by Amy Cross
Chapter Fourteen
Matthias
As soon as I pushed open the door to Chloe's apartment, I picked up their scents.
Two vampires.
One male, one female.
I could hear voices, too.
“He wants her delivered directly to the mansion,” the female was saying. She sounded weak and uncertain, maybe even new.
Yes, that was it.
She was new.
A fresh-born blood.
How pitiful, I told myself, that he'd sent such a runt to do his dirty work. Then again, I supposed that he'd burned all his bridges with anyone even halfway respectable.
“Let's just get it over with you,” the fresh-born woman continued. “I hate it.”
“Don't you want to know why he's so keen to get hold of her?” the male replied. “Maybe we can use this situation as leverage.”
It was the male who worried me. Unlike the female, he sounded old, and experienced, and the scent of his blood was far more potent. He was going to take at least ten seconds to kill.
Taking a deep breath, I tried to find some hidden strength. In the old days, I'd never have hesitated. I'd have simply charged into the room and taken them both down, but my body was in too much pain to withstand a protracted fight. I knew that I needed to deal with the situation quickly, and that I had to rescue Chloe before Hugo's friends had a chance to get her away. Finally, realizing that I'd never feel entirely ready, I pushed the door open and made my way across the hallway, while trying to remember not to limp.
“Hugo's weak,” the male vampire was saying. “If he wants this woman so badly, maybe -”
He stopped suddenly as soon as he spotted me.
“Matthias?” He seemed genuinely shocked, before taking a step closer. “I was told you'd -”
Before he could finish, I grabbed him by the shoulder and pulled him closer, biting down hard on his neck. I could already feel him fighting back, so I dug my teeth into his jugular and drained his blood for a moment, figuring I might as well steal a little strength. Just when I figured he was about to start fighting back, I slipped my fangs out and then shoved him to the floor, taking care to kick him hard in the face at the same time.
“Hello Rimauld,” I muttered, towering over him as he clutched the wound on the side of his neck. “I should have known my brother would drag you into this. The question is, who's going to drag you out?”
“It's a simple transaction,” he spluttered, clearly struggling to get to his feet. “It's nothing personal, Matthias.”
“Get out of here,” I told him, before turning to the female and seeing that she was cowering in the far corner, as if my appearance was enough to bring terror to her heart. “Who are you?” I asked.
When she failed to reply, I stepped over to Chloe and reached down, quickly checking that she was simply unconscious. Just as I felt a pulse, however, I heard someone hurrying toward me, and I turned just as the female threw herself at my chest, knocking me back against the wall.
“One of Hugo's little helpers?” I hissed, grabbing her throat and holding her back. “I might be weak,” I sneered, “but I can still take on a newbie. How long have you been a vampire, anyway? A day? Two?”
She tried to get free of my grip, but she was far too weak.
“I'm impressed that you've got this much fight in your bones,” I added. “Or maybe you're just desperate.”
“What's your name?” I sneered, before realizing that I'd seen her before, in Chloe's dream. “You must be Belinda,” I continued finally. “I guess my brother left no stone unturned, huh? How does it feel, Belinda, to be in the service of a madman? Are you proud to have fallen so far?” Glancing at Rimauld, I saw he was already crawling toward the door. “That guy over there is just a mercenary,” I added, turning back to the girl. “He's happy to take my brother's coin, but he's not going to put up a fight, not if there's even the slightest hint of danger. You, on the other hand, have allowed yourself to become a slave. You don't have a choice.”
“Please,” she stammered, still trying desperately to push my hand away from her neck, “I'm just... I can't refuse...”
“Of course you can,” I said darkly, “but you're far too weak. Hugo's got you under his thumb, and you're not the only one. This city is crawling with his spies. I didn't realize until tonight, but my brother was clearly planning this for a long time. Even in his madness, he was able to pull together one more little gang of bullies.”
“You don't understand!” she hissed. “He got into my mind! If I try to disobey him, he'll kill me!”
