I looked back at him. “Did Leanne tell you what you’re getting yourself into?”
“Enough to know the danger.”
“And you still want to do this?”
Caleb pushed past me and ambled in. Awfully presumptuous of him. He was looking at a glass paperweight of mine when he answered. “I’ve been in training for this type of thing for years.”
“I’m not sure I understand,” I said.
He glanced up and our eyes locked. “And I’m not sure I’m authorized to tell you … yet. Just trust me when I say that I’m prepared.”
“Okay,” I blew out my breath, “then let’s get you suited up.”
***
At 7:30 p.m. our taxi pulled up and we dashed inside. “Where to?” our driver asked.
“The Bishopcourt mansion,” I said. “And I will double you’re your fee if you can get us there as quickly as possible.” Our task was simple: evacuate Andre’s mansion. The not-so-easy part was going to be staying alive.
The driver made good on our deal. We managed to make a forty-five minute drive in half the time. I threw a thick wad of bills at him as Leanne, Oliver, Caleb, and I dashed out of the car. Guests were still arriving, but the warm light from the mansion illuminated a room already full with people.
Grabbing the dark blue folds of fabric of my dress, I sprinted to the entrance, my friends quick on my heels. I tried not to think about the danger I was putting them in.
Bishopcourt loomed in front of us. Hundreds of glass bowls had been placed throughout the expansive yard, filled with water and floating candles. Light refracted off of the strangely beautiful decorations. Each tiny beacon of light reminded me that Andre had not seen natural light in nearly a millennia.
Classical music poured out of the front door. The crowds were thickest here. I jostled many guests as I approached the entrance.
Two large security personnel guarded the door. As soon as they saw me, they parted to let me through but stopped my friends.
“They’re with me,” I yelled to the guards.
At that, they stepped aside and let my friends through. “Thanks!” I didn’t pause, but pushed my way through the entrance.
I’d never realized it before, but most of the mansion was flammable, despite being built out of stone. The polished wood floors were covered with Persian rugs. Fabric insulated the walls, partially hidden by woven tapestries and oil paintings. Cloth drapes were pulled back from windows, and most of the furniture had wooden frames. Hundreds of candles perched on every open surface. I shuddered. Forget about the price on my head; this mansion was one wrong jostle away from going up in flames.
We’d decided earlier to split up, but it fell on me to direct my friends where to go. “Oliver and Leanne, take the stairs to the upper stories and start evacuating people from there. Caleb, you take the rooms to the left, and I’ll take those to the right.” Hopefully we’d have enough time to get everyone out before the fire broke out.
“Be safe Gabrielle!” Caleb shouted.
“You too!” I yelled back, but he had already vanished from sight. I hurried to the right, where the reception hall and ballroom were located. I’d yet to see Andre and hoped it would stay that way. Vaguely I could sense him, which probably meant he could sense me too. I’d have to do this quick.
Most of the ballroom was open space to make room for dancing. A string quartet played in the corner, playing classical music. Some couples danced in a rigid formation and others talked. I scanned the room for any type of platform. There was nothing to stand on but a few tables. They would have to do.
I pushed myself onto a table top, getting looks from those guests nearest me. “Excuse me!” I shouted from the table. Clusters of individuals near me turned to look. Others saw me standing and stopped to stare.
“Excuse me!” I shouted again. The room fell silent. Now I had everyone’s attention. The guests however, were gawking at me as though I had grown a third eye. I guess I was breaking etiquette.
“A plot to burn down this building was discovered earlier tonight. You must all evacuate the mansion.” There was murmuring, but no one moved. And then I felt Andre. He was moving swiftly towards this room. Frantic, I yelled, “Did you not hear me? Get the hell out of here unless you want to die!” The murmuring got louder and slowly the crowd began to move. A woman screamed as her companion grabbed her, and suddenly the room was bedlam.
I felt the current of energy spike, and instinctively I looked for Andre. He was making his way through the crowd over to me, and he did not look pleased.
