"Now, where were we?" Asher said, grabbing my hand again.
A stabbing pain hit me as he touched me, and if I were able to take a deep breath, it would have forced me to gasp. As it were, I took in as much air as possible and squinted my eyes at the pain. Tears welled up but didn't fall.
I tried to reach out to James but couldn't find even a thread of him to connect. I hoped he was okay. If not, I was on my own. Although with him likely immobilized like me, I was on my own anyway.
"What can you do, Ember?" Asher asked.
The barista called my name, and Asher left again to grab the drinks I ordered. Asher spoke to the lady briefly. While he was occupied, I tried to link with Marek.
“Ember?” Marek responded.
“Help, we need help!" I said frantically.
“I knew I felt something. Where are you?" Marek asked.
“Coffee shop in my office building. Asher is here. I don’t know what he did to James.” I said.
“Can you run?” he asked.
“No, I can’t move. He has me immobilized,” I said.
“I am on my way. Do anything you need to do to stay alive, anything.” Marek said.
“Hurry," I said, then dropped the connection.
I could feel the tears falling down my cheeks, and that's when Asher walked back over to me. He set the drinks on the table as if they were for us.
“What were you doing? I could feel something.” Asher said.
I shook my head, refusing to speak. He didn't look amused.
"Tell me, or I will make you speak." Asher threatened.
I could feel a throbbing start moving up my arm from his hand. It got more intense the longer I kept quiet. The pain grew into sharp stabs of electricity that grew in intensity every second. I held out as long as I could. It felt like minutes but was probably closer to seconds. It wasn't long before it was more than I could bear.
"Okay," I squeaked.
The pain died down enough for me to take a huge breath. Asher pulled me to my feet and tucked me under his arm. He started walking us out of the coffee shop at a slow pace. As we moved out the door, I finally got a good look at James, and what I saw scared me. He was sitting very still, but his eyes darted around the room. He was frozen in place, unable to follow me.
I pushed my senses out to find the Guardian team that should be outside. Marek put a larger team on the perimeter to back us up in case Asher showed. I felt them, but none of them were moving either. Asher must have taken them out too.
“Tell me what you were just doing,” Asher said.
“I was looking for the Guardian team,” I admitted.
It was a small truth, and I was having a hard time concentrating. I hadn't intended to tell Asher anything.
"That wasn't very nice, Ember. We were having a polite conversation, and you had to break my trust." He said, looking indignant.
"I'm sorry," I said, apologizing.
He pulled me faster toward the building exit. It was hard to walk, but he managed to tug me along with him somehow. I thought frantically to come up with something to do. Marek said to do anything, so I focused on Asher and tried to set him on fire.
His clothing started to smoke before he lifted his sleeve and tapped on a tattoo. It looked like a chain holding a vessel at the end, like a priest's incense burner they use in churches. It flashed gold, and then my fire fizzled out before even singeing him. My shock turned to fear.
Asher grabbed my arm, “That was interesting. You are lucky my clothing didn’t catch. I can’t stand it when my clothing gets ruined.”
His eyes were glowing with the same golden light that had flashed from his tattoo. He stared at me, and I took the chance to take a peek at his power. What I found surprised me. He didn't have much, if any at all of his own. He was human but not powerful by himself. The power he was using had to be coming from whatever he did to the tattoo.
“What else can you do? There has to be something.” He insisted.
He pulled me out on the sidewalk, and then I knew I had to figure something else out quickly. The situation was becoming more dire.
“I can’t do anything else,” I insisted.
He gave me a hard look and dug his fingers harder into my arm. I would have bruises in the shape of his hand for sure.
He dragged me toward an SUV parked along the side of the building. It was in the fire lane, blocking part of the drive. He had it waiting there as a matter of convenience.
"I don't believe you. It doesn't matter, though. I'll make you talk." He said then pulled open the back door of the car.
I estimated it had been about five minutes since I contacted Marek. I had no idea where he was or how long it would take him to get here. I couldn’t risk trying to connect with him again while fighting Asher. I had to find a way to distract Asher so I could get away. This was my last chance before I was pushed into the vehicle.
I scanned the area again and found that Nikko was in the building. He was in the elevator, almost to the ground floor. He would help me, and the fact he's a werewolf had to mean he could hold his own.
I tried to freeze Asher with my kinetic power, but he shrugged it off like it was nothing. I looked around, but there wasn't anything that stood out for me to throw at him instead. There were a bunch of windows on the first floor, but that was it. With nothing else to use, I resolved to break the windows. I focused on the ones closest to us and willed them to break. They wobbled slowly at first. Then as they cracked, I pulled the glass shards toward Asher.
Glass flew through the air, some hit me, but mostly they hit Asher as he was pushing me into the car. Asher fell to the ground, and I felt him release me. I jumped out of the car and stood over Asher on the ground.
He started to stand, but before he could move, I kicked him in the kidney two times. He fell to the ground, but I didn't stop. I kicked him a few more times for good measure until I thought he was too hurt to move again. I ran around the car and went in through the broken windows back into the lobby of the building.
Nikko ran out of the elevator and pushed me behind him.