“Forgive me for not giving a damn,” I muttered, shoving her against the nearest wall. “Don't worry, though. I'm going to let you live, at least for now. Since my brother refuses to face me, I need you to deliver a message. Tell him I gave him every chance to back down from this madness. Tell him everything that happens from this point on is down to his stupidity. And tell him...”
I paused for a moment, as I began to realize that despite my best efforts, I'd ended up working directly against my brother. Despite everything I'd tried, I'd ended up right back in his life.
“And tell him it's not too late,” I added. “Tell him I want to talk to him, and that I'll come and find him, but only once I'm sure that Chloe is safe. Tell him I've worked out his little plan, and it won't work. Tell him to listen to the scream of fate. I know he hears it, I know it's the scream that drove him mad. I hear it too, sometimes, but I'm smart enough to pay attention and to back away when fate sends me a warning.”
“I don't know what you're on about!” she gasped. “All I know is -”
“Haven't you heard it too?” I asked. “There's a prophecy at play here, one that I witnessed being written. And any time you go against that prophecy, the universe pushes back. There are mechanisms that no-one understands, vast wheels that turn out of sight, and if we try to go against their path, they push back. You should mention that to my brother some time, and make sure he understands. What he's trying to do here will not work.”
“He warned me about you,” she hissed. “He told me you'd try to interfere!”
“Did he also tell you that I'm dying?” I asked.
She hesitated, but I could see from the look in her eyes that he'd left that part of the story out.
“Vampires are immortal,” I continued. “More or less, anyway. But we can be killed, and when that happens, it's always quite a shock. I've known for a while now that my days are numbered. I would've died sooner, but I've hung on so that I get a chance to deal with my brother's madness. Maybe I didn't even realize that until now.” I leaned closer to her. “You know what they say about wild animals, don't you? When they're dying, they're at their most dangerous. Now take that advice and apply it to a vampire, and try to understand that it'd be a very, very bad idea for you to stand in my way right now.”
I paused, before tossing her to the floor and then gathering Chloe up in my arms.
“I can't let you take her!” Belinda sneered. “Hugo told me to -”
“If Hugo told you to try to stop me,” I said firmly, as I started carrying Chloe to the door, “then he basically sent you to your death. Deliver a message for me. Tell him I'll be along soon enough. Tell him I haven't forgotten about him.”
I waited for her to admit that she understood. She began to turn away, but I could tell that she wasn't defeated, not yet. And then, sure enough, she turned and lunged at me with one final, renewed sense of anger.
I swatted her aside and crushed her against the wall. Once I heard the agony in her scream, I let go and watched her slither to the floor. I knew she'd recover eventually, but I also knew that I'd taught her a valuable lesson. The question was, would she heed that lesson?
By the time I reached the hallway outside the apartment, I was certain that she wasn't going to come after me. She might have been given orders by my brother, but she clearly knew better than to throw her life away. As for Chloe, I knew that I had to get her to safety befor
e Hugo had a chance to send anyone else after her. Everything I'd told Belinda about prophecies was true. There was no chance to break something so powerful, but at the same time there was a faint sense of doubt in the back of my mind.
No-one could go against a prophecy. I kept telling myself that, over and over. But if ever one person managed such a thing, if a loophole was discovered, then I felt sure my brother would still pose a threat.
Chapter Fifteen
Chloe
Opening my eyes, I found myself face-down on a cold, dirty concrete floor. I stayed completely still for a moment, listening to the silence all around, and then slowly I began to roll over.
Stopping suddenly, I let out an agonized gasp.
My ribs.
There was a sharp, throbbing pain in my ribs.
“Don't try to move too much,” a voice said nearby. “You're in a bad way.”
I turned to look at him, but again I cried out as I felt a pain in my chest.
“I did warn you,” the voice added.