“Gabrielle!” he shouted. I jumped down from the table and ran into the crowd, trying to hide myself.
The scary truth was that, while I knew my life was in danger and while I had killed before, I couldn’t kill Andre. I couldn’t even try, as cowardly as that was. I sent a silent apology to my father. At least no other lives but my own would be lost tonight.
A hand caught my arm. I cursed and looked up, expecting to see Andre. Instead, Theodore was smiling down at me.
“Exit’s the other way,” he said, “or are you not going to evacuate from the fire you’ve been raving about?”
I narrowed my eyes at him. “I was going to check some of the other rooms to make sure everyone has evacuated.” I didn’t want to tell him I was hiding from his boss.
“Good idea,” he said. “I’ll come with you.”
I eyed him curiously, not sure whether he was being sincere or just toying with me. Either way, I needed to check the rooms on this side of the house, and I was willing to go along with it.
The ballroom we were in had two exits, one that led to the entrance hall, and another that led to a hallway and back rooms. We took this exit. I glanced behind me, but I could no longer see Andre and the current between us was fading. Theodore and I made our way to each of these back rooms.
Five minutes later we were done checking this wing of the house. All the rooms were empty except for the kitchen.
I leaned in the doorway. “Please evacuate the premises.”
“Why?” one of the chefs asked.
“There’s a fire hazard and the building’s being emptied.”
A grumbling chef and the surrounding help reluctantly filed out of the room.
Theodore watched me the entire time, giving me the creeps. I got the distinct impression he was taking note of my actions so that he’d have evidence when he turned me in.
“Why don’t we check upstairs?” Theodore asked.
“Sure,” I said, even though I knew Oliver and Leanne had probably evacuated them by now.
We peered into the first room. Empty. As we walked down the next, unease pooled in my stomach. Why hadn’t Theodore brought me to Andre by now if he was going to turn me in, like he had the first time I met him? He followed me into the next room, a guest bedroom, which was also empty.
I turned to Theodore. “I think we should probably evacuate as well now,” I said, hiding the unease from my voice. Unfortunately, I was still mostly human, so I couldn’t hide the fear that slowly oozed from my pores.
Theodore closed the door, trapping us together in the room. He slung an arm around my shoulders and leaned in close. “What were you thinking? Coming here, making up lies about a nonexistent fire?”
“They are not lies.” I tried to pull away from his loose embrace.
Theodore pushed me forward. I fell to my knees and scrambled backwards, away from him. “How much do you know?” he asked.
I shook my head. “About what?”
Theodore stared intensely at me, trying to read my thoughts, and then he did. “You believe Andre is going to kill you.” His voice held a note of disbelief.
I kept quiet. Theodore was still scrutinizing me. I had never seen the animalistic side of a vampire until Theodore turned those inquisitive, predatory eyes on me. Now I felt like lunch.
I saw a flicker of understanding pass across his eyes. “That was why you ran away from Andre in the banquet room.” he said. He
began to laugh hysterically. “You think he’s after you?” My eyes widened. “Oh Gabrielle, you sweet, stupid girl. Do you realize you just initiated your own death?”
My breath caught in my throat as an awful thought was beginning to take shape.
“Ahhhh, you’re finally getting it,” he said. “Andre is not the one you need to fear. By the way, thank you for evacuating the entire building. No pesky witnesses or tragic heroes will hold this up.”
Oh God. I’d misunderstood everything. Andre was innocent, and I was so scared of trusting him that I jumped to my hasty conclusion. Looking at Theodore now, I saw a guilty man.
He was right. I had put the final nail in my coffin—so to speak. And now I was cornered in a windowless room, and the only way out was through the door Theodore guarded.
“Why?” I asked. That’s what it really all came down to at this point. Answers.
Theodore curled his lip and stared at me. “Your parents took you to a seer when you were an infant,” he said. “The seer looked into your future and predicted what you would become—a vampire.
“The problem is that she also saw something else—I assume you have heard of soulmates?”
