Vampire's Prey

Chapter 40: Rahlan

Previously:

A piece of metal bounces off the stone floor, and the ring echoes around the building. All our eyes snap to the foyer.

The door creaks open. Dim moonlight draws an outline around a man's frame on the other side. It's just enough to make out a cape across his broad shoulders and a curved sword in his hand.

Ivan steps back, pulling me with him. The bald man moves forward to block the aisle.

Heavy boots march over the stone floor, echoing around the room. It's a sound I've heard hundreds of times before. It can't be him. I walked for days. This is a human country. I covered my tracks.

He steps into the hall, and the light reveals his pale skin, his sharp jaw, his ink-black hair and his blood-red eyes. Rahlan.

The bald man draws his sword at the sight of Rahlan's vampiric features. If he engages Rahlan in a duel, he'll share Neil's fate.

Ivan has turned to stone. His brow is creased up, and he's glaring at Rahlan. He hates the idea of being so close to a vampire, and here one approaches, in the place Ivan has called home for the last few weeks – his sanctuary. He doesn't know that this vampire has any connection to me, but the look in his eye betrays that he wants Rahlan dead.

Rahlan's slow steps echo around the room. No one here poses any threat to him. His gait does not falter at the sight of the sword. He's not even looking at his opponent. His eyes are locked on me.

"Ivan is your kin," he says.

A shiver runs through my body. He knows the man standing beside me is Ivan, and he knows that he's my uncle. This is the man that he believes killed his father. He told me that in a sensitive moment, being open with me while hiding it from Ohan and Theron. I deceived Rahlan into thinking that Ivan was dead, I hid that Ivan was part of my family, and I ran from Rahlan to find him. Now my secret lays open by Rahlan's feet. This is the moment he's sought after for months, the moment he takes revenge on the leader of the Huntsmen.

Ivan glances at me, his eyes still burning. It didn't escape him that Rahlan spoke to me, in a room full of people he shouldn't know, he picked out the unassuming girl and spoke like he saw me yesterday. The story behind how I know Rahlan is far too much to cover in a few whispered words, especially to explain how I inadvertently led him here. Ivan seems to understand that, as his hateful stare returns to the vampire.

Rahlan stops just a few feet away from the bald man's blade. Is he waiting for me to respond? Should I speak to him as if no one else is in the room, to try moderate his temper and give my uncle a chance to survive? What would Ivan think of me then, as someone who speaks to a vampire like a companion? He'd never want to see me again.

Rahlan being here is truly the worst thing that could've happened. I'm the only one in this room that he'd think twice about cutting down, the only one who can stall him. I glance at my empty hands. My sword sits resting in the foyer, but it might as well be buried under the ground. If speaking doesn't work, throwing myself at Rahlan and latching onto his arms is my best chance to give Ivan some time to escape. Even after everything, I trust that Rahlan won't bring his blade down upon me.

I step forward, stopping only to glance back at Ivan and whisper a word, "Run."

Ivan's hand immediately grabs my arm, and he pulls me back beside him. Stumbling on my feet, I whip around and shoot him a sharp look. His face is hard, and his gaze looks right over my head. Does he not realize the danger he is in? Is this some misguided gesture to protect me? I know this vampire, and I can reason with him.