Taking a deep breath, I began to sit up, while taking great care to avoid putting any strain on my chest at all. Finally managing to rest on my elbows, I saw that a figure was sitting nearby, warming his hands on a fire that was burning in some kind of old barrel. After a moment he turned to me, and I recognized him immediately.
“Matthias?” I stammered, instinctively trying to get to my feet but wincing as I felt a fresh twist of pain.
“You'll make it worse if you keep doing that,” he told me. “You'll be fine, but you need to rest.”
Looking around, I saw that we were in a bare, dirty old room, maybe some kind of abandoned warehouse. Cracked windows at the top of the far wall looked out onto the night sky, and I could hear the rumble of trains not too far away.
“Where are we?” I asked, turning to Matthias. “How did I get here?”
“I carried you.”
“What?” I stared at him. “Why? What do you mean, why did you -”
Before I could finish, I remembered those final moments in my apartment. Belinda had showed up. Or had she? Had that all been a dream? I tried to tell myself that I'd simply had a horrible, very vivid nightmare. Then again, if that had been a nightmare, it seemed that I still wasn't awake. The pain felt so real, however, that I figured I couldn't possibly still be unconscious. Back in the apartment, I'd been about to call the police, but then...
“What happened?” I whispered, struggling to remember the details.
Matthias paused for a moment. “He found you,” he said finally. “Or rather, a couple of his goons found you. Much faster than I'd expected, by the way. For that, I apologize.”
“Who found me?” I asked, wincing again as I reached for my phone, only to find that my pockets were empty. “I need to call the police, I need -” I gasped again as I felt a surge of pain in my chest. “I need to see a doctor!”
“That would be too risky.”
“Too what?”
“He'll be looking for you. Hospitals are the most obvious place to start. He must've found out by now that you were injured when I rescued you.”
“When you...” Staring at him, I watched as he continued to warm his hands. Just as I was about to ask another question, however, I remembered seeing Belinda in my apartment. My thoughts were racing as I tried to untangle all the conflicting memories, but one thing remained very clear in my mind: I had seen Belinda, and nothing she'd said had made very much sense.
“We can't stay here for too long,” Matthias said after a moment, glancing past me as if he was worried about us being interrupted. “Hugo has spies all over this city. He'll be furious, he must have thought he'd finally got his hands on you.” He paused, before turning to me. “I'm sorry I was late. I knew he'd make his move soon, but it never occurred to me that he'd be so brazen as to come out during the day. I can only assume that in his madness, he's begun to break his own rules. His mind really must have deteriorated further since the last time I saw him.”
Staring at him, I tried to make sense of everything he was saying.
“I don't like sitting still,” he continued, getting to his feet and reaching out to me. “I know you're in pain, but we have to keep moving. There's a place we can go, somewhere we'll be safe. If we're lucky, Hugo won't think to look there until we've got our -”
Gasping suddenly, he clutched his side, as if he was in pain.
I stared, feeling as if I'd somehow tumbled into the midst of someone else's nightmare.
“Don't let the pain slow you down,” he continued, his voice tense with discomfort. “Use it as fuel. Come on, Chloe, I know you can do this.”
He was still reaching toward me, but after a moment I started getting to my feet without his help. The pain in my chest was intense, but I just about managed to stand.
“You must have a lot of questions,” he said finally.
“I need to see a doctor,” I whispered, even though every word brought a fresh flash of pain to my chest, “and I need to find Belinda.”
“Trust me,” he replied, “you really don't. She's gone now.”
I shook my head. “She's alive, she -”
“She's his possession now,” he added, interrupting me. “I know that might not make much sense to you at the moment, Chloe, but it's true. When he resurrected her, he claimed her soul. There's nothing either of us can do for her now. If she's no longer of any use to him, he's most likely destroyed her anyway.”
“What are you talking about?” I asked, flinching as I took a pained step forward. “Belinda's my friend and she's clearly in trouble. I have to -”
Letting out a sudden cry, I stumbled and dropped to my knees. The pain in my chest was burning now, and I felt close to tears.
