Redemption (Waking Up Dead) (2 page)

Aden had made a plan for us to fight back, but I was not so sure that it was going to work out the way that he was expecting it to go.  It sounded good, but I could see a few holes in it.  The part about each of us taking one of them was not going to work.  It was going to be an uneven battle.  There is six of them and only five of us.  Four if we don’t count Max.

What could he do anyway?  He wasn’t like us.  His magic is powerful, but physically he is not equal to us.  We are faster than he could ever hope to be and lethal in strength.  His magic could prove to be our saving grace, as long as we can keep him protected well enough for him to cast his spells.

He had spoken of numerous ones that he was going to use against Alzar; protection spells, ones that deflect power, and more.  His ability was something that I am not familiar with, but I have the utmost trust in him that he will do everything in his power to keep us as safe as possible.

My body was ready for the fight and I had purposely kept from feeding.  Bloodlust would give me the added power that I needed to be able to do what I need to do.  The killer inside me is awake and ready for the hunt, but holding my body back is getting hard to do.  If only Max could see the real danger that is right here in front of him.  It would be a miracle if I don’t kill him in the process of taking on the others.

I just have to keep as much self-control as I can now.  However, I know that I can’t make anyone any promise as far as that goes.

The ground rumbled and dirt fell all around me.  Standing in this tunnel, knowing that they were walking above me, was getting harder for me to do.  I was on the verge of total bloodlust.  My thirst had never been as great as it is now.  The good thing is that I am in the tunnel alone.  Aden had called everyone else back inside.  He knew that I was flirting dangerously close to killing everyone. 

The plan is for me to go out first.  Aden thinks that I would be the perfect distraction, but I can’t help but think that he is throwing me out there to my death.  My emotional state had twisted and turned so many times that I don’t know how I ended up feeling the way that I do now.  The only thing that I could think of was that the bloodlust was filling me with rage.

I needed that, as bad as it sounds.  The push to kill was going to be helpful and I needed my mind to be full of instincts.  Deep inside, I knew that I was not a killer, but this situation was going to call for me to do so and I was as prepared as I would ever be.

Each time that one of Alzar’s people came close enough to the opening, the smell of their blood only pulled me closer to going out.  I was almost at the point of no turning back.  Only seconds would pass before I would no longer be able to keep myself from going topside.

Since we had not found the time to break the bond that Alice and I share, I used it to warn everyone that I was going up. 

Alice, it is time.  With your permission I am going to use my influence on you.  It will help you to stay as safe as I can keep you.  Is that okay with you?

Yes, but, please, be safe.

With my mind I called to Alice in my last moment of sanity,
Alice, I command you to kill as many of them as you possibly can.  Keep your mind alert and listen to anything that I might say.  Do not allow yourself to be distracted, no matter what.

As soon as I was positive that my command had reached her, I jumped, busting through the thick wood that had been used as a cover to the entrance of the tunnel.  The air was filled with the scent of their blood and that was all it took for me to turn my sanity off.  Going into full on kill mode, I grabbed the closest one of Alzar’s people and drained him dry in a matter of seconds.  The blood was sticky and sweet on my lips. 

Dropping my victim to the ground, I searched for the next one, but by that time Alzar and the rest of his crew was aware of what was happening.  Quickly, I crouched into position.  One of them had thought he could attack me from behind, but he was wrong…dead wrong.

I took a little longer with that one.  He drained faster than the first one.

By that time Aden and everyone else was above ground with me and the battle was on.  I had evened our numbers, taking two of them and leaving four for the others.  My main priority now is protecting the rest of them while they do what they needed to do.

Max was hanging back, casting his spells to help us.  His power was warm to me and the feelings that I gave me were indescribable.  He was working hard and through our new connection, I felt his exhaustion building.  The spells are taking a lot out of him and at this rate he would not be able to deflect any of the spells that Alzar may or may not cast.  Something had to be done and done fast, or this was not going to go like we want it.

I noticed that Alice and Caleb had made their kills and were backing off from the bodies.  Aden was the only one that had yet to drain his victim.

Something about this entire fight worried me.  It was too easy.  It should have been so much harder for us to defeat his people than it had been.  Immediately, my eyes went to the woods, searching for anyone that could be hiding in the area.  The idea seemed more possible than anything that I could come up with. 

Scanning everything, I came to the conclusion that everyone that was supposed to be here was and my senses told me that no one else was even close to our area.

Max was breathing hard when I reached him.  Lines were forming on his face from the agony of his exhaustion.  Wracking my mind, I could only think of one thing that would come close to helping him.  His strength needed to be replenished and I have the only thing that could possibly do that…my blood.

It can heal him and make his power so much more forceful and sure.  Getting him to drink from me was going to be the problem.  Max is not a big fan of my kind, although, I am sure that he would do anything that I ask him to do, this will be asking a lot of him.  There is just not any other way to keep him safe.  If he even gives Alzar the slightest notion that he is vulnerable, there is no question that Max will be killed and I am not going to allow that to happen.

The distance between us is far more than I thought it had been.  My main goal is to get to him before he is too weak to continue, even with my assistance.

The closer I come to him, the less color was in his face.  He is so pale and the sight of it frightened me even more.  I picked up my speed and ran as fast as I could, but something in the woods caught my attention.

