by Raven Steele
The phone was silent for a moment. Then, “He gave me the address of the building you’re sitting in front of.”
“How did he know the exact address? I doubt Aiden would tell anyone if he could help it.”
“The vampire said he was given the address because he was one of the guards.”
“Was he a guard for the lab? Has he actually seen it?” A growing uneasiness spread in his gut.
Alana paused again. “No. Just for the warehouse.”
“Vampires are too secretive. What was the point of him knowing the lab's address?”
“It doesn’t make sense, does it?”
“No, it doesn’t.” Lucien ended the call and stared at the Chinese restaurant. An older couple opened the door and walked in. “It’s a trap.”
“What?” Charlie asked.
“It’s a trap! Turn the car around. They’re after Eve!” he yelled.
Charlie turned the steering wheel and sped back to Trinity, running stop signs and driving anywhere and everywhere to avoid stopping, including, at one point, driving on the sidewalk.
“How could I have been so stupid?” Charlie asked as he steered around a bus. “If anything happens to her, I will never forgive myself!”
Lucien couldn’t speak. He gripped the dashboard tightly until the hard black plastic cracked. He was out the door before Charlie had a chance to come to a complete stop. Despite how crowded it was, he used his vampire speed to race to the lunchroom. Several students glared at him when he threw open the door.
Everything appeared normal, but Lucien could feel it wasn’t. Dark magic had been used recently. In the back of the room, he spotted the two bodyguards. They were sitting down, eyes on the table, completely oblivious to everything around them.
He quickly walked over to them. “Where’s Eve?”
They looked up at him with blank stares; their eyes had a strange white film across them. They’d been compelled into silence.
Charlie came running up. “Is she here?”
“She’s gone.”
Charlie lunged for the nearest guard.
“What happened to her?” he yelled in his face, but the guy didn’t blink. Charlie tossed him back into his chair. Something fell from the guard’s hand.
Charlie bent down and picked it up. He looked at it closely. “What is this?”
The smell of lilacs touched Lucien as if a gentle breeze. He turned slowly, afraid to see what rested in Charlie’s hands.
Charlie shook his head in disbelief. “No.”
In his hand was a thick piece of flesh. Charlie bent over and vomited on the nearest table. A girl screamed.
Lucien resisted the urge to kill her. Instead, he whirled around and walked away.
Chapter 41
Eve had trusted him completely, and he’d failed her. The one person who mattered most in his life, and he had abandoned her to a demon. He closed his eyes again and forced himself to concentrate. She had been terrified. He’d seen it in her eyes. Eve knew what was going to happen, yet she refused to tell him because she thought what he was doing was more important. He shouldn’t have left her. His eyes snapped open, and he sighed.
Lucien sat up in bed in the cramped motel room, breathing in Eve’s scent. He’d been here for the last hour, trying to transport his consciousness to Eve, but all he could see was the torn piece of her flesh in Charlie’s hand. He could not find her this way. He stood and opened the door.
“Where is she?” Charlie demanded. He stood in the rain without a jacket. His arms were gripped tightly around his chest in an attempt to keep himself warm.
“I don’t know yet. I can’t concentrate in there. I need to go somewhere else.”
Charlie followed him to his car. “We don’t have time for this! You have to find her!”
Lucien spun around to face him. “Don’t you think I know that? You’re psychic. Why don’t you quit being useless and help me?”
Charlie gritted his teeth and ran his fingers through his tangled, wet hair. “I can’t! Ever since I came here and saw her with you, I haven’t been able to concentrate. It’s making me sick!”
Lucien started the car. “Well, get over it.” He slammed the door.
Lucien sped away from Dublin as fast as he could. He headed north toward his mother. It took him less than thirty minutes to get there, but when he did, he found his destination to be much different than what he remembered.
