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  Sommers sprang to his feet. He gazed around at the gathering crowd, and smiled. ‘Nothing like an audience to get the juices going.’ He lifted his hands, sword gripped tightly in one. ‘Who wants to see a vampire die?’

  ‘You’re crazy, man,’ someone called out.

  Sommers’s smile widened. He brandished the wretched blade and brought it down, stopping it a hair’s breadth from my neck.

  Laura screamed.

  ‘I want to enjoy every minute of this.’ He brought his face down to mine. ‘You’re not going to die quick. I want to see the fear, the terror in your eyes as I take you apart, piece by piece.’

  Beads of sweat trickled into my eyes and my body trembled from weakness as Sommers laid the flat blade of the sword against my cheek.

  ‘Don’t you touch him!’ Laura screamed.

  I couldn’t move. My thoughts were with Laura and our babe, who I would probably never see. I swallowed hard and closed my eyes awaiting his blow.

  Stay alive! Stay alive and come back to me.

  Laura.

  ‘Nah, I’m keeping you for last. You’re my dessert. Your fanghead friends can go first.’

  ‘Aarghh!’ He kicked me hard then strode to where Marcus knelt, his head bowed low to the ground.

  Alec! I love you! Please ... try to move, crawl away. Anything. Stay alive!

  Just to see her face again, to hold her in my arms.... I grit my teeth, dug my nails into the ground and clawed my way along the grass, away from Sommers.

  Sirens!

  Yes! The police are coming. The relief in Laura’s voice reflected my own. But they weren’t here yet.

  ‘Ready to meet your maker?’ Sommers stood poised above Marcus, sword held high.

  No! Grandfather!

  I held my breath, anger coursing through me at my utter helplessness.

  People screamed. Some threw rocks and stones at him. Many met their mark but he appeared impervious, the rocks bouncing off him without leaving a mark.

  More sirens. Flashing lights. Uniformed police spilled from cars and paddy wagons, tasers and guns aimed. They surrounded Sommers as he stood over Marcus, shouting at him to drop the weapon. From their talk, they were reluctant to take down one of their own.

  ‘C’mon DI, put the thing down. Everything’s going to be okay. Just drop it.’

  He didn’t.

  Ignoring them, his gaze flew to me. ‘Looks like you’ll be first after all.’ He kicked Marcus aside, strode over to me and planted his foot on my chest. The tip of the sword was aimed directly over my throat.

  No! Leave him alone!

  ‘Put the weapon down! Now!’ police voices yelled.

  ‘Just ... shoot him!’ I croaked out. Drained of nearly all strength, I relied on the police to do their job and hoped Sommers didn’t plunge his sword into me before they did.

  His features twisted in a semblance of a smile. ‘I want to savour this moment.’

  ‘Nooooo! Matt! Don’t do it! Please, please, please ...’

  ‘Take all ... the time ... you need.’ I turned my head toward the police. ‘Shoot ... him!’

  ‘Taser! Taser! Taser!’ Police fired and Sommers cried out, his body contorting and jerking with electrical shocks.

  The sword dropped from Sommers’s hand, nicking my throat as it fell to stick in the grass. My neck stung. That was close. Any nearer to the middle of my throat, and I would’ve been skewered. Within an instant, the wound began to heal.

  Two police grabbed me and dragged me to safety as others pinned Sommers to the ground. ‘You hurt, mate?’ one asked me.

  ‘I’m fine. He missed.’ Her voice echoing in my mind, Laura cried with relief. I sent to her, ‘I’m all right, darling. It’s all right.’

  ‘Not from what I saw.’ The cop’s gaze focused on my neck and down the length of the cut on my coat, brows drawing together when he saw no corresponding injuries.

  ‘Good leather.’ Far enough away from the Pazu blade, some of my strength returned, and I was able to stand and watch the evolving scene.

  Marcus and Sam joined me. ‘Deus! Glad to see you alive, my boy.’ Marcus thumped me on the back.

  ‘That makes two of us.’

  Little did the police know they were doing our job for us. Soon Sommers would be arrested, and that damn sword confiscated. With any luck, I’d arrange for Richard to obtain it for us sometime later so it could be destroyed. I couldn’t have planned it better.

  A smile stole across my face.