"Run, Ember. Don't stop." He yelled.
As I moved through the lobby, I looked over and saw James running out of the coffee shop. I nodded at him, then proceeded down the back hallway. It led to a back door that James and I had agreed would be a good escape route if it was needed.
As I ran, I heard Nikko yell out in pain, but I didn't stop. I hit the exit door full speed, which bruised my arm. When I burst through the door, I saw Marek's car pulling into the lot. I almost burst into tears with relief.
The tires squealed as he took the turn too fast then he stopped right in front of me. The passenger door flew open, and he yelled for me to get in.
“What about the guys?” I asked as I jumped in and closed the door.
Marek pealed out, not even having to think about what I asked.
"They can take care of themselves." He said, taking another corner too fast.
I gave him a hard look but realized he was right. If a dhampir and a werewolf couldn’t hold their own against a human, then there was nothing I could do to help them.
“How did you get away?” Marek asked.
“I shattered the windows and threw the glass at him. It knocked him down. I kicked him a few times before running away. Nikko distracted him from there.” I said.
My breathing was still heavy, so it was hard to get the words out, but the farther we got from the office, the easier it was to get air into my lungs. I focused on calming down. Marek still drove too fast, but I didn't care. I wanted to be as far away as possible.
"Asher took down your team and the one assigned to Nikko," Marek said.
“How did he know?” I asked.
“He had to know an elite team would be on you, but he must have seen the others when he arrived. I called Nikko when I couldn’t reach any of the team members.” He said.
"He jumped right into the fray. He didn't even hesitate." I said, feeling bo
th proud and thankful.
Marek grabbed my hand and said, “Are you hurt?”
"I don't think so. Maybe a scratch or two from the glass, but nothing else." I said.
He took a deep breath, and I knew he was searching for blood. He wasn't sure if I knew whether I had a more significant injury. I couldn't feel anything at that moment.
"I'm fine, Marek," I said, squeezing his hand.
He held on a little too tight to my hand as he drove. I liked that he did it. Something about it felt good.
“Did you reveal Viktor’s claim on you?” Marek asked tentatively.
“No,” I said.
I saw the instant relief on his face, and it hit me how big of a deal that was. I resolved never to use that letter.
“Good.” He said.
“Where are we going?” I asked, not recognizing where we were headed.
“Council headquarters. It is the safest place in the city. The Egyptian should not be able to reach you there.” He said.
I wondered what it would be like to finally see the Council. I hoped they were welcoming.
Chapter Thirteen
Iscreamed as the doctor set my broken arm. Note to self. Don't run full speed through an emergency exit door using your forearm as a battering ram. It only ends in pain. Marek knew I was injured before I did and had taken me directly to the medical wing of The Council headquarters.
He was currently staring at the handprint shaped bruises on my arms.
"I got away from him," I said, trying to sound like I had done something right.
“You did,” He admitted.
It didn't do anything to remove the concerned look on his face. His lips were smashed together in a thin line, and he wouldn't look me in the eyes other than to check them for injury. I had several cuts up and down my arms, and there were enough cuts on my face from the flying glass to make it seem like I had taken the brunt of the blow.
We hadn't heard from James or Nikko yet, but Marek assured me an emergency response team had been deployed to the scene. They would have arrived within minutes of me leaving and should be reporting back at any moment. I wasn't able to connect to either man (even though I had tried) to see if they were hurt, so I had to wait for news to get back to Marek.
Marek ran his hand up my arm as the bruises started to fade. I looked up at him then and saw a small smile on his face. He was happy I had taken blood from him yesterday. If I hadn't, I probably would have been hurt worse today and required blood now.
My skin pebbled into goosebumps as he trailed his fingers over my shoulder and onto my neck. He moved to sit next to me on the bed and slipped his hand up to my jaw. There was a long cut running along the bone there. Marek bit into his thumb, drawing a bead of blood to the surface. He smoothed it across the cut, and I felt it heal almost instantly.
He repeated the process over every cut he could find. He had to bite into his thumb several times to bring the blood to the surface again and again, but eventually, he healed every injury. I watched him while he did it, and each one made me shiver a little. I loved how it felt when his blood healed me, and it made me wonder why I could feel the magic now when I hadn't before.
When he finished, he wiped off the blood with a damp cloth and finally met my eyes. What I saw there took my breath away. He was content that I was okay, but there was more to it than that.
"You…" I started, but he interrupted me.
“No, not here.” He said and leaned in to press a soft kiss on my lips.
He moved so fast I almost didn't think it happened, but then I felt a wetness on my lips. When I ran my tongue over it, I tasted his blood. It exploded with power as I swallowed it.
My broken arm flared with pain, then just as suddenly it didn’t hurt at all. The lethargy I had felt from fighting Asher’s hold on me lifted slightly too. Marek had healed all my remaining wounds with nothing but a smear of blood. I couldn’t stop staring at him.
I kicked the door open to our bond, letting him feel everything I was feeling at that moment. His eyes brightened as if a light had backlit them, turning his ordinarily deep blue eyes to more of an ice blue.
His power flared, and I felt it call to me. The small taste of his blood wasn't enough for me, I wanted to drink from him and feel all his power wrap around me.
