Haven's Choice (14 page)

Myra opened her door slowly praying it wouldn’t creak like in all the old horror movies she loved to watch. Breathing a sigh of relief when it swung opened silently on well-oiled hinges she peered down the hallway to the left and to
the right. The coast was clear she was leaving everything she had except for her blade, that she held carefully behind her back. Although it may be next to useless now that she knew what she was dealing with. Where was a silver crucifix when you needed one? It was now around noon and she figured now was the best time to try to escape. All the night shifters should be dead to the world right now. She grinned slightly at her own joke, because they were dead to the world all the time, undead that is. Frowning she tried to remember where Brooklyn’s and Verlons suite was she definitely wanted to avoid it so she turned the opposite direction down the hallway.   Spotting a door at the bottom of the first staircase she tried it and it opened revealing another set of stairs leading down into a dark room. Stepping quickly inside she pulled the door shut behind her realizing that a flashlight would have probably been more useful than her knife right now. Standing still at the top of the stairs she waited for her eyes to adjust. “This is brilliant Myra, real brilliant you know the monster is always in the basement!” She scolded herself. Finally she decided her eyes had adjusted all they were going to so she proceeded carefully down the stairs, trailing her fingers on the wall. Soon she felt the smooth wall turn to rough rock and dampness filled the air. “Oh yeah, nasty slimy basement… cue the boogieman.”

Holding
her knife tightly in her left hand, she debated on opening it to have it ready for…whatever, but decided if she fell down the steps she would probably impale herself on it and die then the monster wouldn’t have the pleasure of eating her guts while she screamed. Her foot finally landed on the rock floor at the bottom and she could faintly make out a large rectangle shaped cage in the center of the room. Rolling her eyes she muttered. “Seriously could this place be any more predictable?” Staying a good distance from the cage she tried to see just what, if anything was being held inside. After a couple of minutes she decided it was empty or at least didn’t hold anything big enough to be of much consequence. She walked the perimeter of the room looking for another door when she stumbled against something on the floor. Losing her balance she fell and landed on something that was definitely…alive!

~Chapter Thirteen~

Myra shot off the body that was lying on the floor like she had been pulled by an invisible rope. She heard it moan softly as if it was in pain. She stood there arguing with herself internally about what she should do. The street-smart Myra said. Time to beat feet! Run like hell and DO NOT look back! That voice of wisdom had gotten her out of many dire straights. Its advice was always worth considering. But the softer less street-smart Myra was concerned of who it may be and what if they were being held captive? What if they were hurt? The street-smart side said That’s their tough luck! Shouldn’t have done whatever they did to end up down here! Nodding sharply she then started to walk away when the body moaned once more. That made her stop and considered what she knew about the unfortunate soul that was on the floor. She knew it wasn’t a child, it was too large, and it was most definitely too hard and packed with muscles to be a woman. So that left only one thing it could be. Giving her street-smart side a wave goodbye Myra knelt down next the sprawled out figure. “Hey mister? Are you ok? Are you hurt?” Running her hand up his arm gently she felt the muscles that corded along his biceps. He stirred slightly under her hand mumbling something, but she couldn’t make out what he said. “I’m sorry, what did you say?”

“Light the lantern… please.” A husky voice asked in a low whisper. “Lantern? Where is it?” She heard the body take a deep breath, like speaking was almost too difficult. That really set her heart to jack
-hammering in her chest. “Against the far wall… to your left.” Then it paused and took another deep breath. This time his words were even fainter. “Matches… on… the table.” Myra scrambled to find the table she finally did so by ramming her knee into it. “Ouch! Crap! Ok, I got the matches!” She ran her hand along the wall until her fingers brushed against something metal. She grabbed it with both hands and set it carefully on the table. “Ok, got the lantern, just hang on… don’t die on me.” She struck the first match and in her haste she broke it. “Damn, only one match left.” She took a deep breath letting her nerves settle then carefully struck the remaining match against the side of the small box. It flared to life brightly causing her to blink rapidly to clear her vision. She quickly raised the glass globe, and held the match to the wick. “Come on… light already.” She whispered. It finally blazed to life and she replaced the globe then adjusted the flame down a little. She paused for a moment before she lifted the lantern and turned around.

Iron bands around his neck, chest, and waist staked the man down on the cold stone floor. His arms and legs were spread out and held down by the same iron bands. He was facing away from the light like it hurt his eyes. Myra placed the lantern back on the table so his face would be in a shadow. She knelt down next to him looking for any injuries. She didn’t see anything obvious. If he was wounded it was where she couldn’t see it. “Hey, are you hurt anywhere?” He rolled his head weakly and when he faced her Myra gasped in shock!

