Amplified (20 page)

Sacrifice

We didn
’t get to celebrate long. A loud crack resonated throughout the lighthouse as the front door exploded inward. The impact sent me sailing back into a wall as Rye dove through the doorway behind him. The dust rained down on me as I fumbled for my blade, which was still sitting precariously on the edge of the table.

“What the
hell?” I yelled. “Rye!” Where had he fallen? I managed to reach the table and my blade. I gripped it with a bloody hand, bleeding from some cut I’d managed to obtain while falling backward. The air choked me as I stumbled to the left, back toward Sarah and Elijah, hoping they were ready for whatever was coming from the other side of the doorway. I could already hear them scurrying into the kitchen after me. I only had moments before they’d be on me, ripping my throat out, taking the precious red life from my body.

“Run!” I screamed
, falling into the room and finally getting my legs to work as the ringing in my ears began to fade enough for me to hear the footfalls behind me. One glimpse forward and I found Elijah and Sarah running out of the room through the set of doors ahead. This place was almost circular, each room leading into the next behind it. They reached out and pulled me into the room with them. Elijah managed to slam the door and lock it before a barrage of bodies slammed into it from the other side. He shoved a chest of drawers against it as it vibrated. Dust poured down on him as the room shook. I didn’t know how many people had poured into the room behind me, but it sounded like a lot.

I jumped back, turning to find Sarah at the other door, about to check it out to see if we could exit the room.
I scanned the rest of the room. I couldn’t find Raina.

Where the hell
had that girl ended up?

“Where
’s Raina?”

Sarah shook her head, peering into the
hall behind us. “I don’t know. She was gone when the explosion happened. Come on, it’s clear.” She tugged at my shirt, and I followed, feeling Elijah’s body shoving me forward.

“Rye
went the other way around,” I managed, the pain in my arm distracting me as we moved. I glanced down and found a large splinter of wood jutting from my arm. I winced at it and tried to pull it out, but it wouldn’t budge, and I feared it was wedged between the bones in my forearm. “Shit, it’s stuck.”

“Here.
” Elijah grabbed my arm and took the splinter in his other hand. Before I could even brace myself, he gave it a hard yank. The searing pain from the deep gash in my flesh made me sweat, and I could feel the blood drain from my head, willing me to black out. I fought it, biting down my teeth until my jaw hurt. I felt like I was about to pass out, but the warmth dripping from the hole brought me back to the present.

“Here,” Sarah
said, pulling off the button down shirt she was wearing over her black tank top. She ripped off a piece of the fabric to wrap around my arm. Her fumbling was much steadier than mine would have been if I’d had to do it myself. I was thankful she and Elijah were with me. Even so, as she finished tying it snug against my injury, making me want to keel over from the dizzying pain, I worried for Rye and not myself.

“We have to find Rye. He
’s alone,” I urgently whispered. Sarah nodded and took my elbow, tugging me along as the door behind us began to splinter apart. We ran down the short hall to the back stairs, pushed open the door leading to the stairs and headed up.

It wasn
’t smart to go up. We’d either be trapped or forced to jump. How would we survive whatever had popped in on us? Had Raina betrayed us and brought this wrath onto us? So many questions ran through my head in my attempt to stifle the need to collapse. It may have just been a flesh wound, but I was still bleeding profusely. I’d have to wrap it again soon if I was to stop the gush of blood.

We made it up the steps
and to the circular room. Elijah dropped the hatch leading down the stairs and flipped the switch over to lock it. It was a measly metal slide lock and wouldn’t hold a barreling beast at all. Still, there was nothing to throw over it and hold it down. I scanned the room for an escape route other than going up the spiral staircase. There was only a single window, and it looked barely big enough for us girls to fit through.

I glanced back toward the others
, and Elijah was already nodding at my observation. “Go! I’ll hold them off.”

Sarah shook her head violently, her face reddening as she dug her feet into the floor. “I
’m not leaving without you!”

The latched door bounced as they braced themselves for another impact.

Elijah’s expression remained calm, if not very determined. “Get out of here! Now, before they get through!”

“No!
” Sarah began sobbing, and Elijah flicked his eyes up to me, begging for help.

