Immortals After Dark 03 - No Rest for the Wicked

no prizes left. I have the last one of the three.”
    Her lips parted.
    “I suspected there might be problems and that I might need leverage. So I traced the siren and a ground dweller to the cavern behind us. Now there is one prize available to you—and it appears you will be accepting it as my gift to you.”
    Just then, Lucindeya the siren strolled out with her amulet, holding it above her heart. It disappeared. And for a moment, the area smelled of fire and damp woods.
    “Thanks, vamp. Remember what I said,” she purred, then cast a look of triumph at Kaderin. Lucindeya had confided to him that it would gall Kaderin to be assisted in spots of trouble. He’d assumed the siren simply didn’t want a vampire helping her competition, but Lucindeya had said that she would love to see Sebastian win Kaderin, because “nothing would bring down the high and mighty Kaderin like falling for a leech.”
    She’d sworn to the Lore—which she and the kobold seemed to take very seriously—that the surest way to lose Kaderin would be to help her, especially in a physical contest. So when Sebastian had first discovered Kaderin climbing, he’d had to stop himself from tracing her to the top, though he was sweating with fear for her.
    Then he’d seen her flung sideways like a rag doll.
    Kaderin eyed the siren, then turned to him. “You’d better hope Cindey doesn’t hum you a tune unless you want to be her lapdog.”
    “Please, Valkyrie,” Lucindeya interrupted as she readied for her descent, pulling gear from her pack. “As if I’d even clear my throat to snare a vampire.” She flashed a smile up at Sebastian as she hammered her anchor and threaded line. “No offense, vamp.” And then she began rappelling down.
    Once she was out of sight, Kaderin glanced past him, and her eyes widened. Sebastian turned to spy the kobold shambling down the long ice tunnel, his jaunty whistle echoing along the couloir.
    When Sebastian had asked the kobold if Kaderin was married or had children, the kobold had revealed that as far as anyone knew, she was single and had not “issued offspring.” Sebastian didn’t know how much credence he could give to the kobold’s words, since he’d also sworn that Kaderin didn’t eat or drink—anything.
    Sebastian turned back and found Kaderin had gone perfectly still, her eyes locked on the ground dweller’s every movement as he neared. It was as if a predator had spied prey.
    Without glancing away, Kaderin said, “Do you know that I hate kobolds almost as much as vampires? And Cindey was my stiffest competition at the last Hie.” She finally faced Sebastian. “So if you wanted to piss me off, you’ve succeeded.”
    “Kaderin, that was not my intention.”
    A branch of lightning struck in the distance across a cloudless night. He now knew that it came from her. “You’ve put me in an untenable position.” Removing her gloves, she neared until she was toe-to-toe with him. “And do you know what else you’ve done?” She reached up her delicate hand and gently brushed the back of her smooth claws down the side of his face. Just as he was about to close his eyes, she continued, “You’ve underestimated a Valkyrie.”
    Like a blur, she dropped down to a crouch, one leg straight out, sweeping around to stab the kobold through the throat with her cleats. As she rocked closer to the trapped creature, her arm shot out, then she gave her leg a decisive yank back to dislodge the being.
    She was on her feet again in the blink of an eye, amulet in hand. Sebastian couldn’t speak. Giving him a bored look, she leisurely curled one finger around it at a time and held it over her heart. Until it was... gone.
    The kobold lay writhing, hands clamped to its throat and gushing yellow blood.
    When it continued to thrash, she exhaled impatiently—then shuffled her foot at it, brushing it over the edge to fall thousands of feet. As Sebastian stared in shock, she tilted her head. Then, as if thinking, While I’m here... , she plucked the siren’s anchor out of the rock. She yanked until she’d dislodged the next one down as well, then let go. A scream carried on the wind.
    Stunned by her sudden viciousness, he snapped, “I was responsible for this. Why not take the prize I hold?”
    “They’d been warned.” She yanked out her ice axes. “But next time, I will take yours. I promise you.”
    Then she simply dropped from the ledge.
    He dove for her, reaching out, but she’d disappeared. He