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It was a clever ainst it, twisting the power of his shields into a ind of energy that sentout in all directions while others exploded upon i blood and shaking with fury, his shields weakening perceptibly Duncan suspected the other vampire had concentrated too much of his reserve power into that first preeht be weaker, but they held against Duncan’s discreet probes Duncan frowned as Victor’s power suddenly surged, as if he was drawing energy from somewhere outside the room But the most likely source of that sort of poould be Victor’s vampire children, and two of them were already piles of dust, with the other two near death Even if Victor had drained theiven him this much of a power boost Did Victor have minions they hadn’t uncovered? Someone beyond the four that had been with him for centuries? I that odd buzz of power he’d felt as they approached the house He spared a bit of power, a fraction of his awareness, and searched the house, looking for the source of that buzz It had to be here so from There! In the basement, there wereDuncan’s eyes widened first in shock, then in revulsion as he looked up and lare

"Abohteous little prick you are I created them, and they live to serve me like any other"

Duncan’s stomach turned Victor hadhis oer There were at least twenty of them down there, trapped in the basement, half-starved,only to provide Victor with enough strength to hold onto his territory It was a practice forbidden by the very Council Victor was a member of, and it was precisely what Duncan had called it--aborinned maliciously "Still think you can take ranite, his anger turn to cold intent With a quick warning, he dreer frouel and Louis They sensed his need and gave it willingly, the two of theer than all of Victor’s half-mad slaves, no rin wilted, and Duncan saareness of his i doom in the other vampire lord’s eyes

"Yield," Duncan offered, "and I’ll make the end painless For you and for those poor wretches downstairs"

"Go to hell," Victor snarled He drew hi in the slaves in the baseuards Duncan had left alive Co that as left of his oer, he fed it all into a wall before hied piece of wood in one hand, his fingers gripping it so tightly that it sliced his skin, blood dripping between his fingers and running down his are, he rushed the last few feet, the rudi ram before him

Duncan waited until the other vaht fist and punched it straight out before hi it into Victor’s chest A thunderbolt of power hit the other vampire’s shields Duncan felt the of crystal as Victor’s shields broke under the strain

And he heard theof those poor souls in the baseray with shock, the red haze of power in his eyes already beginning to drain away, leaving the fell froers as he crumpled to the floor, first to his knees and then lower as he fell back to sit on his heels, hands hanging limply by his sides

He looked up as Duncan crouched next to hiaze as his head lolled weakly backward

"You should have taken the easy way, Victor," Duncan said, breathing hard frorinned one last ti down his chin "Fuck you, Duncan," he rasped harshly

Duncan laughed "As you wish"

He slah skin and bone, to wrap his fingers around the va heart and yank it out of his chest As Victor sucked in a final groaning breath, Duncan held the still-beating heart before his eyes and sent a concentrated blast of power directly into the pulsing organ