by M. Cheykota
Christien directs the vampires holding Phedora to take her back to the house. We follow closely behind them as he commands the other vampires to follow.
I don’t feel comfortable having so many unfamiliar vampires at my back, but having Christien beside me is very reassuring.
We return to Christien’s estate. Alex takes the kids into the bedroom. Christien assigns two of his vampires outside the bedroom door to stand guard. In the meantime, I grab my cell phone, call Roman and Kayle and let them know I captured Phedora so they can call off their search for her. Roman agrees to continue rounding up Devan’s vampires while Kayle decides to return to the house with Devan’s second in command.
Just as Alex returns to the family room from the bedroom with her supplies, Kayle strolls into the room with a vampire in tow. The vampire sees Phedora shackled and kneeling on the floor. His eyes widen in fear and he locks eyes with Christien.
Kayle shoves him hard in the back, propelling him forward across the room in front of Phedora. “This is Devan’s second. His name is Luke.”
Christien nods.
Kayle moves forward and stands in front of Phedora. He backhands her so hard that she falls over on her side, blood dripping from her busted lip. He raises his hand again, but Christien stops him.
“That is enough for now Kayle. She gets your point.”
“She has no clue what my point is yet. She has betrayed us all!” He turns to Phedora. “How could you even think about coming back here after what you have done to us?”
She rolls her eyes at Kayle.
“Enough! Kayle, I need information from her so you need to let Alex do her job. After I have the information I need, I will leave her in your care.” Christien demands.
Kayle smiles devilishly at Phedora and sits down casually on the couch.
Alex begins setting up for the interrogation.
Christien walks up to me and kisses me deeply. His left hand tangles in my hair as his right hand brushes my stomach and rests on my left hip. “Are you okay honey?” He whispers against my lips.
“I am okay.”
He kisses me softly then says, “Don’t worry, after her questioning, I intend to leave her with Kayle. I may end her life too quickly for attacking you.”
Kayle snickers in his seat, staring at Phedora with an evil grin. “You do not have to worry about that happening with me. I have been thinking of ways I could repay Dora’s betrayal to us all since I learned of it. My list of torture is long and growing.”
“Okay.” I ignore Kayle’s sinister remarks and watch Alex finish her preparations. “So what is going to happen now?”
“I am going to ask Phedora some questions about how deep her betrayal has gone. If I detect a lie, Alex will convince her to tell the truth.” Christien looks over at Alex and she nods in acknowledgement.
“What will Alex do?” I am not sure I really want the answer, but I ask the question anyway.
Alex responds to me while looking into Phedora’s eyes. “I will not need to do anything if the vampire answers Christien’s questions truthfully. If she does not, I have many ways to convince her that lying is not in her best interest.” She looks at Christien. “I am ready. Do you want the other vampires to watch?”
Christien thinks about it for a moment before he responds. “I have heard a little about your methods of interrogation from Roman. I believe it may prove quite useful if you would allow the other vampires to watch you questioning Phedora so when I ask them a question, they will be forthcoming in their answers. Let us begin.”
Christien guides me to the couch next to Kayle and I reluctantly sit down as the questioning begins.
“Phedora, who are you working with?” Christien asks once he is standing in front of her.
“Why should I tell you? You are going to kill me anyway. It does not matter if you torture me first.” She replies stubbornly.
Christien looks at Alex and nods.
Alex chants something quietly in a weird language and sprinkles something over Phedora’s head.
Phedora screams at the top of her lungs, clutching at her head. Her fangs extend as a result from the pain she is experiencing. After a few seconds of screaming, she shouts out. “Stop! Please stop!”
Christien waits a few seconds before he nods to Alex. She says a few words in what sounds like it could be Gaelic and Phedora stops screaming.
“Would you like to try to answer my questions now?” Christien asks in a mocking tone.
Phedora picks herself up off the ground, getting back to her knees. She is still holding her head when she looks at Christien.
“Who are you working with, Phedora?” Christien demands.
Phedora glances back at Alex.
Christien sighs. “Alex, do not stop until she speaks.”
Alex bends over into her box of supplies and Phedora’s eyes widen in horror.
“Wait!”
“Phedora, I do not have time for your games. Speak now or Alex will force you to speak. Alex, whenever you are ready, you may begin.” Christien turns his back on Phedora and walks towards a sitting chair nearby.
The other vampires are silent as they watch. They are so silent that I almost forgot they were there.
“I cannot tell you anything. If I speak about it, they will kill me.” Phedora begs.
“You are already dead, Phedora. What you should be thinking about is how to make up your betrayal to me, your master. You have no idea what you have done.” Christien explains without mercy.
“You will not kill me quick. You intend to give me to him.” She nods her head towards Kayle.
“If you were looking for mercy, you should have never gone after Jessica. That was your biggest mistake.” Christien growls at Phedora.
