by Kira Hillins
“You keep a journal on that strange contraption?” Madeline stretched out on the old stone altar as if she were the victim of torture. “My father gave me paper and quill to write down my emotions in hopes that I would see the light of my dark ways. Pushing buttons on a device that writes for you is a lazy way of doing so. Don’t you think?”
Anna shrugged. “I can record my thoughts faster this way.”
Madeline turned to her side and propped her head up with her fist. “May I see it?”
Anna glanced down at the screen. She closed out her latest entry then brought up a blank page. “Sure.”
Madeline sat beside her on the cold stone floor then inspected the brightly lit monitor. “Well, where are the words?”
“You type them in letter by letter.” Anna pressed the A key on the keyboard.
A grin crept across Madeline’s face and her eyes lit up. “Oh, what fantastic sorcery! May I try?”
Anna placed the laptop on Madeline's lap and pressed the K. Madeline giggled like a child. Her enthusiasm was contagious, laughing every time the letters magically popped up.
“Watch this.” Anna changed the font to a larger size. She switched the color to blue then motioned for Madeline to hit another key.
Madeline pressed M. The century’s old vampire beamed as she laughed. This was a whole new side to her. She looked like a fun-spirited young woman who’d found a treasure. Very likeable and sweet. It was impossible to believe that a little over a year ago she was some insane vampire with a desire for revenge.
A cramp worked across Anna’s stomach and radiated to her inner thigh. “Ungh...” Holding her aching abdomen, she hunched over and cried out in pain.
“What’s wrong?” Madeline set her new toy on the floor beside her. “You shouldn’t be hungry anymore.”
“I’m not hungry.” Anna crawled across the floor toward the altar. She tried to catch her breath, but it was like someone had kicked her hard in the gut. “Go get Jack!”
Madeline clutched Anna’s shoulders and helped her crawl up on the table. “I should not leave you alone.”
Tears fell from Anna’s eyes. Warm and wet between her legs, she curled up in a fetal position, hoping the pain would subside, and praying she wasn’t hemorrhaging. “Please, go find him,” she whispered through clenched teeth. “Madeline, please...go.” Another pain, worse than the last one, spread through her body. She tried to hold in her scream, but it came out with her words. “Go now!”
Madeline nodded. In the blink of an eye, she was gone.
Left alone in the torch lit crypt, Anna shivered. A normal person would be afraid of a place like this, skeletons hanging from the walls, devices used to torture the unlucky ones beside them. She wasn’t. Nothing about her was normal. Nothing would ever be normal.
She sat up. A gush of warm fluid flowed beneath her. She touched the space between her legs. Blood, red as wine, covered her fingers. Madeline could not be allowed to see this. Anna had to get out of here now.
She rolled off the table. The pain subsided, enough she could find her way to the steps. She used the wall as a crutch as she made her way up to the stone mausoleum doors. She stumbled out into the dark.
Where would she go? In so much pain, how would she get there?
Her vision blurred. She fell on her hands and knees then crawled through the cool grass. Please, I can’t lose the baby. Light surrounded her. It was dim at first, but then brightened as it enveloped her.
The light was warm as it lifted her from the ground. It held her still, easing her pain. A woman dressed in a white gown came to her side. She was an angel with long flowing red hair and soft wrinkles on the corners of her eyes. She smiled lovingly like a mother to her child before Anna slipped away into darkness.
***
Jack finished reading the last entry in the journal and a chill shimmied up his spine. The things the author wrote about were incredible. Unbelievable. The man had written about his wife, who, he believed was the descendant of an angel from heaven. She’d rid men of their demons not by blood or potions or even incantations from a magical book, but by the power inside her—pure power God himself had given her. One touch from her hand and the demon was gone.
One man claimed his soul had lifted from hell and returned to his body. He’d become mortal and had even lived until the ripe old age of ninety-four.
