Seared by Desire (48 page)

She strode determinedly towards Sara, pulling her up by the
collar and forcing her to stand. “What do you think you’re doing?”
Angry spittle landed in Sara’s face forcing her to turn away.
Abigail slapped her hard and made their eyes meet. “You are
unbelievable. Seeing as you’re so intent on getting away, let us
indulge you. Hold her and come with me.”

The command flowed easily from her lips and Sara soon found
thick arms wrapped around her body. She stifled a cry as her
shoulder was manhandled into a more malleable position. With her
arms pressed tightly against her chest, her struggles barely
registered to the man holding her. He lifted her off the ground and
followed Abigail’s steps back towards the village. Gnashing her
teeth in frustration, Sara cursed. She hadn’t thought of the guards
that would have been placed at the village entrance to prevent
their ‘guests’ from leaving and she was paying sorely for her lack
of forethought. The village centre drew inexorably closer, her
heart sinking with each step they took. When they stopped, her eyes
scanned their surroundings, desperately trying to find another
escape route. Sara’s stomach rolled when she caught sight of a dead
body being pulled along the ground towards them, blood from the
fatal injury to his chest creating a gory trail.

Resisting the urge to be sick, she turned to Abigail, hoping
for answers. “What’s going on?”

“
It’s done then?” Abigail demanded ignoring Sara’s question,
unaffected by the body placed at her feet.

“
Yes,” the newcomer answered. “He didn’t even put up a fight
but what do you expect from a water elemental?” He turned to look
at the corpse at his feet, disgust evident on his face. “We’re
doing the world a favour by removing people like this from it. The
weakness of some people is repulsive.”

Abigail nodded in understanding, her eyes moving to meet
Sara’s captor. “Bring her here.”

Sara’s feet didn’t touch the ground as she was moved to her
former friend’s side. She watched in disgust as Abigail placed her
hand into the man’s bleeding wound before wiping the blood down her
front. “What are you doing?” she screamed, revulsion filling her.
She was on the verge of being sick, her churning stomach moving
bile up her throat as blood filled her senses.

Unmoved, Abigail and the others continued to cover her in
blood, their hands moving relentlessly over her body. With no
choice but to endure the strange form of torture her people were
intent on, Sara’s eyes wandered away from the body, trying to
pretend the situation wasn’t happening. She watched as a woman
spoke hurriedly into her fiery palm, clearly conversing with
someone from the village until the hands coating her in blood
stopped moving and the bodies attached to them took a step
back.

Closing her open palm and extinguishing the flames that had
resided in the centre, the woman moved to the larger group,
touching Abigail lightly on her shoulder. “They’re
coming.”

A bloody dagger was forced into Sara’s already bleeding palm
before she was dropped unceremoniously to the floor. On her hands
and knees, she looked up to see a group of drunken revellers making
their way towards them.
Panicked, Sara
stared up at the newcomers, knowing that no good could come of this
meeting. She was covered in blood and a body lay dead at her feet,
the evidence against her was compelling. The drunken smiles that
had been plastered on their faces as they strolled uncaringly
towards her died a swift death when the smell of blood reached
their noses and their eyes witnessed the horrid scene that had been
prepared for them.

“
Murderer!!!” The word tore through the air so loudly that
Sara’s ears rang. “Murderer!!!!” The cry came again. She threw the
blade aside but it was too late, more people were gathering, drawn
by the desperate screams. Horrified gasps spilled from the lips of
those around them, the horrid crime in their midst filling them
with disgust.

“
Treachery,” someone hissed, the word gaining momentum and
spreading among the crowd to fill the air until it rose into a
loud, pulsing chant.

A water elemental strode through the crowd to reach the body
of his fallen comrade. His fingers wandered over the man’s wrist,
trying to find a pulse, some sign of life. Long, tapered fingers
spread out over the victim’s chest, trying to heal the wound but it
was too late, not even a water elemental could resurrect the dead.
He stood, towering over Sara, turquoise eyes filled with hate as
they bored into her as though trying to see into her soul.
“Treachery,” he repeated angrily.

“
Gabriel, please, calm down. Let’s talk about this
reasonably,” one of his companions pleaded, clutching at his
arm.