Alex begins talking quietly and sprinkles something around Phedora. At first, it does not look as if anything is happening. Alex returns to her supplies and pulls out something that looks like water. Alex walks the circle clockwise, adding drops of white powder to the circle already made surrounding Phedora. When Alex completes her circuit, I can feel power intense in the air. It feels like my body can sense the magic from her closing the circle. Alex smirks before saying a final word.
If I did not see what happened next with my own eyes, I would swear that anyone would have made it up. I know the images will give me nightmares for a while.
Phedora’s eyes begin to droop and sag. Her skin begins to decay as if all the water has drained from her body. The silver shackles fall off her wrists to the ground. I look at Alex nervously when she answers my unasked question.
“I thought that the spelled shackles might come off, that is why I cast the circle around her. She is not going anywhere.”
I nod and continue to watch as Phedora’s body begins to decay. Green oozing pus starts plopping out of her nose and mouth. I automatically move my hand to my mouth. Black lesions begin to form all over her body and burst, spilling a yellowish liquid on the floor. Phedora is gasping, unable to scream. She scratches at the floor, causing her nails along with the tips of her fingers to leave slimy marks on the hardwood floor. Expecting it to smell, I cover my nose and mouth to stave off the wave of nausea that is coming over me.
Clumps of Phedora’s short, black hair begin to fall to the floor when I hear vampires start to gasp and gag in disbelief. One of her eyes pops out of the socket and falls to the floor in a sickening splat. That is when I run out of the room for the nearest bathroom.
When I finally empty the contents of my already empty stomach, I return to the couch where I see Alex hovering over the barely recognizable Phedora. Her clothes seem to be the only thing holding her body together.
Alex steps back, away from Phedora. “She should be able to speak. I did not fix her body, only her throat.”
“Who are you working with Phedora?” Christien repeats.
Phedora tries her best to clear her throat, but even after several attempts, her voice is still raspy, but understandable. “Please, let me he
al.”
Christien looks at Alex who in turn nods.
Alex moves towards her supplies when Phedora stops her.
“Hassan. I am working with Hassan.” Phedora gasps.
“Who else are you working with?” He asks impatiently.
“Hassan was working with Devan and Lenair. I only told Hassan that I would capture her and tell him when you were coming.”
“That is a lie!” Christien shouts. “Alex, make her extremely uncomfortable.”
Alex grabs a handful of some sand-like substance and blows it on Phedora.
Phedora lets out a guttural scream as she begins trying to scratch her skin. Since she no longer has fingertips, she is using the nubs and bones left on her fingers to scratch. The bones are digging into her skin, causing her to rip off her own flesh. Puss, blood, and other unmentionables are oozing from her body from the wounds she is inflicting on herself. She is still trying to scream as her skin falls off her body in clumps.
I barely make it back to the bathroom before I begin heaving again.
When I return, Phedora’s mouth must have loosened up because she is lying in her own body parts, blood, and puss, talking about Hassan’s plans to take over Christien’s get. I go back to my seat as quietly as possible, hoping not to interrupt her confession. She mentions that Lenair wants Devan and Hassan killed so she could rule most of France. I put that information in the back of my mind while she finishes her confession.
“I do not sense any lies in her confession this time.” Christien states plainly. “What did you get out of betraying me? You had my full support in your ruling the vampires in France on my behalf. Why would you then allow Hassan and the others to convince you that you would be better off serving them? You were my third in command. Surely they did not offer you a better position in their ranks?”
“They respect me. They did not treat me as if I do not exist.” Phedora huffs at Christien.
Kayle laughs. “Your jealousy of Jessica is outrageous. You cannot stand that your master loves her, not you. What really got you mad is that Hassan wanted her too.”
“Why do you care what I think Kayle? She has known our master for weeks, yet you seem to be her little pet vampire. What does she do for you?” Phedora taunts.
Christien’s eyes narrow on Phedora in anger. “I want you dead, Phedora. I am tired of your games. If there is anything useful you can tell me, I may have mercy and spare you from Kayle’s games.”
Kayle pulls a large knife from somewhere beside him and inspects it with interest. “Please do not say anything Dora.” He chants quietly several times.
Christien looks at Alex. “Heal Phedora and put the shackles back on her. I want her fully healed and fed before I turn her over to Kayle.”
Alex walks towards Phedora while chanting. She is sprinkling different items on Phedora’s body as she circles her.
Christien calls for a donor to bring up a few bags of their blood for Phedora to feed. Once Alex heals her enough to reattach the shackles, he allows Phedora to feed.
At first, she is reluctant to accept the bags of blood. “I do not drink from bags. I want a live donor.”
Christien looks at a couple of vampires and they approach Phedora and hold her down. She begins to protest when they force the bags on to her fangs. After they have emptied all the bags, her body naturally finishes the healing. Since she is still wearing the shackles, she is not able to heal herself completely, but most of her skin has knitted itself back together. She is no longer a disgusting, oozing mess.
With Phedora mostly healing on her own, Kayle stands and walks towards her. “I will take her down into the basement so we will not disturb anyone. Will you need anything before I go?”
