Gabriel shook his head and muttered, “Idiot,” under his breath, before joining his group. Three seconds passed, and then he said, “Go.”
We headed to the right, careful to use the trees as cover.
The compound was located beneath the forest, the entrance somewhere in the middle.
I caught the scent of the unknown vampire and my stride slowed.
I spotted her through the trees. She was tall with cropped black hair and shrewd eyes.
We charged forward and her eyes widened.
She began to spin around quickly, kicking up dirt and debris, creating a cyclone.
Jonathon hands and arms began to glow with the light of his blue flames.
Not to be deterred, we continued forward.
Jonathon surged in front of me and disappeared into the cyclone. Within seconds, the dirt settled back down and we could see Jonathon holding the female vampire by the arms. Her pale skin turned black and began to crumble into ash where his hands touched her. One of the Coven members fired their weapon and an arrow pierced her heart. Weakened, she didn’t stand a chance. Jonathon reached up and with a sickening twist, removed her head from her body, and then burned the remains.
“That was easy,” he grinned.
Too easy, I thought. Everything was bound to go downhill from here.
We circled around, back to the starting point, to meet back up with everyone else.
One group was already there and the other appeared only a minute after us.
Without pausing to talk, we moved forward, following Gabriel to the entrance of the compound.
Suddenly, he stopped and crouched down. He brushed his hands over the dirt and leaves, clearing it away. A wooden door soon appeared.
“We’ve made it this far folks,” Gabriel tipped his head at us, “here’s to hoping we see each other on the other end.”
With a yank, he pulled the door open.
A vampire stood on the steps, this one outfitted in the protective armor Gabriel had talked about, while the ones on duty outside hadn’t been wearing them. I realized that to the Originals, the vampires we had killed were disposable to them. The ones in the armor were the ones we needed to worry about.
With lightening fast reflexes Gabriel reached for the vampire and grabbed him around the neck.
“Hello Kyro,” he sneered, digging his fingers into the vampire’s throat. His silver eyes bulged as he tried in vain to fight Gabriel.
With a flick of his fingers, the vampire’s head dislocated form the body.
He let the head drop and grinned up at Jonathon. “Would you mind taking care of that?”
“No problem,” Jonathon bent and lit the body on fire.
“I never did like that guy,” Gabriel shook his head.
Rocks crashed behind us, sealing the entrance closed. There was only one way to go now.
Suddenly, the sounds of footsteps echoed around the chamber we were descending into.
“That doesn’t sound good,” Gabriel looked towards the mouth of the cave…could it be considered a cave when the walls were made of metal? “We have to move, fast. Stick together or you’ll get lost, and that means imminent death.”
“Thanks for that, I feel so much better,” Mason snapped.
We jogged at a fast human pace, so the Coven members could keep up, deeper and deeper beneath the ground. I wasn’t sure how far down we were going but the slope didn’t seem about to end. There were doorways branching off and we couldn’t escape the sound of footsteps. They seemed to be coming from everywhere, even with vampire senses I was unable to pinpoint their exact location, and figured that had to do with the “magic” of this place. They knew we were here and they were trying to confuse us.
I grasped onto Jonathon’s shirt, suddenly feeling extremely frightened. The sensitive hairs on the back of my neck stood on end.
And then everything went black.
So black, that even I couldn’t see anything. It was like I was blind.
The fabric of Jonathon’s shirt was wrenched from my fingers and I whimpered. I fought against my instincts to cry out his name for fear of giving away our location.
I swallowed down the lump in my throat, creeping forward, but then it felt like I was falling, falling, falling.
“What’s happening?!” A voice I didn’t recognize cried out.
“It’s an illusion,” Gabriel’s gravelly voice responded, “just don’t move.”
“It feels like something is biting me!” Another voice screamed.
It seemed that each of us was experiencing a different thing.
I flailed my arms, unable to ignore the sensation that I was falling.
Just as quickly as it began, it ended.
My chest rose and fell heavily, as if I had just run a marathon. I looked around, in search of familiar faces, and found my whole family present.
“What was that?” I asked.
“It was an illusion,” Gabriel repeated, “meant to distract us.” He looked around wildly, checking to see if we’d lost anyone.
A voice called out, “Dane! Dane! Where are you?! Dane!”
“This isn’t good,” Gabriel closed his eyes, rubbing his hands over his face. Choosing to ignore the distressed calls of the female as she searched for her loved one, Gabriel nodded, “This way.”
We walked at a snail’s pace, our footsteps silent.
I wanted to ask Gabriel if he was sure he knew where he was going, but I didn’t want to make him mad, and now wasn’t the time to start questioning him. We’d trusted him up to this point and he hated the Originals more than we did. If Gabriel said he knew his way around the compound, then he wasn’t lying.
I reached out, skimming my fingers along the metal wall, careful to keep my eyes on Gabriel so as not to get lost.
The hallway we were walking in, that was still descending further beneath the earth, opened up wider until we were standing in a cavernous room with ten more hallways branching off of it.
Coming out of those hallways were hundreds and hundreds of Guarde.
We all stopped dead in our tracks.
“Well,” Mason clapped his hands together, “it was nice knowing you guys.”
