Seared by Desire (47 page)

It’s
King
Lucian,
her mind
corrected.

Sara glared at her former friend, maintaining the vow of
silence she’d taken and so on a dejected sigh Abigail led her back
to the small room she was being held captive in. The rock bit
cruelly into Sara’s skin as the rope was retied around the pole her
clenched fist preventing the tool for her escape from becoming
visible. The moment the door closed Sara got to work. Her
experience of captivity had been a lesson in learning the routines
of those around her in preparation for this day and she knew that
she would be left alone for a few hours at the bare minimum. She
manipulated the rock in her palm, twisting it until it came into
contact with the rope and she began sawing away at her
constraints.

A groan of frustration fell from Sara’s lips as time
continued to pass with freedom no closer than when she’d started
cutting away at the rope. Her awareness of time was skewed as she
only saw the sun once a day and was forced to rely on the movements
of others as a guide. Judging by the pain in her arms and her own
internal body clock, she’d been trying to cut through the rope for
several hours, the thickness of the rope and the awkward position
her hands were forced to work in both conspiring to make the
apparently simple task of cutting rope extremely difficult. An
angry growl bubbled up within her throat and she was so frustrated
that she almost let it loose. Instead her head fell to her chest, a
sense of failure beginning to well within her.
What was I thinking?
Her mind
groaned.
Any one with a drop of sense
could tell this was never going to work.
I
must be the world’s biggest fool for ever thinking this was
possible.
A dejected sigh slipped past her
lips and her bruised, cut fingers finally stopped
working.

She sat slumped against the pole for a few minutes, resigned
to failure when the door opened.
Midday,
her mind automatically
supplied. She waited for her visitor to strengthen her briefly with
their flame but they hovered indecisively at the door.

“
Sara?”

Her head shot up at the sound of her father’s voice and her
eyes automatically narrowed in anger. “What do you want?” she
hissed.

He moved, closing the door behind him, his long stride eating
up the short distance that separated them. “Sara, is that anyway to
talk to your father?”

“
I don’t have a father…or a mother for that matter. They threw
me out of the only home I’d ever known and said they wanted nothing
to do with me. Leave,” she commanded, angry that it was only when
she was about to die that her parents acknowledged her.

He crouched, grabbing her tightly by the arms. “I had to
plead with Elder Geoffrey to visit you today. I’m not
leaving.”

“
You shouldn’t have bothered.” She turned her face away from
him. “You’ve seen me, now leave.” Her fingers clenched tightening
over the sharp rock.

“
Sara, I wish things weren’t so strained between us. If we’d
known what you would grow up to be, the situation would be have
been different, we would have treated you better.”

“
That’s the whole point father,” she snarled, her eyes aglow
in anger. “Even though it pains me to admit it, I’m your daughter,
your love for me shouldn’t be conditional.”
Lucian’s certainly isn’t.
As her
mind became filled with images of him, the desire to continue
trying to escape filled her. Even if the chances for success were
slim, she couldn’t give up. “I don’t want to talk to you ever
again. You had your chance to be my father and you ruined it. If
you ever loved me then please, leave me alone.”
So I can escape.

“
If that’s what you truly want then I’ll leave. I just wanted
to see you before tonight, before –” His jaw closed with a
resounding snap as he realised he’d almost said too
much.

So something’s happening tonight. Whatever it is I do
not
want to stay here
and wait for it to happen. I’ve got to be gone by then no matter
the cost.

Silent now, her father’s palms began to burn, heat and
strength pouring into her. He rose from the ground casting a
remorseful glance in her direction. “Goodbye Sara. I know I haven’t
been the best father to you but I’m proud of what you’ve
become.”

As soon as the door closed her fingers rushed into action,
her determination to escape renewed. Panic was making her heart
race, the sound of blood rushing through her veins pounding in her
ears. Her palms were bleeding profusely now, the skin cut to
ribbons by the small but sharp rock. The rope tied around her
wrists had rubbed the skin so raw that they too were bleeding. When
the rope finally fell away, her hands were a bloody mess. In a
desperate attempt to stop the bleeding, Sara tried to tear strips
of cloth from her shirt to use as a make shift bandage, stopping
almost immediately as pain exploded in her hands. She staggered
backward, using the pole to support her weight. Unaccustomed to
such pain, her eyes were watering, a headache building at her
temples.

“
I’ll have to wait until I get home,” she muttered to herself,
slinking towards the door. “Lucian won’t be happy to see this.” She
wince as she imagined the fierce look of anger on his handsome
features, she almost felt sorry for her captors but another wave of
pain washed over her and her sympathy died a quick
death.

Anxious, she placed her ear against the door, listening
intently for sounds of life outside. Silence greeted her ears but
she still opened the door cautiously, her eyes peering through the
small crack to confirm the silence with her eyes. Not a soul was
waiting for her when she tiptoed outside. The arrogance of her
people was astounding. They hadn’t even considered the possibility
that she could escape simply because she wasn’t as strong as them.
Ingenuity clearly wasn’t something they’d factored into their
plans.

She closed the door quietly behind her; attention wasn’t
something she could afford to attract. The sun was beginning to set
on her village giving her shadows to hide in.
A smile crept onto her lips when she realised that Lucian
would be rising soon, if all went according to plan they could be
together within the hour. The shorter days of autumn had never been
so welcome. She was uncomfortably close to the village centre,
within easy reach of Geoffrey and her goal was near the village
outskirts. Sara shrunk into the shadows, scanning the scene before
her, mapping out the best route to the reach the stables and Lance.
She groaned softly.
I never realised just
how many houses there were between here and the stables.

