Bond of Darkness Read Online Free PDF Page A

twisted, falling out of the sky. Celeste squealed and jumped for them, then cursed when her hand bounced off a man's shoulder.
    "Photographer!" a vampiro shouted and pointed.
    The entire crowd fell silent and stared, following the long black exclamation mark of his arm. High above, a man leaned out of a window, a camera's damning black box clasped in his hands.
    A man growled, and another, and another. A great rumble ran through the throng like an avalanche's beginning. "
Sacré mille diables
!"
    Rafael yanked Celeste next to his chest.
    A great hawk lifted from the throng and flew at the interloper, leaving a golden toga behind on the cobblestones. Monsieur Armand had shapeshifted to go on the hunt.
    The spy ducked back inside, slamming the window shut. The horde roared and began to run toward him, wolves outpacing the others. Vampiros and prosaicos stormed down the sidewalk, howling for blood, trampling the vendors' pushcarts. They slammed into the mesnaderos—and the Texans swayed but managed to hold.
    The mob surged past them and raced across the street. Doors and shutters were ripped off the buildings there with inhuman strength to allow for faster access. From inside, somebody screamed but the crowd kept breaking in.
    There'd be no holding the rabble until they killed the bastard, raising blood lust in every vampiro who tasted him. And blood lust was an instinctive, demanding fire, long-lived and treacherous beyond belief. It was very unlikely only the photographer would die.
    "Come on, let's get out of here," Rafael ordered sharply. "We're heading for the
Matagorda Lady
."
    "Yes, sir," Ethan agreed and started issuing orders over the mind link. There was too much noise to do so verbally.
    They stepped down from the small dais and began edging toward the doors to the warehouse's antechamber, dodging wild-eyed vampiros. Rafael locked his arm around Celeste. Anyone trying to harm a priceless vampira would have to go through him.
    Are we breaking off negotiations
? Jean-Marie asked, his Colt graceful and deadly in his hand.
    Rafael didn't have to think twice.
No, the deal's almost done
.
    Do you think the photographer was the start of an assassination plot by Monsieur Armand
? Ethan asked, his voice almost casual.
    Damn town's a sieve for gossip
, snarled Jean-Marie, who'd first encountered conspiracies in the womb.
It would be impossible to keep such a large ball secret. Plus, he's been giving twice-weekly balls every Mardi Gras for years
.
    And his trigger-happy mesnaderos hates your guts, Ethan
, Rafael warned.
They'd do damn near anything to make you look the fool
.
    Including murder Don Rafael
, added Jean-Marie and shot an onrushing rioter, dropping him in his tracks.
As they tried the night you arrived
.
    Ethan cursed under his breath but didn't disagree.
    Celeste kicked Rafael, twisting and clawing to break free.
    "Be careful, Celeste! They'll kill you, too."
    "Let me watch!"
    He choked, bile rising in his throat. Surely she didn't know what she was asking for. He shuddered, remembering the screams echoing down the streets of a vampiro court's mountain capital, hour after hour during that endless winter night. Cries which still lingered in his dreams, underlain by the snick of knives slicing through flesh and the crunch of boots shattering bone.
    He started to touch her mind but withdrew. He had no right to force her into a changed opinion unless she threatened his life. Assuming he had the time—which he did not.
    Fighting every protective instinct, he carefully eased his grip on her.
    She promptly turned her head to look back over his shoulder and sighed. Rapturously.
    His hand clenched on the Mauser in his pocket.
    "Oh,
mon amour
, look! They've hung him out the window for everyone to take a bite!"
    Why the hell had he chosen this bloodthirsty bitch to sleep with? Unfortunately, he owed her his protection until the city settled down.
    If he was lucky, there was only one photographer.
    He snorted in disbelief