She would not be forced into walking away.

Not on this occasion, she suddenly told herself. She had allowed herself to be humiliated out of society. To be condemned by her parents and thrown out of their lives.

Had she been older and wiser, she would never have given them such power over her. Nor would she have wasted so much of her life regretting what was no more than a mistaken trust in another.

She would prove to herself that she had changed. That she was now a woman who could face bravely whatever life chose to throw at her.

And so she had forced her reluctant feet to carry her back into the cramped vestibule.

That was when she had suddenly been struck with a dangerous plan.

She could not hope to match the vampire's strength, but she could match his cunning. If only she could wrench free the shutters, then she would have the perfect weapon to battle a creature of the dark.

With a last jerk, the heavy shutter flung open. Jocelyn ignored her throbbing hands and glanced out the broken panes of the narrow window. Although darkness still shrouded the nearby woods, there was an undeniable glow of dawn upon the horizon.

From the stairs she could hear the unmistakable sounds of a battle being waged, and her heart clenched in fear.

"Oh, Lucien, hold on," she muttered in low tones, silently willing the sun to rise.

For what seemed to be an eternity she stood there trembling as she desperately watched for the first rays of sunlight to filter over the trees. And then, at long last, a bright glow washed over her and tumbled into the shadowed room.

Hurriedly turning about, Jocelyn moved through the slender beam of sunlight, bending down to make a distinct mark in the thick dust upon the flagstones. Then, just as swiftly, she pulled the shutter closed, careful to ensure that it appeared firmly nailed in place.

Only then did she turn toward the stairs and call out in a loud voice, "Amadeus. I have the Medallion. It is yours if you still desire it."

There was a thick pause before she heard Lucien moan in dismay. "Jocelyn, no."

"Yes, Lucien." She did not need to feign the decided quaver in her voice. "I will not allow you to be harmed."

"Bring me the Medallion," Amadeus commanded.

"No."Jocelyn sucked in a steadying breath, her nerves so raw that she could barely think straight. "You must first a.s.sure me that Lucien is able to leave without harm."

"Of course." The oily voice of the traitor moved closer to the stairs. "You have my word.

Now bring me the Medallion."

Jocelyn grimaced, wondering if the evil man truly thought she would accept his word. For heaven's sake, he had kidnapped, tortured, and murdered without compunction. Why would he not lie?

"Not until Lucien is here beside me."

She could hear a rasp of anger float through the air before the vampire was regaining command of his composure.

"Very well." There was a faint rustling, and then Jocelyn could see Lucien making his way up the stairs, closely followed by Amadeus. Her breath caught at the bronze countenance that was cut and battered almost out of recognition. His lean body had fared no better, and his coat was tattered to reveal several wounds that were bleeding in an alarming manner. Smiling cruelly at her horrified expression, Amadeus held out his skeleton hand. "Now. The Medallion."

Jocelyn licked her suddenly dry lips, her heart painfully trapped in her throat. If her plot failed, then Lucien would be killed and she would once again be at the mercy of this horrid monster.

No, she firmly thrust the traitorous thoughts aside.

She would not fail. Straightening her shoulders, she met the feverish gaze with a stubborn determination.

"Not until you have allowed Lucien to pa.s.s."

Amadeus snarled at her bravado. "I will endure no tricks."

"No tricks." Slowly she reached up to remove the Medallion from her neck and held it out.

"No, Jocelyn," Lucien gasped.

She ignored his outburst as her gaze remained on the wary vampire. "Send him to me."

There was a long pause before Amadeus reached out to push Lucien toward her. "Go to her."

She forced herself to remain in place as Lucien painfully staggered forward, his hand covering a gaping wound that spilled blood over his fingers.

"Jocelyn," he gasped weakly, his eyes glazed with agony, "do not do this."

"I must, Lucien," she said softly. "Forgive me."

"No..."

"Enough," the vampire growled, moving forward with an icy fury. "I will have the Medallion."

Jocelyn gave a nod of her head. "Very well. Take it."

Sending up a desperate prayer, she tossed the Medallion toward the spot she had marked upon the floor. It arched through the dim shadows before landing upon the dust. At the same time Lucien gave a wrenching moan.

"No."

With a gloating laugh, the vampire was already scurrying toward his prize.

"Too late, Lucien. Your foolish s.l.u.t has already given the Medallion of her free will. It is now mine."

"Amadeus," Lucien choked.

Sinking to his knees, Amadeus reached his fingers toward the amulet that glowed with a golden light.

"Already I can feel the power. Glorious power..."