Christien shakes his head. “I am done for the night. I intend to retire with my lovely mate. Take her vampires with you. I will deal with them and the ones with Roman tomorrow when I wake. Let me know if you learn anything new from Phedora.”
Christien stands and extends a hand out to me. Just as I am about to take it, I hear a scuffling sound behind me. I turn around just in time to see Phedora coming at me with a knife she has grabbed from another vampire. Reflexively, I grab my dagger and throw it at her chest. I must have missed the heart, because she doesn’t stop. She pulls the dagger from her chest and rears back to throw it.
Kayle screams, moving to cut Phedora off, but he will not make it in time, even with Phedora moving at human speed. “NOOO! Stop her!”
Christien grabs me and spins me around, hiding me from Phedora’s view. The vampires in the room converge on her in lightning speed, but Luke is there first, holding Phedora down, snatching the dagger from her, and tossing it to the side before anyone else in the room gets close.
The other vampires join Luke in pinning her to the ground when Phedora lets out a vicious laugh. “You wait until you see what Hassan has in store for your precious pet.”
I move from behind Christien with a big grin on my face. “Oh, did they forget to tell you Phedora?”
“What are you talking about bitch?” She says while pointlessly struggling to free herself from the vampires holding her down.
“Hassan is dead. Devan is dead. If what you told us is correct, the council may even allow Christien to kill Lenair. No one is coming after me. You are alone and at Kayle’s mercy. I suggest that you begin begging for his forgiveness because you will never have mine.”
“You lie!” Phedora spits at me.
Laughing, I kiss Christien amorously on his lips. “He is mine. Get over it and die already.”
Christien scoops me up into his arms and carries me into his bedroom. We ignore Phedora’s screams of frustration.
“Tomorrow evening, the Vampire Council will probably request my presence.” Christien tells me as we enter his bedroom.
“I will wait here for your return.” I respond confidently.
“You will not.” He pulls me into his arms. “I would like to ask that you accompany Kayle back to the United States and stay there until I return.”
“You mean, if you return.” I shake my head. “I want to stay here Christien.”
“I know you do. I would love to have you near me, but I need you to see my reasoning. After everything that has transpired since we have landed here in France, so many things have not gone according to our plans. It is not safe for you to stay here, even with Kayle present.”
“You are being overprotective. Everything has worked out fine so far. There have not been any more threats. We still haven’t done anything about Lenair. Why can’t I stay?”
He kisses me on my temple adoringly. “We still do not know how deep Lenair’s involvement is. Many things have changed, Jessica. I am not only referring to our child. I have managed to break several vampire laws in the short time I have been here in France. There will be many queries about everything that has happened. I do not want you anywhere near the Vampire Council.”
I pull Christien down on the bed beside me. “You know how I feel about running away from fights.”
Christien kisses my hand affectionately. “I do, but I will lose my mind if something happens to you and I am unable to reach you. At least with you far away from the Council, they cannot use you as an advantage against me. Please do not fight me on this one request.”
I study him, memorizing the worry lines etching into his gorgeous face. “Fine. I will return to the States with Kayle tomorrow, but if I do, you have to lay off on all the overprotective, macho bullshit. Deal?”
Christien chuckles, his eyes light in humor. “I will try.”
“I guess that is the best I will get.” I muse aloud.
Christien kisses me softly on my lips. “Thank you. I know that concession was difficult for you.”
“Careful vampire. I could change my mind.” I tell him teasingly.
Christien smiles and stands up to leave.
I stay him by placing a hand on his arm. “What are you expecting from the Vampire Council tomorrow?”
&nbs
p; Christien sighs. “Is there any chance I can get out of answering that question?”
I shake my head slowly. “No, so start talking.”
Christien lies back against the pillows and settles me against his chest. “First, I imagine they will want an explanation about why I killed Hassan.”
“How will they even know that he is dead?”
“The Vampire Council knows through the blood ties when a tête de ligne de sang has been terminated. The one that he has given an oath to will know he is dead when they feel their tie sever. They will assume I am responsible for his death. I have never hidden my desire for his head, disregarding the fact that he has already approached the Council about me.”
“What will you say to the Council?” I nibble my lip worriedly.
“I will try to use Hassan’s madness as a reason for his execution. I will explain how he attacked me first and under vampire law, I have every right to defend myself when threatened.”
“Do you think they will believe you?”
“Hmm. Maybe. Hassan is no longer my main concern.” He says thoughtfully.
“What are you concerned about then?”
“My most pressing concern is how I am going to explain Devan’s death.”
I jerk upright in response to his answer. “What do you mean?”
“I had no reason to attack Devan, nor did I have a reason to kill him.”
“He was the one hiding Hassan!”
Christien pulls me back down to his chest in effort to calm me. “I know Hassan was hiding with Devan. Remember, Hassan was my master and my tête de ligne de sang. I should not have been able to attain enough power to defeat him. Not only did I kill Hassan, I am also slightly accountable for the death of another powerful tête de ligne de sang. There is no way the Council will allow my actions to go unanswered.”