Jack had never been a religious person. He’d always believed in science. Evolution. But after everything he’d seen and the monsters he’d met, how could he deny the existence of…anything…anymore? Then again, maybe these ancestors weren’t angels at all, but were beings of light from another galaxy or planet. They’d invaded the Earth centuries ago, but not to put an end to Earth. They’d come here to rid the place of the bad aliens who meant to destroy humans and take over the world.
Jack rolled his eyes and sighed. What was more believable? Aliens or angels? Everything in this journal was written by a man with one vivid imagination. Had he made it all up?
A strange light came from the corner of the room then disappeared. In place of the light came a shadow that crept along the wall toward him. Goosebumps spread over his skin.
He grabbed the journal from the table and stood fast. The chair tipped over into the floor behind him. He nearly jumped out of his skin as the shaded figure slipped into the small light emanating from the desk.
Jack drew in a deep breath then let it out in a noisy exhale. “Madeline. What the hell are you doing here?”
“I came to get you.” She touched his arm. “Something’s very wrong with Anna.”
His stomach churned. “What happened? Did you do something to hurt her?”
“Absolutely not!” She lowered her voice to a whisper. “Come with me. I’ll take you to her.”
He didn’t have a chance to decline as a glow surrounded him. For a second he couldn’t see anything but darkness. When his sight came back, he wasn’t standing in the library basement anymore, but was in Madeline’s torture chamber.
“How?” He swallowed hard as he gathered his bearings. Maybe he’d fallen asleep in the library and was dreaming. Yes. That’s exactly what’s happening. I’m dreaming.
“There’s no time to explain.” Madeline bent down and retrieved the flashlight from the floor then handed it to him. “She was here when I left her. Oh, Jack! We need to find my niece.”
Nope. Not a dream. He shined the light in her eyes. “I’m sure it’s your fault Anna isn’t here.”
By her furrowed brows, she looked confused. Or maybe she was insulted that he’d blamed Anna's disappearance on her. “I didn’t want to leave her here alone, but she was sick and demanded your immediate attention.”
“Sick?” Jack said, exasperated. He ran up the stairs and into the dark cemetery. In a panic, he searched the immediate area, shining light around the steps and walkway. Blood stained the mausoleum entrance. “Damn it, Madeline. Tell me everything that happened.”
Madeline shook her head. “She couldn’t have made it all the way up here when she could barely walk.”
“Just tell me what happened from the beginning.”
“All right.” Madeline paced in the grass near the bottom step. “She showed me the wondrous things the black journal could do. Words at the push of a button. I laughed and she laughed with me. We were having fun together. Then, she buckled over in pain. I helped her onto the table. She insisted I go get you.” She gave a nonchalant sigh. “I suppose I could have teleported her to you instead.”
“Or a hospital,” he said harshly. “But that didn’t occur to you.” He stomped back down the stairs to the torture chamber with Madeline on his heels. “Where’s her journal?”
She stopped short at the bottom of the stairs, eyes wide as if a ghost lingered before her. She closed her eyes and breathed in deep.
“Oh no. This is not good.”
“What do you mean?” To see the fearless vampire witch tremble gave him and irrepressible chill. “What’s not good, Mad
eline?”
“Oh, not good at all,” she whispered. She cautiously stepped backward up the stairs. She leaned against the wall, a defeated glance looming over her ghastly white face. “We need to get out of here. They are coming, Jack.”
Jack’s heart leapt to his throat. “Who’s coming?”
“The Elder, Javon. He is bad, Jack. We must leave now.”
Jack found the laptop sitting on the floor still open and on. He closed it then sheathed it inside its case. He tucked the journal he'd retrieved from the box in the library inside with it, pulled the strap over his shoulder, and then hurried up the stairs.
“I’ve had enough of this place,” he muttered as he ran out into the night.
He sprinted through the cemetery. Without looking back he fled through the gates and onto the darkened road. It didn’t matter who was coming or if Madeline was turning back into…crazy Madeline, he had to get away or die trying. Being caught by vampires was not on his list of things to do today, tonight, or ever again.
He’d protect this journal with his life. For Anna. If there truly was a chance to save her soul from eternal darkness, he’d find it. No matter what he had to do, he would find her cure then take her home with him where she belonged.
