After [A Journey of the Twins Novel] (40 page)

She glanced at her brother. “You had better meet us."

"I'll be there, don't worry."

All of a sudden, her eyes opened wide. “Wait ... wait here, I need to get something for Drayco before we go."

She darted across the room, opened the door leading to the hall and ran across to where they had first encountered Ruben. Drayco looked at Joseph. He shrugged his shoulders. Neither knew what she was after. Within moments, she reappeared with her bag clutched in her arms. A long object protruded from it. Drayco's heart soared when he saw it.

"I just remembered your sword. We found it in some grass near the body of a woman and brought it with us. The pack was knocked off me when Ruben hit me and I forgot about it until now."

Drayco came over to his sister and took the weapon, his hands shaking. He never thought he would see the sword again. Before tears welled in his eyes and embarrassed him, he hugged her close. “Thank you."

Joseph walked up to the pair and touched Shyanne on the shoulder. “We'd better leave. We need to be as far away from here as possible before it's discovered we escaped the Boss, if Ruben hasn't told everyone already."

Drayco frowned at the mention of the big mercenary's name. “He's right, Shyanne. Get to the horses. I'll be there shortly."

She moved toward the door with Joseph, giving him a knowing look. “Good luck, brother. I know I'll see you soon.” Both disappeared into the alley before either could change their minds.

"You too, Drizzle.” The cat was lying quietly by the exit.

"I can help."

"Not this time, my friend. I need to do this one alone.” Drayco buckled his sword to his belt while he spoke. It felt good to have it back in place.

"Are you sure?"

"Positive."

The cat stared at Drayco. He sighed. “You always were an independent cuss, even when you were little. I'm glad to see you haven't changed one ounce in that department.” The cat shook his head back and forth. He turned toward the door. “If you're not back in a reasonable amount of time, I'm coming to find you."

"Thanks Drizzle ... that means a lot to me."

"Don't let it go to your head. I'm only doing it because of Shyanne.” He disappeared out the door, not allowing Drayco time to respond.

He smiled at the cat's words. Most would have thought they were an insult. He took them as a compliment. Turning toward the door to the hall, the smile faded. The dark twin walked out of the room and toward the lobby. As he entered the main area, he spotted Louis standing in his usual spot behind the desk. The man looked up. He gasped when he saw who was there.

Before the man could recover from the shock of seeing what he undoubtedly thought was a ghost, the dark twin was over the counter and standing next to him, a hand covering his mouth to prevent any shouting.

Wrenching an arm behind him, Drayco forced the clerk down the hall to the room he had been tortured in: room 130. Louis tried vainly to resist, but the former prisoner had the strength of a long, unvented anger on his side. He decided against any further attempts after the dark man wrenched his arm painfully higher up his back.

Drayco forced the clerk inside and kicked it shut behind him. Tall candles burned in their holders, as if they had been freshly lit. Drayco wondered about it, but only for a moment. He had other things to complete rather than worry about candles. He led Louis to the wall with the straps hanging from it and slammed the clerk against it, stunning him before tying his arms and legs.

Louis wasn't able to yell out earlier because of the hand covering his mouth. He yelled long and loud now. “Help! Help me someone!"

"No one will come. You of all people should know that. This room is ignored completely, remember?"

"Help! Please, help me!"

Drayco slapped the shouting man hard across the face. A small amount of blood ran from the corner of his mouth, his teeth had cut the inside of the lower lip. Fear filled the eyes watching him. “What are you going to do?"

"Repay you for all the kindness you've showed me during my stay.” Drayco put his face as close to the frightened man's as possible without actually touching it. Louis tried to pull back; the wall prevented it. “It's the least I can do."

With a calculated slowness, Drayco leaned forward and licked the blood off Louis’ face. He immediately grabbed the face and forced it sideways. Teeth sank into the exposed neck, biting deep. The life-giving blood poured from the gaping wound into the waiting mouth. Louis gasped. His eyes went wide. Before long, he died hanging on the wall the same way so many before him had.

Drayco released his hold when he felt the blood flow cease. He stepped several paces away from the dead man and leaned his head back, arms reaching out at his sides, hands clenched into fists. A roar from deep within his chest echoed throughout the room, releasing much of the pent up anger held inside. He straightened up after the intense feeling ebbed. Without looking back, he left death behind and returned to the storage room.

Rummaging through the things stored in the room, Drayco found what he needed to finish his task. In a corner, he started a small fire. A wooden rod taken from one of the boxes dipped into the flames. Carrying it like a torch, he walked into the hall. The blaze in the storage room grew larger as it reached the boxes stacked nearby, licking hungrily at them.

The intense heat forced him to move farther down the hall. He lit several tapestries along the way before tossing the burning stick behind the front desk. The papers and the cloth furnishings surrounding the counter caught fire quickly. Seconds later, the main lobby was fully ablaze. Patrons ran past him, some screaming, some partially dressed, to keep from being burned alive.

Drayco walked across the porch to the road. He never looked back. Thick, billowing clouds of black smoke poured out the open door. Windows shattered from the intense heat generated by the fire. Flames broke through the roof as it burned the wooden covering. People from all over town rushed toward the smoke to see what was happening. Some saw the dark man walk away; none were brave enough to stop him. The look on his face and the menacing dark air about him, along with the sword hanging at his side was warning enough to stay away.

He had calmed down by the time he reached the stables. Joseph, Shyanne and Drizzle were waiting for him, the horses ready.

"You look very pleased with yourself.” The look of concern on his sister's face left. A warm smile replaced it.

"Very."

"Care to elaborate?” Joseph asked.

"No."

"Is everything okay?” Shyanne inquired.

"It is now.” Drayco made his way to Bravaro. He gave the animal a pat on the neck. The horse nudged him in the shoulder in response. “We're out of here, boy.” The dark twin moved to the horse's side and threw himself into the saddle. He looked at the others. “What's taking you two so long? Let's get going.” He gave the reins a tug and started down the road, away from the stables and the town.

Joseph and Shyanne grinned at each other, then scrambled onto Jack. The man who had lost everything gave the woman from the past a kiss on the neck. He hugged her tight and gripped the reins, prodding the horse into action.

Drizzle paused to look back at the dark plume of smoke filling the blue sky above the inn's location. He knew what Drayco had done and was filled with a sense of pride.

"Maybe there's hope for that man after all,” he purred.

The cat disappeared with the others over the horizon as the sun continued its trek over the treetops, the beginning of a new day announcing its presence before them.

[Back to Table of Contents]

Other titles by Janet:

Innocence Taken

[Back to Table of Contents]