Chains of Darkness (36 page)

“He knows on both counts, and he’ll be here in about twenty minutes. He might take Marius back with him, but something tells me he won’t be anxious to leave Zoey. I think she might have fed him, as weak as she was. She has recent, unhealed puncture marks in her throat.”

“What does that mean?” Claire asked.

“When the holes don’t close up, death is near. Don’t worry, we got her in time.”

He watched her swallow hard and nod several times in a row.

“Oh, and one more thing, Lucian. Gabriel said he thinks you should join Adrien in the Amazon system. Catch your breath and we’ll all figure out what to do about Marius and Zoey, okay?”

Lucian met Claire’s warm brown eyes once more.
How does that sound? Could you handle going underground for a while? With me?

I don’t want to be anywhere else right now.

This time, before he kissed Claire again, he ended the call then turned his phone off.

*   *   *

“What happened to your hair?” Josh asked the obvious question and it was such a young-boy thing to do that Claire ran to him and picked him up in her arms. Despite how big he was, she swung him in a circle. Siphoning Lucian’s power had a lot of advantages.

So much had happened in such a short space of time that it was hard to remember she hadn’t been separated from him for very long at all, just a few days.

He’d reached that age, however, and pushed her away, his cheeks reddening. “Stop it, Auntie Claire.” But he grinned, and his eyes shone. “I want you to meet my mom.”

Claire turned toward Lily, and a stream of understanding and affection flowed between the women. They were family now, bonded to brothers.

An embrace followed, and Claire’s shoulder grew damp really fast. “Thank you for taking care of him,” Lily whispered. “Thank you, Claire, from the bottom of my heart. I owe you so much. I can never repay the blessing that you were in Josh’s life while we were separated.”

Claire drew back, her own emotions threatening to stampede her, but she didn’t exactly think it would help Josh if the two women in the room dissolved into tears.

The Amazon cavern system, though deep underground, had the most humidity of any of the caves Claire had been in. But a breeze blew through, so that the large living area, decorated in bright colors like Lucian’s Uruguay cave, was very comfortable.

Lucian and Adrien were deep in conversation, each wearing a scowl and standing with his arms crossed over his chest. They would have a lot to discuss, maybe even plans to make where Marius was concerned—or more important Daniel.

Claire kept her attention fixed on Josh and Lily. She wanted to hear their stories, especially what had happened to Josh after she left the Florida compound. Josh related being taken by Daniel and gave a brief description of what had to have been horrifying events at the Pit, that place of execution where Lily and Josh, as well as Adrien, had almost lost their lives.

“You should have seen Adrien.” Josh’s eyes were wide, his voice hushed. “He looked like something out of a movie.”

Lily explained, “He fully embraced his Ancestral power in that moment and saved both of us because of it.” Her large hazel eyes glowed with affection as she slipped her arm around Josh, then glanced at Adrien. Love lived there now, in this newly created family. “I still can’t believe it was only a few days ago. I feel like I’ve lived a lifetime.”

Claire understood exactly what Lily meant. “Same here.”

“So what happened when you left the compound?” Lily asked.

But Claire glanced at Josh. There was no way she would launch into a description of everything that had happened, not in front of a child and especially not Josh, who had suffered enough.

Lily picked up on the cue and told Josh he could play video games for half an hour, if he wanted to.

Claire had never seen a boy leap so fast off a couch, but he came to a screeching halt at the doorway. “Claire?”

She turned to look at him, her eyes once more wet. “Yes?”

“You’ll still be here, right?”

Claire glanced at Lucian then back at Josh. “Absolutely.”

“Good. Adrien bought me a new game. You’re gonna love it. Wanna play now?”

“Maybe in a little bit.”

“Okay.” Then he was gone.

Claire met Lily’s gaze once more, and as before understanding passed between them. She suspected Lily’s journey had been similar to her own, since they’d each bound a powerful vampire to them with blood-chains.

