Even from where he was, Étienne could see how sluggishly she responded.

“Can you move?”

Her hands twitched. Her feet, too. Slowly, she dragged her arms closer to her body. “Weak,” she whispered.

Melanie delved into her pocket again and took out another autoinjector.

Wait, Étienne said. He remembered Richart telling him Melanie had freaked out when Bastien had tested the antidote on himself because it was so strong it could kill an elephant. She had feared it might make his heart beat so fast that it would merely flutter instead of beating and cease pumping blood through his body.