A Matter of Honor Read Online Free PDF

collapsing on top of her. “At least, not yet.” He rolled onto one side, supporting his head on a hand. In the dim illumination from the banked gaslight near the door, she could see him smiling.
    “You’re looking pleased with yourself.”
    He laughed. “You should see yourself. You’re rosy as a newborn. You were made for this, Melis.”
    “Oh she was, was she? Funny, that’s the same thing you used to tell me.”
    “Janika!” Gerald was on his feet so fast, hands raised to call power, that Melis didn’t see how he could have managed it. “How’d you get past my wards?”
    Melis slammed up her own wards and jumped off the bed.
    “I’ve been waiting…darling.” An apparition wavered in one corner of the room. “And for far longer than I thought I’d have to, dear husband, given your carnal appetites. Must have done your fucking elsewhere, eh?”
    “What is this?” Melis hissed at Gerald. “Some kind of trap?” Hackles on full alert, she wondered just what kind of game he’d been playing with her.
    “She used sex as a gateway to subvert my wards. I’m not sure how she could have done that, but she did.”
    Laughter with a crazed edge made Melis’s skin crawl. Vampire laughter was eerie. High-pitched and discordant, it pounded against her wards. Janika was becoming more substantial. A cascade of waist-length blonde hair fell over a black robe belted with crimson. Thinking it might be easier to strike a killing blow before the vampire was fully corporeal, Melis drew Earth magic and sent it spinning across the room.
    Janika’s form flickered. She became visible again a few feet away. “Don’t waste your magic, witch,” she sneered. “I am far more powerful than even Gerald ever dreamed of being—and his cock’s not the only part of him that’s big.” The vampire began counting off on her fingers. “Big ego, big ideas, big plans. Only place he’s small—”
    “Enough,” Gerald roared, moving between her and Melis. His hands wove an arcane pattern in the air that made it crackle with magic. “Be gone, blood sucker. You have no congress inside this house.”
    The acrid taste of fear filled Melis’s mouth. She added power to Gerald’s working, hoping something would faze the vampire, but Janika seemed to feed on their magic. She grew more solid by the minute.
    “What do you want?” Melis asked, trying to buy time so she could think up some spell that might immobilize the dark creature.
    Pale blue eyes gleamed. “My child. And my husband.” Janika took a step toward Gerald. “Admit it, dear. You’ve missed me.” Fangs curved downward, visible when she smiled.
    “Never.” He lobbed more power toward her. His casting glowed blue in the banked gaslight of the room. Janika raised a bored eyebrow; the ball of energy dissipated. Gerald drew a hand back. It froze in midair. The air grew thicker, pulsating with blue-white light. Gerald’s hands fell to his sides. He took a jerky step forward.
    “No!” Melis screamed. Shoving forward she ran into an invisible barrier that seared her. Chanting furiously, she drew magic to make the obstruction visible. Thank the goddess, it wasn’t very long. She sprinted for the end; it moved right along with her. Horror sent ice chips skittering down her spine. She’d never run up against sorcery this powerful. She could see the weave in the barrier. It glittered with tiny pin pricks of flame.
    Melis understood she had to find a way through if she were going to save Gerald. Desperate, heart beating a staccato rhythm, she scooped his shirt off the floor to give her some protection from the heat and leapt toward him again. He’d been shuffling forward. Only about two feet separated him from Janika and her shiny fangs.
    The door banged open. “Mother!”
    His child’s voice must have released him from Janika’s compulsion spell because Gerald spun. “Antoinette. Leave now.”
    The little girl reached up and turned the jet on the gas lantern. Melis