With that said, he charged forward, and a war like no other began.
Chapter Twenty: Clash
In the past, I’d always been on the sidelines, but now I was in the middle of this battle, fighting for my life…fighting to get my daughter back.
A hand closed around my throat from behind, lifting me into the air so that my feet didn’t touch the ground. I kicked blindly at the person holding me, clawing at the hand that held me. I was pulled against their chest and they braced their other hand around my neck. The muscles in my neck strained as they pulled. My eyes connected across the room with Jonathon’s. I watched as horror filled his eyes.
Like a weakling, I closed my eyes, not wanting to see that look in his eyes.
My throat was released and I started to fall to the ground, catching my self on the balls of my feet.
I spun around, hissing as my teeth elongated in anger.
“You’re welcome,” Joseph winked as my eyes landed on the dead vampire that had come so close to killing me.
I smiled up at him briefly before we both darted away.
There were so many people, vampires, and shifters, that it made it difficult to move around.
Bodies piled on the dirt floor and I refused to look at them, scared to know whether they were friend or foe.
I moved around the room, taking out as many members of the Guarde as I could.
My mind was consumed with one word and that was to kill. I had never felt anger like this before. Red pulsed around my vision as I kicked one of the Guarde behind the knee. They went down and before they had a chance to turn on me, my hand closed around their neck. With a sickening yank, their head ripped from their body. I tossed the body part aside.
I spotted Colton sparring, sweat coated his skin and with my new eyesight I co
uld see the weakening tremors of his muscles. I raced towards him, prepared to help, but I was too late.
The Guarde member, a dark haired man, was grinning manically. He held his hand out and a force field shot out, shoving Colton away, and then straight up into the air where he was impaled on a stalagmite.
I swallowed down the bile coating my throat. But I couldn’t dwell on Colton’s death, there were others who needed my help.
The Guarde members were everywhere they were like swarms of flies. For every one that I took down, five more appeared.
We couldn’t keep this up.
“This way!” I heard Gabriel call somewhere to my right. “We can’t kill them all! Move!”
I hurried towards the sound of his voice. Following Gabriel would get me closer to Makenna.
I spotted Gabriel’s dark head near one of the hallways.
Jonathon was right behind him.
I sped up my progress.
Once I caught up to them, it was apparent that our numbers were dwindling.
I jogged after Gabriel and the others.
We came to a split in the hallway. “This way,” Gabriel commanded, turning left.
I caught up to Jonathon and looked him over. Not a hair appeared to be out of place and I couldn’t contain my sigh of relief.
Jonathon looked over his shoulder and his steps faltered. “Where’s Joseph?” He yelled. “Joseph!”
“Coming!” Joseph yelled and we both let out a sigh of relief.
I saw my mom, with Aiden and Viola. Vivian and Adam weren’t with us. My gut told me they were dead. That was two more people who’d lost their lives because of me…their blood, was essentially on my hands.
“We have to hurry,” Gabriel warned us.
The hallways seemed to go on forever and turned in every direction. I understood now, why Gabriel said it was so easy to get lost here. It was designed like a maze.
“I can’t believe he’s gone,” Jonathon whispered beside me.
I reached for his hand, and he held onto mine tightly as we ran.
“Are you sure you know where you’re going?” Mason asked after we had been running for five minutes.
“Yes,” Gabriel snapped. “Stay alert—”
As if sparked by his words, spikes came straight up out of the floor. Their metal tips were coated in a lime green liquid. I sniffed the air. Poison.
“Well,” Gabriel studied the spikes, “at least we know we’re close.”
“How do we get around them?” I asked.
“That’s a good question,” he murmured. “But we don’t have time to mess around. The Guarde is coming.”
Their sound of their footsteps were getting too close for comfort and I really didn’t want to get into another fight in this narrow hallway.
“Melt them,” Gabriel turned to Jonathon.
Jonathon’s hands and arms ignited in the blue flames. I had to cover my eyes, the glow too much to bear.
Within seconds, the metal spikes had been melted.
“Don’t step on it,” Gabriel warned, jumping across the bubbling liquid. “It’s still poisonous.”
I took a deep breath and braced myself, leaping into the air.
Once we were all on the other side, we turned down another hallway and came face to face with two-story ornate wooden doors.
No one stood guard outside, which I found odd, but I was sure that meant we wouldn’t like what we found on the inside.
We all stopped, staring at the doors.
“I love you,” I looked up at Jonathon. It felt necessary, in that moment, to say those words.
He cupped my cheek in his hand, running his thumb across my bottom lip. “This isn’t goodbye.”
“You’re right,” I nodded sadly, “this is the end.”
He pressed his forehead against mine and stared into my eyes. “No, not the end. The beginning. A new beginning that we have to fight like hell for.”
Gabriel looked back at us. “Forever or never.”
“I think the saying is, ‘now or never.’” I told him.
“Eh, whatever,” he shrugged. “Brace yourselves.”
With a shove, he pushed the doors open and sauntered forward as if he owned the place.
The white haired Original that had kidnapped my daughter stood before us. His posture was relaxed, like we were popping in to have tea, not kill him.
