by Tanja Neise
“No collision, Shazar.”
“I wouldn’t have dreamed of it, as long as your lady was in there,” my old friend pushed out, between pinched lips. What was he up to? How was he going to stop the plane? What options did we even still have?
Shazar abruptly yanked the steering wheel to the left and hurtled across the meadow, and all the others did the same as him. The plane continued, unhindered. Before I could ask what it all meant, there was a deafening explosion; the shock waves could even be felt in Shazar's car and my heart stood still for a moment, before it continued beating again in double time.
Olivia Morgan / Margaret Rumsfield
Pain permeated my body and clouded my senses. Mentally, I was half conscious and I was having problems putting one foot in front of the other. I stumbled repeatedly, while Ladorre hurried ahead, pulling me behind him. As soon as the collision on the plane had occurred, he’d ripped me out of my seat and pushed me through a door into the open air. He’d completely ignored the fact that I’d been seriously injured in the accident, or whatever it was that had just happened. I was still holding my stomach with my right hand. A large piece of metal had pierced me. Ladorre had pulled it out on the spot and screamed at me that I should run, as quickly as possible.
I was so caught up in my pain that I didn't even think about defending myself. So I hurried on after him, without concern for myself or my wellbeing. The wound had stopped bleeding and my vision was slowly becoming clear again. This could probably be put down to my specific genetic composition. A normal person would have fainted at some point due to the loss of blood, and might even have died from it. But with me, the wound was already healing over.
In the meantime, we’d arrived in an area of forest and carried on walking on the uneven ground. Where was he taking me? It was relatively dark, so I could hardly make out the roots of the trees with the rapid speed at which we were moving. Suddenly, it wasn’t solely my vision that was becoming clearer, but also my mind; it finally resumed the task it had been assigned to do. I asked myself how the accident had come about. The plane must have been hit – there was no other explanation. My accident theory fell flat and gave way to incredulous amazement. Someone had to be responsible and I’d eat my hat if that someone hadn't been Robert Tensington. He was alive! And he wanted to save me! Deep gratitude swept over me. I vigorously pressed my heels into the damp forest floor and tried to free myself from the relentless grip. It took Ladorre a millisecond to regain his balance so as not to fall over. The sight provided me with a devilish satisfaction.
“What do you think you’re doing? Keep going!” His words left his mouth as a hiss and his hands pierced my flesh like claws.
“No! I’m not taking another single step!”
Ladorre tore his eyes open in disbelief. He’d probably never been contradicted by anyone. I tried to make it clear how serious I was in the way that I looked at him. Yet the next moment he hit me so hard in the face with the back of his hand that I tasted blood. I hadn't seen his hand coming; Ladorre was fast. Faster than I’d thought possible. The metallic taste on my tongue sparked my rage, which devoured my arteries and took possession of me. But what could I do? Nothing! I could defend myself, of course, but he was physically superior to me. Nevertheless, I now knew that Robert was nearby. I was absolutely sure of it. I would thus try to make it as hard as possible for Ladorre – I would defy him and give Robert the opportunity to find me.
I gathered all my courage and spat the blood into Ladorre's face. At first he seemed astounded, but the very next moment his face obscured to a mask distorted with rage. He eyed me with spite, twisted my arm and grabbed my hair with his other hand.
“You’re coming with me whether you like it or not, sweetheart. You belong to me now, and from now on, I decide what you do and when. If you continue resisting me, you’ll regret it, bitterly.” His hot breath on my ear and his hard body against my back made me shiver.
I could imagine very well the abominations he had in mind for me, but that didn’t minimise my resistance. On the contrary, my resolution to defend myself until my last breath was only strengthened.