It was a small graveyard, no more than a hundred headstones, but they had become overgrown with tall grass and thick, gnarly shrubs. Underground tree roots forced several gravestones to tilt precariously. He walked through the graves, ignoring them all. There was only one that mattered.
He found it in the very back. His mother was the first to be buried here as this land used to be his father’s. The headstone was almost completely hidden by a full red bush. He tore the branches away and knelt by the gray stone. The words were illegible, but he knew what they said by heart. He traced the fading name with his finger: Mary. He had never met her but had always imagined her as a strong yet kind woman.
He dropped into the tall grass and leaned against the headstone. In the past, this place had always been comforting, and he’d relied upon its calming effect more times than he could remember.
Lucien thought of Eve. He pictured the first time he’d met her in Paris. He couldn’t say he was attracted to her as she wasn’t the same person was now, but he had felt the connection even then—the gentle hum of something fantastic, though he didn’t recognize it as such at the time. Instead, the positive feeling had repulsed him, and he found himself struggling just to remain near her. Lucien didn’t allow himself to think of it again until she reappeared years later and, even then, it took him months to finally admit to the bond that bound him to her.
Lucien imagined Eve sitting next to him, her head resting against his shoulder. She twisted a tall blade of grass in her fingers while she spoke of the children at the Academy. Every once in a while, she would burst out laughing, chasing away all of his pain and anger.
A whooshing sound filled his ears, and he was mentally transported into a dark room. A dim light bulb hung from a low ceiling swaying slightly above him. Its dull light illuminated Eve who lay strapped to a wooden table. She’d been stripped to her bra and underwear.
The room reeked of blood. Lucien moved closer, his heartbeat racing. The entire surface of the table was covered in blood as well as the floor beneath her. He quickly inspected her body, but found no visible wounds. Her eyes were open. Just barely.
He glanced around, trying to determine where he was, but the room was bare except for the wooden table and a video camera in the corner resting on a tripod. It was not turned on.
The door to the room opened, and Lucien backed up against the wall.
Aiden stepped in, carrying a chair, and set it down near Eve’s head. He was followed by a woman almost twice his age, but her features were striking, and she still appeared youthful. Her dark green eyes were a sharp contrast against her flawless white skin. She remained at the door with her arms crossed.
Aiden placed his hand on Eve’s forehead and turned her head sharply to the side while he inspected her neck. Eve moaned.
“Amazing! It’s completely healed,” he marveled.
“I told you. She’s immortal like you,” the woman said, her voice cold and full of animosity.
“Yet she’s not like me, is she?” Aiden walked over to the video camera and turned it on. “She’s a fascinating creature. Boaz is a genius!”
He walked back to Eve and removed a knife from a sheath hooked to his belt.
The woman spoke, “You should be careful. She knows magic well.”
“Don’t worry. I drugged her well.” He drove the knife into her leg and pulled it back out just as quickly.
Lucien flinched when Eve whimpered. Whatever Aiden had given her, at least seemed to dull some of the pain. Anyone else would’ve screamed.
“I don’t think Boaz wou
ld appreciate what you’re doing to her,” the woman said.
“Nonsense! He said I could do whatever I wanted to her until he arrived, as long as I didn’t kill her.”
“I don’t think he meant you could treat her like a lab rat.”
“How could I not? I’ll never get this opportunity again.”
He placed the bloody knife against Eve’s arm. With one quick movement he sliced it wide open. This time, Eve screamed.
“No!” Lucien rushed Aiden, but he went right through him and fell to the floor.
The woman visibly shivered and looked around. “Did you feel that?”
“Feel what?” Aiden cut Eve’s arm again, making a “V” on her bicep.
The woman walked around. “There’s something in this room.”
“You’re crazy.” Aiden dug his finger at the bottom of the V until he took hold of Eve’s flesh. With one hard tug, he stripped the skin the length of Eve’s arm. She screamed in agony.
Lucien lunged at Aiden again.
“I’ll kill you!” he yelled. He swung at him several times, but his blows were futile.