She was looking at Deacon! His face was covered in welts, but it was Deacon! “God! Deacon! What happened to you?” She ran her hands over the iron bands trying to loosen them, but they were rock solid. He looked at her with remorse filling his beautiful hazel eyes. “Sorry… so sorry Haven. Please…” Then he trailed off closing his eyes. “Hey! Hey! Stay with me Deacon… come on handsome do not die on me!” She patted his face gently and he opened his eyes once more. “Please forgive me… didn’t ever want… to hurt you.” It finally dawned on Myra that he thought he was speaking to her sister. “I’m not Haven. I’m Myra, her twin. Do you remember me?” His brows drew together as he studied her face. “Her twin?” He asked. Ok, clearly his injuries were all located inside his head. “Yes, you found me in Michigan. You saved me from the bad man and brought me back here to meet my sister Haven. Then you showed me your pretty pearly white fangs, and I threw up all over you. Come on surely you remember that?” Deacon closed his eyes and nodded his head. Relief poured through her that at least he was coming around. Or so she thought. He looked at her again. “I’m not Deacon. I’m his twin… Barron.” Then his eyes rolled back into his head.

Myra once more tugged at the bands holding his body to the floor after a few minutes she sat back in frustration. Why were they holding him here? If he was in his right mind and he really was Deacons twin then this was the man they thought she would be mated with. Well, she didn’t know about all of that
! Her plan was still to escape this place but she couldn’t just leave the poor guy chained to the floor! “Think Myra think! There has to be something in here you can get him loose with.” She took the lantern and carefully searched the small room. She didn’t find the keys, not that she really expected to, but she did find the best next thing! An old paperclip! She knelt back down beside Deacon or Barron and went to work picking the locks. She bent the paperclip to just the right angle then inserted it into the chamber of the cuffs that were holding his wrists. She carefully twisted the clip to the left then to the right feeling of the tumblers right before she unlocked the cuff the voice of street smart Myra chimed in once more. Um hello??? We do remember we are unshackling a vampire right? And said vampire is probably shackled for a reason? Let’s pause for just a moment shall we? Myra stopped then she went over to the small table where she had found the matches. She tipped the table over and broke off one of the wooden legs. Then taking her knife she whittled the end down to a semi sharp point. She figured with enough motivation she could sink it into a chest, and if it came down to that she would be plenty motivated! She walked back over to Deacon/Barron and grabbed his chin shaking his head. “Hey, we need to talk before I release you. Wake up!”

The man rolled his head out of her grip and looked up at her still clearly thinking she was Haven. “Deserve to die…
just leave me here… Haven.” Myra shook her head, she needed to talk with a reasonable person right now and this guy wasn’t it. She swore under her breath as she picked the lock on his right wrist. The skin under it was red and blistered. It looked infected with several large pockets of green pus. It smelled like death. She fought her gag reflex and went on to the other wrist. She set the stake to the side within reach, although she doubted she would need it. For one, he was so weak he could hardly move and for two he thought she was Haven and there was clearly some sort of history between them. With every cuff and band that she removed she found more blistered skin filled with infection. Whatever the metal was he was obviously allergic to it. Maybe it was laced with garlic, or sprayed with holy water wasn’t vamps supposed to be allergic to those things? Whatever it was it had set up one heck of an infection. She finally removed all the restraints and looked around for something to clean his wounds with. She spotted a faucet and with nothing else to use she cupped her hands and scooped up a little water to pat on his wounds. After several trips to the sink his wrists were already looking remarkably better! She sat back and watched as new skin started to cover the open sores. Even the places she had yet to wash were repairing themselves. This more than anything else convinced her that that whoever this was, Deacon or Barron, was not human! Feeling more than a little vulnerable despite the fact that he really still hadn’t moved, Myra started getting to her feet. She had barely moved when she heard a low-pitched growl. Looking around quickly she hunted for the source of whatever was fixing to jump out at her. From the corner of the room she saw eyes green glowing eyes and they were coming her way! Grabbing the stake she stood between the still motionless man on the floor and whatever was coming toward her. As it came closer and into the light cast from the lantern Myra saw that it was Deacon, or hell she guessed it was Deacon. At this point she wasn’t even sure who she really was!