  Amidst all the shouting, and being pinned to the ground, Sommers turned his head toward me.

  ‘You fucking fanghead!’ He threw off the men holding him down like they were made of paper and shot to his feet. He grabbed the sword. Holding it high, he came straight for me.

  Oh! Laura sucked in a breath.

  ‘Drop it! Drop it or I’ll shoot!’

  ‘Taser him again!’

  Three tasers hit their target. He should’ve been completely incapacitated. There was enough power in those Tasers to floor an elephant, yet he still managed to stagger to his feet before finally collapsing.

  It was unnerving to see a Pazu in all its strength.

  Another police car swerved to a stop near us. The door swung open, and Delaney charged out. He squatted next to Sommers, who lay writhing on the ground. ‘Matt! Look at me.’

  ‘Kill the ... fangheads!’ Sommers stopped twitching. He studied Delaney a moment, then tried to rise.

  More police closed in, Tasers at the ready, some with guns.

  ‘Stay where you are, Matt. Don’t move.’ Delaney placed a hand on his shoulder and kept him on the ground while he fished out handcuffs. ‘You have to come with me. We have the youths who burnt down the Lebrettan place. They confessed everything. We know you’re involved. I’m sorry to do this, but’ —he took on an official tone— ‘Matthew Sommers, you’re under arrest for complicity in arson with intent to murder.’

  Sommers snarled, pushed him aside and sprang to his feet, sword in hand. ‘I thought you were on my side. You understood. They’re vampires ... fangheads. They’re not human!’

  Delaney paled and took a step back. ‘Put the weapon down, Matt.’

  ‘If you don’t get out of my way, I’ll have to kill you too.’ He pointed the sword at Delaney’s chest.

  Shots rang out. Sommers fell to the ground, his body riddled with bullets. Not even a Pazu could survive that. Yet, in spite of our enmity, I automatically surged forward to give what medical aid I could. But the power of the sword held me back.

  His heartbeat stuttered then fell silent, and I sensed the withdrawal of his essence.

  Sommers was dead.

  Laura’s breath hitched. Since we were still psychically connected, the same tremor of shock that ran through her hit me. I hadn’t expected this.

  Oh Matt! She cried.

  I’m sorry you had to see that. I did not wish that for him. I had more like several years in jail for him in mind or a complete mind wipe with no chance of reversal.

  Neither did I. I ... feel sick.... Her presence retreated from my mind.

  After the initial shock passed, I couldn’t but thank whatever providence arranged it this way. His death did not come at my hands. I could look Laura in the eye with a clear conscience.

  The police seized the Pazu sword and bagged it. Marcus, Sam and I stood at a distance and watched as the ambulance arrived and took Sommers’s body away. I told them to head back to Bondi, to let Amanda and our Brethren know the danger was over.

  Delaney came to me. For a few moments neither of us spoke.

  ‘Off the record,’ he began, voice strained with emotion. ‘Tell me how this started.’

  I did.

  When I ended, he turned to me with red-rimmed eyes. ‘I don’t hold you responsible for what happened. The Matt Sommers I knew was not the same man I saw tonight. He was ready to kill me, and he nearly killed you.’

  What could I say? I simply nodded.


  ‘I’ve seen the work you do in the hospital, the lives you’ve saved and the glowing testimonials. You strike me as a good man, considering what you are. But I’ve arrested many killers who came across as good men.’

  So why should I be any different? He didn’t have to say the words. The implication was there all the same. At least he was being candid.

  ‘John Philip Reynold. Portrait artist. Painting of his is hanging in a gallery in Double Bay. It’s of Laura. The artist seems to be missing. Tell me what you know about it.’

  My stomach took a deep dive. Damn Jean-Philippe! ‘I believe you know the answer to that already.’

  ‘I’d prefer to hear it from you.’

  Two choices faced me: either mesmerise him or tell him the truth and hope for the best. If I resorted to the former, then it wouldn’t be too hard to destroy the evidence by breaking into the gallery, stealing the portrait and wiping the minds of the staff.

  It was a definite option.

  But I thought I’d try the second option first. Delaney had been fair with me all this time. The least I could do was return the favour. I told him my side of the story.

