Vampire Mine - Kerrelyn Sparks [79]
She started to tell him, Begone, but snapped her mouth shut. If he left, time would unfreeze. The truck was so close to Connor. He would have only a few seconds to react. He could teleport or jump out of the way at vampire speed, but what if he was disoriented for a second? Would he have enough time to escape, or would he be crushed by a massive truck?
Darafer frowned when she glanced nervously toward Connor. “Still hanging out with the parasite, I see.” He walked toward Connor and studied him with a disdainful look.
“Not much of a protector, is he?” Darafer snapped his fingers in front of Connor’s face. “I don’t know what you see in him.” He flicked a finger against Connor’s nose.
“Don’t.” Marielle stepped forward, then halted when Darafer’s eyes gleamed. She winced inwardly. She’d revealed a weakness.
“You like him.” Darafer gave her a smug smile. “Has he slept with you yet? Has he nestled between your lily-white thighs and popped your angelic cherry?”
She lifted her chin, determined not to be pulled into any more traps. “He is an honorable man.”
Darafer laughed. “Right. Tell that to all his victims with bite marks on their necks.” He leaned against the front grille of the truck, crossing his legs at the ankles and his arms over his chest. “He’s at my mercy, you know.”
“Leave him be.”
“Say you’ll come with me, and I’ll save him.”
“I don’t believe you.”
Darafer smiled. “You’re right. He’s on my list for hell, so I might as well take him with me.” He arched an eyebrow at her. “Why don’t you come with him? Then the two of you could live happily ever after.”
She scoffed. “No one’s happy in hell.”
“You’d be surprised.” A look of disgust flitted over his face, then faded away.
She watched him carefully. At the slightest indication that he was going to unfreeze time, she would need to act quickly.
He glanced up at the stars and sighed. “They’re using you, you know.”
“The Vamps? I agreed to help them.”
“Not the Vamps.” Darafer pointed up toward heaven. “The Big Kahuna. Don’t you think it was odd that you saved Roman Draganesti as a baby, and now he’s a leader among the Vamps?”
She shrugged. “I disobeyed. You know that. That’s why we’re both here.”
He snorted. “Disobeyed? Do you really believe that?” He pushed away from the truck. “You’ve been played, Marielle. All along. From the very beginning.”
She stepped back. “That’s not true.”
“Doesn’t it piss you off? You’re just a damned pawn, and they don’t have the courage to let you know.”
She swallowed hard.
He walked toward her. “They ripped your wings off, made you suffer, just so you could play your role in their stupid game.”
“It’s not a game!”
“But you could fool them all.” Darafer extended a hand toward her. “Stop being their pawn and come with me.”
“Never.” It couldn’t be true. This was just another trick. “Glory to God in the Highest,” she whispered.
“And on earth, war, pestilence, and despair toward men.”
She flinched. “Stop it.”
“Why should I? It’s all part of the big game. Good and evil, yin and yang, you and me. We need each other.” He stepped closer. “You know what, Marielle? I’m sick of being a pawn, too.”
He stroked a finger down her cheek. “We could pluck a few people off this rock and start our own planet. No war, no pestilence. We could make it perfect.” He touched her lips. “Just say the word, and we could be gods.”
She turned her head. Don’t listen to him. It’s all lies.
He leaned forward to whisper in her ear. “Come away with me.”
Fear coiled in her belly over the consequences of her next word. “Begone.”
With a frown, he stepped back. “Are you sure? Your precious little parasite will be crushed. Not exactly the traditional stake through the heart, but still, I seriously doubt he can survive having his brains and guts splattered all over the—”
“In the name of Jesus Christ, begone!”
Anger flashed in Darafer’s green eyes, then they turned black. His massive black wings unfurled.
Quickly, Marielle directed a narrow blast of