“Isaiah, it’s so…not nice to see you,” Gabriel smirked at the Original.
“Gabriel, my chosen one,” his lips spread into a smile, showing off his menacing, shark-like teeth. I wondered if his teeth were like that because he was the first vampire, or if it was something he had done to himself. “I’m so happy you’ve chosen to come back to us and you brought friends.”
“Ah, sorry to disappoint you,” Gabriel came to a stop in front of Isaiah, “but this isn’t a friendly visit.”
“Of course not,” Isaiah’s smile never faltered, “nothing is ever friendly when you’re involved.”
“Glad you remember,” Gabriel tilted his head, studying the vampire.
“Let’s not waste my time,” Isaiah clasped his hands in front of him, “why are you all here?” He waved his hand to encompass all of us standing behind Gabriel. I saw fear flash in his eyes, and my gut told me it was an emotion he was unfamiliar with. “And how did you get past the Guarde?”
“Well, you see,” Gabriel said slowly, like one reading a bedtime story to a child, “we killed them. And I know you’re not that dense Isaiah, you and your brothers know why we’re here. Where is the child?”
“She is safe,” Isaiah replied, “and not of your concern. She belongs to us now.”
Gabriel stepped forward so that he toe to toe with the Original. He towered above Isaiah. “If she’s with any of you she isn’t safe.”
In a calm voice, Isaiah said, “Have you ever thought that maybe we aren’t the monsters you believe us to be?”
“YOU KILLED MY WIFE AND CHILD! IF THAT’S NOT A MONSTER I DON’T KNOW WHAT IS!” Gabriel’s voice echoed around the chamber we stood in. His whole body shook as he tried to restrain his anger, but it still pulsed around him.
I hadn’t taken the time to study it, having been so focused on Isaiah, but now I saw that the floors and walls were outfitted in shiny black marble. Looking up, I noticed that even the ceiling was covered in marble. But the room was empty. No chairs. No tables. Just the cold black stone.
“You have a lot of anger, Gabriel. There’s people you can talk to about that—”
With a roar, Gabriel reached for Isaiah.
The old vampire darted out of the way and a deadly dance began.
None of us dared to step forward to help him. When Gabriel got like this…he was lethal.
“Go! Through there! Kylie will know the way!” Gabriel pointed to a doorway, behind the spot where Isaiah had been standing. We sprinted towards the door as Gabriel lunged at Isaiah again.
Jonathon reached the heavy doors first and pushed them open.
Vampires, shifters, and Coven members ran down the new hallway.
Like the previous room, this too was covered in black marble.
“We’re close,” I stated.
I knew in my gut that the remaining Originals were close. Very close. And my daughter was with them. I would tear them apart for taking her from me. I would make sure they suffered while I sent them to Hell.
A small baby cry sounded and I stopped in my tracks.
“Makenna,” I whispered.
The hallway curved to the right and I sped up, unconcerned about the others following me. I had to get my baby.
If anyone tried to stop me, they were about to meet one very angry mama vampire that was not about to be trifled with.
I ran down the maze like hallways, listening to my gut as it directed the way.
I came to another set of wooden doors, these much more ornate than the previous two. The figures of the Originals were carved into the wood and outlined in real gold.
Without a seconds thought, I placed my hand on the gold knob, and turned it.
The large doors swung open slowly, revealing a surprisingly bright room for being underground…we were still underground, right?
Unlike the room Isaiah had been waiting for us in, this one was furnished ornately. It reminded me of pictures I’d seen of the Versailles palace. Instead of being black, the marble in this room was all white. The furniture was done in rich purples and reds, with gold accents. The four remaining brothers stood from where they’d been perched on the couches. One of them held Makenna and I dropped to the ground, snarling. They had my baby. I would rip them to shreds. I would—
Gabriel’s black boots blocked my vision as he stepped in front of me. I straightened, surprised to see him, I thought he was still dealing with Isaiah.
“Hello,” Gabriel’s voice was oddly cheery.
That’s when I noticed what he held in his hands.
The Original’s eyes zeroed in on the bowling ball shaped object clasped in Gabriel’s hand.
“No!” One of them cried out. “What have you done?”
“What should have been done a long time ago,” Gabriel tossed the dismembered head of Isaiah at his brothers. One of them caught it. “And good luck trying to put him back together. I burned the rest of him.” He pulled a lighter out of his pants pocket and shook it.
The four brothers were shell-shocked...but only for a moment.
Three of them charged forward, murderous intent clear in their eyes, while the fourth took off in the opposite direction with Makenna in his arms.
I sprinted after him. I wouldn’t let him get away with my daughter; he’d have to kill me first.
“Let her go!” I yelled. In that moment I wished I had been given a more offensive power. Being the seer didn’t help me in this situation. If I had Jonathon’s power, I could launch balls of fire at him. Even Diana’s power would have been helpful. Water could have swept his feet out from under him. But I didn’t have those powers. I’d have to rely on my brain and hope I could outsmart him.
He looked over his shoulder and sped up his pace when he noticed me charging after him.
“That’s my daughter!”
Forever (Fallen Series Book 3) Page 21