04 - Rise of the Lycans by Greg Cox - (ebook by Undead) Read Free Book Online

carrion.”
    Lowering his eyes, Lucian knelt to carry out the Elder’s command. The
lifeless carcass did not feel half as heavy as the terrible weight of Viktor’s
eyes upon him. Lucian prayed that he had not placed his very position in the
castle in jeopardy. As every lycan knew, a vampire’s memory could be both long
and unforgiving.
    I must be more careful in the future, he vowed. Or risk losing
everything.

 
 
Chapter Three
     
     
    The great hall of the keep dwarfed any other chamber in the castle. Ponderous
granite pillars supported the high vaulted ceiling, while arched doorways led
off to murky passageways lit by racks of torches. Dried rushes carpeted the
floor. Iron chandeliers hung from the ceiling, holding arrays of beeswax
candles. Rusty chains and manacles dangled from the pillars, as a reminder that
all who prospered within the keep did so only by the sufferance of the Elders.
The somber stone walls had witnessed bloody executions as well as courtly
celebrations.
    Sonja paid little attention to the familiar surroundings, which had been her
only home for more than two centuries now. She strode briskly through the hall
after leaving Hecate in the care of her grooms; to her relief, the horse’s wounds did not appear life-threatening. Still encased in her
gore-splattered armor, Sonja hoped to make it to the privacy of her own chambers
without further incident. She wanted nothing more than to shed her metal
carapace and perhaps indulge in a soothing tub. Alas, her father intercepted her
before she reached the spiral staircase leading up to her bedchamber on the
topmost floor of the keep.
    “You were sorely missed at Council,” he reproached her.
    She was in no mood for another one of his lectures. “There are other demands
on my time, you know.”
    “Yes, I see.” He swept a withering gaze over her battle gear. He had never
approved of her dressing like a Death Dealer. “I do hope then that you enjoyed
your little moonlight ride.”
    “I was patrolling ,” she said indignantly. As always, she chafed at her
father’s overprotective ways. Why shouldn’t she be a warrior like Amelia or her
mother? Other female vampires served among the Death Dealers. Why was her father
so determined to mold her into some pampered aristocratic lady instead? She
couldn’t imagine spending a lifetime as a dainty creature of the court, let
alone eternity.
    “You were disobeying ,” he shot back. He came up beside her. “Time and
again, I’ve told you to stay within these walls. You risk too much for a father
to ignore. You will leave the wolves to the Death Dealers.”
    She turned to confront him. “Why should my risk be less than theirs?”
    “They are not my daughters!” His voice quaked with emotion, betraying the deep love he felt for her. The outburst caught them
both by surprise, and he needed a moment to compose himself. “And they are not
council members. You are. And one night you will become an Elder, your
birthright should you endure long enough.” He leaned toward her, intent on
making her understand. “Sonja, you are well thought of at Council, but that is a
precarious thing. They grow tired of your games, your perpetual absences. The
dangers of the forest are no greater than those of the council chamber. You must
learn the dance of politics, to be ruthless and cunning. And, above all else,
you must be loyal to your family. To me.”
    Sonja held her tongue. She had not been unmoved by her father’s spontaneous
display of emotion; despite their frequent quarrels, she never doubted that he
cared for her profoundly. And yet his talk of duty and politics bored her to
tears, and sometimes made her feel like one of the caged werewolves in the
dungeon. Palace intrigues and diplomatic maneuvers held no attraction for her.
Where was the life, the passion, in such bloodless games? The prospect of
wasting her precious immortality thus filled her soul with dread. She’d sooner be
chased