This Blood (25 page)

I jumped up like I had a spring in my ass and ran to the bed. I stumbled as I ran up the stairs, my heart hammering. I knelt, and just as I expected, there was a very large empty space. Racing back to the closet, I grabbed the bust. It was of some man I had never seen before, but the identity didn’t matter. What mattered was the weight. It was heavy, but not so heavy that I would have trouble lifting it to brandish a dangerous blow. Tingles raced down my spine and my adrenaline pumped.  I had a plan. My next hurdle was just as important to my scheme. The door.  I had no idea how to open it, since I was pretty sure they hadn’t turned my handprint into a key just yet.

I would think of something. I only knew that I had to fly out of here once I knocked Seth out and got the ring back. That is, if I got that far. Lord, please let me get that far!

Everything had to fall perfectly into place, or tonight could be my last night on this earth. I had to mentally slap myself. I dare not think like that, I needed confidence. I had to think and remain positive.

I went to the bed, kicking off the high heels I jumped up and made myself comfortable. I had no idea how long I was going to be alone, or if I was even going to stay here for the entire night. Seth had a plan. He was doing something out there to prepare for my departure. I only hoped he would want another night with me.

One chance was all I needed.

TWENTY-SEVEN

I was staring up at my reflection as my body grew heavy. My unease morphed into a sort of numb peace. I was almost completely out when the beeping sounds of the bedroom security system interrupted my temporary calm.

I shot up to find Seth slowly entering the room, followed closely by Gavyn and Ael.

Yup, he had a plan, and he brought reinforcements. Shit! I scooted back on the bed, watching Seth speak to Gavyn. His face was somber, almost angry.

He looked at me. “I have met with the Council” he said, his voice low and slightly irritated.  “We have decided it would be in everyone’s best interest if you were completely removed from my home.” He glared at Gavyn; the choice was obviously not his.

“We have decided to use the ring to transport you to a location agreed upon by the Council. There you will be held until such time as we are all in agreement that your presence is required.”

I was having trouble processing this. He was going to transport me?

“You can’t be serious!”  I cried, my alarm turning my blood cold, “Where are you sending me? It can’t be too far. You can’t work the ring without me.” My heart was racing. I jumped off the bed, my foot sliding slightly until it met with the cool hardness of the bust.

“You will be fine, Grace, and well cared for. Each member of the Council has a secret place where precious objects are stored. We will be sending you to the most secure of them all.”

I was freaking out. No way were they sending me away from my friends! The thought of them sitting in some tiny room, surrounded by hungry, psycho monsters, waiting in vain for me to ride up and save the day, terrified me. I felt the sudden sting of tears, I had to fight. Now! It was my only chance. I screwed up my face and began to sob. I fell to the floor in a shattered heap. I hoped that it would seem to Seth that my heart was breaking. I glanced up and saw Ael was at the door, while Gavyn was staring at me with a strange look on his face. Seth was already on the third stair.

I kept wailing like a banshee, putting lots of emphasis on my sniffing and trying to think of my friends, the source of my tears.

Seth reached my side, knelt down and began speaking to me in a hushed tone. “Do not cry, sweet. We will see each other soon,” he soothed. “You will be fine; all of your needs will be met and you will want for nothing.” His head was bent; he was trying to meet my lowered gaze.

I turned, just a bit, sliding my right hand slowly under the bed, careful to keep his focus on my face. I wailed again loudly and sniffed, my shoulders shaking. I found the bust, my fingers closing on the cold smooth surface. I slid it out, little by little.

He was still speaking words of comfort.  I felt a moment of intense remorse. My nerves were screaming as adrenalin rushed through my body. My eyes met his and I thought of Lucian and Ann. I could
not
fail!  I turned, as fast as I could, grasping the bust with both hands and swung up with everything I had.

The world seemed to slow down, I could see the light of comprehension in Seth’s beautiful eyes a mere second before the bust smashed into his face. Then I brought it down in a single fluid motion onto the top of his head with all my remaining strength.

My stomach lurched as blood gushed from his mouth.  His head was crushed with the wet splat like sound of a melon hitting concrete. His blood sprayed across my chest and face, his eyes staring at me as he fell backward off the high platform onto the floor below.

