“That’s not the way to get her. We need to go down the side.”
“She hates me, Angus.”
“No. She’s confused and hurt, but she knows the truth.”
“Is that enough?” Adrian’s chest constricted. “My mother knew the truth. She knew that my father had been magicked into sleeping with another. It didn’t make her stay.”
Angus slapped Adrian’s cheek lightly. “Stop it. Redlynn isn’t Irina. Ya need to let go of the past, boy. It’s the only way you’ll have a future.”
The slap cleared Adrian’s head. He heard a howl in the distance. She was out there, possibly dying. He needed to get to her. Adrian shifted and howled, muzzle to the sky. “She’s at the west border. Angus and I are going after her. Paulo, go to the rocks near the clearing. Bo, go with him, find Dax and make sure he is still alive. Blain, grab a dozen men and meet me at the western border. Everyone else is on the lookout for vampires. Kill on sight. No questions.”
Adrian followed Angus, and the two lumbered down the side of the mountain, too slow for Adrian’s liking. What if she were hurt? Or bleeding? Or dead? With vampires in the woods, they could find her first. He shuddered at the thought. And knowing her strength of will, there was no way she wasn’t already moving forward.
Half-way down, he hooked a left and found an imprint where she’d hit the ground. He continued westward. Within minutes he found her sword, discarded in the mud. Dashing past it, he continued down the hillside. He stopped at a tree smeared with blood. Sniffing at it, he whimpered. It was hers. If it were from a leg wound, he might stand a chance of catching up to her.
“Get her scent,” Adrian ordered Angus.
“I already know it.”
“Let’s find her before she gets herself killed.”
The two wolves sped off into the damp night.
Chapter Sixteen
Redlynn made her way across the valley, heading to the border. The closer she got, the more ominous the landscape became. Before long there were no more animals. No birds squawked, no squirrels hunkered in hollows. There was nothing but the sound of the rising wind as it whistled through the Wasteland. The air grew thick and heavy with the smell of acrid smoke. She stopped, taking several deep breaths to acclimate to the atmosphere. The clouds above the trees blanketed the sky, making the evening oppressive. A howl sounded far behind her, making her respite short-lived.
What the hell am I doing? I should wait. Wait for whom? Adrian? Her heart squeezed and took in a shuddered breath. She loved him. But how could she be what she’d been taught to hate? Her mother had, though. All those years when she’d found her mother crying. Her mother had said that she missed Redlynn’s father. Redlynn had always assumed her mother missed the man that had raised Redlynn. And the times she’d tried to talk to her mother about what she’d seen, her mother had shushed her and told her never to speak of the Weres.
A rustle in the trees pulled Redlynn from her thoughts, and she scanned the valley forest surrounding her. She couldn’t see any movement, but a chill of cold breath ran over her neck. Whipping around, she found a pair of bright, blue eyes framed by the palest face she’d ever seen, completely drained of color. Redlynn backed up quickly. He was handsome, with full red lips and long, blond hair.
“Hello.” His smile made a shiver run down her spine.
Redlynn pulled her bow and notched an arrow.
“I don’t want to hurt you.” He held up his hands. “I’m assuming you are looking for the girls of the Sisterhood.”
“Who are you?”
“My name is Sage. I can take you to them.”
Redlynn’s heart thundered. “Why? You’re a vampire.”
“Don’t judge. Not all vampires are equal, just as not all Weres are equal, as I am sure you are aware.” Sage gave her a knowing smile.
Redlynn and the vampire circled, assessing each other. He looked so different from the one that had attacked her. He was dressed nice and spoke with a dignified air. His eyes sparkled with humor.
“You should hurry.” Sage pointed in the direction of the ruins. “Both the vampires and the Weres will converge soon.”
That meant the vampires weren’t there yet. She still stood a chance of getting there before them and getting the girls to safety.
The vampire’s nostrils flared, and he frowned. “You smell different.”
“I bet,” Redlynn mused.
“Try to keep up.” Sage smiled and took off toward the west.
He moved with speed so quick that Redlynn was sure he merely would’ve vanished from sight before her shift.