Gabriel shrugged off the offending limb, moving closer to
Sara, murder written in his eyes. “No, I will not calm down. Can’t
you see the treachery before your eyes?! The fire elementals
invited us here under the pretence of peace but as soon as our
defences are lowered they kill one of our people. They don’t want
to talk about peace, they never have done.”

“
I, I, I,” Sara stuttered uncertainly, pain making her feel
weak and lightheaded. Her fogged mind and the cotton that felt as
though it had settled in her mouth were combining to make it
increasingly difficult to form sentences, even in her
defence.

“
Silence!” Gabriel bellowed. “I don’t want to hear you speak
murderer.”

Geoffrey pushed his way through the crowd, feigning shock
when he saw the mangled corpse in front of a blood stained Sara.
“What is going on here?”

“
Your treachery has been revealed Geoffrey. All your grand
talk of peace and reconciliation were lies. Look,” Gabriel
commanded. “They’ve killed one of my people but we discovered them
before they managed to kill anyone else. “Turning to the crowd,
fists clenched in anger, he called loudly, “We have to leave this
place because I assure you, you’re next.”

“
Gabriel,” Geoffrey began, hating that he had to act
deferentially to the man before him. “This attack wasn’t planned. I
didn’t approve of it. We want peace, don’t let the actions of a
single rogue convince you otherwise.” Murmurs filled the air, the
delegates clearly confused as to who to believe. “If we must prove
ourselves then so be it. We want the talks to continue
Gabriel.”

“
And how do you expect me to believe you?”

Geoffrey gritted his teeth in frustration, Gabriel was
beginning to annoy him. He hadn’t expected to have to deal with the
water elementals directly, they were usually so calm, so submissive
that he’d thought someone else would defend them but Gabriel was
proving to be a surprise. Nevertheless, the plan was going well.
“We’ll execute this murderer.” Gasps of surprise ran through the
crowd. Fire elementals never killed their own.

Gabriel’s eyes narrowed in suspicion. “And how are we to be
sure that she’s dealt with properly?”

“
We’ll put her in the ever fire tonight. No elemental can
withstand the power of their spirit’s physical form as you should
all know. She won’t survive and we can continue with the
talks.”

Geoffrey’s words jolted Sara out of the pain induced stupor
she’d fallen into, the pieces of his plan falling neatly into
place. They had kept her weakened for this end specifically. The
delegates might believe she couldn’t withstand Seraphina’s flames
but they were wrong.
If they put me in the
ever fire, Seraphina will rise again. She’ll be unstoppable. She’ll
kill everyone here…me included.
Arms
lifted her from the ground and she began to struggle, ignoring the
pain in her shoulder and hands. “Stop! You can’t do this! Please,
don’t listen to him, he plans to kill you all. You have to listen
to me.”

Geoffrey’s eyes darkened in anger. “Gag her,” he instructed
calmly.

“
No,” she screamed desperately but the material was already
being readied, Abigail moving ever closer with the cloth to prevent
word of their schemes from being heard. Sara turned her head,
watching Lance prance agitated on the sidelines and an idea came to
her. “Lance!” she bellowed, instantly garnering the horse’s
attention. “Lance, run. Run home and get Lucian.” Her frantic
please were silenced as a rough piece of fabric was forced into her
mouth but the horse had gone, following her frantic command, he
galloped away into the night leaving Sara alone with her
captors.
Hurry Lucian, before I do
something that can never be undone. I don’t want to kill all these
people and I don’t want to die. I want to live with you
forever.

Chapter Twenty Four – Flames of
Desire

Time passed slowly for Lucian as he paced the length of the
room he shared with Sara. He couldn’t sleep and couldn’t rest
because she consumed his every thought. The instant he closed his
eyes, she was there, his mind conjuring images of her being
tortured in the hands of the fire elementals. There was no peace
for him for if he wasn’t thinking about the fire elementals, he was
thinking about Seraphina, worrying constantly that the spirit had
taken control again, that she was draining Sara’s life and taking
his bride away from him. He growled angrily, cursing his inability
to go to her simply because of sunlight. Hitting the wall with his
fist made him no calmer, serving only to create shallow gashes on
his hand that healed almost instantly due to Sara’s blood. The
reminder that he was only alive and well because of her made a
string of curses fall from his lips.

