Immortals After Dark 09 - Pleasure of a Dark Prince

considered them noble vampires— as much an oxymoron for Garreth as
cuddly snakes
.
    “It’s the Horde,” Munro said. “Ivo and Lothaire, specifically.”
    Ivo was cowardly—Garreth had never considered him a threat. Lothaire, the Enemy of Old, was a different story altogether. “What the fuck are they doing here?”
    “The Horde might be… hunting Valkyrie.”
    Lucia.
This was what he’d sensed. Just as Garreth was about to hang up, Munro said, “Wait! There’s something else—”
    “No’ now!” Garreth yelled as he sprinted, slamming the phone closed so hard, it lay crushed in his palm.
    Hunting Valkyrie.
Lucia was in danger from the Horde, a filthy species responsible for the deaths of Garreth’s entire family. If he lost his mate to them as well…
    Never. Already turning.
    Only a dozen miles away. Letting the beast out of the cage.
Never wanted her to see me like this…
    An immense
horned
vampire filled the doorway of Val Hall, peering keenly at Regin and Lucia with eyes the color of blood.
    “What is
that
, Annika?” Regin drew one of her swords. “A vampire turned
demon
?”
    “Not possible,” Lucia said. “That’s supposed to be a true myth.” Whatever it was, it had made Annika run like hell, and she was a notorious vampire killer.
    “Has to be.” Annika panted. “Never seen one so powerful.”
    “Is he one of Ivo’s minions?”
    “Yes. Saw him giving orders to this one. They’re still searching for someone.”
    Lucia nocked her arrows just as two more vampires traced behind the demon.
    “Just go,” Annika hissed to them. “Both of you—”
    Ivo the Cruel materialized then, appearing directly in their living room, his red eyes surveying the scene.
    “Hello, Ivo,” Annika said gravely.
    “Valkyrie,” he responded with a bored sigh.
    When he sank onto their couch and carelessly kicked his boots up on their coffee table, Annika said, “You still have all the arrogance of a king. Though you aren’t one.” She shook her head. “Can
never
be one.”
    “Just a wittle wapdog,” Regin said with a snort. “Demestriu’s wittle bitch man—”
    Annika rapped the back of Regin’s head.
    “What?”
Regin stomped her foot. “What’d I say?”
    “Enjoy your taunts, Valkyries—they’ll be your last.” Ivo turned to the demon vampire. “She isn’t here.”
    “Who?” Annika demanded.
    “The one I seek,” he answered cryptically. Which Valkyrie had he been searching for all over the world?
    Suddenly, Lucia spotted the faint outline of a figure wavering behind Ivo.
Lothaire?
He’d traced into the room, lurking in the shadows, as sinister as she remembered, with his red-tinged irises and menacing face.
    When Annika caught sight of him as well, the vampire put his finger to his lips.
Why would he be hiding from Ivo, his cohort?
    Ivo rubbed the back of his neck, clearly sensing a presence behind him. But when he whipped his headaround, he saw nothing; Lothaire had already disappeared. Why wasn’t the Enemy of Old standing shoulder to shoulder with Ivo, poised for a fight? Or shoulder to head—Lothaire was as big as the demon, and both towered over Ivo.
    Seeming to dismiss his apprehension, Ivo ordered his minion, “Kill these three.”
    At once, the demon vampire teleported behind Annika with mind-boggling speed. The other two vampires traced for Regin and Lucia before Lucia could get a shot off. Regin traded sword strikes with one, while Lucia kicked the other in the chest, sending him back so she could take a shot. But he traced forward too quickly. Lightning flashed with increasing furor.
    Out of the corner of her eye, Lucia spied Annika getting in some good hits on the demon vampire. As he yelled, spraying blood, Annika kicked him between his legs so hard he crashed into the ceiling.
    But when he landed, he grabbed her neck and hurled her across the entire great room into the fireplace forty feet away. Annika hit headfirst, with so much force that the first layer of bricks turned to dust from the impact.
    “Ah, gods! Annika!”
    Just as another layer of bricks dropped onto her limp body, Regin scrambled from the vampire she’d been fighting to guard their fallen sister. Lucia dashed to Regin’s side, finally garnering enough room for a shot.
    “Lucia, the big one,” Regin said between breaths. “As many arrows as you can. I’ll pry his head off.”
    She added two arrows to the pair she’d already nocked, pulling the bowstring so tight, intending a kill