It was difficult to see in the dark as he ran down the narrow paved road. He turned the corner and the lights of the town glowed in the distance. Hopelessness left him. He was desperate for light to wash over him. It didn’t matter that he was out of breath and exhausted, he would run until the light of day came.
The sign under the street light read Welcome. The first building was only two hundred feet away. There were people outside. Jack’s heart thumped against his ribs. He drew in a breath to call for help, but was cut short by cold fingers around his wrist.
Like he’d run into a wall at full force, the air in his lungs came out in a loud grunt. His shoulder popped from its socket. A shout escaped his mouth as he tumbled backward.
The laptop flew from his wounded shoulder. He landed on his backside and slid on loose gravel to a stop. The hand grabbed hold of his throat and dug nails into his flesh.
“Where is she?” The man spoke with a deep, angry growl.
Jack shuddered as he turned his gaze on his foe. Red eyes glared back at him. It took him a moment to get past them and focus on a familiar pale face, sharp daggers out ready to tear him apart.
Jack held his dislocated shoulder. “Tristan.” He tried to inhale, but Tristan’s hold was too tight. “I can’t…breathe.”
Tristan sneered. Jack shuddered at the thought that he might not let go. The creature was obviously vexed. He had a right to be.
“Where is she?” His shout echoed around them.
Jack tried to swallow but couldn’t. Dizziness swept through him. He couldn’t lose consciousness. Not until he’d hid Anna’s laptop from the monsters of the world, especially this one.
“What do you care…where she is?” Jack choked out.
Tristan let go. Jack coughed. He drew in several deep raspy gasps. The grip on his neck lingered as he struggled to inhale. Though is head still spun from almost being strangled to death, he looked up at Tristan.
Tristan stood rigid. “I do not have time for games.”
“Oh, believe me. I’m not playing games with you.” Jack cleared his aching throat as he rose. "I'd sooner see you dead than let you put your cold, grubby hands on her again."
"I am already dead, foolish man. I know Anna was here. Where is she? I cannot sense her." The strain in Tristan’s voice was like he’d been strangled too. The demon was desperate.
Jack gave a short laugh through his nose. "Why should I tell you anything?"
"By releasing Madeline without permission, the council has condemned her. Anna needs my help or they will kill her.”
“You don't know what she needs.”
“And you do?” Tristan scoffed as he paced before him. “I am amused that you still carry love for her when you know she will never return it.”
“At least I know how to love her when you haven't the slightest idea...”
Tristan grabbed Jack’s dislocated arm and twisted. Pain resonated from his neck down through the muscle to his hand. He dropped to his knees and cried out.
Tristan sneered. “You think I do not love her?”
“She doesn’t believe you do anymore.” Jack spoke through clenched teeth. Through narrowed eyes, he found the laptop sitting near the edge of the road. He needed to keep Tristan focused on the conversation so he wouldn’t see it.
“She told you this?”
“No, but she told me you push her away. You’re afraid to touch her, and I…I get why."
Tristan let him go. Jack sat on his backside as Tristan paced. The struggle for the truth was in his eyes. “Of all people, I never believed you would go along with such an idea.” Tristan turned his back on him. He gazed up into the sky then let out a long, heavy sigh. "Releasing Madeline from her cell was a grave error.”
“Oh, I know it.” Jack rose. With his gaze on Tristan’s back, he lifted the bag with the laptop onto his good shoulder then looked toward town. “But Anna had a good reason to free Madeline.”
Tristan turned to Jack, brows arched. His eyes softened, pleading for answers. “What reason did she have to release her enemy?”
“I…I can’t tell you.” Jack shook his head, refusing to say another word, at least, not until he fixed his dislocated shoulder.
“She told you our secrets, Jack. You know she is unlike any of us. If they were to see her, to feel her warmth, to witness her power…I cannot fathom what they would do.”
Jack wandered to the side of the road. As he came to stand before a tall birch tree, he closed his eyes. “You don’t know the half of it.”
