Avenge

by Sarah M. Ross

  Chapter Thirteen

  - Max -

  “What do you mean she’s gone?” Fear and desperation consumed my body until it manifested into a physical pain. I stood still for a moment, trying to think of a rational explanation. She couldn’t be gone, she had to be somewhere. No one simply disappears, especially not a Patronus. But I’d known something was wrong. Seconds after arriving back to the group with Zander, everything inside me hollowed out. It was as if someone ripped my heart out of my chest and left a gaping hole. My muscles and veins strained against my skin and my lips pulled back, baring my teeth. I jabbed my finger into Lola’s chest. “She was with you. You! And you screwed up leaving your partner alone. Even for a minute. What were you thinking? You don’t deserve to be here, to be one of us.”

  Tears fell down the girl’s face. “I’m so sorry, Max. She was sitting on the steps, waiting for you to come back. I only went across the street. I never heard her leave, she never made a sound, I swear or I would have done everything in my power….” she trailed off, choking on a sob. “But she didn’t say anything to anyone.”

  I spun around, looking in every direction for a sign of her while resisting the urge to strangle Lola. “Why would she leave and not tell anyone? It doesn’t make any sense.”

  “Max,” James called as he strode up to me. “I’ve tried locating her using the GPS built into her bracelet, but it’s not working. She’s also not able to receive messages and hasn’t tripped the emergency panic button herself. It’s as if the system to her bracelet has been shut down completely.”

  “But that’s impossible!” I shoved my bracelet up toward his face. “These are indestructible, unhackable, and couldn’t be removed with the sharpest instruments. How could hers have simply stopped working?”

  “We’ll find her. It’ll be okay.” James tried to be soothing, but I found it patronizing. My shoulder clipped him and knocked him back a few steps as I brushed by him, needing to take action myself. I sprinted down the street, stopping to check every alley way and dark corner. I looked in bars and behind dumpsters. I screamed her name, over and over again, begging her to answer.

  This was a mistake of some kind. She was playing a joke. And I was going to wring her neck when I saw her again for making me worry so much.

  But she wasn’t here.

  She wasn’t anywhere.

  The hum in my chest that I felt since her mortal body died was still there, so I knew she was alive, but it was dim.

  And fading.

  I jogged back to where we exited the trolley, retracing our every step. I searched under cars, inside dumpsters, and even the private booths inside the strip clubs. But the search was fruitless, and I had no choice but to turn around and rejoin the group.

  As I approached, the old woman who originally made us stop eyed me from a downstairs window. I veered toward the door and—thanks to being a Patronus—went directly through the wall to confront her.

  “Why did you make us stop? Did you plan this? Do you know what happened to her?”

  The elderly woman patted the seat next to her, indicating I should sit. But I couldn’t sit, I needed to move and release my frustrations. She patted the seat again, and I knew she wouldn’t talk until I complied. So I sat, and buried my head in my hands.

  “This will be a time of great tribulation. Many sacrifices will be made, and only if you’re strong enough will you come out whole,” she stated matter-of-factly.

  I lifted my head to look at her. Her face was blank, and a white, milky film covered her pupils. “What are you talking about?”

  “You will have a decision to make, but either choice will not be without consequences. You must stay strong and follow your heart toward the correct path or all will be lost forever.”

  I grasped the woman’s hands, trying to get her to look at me, but it seemed like she was in some sort of trance. “Please, stop speaking in riddles. Do you know where I can find Lucy? Is it her that will be lost forever? You must give me some clue.”

  “The dark will become black before it sees the light.”

  This was hopeless. I had no idea what she meant, and it wasn’t bringing me any closer to finding Lucy. I stood up and headed back for the door. Before I could walk through, there was a thump behind me. I spun back around. The woman had fallen to the floor and was convulsing.

  I rushed back to her, hitting my bracelet for James as I walked. I knelt down beside her and placed my hands on either side of her head to keep it from further injury. James and the others burst through the door, weapons drawn.