“Sarah….” H
e swept her into his arms, stroking her long red hair and kissing the top of her head. “It’s okay, I’ll be fine. You get out of here. I’ll hold them off.”

“I can
’t just leave you here,” she sniffled peering up at him with wet eyes. I’d always known she had a thing for him, but seeing them together, I knew it went deeper than either had ever cared to admit. Elijah’s caresses were calming in the madness surrounding us. I turned away from the two to give them a moment and went to work on the window, trying to hold back my own devastation at losing sight of Rye. He’d just returned to me, and not moments later, had been literally ripped from my arms.

“Go with April. We
’ll figure this out.”

Sarah nodded, gathering herself up from the crumbled mess she
’d become. It was fascinating to watch her do that. She was usually so together, so laid back and unfazed by anything. Watching her have to pull herself together was a rare sight. But she did, and she was back to her calm, warrior self in no time at all, even with puffy eyes and a red, tear-streaked face, she would always look beautiful.

Elijah smiled, let
her go and walked over to the hatch where he pressed against it with his feet, hoping to keep the enemy at bay a bit longer. “Go,” he mouthed and gave her the brightest smile I’d ever seen from him.

She turned away and grasped the window, which I had managed to
get halfway open. She shoved at it with all her might, and the metal frame screeched open the rest of the way. She waved me through, and I didn’t wait for her to finish gesturing. I took one last glance at Elijah, who watched us with calm, silent eyes, more accepting of his fate than we were. I gave him a curt nod and darted out the window, landing hard on the small rooftop below. I jumped to my feet and peered over the side.

A dark figure rustled
in the bushes below, where the sand drifts were high and pressed against the lighthouse walls as if they were going to one day swallow the place whole. At least it would be a soft landing. Still, I narrowed my eyes to study the person lurking in the shadows as Sarah dropped behind me. She pressed her fingers onto my shoulder, giving me a sad smile as I pointed toward the nearest drift of sand. She stepped forward, readying to jump, when I grabbed her arm and pointed at the figure in the tall grasses, who was watching us closely.

“Who
’s that?” Sarah squeezed her eyelids together, straining to make out the features of the man. It looked like a man, broad shoulders and dark hair….

“It
’s Rye!” I almost shouted his name but turned back toward the window. There wasn’t any movement from inside yet, so I was pretty sure Elijah was still holding them back. It made my heart sink to know that Sarah’s beloved wouldn’t be leaving with us. Maybe we could circle around and cut off the attack from the bottom. There was still hope to catch them by surprise, as they had us.

“Come on!” She tugged at my good arm and turned to hop off the edge of the roof. I watched her tumble down the embankment. I followed, closing my eyes as the sand whipped around me. It wasn
’t as soft of a landing as I’d wanted, but it was good enough. My arm screamed in protest as I rolled over it, causing stars to spill across my vision. I hoped I didn’t pass out from the pain, and gritted my teeth together.

At the bottom of the sand dune,
Rye lifted me up and pulled my good arm around his. His embrace filled my nostrils with his calming, manly scent that I remembered always enjoying while lying next to him. Why did it seem more intense now? Our bond was growing. I could feel it. If we shared blood, I was certain it would seal the deal. I smiled at the thought but found Sarah’s wild eyes searching the lighthouse windows desperately, making me lose the sense of euphoria right away.

“Elijah
’s trapped,” she said.

Rye nodded and motioned me toward the
grass-covered dunes in the direction of our Jeep.

“I have an SUV hidden behind some dunes. I didn
’t want you to hear me pull up, so I parked a bit away.”

“Where
’s Randy?” I whispered, wondering where the poor guy had disappeared off to. “He was tied up in one of the rooms, and we couldn’t get to him in the chaos.”

Rye shrugged, shaking his head. “I don
’t know. I didn’t see him. I wasn’t able to get back inside after they rushed in. It wasn’t me they were after.”

My eyes widened. The antidote was in the car, in the small cooler stuffed under my chair. I had to retrieve it. I hadn
’t told anyone exactly where I’d left it, and I knew that was what they were looking for.

“The
Jeep.”

