“Who else?”
“Can’t you let it rest for one day?”
“I could, but what fun would that be?” He played with the camera and she noticed his laptop sitting on the table, open and ready for use. The remains of the box the camera had come in were scattered at the end of the bed. He glanced around the room and set the camera down. “I forgot my phone.”
She held her breath, not daring to hope he would leave her alone with the laptop. Mark glanced at her and she fell back to her pillow, acting too weak to support her body. He muttered something and walked quickly out. Her heart was a bundle of nerves and excitement when she looked around and he was gone. The laptop sat calling to her. She moved quickly, checking for internet connection. The signal was alive and she opened the browser, typing in the address for her email.
California, beach, abandoned hospital. The first email she sent was short. She didn’t dare spend more time and listened for Mark, who should have been back by then. She sent the email to Callan’s new email address, the secure one Jack had created. She took the camera and began taking pictures out her window. Very aware of the time ticking by, she quickly jammed the memory chip into the computer and opened a new email. The pictures seemed to take forever to attach to the email. Her hands shook when the files were completely uploaded. She hit send and closed the internet after wiping the history clean. She withdrew the memory chip and put it back in the camera. Faint footsteps were in the hall and she scrambled back to bed. As she lay there, her veins turned electric with fear when she realized she’d forgotten to delete the pictures. It was too late. Mark entered the room holding his phone. She could only hope he wouldn’t notice and pretended to be asleep.
“I found it!” Mark sang. She could feel his presence at the side of the bed. She peeked between her lids.
“Good for you.”
He went about his business, taking a few more pictures and filming a little, nudging her when the camcorder was on. “Come on, don’t you want to say hello to your love?” he prodded.
She turned over so her back was to him.
“You never want to play along,” Mark sighed. “It makes for horrible filming.”
“Maybe you should quit.”
He didn’t answer and she heard him typing away at the computer. She waited with baited breath for him to realize she’d taken some pictures, but he finished after a few minutes then left, hesitating at the door. “I expect I will have better results in a few days. Next time you’re in the chair, try not to hide your pain so well.”
“I’ll work on that,” she said, her voice dripping with sarcasm as she tried to sound particularly weak. The door to her confinement shut again and he was gone. He hadn’t noticed the extra pictures, but it didn’t mean she was out of danger. If he noticed later he might guess what she’d done. There wasn’t much she could do about it then but worry and she was too spent to make herself do that for very long.
Two days later she dreaded Mark’s arrival. She wasn’t sure if he noticed the pictures or not. He came early and didn’t act out of character. Parker secured the straps when she was brought in and Mark pulled out his phone.
“You don’t have to do that,” she heard herself saying when Parker mixed the gold specks with the water. “I can start my blood flowing without the gold.”
He raised an eyebrow at her. “What?”
“I can cut my skin without the use of gold. Give me the needle and I’ll show you,” she said again.
“You can cut your own skin? How long have you known?”
“Just since yesterday,” she answered in a small voice.
Parker leaned over, his face inches from her. “Why don’t I believe you?”
“I…don’t know.”
“My girl, you should have made this discovery sooner. You know I’m going to use gold as long as it works. I don’t want you finding any other abilities, now do I?”
The session went as any other. She took the gold and her blood was drained until she fell asleep. As usual, she was taken to her room and left to restore her blood count. She was awakened the next morning by an unplanned visit from Mark and Parker. They came into her room and the door banged off the wall, shocking her awake. Parker held a box wrapped with ribbon.
“I have a present for you,” he said in a lethal tone. He put the box in her lap. “Open it.”
The red ribbon was tied in a neat little bow, wrapped around a white box. She watched it nervously as if it might explode. Mark held his phone and that was never a good sign. She pulled the ribbon slowly and it fell away. Carefully, she lifted the lid and her chest compressed in alarm. There were two gold bangles lying on a layer of velvet. They were more like manacles than bangles. Parker laughed at the expression on her face.
