Forbidden (33 page)

Roseline grunted in disgust, weakly tossing Gabriel’s arm away.
 
A trickle of blood seeped from her mouth as she cried out in pain.
 
Her body shook as a spasm hit her.
 
Bones splintered, cracking loudly in the small room.
 
William doubled over, losing every ounce of his stomach contents.
 

Sadie held her friend as she shrieked in agony.
 
“Fane!
 
It didn’t work!”

“Gabriel’s barely breathing,” William cried wiping his mouth.
 
He move forward and cradled Gabriel’s limp form under his arm.
 
William tore the bottom of his shirt and used it to stanch the blood flow from Gabriel’s arm.
 
“I think he’s almost dead!”

Fane grunted as he hurled a torch at
Vladimir
, pleased that the ashes lit his cloak on fire. As
Vladimir
danced about, frantic to put out his clothes, Fane’s eyes swept the room.
 
He quickly noted Sorin’s shattered arm and Nicolae’s bloody thigh and chest.
 
This wasn’t going well.
 
Vladimir and Lucien were outmaneuvering them.

And then…everything stopped.
 
Fane whirled around, sniffing the air.
 
Vladimir and Lucien lowered their swords; their eyes alight with blood lust.

“No,” Fane cried as the two brothers rushed the cage.
 
Their battle with Fane and Sorin was long forgotten.
 
The scent of blood drove them into a frenzy.

Sadie winced as she dropped the dagger she’d grabbed from the platform, hearing it clatter to the floor, the sound echoing as if she were in a tunnel.
 
Fresh blood poured from her neck, splattering on the ground.
 
She was barely aware of the guttural screams nearby or William’s desperate cries.
 

Roseline came into view, her eyes filled with need.
 
Sadie rolled her neck to the side, sucking in a breath as she felt Rose’s lips surround the wound.
 
She’d expected pain but all she felt was an odd tugging sensation.
 
Then the flood gates opened and Sadie sagged, her energy draining quickly.

“Let her go!” William cried, dropping Gabriel to the floor as he tried desperately to pull his sister away from Roseline, but it was too late.
 
The bloodlust had taken over.

Roseline hissed at William, her aqua eyes blazing with fierce possessiveness.
 
“William, back away now,” Fane shouted, racing across the room.
 
“Don’t try to stop her while she’s feeding.
 
She’ll kill you!”

William backed away in horror.
 
Pain flared on his neck and he whirled around, terrified to see Lucien grinning madly as he pulled away a long bloody fingernail.
 
He sniffed William’s blood, closing his eyes as the aromatic scent hit him.
 
Lucien’s head lolled to the side as he licked his finger, savoring the taste.

Using his hand to staunch the blood, William backed away, falling over Gabriel.
 
His eyes were locked onto Lucien, horrified as he watched
Vladimir
fight his brother for a taste of William’s blood.
 
“Oh that’s just wrong,” he groaned, feeling his stomach flip flop again.

William saw a glint of silver just before the bloodlust in Lucien’s eyes vanished, replaced by disbelief as a thin red line appeared on his neck.
 
A tiny trail of blood slipped from the line, dropping onto his bright white shirt.
 
Glazed eyes stared at William as Lucien’s legs gave out on him, his body slumping to the ground.
 
Vladimir
’s piercing screams rose in intensity as his brother’s head separated from his body, rolling across the grimy floor.
 
It halted at the base of the platform, Gabriel’s blood splattering onto his lifeless face.

Sorin stood a foot behind, grinning maliciously at his fallen foe.
 
“That’s for my sister!” he shouted, spitting into Lucien’s face.
 
Blood seeped freely from Lucien’s horrid neck wound, a thick pool of crimson blood stained the stone, seeping into the ancient cracks.
 

“You’re a dead man!”
Vladimir
raged, attacking Sorin with lightning quick reflexes.
 
Sorin barely had time to think before
Vladimir
chopped down at him from overhead.
 
Sorin fumbled backwards, sure this would be his last moment on Earth, but Nicolae snatched up Lucien’s fallen sword and parried the blow, coming out of nowhere to save his uncle.
 

Fane watched in amazement as the humans fought against
Vladimir
.
 
Lucien was gone, leaving only one really ticked off vampire to deal with.
 
“Let me in,” Fane cried to William, arriving at the cell door in one bound.

William looked at him with distrust.
 
“How do I know you won’t bite me?” he asked, cradling his wounded neck in his hand.
 
Fane had to admit William did smell good, but his concern for Roseline overruled his discomfort.

“If you don’t let me in your sister will die.”

William cried out when he glanced at his sister.
 
Her face was ashen, her eyes rolled back into her head.
 
She’d slumped to the floor, too weak to even hold up her own head.
 
Roseline clung to her neck, desperately taking the blood she needed to live.

“Please, William.
 
I can save them both,” Fane pleaded, glancing behind him to make sure
Vladimir
was still busy.
 