“There it is again!” the woman said. She stepped back toward the door.
“Go find something to do, you old hag. I’m busy!” he shouted over Eve’s tortured cries.
The woman glared at Aiden, then slammed the door behind her.
Aiden moved close to Eve’s arm and watched as her skin slowly repaired itself. He inhaled deeply. “Remarkable!” He traced the contours of her skin, moving up and down the length of her body. “I could have so much fun with you.”
Aiden lowered his face to hers. His tongue came out of his mouth and licked her tight lips. “You are so beautiful. I can see why my brother likes you so much.”
Eve’s eyes snapped open.
“Did my brother not tell you?” Aiden shook his head. “Families aren’t what they used to be. I gave him the rare gift of immortality, and how did he repay me? He tried to kill me.”
“Too bad he failed,” Eve whispered after sucking in a painful breath.
Aiden shoved the knife into her stomach, but Eve stifled the scream. Aiden watched her carefully as he lowered into the chair behind him.
Lucien cradled her head the best he could. “I am so sorry. I don’t know what to do,” he whispered in her ear, tears welling in his eyes. He’d never felt this kind of torture before.
“You know, your Lucien is not what you think he is. Did you know he murdered our father?”
Eve gritted her teeth through the pain and said, “If he did, he had a good reason.”
Aiden stared at Eve, then placed his hands on his thighs and hoisted himself back up. “Yes, I’m sure he had good reason for stabbing a feeble old man in the back repeatedly.”
He removed the knife from Eve’s stomach and proceeded to cut another long “V” in her leg.
“Lucien’s changed,” Eve grunted, her eyes bulging.
“After what he’s done? Impossible!” Aiden ripped the skin from her leg.
The terrified scream that escaped her throat tore at Lucien’s heart. The tears spilled from his eyes.
“Eve,” he begged.
When her screams finally died down, Aiden said, “Let me tell you a bedtime story. It’s about two brothers who loved mischief and adventure. They were naughty vampire brothers who were tired of scrounging for food like dogs.”
Lucien straightened, shaking his head. “Aiden, stop. Please stop. Not now, not like this.”
Aiden continued, “The smartest of the two brothers went to a faraway land where he found something that would save his brother and others like them. The dumb brother was very excited when he saw the present his older brother had brought him and was eager to share it with others. Together they took the precious gift and unleashed it in the grandest city of its time: London.”
Aiden traced the knife up Eve’s body and to her neck. He knelt at her side and whispered, “Our gift scurried to and fro, anxious to spread its disease to dirty, rotten humans.”
Eve pursed her lips and closed her eyes tight. Lucien paced the room, desperate to find something that might help him find her location.
Aiden’s lips brushed her ear. “One by one, people died. Our gift spread like a human pyramid scheme. And when London was finally closed off to the rest of the world, the two brothers became kings, feasting on the blood of those who remained. Soon, others like them joined in the grand feast. It was the greatest party of all time, one that would go down in the history books. We called it the ‘Perfect Pandemic’, but humans remember it as the ‘Black Death’.” Aiden smoothed her hair. “What do you think of your precious Lucien now?”
Eve was silent, her jaw clamped shut. She kept her eyes closed, but Lucien saw the tears escape. He slid to the dirt floor in the corner of the room, wishing he were dead. His hand touched the cold earth and… something else. It was small and hard. He looked closer. It was a piece of grain. Using his night vision, he scanned the ground. It was everywhere. The border of Aiden’s shoes held most of it.
They were in a granary.
“I’m coming for you, Eve,” he promised just as Aiden drove the knife into her left shoulder.
Before Lucien faded back to the cemetery, Aiden asked, “Tell me, Eve, what would it take for you to die?”
Chapter 42
Lucien’s eyes snapped open. He jumped up and ran, pushing his legs harder and faster than ever before. All he could think of was getting to Eve. He cursed. He wasn’t moving fast enough. His car was at least a mile from the cemetery. He pushed harder still, forcing every muscle to work together.
