by Sean Stone
“Some more blood would help me think,” said Ramsay.
“It might help you break free as well.”
Ramsay smiled. “Lydia did betray me but that does not mean I do not mourn her passing. We were together for ten millennia. Michael should not have left her behind. He failed her. But I will not kill him. Family never hurts family.” Victor and Richie had been family. Apparently, they weren’t anymore.
“We only need to get out of town. Michael has the Cult guarding the borders of Cedarstone. If you could help us get through alive then we can make a deal,” Victor suggested.
Ramsay considered it. “I am the oldest son. The Cult will follow me above Michael. Just because I will not kill him does not mean that I will not punish him. He put me in this box and left me to rot. The same punishment will befall him. Once I have eliminated Michael I will execute Richie and you will have no reason to run.”
“I would rather you did not kill Richie,” Victor said. He had suspected that Ramsay would want to kill Richie and was prepared to accept it if need be. Ramsay had come to turn with the sole purpose of killing Richie.
“You want to do it yourself?”
“I would rather not kill him at all.”
“The man is attempting to kill your daughter. Have you no spine?” Ramsay asked in disgust.
“I have honour. I have respect for my sire,” Victor rebuked.
“You’re weak. If you don’t kill Richie then I will.”
Victor nodded. “There is the matter of your father,” Victor said. “I need you to give me your word that you will not release him.”
Ramsay made a small grunt that might have been a laugh. “I loathe my father as much as my siblings do. He forced us to follow him for ten thousand years. I can assure you I have no intention of waking him up. Bury him at the bottom of the ocean for all I care,” he said and Victor could see that he was telling the truth about his feelings.
“Things have a habit of coming back from the ocean,” Victor said thinking of Nick. “Will Michael know that I’ve woken you up?” Victor said, suddenly panicking that Michael could be on his way already. He knew that the family had a psychic link.
“No. Our bond does not work that way. We can only sense one another. We sense that we are alive and we can find each other. We know if one of us die but that is all. He will not know that I have awakened. Now let me out of here so I can fix your daughter’s mess. You have my word that I will honour our agreement.”
Victor wasn’t sure if he could trust Ramsay’s word but it was the best he was going to get. He pulled the Groundsman, who was now shaking like leaf, back over and fed the rest of his blood to Ramsay. Ramsay snapped the chains that bound him and the two of them returned to the safe house together. Now the playing field was level.
Victor called Richie from the safe house and arranged a meeting for two nights’ time. If things were to go wrong then Victor would like to spend some time with his daughter before he died. A neutral place was agreed upon, Victor chose it. Nobody was allowed to come. Richie would meet Victor and Isabella and they would talk things through. Just the three of them. They agreed that no violence would ensue but Victor knew that that would not be upheld. The meeting would end in blood. Ramsay would see to that.
An hour before it was time to leave Victor took Isabella aside. “I need your word that you won’t go off script tonight, Izzy,” Victor said softly. She had a habit of acting impulsively but tonight she had to control herself. “I’ve prepared everything and if it all goes according to plan then we will be free by the end of this meeting. But Richie will almost certainly die. You have to accept that and not interfere.”
Isabella looked away sadly. “I love Richie. I always have,” she said in a hushed voice. “But he has proved how little I mean to him by sentencing me to death. If tonight is the night that he dies I will not stand in the way.” She spoke firmly with strong resolve. Had she finally seen sense? Victor hoped so.
“We have an arrangement with Ramsay. You need to remember that. The stake you have is only to be used if things go wrong. Even if Ramsay kills Richie you cannot attack him.”
“I know, Father. I know that I’ve been reckless in the past but trust me this time. It isn’t just my life in danger tonight, yours is too and I won’t do anything to put you at risk,” she said and smiled.
“I know,” he replied, retuning the smile. He folded her into his arms and held on tightly. He hoped it wouldn’t be the last time. “Mason will be outside with the car. As soon as we know we’re free we’re leaving,” Victor said. He planned on taking no chances. First chance they got, they were gone.
