Carpathian 22 - Dark Predator

yawning hole and pointed upstairs frantically.
    “You’ll take me there this time, or else, do you understand?”
    He was angry enough to bury her alive, she could see that. She nodded her head frantically. Deep inside her mind she could hear herself screaming against what she was about to do. Now or never. She had to end this, or die trying.
    No. Marguarita, bring him to me. Do not do this.
    For the first time, she actually felt panic in Zacarias. He would never understand, but she felt she had no choice. I love you. I’m sorry, but I will never give you up. Never. Nothing will induce me to do it. Please don’t stay with me through this.
    “Stop! Stop this right now.” Lea leaped to her feet and rushed DS. “You’re crazy. Absolutely out of your mind.” She flung herself at DS, pounding on his back.
    Esteban giggled, turning away from the pit to lean on his shovel, giggling. “Looks like you’ve got woman trouble, DS. Did you ever consider there is no such thing as a vampire?”
    DS shoved Marguarita hard and turned on Lea. “You fucking bitch. You could have had everything.” He gripped the front of her shirt and ripped it down the front, exposing her breasts.
    Marguarita gasped and slipped her hand into her pocket, finding the reassuring presence of the knife. She had no choice now. As angry as DS was, he would rape Lea right in front of them.
    DS threw Lea to the ground, stepping between her sprawled legs, his hands dropping to the zipper of his jeans. Esteban wiped his mouth and turned back to the pit, his gaze skittering away from the sight of his sister on the ground under a man who would surely rape her. He gripped his shovel and sank it deep. At once the grave erupted with small wiggling bodies, a thousand of them, pouring up from the bottom and out of the four sides. He screamed, jumped back and threw his shovel.
    DS whirled around as Esteban stumbled back, screaming away from the empty grave. Esteban ran toward the stairs. DS hissed a low warning, his hold over Esteban strong enough to stop him, but not enough to bring him back to the edge of the deep hole.
    Marguarita sank down beside Lea and gripped her hand. Both women edged back as far as they could, trying not to draw DS’s attention. Lea’s quiet weeping was in her ear, but with her acute hearing, she heard something else, a whisper of sound as thousands of legs brushed dirt.
    She hadn’t made a mistake had she? Surely Zacarias would have told her if he’d changed his resting place. I need to know you’re safe.
    For a moment there was silence, and she jammed her fist into her mouth to keep from sobbing. Her eyes burned. Lea put her head on Marguarita’s shoulder for comfort, trying to hold the edges of her ripped blouse together.
    Just as I need to know you are safe. And you are not.
    The bite to his voice made her wince, but at least she didn’t get the feeling of impending danger. Whatever was in that hole was not Zacarias.
    DS approached cautiously and peered down. Where the dirt had appeared brownish in color before, it was now speckled with black dots. Spiders crawled from the sides of the hole, from the bottom, and began filling the grave as he watched in horror. The bodies moved in a mesmerizing way, little legs crawling over one another to get to the top of the writhing pile, building higher as more spiders joined in.
    “He’s here,” DS shouted gleefully. “We’re getting close to him. He’s got to be using the insects to protect himself.”
    “I’m not getting near them,” Esteban declared. He sank down on the bottom stair, shoving his trembling hands through his hair. “They look hungry and, if they climb out of that hole, I’m getting out of here.”
    “You’ll do what I say.” DS studied the mass of bodies. The spiders emerged from tiny holes in the sides of the grave, and began crawling up as though seeking him.
    He shuddered and swung around to look at Marguarita and Lea. Marguarita knew her face was pale. She could see the horrible crypt of insects and her entire body recoiled. She pressed her lips together tightly, trying not to show that any second she might get up and run. She was more terrified of the spiders than she was of DS.
    She tried to be grateful that Zacarias had sent them. DS believed this was his resting place. As a stalling tactic, it was brilliant. But she was terrified of spiders. She closed her eyes and willed them all to go away.
    DS caught her wrist and yanked her up. “Now that