The Eternity Cure (46 page)

“All right.” I sighed, admitting defeat. “Yes. Of course I’m coming to Eden. Was there really any doubt with both you and Kanin going?” I shook my head at him, smirking. “So, yes, Ezekiel. I will come to Eden with you, and hopefully your scientists won’t throw me in a cage and stick me full of tubes.”

Zeke pressed his lips to mine, quick and sweet. “They won’t,” he said as he drew back. “I promise. They already know about you, what you did for me and the others. And Kanin…” He shrugged. “I see now what you meant about him. He’s not like the other vampires, either.” His expression grew teasing. “I can see where you get it from.”

“Don’t make me bite you, preacher boy.” I frowned then, remembering something. “Wait, what about Jackal?”

“Jackal.” His eyes went solemn. “That was another reason Kanin and I wanted to talk in private. Tomorrow evening, we’re leaving the city, without the Prince’s knowledge. Jackal won’t be coming with us.”

“We’re leaving him behind?”

“More like Kanin will make it clear that Jackal is no longer welcome to travel with us,” Zeke said. “And that if he follows us or tracks us down, he’ll kill him.”

I blinked. “That’s a little extreme.”

“I’m not bringing him to Eden, Allie.” Zeke’s voice was grave. “Can you imagine someone like Jackal around Caleb? Or Bethany?”

I made a face. “Right. I can see your point.”

“I’m taking a huge risk by bringing you and Kanin back,” Zeke admitted. “Letting even a single vampire through the gates is one thing, but two?” He shook his head. “If I brought in Jackal, and he hurt someone, I could never forgive myself. Plus, the Eden officials would never trust
any
vampire again. They’d kill you, and Kanin, and probably me. Jackal could put us all at risk. He has to stay away.”

“And if he ignores the warning and tracks us down using our blood tie?”

“Then I’ll get the chance to make good on my promise,” Zeke said darkly, his eyes going cold for a moment. “But I think Jackal will be smart enough to stay away from us, especially if Kanin warns him to.”

I nodded. I didn’t really like it, and Jackal wouldn’t like it, but we certainly couldn’t take him with us. Zeke was right. The raider king was far too volatile to trust in Eden, especially since the cure would be right there. Knowing him, he’d grab it and run as soon as he got the opportunity. “So.” I looped my arms around his neck, feeling mischievous and strangely wicked. “When are we putting this daring plan into action?”

“Just after sundown.” His eyes half closed as I leaned in and brushed my lips across his jaw. “We’ll come get you. Be ready to move fast.”

“I can do that.” I smiled at him lazily. “Or, I could just stay here tonight.”

Zeke’s breathing hitched. “Allie,” he said, sounding breathless. His heart pounded as if he’d run several miles, fast and frantic. “I…I want you to. But…I want this to be right for us.” His palm cupped my cheek, warm and smooth, stroking with his thumb. “We just found each other again. I don’t want to do anything we’ll regret later. If you stay, I don’t think I could… I mean…” He sighed, squeezing his eyes shut. “You have no idea how hard this is for me, but…maybe, this isn’t the right time. Not now, in a vampire tower…with
them
all around.” He opened his eyes, giving me a pleading look. “Do you understand…what I’m trying to say?”

I smiled. “You’re turning red, did you know that?”

“Allie!” Zeke blew out his breath in a huff. I laughed, released him and stepped back.

“All right,” I said, picking up my katana sheath. “I’ll go back to my room then, preacher boy.” He looked both relieved and disappointed, but oddly enough, I wasn’t upset. Kanin was alive. Zeke was alive. We, against all hope, had found a cure for New Covington. Tomorrow, the three of us would leave the city to go to Eden. Zeke and I had time. He wasn’t going anywhere, and neither was I.

He followed me to the door, pausing as I unlocked it and stepped into the hall. “Good night, Zeke.” But as I started to leave, he reached out and took my wrist, stopping me.

“Allison, wait.”

I turned. Zeke stood there, holding my hand, a conflicted look on his face, as if he was trying to find the right words. My skin prickled, blood singing, as he raised his eyes to mine. “I… What I’m trying to say is…”

A movement off to the side made him turn his head. I glanced in that direction and saw Stick once more, watching us from around a corner, his eyes dark.