The village was unusually busy and from the little she could
see in the dark, most of the people milling about were outsiders.
Laughter and the rich smells of ale and food filled the air but she
didn’t have time to dwell on the strangeness of the situation,
people were coming. Her body hugged the wall as she edged further
out of sight. The voices came closer and her heartbeat became even
more erratic, sweat beading on her brow.

“
Who would have thought,” one of the voices slurred, clearly
inebriated. “Who would have thought the fire elementals would ever
call a peace conference?”

“
I thought they hated everybody,” another voice inserted, the
words so jumbled that it was hard to make out what had been
said.

A third voice joined the conversation, clearly the sober
voice of reason. “I heard Lucian of the vampires finally has peace,
maybe they decided that if after centuries of war he was at peace
they could be too.”

“
Who knows why they’ve done it,” the first voice laughed. “And
who cares? More ale!”

Sara watched as the three stumbled out of sight her worst
fears confirms. The fire elementals hadn’t called a peace
conference, they’d called a mass murder and wanted her to be the
executioner. Crouching low to the ground, she move as quickly as
the need for silence would allow. She avoided the hustle and bustle
of life in her village by keeping to the shadows, crouching and
hiding behind anything smaller than herself, her goal clear. The
crowds became bigger as she approached the stables, the noise
louder and her fear increased correspondingly. The houses had
disappeared leaving her only with barrels of ale to hide behind and
Sara dropped to the ground, using her elbows to pull her body along
the rocky terrain.

“
No one laughs before their funeral,” she groused, wincing as
another pebble cut the skin of her elbows. “Why would they think
the fire elementals want peace? They think Lucian and his people
are bloodthirsty…vampires are nothing compared to these
guys.”
I should tell them what’s going
on.
The idea was dismissed almost as
quickly as it had appeared. If she gave away her position, she
wouldn’t escape and if she was caught the people gathered were
going to die. Her escape was paramount.

The doors to the stable finally came into sight and she eased
the door open, sliding her body through the small gap. Her eyes
darted around the familiar space, a sigh of relief falling from her
lips when she found that she was blissfully alone. Standing, she
tried to find Lance among the other horses. The sound of loud
naying quickly caught her attention and she raced to the end of the
stable where the noise was coming from to find Lance chained within
his stall. The skin around his hooves looked much the same as her
chafed and bleeding wrists, it was clear why he was distressed. His
skin was dirty and matted with sweat, his eyes rolled wildly within
their sockets, crazed from the pain and Sara swore softly to find
him in such a state.

“
Lance,” she began gently, trying to reassure him and make him
aware of her presence. “Lance, it’s okay I’m here now.” Brown eyes
locked with blue and his wild movements slowed. “That’s it Lance,
we’re getting out of here and when we get home I’ll tend to your
wounds properly.”

She ran the back of her hand down the length of his nose,
letting him reassure himself with her scent. He calmed further,
moving to blow air affectionately into her hair. She gripped the
heavy bolt that kept him caged and pulled, breath leaving her lungs
in a rush as pain almost overwhelmed her. The bolt came free and
she pulled the door open, rushing in to embrace Lance’s
bulk.

She pulled back, touching his mane gently. “Let’s go home.”
Summoning the faint strength of her flame, Sara melted the shackles
around his hooves beneath her blazing palm. She instantly regretted
using fire to remove the obstacle as a wave of weakness washed over
her.

That’s it, no more fire until I’m fully healed,
she decided.
The pain I
can just about deal with but the weakness as well? Those two
combined will only serve to get me killed or caught and I can’t
afford either.

Sara leapt onto Lance’s bare back, the pressing need to
escape meaning she had to forgo a saddle. She leaned down to
whisper in his ear, “When we get home, I’ll give you a proper
brushing I promise. Are you strong enough to get us
there?”

He nayed loudly as though he’d understood her words and after
so many years together it was entirely possible that he did. Taking
the sound as a sign of agreement she rubbed his neck reassuringly
before urging him into a run. His strong hooves kicked the door
open and Sara galloped into village intent on her
escape.

She rode out into the night, stunning those around her with
her presence. The laughter that had filled the air only seconds ago
ground to a halt and suddenly all eyes were on her. Sara’s blue
eyes locked with Geoffrey’s for a moment, the hate in his dark eyes
all consuming. Breaking away from his gaze, she spurred Lance into
action, pressing her body close to his flesh as he raced past the
crowd towards freedom, towards Lucian. Orders were called, voices
rising in volume as they realised that the child of flame was once
again on the loose and intent on escape. The drunken faces of those
who had been tricked into attending the false peace conference
blurred as Lance’s hooves pounded against the earth propelling her
past them. She glanced back briefly to see Geoffrey’s hands moving
wildly as he issued commands and others rushed to follow them. Even
with his injuries, the horse was still a force to be reckoned with
and the outskirts of the village soon came into view.

“
I’ve made it,” she laughed triumphantly, giddy excitement
thrumming through her veins. “I’m coming Lucian.”

Her brows furrowed, the hairs on the back of her neck rising
as a sense of ill eased filled her, settling within her chest. Her
skin warmed as the temperature rocketed suddenly, the abrupt change
warning her that something was about to occur. In the blink of an
eye she was surrounded by fire, flames leaping from the ground to
fill her vision. Lance reared back from the fire, his eyes rolling
wildly in their sockets, throwing Sara from her perch on his
shoulders to the hard earth. She stood quickly, rushing to his side
in a desperate attempt to calm him but terror gripped him hard as
he hit the ground hard with his hooves, preventing her from
approaching him and clipping her shoulder when she got too close.
The fires died down enough for Abigail to walk through,
disappointment etched on her features.