“If Richie dies there is no reason for us to leave,” Isabella argued.
“The vampires left in the clan are loyal to Richie. The ones loyal to us are dead. They will not accept us as their elders any more. We can build our own clan elsewhere,” he promised.
“We built this one.”
“And now we’ve destroyed it,” he replied. She had destroyed it really but he was not cruel enough to say that. They shared another embrace and then Mason came to let them know that the car was ready and so was Ramsay.
22
Richie had his own guys sweep the building before he entered himself. He wasn’t stupid enough to walk into any traps. The building was a disused research facility that had once been owned by Jonathan Langford. When Richie had been in captivity this had been the first place he had been kept whilst various scientists performed experiments on him. Victor had attempted to rescue Richie but the attempt failed and Richie was relocated. Choosing this building to meet was a poor attempt at evoking some emotional response from Richie. It would not work.
“It looks like it’s all clear,” Richie told Michael. Richie had agreed to come alone but Richie knew Victor too well. Victor would have some trick up his sleeve and so Richie had brought his own backup.
“Let’s go inside then,” Richie replied. He sent his people home. He would honour the agreement to some degree. Michael was the only companion he would bring inside.
They went through to the presentation hall on the ground floor. It was the most spacious room in the building. The wooden floor was buried under a thick layer of dust which remained undisturbed. Nobody had been by beforehand and left any secret weapons. What was left of the curtains were drawn over the windows. Richie quickly tore them down. He didn’t want anybody creeping up from outside. It was dark but there was still enough light from the moon to show anybody approaching.
“Victor has done nothing wrong. I do not want him dead,” Richie told Michael.
“I promise nothing,” Michael said and then left the room. He would return when he was needed. Richie climbed onto the stage at the head of the room and waited patiently for his former friends to arrive.
It didn’t take long for the sound of approaching footsteps to bring him out of his thoughts. He stepped to the edge of the stage and watched the door. Victor entered first, his face wrought with worry. Then came the murderer. Last time Richie had seen her she was filled with self-pity. This time she looked pissed off. A person trying to kill you would have that effect he supposed.
“How good of you both to come,” Richie said sarcastically as he jumped down from the stage. They walked towards each other purposefully but stopped leaving a gap of about fifteen feet.
“It’s about time we brought a close to this nonsense,” Victor replied.
“Nonsense? Is that what you think this is?” Richie said in a low voice. “Apparently, you have not yet grasped the gravitas of the situation. Your high elder has given you both orders and you have refused them.”
“You are no longer our high elder. We have separated from the clan,” Victor replied simply.
“Yes, started your own one. How did that work out?” Richie asked snidely.
“Don’t you recognise this building, Richie?” asked Victor.
“Yes, I do. The place Langford tortured me for several years.”
“I tried to rescue you,” Vi
ctor reminded him.
“You failed. Miserably,” Richie said dismissively.
“That’s true. But you were rescued eventually. Do you remember by whom?”
Richie turned to Isabella. “Oh, yes. I remember. But one good deed does not erase a bad. You have been awfully quiet so far this evening. Uncharacteristic of you, Isabella,” Richie said. He didn’t care for this restrained version of herself.
“There’s nothing I can say that will make up for what I did,” she said and shrugged.
“Doesn’t usually stop you,” he said.
“Richie,” Victor pleaded. “Please, if either one of us ever meant anything to you then call all this off. We’ll leave town and never return.”
Looking at his old friend, Richie wanted to concede. He wanted to make Victor happy and give him what he wanted. But he could not. Richie’s happiness had been destroyed by Isabella and Lydia’s life ended. Isabella would not be pardoned. “Lydia was not given any such choice. She was murdered without so much as an explanation. Isabella has already been allowed more simply by knowing why she is going to die. But you can leave, Vic. You needn’t suffer.”