When Lily asked Claire if she’d like to sit down and share a glass of wine, Claire agreed readily. It seemed so normal a thing to accept a glass from Lily—like talking the day’s events over with a girlfriend. In this case, however, events had to do with the monster that was Daniel and the hell he’d put all of them through.

Claire outlined all that had happened, and Lily did the same.

When each fell silent, enough of their histories shared for now, Claire turned to Lucian and Adrien. They still stood together, still scowling.

“Lucian does that a lot. The line between the brows, I mean.”

“I know exactly what you mean.”

“But he laughs more now.” Claire smiled, glancing at Lily once more. “I can at least do that for him.”

Lily reached over and took hold of her hand, squeezing gently. “I’m glad you made it and I’m so glad you stayed.” She spoke quietly. “These men, what they’ve been through…”

“And they’re so deserving.”

“Yes, they are.”

“What’s going on?” Lucian called out.

Claire set her wineglass down and rose to her feet. On impulse—maybe because she was so grateful to be here, to be alive, to be with him—she crossed to him and put her arm around his waist. He held her against him, his expression somber.

The chains at her neck vibrated heavily and she felt a tremor pass through him. He still wasn’t past his blood-madness, but he was holding steady. “We’re just sharing, that’s all.”

“Oh, that’s all.” His lips curved a little, then he kissed her forehead.

She glanced at Adrien. “Please tell me you’re not laying plans to go after Daniel.”

But Lucian’s chain vibrated and carried an edge of rage, something Claire also recognized. “Can’t be helped,” Lucian said. “With Marius free, we have to do something and we know our brother will go after him.”

Claire nodded. “Then what can I do?”

Both vampires stared at her. Lucian glanced at Adrien and smiled. “See what I mean?”

But Adrien turned in Lily’s direction, his expression soft as he said, “I know exactly what you mean, and I have a feeling that whatever we do, it won’t be done alone.”

“No,” Claire stated, lowering her chin. “It won’t.”

At that, both men laughed.

She looked up at Lucian. “I know we’ve agreed to remain here for a while, but I really need to see Zoey, to speak with her just once. Can you arrange that?”

He nodded. “Absolutely.”

An hour later, Claire flew with Lucian back to The Erotic Passage, having surrounded them both with a powerful disguise.

Within a handful of minutes, Rumy led her to Zoey’s room. Claire worked hard to prepare herself for how thin and weak her friend would be. But when she opened the door, Zoey was actually sitting up in bed, the adjustable mattress angled to support her. She had a computer open on her lap, her gaze fixed on the screen. Despite the fact that it was clear her friend was out of danger, her skin showed the outlines of way too many bones.

“Zoey?” She moved inside with Lucian.

Her friend glanced up and her blue eyes widened. “Oh, my God, it’s you.” Her black hair was damp and slicked back away from her face.

Tears started to stream down Claire’s cheeks, as she hurried to the side of the bed and gathered Zoey up in her arms. Claire felt the bones of her friend’s shoulder blades and spine, which brought more tears rolling. She held Zoey for a long time, unwilling to let her go.

Zoey seemed to feel the same way and held on tight as well. “You’re here,” she whispered against Claire’s shoulder.

“I’m here.”

Claire only released her after several minutes. She drew back and asked, “Are you okay?”

Zoey held her gaze. “I don’t know yet. I was so sure I was going to die, but now I’m sitting here looking at you. I still can’t believe I survived.” A haunted look crept into her eyes. “What happened to you, Claire? Where did you go? I mean, Rumy told me you were in Florida, taking care of a kid. Is that true?”

Claire nodded, then gave her a brief history of her time with Josh.

Zoey’s gaze fell to the bedcovers. “No one hurt you.”

Guilt poured over Claire. She’d lived a relatively safe life in Daniel’s compound, but Zoey had endured the unimaginable. “No, I was never hurt. Not like you, but I was as much a prisoner. I couldn’t leave. Rumy somehow stole inside the compound and got me out, otherwise I’d still be there and who knows what would have happened to me.”