I rolled my eyes. I was not that dumb.
Theodore continued. “The seer saw that you had a soulmate. She saw Andre.”
Chapter 23
ANDRE AND I, soulmates. My heart fluttered, and then regret filled me. I’d pushed him away. And now I might die before I got the chance to apologize and try to fix things between us.
Theodore continued. “She also foresaw that, after your transition, you became queen, and under your reign, leagues of vampires were exterminated.”
“What?” I would go on to commit genocide? The thought made me nauseous. Of course vampires did not exactly have clean consciences, but that I could be behind something so evil made my skin crawl. “That’s impossible.”
Before I could blink, Theodore had closed the space between us. I didn’t see his fist move, but I heard my jaw crack as it connected with my face. Intense pain blossomed along my jawline, and I fell backwards. “Don’t tell me what’s impossible!” he yelled, his eyes wild.
His extreme mood swing was more startling than the sharp pain spreading across my face. And then, like flipping a light switch, his emotions were under control again.
“Why … my father …” It was hard to form words, and my jaw screamed as I spoke, but I had to know.
He smiled. “Not just your father. Your mother too.”
I felt sick to my stomach. How poorly I misjudged the situation. He was responsible for my parents’ deaths.
“And why? Because they knew. They knew and they protected you anyway. Them and Andre. But as you might already know, I can’t exactly kill Andre if I’m trying to prevent the deaths of countless vampires. Killing him would mean killing all vampires. Well, all of them but one—you.”
“I still don’t understand—why kill my parents and me if the future is alterable?” I asked, careful about jostling my jaw. I knew that I would die before I was responsible for the mass extermination of vampires, regardless of their innocence.
“That is exactly what Andre said when he learned of the prophecy. He thought he could change your fate. So he forbid all vampires from making an attempt on your life. A true leader eliminates all threats to his people, but when it came to you, his soulmate, Andre put himself before his subjects. Coward. He has left the dirty work to me.” With that, he grabbed my arm and yanked me to my feet.
He brought my neck to his mouth and bit down hard. I screamed as blood seeped down Theodore’s chin and my neck. Theodore hissed an intake of breath. “Perhaps we can have a little fun before you die. You are truly an exquisite thing.”
This was not how I was going die. Then Theodore’s words sank in.
I thought back to when Andre and I practiced how to captivate prey. That barely contained monster had surfaced, the one that feasted off of sex and other dangerous things. The siren inside me.
I knew what I had to do—I’d just never consciously attempted it before. Theodore bent down to my neck and ran his tongue along the wound. I suppressed my horrified shiver and opened myself up to my unearthly heritage, which legend says men have died for.
I felt the warm rush of power as the siren took over.
“Theodore.” I thought I had spoken his name, but it sounded more like an ethereal song. This voice could not be mine; I could never sound so seductive.
He stilled at my throat. Slowly he lifted his head up and looked into my eyes. I could almost see his wicked thoughts as he stared at me.
“You know you do not want to kill me … yet.” Again, I sang the words, my voice dripping of sex, an activity I really had no idea about.
Almost against his will he shook his head. “Stop it.” He spoke through clenched teeth.
“I know what you want to do.” I backed up towards the bed that loomed on the far side of the room and beckoned him to follow.
He gazed at me for a moment, his hands fisting as he tried to fight off the glamour. Gradually his hands slackened again as he became mesmerized, and then he began to follow me, no longer the feared predator.
I felt my control slipping. The siren in me wanted blood and sex, and she’d go all the way if she could. I put my hand to his chest, and pushed him partially onto the bed. His legs dangled over the mattress’ edge, and I bent over him.
I slid my hands over his thighs and made a sound low in my throat. His eyes were too bright, and they watched me in awe. I moved my hands to his hair, running them through his wavy locks.
His own hands cupped my butt and then moved out to my hips. He pulled me closer, our lower bodies flush with one another.
Tantalizingly slow, I leaned towards him until my mouth hovered over his. There, I paused before pulling back.