“If you kill my daughter then I will suffer all the same,” said Victor.
“That’s how I feel about losing my lover,” Richie replied.
“You know the pain of loss and you wish to inflict that on me? I thought we were friends?” Victor shouted.
“We were but then you sided with the person who caused me more pain than either of you can ever comprehend!” Richie yelled. Spit flew from his lips as he let his anger pour forth. “Imagine waiting for over a thousand years for somebody to be ready to accept their love for you. Waiting for a millennium to finally have the one thing you desired above all else. And now imagine that after finally having that, after just half an hour it is torn away never to return. That’s what you have done to me. You horrible, vile, bitch.” Richie pointed his finger accusingly as he walked towards Isabella. As she backed away from him she finally showed remorse. Her face crumpled and she started to cry.
“I’m sorry, Richie. I… I felt the same way about you as you did about Lydia,” she said through her sobs.
“Don’t say her name!” he roared. He marched towards her more quickly and Victor rushed to block his path.
“That’s enough,” Victor warned.
“It will be enough when she is dead,” Richie spat back. “You should not have come here tonight.”
“Is this really what Lydia would have wanted?” Victor asked.
“You knew nothing of what she wanted and do not say her name again,” Richie warned for a second time.
“I might not have known Lydia—” As the name fell from Victor’s lips again Richie shoved him back with both hands. Victor fell back a couple of steps and then stopped. He looked down whilst he considered how to react. Then he charged at Richie. Richie put out his palm and blocked Victor’s attack. He curled his fingers round the front of Victor’s shirt and pulled him close, kneed him in the stomach and then tossed him aside. Isabella remained frozen in place. Richie stepped towards her but Victor grabbed his ankle and yanked him off his feet. Richie rolled onto his back and kicked Victor in the face forcing him to relinquish his hold. Richie dove for him, pinning him to the floor. He punched him in the face twice, not using all his strength, just enough to keep him down. Richie saw the shadow just in time. He spun round and grabbed Isabella’s wrist moments before the stake she was holding connected with him.
“So the murderer strikes again,” Richie said bitterly. “And I thought you loved me.”
“I did, before you—”
“Save it.” With the hand gripping her wrist he forced her arm back so the stake smacked her full force in the face. Then he kicked her in the chest and she flew back across the room. Richie got up and turned in time to dodge Victor’s attack with a stake. He moved back just in time but the stake grazed his bare forearm. He hissed in pain as the tip of the stake opened his arm and the wound actually sizzled. He quickly slapped the stake from Victor’s hand and then punched the old man in the face knocking him back down. His arm still hurt and when he lifted it he saw that the wound had not healed. “What is on that stake?” he demanded.
He never got a reply as both father and daughter came at him again. He kicked Isabella in the shin and knocked her to her knee. He slammed his elbow into Victor’s gut causing him to double over. He brought his foot in a roundhouse kick that hit Isabella’s jaw and sent her straight down. A few of her teeth scattered across the wooden planks. Victor came at him with two punches but he darted back, avoiding the blows. The third punch connected with his cheek but as the fourth one came he grabbed Victor’s forearm. He yanked it back the wrong way and the bone snapped. Victor screamed. Richie brought his leg round and kicked the back of Victor’s knees bringing him to the floor. He kept hold of his arm to stop it from resetting and looked into his former friends eyes.
“You can’t beat me, Vic, I’m a thousand years your senior,” he said. Victor struggled but Richie held him in place. “Stop fighting.” The words came out as more of a plea than a order. Richie didn’t want to hurt him further.
“I will not stop until you do,” Victor said through his pain.
“Don’t make me kill you,” Richie begged him.
