by Ariel Marie
“He’ll find us,” Toma murmured, as the hairs on the back of his neck stood at attention.
A slight movement near a stone mausoleum located on the other side of the pond caught his attention. A small light appeared in front of the building and disappeared as quickly as it appeared.
He tapped Nadira on the shoulder gaining her attention. He held his finger up to his mouth, before pointing to the mausoleum on the other side of the pond. They quickly began following the trail that led to the other side.
“We have movement,” Toma murmured, hoping that Teague picked up what he said. He placed himself in front of Nadira as they made it to the dilapidated stone building that was covered in vines and looked as if no one had entered it in decades.
“Watch your step,” he said pointing out some loose stones that led to the opening.
“We’re going in there?” she asked, her voice a little shaky.
“Yeah, into the mausoleum,” he confirmed, notifying Teague of their location. As promised, it was just Toma and Nadira in the cemetery. His brothers and the Dark Shadows were not far away.
He slowly pushed open the door to the building, catching a glimpse of the floating white light disappearing down a darkened stairway that led into the unknown below the earth surface.
“You have got to be shitting me,” Nadira whispered as she peered around Toma. “We have to follow that light, don’t we?”
He nodded his head. This was not part of their plan. They didn’t plan for anyone going underground. He knew beneath this cemetery were old Underground Railroad passages from the time of slavery. He prayed that his brothers quickly came up with a plan C, since plan A and B were designed for being out in the open in the cemetery.
“I hear you,” Teague’s voice came in with a little static. “We’ve got you covered.”
That was all the encouragement he needed to start walking down the stairwell.
20
~Anika~
“Rise and shine, little human,” a voice broke through Anika’s nightmare. She had been dreaming that Toma was being torn apart by rogue vampires and versi.
She gasped, opening her eyes to find Xalak standing in front of her. A smirk appeared on his face as he looked at her. Her arms, hanging from rope above her head trembled in fear as she stared into his amber eyes.
She could feel a thick liquid slowly run from her nose and stop at her top lip. The smell of copper confirmed to her that it was blood again. She whimpered in fear that he would play with her mind again.
“Kill me,” she whispered, as tears began to flow freely. The pain as he dug around in her mind was unbearable. “Just get it over with.”
“What fun would that be? I’d rather have your vampire mate watch me carve you up and go mad with the death of his mate on his hands.” He grabbed her hair, causing her to cry out in pain. “If they would have just given me Nadira you would not be here. Looks like they would rather sacrifice you than give up the princess.”
“I’d rather die then let you get your hands on her,” she screamed. A burst of burning pain greeted her as his fist met her cheek.
“Be careful for what you wish for,” he growled grabbing her hair again. “You might just get what you are begging for,” he snarled in her ear. He paused, turning his head, listening to something she could not hear. He turned back to her, a sickening grin spreading across his face. “Looks like we have company.”
He released her and disappeared through the open doorway.
“No!” she screamed.
She hoped they had heard her that day he taunted the Olaru’s over the videoconference. She didn’t want Nadira anywhere near Xalak. She had learned what he was after and if he gets his hands on Nadira, the entire vampire race would be in trouble.
She screamed again, struggling against the rope. It dug into her wrist as she continued to fight to free herself.
Xalak would kill Toma. She had to get to him. She had to save both Nadira and Toma before they made a huge mistake. Blood began to run down her arms as she tugged on the ropes.
“I wouldn’t do that if I were you,” a scratchy voice said from the door. She glanced over at the owner of the voice and froze in fear. Crimson eyes starred back at her. The smell of death filled the air.
A rogue vampire.
She swallowed hard as her dream flashed before her eyes. Toma attacked and torn apart by rogues and versi. She couldn’t let that happen.
“You smell delicious,” the rogue said stepping into the room. “Fresh blood.”
“Get the fuck away from me,” she warned, hearing a loud commotion coming from outside the room.
“What are you going to do about it human?” the rogue said licking his lips, his eyes focused on the blood running down Anika’s arms.
“Not a damn thing,” a female voice growled suddenly behind the rogue.