“I have the keys,” Sarah
said. She pulled them from her pocket, and I thanked our lucky stars that she was as paranoid as I was and slept with them on her.

I grabbed the keys and looked off in the direction of the Jeep. “Come on.
”

We made our way around, sinking into the
deep sand, which made it that much more difficult to run. I hoped that if the others saw us, they’d have just as difficult a time coming through it after us. My arm throbbed, and with my good arm around Rye, my machete dangling from that hand, I was close to useless unless I got some blood.

“Rye,
” I said through clenched teeth. He looked at me, and I gestured that I wanted to sit down. He slid me to the ground and I sat, wincing in pain and feeling exhausted. “I need blood.”

He
looked up toward Sarah and then back to me. Sarah kept watch and peered around one of the dunes toward the lighthouse. Her eyes were shiny and dark. If she was crying, it was impossible to tell. I was pretty sure she was looking for Elijah.

“Mine or Sarah
’s?”

I studied
his eyes and smiled. His soft touch on my arm made me feel so much better, and I knew what I had to do.

“Yours.”

He nodded and brought his wrist up to his lips without hesitation. Has he let his fangs extend, he looked dangerous. His halos flashed brighter, and the razor-sharp edges of his teeth looked lethal enough to rip a throat out. He bit into his wrist hard, barely wincing from the pain. He brought it to my mouth where I licked at the drops of blood seeping from the punctures. It tasted metallic and harsh, like a mouthful of copper pennies. It’d been a long time since I’d had any blood. We both knew what would happen to me. I’d become stronger, inhumanly strong, and heal with unbelievable speed. It was exactly what I needed, and I fought myself so I wouldn’t completely drain him of the precious fluid. The taste had turned into something delectable, like pure, sweet honey.

I pulled away, breathing hard as I felt it spread through my body.
My mood shifted from the cold feeling of fear to the hot, burning inferno of hate and vengeance. I closed my eyes, relishing the turbulence inside me. It was pure energy, euphoric and scary all at the same time. I wanted more, but this would have to do for now. I could already feel the pain of my wound subsiding.

I flicked my eyes open and threw Rye a wide grin. “Okay, I
’m ready. Let’s get Elijah out.”

End Game

We peered
over one of the dunes, scanning the perimeter of the lighthouse for movement. It was eerily quiet, but my senses were on overdrive. The sand was constantly moving under my feet, filling my boots and making me sink into it if I moved too much. I narrowed my eyes on the lighthouse, checking each window and entrance for signs of Elijah or Randy. I hoped they were still alive. If they were dead, I’d never forgive myself. Sarah was desperately searching, too. I knew the stakes were higher for her and made sure I was focused on the target. Any sign of an easy way in or of either man, and we’d ambush the group who’d taken us by surprise.

This time the tables would be turned.
The confidence pumped along through my veins and made me feel invincible. I couldn’t wait to get into combat. I wanted to kill something, drown my pain with a meeting of blade and flesh. This primal need filled me up and pasted a wicked smile across my face as I licked my lips, watching the hybrid vampires roaming about the lighthouse. They had no idea what was coming.

“
Come on.” I motioned to the others and headed toward our Jeep. I paused. Someone was inside. I could see them moving around violently as I got closer to the vehicle. I approached one of the windows and peered in. The darkness made it hard to see, but drinking Rye’s blood had heightened all my senses, including my night vision.

Thwack!

I jumped back a tiny bit when Randy’s face and hands appeared on the other side of the glass. He growled and flashed his fangs before realizing it was me. He quickly calmed down and sat back, huffing and puffing. He’d recognized me! If the feral inside was weakened from the second shot of antidote, he was probably aware of what was happening. Apparently, our visitors had locked him in the jeep after finding him in the lighthouse. But why hadn’t he been able to get out? Further inspection showed me the child locks were on, and he was tied to the back seat so he couldn’t escape out the front doors.

Was he f
eral? Was he human? I hadn’t known if the second dose of the antidote had had any effect on him, but I now had an answer. Still, he wasn’t fully human, and he’d have to stay tied down until we figured things out.

“We
’ll be back, Randy,” I said. “Just wait.”