“Myra
? What are you doing down here?” Well, that cleared that up. The one walking and talking had to be the real Deacon. “I was umm… well, that is to say… I was…” She stammered to a halt when she realized she didn’t really have an answer he would like. So she did her best deflection maneuver. She pointed to who really had to be Barron, on the floor. “I think the better question would be why is he chained to the floor like an animal? Clearly this is your twin!” Deacon shook his head as he came closer. “He is dangerous Myra, step away from him. Let me chain him back up.” Deacon reached down and picked up the shackle for Barron’s right wrist. But before he could snap it back into place Myra jerked it from his hand. “No! I don’t know what he did. But you cannot put those back on him! They are killing him.” For whatever reason Myra felt this surge of protectiveness’ come over her. She stepped once more between Deacon and Barron. “If he has to be locked up then find a more humane way of doing it. This is torture!” Deacon stood quickly and looked at Myra, rage making his eyes glow that eerie green once more. “Torture? You think this is torture? Go ask your sister what torture is? Go ask her if Barron had any mercy or compassion for her while he ripped into her like a rabid dog! You think of me as a monster? If it were up to me I would have already removed his head from his shoulders. But I’m allowing justice to take its course.” She opened her mouth to argue, but she felt a warm hand wrap around her ankle and she looked down. Barron was looking up at her. “It’s alright, I deserve to be here.” His voice sounded stronger since she removed the shackles. He looked at Deacon. “Brother, I will not fight to be free. I only have one request. Allow me the opportunity to speak with my Serah?” Deacon hesitated then he walked back to the door. “I will give you twenty minutes to say what you need to say then they go back on. And Barron? If you try to escape I will remove your head from your body.” Then he walked out.

“Can I get you anything to make you more comfortable?” Myra knelt down next to Barron wishing she could do something he looked so miserable! She wanted to ask him just what he had done to Haven, but she was scared he would tell her. Turned out she didn’t have to ask. “I should have known that Haven had a twin. It was really the only thing that made any sense.” He slowly pulled himself into a sitting position leaning back against the cold stone wall. Myra sat down cross-legged close enough to hear him but out of arms reach. He noticed but didn’t remark on it. He just looked at her like he was memorizing her features. The
intense scrutiny was making her uncomfortable. He smiled weakly. “Forgive me, Myra is it?” She nodded and he continued. “I don’t mean to stare, but the likeness between you and Haven is truly remarkable. I suppose this is how people feel when they see Deacon and myself.” He paused and seemed to be debating on just what to tell her. “Hey, you don’t have to tell me anything if you don’t want to.” She offered. He shook his head. “No you deserve to hear the truth and to hear it from me. I knew that Haven wasn’t my true Serah. I didn’t realize it at first, but after a few days I did. The plan was for Haven to spend time with both of us so she could decide which one her heart wanted or needed or whatever it is you females think. I knew she would choose Deacon, because he truly was her Serah.” He stopped again and scrubbed his face roughly, wincing when he pulled open some sores that were still healing. “So I called in the Legend high counsel. I knew that they would award Haven to me since I was the oldest. That was exactly what happened. I forced myself on her in every way possible.” Myra raised her hand to stop him. “Barron. I need to know exactly what you mean by that last statement.” He looked her in the eyes. “Exactly what I said. I forced her to have to live with me, to have to feed from me and to have sex with me.” Myra felt her blood freeze up. He did not just admit to raping her sister! She felt her expression harden. “Tell me Myra what do you know about our kind? What do you know about the bonding between Serah’s?” Her frown deepened. “Enough that I don’t want any part of it. I know that they believe that you and I are soul mates or whatever. That’s why Deacon found me, so he could be with Haven and you could have me.” She leaned closer and lowered her voice to just above a whisper. “But you need to hear me on this and hear me well, if you try any of that crap with me, I will stake you. I’m not my sister. I will not be forced into anything.” Barron cocked his head and a small smile curved his lips. “For someone who claims to not be anything like her sister, you sounded just like her.” He drew in a deep breath. “Listen, when I say I forced Haven to have sex with me its more… complicated than that.” Myra threw her hands in the air. “Forced is forced Barron! There isn’t anything complicated about it! If Haven did not want to have sex with you, and if you made her that’s rape. And in my opinion you deserve whatever punishment they dish out to you.”  He lowered his head then he nodded. “I’m not saying that I don’t. I was a class A bastard, and I deserve to die. When they come for me I won’t resist. If they gave me the option I would take myself out. The point I was trying to make is I loved your sister in my own warped way. I really would have done anything to make her happy, but she wouldn’t let me.” He raised his hand when Myra opened her mouth. “I know she loved Deacon. When I found out that Deacon was back, and that she had seen him I lost it. I honestly don’t even remember attacking her. The last thing I remember was kissing her and feeling nothing. Then the next thing I knew I woke up chained up down here. Verlon told me what had happened. At that point they didn’t even know if Haven would survive.” He leaned his head back and stared at the ceiling. “I guess there must be a God up there somewhere because I have prayed and begged that he would allow her to live and to take me instead.” He looked back at her. “You will be fine. You are still human and we haven’t bonded in any way, so my death won’t affect your life at all. For that I’m grateful. I have messed up Havens life enough as it is, at least I haven’t messed up yours.” They both turned their heads when they heard the door open. Deacon walked in followed by Verlon. Barron looked from one man to the other. “Reinforcements were not necessary brother, I told you I would not try to escape.” Verlon walked over and lifted Myra up. “I didn’t come to help with you Barron, I came to help with Myra.” He walked her over to the other side of the room and with a few quick moves he cuffed her to the wall as well!