I stared into his eyes. My heart pounded and my breathing was becoming erratic. “Now I am going to give you exactly what you deserve.”
I slammed my knee as hard as I could into his crotch—which, given my strength, was considerable.
He screamed like a wounded animal. I turned and sprinted down the hallway, towards the stairs. I looked behind me to see Theodore leaning on the doorway, painfully straightening up. Taking into account his superhuman speed, I had only bought myself a few precious seconds. I dashed around the banister, knocking over a few candles that rested on its edge. Behind me I smelled smoke as the rug caught on fire.
Crap, I was responsible for burning down the mansion?
“Gabrielle!” Theodore roared behind me. I flew down the steps, hoping I wouldn’t trip in my stilettos. It would be a shame to escape death only to break my neck during my great escape.
Below me, I saw Andre fill the front doorway. “Gabrielle?”
“Andre—go!” I yelled. He could not die here too.
He looked quizzically at me, and then past me. “Theodore?”
Theodore must have registered that his time was up. He pulled out a gun. There was no hesitation. He looked down the barrel at me and fired. Almost instantaneously, something large and solid tackled me. My shoulder exploded as the bullet tore through muscle and tissue.
I shrieked as Andre and I hit the stairs, the pain causing my vision to cloud. Getting shot was just as unbearable the second time around as it was the first.
Andre stood up, his tux partially stained with my blood. An unholy fire blazed in his eyes as he stared Theodore down. The ground beneath us quaked. He was absolutely stunning and utterly terrifying.
I tried to sit up, but as soon as I moved, pain shot through my left side. I contented myself with watching everything sideways.
Slowly Andre walked the stairs towards Theodore. Each step he took shook the floor. Abandoned champagne flutes wobbled and china tinkled.
His eyes never strayed from Theodore, who stood paralyzed. “You tried to kill her,” Andre’s voice boomed.
The whole building shuddered at his words. Above me the giant chande
lier rocked violently side to side. Dozens of candles toppled from their precarious perch, dropping from the chandelier and lighting the ancient rugs on fire. I took note that the fire was equally Andre’s fault.
Theodore managed to stand his ground, although his hands quivered. “She’s seen him, the devil. She’s cursed.”
I swallowed down my nausea. The devil? Was that who the man in the suit was? I couldn’t imagine how Theodore knew this. Andre, however, didn’t so much as pause at this revelation.
“She will lead to the death of us all.” Theodore’s words became rushed. “You could not protect your people, so I had to.”
Poor Theodore misunderstood the situation. Even I could tell that Andre was beyond listening.
Andre’s hair began to lift, as if caught by a breeze. “How dare you question my leadership!” he yelled. A violent tremor began at Andre’s feet. The building’s foundations groaned as it swept through the mansion, upending priceless sculptures and vases.
The enormous wrought iron chandelier shrieked, and with a awful snap, it began to fall.
“Gabrielle!” My head whipped around. Caleb ran towards me, cutting across the entrance hall. Dear God, the chandelier and he were on a collision course. He wasn’t going to be able to clear the distance.
Time slowed. I began to move as the chandelier plunged towards him. My shoulder screamed as I forced myself up and my feet to move. But I wasn’t fast enough.
“Caleb!”
He registered my alarm, his face changing from concern to confusion. And then the edge of the chandelier connected with his head. There was a sickening thump and Caleb’s eyes rolled back as he fell limp.
The entire event happened in seconds, but it seemed to stretch on in my mind. Then time righted itself.
The chandelier hit the floor; its massive iron frame crumpled side tables and pulverized the wooden floorboards beneath. It sounded like hell had broken loose, and maybe it had. Debris rained over me from the fallout.
Above me Andre’s anger still raged. “You took an oath to protect her, and instead you tried to kill her.” The fire bloomed and spread in time to Andre’s voice, licking up the thick drapery. “You betrayed the coven. You betrayed me!” Everywhere glass shattered.
The Unearthly (The Unearthly Series) Page 18