"Am I interrupting anything?" James asked, walking through the doorway.
I felt my cheeks flush, but Marek didn’t move, he kept staring at me.
“I will be back,” He said into my mind.
I nodded my understanding, and he stood up. He pulled James into the hall for a few minutes, then I felt him leave. He was going to check with the team to see what happened after he rushed me away from the scene. James walked back into the room.
“Are you okay?” I asked James looking for any injuries.
"I got patched up on the ride here. I had bruises mostly," James said, coming over to sit in the chair next to the bed.
"How bad was it?" I asked, cringing.
"Not as bad as it could have been. I don't want to think about what would have happened if Nikko hadn't gotten there when he did. Are you okay?" James said, looking me over.
"I broke my arm, but it's healed now," I said, moving my hand and finding no pain remaining.
“He’s good at that,” James said. I assumed he was referring to Marek.
“Vampire blood is a handy first aid kit when you need it. Where is Nikko? Is he okay?” I asked.
“Nikko was hurt worse than me. If you want, I can take you to him.” James said.
"Yes, please," I said, jumping off the bed.
I followed James down the hall. There were several rooms like the one I had been in along the corridor. Further down, we passed through a security door that led to rooms in the ICU. My heart jumped in my chest at seeing Nikko was in the ICU.
We arrived at his room, where Nikko was surrounded by nurses and beeping machines. To the protest of several nurses, I walked right into his room. He had a bandage on his head just over his left eye. One of his arms was wrapped and bound against his chest. He looked like hell.
"He's unconscious but healing," James said and motioned me over to the chair next to the bed.
I sat down and grabbed Nikko's hand on the arm that wasn't bandaged, which was one of the few places he didn't look hurt. I couldn't believe how messed up he was. I instantly felt terrible for leaving him there.
James told me he would be down the hall if I needed him and left me alone with Nikko. As he left, he instructed the nurses to work around me if they needed something, and they backed off at his order.
It was several hours before Nikko woke. I had dozed off a bit from sitting still for so long and startled awake when Nikko spoke.
“This feels familiar,” Nikko said.
"Hey, how are you feeling?" I asked, sitting up.
A nurse hurried in and started taking vitals. I glared at her, but she was done quickly then left.
"Better than I should. Are you okay?" He asked, looking for injuries.
"Just a few scrapes and bumps, all healed now," I assured him.
“Good,” He relaxed into the pillow.
“Thank you, Nikko. If you hadn’t been there, I’m not sure what would have happened.” I said.
He took a deep breath that looked pained. I didn't want to know how bad the injuries were before now. I assumed he had already received every treatment possible to this point, and yet he still looked like death warmed over.
“I was surprised when Marek called, but I’m glad he did,” He smiled.
His skin looked pale, and his smile didn't have the same warmth it usually did. It tugged at my heart to see him hurting.
“I was glad you were there until I saw how bad you were hurt,” I grimaced.
"If it hadn't been me, then it could have been you," Nikko said softly.
“What can I do for you? Do you need anything? I can get a nurse back in here,” I offered.
“You holding my hand is doing m
ore for me than anything a nurse could do.” He smiled.
I squeezed his hand and smiled back. He didn’t look good, but he was going to be okay. My anxiety lowered with every breath he took. I sat with him for a while but knew he was trying to stay awake for me.
"I don't want to keep you awake. I should let you rest," I said, leaning down and kissing Nikko softly on the forehead. "I'll check on you later."
"Love you, Em," He said and fell back asleep as soon as his eyes closed.
“I know,” I said softly and left the room.
Marek was waiting for me just down the hall.
“I am told he has responded well to treatments and will fully recover within a day or two.” He said.
"I wanted to stay, but I was keeping him awake. He needs sleep to heal." I said.
“You could use some rest yourself,” Marek suggested.
"I'm fine," I said, knowing I looked like crap.
“Yes, you look fine.” He said with a small smile to soften the bluntness of his statement.
I laughed. I knew I had been in rough shape, but hearing Marek point it out was suddenly hilarious. I was exhausted even though I had been healed of most of the wounds I received.
Marek pulled me back down the hall to the room I had been in and told me to lay down. There was no point arguing with him. He pulled a blanket up over me then sat in the chair next to the bed. When my body relaxed into sleep, I fell into a dream.
Natalie was lying in a large bed with red silk sheets covered with velvet and cashmere blankets. She looked peaceful lying there, cuddled under the covers. The headboard was covered in gold leaf, and the walls were paneled in mahogany. It looked like a mansion.
She looked clean and comfortable, which was much better than the last time I saw her. It actually looked like she was being taken care of now instead of abused. It made me feel better to see her like that even if I was still angry at her being taken away.
Natalie stirred at the sound of a door opening. She didn't wake, but someone did enter the room. I saw a shadow fall over the bed covers, then a hand appeared. It was a man's hand, and he moved to stroke my sister's face. At first, I thought it was Viktor, but then the arm came into view. As his sleeve pushed up, I saw his forearm was tattooed with familiar runes.
Ember's Shadow - Into the Darkness (an Ember Summers novel Book 2) Page 12