As Darkness Falls by Riley Storm

Chapter Twenty-One

Lars chuckled, a wicked, vile sound, as he came at me.

My blood turned cold, and I stared at the weapon in his hands. It was a little over a foot long, the blade a strange, dark-colored steel, more charcoal than slate. The grip was a simple, leather-wrapped grip with a strap that Lars had wrapped around his wrist, ensuring that if he lost his grip, he’d keep the knife.

There was no energy or lights pulsing in the dagger. Nothing to indicate that a single nick on my skin would strip me of all life, dropping me dead on the spot. Yet, I knew it would. Vir had told me all about the Blade of Death and its powers.

Immediately, I started backpedaling, working to keep distance between Lars and me. Time. I needed time to figure out how best to fight him, to stop him from using the blade on me.

Maybe if I could get to one of Aaron’s weapons, or if one of his men was free—however, the thudding of feet through the household announced the arrival of more shifters. With a roar, Vir tore into them, causing more damage and mayhem with one arm than any three of Aaron’s men, all of whom were still engaged in their own fights.

It was up to me then. Vir would ensure nobody came to Lars’s aide, but nobody was coming to mine, either.

“Fine,” I hissed. “Just you and me, Lars. I think it’s time to teach you some lessons in manners.”

“Unruly pup,” Lars snarled, blasting me with a wave of Alpha command as he surged forward. “You will no longer be a nuisance for me.”

If I hadn’t been ready for the tactic, the sudden desire to submit might have surprised me enough to work. Lars was predictable, though, and I had been bracing for it. So instead of freezing, I howled my defiance and did the last thing I hoped he expected.

I ran right at him. The abrupt attack meant that his strike was delayed, and it came in slow. Bringing both arms up, I blocked his arm, the tip of the blade coming short of my face by mere inches.

Throat dry, I spun past Lars and slapped him on the ass as he passed.

“Olé!” I howled.

No, I have no idea why. I was improvising as I went along, my heart beating faster than the pistons of a race car engine, terrified that I was about to die by that horrid blade.

Lars must have seen red, because he came charging back at me across the stamped concrete patio behind Aldridge Manor, his face twisted with rage. He held the dagger low, and as he reached me, he tried to slice it through my stomach.

The move was so telegraphed that I kept looking for the feint almost until it was too late, and only then did I dance aside from the strike. Material ripped as the blade tip caught the swimsuit in the armpit, ripping through the elastic like it was nothing.

Gulp.

That had been too close.

Lars spun, and the Blade of Death came slicing in at my eyes. I dropped, letting my legs go limp, and it passed over my head by several inches.

This is crazy! Why are you fighting him? He’s going to kill you. One tiny nick, and poof, no more Dani. You need to disengage and move away. Now. Get out of here before you or any of the others are killed because you wanted to do this the “honorable” way.

The words ate at me. My conscience was right. This was all my fault. I had wanted to try and spare those who opposed us, and now someone, possibly myself, was going to die because of it.

Revenge was a poor motive, but the second I’d seen Lars, I’d let myself get swept up in it.

Angrily, I lashed out, kicking one leg from under Lars. As he hopped, trying to regain his balance, I drove the palm of my hand up into the elbow of the arm holding the dagger. Something crunched, and the lower half of his arm sagged suddenly, but the loop of leather wrapped around his wrist prevented him from dropping it.

But he also didn’t have a grip on it.

Lars roared with anger as I grabbed onto the knife, turned it toward him, and pushed with all my newfound strength, trying desperately to drive the point into his chest. Just a nick, that’s all I needed!

The Seguin Alpha had his working hand wrapped around one of my wrists, holding me back, but it was a battle he was slowly losing. By a fraction of an inch at a time, I was slowly overpowering him. I could do this! I could end his reign. No one else would have to suffer because of Lars.

I thrust harder, straining to bring the dark gray blade into contact with Lars’s skin.

The wrist strap broke, Lars pivoted abruptly, and I went stumbling past, falling to the ground and nearly cutting myself on the blade. That would have been embarrassing. Dying because of my own clumsiness. I’d never have lived that one down.

I rolled over the Blade of Death, snatching it up and coming to my feet, I lifted the weapon, stopping Lars in his tracks.

“Call them off,” I hissed, advancing on him. “Stop the fight.”

Lars laughed. “Absolutely not. We’re winning!”

I could see that Aaron and his men were fighting on two fronts now as more of Lars’s reinforcements came out of the house, trapping my allies between the two sides. It seemed that Lars was right. He was winning.

Time to change that.

Hissing in anger, I darted in quickly. Lars danced to the side, but he was watching the blade. Not the rest of me. Holding the weapon out to the side, I hit him in the legs like a linebacker. We both went down, but I had been prepared for it.

Like a snake, I was on him, slithering up until I had the blade at his throat.

“Call. Them. Off,” I snarled. “Or I’ll see if this really does work the way it’s supposed to. Do you want to find out?”

Lars froze under me, face twisting in rage, but he knew he’d been beaten. I wasn’t stronger than him, but I’d used his new toy against him and distracted him with it. If there was one thing I knew Lars was afraid of, it was death, and it stared him in the eye.

“Stop,” he called.

“Good,” I said. “Now tell them to go away. To go back inside.”

To my surprise, Lars laughed. “No,” he said.

I lowered the blade to his neck. “You’re not really in a position to bargain here,” I warned.

“You don’t want to do that,” Lars said with a confident chuckle.

“You’re right,” I admitted. “I don’t want to do it. But that doesn’t mean you haven’t earned it. Killing you would be the best thing for the pack. Not to mention, you sent a hit squad after me and you kidnapped my best friend and were going to threaten her life if I didn’t do as you want. Tell me again why I shouldn’t just kill you and save us all a boatload of trouble?”

“Because,” Lars said, madness tinging his eyes as he stared up at me unblinking, “if you kill me, you’ll never find your parents.”

I froze.