“I thought girls liked jewelry,” he commented and sat on the bed. She shied from him and pushed the box away. “I was touched by your offer yesterday and decided to get you something to show my appreciation. Why don’t you try them on?”
She shook her head.
“Oh, my dear girl, please don’t put up a fight. You’ll make Jo feel badly.” He glanced at Mark’s phone.
“Do we have to do this while he’s recording?” she asked in a whisper.
“We wouldn’t have to do this at all if I knew I could trust you.”
She wanted to be brave, but her will power was drained. Her courage failed when he fished one of the bracelets from the little box. He snatched one of her wrists only to have her wriggle free and back off the bed. “Please, you have my blood, what more do you need?”
“I need you to know what happens when you lie to me!” Parker’s eyes were cold as he backed her into a corner. Her hands trembled in anticipation of more pain. Mark set the phone on the dresser at an angle it would catch most of what went on, then came to assist Parker in holding her down. He pinned her easily and held her wrist toward Parker who quickly clamped the first bangle on. There was a little latch fastened with a lock and it clicked shut. The blistering fire immediately blossomed over her wrist and flamed up her arm. Mark still had her pinned and Parker fastened the other to her free wrist before they both stepped back to watch her writhe in pain. She desperately tried to yank the gold over her hand, but it was much too small and her fingers burned. Mark checked his phone and Parker smiled contentedly when she begged him to remove the gold.
“Please,” she gasped between screams as she dug at the latch with her fingernails. “Please take them off!” When she held her arms out to him her eyes were glassed over. He clicked his tongue disappointedly and shook his head. She finally fell to the floor and aimlessly shifted the manacles as she sobbed, waiting for them to decide she’d been tortured enough.
When Parker finally came forward with the little gold key, her skin was raw, yellow and ugly. She took a deep, shuddering breath of relief when the tiny lock clicked and the bangles fell away. Parker returned them to their box then leaned over her. “If you make me regret releasing your mother, I may just find her and bring her back. Never…never lie to me again. Understand?”
Her only answer was a small sob.
“Good. Now rest up so we can have more of your blood.”
She trembled where she lay and sobbed until sleep carried her away.
Another day went by before Mark came. Felix had not entered with him as he usually did. Mark was not the normal, abrasive, cocky individual she was used to seeing and didn’t have his phone or camera. He went to take her hand, but stopped and cocked his head. He listened hard before gripping her wrist firmly in his hands.
“You seem distracted today,” she said before he could pierce her skin.
“I don’t understand why Parker insists on lingering here,” he muttered. “We have stayed too long.”
“He really does frighten you, doesn’t he?” she asked and they both knew she wasn’t referring to Parker. He cut her palm. She flinched and tried to escape his relentless grip. Strong as ever, he held her still as he spit into her hand.
&n
bsp; “For all you know he’ll kill you if you ever see him again. You should be afraid of him too,” he said crossly and jerked her by the elbow, leading her to Parker. As usual, she tried to go outside herself during the session and didn’t meet their eyes as they strapped her to the chair. Parker bent over the table to mix the gold flecks and she noticed the handle of his gun as she often did. It protruded through a gap between his shirt and pants, making it easy to spot. She longed to grasp it in her hands just once, but he tipped the concoction into her mouth when she parted her lips. The burning fire spread through her body.
“There’s a good girl,” Parker said as if she were a dog that had just done a clever trick. “Now hold as still as you can.”
The pinch on her arm came and her blood wound its way through the tubing.
“I have some good news,” Parker said, drawing her from her weak refuge.
“I don’t know if I can handle much good news today,” she said bitterly.
“Do you know what tomorrow is?” he asked, as if she hadn’t spoken.
“Christmas?” she guessed.
“I suppose it could be construed as Christmas come early, but no, my girl. Tomorrow is the night of no moon.”
Shocked to silence, she didn’t respond.
