Follow the Bloodshed (The Executioner Trilogy Book 3) (21 page)

Vlad sighed as if his brother’s words were more than he could bear,. You could see the tension of what Gordon had said in his face, but his body was rigid with pain. And he was so tired already. Sweat was beading off his forehead and soaking his shirt. I would’ve gone a different route to hold onto him if it weren’t for how dangerous he was. We would all be dead within seconds if we let him walk around free. I wished things could be easier, but since when did I get what I wanted?

Chapter 33:

Questions for the Impaler

Sam had woken after our small conversation with Vlad, quickly followed by Beth and Chase. It seemed everyone went to rest while I was passed out and I couldn’t blame them. Sometimes you   never knew when someone would wake up after blacking out. So all you could do was wait. Beth’s bandage had a line of brown blood on it as I watched her.

“Beth, let’s change that bandage huh?” I said as I walked over to the bag that held our first aid supplies.

We took the kit and anything else we could find in the Bed, Bath and Beyond but we would probably need to try to get some things from a pharmacy before too long. She walked towards me as I sat on the floor next to the blazing fire, bag in hand. I rifled through the bag until I found the first aid kit and removed the clean gauze and paper medical tape we had been using to bind her wound. As slowly as I could, I removed her bandage and wrapped it with new one after cleaning around her crude stitches. There was no redness and no inflammation. They weren’t perfect but they were doing their job so I was happy with them. She sighed and I looked up at her.

“What’s wrong?” I asked.

She turned to look at Vlad and back to me, worry and fear in her eyes was unmistakable. “I know the silver should hold him but I’m worried he’ll get loose…”

“And kill us?” I interrupted. She nodded. How did I know? “He won’t get out. Gordon’s sure of it.”

“How can he be so sure?”

“The silver. He said because Vlad is extremely powerful the silver will have a greater effect on him.” From looking at her I could tell that wasn’t enough, but that was all I had. So, what was I supposed to tell her? “I’m sorry. That’s all I know. And I trust him.”

Once she was fully bandaged she stood and turned back to me, “That’s good enough for me.”

She walked away and Gordon came towards me, holding his hand out to help me up. “I believe we have some questioning to do, milady,” he said as I rose. I smiled back at him with the fakest smile I could plaster on my face.

“That we do, my good sir,” I trilled in answer, almost purring like a cat. We made our way to Vlad and I let my hand slip away from Gordon’s so I could let the beast take presence without possibly hurting him. Now that we had merged the beast wasn’t so much a destructive presence as it was a low thrum through my entire body. This feeling I could handle.

I was in front of Vlad and leaned down to take a look at his face, his head hanging limp on his shoulders. The sizzling sound from the contact of silver on flesh was constant. As I stared at him beads of sweat rolled down his face and soaked his shirt. I cleared my throat. When he didn’t move I leaned down farther and said his name. No reaction again. He wasn’t dead.  I could still feel the familiar hum of his power rolling over my skin causing goose bumps. Vlad’s head snapped up and he lunged at me, teeth snapping like a wild animal. A scream ripped from my throat as I jumped back, heart beating frantically against my rib cage and fire ready to burn through me at a moment’s notice. Laughter, loud and contagious bellowed from his smiling lips as he leaned his head back against the brick of the wall behind him. The rest of the group was around us as fast as their feet could carry them, Beth touching my arm in comfort.

Gordon was on him, forearm pressed against his throat and teeth barred. I even saw a curl of coldness hovering over his skin. I could feel the icy aura and I wasn’t touching him. “Make another move like that and I won’t hesitate to turn you into a pile of ash where you stand.” Vlad was still chuckling and practically giddy despite the pain. He could handle it a lot better than me.

Vlad’s eyes skimmed over me and settled on Gordon. “You won’t kill me, little brother. You need me.” He sighed and chuckled again. “That’s why brought me here, isn’t it? You,” he turned to me again, “need me.”

The words were innocent enough, but when he said them they felt obscene and filled with promises that you knew he could keep. I didn’t even want to be in the same room with him. If it weren’t for the questions burning away inside all of us he would be a pile of ash on the ground just like Gordon swore.