Wait… my shift? The memory of howling at the moon flooded back to her. No! I am not a Were. She put her bow away and raced after him. Keeping up proved more natural than it should have. She smiled, running neck-and-neck with Sage. Her stride and balance compensated easily on the dead, metallic loam as they left the trees and moved into the Wastelands. Rocks jutted from the ground like black spires from hell. They slowed until Sage slowed and made his movements more deliberate.
“I knew you were different.” His smile broadened.
When they reached a large clump of tightly clustered rocks, Sage stopped and pointed. Redlynn followed his finger, spotting the vast stone ruins. He gently took her chin and turned her face to the right. He pointed to a stone doorway with a broken gate and a fallen stone angel lying nearby. It looked like a crypt, with stone steps descending underground.
“There,” he whispered, stepping closer to her. “You might find that structure of interest.”
Redlynn peered at the area and breathed deeply. A foul stench reached her nose over the scents of the rain and smoke. Sage’s cool fingers slid down her throat and rested on her pulse. The sensation gave Redlynn the chills. Slowly she turned to face him and noticed his eyes locked on her throat. Lifting her leg, she pulled her hunting knife from her boot and pressed it to his stomach. His nostrils flared, and his smile tightened. His gaze flicked to the wound on her arm, from where the white bear had gashed her. Redlynn yanked the bloodied strip from her arm and tossed it to the ground. The flesh underneath had already closed.
“Don’t worry, Love. I don’t drink Were.”
Her eyes narrowed and adrenaline coursed through her. “Back. Up.”
Quick as light, he grasped her wrist and lifted it to his heart, making her gasp. “If you’re going to stick a vampire, you need to aim higher than the stomach. The heart will stun, the throat is a kill. Anything else will just piss us off.”
“I’ll remember that.” She tried to keep her voice from shaking.
“You go. I’ll keep watch.”
This had to be a trap. Her gaze bounced from the crypt entrance back to Sage. “Why are you helping me?”
“Because…” Sage’s voice faltered. “Because I have done terrible things in the name of being a vampire, and I want to try and make amends.”
Redlynn wondered why she trusted this unknown man when she wouldn’t even trust Adrian. It was something about his eyes; behind the bravado, he looked utterly lost. And desperately hungry. He was starving. Redlynn had seen the signs of starvation all too well.
“You better hurry, She-Were,” he said.
Redlynn nodded, removed her knife from where the tip pressed against his heart and tucked the blade into her boot. She readied her bow, her heart pounding in her chest. She stepped into the open, trained her bow, and slowly made her way around fallen ruins toward the crypt entrance. The rain slowed, and she sniffed the air; the heady smell of ash permeated the area. Creeping closer to the stairs, she kept herself on high alert.
Redlynn arrived at the metal doors, bent and broken. The foul stench that wafted up from the crypt overpowered her senses: a mix of stale air, blood, and feces. The sound of scraping chain reverberated from somewhere in the dark down below. Water rolled down the stairs under her feet. She tried to keep her breathing quiet and even to minimize the tremors that ran through her body. Dread filled her at the thought of what she might
find.
The lower she descended, the darker it became. Even with her improved eyesight, it was difficult for her to see beyond the stairwell. A moan floated up, along with a light cough. Redlynn reached the last step and slipped on a piece of damp moss. Her ankle twisted and she hit the floor with a clatter. Sharp pain shot up her leg as it bent at an odd angle, and she landed sideways and dropped her bow to stop the fall. So much for the element of surprise.
Sitting on the floor in the dark, she heard whimpering. It took several seconds for her vision to adjust. She wrinkled her nose at the smell that lingered in the small chamber. Blinking rapidly, her vision improved. All along one wall, girls of the Sisterhood were chained to the stone. Some lay limp, their heads lolled to the side, possibly dead already. Others stared blankly into the darkness. She was too late.
A girl turned, her dirty gown caked in dried blood smears, blinking several times as if she couldn’t comprehend what she saw.
“Red?” she whispered. “Red? Is that Red?”
It was Sasha, the Cantrel’s daughter. She hadn’t been gone more than a week, but she looked as pale and dirty as the rest.
“Red,” another whispered. “You came.”
One by one the girls roused, their glassy eyes trying to focus on her. Redlynn moved toward the closest girl. Her chest squeezed as she reached her. Yanti. Redlynn’s ankle twinged as she put her weight on it.
