CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
My mind was screaming run, but my feet wouldn’t move. At times like this it was hard to believe I had any defense responses at all. I couldn’t escape the fiery look within his ember red eyes. I never much believed in clichés, but here I was, staring through the windows of his soul and I wasn’t so sure he had one.
The anger behind his eyes was intense and then something changed.
Not the eyes, they still gleamed red with fury. It was his face that slowly transformed. His hard set jaw loosened into a devious grin and then the lights in the car went out and all I could see was his eyes again.
Run!
A million thoughts ran through my mind, all of them urging me to run, but what good would it do? I knew exactly what those red eyes meant and running would be futile.
“Annabelle.”
The sound of his voice echoed into the night, catapulting my once lame body into motion. I didn’t have the book with me, which meant it would be safe, but at what cost? I darted for the stairs and hurried to the second floor. I heard the loud thud come from downstairs and I knew he was in the house.
“I know you’re here.”
I slipped into my old bedroom and carefully closed the door. I tiptoed across the old charred wooden floor, holding my breath with every anxious step. The floors were old and charred from the fire, but I made it to the window without a sound.
The sound of his footsteps echoed from somewhere in the living room. “There is no reason to be afraid, dear Annabelle. I just want to talk.”
I pulled up on the window, but it wouldn’t budge. The room was dark, with only the moonlight guiding my way. I ran my hand along the base of the frame until I found the latch.
The footsteps moved into the kitchen. “I am hardly your enemy. In fact, we could very easily be on the same side with a little compromise on your part.”
I flicked the latch up and down, and then to each side until it finally dislodged from the hook. I pushed up on the window until it started to inch upwards. The frame was weathered and crooked, but at least it was moving. I hooked my fingers under the edge and pulled up with all my might.
“All I ask from you is that the book be safely returned.”
I paused, albeit momentarily, in complete and utter shock. I couldn’t believe it. He was acting like it was his book!
Finally, the window shot open with a horrible creaking noise. I paused, hoping that he hadn’t heard it, but when I heard the thunder of footsteps coming up the stairs, I knew he had.
I wedged my way through the window and onto the roof top, skidding to a stop. I closed the window behind me just as my bedroom door swung open. Our eyes met again and his menacing smile reappeared.
He launched himself at the window, but it was too late. I had already forced it down. There was a loose piece of wood hanging from the side of the house. I yanked it off and propped it between the window and where the roof jutted out. It wouldn’t hold long, but I need to buy myself time.
I carefully crawled across the roof until I found a ledge low enough to jump from. I lowered my body off the side, holding tightly to a beam of wood exposed beneath the worn roof tiles. I dangled for a few seconds, afraid to let go. It was dark and I couldn’t see what was lying below. I could only hope it wasn’t something sharp and impaling. I let go, stumbling to my feet as I hit the ground. I gave myself a quick check over, making sure nothing was broken, but then I heard the snap of wood coming from above me. I took off into the woods at full speed, not bothering to check behind me for who was undoubtedly following.
“Annabelle!”
The distant sound of his voice comforted me, making me feel like I had a chance- like I might actually make it out of this alive, but then, in a blink of an eye, all that hope was obliterated.
I skidded to a stop, barely grazing noses with the dark red-eyed figure before me.
He smiled his cruel and frightening smile. “Curious,” he said as he nonchalantly rested his index finger on his chin.
I slowly backed away, but he matched my steps in greater strides, closing the space between us.
“I must say,” he continued. “I expected much more of a founding family heiress.”
I bumped into something hard behind me. It was a tree and that meant I was pinned with nowhere to run to.
I smiled, trying to match his sinister expression. “Sorry to disappoint you.”
He laughed and I wondered if this was all a big game to him, but the glowing red eyes were a constant reminder that it wasn’t.
“You didn’t really expect to outrun me, did you?” he chortled. “Not in this form.”
I managed to move around the tree, putting it between us. “What are you talking about?”
He looked at me, his amusement fading.
He smiled and shook his head as he circled around me. “You really don’t know, do you?”
“Know what?”
“Enough of this,” he growled in a voice so deep it shook the leaves on the trees around us. “Where’s the book?”
I glared at him. “Not a chance.”
He stared at me for a moment and then cracked his neck. “I was hoping we would have to do this the hard way.”
He slammed his palm into my chest, sending me flying back into the tree. I fell to the ground, gasping for air. The pain radiated throughout my body and something was wrong with my vision. Everything I saw was tinted red.
Was I bleeding?
Yury crouched down and brushed a strand of blonde hair from my face. I slapped his hand away.
He smirked and stepped closer. “That’s more like it.”
“You’re crazy!”
He laughed. “Perhaps, but aren’t we all?”
I grasped at the ground, clutching at the loose dirt and leaves. He stepped closer and I threw a handful of debris at his face. He cried out and covered his eyes.
I got to my feet and ran. It was dark and the pain in my chest had me disorientated, but I didn’t stop running. Finally, I could see glimpses of the car not far ahead.