  Delaney listened, nodded once or twice, sharp but desperately sad eyes locked on mine. ‘I see,’ he finally said. ‘I’m dropping the inquiry against you. Go away, Dr Munro. Don’t let our paths cross again.’

  Two nights later, and we were back on the jet, flying out to Scotland. The Brethren had been placated knowing the Pazu killers had been caught and would be spending a long time in jail. They weren’t demanding a new princeps, which was the main thing.

  Before we left, I’d arranged for the Pazu sword to mysteriously disappear from the police evidence room in a few months’ time—after everything had died down. Amanda and Richard would see to its destruction. As far as I was concerned, the Pazu threat was over.

  I sat back and closed my eyes, letting my thoughts wander to Drunvela ... to Laura.

  Peace for now ... I hoped.

  Chapter 26 - Curse’s End

  Five Months Later

  LAURA

  ‘Ooh!’ I think I just had a contraction.

  Alec and I had been sitting on the sofa in our suite, oohing and aahing over our baby’s ultrasound pictures. She looked so perfect with a sweetly rounded head and button nose. So adorable. I was recalling the day, just having gone twenty weeks and squirming as Alec squirted the cold gel across my skin.

  ‘Sorry, darling. I’d warm it up if I could.’

  He and Jake had turned one of the guest rooms into a makeshift maternity ward. Every conceivable device for monitoring the baby’s growth and my health had been purchased, including a state-of-the-art ultrasound machine. They’d even set up a mini ward in the sepulchre itself, in case there was a complication.

  I prayed there wouldn’t be.

  I’d linked my arms behind my head. ‘Pity summer’s so short here. She’ll be born when it’s already freezing. Out there.’ I jerked my thumb in the direction of the witch’s tomb.

  ‘That’s Scotland,’ he said with a grin, gliding the scanner thing across my swelling belly. ‘Perfect.’ His grin grew and lit his face as a clear image of our baby appeared on the ultrasound. ‘It’s a ...’ Mouth still open, he studied me, one eyebrow raised. ‘Want to know what the sex of our baby is?’

  Excitement rushed through me, and I raised myself up. ‘Show me and let me guess.’

  He moved the curser thing around to give me a clearer view.

  ‘It’s a girl, right?’

  ‘And she’s sucking her thumb.’ His grin couldn’t have been wider.

  Such a rush of love washed over me as I’d never experienced before. If not for the icky gel, I would’ve run my arms over my belly to give her a mummy hug.

  Our baby.

  I couldn’t take my eyes from the screen. A little girl. My heart leapt, and I remembered a scene, a thought Alec had shared with me—so long ago now, it seemed—of a raven-haired, blue-eyed baby girl giggling while being bounced on her father’s lap. And here, on the screen, was that precious little girl. Had he had a premonition?

  ‘Did you know we’d have a girl?’

  He shook his head. ‘It’d just popped in from nowhere.’

  We’d exchanged glances, wondering if it was a coincidence. I tucked that thought away for later.

  As we lovingly gazed at our baby’s first photos, Alec became silent, and his smile faded. He angled his body to face me fully. ‘Laura, do you remember when we discussed what could happen when the curse is lifted?’

  ‘Sure.’ I waved my hand with the serpent ring. ‘These little beauties will probably give up the ghost.’ I wondered if they’d uncoil and fall off or just turn into an ordinary piece of jewellery I could slip on and off at will. ‘Will the telepathy thing go as well? I’m going to miss it if it does.’

  He shrugged. ‘We’ll soon find out.’ He gave me a wicked grin. ‘It was fun getting into your head.’

  ‘Until I knew how to block you out.’

  He chuckled, for sure recalling the many times he knew what I was thinking before reluctantly sharing with me how he did it.

  Cheeky vampire.

  He became serious again. ‘There’s something else. There’s ... a possibility the ward will fail too. Luc’s rings are connected to the witch’s magic. When one fades, so will the other.’

  ‘Makes sense, I suppose. We haven’t really needed the ward since we arrived. It’s been quiet. And afterwards, it won’t really matter. Will it? There’ll be nothing left to hide.’

  ‘True too.’ He sounded convinced, but the way his brows were drawn down and that faraway look in his eyes meant he had doubts.

  ‘So, what are you planning?’ Or rather, what had he already planned?

  ‘I’ve asked Dougal to post extra armed sentries at the ward’s edge and along the route back here. Traps have been set, too.’