Holding his breath he hit his shoulder on the tree and knocked the bone back into place. He yelped, biting his tongue to keep the profanities from flying out. He squeezed tears from his tightly closed eyes until the pain subsided.
Slowly pivoting his arm, he went back to the road. He looked Tristan square in the eyes. He'd seen that look before, when Anna was dying on the cliffs, scared that he'd lost his love forever.
“Okay.” Jack nodded. “If you truly love her, you’ll make sure they don’t find her before you do. There’s more going on here than you know, so she needs me too.”
Tristan lowered his brows as he walked away. “I will find her on my own.”
“You don’t understand," Jack called out. "I'm the only one who can help her right now.”
Tristan turned his head to the side. “What can you offer that I cannot provide?”
Jack limped to him, fearless, and knowing once he told him the truth, he’d listen. What could he say? It was Anna's place to tell him she was pregnant. But he had to tell Tristan something to convince him to let him tag along.
“She’s…dying,” Jack blurted the first thing that came to mind. It might not have been the best thing to say, but it got Tristan's attention.
At first Tristan said nothing. He stared at Jack blankly as if his words hit a barrier around him, for they didn’t sink in.
“Did you hear what I said?” Jack asked. He moved a little closer to see if he had some kind of expression on his pale face. His eyes were black now, and they were pointed at Anna’s laptop.
“She left our work behind." Tristan reached for the laptop.
Jack pulled it back and clutched it tightly in his arms. "Not yet."
Tristan's eyes turned a shade of green, misty, like the bulky man Jack had met in the penitentiary. He growled as he flashed his fangs. Clearly irate. Definitely someone not meant to be messed with. “I will rip out your throat.”
Jack swallowed fear as he backed away from Tristan’s steady advance. “You will do no such thing.”
“Give me the laptop now.”
Jack trembled. There was nowhere to run, not that he could ever outrun this creature, but maybe he could strike a deal.
“Just stop. Please.�
� Jack planted his feet solid on the ground. “Let’s work something out here.” Jack wrapped his arms around the laptop and cleared his throat. “I…I’ll give you the laptop. But you have to take me with you. Let me help you. Let me help Anna who needs our help. Do it for her sake.”
“This is all you ask?”
“Yes.” Jack held the laptop out for him to take. “This is all I ask for now. Anna said you never lie. So, I trust you.”
Tristan grabbed Jack's arm. Like a rocket taking off in flight, they lifted off the ground. Jack tucked his chin to his chest as the raging wind stung his eyes. He clutched the laptop tighter. His stomach flip-flopped. Nausea crept up his throat as they flew across the night sky that began to lighten.
Tristan dropped Jack on his feet before a three tier hotel seemingly in the middle of nowhere. Tristan grabbed his shoulders before the he fell over to the ground.
“Okay, no…” Jack breathed, as he followed Tristan inside the lobby. “Please, no more flying. Yeah. We should definitely travel by car from now on.”
Chapter Thirteen
Of course. Jack stared at the password screen to Anna’s journal. She was no dummy. Knowing her, she’d created a series of characters that made no sense, especially if she wanted to keep Tristan from reading her entries.
As Tristan walked the space between the bed and wall, he growled. Frustration loomed over his face like the rain clouds outside. His dark eyes carried a hint of red, which was better than the eerie green from when they’d met this morning.
Jack had tried Anna’s birthday, but that didn’t work. He typed in a few words Tristan would never think of. Baby. Child. Pregnancy. They didn’t work either.
“Damn it!” Tristan hissed as he plonked down on the couch. He closed his eyes. “Why can I not sense her?”
Jack studied Tristan’s face. Furrowed brows, lips narrow and curved downward at the ends, the man was in turmoil and with good reason. To lose someone you love more than life was the hardest thing to go through. Now Tristan knew how Jack had felt about losing Anna to the darkness. That was the worst thing he’d ever endured. Heartbreaking. Debilitating. He never wanted to experience that kind of agony again. And yet, here he was, sitting with the demon who took Anna’s life, helping him find her so he could have her all over again.