Someone else was there.  I knew that I had searched the area as best that I could, but somehow I had missed them.  That was such a stupid mistake on my part.  I knew that Alzar could hide anything from us, including other people, but I never expected it.  Relying on my instincts was proving not to be a good thing.  What are we going to do now?

The closer that I got to the rest of our group, the more of Alzar’s people came out of the woods.  There are so many of them and I was moving so fast that I couldn’t keep track of their numbers.  I just have to get to Max and then go from there.

Something was happening, something that I could not understand.  I knew that I was running at speeds well beyond the capabilities of the human eye to see, but it was like I wasn’t getting any closer to Max.  Before I realized what was wrong, it was too late. 

My body stopped against my will, almost like I had ran into a brick wall.  My legs were so heavy that even my super strength couldn’t move them.  I was frozen.

Seconds passed before I could grasp any other action that was happening around me.  Alzar’s group had surrounded me and I couldn’t do anything about it.  I’m stuck here; frozen, frightened and hopeless. 

This is it, my final moments.  I had always wondered what it would be like when I finally die. Now I am going to experience it for real, the end of everything.

My new life had only begun and now I was not going to have the chance to do anything that I wanted to do.  Living was not going to one of the options that Alzar would offer me, if he offered me any at all. 

Power swirled around me.  Alzar was close enough to me that I could feel him.  Now it was easy to see what Alice had been feeling right before all of this happened.  The sheer force of it was more than I could stand.  The ground shook violently in response.  Each step that he made was like a tremor. 

The stench of salt water filled my nostrils and was making it hard for me to inhale.  Without that, I was not going to be able to smell anything about the people around me and I realized how much that I had relied on that.

Alzar had closed in and was now in front of me.  The urge to escape was clawing at me, but there was not a single thing that I could do to free myself.  The only hope that I had of getting out of this was Max and I am not sure that his magic is going to be able to save me.

Seeing Alzar’s face brought back the day that I had seen him with my mother.  His skin was worn with age, but his eyes were fueled and youthful.  It was easy to see what my mother saw in him.  His attractive features are not something that is normal for a man his age.

He was strong and wise.  His body told that story well.  Every move that he made was well calculated.  I knew now that this was not the first time that he had done this.

“Who are you?” he asked sternly, his face never faltering with his question.

“Laynie” I managed to choke the words out.

He circled me once more before returning to face me.

“Why are you here?”

I didn’t know what to say to him.  If I told him the truth it was all over, but if I lied, the same thing was going to happen.

“I live here.”

He seemed to be surprised by my answer.  I watched him as he stared at me.

“With?”

I used all of my strength to point in Aden’s direction.  This was the only thing that I could think to do.  My answer could very well cost Aden his life, but should I really care?  He had done this to all of us for no reason. 

I could feel all of the resentment coming back to the surface.  Aden had knowingly put us all in danger and I had fallen for it.  This is what being so trusting will cause.  I am about to give my life for a liar and a murderer. 

I had nothing to do with any of this.  None of us did.  It was all Aden, but we are going to pay the price for his mistakes.

“Your mother sends her love.”

That ran all over me, making my rage flare in ways that it had never done before.  Before I could think, I had moved closer to Alzar, but not close enough to touch him.

My action caught him off-guard and he took a quick thoughtless step back, stumbling over a small stone.  He lost his balance, but quickly regained it.

I had shoved the invisible prison that I was being held in.  It was no more than a few feet, but it was enough to make me wonder if I could do it all over again.  Maybe there really is a way that I can break free from this.

“You’re a strong little thing aren’t you?” he smiled at me.

The only thing that I could do was return his devious grin with one of my own.  I wanted him to think that I was not afraid of him.

Suddenly, I could hear Alice’s voice in my head and I was thankful, once again, that I had not broken the bond between us.

Laynie, what do I do?

The only thing that I could think of to tell her is that she was going to have to allow Max to drink from her.

Why?

Now is not the time for you to question what I say, Alice.  You have to do this or we are all going to die.

Okay.

I had to keep Alzar’s attention on me and not on what Alice was going to do.  I have to keep him talking.

“Why does my mother want me dead?” I asked him.  He was the closest thing to getting an answer that I was going to get and if it was going to help Alice do what I had asked of her, then I was all for it.

“Why do you ask?”

“I just want to know before you kill me.”  It was not a complete lie.  I do want to know.  The idea has tortured me since I saw them together at her house.

“Okay, I think that I can honor your request, since you are aware of what is going to happen to you.”  He looked at me again and for a split second I thought that I had seen a hint of regret on his face.  “Your mother doesn’t want you to live this kind of life.  She says that it is against God, against everything that is right and natural.  Trust me, she is more saddened about it than you think, but she knows that it is the right thing to do for us all.”

“Does she know what you are?”  I couldn’t help asking that.  It was strange to me that she would be totally against what I have become and take someone as evil as he is and side with him.

“Yes, she knows.”

“Then tell me why you and I are so different?”

He seemed intrigued by my response.  His eyes lit up at the opportunity to answer.

“Because… I am your father.”

All the air left my lungs and the pain was close to that of bloodlust.  My heart reacted, breaking at his claim.

Could this be true?  Was the man that I had thought to be my father my whole life, in fact, been a lie?

“Why are you telling me this?” I asked as the tears fell from my eyes.

“Because I think that you should know the truth.  I have wanted you to know for such a long time, but she refused to tell you about me.”