More tears fell down Zoey’s cheeks. She fingered the light green blanket next to her. “I’m glad. I thought about you all the time and of course I wondered if you were going through what I was. I lived as Daniel’s slave, his mistress, his toy, his fucking punching bag. You need to know that. I’m not clean. He called me his favorite, but he hurt me.”

Claire took Zoey’s hand and pressed it to her cheek. “None of that matters and there will be time to mend what happened.”

Zoey lifted her face to Claire, her eyes almost panicky. “Is it even possible?”

Claire held her gaze. “Damn straight it’s possible. And we have time, lots of time to make things right again.” She petted Zoey’s thick black hair. “I take it you’ve had a healer with you?”

Zoey gasped. “The healer. Oh, my God. I’ve never felt anything like it.” She spread her free hand to the side, waving it back and forth. “I mean look at this. I’m sitting up, I’m on the computer, I’m talking. By the time Rumy brought me to this room I was about two breaths away from six-feet-under.”

Claire didn’t bother telling Zoey that she’d also experienced the care of a healer or about anything else that she and Lucian had been through. She might have survived a couple of difficult battles over the past few days, but by comparison Zoey had endured two years of a violent war. There would be time enough in the coming weeks and months to explore all that each had endured.

She shared about Amber and Tracy, which of course created a new wave of tears, though this time of gratitude that both young women had been spared Zoey’s fate. When the same dark, uneasy light once more entered Zoey’s eyes, Claire told her how Lucian had burned the Prickly Pear to the ground.

A smile curved Zoey’s lips and for just a moment she looked like the young, carefree woman Claire had grown up with. “I wish I could have seen it. You did the right thing.”

“Slavers owned that damn club so I didn’t have the smallest twinge of conscience in burning it down.”

Zoey shook her head slowly. “Can you believe this world even exists?”

“It’s astonishing.”

She glanced past Claire. “And you must be Lucian, Marius’s brother.” Rumy would have filled Zoey in on everything.

Claire made the introductions, bringing Lucian forward and taking his hand.

“It’s nice to meet you, Zoey.” Lucian’s deep voice filled the small room.

For a moment, Zoey’s eyes narrowed as she looked up at him. “I know what you went through. Daniel liked to talk about his sons. I’m sorry.”

“And I’m sorry as well.”

Claire glanced at Lucian. His gaze was centered on Zoey and it seemed to her that an understanding flowed between them, each having experienced the brutality of the same monster. Finally, Lucian said quietly, “We’ll get him, Zoey. My brothers and I are set on that.”

Zoey drew in a breath that sounded like a hiss. “I didn’t know such evil could exist. I really didn’t.”

For a long moment, Zoey shaded her face with her hand. Claire didn’t say anything. Neither did Lucian.

When she’d recovered herself, Zoey met Claire’s gaze, then glanced at the double chain she wore. “You’re bonded.”

Claire looked up and squeezed Lucian’s hand. “We are.”

Zoey glanced from one to the other. “Is it love?”

“It is.” Claire’s eyes grew wet again. She’d sworn she wasn’t a weeper, but events of the past few days had proved her wrong repeatedly. “I’m staying with Lucian, in his world. I never thought I’d say this, but I belong here.”

“You look really happy, Claire.”

Her heart full, Claire nodded. “I am.”

Zoey leaned back against her pillows and released a deep sigh. Claire saw her fatigue and rose from the bed. “I don’t know when I’ll be able to return. Rumy wants us to lay low for a while until all the plans are made for bringing Daniel down.”

Zoey squeezed her hand, then released it. “I’m so glad you came. Rumy had already warned me that you’d have to stay hidden, so I wasn’t expecting a visit, but I’m so glad I got to see you.”

“I’m only a phone call away, and I’ll come anytime you need me. Just let Rumy know.”