“You’re disgusting,” I heard Sam say behind me, hand on my shoulder and squeezing to reassure me.

Vlad eyes still stared into mine. It looked like the crimson was swirling as I looked into them and I had to turn away and look at the floor, a blush creeping up my neck and face. He had the same pull as his younger brother. You couldn’t help but be drawn to him. I was fighting against it as best as I could. It seemed like the beast loved the attention, but all it did was make me cringe and my skin crawl.

“Gordon,” I said as I placed a hand on his shoulder. I wouldn’t look at Vlad. I wouldn’t. “Don’t let him get to you. Let’s get this over with.” He pulled away abruptly and walked away, putting as much distance between himself and his brother. I couldn’t worry about him at the moment. He had me and me the entire world to worry about. If only we could focus on one problem at a time, huh? Unfortunately, to ask the questions we needed answers to, I had to at least look at Vlad’s face. I turned my face up to his and made my eyes focus on anything but his crimson orbs. The tip of his elegant nose. That would work. “We do have something we need to ask you, and we’ll do whatever it takes to get the answer.”

As I stared at his noise I saw the corners of his lips draw up into a smile and I had to find something else to focus on. His forehead would work. Gordon hadn’t come back yet so, aside from a reassuring squeeze on my arm and shoulder I was on my own. I let more heat build underneath my skin and both Beth and Sam took their hands on off me, hissing as the heat seared their fingertips.

I didn’t turn away from Vlad. I couldn’t afford to make that kind of mistake with him in the same room. I had nearly zoned out looking at the smooth, sweat speckled skin of his forehead when Vlad cleared his throat and asked, “You had a question, Executioner?” His voice was soft and tentative. I snapped back to attention.

“Yes, sorry.” I wiped my sweaty palms on my jeans and letting the nervous energy out through tapping my foot against the concrete floor. “We need to know Lilith’s location. We have a feeling you know exactly where she is and how to get to her.”

He raised his eyebrows. The smile had never left his face. “That’s more of a statement than a question, Executioner.”

He was mocking me. My brow furrowed and I felt myself frown before I could catch it. It was too late. He had already seen I was irritated.

“I’m not playing games, Vlad.” I crossed my arms over my chest and cocked my hip, letting him know I meant business. I was getting tired of playing games. I wanted everything to be over so I could have my child and raise him or her in peace. I was beginning to think there was a permanent scowl on my face. I would never smile again.

He shifted in his shackles and said, “All of this with Lilith is a game, Executioner. It’s all she knows how to do. She has a plan and plays games to meet her ends. You’ve met her more than once now. She killed you. You know all of this.”

“That doesn’t change the fact that someone needs to end this. I’m destined to do so. So you’ll give me the answer I need or I’ll make you tell me.” I meant every single word I said. The smirk on his face told me he didn’t believe me. I would have to change that and I knew just how to do it. All I had to do was actually ask the question. “Where is she, Vlad?” A wave of power washed over me and I felt a growl build in my throat, but I swallowed it down. I didn’t need a growl to be intimidating.

His devilish smile widened, which forced me to take in the entirety of his face. I saw the reason for his smile in the reflection of his eyes. My eyes were glowing amber and molten fire, swirling like a broiling volcano.

“There you are,” he whispered. Anger flared inside my chest and a pit formed in my stomach that I could feel was churning with the same fire and intensity. I took one step closer, gripping his shirt and ripping it down the center, his sweat falling in small drops from the fabric as I squeezed. Surprise moved across his face, a rigid and cold expression taking its place within seconds.

“You want me?” I asked as I stared into his eyes, not letting them pull me in again. The beast and I would not bend to him. He nodded in response. “Where’s Lilith?” This time the question was more of a murmur.

He didn’t say a word. He only stared with his lips slightly parted. I kept telling myself I wouldn’t look at him and it was proving   harder than I originally thought it would be. Why? Why? Why? I gave him a little bit more time to answer and, after a few heartbeats, he still hadn’t said anything and I was becoming impatient. If I was going to save what was left of humanity he needed to start talking. I knew I would have to make him.