When he let go of my arm, I thought this was my chance. I tore at my hair with all my might, but he held on mercilessly. Suddenly, I was seeing stars as tremendous pain came crashing down on me. The son of a bitch had punched me in the kidney and it felt like something was ripping inside me. I screamed because the pain was unbearable, while I heard a soft laugh behind me. I’d lost my balance, my knees had simply buckled beneath me, as if they’d forgotten what to do. And now I was dangling from my hair, and my knees were touching the damp forest floor. The fabric of my trousers was slowly getting soaked and I tried to focus my thoughts solely on this feeling, so as to blank out the pain. But I couldn’t do it. Tears ran down my cheeks and I sniffled incessantly.
“So, my stubborn beast – that was just a taste of what will await you if you don't toe the line. And don't worry, you can still live reasonably well with one kidney. But if you want to survive, we’ll have to speed up a little, because internal bleeding shouldn’t be underestimated. Move along, now. You’ve put my patience to the test long enough.”
Robert Tensington / Raphael
The interior of the car was bathed in the orange-red light irradiating from the burning plane. The plane in which Olivia had been sitting. My Olivia! My heart! It was precisely that that was currently threatening to tear me to pieces. How could fate be so cruel and take her away from me before it had even really begun?
Everything in me was tensing up and I began to scream. It wasn't despair. No, it was anger. Anger at the reality of this world. At my destiny, which people or vampires were constantly wrenching away from me, the things which had grown close to my heart. The pain that raged inside me was almost unbearable.
When Shazar put his hand on my thigh, I was about to rip his arm out, but then thought better of it. Olivia wouldn't have wanted me to forget my humanity.
“My friend, calm down!”
Self-control was a difficult thing, I thought, as I turned to Shazar with a snarl, and looked at him angrily. “I should calm down?” I asked, dangerously quietly. I felt a desire to kill, and my fangs began to extend.
“Yes, Raphael. Look ahead and take a deep breath.” His arm pointed to the windscreen as he adamantly drove on.
It was only now that I noticed the jet, which looked confusingly like the one that had just been blown to pieces. I let the air escape from my lungs and stared at the plane, with tears in my eyes. “A diversionary tactic!”
“Yes!” In Shazar's voice, I could also hear the anger I felt myself. Ladorre – my beloved father, I thought, sarcastically – had lured us onto the wrong track and had carefully calculated that I would drive here to save Liv. However, there was evidently one thing he hadn’t expected – Shazar. Because my old buddy was driving the car without hesitation, without allowing himself to be distracted, towards the right plane. These crucial seconds, in which I was bound to be in despair, not paying attention to my surroundings, would have sufficed for him to get the jet into the air.
Shazar was driving at a reckless speed, straight towards the metal object. When it registered with me what he was up to, it was already too late. The car smashed into the landing gear and pushed the plane off the runway. This ironclad car was definitely not mass-produced, but a custom-made car, right from the wheels to its windows. How else could you have explained that an off-road vehicle was stronger than an aeroplane driving along a runway?
Upon impact, my head thudded hard against the dashboard as I didn’t have my seatbelt on. A short pain shot through my skull, but I quickly caught a hold of myself again.
When I could finally see clearly again, I recognised the extent of the destruction to the plane. The targeted impact on the wheels had caused it to skid and land on the side. Thick black smoke was emerging from one of the engines. At the sight of it, a fist placed itself around my stomach and squeezed it tirelessly. The fear for Olivia
suddenly spread throughout my entire body.
Shazar had already left the car and I saw him land on the plane in one single, robust jump. I quickly followed him.
“What are you planning on doing” I spouted, still angry at him. He had acted against my instructions and driven into the plane, although I had expressly forbidden it. Next to us, Shazar's men were gradually taking up their positions.
“We’ll storm the wreckage, get your lady out and kill the monstrosity that calls himself your father.” He eyed me vigilantly, but I didn't have to assess things for long. We had to act quickly, so long as chaos still prevailed inside the plane.
I nodded. “Go!”