I didn’t hesitate, before he even hit the ground, I was up and running! The wooden picture frame was still too far away. I jumped, flying through the air and connected painfully with the expensive piece of art, showering myself in jagged shards of glass. I fell as bits of glass flew in all directions, slicing my arms and face. I felt myself landing hard on the floor with slivers of glass and Seth’s cool blood covering me. I figured I had only half a second before the other two men would be on me.

I spotted Gavyn running to Seth’s side.  The evil twin was surely right on top of me. Before I could finish my thought, he was there, looming above me. His eyes were an empty black and his teeth looked long and deadly. He was screaming and shaking his wild head. His hair was flying like a lion’s mane on fire.  The fury he displayed was astonishing; I knew I was dead. He stretched his hands out to grab me and I rolled to the side as fast as I could. He seized me violently by the shoulder, his hands crushing my bones. I screamed as pain ripped through my body! I tried to escape his grip, but his fingers dug into my flesh.

I was running on nothing more than the sheer will to live. I grasped a piece of the busted picture frame and faced my attacker. In one lithe motion, I turned just as Ael lunged, and I planted the jagged shard of wooden frame deep into his chest. I looked into his eyes and I could see horror, anger and fear only a second before he was rendered a thick blanket of ash.

I strained to catch my breath, choking on the remains of my attacker. Lying on my back, I could feel that the bones in my shoulder were shattered. I tried to get up. The pain made me scream out. I looked toward the crumpled body of Seth. Gavyn was still hunched beside him, his back towards me.  If I had to fight him as well, I was dead.  I was sure I had some internal bleeding and the pain was making me nauseous.

I rolled onto my uninjured side. Blood began to flow heavily from the larger cuts all over my body. I gingerly pulled myself to my feet, hoping Gavyn was still unaware of my movements. Then he turned, his violet eyes regarding me with interest.  “None of the legends ever spoke of the Madea as warriors. I am all astonishment,” he smiled.

I stared at him for a moment, blinking in confusion, and then I fell to the ground.

The pain in my shoulder was too intense, like a thousand ice picks stabbing me without mercy. Soon, I would just pass out… Please! Just let me pass out!

Gavyn rose, and slowly moved toward me. He didn’t speak. Kneeling by my side, he looked almost apologetic. Could he be? Or was I getting delirious?

“If you’re going to kill me,” I murmured, suddenly tasting blood, “I beg you to do it quickly. I think I’m almost there, so I shouldn’t be too much trouble.” I rolled onto my back. I was looking into his face as he placed his hands lightly on my splintered shoulder. His shimmer intensified.

The side of his mouth quirked up in a grin. It was strange; he didn’t act like he was intent on harming me.  His eyes focused on mine, and a warm feeling began to spread through my shoulder. It wasn’t an unpleasant feeling… until it began to grow hot, so hot I thought I could feel it blistering.  I screamed and arched up off the floor as the searing heat infiltrated my body. Then, as if it were never there, it vanished. Just like that! Gavyn was still staring into my eyes, his intense expression from just a moment ago, now becoming relaxed.

“There now, how do you feel?” He stood up and offered me his hand.

I turned my head to face the ceiling, still afraid to move. Gavyn made me feel good, great even, but I was scared that the second I moved my shoulder, the pain would return. I slowly lifted my arm. Feeling no discomfort, I raised my arm higher. It felt fine, better than fine. Perfect!

I sat up slowly, “You healed me?”
What exactly was he?

“Of course, how else are we to manage your escape? I can’t very well take on Thorak by myself. I assume you still want to free your friends?”

I blinked at him stupidly for a moment. “You’re helping me?” I was not equipped to deal with this. Help had arrived? “Wait…
why
?”

He looked around, and his eyebrows shot up. “You really want to discuss this
now
? In case you haven’t noticed, Seth is not a pile of ash. Although severely disabled, he remains quite powerful, and I believe he is healing his rather horrible wounds as we speak. We could wait around if you like, but I really think you should be as far away from him as possible when he recovers. You’ll be healthier for it.”