Suddenly, a solid object collided into my side. I slid across the hard dirt ground, feeling the twigs and branches scrapping along my bare arms. I moaned and tried to pull myself up, but then I felt it. There was a searing pain radiating from my ankle. I reached for my ankle, but a hand launched forward and caught me.
“Let me go!” I screamed, struggling to break free of his hold.
He stared at me with eyes so dark and serious that they seemed inhuman. He moved closer so that his lips brushed against my ear. “Now, what fun would that be?”
His hand moved down my body, his long jagged claw like finger nails tearing at the denim of my jeans, until he reached my injured ankle.
“Where’s the book?”
I swallowed hard, staring back into the emptiness of his eyes. Ironically, it was only then that I realized what was truly off about him. His eyes were dead. The lifelessness of the dark circles was so abundantly clear that I knew I was on the verge of death.
“Go to hell,” I said, my voice wrenched with hate.
His fingers closed around my ankle. “Have it your way.”
I closed my eyes and clenched my teeth. The pain would be excruciating, but nothing could be as bad as letting someone that evil hold something of so much power. I couldn’t let the book fall into his possession. Not again.
I felt the pressure intensify as his hand tightened around my already swollen ankle. I groaned, trying desperately to ignore my screaming pain receptors, but then the pressure was gone.
It’s a trick! He must enjoy watching the fear and anxiety build. I won’t give him the satisfaction.
I didn’t want to open my eyes, but I knew I had to.
“Carter.”
Carter had Yury by the throat, his long claws digging into the ridges of Yury’s neck. He slammed him hard against a tree, sending thousands of splinters flying through the air. I raised my hand and shielded my face from the shards of wood just as Yur
y tore Carter’s hand from his neck and twisted it.
Carter kicked him in the chest. “Annabelle, run!”
I tried to move my leg, but it hurt to put weight on my ankle. “I can’t. I think my ankle is broken.”
Yury hit Carter with a hard blow to the jaw. Carter stumbled back as Yury readied himself for a second shot. Carter ducked and drew up with a strong knee to his torso. I was afraid they could go on like this forever, blow after blow. Their one common feature told me that this was entirely possible- their glowing red eyes.
Fortunately, I didn’t have to ponder that thought long. With a quick gust of wind, Alec appeared. He took Yury from behind, locking his arms around his neck. Yury struggled and swayed, but the two of them were too much for him to take. Finally, he kicked up against tree in front of him and managed to free himself of Alec’s hold.
He disappeared, leaving only a gust of wind in his wake.
Carter rushed to my side. “Annabelle.”
I pushed myself up and leaned back against the tree behind me. “It’s my ankle.”
Carter gently lifted my ankle into his hands, moving it in little circles. “I think it’s just sprained.”
“What?” I said, grabbing hold of my ankle and giving it a tender squeeze. Again, I felt nothing. “I could’ve sworn it was broken.”
“Well, consider yourself lucky. If Carter wouldn’t have got here when he did, it probably would be broken… and the rest of you too.” Alec looked over the damaged tree trunk. “What a psycho.”
Carter glared at him. “Are you not registering what you just saw? His eyes, his speed, his strength? Don’t you get it? He’s a hybrid.”
Alec looked over his shoulder in the direction Yury had escaped. He scrunched up his face and scratched the side of his head. “Yeah, that’s weird.”
Carter turned back to me, pulling my arm over his shoulder. I leaned on him as he lifted me to my feet.
“Where did you park?”
I pointed west. “Over there. It’s just in the next lot.”
“Okay, Alec you go back to Jane’s and fill everyone in on what’s going on.”
“You mean about Yury being a hybrid?”
Carter sighed lightly. “Actually, maybe you should just head over to Jane’s and wait for me there. I’ll take Annabelle home.”
“Wait. You’re going to have another secret founding family meeting without me,” I said. “Even after all this I’m still not privy?”
“Of course you are,” said Carter. “But you’re hurt and you’ve been through enough today.”
“Jane should hear it from me.”
I owed Jane the truth, especially after hiding it for so long. I may not have known what bothered me about Yury, but I knew there was something off about him and I said nothing. There’s nothing I could do to change that now, but maybe telling her myself would be a good start.
Carter tilted his head and studied me. “After tonight I find myself questioning all of your brilliant ideas.”
I looked down at my feet. “Yeah, that’s understandable. But, I’m right on this one.”
“Fine,” he said, pulling his car keys from the pocket of his jeans. He tossed them to Alec. “I’ll meet you there.”
Alec nodded and took off through the woods like a bullet in the night.
I patted down the hair that had been wisped up in the breeze from Alec’s hasty departure. “Not so sure I’m ever going to get used to that.”
Carter smiled. “No time like the present.”
He bent down to lift me into his arms, but I pulled away.
“Wait,” I said. “I have something for you.”
I stepped away from him, supporting my weight on my good ankle, but soon I noticed that the pain was completely gone. I scanned the ground as we headed towards the empty lot where my car was parked. After a short time, my ankle was moving as comfortably as it ever had.