A scream tore from Anika’s mouth as she witnessed a sword appear through the rogue’s chest, piercing its heart. A dark stain appeared on his chest surrounding the silver tip. He stumbled, gasping for breath as Nadira twisted the sword and pulled it free as he fell to his knees. She swiftly swung her sword as Anika closed her eyes, hearing the thump of his head hitting the floor.
“Gods above!” Nadira exclaimed running over to Anika. She opened her eyes, as Nadira reached above them with her dagger cutting her free. “Keep your eyes on me. Don’t look at the body,” Nadira instructed as tears flowed down her face. Anika crashed to the floor with Nadira catching her head before it slammed into the wall. “I’m so sorry,” she sobbed holding onto Anika.
“You shouldn’t have come,” she moaned, gripping her best friend tight. “You have to leave,” she cried out frantically.
“No, I’m not leaving you,” Nadira sobbed, shaking her head while squeezing her tighter to her chest.
“You must! I know what he wants,” Anika’s voice cracked from extreme dryness. Her mouth felt like someone had stuffed it with cotton balls.
“You can tell us when we get you to safety,” Nadira cried as she helped Anika stand. Anika’s legs were wobbly, causing Nadira to pull Anika against her, taking the brunt of her weight. “We both are going to get out of here.
“I have Anika,” Nadira whispered.
“It was a set up,” Anika gasped as they made it out of the room. The hallway was darkened and her human eyes were slow to adjust. She held on tighter to Nadira as she led the way down the eerily empty hallway. “He has versi and rogue vampires working under him.”
“We know,” Nadira said pausing as they reached a three way. She paused, peeking around the corners.
“Are you by yourself?” Anika whispered.
Nadira shook her head, just as a versi appeared out of nowhere. Anika held in her scream as she fell back against the wall. Nadira unsheathed the dagger, at her side, quickly engaging with the dead puppet.
Anika’s eyes grew wide watching her friend take down the versi. Nadira’s body movement was quicker than her human eye could follow. The versi fell to the ground unmoving.
“Let’s go,” Nadira said, grabbing Anika’s arm, guiding her down the right hallway.
“Xalak is here,” Anika warned. “You have to get out of here. It’s your memories that he wants.”
“What?” Nadira stopped to stare at Anika with confusion lining her face. “What could I possibly know that he would want?” A large rumble shook the underground tunnels. “We have to hurry, these tunnels are filled with versi and rogues. Toma is trying to distract them so I can get you out of here,” Nadira said, almost dragging Anika.
A set of stairs that led above ground came into sight. They took off running for the stairs but a blinding pain hit Anika at the base of her skull causing her to fall to the ground screaming.
Not again.
21
~Toma~
Screeching and yelling could be heard on the other side of the door that Toma had just barred with large pieces of wood that he found in the tunnels. The handful of rogue vamp
ires were caught off guard when Toma slammed the door shut.
He made quick work of rigging the door with C4 explosives that were laced with silver. The wood would not hold the rogues for long. Once the rogues’ burst threw the door, it would set off the C4, exploding, taking out all that were near the blast.
“There is one room with rogues that I found that is rigged and ready to blow,” he said softly as he made his way down the hallway. He had to hurry to find Nadira and Anika. He didn’t like the idea of splitting up but he had no choice. “I don’t see any sign of Idris.”
“Nadira has Anika,” Teague’s voice came through around the slight static. Toma’s heart stuttered slightly.
“How is she?”
“Sounded weak, but she knows why Xalak is after Nadira,” Teague said. Toma released his breath that he didn’t even realize he was holding. “You guys need to hurry up and get the hell out of there.”
“These tunnels run for miles. There is no telling how many versi and rogues are down here,” he said rushing to find Nadira and Anika. “There are storage rooms full of versi just waiting to be raised. They have been killing more people than we could have imagined.”
“Once you clear out and get the girls to safety, we’ll head in to find Idris and tear their underground lair apart,” Nicu’s voice came through loud and clear.
Just as Toma turned the corner, his eyes took in Nadira practically dragging Anika towards the stairway, Anika let out a scream falling to the ground in agony. Amber eyes appeared from the hallway the girls had just run from.
Xalak.
Toma growled, his gums burned as his fangs descended. Using his vampiric speed, he flashed across the room slamming Xalak into the stonewall by the neck.