Lost in his haze of l.u.s.t, the vampire did not notice as Jocelyn suddenly turned and reached for the shutter. He did not even realize his danger until a rosy shaft of morning sunlight angled through the window to land directly upon his crouched form.

For a heartbeat the world seemed to halt, then to Jocelyn's amazement a tendril of smoke rose from the vampire. It was swiftly followed by a sudden flare of fire that engulfed Amadeus even as he struggled to his feet.

"No," the tortured vampire screamed, futilely attempting to bat out the flames that were consuming him.

In horror Jocelyn watched Amadeus stumble about the room, his shrieks sending shivers down her spine. He was being burned alive, his body turning to ash as he fell to the flagstones and gave one last scream of fury.

Silence descended, and with agonizing slowness the flames flickered out one by one. Jocelyn remained locked in sick disbelief until at last there was nothing left but the gruesome darkness upon the dust.

Heavens above, she had done it.

She had killed a vampire and saved Lucien.

Thirteen.

With her horrified gaze still upon the black marks on the flagstones, Jocelyn was at last shaken out of her shocked disbelief as Lucien gave a low groan and sank to his knees.

Shaking off the odd fog that clouded her mind, Jocelyn hastily lowered herself beside his weak form.

She had not gone through all of this only to have Lucien die on her now, she silently swore, her hands reaching out to stroke the satin of his hair.

"Lucien, you are wounded."

"Give me a moment," he murmured, his voice so low she could barely discern his words.

"Shall I go for a doctor?"

With an effort he lifted his head to regard her with a strained smile. "A doctor would be of little use to me, I fear."

She bit her lip at his teasing words. "Oh... of course."

"Do not fear. I heal very quickly."

Hoping that he was not merely attempting to disguise how injured he truly was, Jocelyn shifted so that she could wrap her arms about him and pull him against her. She needed to have him close. She needed to feel the beat of his heart and his sweet breath against her cheek.

Instantly she was surrounded by his warm strength, and she could at last draw in a deep breath. There was a great comfort in simply having him near.

"I am not hurting you, am I?" she demanded in concern.

"No." He shifted so that they were both leaning against the hard stone wall and released a faint sigh. "This is much better."

Jocelyn buried her face in his shoulder, breathing deeply of his masculine scent. She was still reeling from her horrifying experience, and while she had never allowed herself to doubt that Lucien would come to her rescue, she could not deny that the past few hours had tried her nerves to the very limit.

Confronting a crazed vampire would have terrified the bravest of souls.

"Lucien, I was so frightened," she whispered in broken tones.

Surprisingly he placed his fingers beneath her chin to tilt her countenance upward. The golden eyes glittered with a smoldering fire.

"Unfortunately you were not frightened enough."

"What?"

"Why did you not flee when I commanded you to?"

She wrinkled her nose at his stern tone. To her relief, she could already sense him regaining much of his strength.

"Because I do not take commands from you, Mr. Valin," she reminded him in crisp tones.

He smiled wryly, his thumb absently stroking the line of her lower lip.

"Eventually I will manage to recall that pertinent fact, Miss Kingly."

Her own smile was weak, but a new warmth was beginning to battle the chill that had filled her.

"I do hope so."

His expression became somber as he allowed his gaze to roam openly over her pale countenance and tumbled curls.

"Still, you should not have taken such a risk."

"I could not leave you."

"It was too dangerous-"

"Lucien," she interrupted firmly. "Would you have left me behind?"

His lips thinned at her logic. "It is not at all the same."

"Of course it is." She met his gaze squarely. "I have enough regrets in my life. Would you have me add hating myself for fleeing like a coward?"

He let out a resigned sigh at her adamant expression. "Of course not. But you are forbidden ever to do such a thing again. My heart could not bear the strain."

Despite the welcome warmth that surrounded her, Jocelyn gave a violent shudder. It would be years before she would recall this day without a flare of fear.

"I hope there shall be no need. Unless there are any other vampires stalking me?"

He shifted so that his arms were locked firmly about her. "Not to my knowledge."

"Thank goodness."

With obvious reluctance Lucien turned to glance toward the faint remains of the powerful vampire. A brief anger flared over his elegant features before they softened with regret.

"How did you conjure such a clever scheme?" he demanded softly.

Jocelyn grimaced, pressing even closer to his hard body. She might feel deeply relieved that Amadeus was no longer a threat, but it was utterly unnerving to consider that she had brought death to anyone, even a vampire.

"Not clever, only desperate. I recalled you saying that a vampire who had taken the life of a human could not bear sunlight."

"The bane of blood l.u.s.t," he murmured.