Yanti crawled toward her. “Red.”
“It’s me. I’m here.” She scooped the girl up in her arms. “How did you get here?”
Yanti squeezed Red tightly. “I was taken two nights after you left.”
Red scanned the crypt. The wall opposite bore floor-to-ceiling shelves of skulls. Human and non-human. Large, dust-covered urns perched on pedestals in the corners. Water seeped through the crumbling blocks, throwing moisture into the air.
“Red, help us.” Yanti’s long wrist chains scraped on the floor.
“Hush. Let me see your shackles.”
Yanti lifted her arm. Bite marks marred the pale, soft flesh of the young girl. The sight made Redlynn want to rip the vampires apart with her hands. How could anyone do this? She pulled at Yanti’s heavy, iron shackle, but it was fastened tight. Her fingers trailed the chain to the wall. The stone surrounding the peg crumbled. Pressing her feet into the wall on either side of the chain, Redlynn pulled. Her ankle no longer pained her, but the chain was fastened tight.
“Here, turn around,” she said
Yanti turned her body and faced the wall. She put the girl in her lap.
“When I tell you to, pull.” Redlynn took a deep breath. “Pull.”
Yanti grasped the chain, and the two of them leaned back as far as they could. There was a screech of metal, and the wall gave way. The bolt pulled loose and landed with a loud clank. Yanti smiled and threw her arms around Redlynn.
“Thank you, Red. Thank you.”
Voices outside floated down the stairs, and a chill ran through her.
“Help me get everyone out of here.”
A shadow crossed the entrance to the crypt. Two bodies hurried down the stairs.
“They’re coming,” a girl cried.
Redlynn reached for her bow and notched an arrow. She pushed Yanti behind her, as she shuffled to the far wall. The girls whimpered and tried to cringe into the walls.
She pulled her bowstring taut and didn’t wait to see who it was before she loosed the arrow. The man in the front caught it mid-air.
“Good shot,” came Blain’s jovial voice.
“Blain!” Redlynn cried.
Sage stood behind Blain, in the shadow of the wall.
“Don’t you have any clothing? These are children," Redlynn admonished.
“Sorry,” said Blain. “I don’t usually keep my wardrobe stashed around these ruins.”
“Honestly,” she chastised, ripping off her cloak and throwing it at him.
Blain tossed her arrow to her. She shoved it in her quiver as he tied the cloak around his waist and through his legs.
“The chains can be pulled from the wall. Help get the girls out,” she ordered.
The men worked quickly and pulled on the chains. Within minutes, the girls were freed.
“I’ll go back up to keep watch.” Sage dodged up the steps.
Weakly, the girls rose to their feet, and the group moved up the steps, out into the open. Evening was upon them, but with the low clouds and the ash from the Wastelands, it looked like night had fallen. The girls breathed in deep lungfuls of the ashy night air as if they were in the grassland fields of the Westfall. Redlynn vaguely understood what they felt, having been shut up in the castle for days. But it wasn’t the same.
Two men appeared from the trees. Redlynn’s heart sank. It was the brothers Jale and Juda.
“Is Adrian with you?” Blain asked.
“No,” said Juda.
The hairs on Redlynn’s neck stood up. The way the brothers eyed the girls didn’t feel right. “Blain, I think—"
But Redlynn’s words were cut off by movement in the trees. The girls backed up toward the crypt entrance. Redlynn notched an arrow as a dozen tall, pale men with lips like blood moved out of the shadows and surrounded the group.
“Well, what have we here?” asked the leader with a broad, pointy-toothed smile. “Runaways?”
“Let them go.” Sage stepped beside her.
The leader’s gaze narrowed on Sage. “Well, well, well. If it isn’t my traitorous cousin, Prince Sageren, living in exile. Tell me, Sage, you’re looking a bit worse for wear; how’s that squirrel blood doing for you these days?”
“It’s doing better for me than the rats you call gourmet, Garot.”
Garot laughed, “Oh no, cousin. I have all I can eat, right here.” He took in a long breath. “Mmmm. Fear. I love the blood of a fearful virgin.” Garot inhaled again. “My, my. What is that new aroma? She is delectable. I’ll sample her first. I’ve never had the blood of a half-breed before.”