“
I’ve had enough,” he snarled, moving to the window. He pulled
the thick blinds back allowing the waning sun to enter the room
through the small crack. His eyes watered slightly when he looked
through the crack into the twilight. Night was fast approaching and
the sun’s presence on the horizon was fading from sight quickly.
His skin prickled slightly but the burn wasn’t as extreme as it had
been when he’d last seen the sun. “I can cope with the pain,” he
decided, the words leaving through gritted teeth.

Picking up his helmet, he patted his waist ensuring his blade
was in the right place, satisfied that he was prepared to retrieve
his bride and run through all who stood in his path. Striding away
from the window, he walked across the room unsurprised to find
Gareth and Russell waiting for him in the corridor. He glanced at
them briefly, noting the grim looks on their faces. They knew him
too well, they knew what he planned to do and clearly weren’t happy
with his plan.

“
You can’t stop me,” he told them authoritatively when they
opened their mouths to speak. “I’m going to get her and I’m leaving
now.”

“
We know,” Gareth sighed, resigned to his King’s decision. “We
know that there’s nothing we can do to stop you…and we wouldn’t
want to stop you. She’s not just your Queen, to us she’s the Lady
of Light and always will be.”

Russell smiled, confirming Gareth’s sentiments. “The army is
ready to march Lucian. As soon as the sun sets we’ll be right
behind you. Any minute now we’ll be able to go but if you can’t
bear to stay here, to wait for night to fall, we
understand.”

Lucian smiled, clapping both men on the shoulder in a
friendly gesture. “I’m glad you understand and no, I can’t wait.
Sara needs me now, I have to go to her.”

“
We understand,” Russell began. “Just like Gareth said, the
army is ready and waiting to be of use to the King and Queen of
Light.”

Lucian's brow furrowed in confusion at the new title. Sara
had earned her name but there was nothing about him remotely linked
to light. From his appearance to his demeanour he was darkness
personified. “What are you talking about?” he asked, curiosity
getting the better of him. “The King of Light?”

A secret smile passed between Gareth and Russell before the
latter began to chuckle gently. “Didn’t you know?”

“
Know what?” he pressed.

“
Your name Lucian.”

“
What about it?”

Placing a set of guiding hands on Lucian's shoulders, Russell
led him to the window, hiding behind the blinds when he pulled it
open to give Lucian an exit. “It means light, Lucian stands for
light. You and Sara are destined.” He patted him firmly on the back
before pushing him out of the window. “Now go and get her. We’ll be
right behind you.”

The ground disappeared beneath his feet but Lucian didn’t
stumble, taking off instantly and flying purposefully towards Sara.
He placed his helmet over his head to protect himself from the
dying rays of sun and ignored any other discomfort he experienced,
dismissing the pain as a necessary evil to reach Sara. The earth
passed quickly beneath him and as time passed, he touched the chain
around his neck, fingering the rings that were there waiting for
Sara and him to wear, a symbol of their union. She wasn’t just his
bride, she was going to be his wife and as soon as he saw her he’d
slip the ring on to her finger and make it official. There was so
much he wanted to give her and for a second he worried that he
wouldn’t have the chance to give it to her but he shook his head
decisively, dislodging any self-defeating thoughts.

Instead he turned his mind to the fire elementals and the
vengeance he would bring down on them if they’d hurt Sara in any
way. His grip on his blade tightened as his fangs lengthened in
anger. The fire elementals would suffer and he wouldn’t even need
to release the monster within him to do it. The presence he’d come
to associate with the dangerous being that lurked within him over
the years had faded since he’d taken Sara’s blood, disappearing
into nothingness. Vampires like Gareth might abhor the thought of
finding and claiming their bride but a time would come when they’d
realise just how important she was. With your bride’s blood in your
veins, the monster within would never again surface. The world was
like a different place when your bride was around to make it seem
so much brighter and in a world with sunlight there was no need for
the monster within to exist.