“I’m sure you’ve noticed Mark’s unease in dwelling here this long. I am reluctant to leave when we have accomplished so much. With the new moon so close, it will be easier to access the product if it isn’t in transit.”
She bit her tongue at hearing her blood being called a product.
“You have nothing to say?” Parker asked. “Perhaps you would like to witness my consumption of said product?”
“You said you wanted to heal people,” she whispered, calling him out on his lie.
“Of course I do. This way you and I can offer healing for eternity.”
Too weak to protest or even entertain anger for long, she shook her head and turned from him.
The next evening, Felix and Mark collected her after sunset. They hadn’t bothered to infect her and she was especially weak. They lead her to the highest level the elevator would go, then up a flight of stairs. At the top, there was a stubborn metal door. Felix pushed on it, then shoved it open, stumbling a step when it broke off the frame with a screech. He glanced to Mark before tossing it aside with a shrug.
“Why does he want to do this up here?” Mark grumbled after the clanging stopped. His eyes skittered through the shadow under the surrounding trees.
“He’s a tad dramatic, you know that,” Felix replied. “Why else would he insist on making her watch?”
“I actually insisted upon it,” Mark confessed and held up his phone.
“There’s nothing quite like brotherly love,” Felix said under his breath and rolled his eyes.
The night air was chill, especially for someone with next to no blood in their body. Clara shivered, vaguely aware of what went on around her. A murmur floated from a throng of men and women gathered in the middle of the rooftop. Loose dirt and broken cement crunched underfoot as she was forced through the crowd. They faced inward and fell silent as she passed. Parker stood in their center, his hands clasped in front of him. A table had been brought up and held a clear, glass pitcher of dark liquid. Dozens of little glasses were lined behind the pitcher. An electric lantern gave them an ethereal glow.
“We are all here now,” Parker said and smiled. His teeth glinted in the low lighting. Felix and Mark let go of her arms, but her legs buckled and she swayed before Mark grasped her again. Dozens of eyes eagerly watched the little table.
“Enough with the theatrics,” a woman said. Clara had never seen the woman before, but she wore the blue uniform of Parker’s hoard. “Night has fallen and you have yet to deliver what you promised.”
“Indeed, some of us have waited many years for this. An eternity of suffering stands before me this night. Here is where the suffering ends. Tonight, we become as gods. My forefathers sacrificed so the Parker name would live on into eternity. You, my choicest friends, will also bear this honor.”
Mark sighed and could be heard muttering something under his breath. Parker shot him an angry look.
“Some of us are impatient,” he said pointedly. “So we will begin the process. You must partake of the blood twice. Once as a remedy to make you mortal so you can take the draught again and become a perfect, unblemished immortal—stronger than even the strongest of werewolves. I am already immortal and will take the first of the gift.”
Clara couldn’t help a snort of disbelief, but she was ignored. All eyes were on Parker as he picked up the pitcher and a glass. Her blood looked darker than black in the moonless night. A thick coating covered the cup when he threw the contents to the back of his throat. He gagged before swallowing, then made a face. The glass clunked onto the table and the others watched expectantly.
“Well?” Felix asked. “Did it work?”
Parker’s eyes closed tightly shut and he took a shuddering breath. “I can feel my strength growing,” he whispered and he did already look different. The lines on his face smoothed away and his shoulders seemed to broaden. “Come,” he said and his eyes shot open. “Everyone come and take the first draught.”
Mark released Clara’s arm to join everyone else at the table. Glass clinked and they jostled one another in their rush to cleanse their bodies of the beast. Parker backed away to give them room and went to lean against a wall that overlooked the rear of the hospital. His body trembled and he clutched his stomach. His gun stuck from the back of the holster he wore hidden under his shirt. Clara’s heart pulsed with fresh fear when an idea struck her. She glanced at the table where Parker’s wolves scrambled to have their share. No one noticed when she stepped quietly behind him. He groaned and shook. Her courage could not fail, not when they all would be at their weakest. She snapped the gun out.
