Avenge (11 page)

I blinked my eyes rapidly, needing to
double check my vision. She was still there. I reached down to
activate my bracelet and send an announcement that would bring my
team running, but Jessica took off running back into the crowd. I
couldn’t lose her. I couldn’t let her slip away again. My fingers
fell from my wrist, and I barreled after her. I needed to find out
where she was going and I could alert my team. I couldn’t waste
time now and risk her getting away. She turned up a side street
heading toward the river and I followed, pushing myself faster than
I’d ever run. Jessica was using her vampire speed to her advantage,
and before I knew it we were both standing in front of the famous
Café Du Monde. Though it was after ten o’clock at night, there were
at least thirty people enjoying the sweet French doughnuts. I
thought Jessica would stop now, but her lithe frame weaved through
the tables of the outdoor café and headed for the river’s
edge.

I made it to the edge of the
restaurant when I was tackled from the side. Strong arms pressed my
arms down to my side and wrapped around my waist, preventing me
from reaching my bracelet for a weapon or to call for help. I
wiggled and squirmed as we fell to the ground, but the iron grip
only increased. As we lay on the floor, another set of hands cupped
my head. I screamed out for help, but I was too far away now, and
no one around could see or hear me. The fingers on my head raised
me up a bit, and slammed my head back down onto the pavement. A
bright, white, searing pain engulfed my senses as my vision
blurred. Before I could recover from the first blow, two more came
in rapid succession. I opened my eyes, desperate for a way out of
this mess when Jessica knelt in front of me.

“
It’s so good to see you
again, big sis. We’re going to have so much fun together,” she sang
in her syrupy sweet voice.

I didn’t get a chance to
reply before another blow finally came, and I slipped out of
consciousness.

Chapter
Twelve

A slow, steady drip woke me out of
unconsciousness. The rhythm of the noise, followed by a splash
confused me. My eyes wouldn’t open, and I couldn’t seem to move my
arms or legs either. I focused on the sound as I fought to remember
where I was. I remembered being in New Orleans, I remembered
walking down Bourbon Street with my team, then I was…my eyes
snapped open as the memory washed back over me. Jessica. I had
found my sister.

I scanned the area but detected no
one. The room was empty, damp, and dark. I made out nothing I could
recognize, no clue that would help me tell my team where to come
find me. There was absolutely nothing in the room. Cement floors
stretched from wall to wall, and the drip came from a faucet on the
opposite, with each solitary drop pooling on the floor and creating
a stream that flowed toward me. It must have been an empty basement
or warehouse. I looked down at my feet. My boots and all weapons
had been removed. Swinging my head to the side allowed me to see
that my arms were shackled to the wall, and worst of all—my
bracelet was no longer snug on my wrist.

“
How in the world did they
get that off?” I wondered aloud. It seemed like such a permanent
fixture of my body that I couldn’t figure out how they would have
removed it without the Jaws of Life.

“
It took some doing, I’ll
admit that,” an unseen voice replied. I squinted and looked to
either side of me, but saw no one.

“
Who’s there?” I called,
pulling at my wrists to try to get free. Even as the steel cut into
my flesh I didn’t stop. I knew I’d heal on my own. It was more
important to be free and able to fight. “Don’t hide in the shadows
like a coward. Show yourself.”

The voice chuckled again, but didn’t
move forward. “You’re not calling the shots here, sweetheart. You
don’t get to give the orders. But if I were you, I’d be a good girl
and cooperate so we kill you quickly. I’m sure you wouldn’t like it
if we found out what we need to know the hard way.”

“
I’m not telling you a damn
thing. I don’t care what you do to me.”

“
You will care, eventually.
They all do.”

“
What did you do with my
sister?” I tried changing topics, hoping to throw him off and
discover a weakness. There was also a part of me that desperately
wanted to know. A long, horrid laugh echoed off the walls and made
me shiver for a moment before I gathered my resolve once more. I
wouldn’t be scared off by someone not even brave enough to show his
face. “You better go get your boss quickly, because when my team
gets here and finds you, there won’t be much left of you to do any
talking.”

“
Sweetie,
that’s where you’re wrong.” Legs stepped forward into the light and
I gasped. “Because I
am
the boss.”

The voice—that sinister, evil
voice—was coming out of my sister’s mouth. I wanted to scream for
her to run, and get away from these monsters, but I knew that she
was one of them now. Vampires could morph into any human form they
wished, so why would they keep her an eleven year old girl? What
purpose did it serve to keep her that way? The only possibility was
to use my love for her against me. I bit my lip to keep from
speaking. The vampires wanted a reaction out of me and were using
Jessica to get it. I couldn’t let them; I had to be stronger than
that.

“
I swear, when I get out of
here—”

“
What’s a-matter, Sissy?
You don’t want to stay and play with me? Don’t you love me
anymore?” the vampire taunted. The rough voice was replaced with
the sweet sound that plagued my dreams and I fought once more
against my chains.