“Aah….
Right!
Let me just grab something.”  I ran to Seth’s side, prepared to steal the ring back, only to discover it was nowhere on him. 
Oh-My-God.  
The ring… was gone! “I can’t leave without the ring!”  I looked frantically up at Gavyn. “Did the Council make him take it off?”  I cried, looking anxiously around the floor in case it slipped off somewhere. My stomach lurched and I took a small step away from Seth’s inert form because blood was flowing freely from his horrible wounds; the carpet couldn’t soak it up fast enough.  How he could manage to heal in the condition he was, escaped me.  A sob leaked out and I threw a hand over my mouth. I had to pull myself together!

The pool of blood was making me ill. I tried to compose myself; after all, this blood was my doing. I knelt down and then let out a shriek. Gavyn had placed a hand on my shoulder, startling me.

When I looked over at the offending party, I froze. Looking at his face my shock and anger rising up inside me. I found Gavyn standing in front of me. His arms were folded smugly and a sweet, innocent smile was on his face.

He had the ring.

“What in hell do you think you’re doing?” I screamed “Not you too? I refuse to be another man’s slave!” I prepared to plant my fist into one of his cheerful lavender eyes.

“Grace, I swear to you, you’ll have it back. I just need a little insurance right now. I really don’t fancy myself a bloody heap on the floor. I know you’re angry, but I feel the ring is better left in my custody. Now, we must hurry, if we are to get your friends out. Remember, Seth came to collect you, which means the Council is still here. They will become anxious when Seth doesn’t immediately return with you.”

He held out his hand and I reluctantly took it. It would seem he was all I had, but at least, he was willing to help me rescue Lucian and Ann. I could only hope his word was good.

He pulled me along. I had no choice but to run through the bloody carpet, my feet squishing and sliding with each step. One glance at Seth and I noticed the bloodflow was slowing, while his head was filling in.  The dent in his skull was literally smoothing out before my eyes. I swallowed my guilt and ran as fast as I could.  We made it to the elevator, my bloody feet slapping the slippery marble and I ran inside. Gavyn hit a button, and we suddenly lurched into motion.  

Once I felt the movement, I sank to the floor. I released my tears, even though I didn’t want to admit that I regretted what I was forced to do to Seth. I knew he was evil and if I had allowed him to take me away, my friends would be doomed.

I wiped my eyes and looked up at Gavyn. “Not such a brave warrior now, huh? I mean, how many warriors start bawling after defeating the enemy?” I laughed mirthlessly.

“Not all warriors are forced to annihilate their lovers.” Gavyn said rationally. “You may not have loved him, but he touched your heart in some way.” He knelt beside me and gently wiped a tear off my cheek.

“You did what was necessary to ensure the safety of your friends. That is not something you should be ashamed of. And Seth is not dead, so you can calm your heart. Although I’m sure you’ll regret that later. He will be sorely angered, not only because you dared take arms against him, but that you succeeded. And you took the life of a member of his coven. You will suffer for that. The
immortals
do not deal well with death.”  He scoffed. Clearly we shared the same opinion of vampires’
so-called
immortality.

I sniffed, rubbing my eyes. I knew he was right. It was just a little shocking to hear someone else articulate my feelings so accurately.  “Well, thank you for your kind words.” I thought about that, and then added, “I only hope we get out of this alive, so I can get the real reason why you’ve turned from the dark side.”

I was feeling a little better. At least I wasn’t alone. I had help, even if it was in the form of another selfish, ring thief. The elevator stopped. The doors opened, revealing the warm tropical paradise I left shortly before.

Gavyn held his finger to his lips, as if I needed to be told to be quiet. I was scared. If only I had the ring, we could be out of here in a flash.

“Why don’t we use the ring?” I said, exasperated. “We could just pop into their cell and pop out again. No one would even know we were there!”

He seemed to consider my suggestion. “I am afraid I do not know how this ring of yours works,” he finally said. “I fear I would be remiss in trusting you to explain it. I’m afraid we will have to go about this the old fashioned way.”

His movements were graceful as he left the elevator. He seemed to float above the ground. He turned his head from side to side, taking in the room. I trudged along after him trying to make as little noise as possible. Then, all of a sudden, he shot me a warning look and quickly slipped behind a grouping of ferns. I did the same, only seconds before Chloe burst onto the path.