Talisman 2 - The Sapphire Talisman (10 page)

“Plans?”

“Yes,” she hissed. “And you
will
start respecting me.”

“Whatever.” I rolled my eyes.

Her anger magnified while her hand blurred through the air and froze next to my cheek. I flinched anyway. The muscles in her neck constricted, the tendons jutting out from under the surface of her delicate skin. But the talisman warmed, calming my pulse. With a grunt, Alora’s hand shook, but she couldn’t come any closer.

A deep, cleansing laugh burst forth from my belly when I felt her irritation follow.

“There’s nothing stopping me from ordering Katie to hunt down your father, your brother, your best friend, even Nicholas,” Alora spoke with her index finger in my face.

I clamped my lips shut to stop myself from calling her a bad name and wiped the smirk off my face.

“That’s better.” The malevolence played across her tone. “I’ve come to get something that’s been stolen from me. It’s only fair, don’t you think?”

“How does that involve me?”

“You, my little pussy cat,” she whispered while using her finger to trace along my chin line to hold my jaw up so she could cast a burning glare into my eyes, “
unfortunately
are the key to everything.”

Why am I always the key?

“Aden,” Alora said while snapping her fingers. “Aden!”

He’d fallen over again and slept on a pile of fish nets next to a bald mermaid.

“Forget it. They’ll be here soon.” She recovered into her calm, angelic self, smiling her innocent smile. “Get comfortable. You’re going to be here a while.”

I gulped, unsure what she meant. But before I knew it, she’d ushered me to one of the cages, locked me inside, and left the room.

In the dark corner I stood with my eyes glued to the door—the one Aden lay drooling next to—awaiting my doom.

Chapter Twelve

“
I
invite you in, Nicholas,” I whispered ever so slightly through the hole in the metal siding next to me, knowing that in order to cross a vampire’s domain you must be invited in. “Come get me, please.”

All I could see outside was a cement wall topped with curled barbed wire stretching out of my view. I sobbed and crumbled into a heap on the ground. Now that I was alone, my bravery diminished to practically nothing.
H
ot tears began to pour down my cheeks and splashed on my pant leg.

For once, since the fortune teller’s prediction, I feared for my own life. If they left me here the talisman would do me no good. I could die of thirst or starvation
before
Nicholas
could
find me. And without my phone, there was no GPS locator for my dad to come to my rescue either—not that I wanted him to be drawn into the vampire lair.

I’d have to try to escape or get someone’s attention, which was very unlikely considering our desolate location. The general mixing of the beach-town carefree emotions was all that could be felt beyond Aden’s peaceful slumber and Alora’s thirst for power.

The jagged edge on the metal hinge of the door caught my attention. While leaning my back up against the grate, I placed the rope gingerly along the edge and tugged. In my haste, the rope slipped and the metal sliced my hand instead.
F
iery pain shot up my arm. I sucked the air in quickly between my teeth and tried again.

With more care, I was able to break the rope free. Blood gushed down my arm and pooled in the crook of my elbow. To hide the scent, I licked the blood off and put pressure on the wound with my sock. The rusty-tasting substance turned my stomach and I gagged, completely puzzled at how becoming a vampire made blood taste like liquid heaven.

Holding the sock on my wrist, I clambered to my feet and yanked on the door. The lock was new and held the frame solidly in place.

“
Enigma, if you can hear me, tell Nicholas where I am. Have him come get me
,” I begged mentally in desperation.
“I invite you, too.”

“I invite everyone,” I said out loud in anguish.

I scanned the floor for a nail or something to pick the lock, without any luck. Aden snorted.

“Aden,” I whispered. “Aden, can you hear me?”

He grunted again and stirred slightly.

“Can you let me out?”

“Huh?” he asked with half-opened eyes. “How’d you get in there?”

“I’m supposed to do something for Alora but I’m trapped,” I said with a hushed voice. “Do you have a key?”

“Don’t use her name or she’ll get really
peeved
.” Aden sounded like he had marbles in his mouth. He reached his hand into his jean pocket, fumbled around, and extracted a set of keys and a can of chew. “Is this it?”

I wasn’t sure, but I hoped one would unlock the door.

“Yeah.”

He half-heartedly tossed the keys, just missing my outstretched fingertips. They fell to the ground in a jangling heap just out of my grasp. “Aden, I can’t reach them.”