She had never used a weapon of any kind and was unsure of how to operate the black pistol. The one thing she knew to do, she tried, pointing the barrel at Parker. She could only see him in shadow and aimed for the center of it. The trigger was harder to squeeze than she’d seen depicted on TV, but she managed. The kickback knocked her down and she thought the resounding blast split her eardrums. Gunpowder flooded her nostrils. His cries of enraged pain told her she could hear and that she’d hit her mark. Both elated and horrified, she struggled to her feet as he writhed in agony.
His wolves were slow to drag their attention away from their prize and it took a moment for them to grasp what had happened. Clara sprang for the door, willing her legs to run faster than she knew they could just then. She screamed and stopped short when Parker appeared in front of it. He did not look or seem himself. His eyes glimmered and a twisted smile curled on his perfectly formed mouth. He bore a younger, stronger body.
“Going somewhere, my girl?” he asked menacingly. She raised the gun to point at him. He laughed, but the laugh was cut short when he doubled over in pain. The transformation was not yet complete. Springing into action, she tried to run by him. A yelp of alarm escaped her lips when his arms closed around her waist and dragged her to the hard surface. She scraped her arm as she tried to raise the gun against him again. He grabbed and twisted it. She yanked back, unwilling to relinquish the taste of freedom. The gun went off, once again surrounding her with gunpowder. Her grip failed when white hot pain spread through her torso. She clutched at the wound and gritted her teeth to bite back a scream.
“I am not so easily killed,” Parker growled and slapped her so hard she saw white spots. He was about to gloat more when a crash diverted his attention and the entire building shook with a tremendous boom. Dust flew into the night and screams burst from his wolves. Clara could taste and smell nothing but blood. She sat up to see what was going on, hugging her midsection as she did. The sight that met her eyes was the most glorious she’d ever beheld.
Wolves were running in every direction. Bodies wearing the blue uniform lay lifeless, drenched in spilled blood. She d
id not dare hope it was her pack until she saw a flash of silver fur. Even then she was not sure until Callan jumped over the upturned lantern and the blaze of his emerald eyes sparked. They were in the midst of battle, but it looked as if they were winning.
Not all of Parker’s men had a chance to drink her blood and those that could, took their wolf forms. Those that had consumed the cure were in the midst of the transformation and therefore weakened and destroyed. Felix, and a few others, appeared next to Parker in their human bodies. He and his comrades held a strange looking device that looked like a box attached to a gun. Felix tossed one to Parker, who caught it easily. They pointed their weapons at her pack.
The roof groaned and shifted as wolves tore at one another. Some of the wolves attacked her pack and obviously worked for Parker. Others she didn’t recognize rose to their aid.
Callan broke free of the battle and set his sights on Parker. He rushed at him, his face drawn in a fearsome snarl. Several pops burst from the guns in unison when the triggers were pulled and CO2 cartridges went off. Glistening nets ripped open like the gaping mouth of a dragon, capturing Callan and Jack who had joined Callan from nowhere. The weighted nets were interlaced with silver and Callan and Jack could hardly move, let alone break free. Felix was the first to curse and rip the cartridge off his gun, quickly replacing it with another from his belt. Mesha came at Felix, barking madly. Another shot fired, but missed Mesha by a fang as she zigzagged in the darkness.
The wild wolf was never more evident than in that moment. Mesha flashed through Parker’s wolves, ripping flesh from limb and avoiding another net that rained down. Her eyes ignited a deadly, unquenchable fire. She came to stand over Callan’s silver blanket in order to rip it off him. Two of the net guns were shot off and both nets fell over her. Mesha’s howl of tortured pain tore at Clara’s heart. Dawn attempted to free Jack and suffered the same fate.
“Accursed creatures,” Parker muttered and slowly brought his own gun back out, the one loaded with silver bullets. His eye was on Dawn.
Bright Moon Page 24