Free 03 - Evolution by Greg Cox - (ebook by Undead) Page A

Another dose of silver nitrate raced through Lucian’s throbbing
veins. Tendrils of yellow smoke rose from his lips and nostrils as his
internal organs combusted volcanically.
    Lucian, champion of the lycan
hordes, died at last.
     
    A few minutes earlier:
     
    Kraven hurled the ugly
truth in Selene’s face, savoring her shocked expression. “It was Viktor
who killed your family, not the lycans. It was he who crept from room to
room, dispatching everyone close to your heart!”
    He remembered laying eyes on Selene
for the first time, in those miserable stables six hundred years ago.
The female Death Dealer had been delectably mortal then, a vision of
nubile vulnerability in her soaked linen nightgown. If only Viktor had
let him ravish her that night, as Kraven had originally intended!
    This entire disaster could have
been averted if Selene had simply died with the rest of her
insignificant, mortal family.
     
    Later:
     
    Hidden away in one of the
underworld’s many shadowy nooks, Kraven watched as Selene and Michael
Corvin battled Viktor in the lowest level of the lycans’ subterranean
den. Water streamed from broken pipes and rain-filled gutters, flooding
the floor of the abandoned bunker. Viktor stood ankle-deep in the turbid
water as he throttled Corvin with his bare hands. The American’s hybrid
strength was not enough to save him from the Elder’s murderous grip.
Corvin gasped impotently for breath. The iridescent sheen of his
gray-blue hybrid flesh began to fade.
    Then Selene leaped past Viktor,
swinging the Elder’s own mighty broadsword. Her sleek black leathers
glistened wetly as she landed behind Viktor like a jaguar, still
clutching the double-edged sword. The Elder spun around and glared
angrily at his former protégée, enraged by her defiance. He drew a pair
of silver daggers from his belt.
    Unafraid, Selene waved the sword
before his eyes. Fresh blood ran down the length of the blade. A stunned
expression came over Viktor’s face as he realized that Selene had
already delivered a killing blow. A thin red line materialized across
the Elder’s countenance, stretching diagonally from his left ear down to
the right side of his collar. A look of profound disbelief filled
Viktor’s eyes.
    Fully half his skull slid away,
splashing into the filthy water around his ankles.
    Moments later, Selene plucked
Sonja’s pendant from the rubble. She pressed the gleaming emblem into
Michael Corvin’s palm.
     
    Marcus withdrew his fangs from Kraven’s throat. The
victimized vampire gasped in relief, but feared that it was already too
late for him. He had never felt so drained before, not even after the
most exhausting blood orgy. His entire body had been reduced to a dried
husk, stripped of every last drop of vitality. His mouth was as dry as
the Kalahari. His eyes were sunk deep into their sockets. Every breath
produced a spasm of agony. His bloody clothes felt like sandpaper
against his raw, dehydrated skin. An icy chill, infinitely more frigid
than the blizzard raging outside, penetrated the very marrow of his
bones. Kraven doubted if he could even stand under his own power
anymore. Only the Elder’s taloned pinions kept him upright.
    Centuries of immortality passed before his eyes. Kraven
had enjoyed many lifetimes of power and pleasure, but he was not yet
ready to die. The prospect of eternal oblivion filled him with mortal
dread. Not now! he thought pitifully. Not so soon!
    “Please,” he croaked painfully. “I… can still assist you.”
    Bright red blood was smeared all around the Elder’s
jaws. A hint of a smile lifted the corners of his lips.
    “You already have,” Marcus said.
    His wings snapped outward, tearing Kraven apart.

 
 
Chapter Six
     
     
    Michael couldn’t believe Selene planned to leave him behind again.
    “If I can plead my case,” she insisted, “there’s a
chance we’ll be granted sanctuary.” She slipped her black trench