“Nobody’s making you do anything, Richie,” Victor replied. Victor twisted himself round so that his arm was once again in the right position. The bone mended instantly. He kicked Richie in the groin forcing him to let go and back up. Then Victor dove. He forced Richie onto his back and landed onto of him. The stake was once again in his hands and he held it directly over Richie’s heart. Both men froze in place. Richie could feel his heart thudding against his ribcage. He never imagined that Victor Redmane, his most trusted friend, would ever bring him so close to death. It was a shame that Victor had already lost.
“You shouldn’t have hesitated,” Richie said. He nodded to the stage where Michael was holding Isabella by her hair. Victor looked up and a strangled little noise came from his mouth. Richie snatched the stake from his grip and tossed it aside whilst taking Victor by the back of the neck and pulling them both to their feet. “It’s over, Victor. Like I said, you should never have come here tonight. Especially not without backup.”
“I didn’t,” Victor replied.
“What?” Richie hissed.
“I didn’t come without backup,” Victor said moments before the window to Richie’s right smashed. A figure leapt though it and before he had even straightened himself out Richie knew who it was. Ramsay Aramaya.
“Victor, you didn’t,” Richie whispered. Without realising he released Victor and took a step back as Ramsay surveyed the room.
“You didn’t leave me any choice,” Victor replied. He moved away from Richie and closer to Ramsay.
“Hello again, Richie,” Ramsay said. He turned to his brother. “Michael.”
“Brother. Is it just you, or…?”
“Or have I brought our father with me? Don’t worry, it’s just me,” Ramsay replied. “So, what do you have to say for yourself, little brother?”
“Nothing. I did what I had to,” Michael replied. Richie wasn’t sure but he thought he could see fear on Michael’s face.
“Why did you have to drain me and bury me in a pit that didn’t even have my name on it?” he asked. His voice screamed danger. Richie started to come to his senses and he looked about for some way of fighting Ramsay. The two discarded stakes were on the floor but could he get them and attack before Ramsay stopped him? Could Michael fight him on his own?
“We wanted to be free of Father.”
“So, did I.”
“How was I supposed to know that? You always gave the impression that you worshipped him. That you would never abandon him.”
“I loathed him as much as you did. If you’d asked me to help you I would have,” Ramsay said, genuinely hurt. The room was full of hurt this night. Broken families all fighting one another.
>
“We made a mistake,” Michael admitted.
“Yes, and look at us now. Siding with these fools.” Ramsay gestured around the room. Nobody argued with his analysis of them. They had all been behaving like fools and now their actions had led them to this. Only it hadn’t been their actions. It had been Richie’s. He looked at Victor and tried to convey an apology. Victor’s nodded once. He knew.
“Our sister is dead,” said Michael.
Richie made towards one of the stakes and Ramsay snapped around to face him. “Do not move,” he ordered viciously and Richie froze. “You haven’t got any hidden cobras this time.”
Things were not going the way anybody had planned by the looks of things. Richie looked over at Victor who was nodding at the stakes. Richie frowned in puzzlement before realising his meaning. The stakes were coated in cobra venom. That was why Richie’s wound hadn’t healed. Even now the cut was still open. He would need to clean the wound. If he could get the stake he wouldn’t even need to hit the heart to take Ramsay down. Anywhere should do the trick.
“Our sister is dead,” Ramsay repeated his bother’s words. “Because of you and because of them. You made the choice to split up our family. You made the choice to leave Lydia with these morons. How long was it before she died? I heard it was mere hours.”
Richie caught Victor’s eye again and in that moment of eye contact he told him that if the brothers started fighting they needed to escape. If they hung about it was unlikely that any of them would survive now. Ramsay glanced over at them and then down to one of the stakes on the floor. In a heartbeat, he moved and retrieved it. A single sniff told him what he needed to know.
“You see?” he said to Michael. “Cobra venom on the stake.” He threw it out the smashed window. “They plot against us, brother. Richie and his minions will always be scheming to bring us down and now his most elaborate scheme unfolds. He has us fighting each other. And why? Because his little slut murdered our sister. This was his plot from the start. Seduce Lydia, separate her from us and then—”