"Alexander!"
Impossibly, Zander turned and looked at Stefan. At the same moment, the crack of a gunshot echoed across the island.
Solomon screamed and reared. Zander clutched frantically at his mane. Stefan's heart stopped as both horse and rider crashed to the earth.
Solomon thrashed wildly on the ground, trying to stand, while Zander scrambled to get clear of his flailing hooves.
Calmly, methodically, the assassin stepped forward and shot Solomon. The stallion screamed again and collapsed, pinning Zander's leg beneath him. Zander struggled to pull free, then stopped abruptly as the gunman loomed over him.
The man raised his weapon a third time, and Zander stared back helplessly, eyes wide.
"Sir!" Without hesitation, Sergei tossed his rife to Stefan. In the space of half a heartbeat, Stefan aimed, calculated for wind and distance, and fired.
The assassin's body jerked. A fine red spray blossomed from his chest, and he stumbled forward and collapsed.
Stefan lowered the rifle. For a moment, there was silence; then the morning birdsong resumed as if nothing had happened.
Stefan ran toward his son and dropped to his knees beside him. Zander's face and hands were speckled with red, but Stefan realized to his relief that it was the gunman's blood, not his own.
"Alexander! Are you hurt?"
Zander appeared not to hear him. He was weeping frantically and cradling Solomon's head as the animal's eyes rolled in pain.
Two more guards raced up, joining Sergei and Dmitri. Stefan looked up at them, his face grim. "Get him inside. Secure the island."
"No!" Zander clutched at Solomon's mane, and the guards literally had to drag him away.
Stefan stood and looked down at the stallion. With regret, he raised the rifle.
"No!" Zander screamed.
Once more, the crack of the rifle broke the morning's peace. Solomon twitched once and lay still.
Stefan turned to where the gunman lay. Sergei had rolled him over and was speaking urgently to him in Russian. As Stefan approached, the man's eyes rolled back in his head and his strangled breathing ceased.
"Did he say who sent him?" Stefan asked.
Sergei shook his head. "Only that his target was the prince."
"Nikolas." Stefan's heart stopped again.
"I've already contacted our team in Paris, sir," Sergei said quickly. "Prince Nikolas and Miss Campbell are secure."
Stefan relaxed. "Good work," he told Sergei, and clapped him on his shoulder. "Dmitri?"
"Yes, sir. I'll have my men take care of it."
"Excellent." Without another glance, Stefan walked away from the dead man. He knew that, whoever the gunman was, he would never be seen again, and his body would never be found.
Stefan entered the house accompanied by Sergei and Dmitri and found the entire household assembled in the main hallway. Mrs. Lansbury clutched a wailing Kristina. The two guards still flanked Zander, who was shaking like a leaf and staring at his hands while Alexis frantically tried to wipe the blood off them.
"Alexis!" snapped Stefan. "I told you to stay in your room!"
"Oh, bite me, Stefan!" she suggested.
Stefan walked up, pulled her out of the way, and slapped Zander across the face. "Disobey me again, and I will give you to Helena myself."
Leaving Zander reeling in shock, Stefan walked over to where Darius' body lay covered in a blanket. He knelt beside him and twitched the blanket away, ignoring the general gasp as the man's body was revealed. His chest was blown open, and blood saturated his garments.
Stefan silently traced a cross on Darius' forehead, then gently closed his staring eyes. "I will inform the family," he told Sergei.
He looked up at Zander and spoke quietly. "This is what it means to be a Cassadine. Our lives are not our own to throw away or to waste. We have an unbreakable covenant with the people who serve us. I am responsible for this man, and his children, and his children's children and so are you."
Zander stared at Darius. His face turned grey, and his eyes went blank.
"Stefan!" Alexis said in a horrified whisper.
Too late, Stefan remembered Peter's death. "I'm sorry, Alexander." He quickly covered Darius' bloody body again. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean-" He rose and approached Zander, but his son recoiled from his touch. "Alexander, please."
Zander continued to stare at Darius. His breath came in gasps and his lips moved in silent words. Alarmed, Stefan grasped his shoulder, and his hand came away red with warm, sticky blood
Silence fell on the room as Stefan stared at the blood on his hand.
"Uh oh," said Alexis.
"What is this?" Stefan asked quietly. He raised his hand and showed it to Sergei and Dmitri. "I said, what is this?"
Silence. Kristina whimpered.
"What is this?" Stefan screamed. His face was white with rage. "Incompetents! Imbeciles! I pay you to keep my family safe! Now my son is injured and you stand there like idiots? Get the launch! Call the hospital! Find some bandages! Do something!"
For a heartbeat, everyone stood frozen.
"MOVE!"
The room erupted in pandemonium as everyone raced to do Stefan's bidding. Stefan turned back to Zander and ripped open his shirt. There on his upper chest was the bullet hole, oozing blood. "The first shot," Stefan said. "I thought he missed."
Zander looked at the wound. "So did I," he said, and his knees gave way. Stefan sank to the floor with him. "It's okay," Zander said dully. "It doesn't hurt." Alexis appeared with a wad of cloth. "I've had worse. Right, Alexis?"
Alexis didn't answer. Stefan pressed the cloth to the wound, wincing as it instantly turned red. Zander's skin was cold and clammy, and he was shaking uncontrollably. "He's going into shock," Stefan snapped at Alexis. "Get some blankets. Get some brandy."
"Here, sir," Mrs. Lansbury appeared with a wool blanket in one hand, Kristina in the other. Stefan grabbed the blanket and wrapped it around Zander as Alexis raced for the brandy.
"I'm sorry," Zander whispered, staring at Darius. "I'm so sorry, it was an accident, I didn't mean to."
Stefan tried to turn his gaze away from the body. "Alexander, look at me. Look at me! You are not responsible for this man's death."
"I shot him. I didn't mean to but I shot him. Something moved in the bushes and I thought it was a deer but it wasn't, it was him and I shot him." His voice broke.
"Shhhh," Stefan soothed, smoothing the hair out of his eyes. "Don't look. Don't look anymore."
"Zander, here. Drink this, just a sip." Alexis tried to hand him a cup of tea laced with brandy, but he whimpered and trembled at the sight of the blood on his hands, and the cup spilled.
"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to."
Stefan looked up at Alexis. "Call the hospital again," he said grimly. "Tell them to hurry."
She raced away. Zander sighed and leaned his head against Stefan's chest. "God, I'm tired," he whispered. "I'm so tired." And as Stefan wrapped his arms around him, he finally went limp.
To be continued...