“I’d love to see you try.” Redlynn pulled her bowstring tighter.
“You won’t touch her,” Blain snarled. His muscles twitched as a ripple coursed over his skin.
“Oh, but Blain, my dear boy, wasn’t this what you wanted? Wasn’t this our agreement? You bring me virgin blood, and I don’t slaughter you.”
“What?” Redlynn loosened her bowstring. It couldn’t be true. Not Blain. He’d... He’d what? Redlynn couldn’t comprehend the betrayal. First Adrian, now Blain.
“Not her.” Blain ignored her. “You can’t have Redlynn. She’s Adrian’s.”
Garot’s eyes skittered over her with a newfound interest. “I like it. The princess, is she?”
“Adrian is king. He has become Alpha.”
“A queen.” Garot’s fangs grew long and sharp. “Even better.”
Redlynn’s mind spun, and her breathing quickened. Blain. All this time, it was Blain who’d been responsible for the kidnapped girls. Suddenly she wished that she'd not been so stubborn, and that Adrian was there.
“Well, this chat has been lovely; we are quite hungry after our long trip from Tanah Darah, so I think we will get our meals and go. Feel free to scream, or run or both. We do like to work up an appetite.” Garot laughed.
“This is your only warning. Let them go, or die.”
Garot laughed. “Oh, Blain, you are so wrong.” He motioned to his men. “You think you can just take them because you say so? That’s not how this works, mutt. In fact, I think our little treaty is over. Tonight, it’s you who are going to die. And her.” He pointed to Redlynn. “And then your king. And then the rest of your little pack. And finally we will have reign to go down into the rest of Fairelle and take for ourselves.”
“Not us,” said Juda. “We had a deal, and we stick by it. We’ll still deliver girls like we promised.”
“Of course,” smiled Garot. “You two are free. As is Blain, if he steps aside.”
Blain turned to Jale and Juda. “Don’t do this. Sh
e’s the one. She has the mark. I saw it. She will end this for us.”
Redlynn’s mouth fell open. Her birthmark. “When have you seen my breasts?” she gasped.
“Show them,” Blain urged. “Show them the mark.”
“The one from the prophesy? How wonderful.” Garot clapped his hands together. “If we kill you, none of the rest of the prophecies will come to pass. My father will be most pleased when I bring you to him.”
“The hell you will!” Redlynn loosed an arrow. Garot stepped out of the way, but it hit a vampire behind him, directly in the chest. The monster fell to the ground.
Garot attacked Blain mid-shift and took him to the ground, as well. Sage ran at two more of the vampires. The girls began to scream and run in every direction.
“The crypt!” Redlynn yelled. “Sasha, Yanti, get them in the crypt!”
The girls didn’t move. Terror filled their faces.
“I’ll get you back out,” she promised.
Yanti and Sasha nodded, gathering the girls and herded them back to their prison.
Grabbing an arrow, Redlynn searched for Jale and Juda, the need for vengeance rising inside of her once more. She wished she had her sword to run them through.
They’d shifted and were running for a rocky hill, heading toward the forest. Setting her sight on one of them, she loosed an arrow. Her foot sank in the loam at the last second, and she missed; it struck a rock, glancing off.
“Dammit!” She pulled another, but the brothers disappeared.
Cursing the uneven soil, Redlynn swung back to the fray. She shot the second arrow and downed a vampire, as he ran at Sage.
Garot and Blain fought with a fierceness that would’ve torn a normal human apart. Her ankle now bore weight, but still ached. She hobbled over to the crypt, covering the entrance. Her next arrow missed a vampire, but he spotted her and his face contorted with rage. The vampire ran straight for her. Redlynn pulled her hunting knife from her boot, still favoring her rapidly healing ankle, and prepared to engage.
He raced within mere feet of where she stood before Blain jumped on him, knocking him to the ground and tearing out his throat. The vampire gasped and choked as blood poured from the wound, before dissolving into mist. Redlynn and Blain locked eyes, and before she could react, Garot reached out with his long nails and ripped open a gaping wound on Blain’s flank. Blain yelped, and Redlynn charged Garot.
Red the Were Hunter (Fairelle Series Book 1) Page 16