“Oops.” He snickered and slumped back over again.

“Aden? Aden!”

I grabbed the bars and shook them. Aden continued to snooze away soundly, ignoring me. I folded my hands up under my chin and leaned against the cage in defeat.

God, if you’re up there. Please send someone to save me.

The minutes ticked by and turned into an hour, then possibly two as the keys sat and mocked me. I nervously paced and waited for the others to come back. Alora’s lust-for-power trademark wasn’t within my radar
anymore
.
Why d
id she leave?

Now would be the opportune time for
Nicholas’
gallant rescue since I wasn’t being guarded. But how would he know where to look? Thoughts of him returning to Mr. Pickles and not finding me there, along with my unanswered texts sent my nerves ablaze. He’d always been so level
-
headed, I imagined he’d return to my house before panicking. Maybe my scent lingered in the air leading up to the sidewalk where I was taken. Maybe my broken phone still lay on the ground where I dropped it, alerting my capture. That could make him go mad with worry.

Yelling for help crossed my mind
a
nd I almost did when the atmosphere changed. An unknown number of people, including vampires, were on their way back to the building. My pulse began to race in expectation of the entourage
’s arrival
. I gathered the rope and wove it around my wrists behind my back, sitting in the shadowed corner.

The door opened and Katie sauntered in with the two other guys from the van. They carried another poor soul in between them, supported by their shoulders.

“Where is she?” Tony’s voice was full of excitement—a child with a surprise for his mother.

“She’ll come.” Katie dusted off her hands on her pants
and straightened her black fitted-top.

“Do we have to wait long?” Evan asked with a grunt. “He’s kinda heavy.”

“Shut up, you big baby,” Katie snarled. “If you want immortality, you’ll do as she wants without whining. Keep it up and maybe next time I’m thirsty I won’t stop.”

Evan spat on the ground, internally covering up his loathing hate. The man between them mumbled undecipherable threats and jerked, pulling Tony and Evan off balance.

Katie pivoted around and lifted up his head by his hair, still blocking my view of their captive. “Quiet down, Nicky, or I’ll have to do something more drastic.”

At the mention of his name I shrieked and rose to my feet. “What have you done to him?”

“Now, now, Julia,” Alora said, suddenly appearing in the room. “You promised to behave.”

“Not to this!” I grabbed the bars between us and shook with all my might. “Let him go!”

Alora pursed her lip and eyed the bloodied sock next to my feet. “Tony, she’s apparently escaped her restraints. Silence her.”

With a satisfied smirk, Tony heaved Nicholas onto Evan, grabbed the gag off the floor, and headed my direction.

I eyed the dirty rag and put my quaking hands to my side. “I’ll be quiet.” My chest heaved as I tried to center myself. My escape would be easier without being gagged and tied.

“You’d better,” Alora said, no longer interested in me, but inspecting her new specimen. “Katie, what happened to him?” Her voice and eyes hardened in anger.

Katie’s aloof demeanor dissolved into a bumbling child. “I’m sorry, my Queen. One dose wasn’t working, so we had to do
. . .
three.”

Out of nowhere, Katie’s body flew into the air and hit a nearby wall. She yelped in pain as the sound of the collision reverberated throughout the room.

“Good grief, Katie,” Alora barked. “Your haste has almost cost me two of my servants tonight. I’ve entrusted you to handle my affairs properly and all you’ve done is mistreat me.”

“I’m sorry, my Queen,” Katie whimpered and kept her distance in the corner.

Alora turned her attention to Nicholas. “My poor darling. Let’s get you fixed up.” She glanced towards Katie with disdain. “Get Alexandra, now.”

“Yes, my Queen.” Katie bowed.

“Untouched,” Alora added.

“Of course.”

Katie’s animosity inflamed as she straightened up and calmly flitted out of the room though her face didn’t show it. Effortlessly, and with great care, Alora took Nicholas from Evan and carried him into the cell next to mine. She gently laid him down on a cot; something my cell seemed to be lacking.

My heart pound
ed
in my chest like a sledge hammer against my ribs. Now was the time my secret power needed to emerge. I couldn’t stand here and watch the love of my life die when it was my destiny to save the world from the
w
retched blood-suckers in the first place. I gritted my teeth and willed for a miracle with all my might, but nothing heroic happened.