We made our way back up to the lighthouse. When we reached it, we saw that t
he front room where they’d entered was empty, and we tried our best to not make any noise as we approached. Where had they gone? The moment we cleared the front door, the room was flooded with light and we were surrounded by hybrid vamps. Some flashed reddened, haloed eyes at us, while others had normal colors with haloes. I could see what Raina had talked about with the mutations Lark had been messing with. Even her soldiers were not left unchanged by her tampering.

We pressed into each
other, facing out in a tight circle. We were surrounded, and it was not looking good for us in any way.

“Who are you?” I asked.
The soldiers kept a tight circle around us, and I hoped they weren’t intent on killing us just yet. Abruptly, they spread apart to let someone through. A woman. And she looked just like Raina.
What the hell?

“Raina?” My surprise leaked out into my voice
. I swallowed it back and replaced it with a ferocity that left me wanting to rip the girl’s neck out.

“Sorry
, April. I can’t have you running the show.” She leaned forward, studying me with beady little eyes. She turned to the others, looking at them as if they were insects ready to be pinned to a board. “I think we should keep this one and kill the others. No, wait….” She straightened, and the smirk spreading across her face made want to slap it off her. “Keep the one in the Jeep, too. He’s all messed up already anyway.” She turned and was about to exit the room when she suddenly stopped and began to turn back toward us.

“You traitorous bitch!” Sarah
yelled and jumped forward, aiming for Raina. One of the soldiers slammed his fist into her stomach, sending her crumbling to the floor, wheezing for breath.

“Watch it
, Ginger. I have your boyfriend. He’s perfectly safe. I can see what you like about him.” With a haughty laugh, she waved at someone behind her. They retreated and returned a moment later, pushing Elijah before them. He stumbled in, bloodied but fierce as ever. They had his hands tied, but he appeared to be okay. “Any more from you and your pretty boyfriend loses his pretty face.”

Elijah snarled at her and flicked a concern look toward
Sarah as she sat in a heap on floor. Raina laughed, but a commotion behind her made her turn to see what was happening.

The soldiers were parting for someone else, and that person had Raina pali
ng faster than a bleach-soaked shirt. “Lark? I… I….”

“Just what do you think you
’re doing, sister?” Lark stepped into the light emitting from a flood lamp one of the soldiers had propped against the corner of the room. This woman was a lot like Raina. So much so I knew they must have been identical twins at one point in life. But this one had red irises surrounded by pale skin and a thinner frame than Raina. Where Raina appeared healthy, filled out, but disheveled, Lark looked like death itself.

“I was gathering specimens. You never let me finish what I
’m doing.” Raina’s fear had morphed into anger as her voice shook, and she crossed her arms as her sister approached. The red irises focused on her as Lark reached forward and wrapped her bony fingers around Raina’s throat.

“Never defy me again. I wanted them brought to me peacefully. You ruined our chances for their trust. Get out of my sight.” She shoved at Raina, send
ing the girl stumbling backward where a wall of Lark’s soldiers caught her, to her obvious disgust. She jumped back to her feet, straightening her clothes and shaking off the helpful soldiers.

“Fine. Do it your own way. You
’ll never succeed. I’m tired of your endless lab experiments anyway. Find another scout to do the crap work for you.” She spit on the floor and stormed past her sister, making a show of brushing shoulders and knocking aside those who stood in her way.

The adversity between the two had me curious to know what Lark would have to say about all this.

She watched her sister flee with the stillness of a statue then faced us and motioned for her guards to untie Elijah. Once loose, he growled at them but kept his hands to himself as he rubbed the raw skin on his wrists. Sarah finally managed to get to her feet and rushed into Elijah’s arms.

Th
is woman looking at me appeared fine, if you could get past her skeletal appearance. Normal, even. Too normal. The intelligence in her eyes told me she was something extraordinary, even though she smelled of a hybrid, tainted, but a mix of vampire and human. Something was different about her, but it was really hard to decipher what exactly that was.

Her shiny
, red eyes found mine, and she walked over, looking me up and down.

“You must be April.” How did she know my name?

“What do you want?”

