Carpathian 22 - Dark Predator

giving himself up to the sleep of the dead. Even then, Zacarias waited until the sun had begun its climb. He wanted to insure Ruslan was in a leaden state.
    With infinite stealth he dislodged from the ceiling and made his way to the master vampire’s resting place. Instantly Ruslan’s eyes snapped open. He hissed, a low sound of hatred. There was no movement, but that didn’t mean he wasn’t capable. Zacarias stayed out of the strike zone just to be certain.
    “What honor is this? Coming to me in my weakest hour?” Ruslan demanded.
    Zacarias’s eyebrow shot up. “Exterminating vermin is not about honor. Living with a code of conduct is honorable, Ruslan. That is what you always failed to understand. Killing is not honorable. This is my job. Honor demands I use whatever tool possible, whatever weapon, to destroy evil—and you are evil. There is no honor in the method of kill, only the fulfillment of a job that is necessary.”
    Ruslan’s cackle filled his mind. “You can rip out my heart here in this cavern, but you cannot bring the lightning so deep beneath the earth. We will see who survives come nightfall.”
    “I have no intention of ripping out your heart.” Zacarias approached the leaden figure with extreme caution. Ruslan was a powerful vampire and, as a hunter, he respected that power, knowing the master would not go easily to his end.
    Ruslan looked puzzled, his hollowed eyes filled with hatred and cunning. Bats dropped without warning, covering Zacarias’s body, biting with sharp teeth, trying to drain him for their master. Worms burst through the dirt walls and spiders crept from every crevice, all at the summons of the master. A few rats poked their heads out of the tunnel, beady eyes fixed on Zacarias.
    Zacarias dissolved under the weight of the bats, shifting quickly to put himself across the room. He blazed light through the room, a flash bright and terrible, very hot, a concentrated sun that singed the bats and drove the insects and rats away. He needed only a small amount of time.
    “You cannot keep that up forever,” Ruslan crowed, “and they are mine to command.”
    “It does not matter.” Zacarias was on him instantly, scooping the dead weight into his arms. The foul breath blasting his face disoriented him for just a moment. There was poison in that concentrated breath, but he shifted, taking the vampire’s rotting form with him.
    What are you doing? Ruslan demanded, switching to the Carpathian common path of communication, for the first time truly alarmed. Where are you taking me?
    To the surface. Your safeguards keep others out, but they do not keep us in.
    Zacarias knew the exact moment Ruslan understood what he was doing. Once through the tunnel and crack, he shifted again, bringing them both into the dawning sun. Ruslan’s mouth opened wide in a soundless scream of agony. With sudden effort, driven by sheer will and desperation, he buried talons deep into Zacarias’s skin.
    If I burn, then so will you.
    Zacarias sank with his burden to the ground, his strength nearly gone. He would not be able to enter the cave and he knew by the feel of the sun on his skin that he would not have enough time to unravel the safeguards.
    I love you, Marguarita. I am truly sorry for the mistakes I have made with you. Reach for my brothers, they will aid you when I am gone.
    Zacarias could not allow himself to think what would happen to her or of all the things he’d done wrong with her. He wanted his last memories of her to be held close, that feeling of complete, unselfish love she’d given him.
    Tell me where you are. I will not come to you, have no worries, but show me.
    She was calm. Utterly, completely calm. That was Marguarita, and for the first time he believed. She had been sent to him to save him from himself—his own personal miracle. If anyone could save him—she could—but he didn’t see how. Even by car, there was no way to reach him in time. He didn’t tell her that, what was the point?
    He was weary, so exhausted he could barely move.
    Don’t you dare give up.
    He loved that little bite in her voice.
    What are you smiling about? Ruslan demanded. You will die with me. Hurry. I will show you how to unravel the safeguards if you have the strength left to get me out of the sun.
    Zacarias shook his head. “You die this fine morning, Ruslan. No matter the cost to me, your evil will never walk the earth again.”
    Ruslan’s body writhed. Turned lobster red. Heated until he