  “I think she’s having a seizure or something. She was talking gibberish, her eyes rolled back into her head, and as soon as she finished, she collapsed and started shaking.” James knelt beside me and replaced my spot while I stood up and resumed my pacing.

  “What was the gibberish?” Sadie Ann asked.

  “Huh?”

  “What did the woman say to you?” Her words were more forceful this time.

  I paused and addressed her. “It was a bunch of nonsense about the dark and light and how choices have consequences. Stuff like that. None of it made any sense. She wouldn’t explain what she was talking about.”

  “She’s a known soothsayer. She’s had visions and made prophesies her entire life. We strongly believe that they come directly from the Alpha’s inner circle.”

  Cassie scoffed. “Pfft! That’s ridiculous. Why would the Alpha communicate directly to some human woman instead of going through his angels or us?”

  “I don’t question His ways, I can only attest that she’s never been wrong. Not once.”

  “But I have no idea what she meant! It was only a bunch of vague warnings. How am I supposed to decipher it?”

  “You need to tell me—word for word—what she said. Maybe together we can figure it out. I’ve been working with her since she was a little girl, so maybe I’ll be able to gleam some meaning—though I make no promises.”

  I closed my eyes and went back to the beginning, recalling the woman’s words. As I started to speak, Sadie Ann interrupted again. “No, write it down. It’ll be easier if we don’t have to keep asking you over and over.”

  I flipped on the keyboard in my bracelet and spelled the words in my head. I read them over twice, making sure I hadn’t forgotten anything before hitting send to the rest of the team. Sadie Ann nodded in acknowledgement and walked into the kitchen, muttering the words over and over as she tried to understand them. Cassie and Adam left to check on the status of the woman while Zander kept watch outside in case this was some type of setup. That only left Lola and me standing in the doorway. She lowered her face, and I could see she was holding back tears.

  Recalling the words I spoke to her earlier tonight, I couldn’t believe they came from me, that I could be so cold. So cruel. I hung my head in shame. “I’m sorry, Lola. I shouldn’t have yelled, or taken out my frustrations on you. Can you forgive me?”

  “No, Max, it is my fault. I should have been paying closer attention. It’s what we’re trained to do. I never sensed any threat or danger. Everything was calm, and then she was gone. The last thing I remember is hearing her run, but by the time I turned around, she was gone. I didn’t even see what direction she went.”

  “So she was running away from something? But if there was a threat approaching, she would have said something, called out. It wasn’t like she was alone. I don’t understand.”

  Lola leaned up against the doorframe and closed her eyes, thinking for a moment. “But what if she wasn’t running from something? What if she was running toward something?”

  My head tilted to the side and I wrinkled my nose. “What would she run toward?”

  Lola’s eyes snapped open and she pushed off the wall. “Not what—who!”

  And like a strike of lightning, it dawned on me. “Jessica!” we said simultaneously.

  Lola smiled and I wrapped her in a big hug, twirling her around. “You’re brilliant!” But even as I spun her around, my smi
le faded. My heart could feel Lucy fading away from me, and with every moment that passed she grew dimmer like grains of sand falling through my fingers.

  “Why’s she brilliant?” Cassie asked. She and Adam returned, with James and Zander right behind.

  I composed myself, clearing my throat and focusing on what needed to be done. “She’s figured it out. The only reason Lucy would have taken off without telling anyone wasn’t because she was in danger, but because she saw something she needed to chase. Something she couldn’t let get away and didn’t have time to wait for us.”

  “Oh my God, you think she saw Jessica and went after her?” Cassie clutched Adam’s arm in nervous excitement.

  “I’d bet almost anything that’s exactly what happened. It’s the only thing that makes sense.”

  “But it couldn’t really be Jessica. It’s been months, the vampires must have taken her soul and transformed it by now.” James was ever the voice of logic.

  “Yes, that’s true. But what if they kept Jessica’s form as a way to lure Lucy to them? They saw how much of a fight Lucy put up when she was taken, and they certainly know how hard she’s fought in the last few months. Damnit! How could she be that stupid? How could she fall for that?” I pivoted, punched the wall, and left a crack in the plaster.