“My sister Raina i
s the best scout I’ve ever had, but she tries too hard and wanted to find the cure faster than I did. She usually brings me the unusual, the lost, the ones I can use for experiments.” She sighed, looking upset as she glanced out through the door and into the dark ocean air. “Now she withholds information and experiments with people herself.”

“She
’s a traitorous bitch!” Sarah’s shrill outburst made wonder if she was going to jump Lark. Even the guards stepped up closer to make sure she didn’t try anything.

“
Yes, you’re right. She’s not trustworthy, even to her sister.” She sighed, and a weak smile formed across her face as she watched Sarah steam. “So much life in this bunch. I like that.” She paced back and forth, looking studious and concerned. I watched the line of her soldiers, hoping for a lapse, a break in their vigilance. “Look, I don’t want to fight. I need your help.”

“Not the
right way to ask for it,” I muttered. “Let us go.” She wasn’t going to become my best friend forever by treating my real friends like crap.

She halted in her steps and frowned, glaring at the soldiers behind her. “I
’m sorry for the brute force, but my sister can be a force to reckon with. She was my second in command and called my soldiers out without my approval. I will remedy that immediately so you will know we really don’t mean you any harm.” She waved at them to put their weapons away, and they shuffled on their feet, looking apprehensive, but did as they were told. “Please… forgive me. I meant no disrespect. It’s just, Raina is not quite herself.”

My teeth and fists were clenched
, but I relaxed as Rye’s fingers wrapped around my hand.

“Get to the bloody point,
” I said. I was tired of games.

Lark smiled, looking hopeful
. Oh, I would listen to her proposition, but that didn’t mean I had to be nice to her about anything or even accept it.

“I want to make a
deal. This antidote that my soldiers say you have… I want it. I know you have some, but my soldiers failed to find it for Raina. Can we make a peaceful negotiation and trade for some of it? I promise no harm will come to any of your party. If you have more than one dose, I’d love to have it all.”

“No.”

“Come now,” Lark said, looking shocked by my abrupt answer. “Okay, I don’t need all of it. Just as much as you can spare. How about half? How’s that? I really would love to work on it with your group, but I don’t know if you’re willing to work this out after such a rough start.”

I could feel my face burning from the deepened frown creasing my cheeks. “Why would you want to work
with us? What if you betray us like Raina did and turn us into one of your experiments? I don’t want to end up like that. None of us do.”

“I
know you don’t trust me. How about a promise? I swear on my life that my people will not disturb you as long as you’re here. We can work on the antidote together, and I promise I won’t attempt any unwilling experiments on anyone. That is not our way, truly. Would you do this for me then?”

Sarah was back on her feet, leaning on Elijah but almost recovered from the blow she’d taken.
“Your word means nothing to us,” she said. “Raina said you did such things to people, but you say it was her. How do we know which of you to believe?”

Lark
’s hardened glare focused on Sarah, but she did nothing to argue. Instead, she turned to wave down one of her soldiers, possibly one of her lieutenants, and then back to us as he whipped around and told the entire army to fall back.

What the…?

Lark waited until there was no one left in the room but her before speaking again. “There. My troops have pulled back to the road. The wild ones do not bother us here, so it’s quite safe to leave if you wish to do so. I do hope you consider my deal, because I want to help you find the antidote. I can help your friend in the car out there.” She pointed out through the shattered door, toward the Jeep where Randy was trapped. My stomach clenched at the thought of saving him, and I struggled with the options before me.

If I
struck a deal with this woman, would I live to regret it? If not, would Randy?

It was a hard road
, and as much as I didn’t trust this woman, I had no choice. I just wished she had approached us rationally in the first place, not like this, not with force, even if it hadn’t been her fault. Her rein on her sister appeared weak, something she’d have to remedy indeed.

Reluctantly
, and to the protests of Elijah and Sarah behind me, I stepped forward and held out my hand to seal the deal. I had found what I’d come for, and by the excited twinkle in this woman’s eyes, she had also found what she was looking for. I was going to stay and make sure she kept her end of the bargain.

“On your word
and on your life that you will keep us safe while we work on this antidote, I accept.”