“Chloe,” Matthias continued, “please -”
“What am I doing here?” I asked breathlessly, trying not to panic. “Who are you, and why have you brought me to this place?”
“I brought you here because I had to get you away from my brother.”
I turned to him. “Your brother?”
“I keep forgetting that you...” His voice trailed off, and he stared at me for a moment. “I know this must seem very strange for you right now, Chloe, but trust me, you're not the only one. This day has been coming for a long time and -” He winced and clutched his side again, and for a moment he seemed to be in too much pain to continue. “There isn't much time,” he said finally, reaching his hand out to me again. “I can answer all your questions, but only once we get going. I know a place where we can rest, and where someone can take a look at your injuries. The alternative is to wait out here in the open and let Hugo hunt us down like rats. He already found you once. He'll do it again.”
I hesitated, before reaching out and taking his hand, accepting his help as I struggled to my feet.
“He would have killed you,” he added. “You realize that, don't you? He kills everyone once they stop being useful to him.”
“I'm dreaming,” I replied, taking slow, shallow breaths in an attempt to minimize the pain. “None of this is real.”
“I got to your apartment just in time,” he explained, as he began to lead me across the darkened room, away from the fire that was still burning in the barrel. “Hugo's out of his mind. I don't blame him, not after everything he's been through, but that doesn't mean I have to stand by and let him do these things. Even though he's my brother, maybe because he's my brother, I have to stop him.”
“Uh-huh,” I gasped, feeling a burning sensation running through my rib cage. “Let's just call the police and let them deal with it. Whatever's happening here...” Pausing, I looked at Matthias and realized that there was no way I'd be able to reason with him. Somehow, I'd ended up in the clutches of a madman, and there was only one way out.
“Chloe...”
“I'll come with you,” I lied, figuring I needed to gain his trust for a few minutes. “Whatever you say, just take me somewhere safe.”
He stared at me for a moment, clearly
surprised by my response.
“Shouldn't we get moving?” I asked, keen to get outside so that I could scream for help. “I'm not going to argue with you, but you said you know somewhere safe for us to hide. Isn't it dangerous for us to be here right now.”
“Of course,” he replied, grabbing my hand as if he didn't quite trust me to limp along unaided. “It's not far, but we'll have to be careful. As I said, Hugo has many -”
“I heard,” I told him, pushing through the pain as I took his hand and started limping toward the door. “I'm sure you're right, so let's just get moving.”
“I'm glad you're being so rational,” he muttered. “I thought it would take much longer to make you see things from my point of view.”
“What can I say?” I gasped, feeling another surge of pain. “A bunch of broken ribs is enough to make a girl think straight.”
As soon as we got outside, I stopped and leaned back against the wall. We were still too far from civilization, and the night air was freezing, so I figured I needed to wait a few more minutes before screaming.
“We can't rest here,” Matthias told me. “Hugo's minions could track us down at any moment.”
“Are you sure they're not here already?” I asked, desperately trying to play along with his crazy ideas.
He turned and looked around at the dark industrial estate.
“What about that corner over there?” I asked, pointing into the distance. “I thought I saw something move.”
“I'm sure it was nothing.”
“I saw something!” I said firmly. “Maybe you should go and check it out.”
He hesitated for a moment, clearly torn, before letting go of my hand. “Wait here,” he told me. “Don't move, not even an inch. You'll be okay, but only if you stick close to me and let me protect you. Is that understood?”
I nodded, even as I felt a fresh burst of pain in my chest.
“I'll be back momentarily,” he replied, turning and making his way toward the far end of the building.
As soon as he was far enough away, I turned and bolted in the other direction, figuring that I needed to get as far away from him as possible. The pain in my chest was still ripping through me, but the urge to escape was far, far stronger. As soon as I made it around the next corner, I scampered along another path until I reached the next turning, and then I took a right turn and ducked down, hoping against hope that I'd be able to keep my head down for a while.