“
I guess a game of hide and
seek is out of the question, huh?” she teased again.

“
What do you want?” I bit
out through clenched teeth.

“
Can’t I want to see you?
I’ve missed you, Lucy.” Jessica looked up at me, wide eyed and
innocent. But I knew that was only on the outside. She was pure
evil on the inside now.

“
WHAT do you want?” I
screamed this time, tears rolling down my cheeks. “Why are you
doing this?”

“
Haven’t you figured it out
yet?” She giggled and shook her head, but then turned an icy glare
at me. “Don’t play stupid, girl. I know you better than
that.”

I had no idea what she was talking
about, or wanted from me, so I stayed quiet. I needed to stop
getting sucked into her mind games. They used my sister’s image to
lure me here, and now were taunting me by having her in front of
me. They wanted it to be a weakness.

“
It’s not Jessica, it’s not
Jessica.” I repeated the mantra over and over. I needed to focus on
my goal: retrieving her soul from the interloper who currently
resided in it.

“
Of course I’m Jessica,”
the girl protested, putting her hands on her hips.

“
Not Jessica, not Jessica,”
I continued, closing my eyes from seeing her face.

“
I
am
your sweet little
sister!” Her cold, frail fingers grabbed at me and attempted to pry
open my eyes. At this point, it dawned on me that part of their
plan depended on me doing anything necessary for my sister, for me
to be desperate to defend and protect her. And my mantra sprung a
leak in the game. The anger was evident, and she hissed and
growled, but I kept my eyes closed. I kept repeating the phrase,
happy to finally see a weakness I could exploit.

“
Look at me! Why would you
doubt me? Please, Lucy. Help me. I need your help. Save me from
these monsters.” The vampire was back to using her sweet voice but
doing a poor job of hiding the anger that seeped through the
fringes of her words.

“
Jessica is gone, there is
no one in front of me but a monster,” I continued.

“
You shut your face! I am
Jessica!” She was quiet for a minute while she contained her
temper. “Please, Lucy, won’t you save me? Don’t you want to protect
me from them?” When I didn’t answer, the tiny hand slapped my face,
and I opened my eyes to stare at her.

“
Do you know how I know
you’re not my sister? Because Jessica could never, ever stand to
see me chained to this wall. And she would have hugged me as soon
as she saw me, not letting go. You have no warmth, no love, no
compassion inside you. That’s how I know you can’t be my
sister.”

Without warning, the vampire posing as
my sister elongated her fangs and bit me. Over and over, covering
my entire body with bite marks that grew slower to heal the more
blood I lost. I screamed in agony for her to stop, but it only
spurred her frenzy. I couldn’t fight. I tried breaking my own
wrists, tearing the joints from the sockets but nothing worked.
There was no way out. I was going to die there, as a prisoner of
the vampire who mocked the memory of my sister. Tears slid down my
face, not from the pain but from the horror of seeing the face of
my sister twisted in rage, her mouth covered in blood. It was my
worst nightmare come true.

Eventually, I stopped
screaming. I knew the blood loss was great because I could feel it
getting harder to draw breathe. It was easier to keep my eyes
closed, and the sounds around me became muted, like my ears were
covered in cotton. I didn’t know what happened to a person who died
twice. It never occurred to me to ask before. Did I go back and get
a redo on being a Patronus? Did I simply go straight to my final
destination? Or did I use my “one up” already and now it was game
over?

Chapter
Thirteen

- Max -

“
What do you mean she’s
gone?” Fear and desperation consumed my body until it manifested
into a physical pain. I stood still for a moment, trying to think
of a rational explanation. She couldn’t be gone, she had to be
somewhere. No one simply disappears, especially not a Patronus. But
I’d known something was wrong. Seconds after arriving back to the
group with Zander, everything inside me hollowed out. It was as if
someone ripped my heart out of my chest and left a gaping hole. My
muscles and veins strained against my skin and my lips pulled back,
baring my teeth. I jabbed my finger into Lola’s chest. “She was
with you. You! And you screwed up leaving your partner alone. Even
for a minute. What were you thinking? You don’t deserve to be here,
to be one of us.”

Tears fell down the girl’s face. “I’m
so sorry, Max. She was sitting on the steps, waiting for you to
come back. I only went across the street. I never heard her leave,
she never made a sound, I swear or I would have done everything in
my power….” she trailed off, choking on a sob. “But she didn’t say
anything to anyone.”

I spun around, looking in every
direction for a sign of her while resisting the urge to strangle
Lola. “Why would she leave and not tell anyone? It doesn’t make any
sense.”

“
Max,” James called as he
strode up to me. “I’ve tried locating her using the GPS built into
her bracelet, but it’s not working. She’s also not able to receive
messages and hasn’t tripped the emergency panic button herself.
It’s as if the system to her bracelet has been shut down
completely.”

“
But that’s impossible!” I
shoved my bracelet up toward his face. “These are indestructible,
unhackable, and couldn’t be removed with the sharpest instruments.
How could hers have simply stopped working?”