The onset of darkness gave him more power as he pushed forward, using his mind to focus solely on getting to Eve. The cold air rushed into his mouth, and then to all parts of his body, giving it new life. His mind cracked and expanded into something new and powerful.
He concentrated harder on the sensation and used this new energy to propel forward even faster until he could no longer see his own legs or hands. Then, without warning, he lifted off the ground, up and over the trees and past his parked car. He didn’t stop to question where the power was coming from. All that mattered was saving Eve.
Lucien tore through the night sky, looking like nothing more than a streak of black fog, back toward Charlie. He needed the resources of the Deific to find which granary Eve was being held captive in. He stopped on the rooftop and scanned the parking lot for Charlie’s car. When he couldn’t find it, he lifted back up, practically bursting into smoke in the process, and flew toward the Deific.
Charlie’s car was in front. Lucien hurried inside to find Charlie talking to Alana and several others who had been at the warehouse. Upon Lucien’s arrival, they grew silent. Charlie quickly moved something behind his back.
“Anything?” Charlie asked.
“She’s in a granary. Probably not far from here. I need help finding which one.”
“How was she?”
“Let’s just find her as quickly as possible.”
“There’s no need,” Alana said. “Show him the note, Charlie.”
Charlie handed him a paper from behind his back. “This was on our door.”
The note was in Aiden’s handwriting; Lucien would recognize it anywhere, the long dramatic swoops of the L's and C's. Perfect calligraphy.
He read it under his breath: “Lucien for Eve. Come to the cliffs at midnight. Alone.” It was signed by the Dark Prince.
A few of the words were spelled wrong, despite the perfect penmanship. Spelling had never been Aiden’s specialty.
Lucien glanced down at his watch. “We have four hours. It will take at least two to get to the cliffs. Can we find her before then?”
“You say she’s in a granary of some kind?” Charlie asked.
Lucien nodded.
Charlie turned to Scott, a Paul Bunyan-looking man, with a belly that hung far below his belt. “Marshall, how many granaries are there in Ireland, within, let’s say a hundred mile radius?”<
br />
“Maybe ten,” he answered.
“Let’s divide up and search them all,” Lucien said.
Charlie stopped him. “No, we need a plan.”
“Our plan is to find Eve.”
“And what if we can’t?”
“Then I’ll go and exchange myself.” He glanced at his watch again. They were wasting time.
“It’s a trap,” Charlie said. “They aren’t going to release Eve, and they’ll kill you!”
Lucien gripped him by the throat. “He’s ripping the flesh from her body, torturing her, while we stand around speaking as if my life means something!” He lowered his voice. “If there is the smallest chance we can save her, then we have to take it.” He released his grip.
Charlie gasped for air. He stared into Lucien’s eyes; panic replaced his normally calm demeanor. “We focus all our energy on finding Eve. Marshall, get me a map and a list of all nearby farms that might have a granary.”
Ten minutes later, Marshall unfolded a map on a conference table. His large head loomed over it like a giant orange sun. Both Lucien and Charlie had to step to the side of him just to see it.
One of Marshall’s assistants read addresses from a list while John marked X’s at certain locations on the map.
Marshall said, “There are twelve farms within a hundred mile radius, all with grain silos. Six of those are being used and are inspected yearly. The remaining granaries are marked by X’s.”
Lucien studied the map closely.
“Take this one off the list,” Alana said, pointing to an X on the map.
“Why’s that?” Marshall asked.
“Too close to the city and a main road. Vampires would never hide out there.”
“She’s right,” Lucien agreed.
“Let’s divide up to search the rest,” Charlie said.
“Wait!” Lucien looked at Charlie. “Which one do you think she’s at?”
Charlie shook his head. “I told you, my gift isn’t working.”
“This is Eve we’re talking about. Make it work."