Then Nicholas’ eyes rolled back into his head. The consuming suffocation he felt pulled me under, as if we were both trapped within a wet wool blanket.

“He’s dying
!
” I
screamed
out, watching him gasp for each life-sustaining breath.

“It’ll all be over shortly.”
Alora
spoke, her gaze attentive on his face. She pushed back his damp bangs. “I promise.”

With rapt concentration, I tried to break the connection from his all-encompassing aura. What Grandma said about the distancing being more difficult during times of stress couldn’t have been more accurate. The severing tore at my chest and left hollowness in its place as I focused to put up a mental barrier. Once I was free, I studied his face to make sure abandoning his side internally wasn’t going to make the pain worse for him.

What I felt after
wards
was surprising. Out of Alora’s cold heart flowed genuine concern for Nicholas, like a mother
’s love
for her son. I furrowed my brow. Her feelings didn’t make sense at all. Phil had said she wanted him for the reward. The higher-ups didn’t like vampire assassins roaming free and had ordered his capture.

“The one thing I’ve learned about family skeletons is that they always have a way of finding the light of day and ending up at the neighborhood garage sale,” she whispered.

I helplessly watched in horror, as the time between each breath
he took
grew longer
,
my hatred for Alora increased with each second.

“You’re insane. I thought you had to turn him in alive,” I spewed. “His death will do you no good!”

“Oh, but I have grander plans for Nicholas than fulfilling his warrant. But I wonder
. . .
did Nicholas ever mention his mother’s name?”

I shot Alora an ugly look. What a crazy question to ask? Why did it matter if he ever did or didn’t tell me her name? Nicholas was dying.

“Please help him,” I whispered, watching his skin turn grey
, his
breathing almost
at
a complete stop. More than anything, I wanted to throw the necklace to him or do something. Maybe being in contact with the talisman would save his life.

“Don’t fret, Julia.”

“You heartless witch,” I blurted. “You’re doing nothing but talking—look at him, he’s going to die!”

The door opened again. Katie brought in a girl, younger than me with a serendipitously happy grin on her face, towards the cell.

“Thank you,” Alora said to Katie, taking the girl by the hand and leading her inside.

The girl pursed her lips in contained excitement.

“Thank you, my dear, for your gift.”

My eyes opened wide, wondering what “gift” meant.

With a flick of Alora’s fingernail, blood gushed from the girl’s arm and she cried out. I gasped, expecting a sudden feeding frenzy. Instead, Alora patted the girl on the back and motioned for her to do something. The girl smiled and willingly held her arm over
Nicholas’
mouth.

“What are you doing?” I ran to the edge of my cage.

Nicholas spit red bubbles as the blood poured into his mouth.

“You’ll suffocate him. He needs water!” I exclaimed and fell to my knees, tempted to beg them to stop.

He fought the liquid, shaking his head. I lifted my feelings
’
barrier just as the huge internal struggle erupted inside him. The vampire within wanted to claw its way out and actually drink the blood. His eyes rolled back into his head and he groaned, trying to control the urge.

“Stop!” I screamed, afraid of what would happen if they didn’t quit.

Alora gave me a joyful look while smoothing back
Nicholas’
hair and sang a little tune.

T
he animal inside him exploded through the tight container Nicholas hid him in. His eyes burst open and
his
face contorted with a snarl; he took the girl’s wrist and yanked it to his lips—wanting more. The girl moaned in delight, followed by a sigh, then fell down next to his body.

“We must be gentle and no biting,” Alora warned, like Nicholas was her pet. “Blood bestowers are to be respected.”

Unable to stop the flood of yummy mind-numbing glee, my body began to tingle as the sensation hit me too. I fought to stay composed, but the euphoria took over and I crumpled to the floor, relishing in the delight.

“I see you’re experiencing it too. Wonderful,” I heard Alora say, her ethereal voice dancing around in the sudden vastness of my head.

And at that dangerous moment, all I wanted was to become a vampire and feel the rush whenever and wherever. With grave disappointment, I felt the bliss suddenly cease.
A
lion-like roar brought me back into reality and I opened my eyes.

“Sorry. We don’t want to expend her.” Alora ushered the sappy, smiling girl into the waiting arms of Tony. “Take her back.”