Together, the two of us levered out the door up to which the steps were normally pushed, and stormed in. The first thing I saw was a woman's body. Her legs were unnaturally twisted, whilst she was trying to crawl forward. She was a flight attendant. Relief flooded me, making way for fear at the same time. At least this woman was still alive. I didn’t know whether I could assume the same for Olivia. And like acid, this insecurity ate itself through my gut. My eyes darted around, frantically, but I couldn’t find her. She was no longer on the small aeroplane. On the side diagonally opposite there was a door leading to the hold. My father must have gone that way. For I knew with absolute certainty that we were on the right plane. Liv’s smell was lingering here in this room like a heavy perfume. She must have incurred severe injuries because it was her blood that I smelled and that made my blood run cold.
Anne Rumsfield
With wobbly legs, I left the cabin, closely followed by Dark, whose presence occupied everything around me and seemed to penetrate to my very core. I felt like I’d bathed in his scent, and enjoyed inhaling it deeply. He had indirectly confessed his love to me, too, which bestowed a blissful tingling sensation upon me. Should we survive what awaited us in Louisville, then we’d definitely still have lots of time to talk about feelings.
As soon as we’d sat down, the flight attendant came along. “We’re preparing to land very soon, at the small, private airport that you informed us about.”
“All right.” He didn't look her in the eyes, so he didn't notice how she quite obviously yearned for him.
Inside, I was fuming. Hadn't the girl noticed what we’d just been doing in the little sleeping cabin? Or did she just not care? Stunned, I shook my head. She didn't bestow as much as a glance on me, before she hurried back to the cockpit, where she would probably be worshipping the next man.
Hey, wait a minute. What was I doing? I was actually jealous!
“I don't like her,” said Dark, at that moment, looking at me from those unfathomable, deep eyes.
I frowned, irritated. “Why...?”
“This plane has suddenly become ten degrees cooler.” Meanwhile, I had quickly grasped the situation and saw him, at vampiric speed, whisk himself down onto his knees and kneel between my legs. “Anne Rumsfield, you don't ever have to worry about other women now, or at any time in the future.”
My heart beat wildly, whilst I felt I didn’t have enough air to breathe. Had this gorgeous vampire really just promised me his full and exclusive attention?
His hands quickly slid up the inside of my thighs, unleashing my desire for him once more. Trembling, I breathed in deeply.
A superior, knowing smile spread over his face. My pride went out the window right there and then, however, and I voraciously pressed myself towards his hands, which elicited a gasp from him.
“Miss Rumsfield, if you don't pull yourself together, I'll have to teach you some manners.” Demandingly, he rubbed through the fabric of my trousers until I thought I was going to explode. Groaning, I pressed my head back into the nape of my neck and completely gave in to this feeling, which was stronger than anything I had ever felt. Dark opened the zip of my trousers, which sat loosely on my hips, and slid his hand in. “Oh baby, you’re so ready for me.” But instead of ripping my clothes off and taking me right on the spot, he fucked me with his fingers until I screamed in orgasm and clung to him. Breathlessly, I lingered in the seat and watched him as my orgasm slowly ebbed away. He slowly pulled his hand back and sat down next to me. I was very shaky, but Dark strapped us both in and then took me in his arms.
“Only you!” he breathed into my ear, which drove a tear out of the corner of my eye. It shook me a little, and scared me. Was I at all the right person for a stable relationship? Until now, I’d had absolutely no experience at it. But it felt right, and damn good. Smiling, I snuggled into his arms a little more tightly and closed my eyes, just for a moment.
Robert Tensington / Raphael
“Are you thinking what I’m thinking?” Shazar asked me, gravely.
“You’re thinking she must be badly hurt?” I asked this counter question, as I followed the trail of blood between the seats of the plane. Shazar remained close on my heels. I knew I could rely on him one hundred percent. I wouldn't turn my back on anyone that easily.
“Mhm, exactly.” I heard a rustling sound from behind me and as I turned around, I saw him activating his device. “Spread out. Ladorre and the First Lady have fled.”
“First Lady?” Despite the seriousness of the situation, this reference to Liv made me smirk.