  Cassie placed her hand on my shoulder. “It’s no secret that she wants Jessica back. They used that to their advantage.”

  “It’s a great tactic,” Adam agreed. “It would be the only thing that would make her follow her heart rather than her head. Other than you, Max.”

  He was right, and I knew it. I just didn’t want to accept it. No one spoke for a few moments and as much as I wanted to punch that wall again, the physical pain wouldn’t lesson the ache in my heart.

  James called for Sadie Ann to join us, and we hashed out a plan. “So now that we have an idea of what happened, we need to figure out where they would have taken her. It can’t be far, they wouldn’t be able to transport her to another location. They can’t use realm doors like we can, and her bracelet won’t open one with a vampire anywhere close to her. I bet they’re still in the city. Sadie Ann, have any of your sources been able to uncover where they might be hiding out? Any place at all?”

  “Well, there have been a few leads, but we checked them all out and they were dead ends. We never found any vampires or evidence of vampires.”

  “We’ll search them again,” I vowed. “It’s the only lead we have, and I’ll be damned if I’m going to sit here twiddling my thumbs waiting for another clue to magically appear.”

  Everyone nodded in agreement. “It’s worth a shot. Maybe something was missed, or they went back after you searched, thinking the coast was clear,” Zander chimed in.

  “All right, Sadie Ann. Lead the way.” I stepped aside so she could pass me and we set off. I prayed with every ounce of my being that one of these leads panned out. I couldn’t face losing Lucy forever, my heart couldn’t take it. I almost lost her once due to a vampire attack and it nearly broke me in two. I wouldn’t let it happen again. And once I got her back, there was going to be hell to pay for whoever took her away from me, of that I was sure.

  Chapter Fourteen

  I woke up. Begrudgingly, but I woke up. Pain emanated from my entire body. But what was worse was the ache inside me. I don’t know how I knew it, but I knew that Max was in pain somewhere—not physical, but I could feel his heart being ripped apart. And that knowledge alone hurt me worse than any physical torture. I wanted to throw up and scream at the same time.

  I don’t know how much time passed, but I knew it must have been a while because I had been moved to another section of the room and was soaking wet. I assumed they turned the hoses on me to clean me off. There wasn’t much of my own blood left on me, only dried, crusty traces lining the crevices of my cuticles. I blinked a few times and drew a deep breath, but a sharp, stabbing pain came from my chest. I bent my head, wondering why I hadn’t healed myself yet. Did too much blood loss prevent self-healing? I didn’t notice any visible obstructions, so I concluded that I must have broken a rib or two.

  “Hello?” I called, but the only reply was my voice echoing off the walls back to me. I pulled at my arms and legs again, but I was still restrained in the thick, heavy wall cuffs. They couldn’t have been regular steel; I would have been able to break through them if they were. They were something stronger, but I had no idea what. The room was drenched in darkness save for a sliver of light coming from the bottom of the steel door on the opposite side of the room. There were no windows, so I had no way of knowing if it was day or night.

  I screamed for hours, until my throat was raw and I coughed up blood. I didn’t know where I was, but even if there was a slight possibility that someone could hear me and get me out of this, I needed to try. I even hoped one of my captors would come in, even if only to tell me to shut up. I tried constantly to make the communication system in my head reach Max or James, or hell, even Elizabeth, but nothing I tried or did worked. Without my bracelet, I was lost. There was nothing I could do but wait for someone to come back. So I waited.

  And waited.

  And waited.

  Days passed and no one answered my cries or came in to see me. I had no food or water. No contact of any kind. With my hands chained above my head, the numb feeling in my outstretched arms turned to a burn, and then I lost all feeling whatsoever. I could see that the tips of my fingers were turning a deep shade of purple from lack of circulation and knew it was only because of my enhanced Patronus blood that they hadn’t turned black.