Sorin and Nicolae had skillfully backed him into the far corner, but Fane had no doubt
Vladimir
would rebound.
 
He always did.

William stumbled forward, shoving the key through the bars.
 
Fane quickly inserted the skeleton key and yanked open the door.
 
He threw himself at Roseline’s feet.
 
“Rose.
 
You have to stop.
 
You’re killing Sadie.”

Roseline growled at Fane, unwilling to let her go.
 
William paced, terrified of losing his sister.
 
Fane tried again.
 
“Roseline, my love…I don’t want to hurt you.”

She yanked Sadie around, nearly pulling Sadie’s hips out of socket as she fought to keep her prey from Fane.
 
Roseline wasn’t going to share!

“Hand me that torch,” Fane ordered, holding out his hand.

William whirled around.
 
He found a metal sconce on the wall and yanked it away; tossing it into Fane’s waiting hands.

“I’m really sorry,” Fane whispered as he brought the torch down over Roseline’s head.
 
She cried out, releasing Sadie as she turned to fight.

Fane caught her attack in his midsection and rolled with her.
 
Roseline came up, her eyes blackened with thirst.
 
“Roseline…it’s me.”

She snarled at him, gnashing her teeth as she went for his throat.
 
Fane knocked her aside, holding out his hands to keep her at bay.
 
A shrill scream jerked their attention off each other.

“Uncle!” Nicolae screamed, rushing to Sorin’s side.
 

Vladimir
shouted in triumph as Sorin fell to the ground, his lifeless eyes staring up at the ceiling.
 
A sword lay buried in Sorin’s side, nearly cleaving him in half.
 
Nicolae howled in agony.
 
Rising to his feet, his sword settled firmly in his grasp.
 
He attacked with a vengeance, shocking Vladimir, who was forced to retreat in search of another weapon.
 
His eyes fell on the sword that’d flown from Sorin’s hand.
 
He dove and came up prepared for Nicolae’s attack

“Fane?” Roseline whispered, blinking rapidly as she glanced around her.
 
“Where am I?”

He took her in his arms, cradling her as she wept.
 
Her wounds had healed for the most part, but there were some wounds that blood simply couldn’t fix.

“Shh.
 
It’s ok.
 
I’m here!” Fane soothed.

Nicolae grunted as the tip of
Vladimir
’s sword buried deep into his arm.
 
He gritted his teeth, summoning the waning strength in his right arm and tossed his sword into the other hand.
 
Vladimir
’s triumphant grin melted away as Nicolae confidently approached.
 
Vladimir
dove back into the fight.

“Oh my gosh!
 
Sadie!” Roseline screamed, diving for her friend the instant she saw her.

“Get off her!” William cried, shoving Roseline back.
 

Roseline wrenched away, shocked by the venom in his voice.
 
“William…what’s wrong?”

William looked like he wanted to lash out at her but he just shook his head.
 
His sister had known what she was getting in to the moment she’d sliced her neck.
 
He couldn’t fault Roseline for wanting to survive.
 
“You needed blood,” he sighed, sinking down next to his sister.

Roseline wailed as she realized what she’d done.
 
“Oh Sadie!
 
You stupid girl!
 
I could’ve killed you!”

“You probably did,” William muttered, stroking the sweat dampened hair back from Sadie’s face.

Roseline jerked around to look at Fane.
 
She was too panicked to concentrate.
 
Her mind was still fuzzy, her body still buzzing from the fresh blood that raced through her veins.
 
Sadie’s blood!

Fane’s face was grim as he shook his head.
 
“She will be fine.
 
You stopped soon enough.”

“Really?” William growled.
 
“Cause it sure looks like she’s dead to me!”

He had a point.
 
Sadie had lost all color in her face.
 
Her breathing was so shallow it was hard to tell if her chest was moving.
 

“Her pulse is slow but strong.
 
I promise she’ll be fine,” Fane assured him.
 
“Her neck wound is already healing.”

Roseline closed her eyes, tears flowing freely as she stroked her friend’s hand.
 
She’d never wanted this.
 
Roseline had thought by leaving she would save her friends the pain of discovering her secret.
 
And now look where they’d ended up.
 

A clash of swords caught her attention.
 
She gasped, noticing for the first time who it was fighting her husband.
 
“Is that…Nicolae?”
 

“Yeah.
 
Guess you’re not the only one with secrets,” William said coldly.

She sat, watching in amazement as Nicolae twirled out of
Vladimir
’s grip with ease.
 
She glanced over at Fane and saw her thoughts mirrored her own.
 
He was good.
 
Deadly good!

“So he finally came out then,” Roseline muttered.

“You knew?” William gasped.

“Of course I did,” Roseline said.
 
“Do you honestly think he’d let a monster like me around your sister?”

William glanced down at Sadie, his tears falling onto her pasty cheek.
 
“He loves her.”