Finally, I found the spot. I dropped to my knees and brushed away the leaves piled over the protruding roots. I felt the leather binding and tugged at it until the book slid out from its hiding place.
“Here,” I said, holding it out to him. “I think I owe you this.”
He reached out and took the book, letting it drop to his side as he fell to his knees beside me.
“I know it’s a little dirty,” I started, trying to dust of its surface with the sleeve of my shirt.
He took my hand from the book and held it in his own as his eyes found mine. His hand slid up my arm and on to my neck, the warmth of his palms soothing my aching muscles. Our lips touched, but he didn’t kiss me. He pressed his forehead to mine, closing his eyes. “Promise me something.”
“Anything,” I whispered.
“Promise me that you will never risk your life for anything or anyone ever again.”
How could he ask me to choose my own life over the life of others, especially his? I couldn’t do that.
“Carter…”
He opened his eyes. “Promise me.”
I stifled a sigh and nodded. “I promise.”
“Good, because I don’t think I could survive losing you.”
I held his hand to my heart. “I’m right here. You haven’t lost me.”
We walked back to the car, this time without him needing to support me. My ankle had magically healed and I was starting to question whether the injury happened at all. I mean, it all happened so quickly that maybe my mind had imagined some of it. But that couldn’t be. I remember the horrendous pain radiating from my ankle up my leg. I know it was real. It had to be real.
Carter insisted on driving and I didn’t mind. The roads winding through Burnwood required more concentration than I could give at the moment.
“Do you have any idea why he was at my old house?”
Carter shook his head. “Maybe he was looking for an abandoned house to hide the book in.”
“That’s kind of far to go for a book. And, if you had just stolen something so valuable, wouldn’t you want to keep it close?”
Carter shrugged. “I suppose so.”
“And, now that I think about it, he left the book in the car when he went inside the house. He couldn’t have just been there by coincidence.” I leaned back in the seat and hugged my knees to my chest. “I think he was looking for something.”
“Like what?”
“Well…” I said hesitantly. “He came to Jane’s house asking about a medallion that would’ve belonged to the founding families.”
His knuckles whitened as he gripped the steering wheel tighter. “She didn’t tell him anything, did she?”
“No, she didn’t, or at least she didn’t mean to.”
Carter gave me a curious look.
“He tricked her into telling him what he wanted to know. I don’t think she saw what was going on until it was too late.”
Carter clenched his jaw and slammed his fist down hard on the steering wheel. “What does he know?”
“He knows about the medallion.”
Carter’s head whipped to the side as he stared at me like he was waiting for me to say “just joking,” but the anticipation faded quickly. He turned back to the road and I could see he was struggling to control the anger inside him.
I placed my hand on his shoulder, feeling the heat radiating from his quivering body.
I waited until he regained his composure. “Carter, what medallion is Yury looking for?”
“Truthfully, I couldn’t tell you.”
I sighed. “Another secret.”
“No, it’s not like that. I can’t tell you because each founding family has its own set of medallions. I have no idea which one he’s looking for.”
“What exactly do these medallions do?”
Carter pulled into Jane’s driveway, parking behind Trish’s red sports car. I recognized Cruz’s truck parked on the street behind Carter’s Charger. I assumed the whole circle was here by the looks of it.
Carter put the car into park and turned off the
ignition. “The medallions are centuries old. The council praises their power, but none of us really knows what the medallions are capable of.”
“Why wouldn’t the council just tell you guys? I mean, the medallions belong to your families, don’t they?”
Carter nodded. “My dad says that not all hybrid tribes have medallions. They’re unique to just a few of us. He thinks that’s why the council wants to keep their existence quiet.”
“Carter, I don’t think it was a coincidence that Yury went to my old house right after speaking to Jane about the medallions.”
His face paled and he went still for a moment. Suddenly, he flipped on the ignition and put the car into reverse.
“What are you doing?”
“I’ve got to go back to that house. If he was looking for the medallion there than I need to find it before he does.”
“Wait, we don’t even know if the medallion was there,” I said, moving his hand from the gear shaft and switching it back into park. “There is an entire circle in there waiting for you to give them some direction. Besides, whatever Yury was looking for, I don’t think he found it.”
“I guess Alec and I can swing by after the meeting and see if there’s anything there.”
“Can’t you go back there tomorrow? You know, with the sheriff or something?”
He chuckled. “We’ll be fine, Annabelle. There’s two of us and one of him.”
I suppose he was right. I saw the way Yury took off when Alec showed up. The two of them were too strong for him.
“C’mon, let’s go inside.”
“Wait,” I said, grabbing his hand and meeting his gaze. “You don’t think Yury knew that was my house, do you?”
“I don’t see how he could,” he shrugged. “I didn’t even know until you told me.”
I paused. “It’s just that he didn’t seem surprised to see me there. He knew something, but he wouldn’t tell me what it was.”
Carter caressed my cheek in his hand. “He was probably just trying to frighten you. I wouldn’t read too much into it.”
I shook the thought from my head. “You’re right. Let’s go inside. We’ve got a lot of explaining to do.”
Burnwood - The Dragon Arum Page 25