  I continued to wiggle my fingers, though I could no longer feel them. I just needed to keep them moving. I stood up on the tips of my toes and used the little extra room it allowed to rotate my shoulders slightly, rolling them back and forth. I kept my mind active, constantly searching for a clue to my whereabouts or thinking of a way to escape. Surrounded by darkness for so long, my eyes adjusted and I could make out rats crawling along the floor toward me. I flicked them away with my toes, but they were undeterred. What started as one soon became almost a dozen, all nibbling at my body wherever they could. I thrashed and screamed, begging for help to no avail. Finally, I closed my eyes and turned my mind off.

  And prayed for death.

  Sometime later (I had no idea if it was a few days or weeks), the thick deadbolt locks clicked and the door swung open slowly. The rats scattered back into the dark, and I sighed in relief. Five people walked through, but I didn’t recognize any of them. My body was too weak to move, and my throat too dry to ask why they were there.

  Four of them strode up next to me, two on each side. I lifted my head when the fifth came to stand directly in front of me and struggled to make words come out of my parched lips. “Who are you?”

  “Oh dear, how rude of me. I failed to introduce myself. My name is Alastair, and I’ll be your host during your stay.”

  “Really? You must’ve missed the Hosting 101 course: How to Treat Your Guest.” I needed a distraction, to keep him talking.

  “We have several plans for you, but for right now, your use is more…primal.”

  I furrowed my brow, utterly confused by his statement when he continued, “Okay children, dinnertime!”

  The people on either side of me each took an extremity and bit down, gnawing on the flesh until a vein was exposed. While the rats only nibbled, these monsters tore my flesh, shredding it. They lapped at the blood that flowed out before sucking in earnest. The pain was unimaginable, like someone peeling back layers of your skin before hollowing you out. I was helpless to stop it or even fight back. I squeezed my eyes shut and blocked everything out until it was finally over.

  “Thank you so much for your donation to our younglings, my dear Lucy. These are some of our newest recruits, and your strong, Patronus blood will make them virtually unstoppable.”

  “So that’s why you’re keeping me here?” I croaked out. “To use me as a meal?” I shivered in disgust at the idea that I was
helping them, and by making them stronger I could be hurting another Patronus. I couldn’t let that happen, even if it meant ending things myself.

  “Oh no, dear. That’s simply an added bonus. But I do want to make sure we have a large enough supply for next time, so drink up.” He glided toward me in a very inhuman way and shoved a bottle of water in my mouth. I choked and shoved it out with my tongue, but Alastair held it in place. I grimaced as the cool water slid down my throat, not wanting to do anything to help these monsters succeed, but I couldn’t help admit it felt wonderfully refreshing. I licked my lips when he took the bottle away, eager to saver every drop and relieve my cracked, dry lips.

  When he took it away, I spat the last few drops at him. “You can’t hide forever. My team will find you and you will pay for what you’ve done.”

  Alastair pulled out a cloth handkerchief and wiped his face. “I’ve been around for over one hundred years as a vampire, and no one has ever even come close to me. So I hardly think your little threat is credible. Come, children, you can have more later. For now, let’s leave her to rot in here and think about why it’s never a good idea to piss off beings smarter and stronger than her.”

  Without another word, they left, leaving me to the solitude of the rats once more.

  A few days later—I lost count without any frame of reference—I had been a snack over half a dozen times to the newly made vampires. They always took just enough to leave me weak and begging for death, and then left me alone to give my Patronus body time to heal itself before they came back and repeated the cycle.

  I could stand the physical pain; it was the emotional that took then largest toll. The vampire impersonating my sister came into my cell after every feeding. She sat in front of me, crying that her soul was being eaten away by the evil inside her, blaming me for letting her slip through my fingers after she died, and telling me she was ashamed of me for not being strong enough. I knew it wasn’t her speaking, but the vampire was voicing my own worst thoughts and fears. And worst of all, the soul I’d longed to save for the last six months sat two feet from me, but I was unable to do anything about it.