  I was about to ask if there was something he should tell me, like, was there another rebellion brewing, when ‘Aaaahhh!’ The film dropped from my hand as my first cramp hit. If I didn’t know better, I’d say the muscles in my lower back and abdomen were doing their best to form a pretzel. ‘I think ... I’ve just had a contraction.’

  For a second, Alec just gawked at me like a deer caught in headlights. ‘But you’re not due for anther two weeks.’

  ‘Sorry. I’ve got no control over this,’ I shrugged. ‘It’s early stages, anyway.’

  For the next few hours, my contractions increased until they were about every twenty minutes apart. Alec paced our suite when he was not following me around, timing each one. Then they reached less than five minutes apart. He helped ease me into the sofa as my back ached too much to stand.

  ‘Let’s see how far you’re dilated,’ he said after the last forty-five seconds contraction.

  I lay back and let him examine me.

  Someone banged on the door. ‘Laura? You ‘kay?’

  ‘Not to worry, Kari. I’m fine. Just early stages of labour.’

  Despite my assurances, the door burst open, and a cyclone in hot pink burst in. ‘Labour? That means it’s coming now, right?’ Kari’s eyes could’ve doubled for dinner plates, they were that wide. She had a front-row view of my fanny.

  ‘Kari, shut the door!’

  ‘You’re about eight centimetres dilated and’ —his eyes widened— ‘ninety percent effaced.’ His gaze panned to mine. ‘Honey, I think we need to get you down to the sepulchre.’

  Whenever Alec called me honey, he was worried. More than a century earlier, he had lost his first wife and baby in childbirth. It haunted him. I could see it in his eyes.

  He pulled down my dress and helped me sit up. ‘It’s time, Laura.’

  It was late autumn, and although it hadn’t yet snowed, the ground was frosty, the air icy. Sam and Dougal had spent the previous months setting up a temporary generator for the medical equipment and lighting they’d installed inside. Everything to make me as safe and comfortable as possible. But it w
as still a tomb, a cold mausoleum stinking of death. I had no intention of lying on a stone sarcophagus until absolutely necessary, when I knew the baby was definitely coming.

  The door burst open, and Jake and Dougal rushed in. Behind them, others stood looking in.

  ‘Laura—’ Jake began.

  I held up my hand. ‘I’m fine. Really. No need to be worried.’

  ‘Och, lass.’ Dougal knelt by my side and took my hand. ‘We couldn’t help listening. We can feel it’s time.’ His gaze darted to my belly. ‘Birthing’s a serious matter. We ... I want you and the wee bairn safe.’ His eyes were filled with concern. That was Dougal. Over the time I’d spent in Drunvela, I’d come to love him as a brother.

  Touched, I kissed his cheek, and while Alec and Jake conferred, I asked him to help me up. I needed to go to the bathroom. As he did, the effort caused a strange popping sensation. A trickle of fluid flowed down my thighs and my legs, creating a small puddle on the carpet.

  ‘Oh no!’ I glanced from the floor to Alec. ‘My waters just broke.’

  Kari’s mouth dropped open, and conversation stopped as all eyes turned to me. Then everything happened at once.

  ‘Kari, get Laura’s wrap.’ At Alec’s command, she dashed into the bedroom, and within the space of a heartbeat, she was back, wrapping it round me like I was a parcel.

  ‘Ready?’ Alec’s concerned eyes bored into mine. I didn’t need the mind-reading abilities of the ring to know what was going on in his head—the fear that history was repeating itself.

  ‘As I’ll ever be.’ I smoothed back the hair from his brow. ‘I’m going to be fine. Our baby’s going to be fine. Everything’s going to be okay. Do you hear me, Alec Munro?’ I believed that with every fibre of my being.

  A tight smile graced his lips, and with the slightest of nods, he scooped me up and ran, putting into action the procedure we’d been rehearsing for months.

  ‘Breathe, Lolly, breathe.’ Kari ran alongside us, actually doing the motions. She’d been watching more pre-natal videos than I had.

  ‘I’m okay, Kari. Really.’ Until the next contraction.

  Alec’s jaw was set hard. Something else was bothering him. Had it to do with what he and Jake had been talking about? ‘What did Jake tell you?’