Zeke faltered, then let me go, drawing back through the frame. “Never mind,” he said, smiling to ease the embarrassment. And even though I was furious with Stick for his damned interruption, my skin prickled under that look. “It’s not important. Well, it
is,
but…I’ll tell you later. When we’re out of New Covington. I promise.”

When his door closed, I thought of going to find Kanin, just to confirm the plan. But then I thought I might run into Jackal, Stick or the Prince, all of whom I didn’t want to see right then. So I wandered back to my room, flipped through my mom’s book for a while and replayed my conversation with Zeke until I had it memorized. I almost went back to his room several times, despite what he’d said, until dawn threatened the horizon and the decision was made for me.

But something still nagged at my brain as I crawled atop the sheets of the huge bed, drawing the curtains against the light. Something dark and ominous, making it hard to relax, even in a place like this.

It hit me, then. Sarren. Sarren was still out there, somewhere in the dark. Where was he now? I wondered, lying back against the sheets. Had he left New Covington? Or was he still hanging around, waiting for us, eager for revenge?

The thought was troubling, but I put it from my mind as sleep began to draw me under. Even if Sarren was still in the city, he couldn’t get into the Prince’s tower, not without alerting every human and vampire in the place. This was the most secure place in all New Covington. Not even Sarren could take on an entire army. As long as we stayed in the tower, we were safe from crazy vampires and their plans for revenge. And between me, Zeke and Kanin, Sarren would have his work cut out for him if we faced him together.

Let him try something,
I thought as my eyes closed and I slipped further into the darkness. I had already taken his eye, his arm, and Kanin and Zeke were alive and well. I wasn’t afraid of him anymore.

I awoke the next night right at sundown, changed into my old clothes—which had been washed and laid out for me as promised—and waited for Kanin and Zeke.

After several minutes, my uneasiness grew. They weren’t here yet. Where were they? Had the Prince reneged on his promise, and Kanin was down in the dungeon again, being tortured and starved? Had Jackal discovered the plan to leave him behind and decided to take matters into his own hands? I tried not to fidget, to imagine the worst possible outcomes, but as the minutes ticked by, my apprehension and anger grew more and more.

“Screw it,” I finally muttered after nearly a half hour had passed and neither of them had showed. “I’m not waiting around here. I’ll find them myself.”

Making sure I had everything—my sword and my mom’s book—I stalked across the room, threw the door open and nearly ran into Kanin on the other side.

“Dammit, Kanin!” I staggered back, glaring at him. “Where were you? I was just about to go looking for…”

I trailed off at the look on his face. “Come with me,” he said in a low, strained voice, and immediately started walking away. I scrambled to catch up.

“Kanin? Where are we going? What’s going on?” I frowned up at him. “Where’s Zeke, and Jackal?” He didn’t answer, and I jogged to keep pace with him. “Hey, you’re kind of scaring me.”

“I’m sorry,” Kanin almost whispered, and a cold fist grabbed my insides. “I can’t say more, Allison. You’ll see when we get there.”

Numb with terror, I followed him into the elevators, watching the numbers descend, one by one, until we hit the basement.

Prince Salazar glared at me as we entered the hospital, his dark eyes glittering with anger. Not for Kanin this time. Me. I ignored the Prince, though, when I saw Jackal, Dr. Emerson and several guards surrounding a single cot in the middle of the room. A body lay atop it, lean and tall, though I couldn’t see it clearly through the crowd. The sheets beneath it were soaked in blood, and my mind started screaming a protest.

No! No, it can’t be him! Dammit, it
cannot
be him!

“He was found outside the towers, early this morning,” Salazar said, his voice tight with bridled rage. “We brought him in, but there is nothing more to be done. It is a miracle he has survived this long. He has been asking for you, Kanin’s daughter.”

No,
I moaned silently, incapable of speech right then. But Salazar stepped aside, as did Emerson and the guards, and I saw who lay atop the bed.