“If you wanted me, you have me,” I hissed between gritted teeth. I took my hand and placed my palm on his chest, directly over his heart as the heat I had been holding back began to build just under the skin.  His face was hard, but not for long. Within moments he was fighting for composure against the pain of the heat I was sending into his chest. The sizzle of his skin burning underneath my hand was strangely satisfying. I took my hand away from him and held it   inches above his scorched flesh. There was a black handprint where I had touched him with embers burning along the edges. A grin worked its way across my lips and I knew it wasn’t me smiling. It was the beast.

“That’s it, Executioner. Embrace the fire you’re made of,” he breathed. “This is what you were made for.” His voice was raised in elation and when I looked in his eyes something I saw there stopped me. Something shifted behind his eyes like before and adoration bled out of him, spilling out onto the floor and flooding me. What the hell was going on?

“To kill things like you? Yes, that’s exactly what I was made for, but before I get rid of you you’re going to answer my question.”

He giggled, if you could call it that. “Get rid of me? You make it sound like I’m a mutt who needs to be put down.” He laughed again, his Adam’s apple bobbing.

“Aren’t you?”

His eyes met mine and he said with a sigh, “No. Just a greedy man who wants what he can’t have and not even immortality is enough.” He swallowed and continued. “I wanted immortality and I paid the price. It’s not enough anymore. I welcome the pain of your torture.”

I didn’t know what to say. I had been so absorbed in what I was doing I hadn’t noticed Beth, Sam and Chase had backed away from us. I could feel Gordon’s nervous energy still on the other side of the warehouse, but what I noticed most was Vlad in front of me. He was attractive and he was smart, and he could give me a run for my money if I let him.  It was like he and Gordon were the same person in nearly every way, but there was something Vlad was missing. Vlad was filled with an obsession and Gordon was filled with love. No matter how you spun it they were not the same thing. Not even close.

“Vlad, I don’t want to hurt you anymore. I just need you to help me. I want to end all of this so my child, your niece or nephew, has a place to call home.” I placed my other hand on my belly to emphasize my point. “You don’t truly feel your kin is an abomination, do you?”

He seemed to think about it, biting his bottom lip and not daring to meet my eyes. He wouldn’t look at me but I knew he was beginning to waver. I didn’t know how or why, but he was. Maybe it was the mention of family. I was hoping I could use that to my advantage. If I pushed him enough, maybe he would want my child to have a place to live and tell me what I want to know without me having to torture him further. While the beast delighted in torture, I didn’t and it didn’t matter of we were truly one entity now. That wouldn’t change.

“Please,” I begged him.

He looked at me, staring deep into my eyes and letting them stay there.  After what felt like an eternity, his eyes left my face and moved to stare behind me, no doubt taking in Gordon’s irritation and anger that I could feel hitting me from all the way across the space. I could see red spots at the edge of my vision because of it and it took all I had to resist shaking my head to get rid of them like annoying pests.

“What would I get out of this?”

That wasn’t what I was expecting to hear. I knew he could probably see me deflating as I stood waiting for answers that would never come.

“I won’t kill you. That’s what you’ll get. It’s a favor from me,” I pointed at myself, “to you.” I pointed at him. I could feel the anger bubbling up inside of me as I stood there and from the look on his face he could too. I was feeling a mixture of things but anger was the predominant emotion despite the morning sickness I was beginning to feel. I stifled a groan as I considered him.

“Now, now that’s not enough. You can say you won’t kill me, but that’s not a guarantee.”

“Nothing is guaranteed these days, Vlad. Absolutely nothing.” I crossed my arms over my chest again. “What do you want?” I thought better of the last question. “You know what? You’re not really in the position to be making demands or wanting anything. You can give me the information willingly, or we can do it the hard way. I don’t want to be your torturer. That was never the plan. The plan was to find out where she is and end all of this, but you’re not giving me much of a choice.” I took a step towards him, only putting an inch or so between us and I felt his intake of breath again. “So, it’s up to you. Which way do you prefer?”

He considered me for a moment, taking in my posture and the look in my eyes. From the reflection in his I could see they were still that twirling pit of fire that let me others know the beast was awake. Well, the beast would be awake for as long as this took and if Vlad continued to play games he would see a lot more than just a change in my eyes.