“Your woman is to us something like the First Lady is to the human Americans. So what's wrong with referring to her as that?” With a grumble, he pulled the emergency exit door off its hinges. It had probably served my father as an escape route. Shazar didn't hesitate and jumped out of the plane. A drop of five metres, which was not difficult for us vampires, must have been an insurmountable obstacle for Olivia. Just the thought of my father holding her in his arms and then jumping down here ignited a tremendous anger in me. These negative sentiments were growing in me and I was hardly able to think logically anymore. But that didn't trouble me any longer, because Shazar was an analytically-thinking and empathic vampire and I followed him without hesitation.
We raced through the forest. Again and again, I heard branches cracking to the left and right of us. Shazar’s men weren’t exactly quiet, but it probably wasn’t necessary to be, since our enemy certainly didn’t consider himself safe. We had to be fast – this was essential. Liv was injured and not a vampire, so Ladorre would have a hard time getting ahead swiftly. Even if he carried her, he would be slower than us. Accordingly, we were bound to catch up to him soon, so we slowed down a little. Liv's smell, however, was becoming weaker. Had she stopped bleeding? Was this due to her extraordinary healing powers? Nevertheless, she ought to be more present. Which she wasn't!
Abruptly, I stopped and held my nose in the air. Nothing. Liv had never been here. This son of a bitch had put his mental powers to use once again – had made us all believe something that wasn’t even remotely true. He’d led us totally astray while he’d taken a completely different path. “Stop!”
Instantly, everyone stopped and it turned deadly silent. Shazar looked at me, quizzically. “What's wrong?”
“Mental powers,” I said simply, because my friend, Shazar, had also, once before, had the pleasure of experiencing my father's magic, as we used to call it when we were younger. “Try to shake off the fog, then you'll understand.”
Knowingly, he looked at me less than five seconds later. “I can't believe I'm still falling for that after all these years.” He relayed a message on the walkie-talkie so that all those who were a short distance away from us and had freed themselves from my father's grasp would know as well. “It's always fascinating what power he can have over others if they haven’t noticed.”
I was just about to answer him when a piercing scream penetrated the nighttime peace. It wasn’t loud. The distance was too great. If we’d been on the move at that time, we probably wouldn't have heard it, especially if my father had still had control over our minds. Instinctively, I knew it was Liv who had painfully screamed in all her agony. Ice crystals were forming in my blood vessels. Along with everyone else, I listened, but it remained silent. I closed my eyes for
a moment, and went inside myself. In that instant, I was completely focussed and knew that it was the best way to find Olivia. It didn't help any of us if I ran through the forest like a hot-headed teenager and didn't even spot the trap my father had set for us. This wouldn't have happened if I’d had a clear head.
“North,” I said, pointing in the direction I suspected Liv was located. We immediately set off, this time more quietly, hoping that Ladorre wouldn’t notice us coming.
Olivia Morgan / Margaret Rumsfield
“And now get up off your ass. We have to keep going.” Ladorre was pulling at my hair, but I didn’t feel any pain since the spot where he’d punched me in the back hurt so much that it felt like red-hot lava flowing through my body. He really must have hit my kidney, and judging by the pain, he’d lacerated it in the process. I was still hardly getting any air into my lungs. I saw dark speckles dancing before my eyes and was unable to move.
Without further ado, he lifted me up and threw me over his shoulder, demonstrating very little affection. The pain he caused me while doing this was unbearable. Couldn't my extraordinary, self-healing powers finally set in now? Right now? But the pain was throbbing incessantly and my breath was only a light wheezing crossing my lips. I closed my fluttering eyelids and tried to think of a more beautiful place. I had once read that this was supposed to help, but it didn't work for me. Then I resorted to breathing techniques that women had used in the last century, when it was still common to bear children naturally. But that didn't help, either.
Meanwhile, Ladorre was running and our surroundings were slowly becoming brighter. Only now did I wonder what time it was, as the light I was seeing wasn’t electrical. No, it was the sun, which was slowly following its natural course and announcing sunrise with a wink.