Stick’s glassy, pain-filled eyes met mine across the room, and widened when they saw me. “Allie?” he whispered, and my relief that it wasn’t
Zeke
quickly turned to horror as I studied him. Blood soaked his middle, stained through his business suit, and his skin was the color of chalk. His expression was filled with pain and fear, and all the bitterness, rage and hurt toward him melted away as he held out a pale, blood-spattered hand. “Allie…”

I took it, stepping to his side. “What happened?” I whispered, looking over his wounds in despair. I’d seen this before. Stabbed through the gut, a wound that was painful and lingering. He didn’t have long. “Who did this to you?”

“I’m sorry,” Stick whispered, his voice choked. “I’m sorry, Allie. I didn’t know. I’m sorry.”

“Sorry for what?” I murmured as he shuddered and began coughing. Blood ran from his mouth, streaming down his neck, and I glared over the cot at Salazar. “Do something!” I snapped at the Prince. “You have a doctor here! Don’t just stand there and watch!”

The Prince’s eyes narrowed. “I do not make a habit of aiding those who betray me,” he said, and I stared at him in utter confusion.

“What? Betrayed you? How?”

“Allie,” Stick whispered again, clutching at my arm. “S-Sarren,” he gasped. “It was Sarren. He came back.”

My blood turned to ice. “Sarren did this to you? How? When?”

“I…led him there,” Stick went on. “I led him to Sarren. He was waiting for us. Promised to…take him away. Didn’t know…he would stab me. I’m…so sorry, Allie.”

Took him away?
“Who?” I whispered, but Stick gasped and his hand dropped from my arm, his eyes rolling back. “Stick!” I growled, grasping him by the collar, my entire insides twisting like sharpened wire. “Who? Who did Sarren take? Who did you lead outside?
Who?
”

“Zeke,” Stick whispered, and my world shattered around me. “It was Zeke. Sarren…has him now.”

“Son of a bitch,” someone growled behind me, Jackal perhaps, but I wasn’t thinking straight anymore. I stared at this…
thing
below me, this creature who I thought had been human, once.

“He said…you would know…where to find them.” I was barely listening, now. Sarren had Zeke. Zeke had been with him, all night. “He said…they would be in the place where you left him…in pieces.”

The hospital. Sarren would be at the old hospital. And Zeke would be there, as well. Alive. He had to be alive.

“I just…wanted to get you to see me,” the thing continued, pleading. “I…wanted you to know…that I wasn’t useless. That I…could be strong, like you. I wanted you to see me, that’s all. Just…me.”

“I do.” Numb, I slid off the bed. “I see you now.”

“Allie…”

“Go to hell, Stick,” I whispered, and turned away. He made a choking sound, clutching at my arm, but I ripped it out of his grasp. I kept walking until Kanin stopped me at the door, his face grave, and I glanced over my shoulder. The body had fallen back against the pillows, watery blue eyes gazing sightlessly at the ceiling. One pale hand dangled over the edge.

I felt nothing. The body didn’t register as a friend, or even an acquaintance. It was a stranger. Turning away, I walked past Kanin and swept through the doors, leaving behind the corpse of someone I used to know.

Chapter 22

“Allison!”

Kanin’s booming voice jerked me to a halt just before I hit the elevator doors. My sire almost never raised his voice, but when he did, it could either knock you over or freeze you in place. I turned, watching him stride up, his face impassive.

“You cannot rush off to confront him alone,” he said in a low voice, joining me at the elevators. “If you wait, Jackal and I will come with you.”

“Wait?” I snarled, glaring at the numbered lights above the metal doors, cursing them to move faster. “There’s no time to wait! We have to find them, now!

The elevator dinged, and I started forward, but Kanin grabbed both my shoulders, holding me back.

“Listen to me,” he said, giving me a little shake. “You need to hear this. Ezekiel has been with Sarren for hours. Alone. He knows where Eden is. He knows the scientists are working on a cure, and Sarren will want that information. Allison…” Kanin squeezed my shoulders. “You have to prepare yourself for what we may find. You can’t let it destroy you.”

I shook my head frantically. “No. No, Zeke will be there. He’ll be all right.”