“Toma,” Xalak growled.
“Xalak,” Toma ground out around his fangs, tightening his grip on Xalak’s neck. “You and I have unfinished business.”
“That human of yours.” Anika let out a wrenching cry as Nadira tried to drag her to the stairs. “Her mind is a wonderful playground. She has many delicious memories. She looks like she’s a hellion in bed. You’ve had plenty of fun with her. When I’m done with you, I’ll make her my new toy.”
“You’re not going to live long enough,” Toma snarled. “You die tonight.”
“You kill me and your human will die.” Xalak gasped. “I’ll scramble her brain to where she’ll be a fucking vegetable.” Toma glanced at Anika crying out, her body trembling as if she was seizing on the floor.
The explosion in the distance shook the tunnel, signaling the rogues had broken through the door. Toma turned his head in time to duck the fist that Xalak tried to land on him. A stampede of footsteps could be heard echoing down one of the other halls coming their way.
“Get her out of here!” Toma yelled before bringing his short swords out of his waist sheaths. “Leave her be!” he roared as the room began to fill with versi.
“You can’t take them all down,” Xalak said backing away as the versi began to surround Toma. His amber eyes began to glow as he levitated a couple of inches off the ground, his long hair flowing around him. “There are too many of my puppets.”
“We’re on our way, Toma,” Nicu’s voice came through.
“Get Nadira and Anika,” he growled as he swung his sword, taking out the first versi. “I’ll be fine!”
“Three minutes,” Nicu said. Toma continued swinging his sword, turning in a full circle in time to see Nadira drag Anika up the rest of the stairs.
“You can’t take on all of my puppets,” Xalak roared, raising his hands towards the ceiling. More versi continued to flood the room as Toma continued to battle the attacking dead puppets.
“One minute,” Nicu roared into the ear bud. “Hold them off dammit. That’s an order!”
* * *
~Anika~
“Anika, honey, you need to wake up,” Nadira’s voice begged. “I may be a vampire but I can’t carry you all the way.”
Anika slowly opened her eyes. She blinked a few times trying to get her eyes to focus. Her brain pulsed from the pain inflicted by Xalak. She looked around from where she lay, taking in the headstones around them.
“Where is Toma?” She tried to sit up, panic filling her chest.
“He was holding back the versi. He ordered me to get you out of there. Nicu and the team will get him.”
“No!” she yelled, finally sitting up. “They are going to kill him!”
“Toma is one of the toughest vampires around. He will be fine. If anyone can take on a room full of versi, Toma can,” Nadira said, her voice a little shaky. Anika wasn’t sure who Nadira was trying to convince.
“We have to go back!”
“No! He ordered for us to get you out. My brothers will handle Xalak,” Nadira said firmly. “We need to get a move on it. This cemetery is huge and we need to get going.”
Nadira helped Anika to a standing position. Her legs shook as she stood. She felt like a brand new calf after birth.
“I saw it,” she whispered as they began to make their way along the darkened path.
“Saw what?” Nadira asked, wrapping her arm around Anika.
“I don’t know how, but I saw the versi take Toma down. They are going to kill him.”
“It had to be one of Xalak’s mind games while he tortured you,” Nadira responded. Anika still wasn’t convinced.
“It was so real.” She shook her head. “Can you call someone to check?” The images of Toma being taken down by the versi seemed so real. Her brain ached as she thought of all the visions that would appear inside of her mind.
“Teague?” Nadira said out loud, putting a hand to her ear. She turned to Anika with wide eyes. “He’s not answering. They may be busy. They were on their way inside the tunnels when I was getting you out. He’ll be fine.”
“Ok,” she whispered sending up a small prayer.
“And we have much to discuss about you and Toma,” Nadira said with a small smile.
“I know, I’m so sorry I didn’t tell you,” Anika rushed. “But everything happened so fast.”
“It’s okay,” Nadira gave a short laugh. “I’m actually happy for you two, a little hurt, but I’m really happy that Toma has found his mate and she just happens to be my best friend.”
“I don’t think I’m his mate, he never said so,” she whispered, feeling her heart crack thinking back to the ball that the queen threw and witnessing Toma kiss a vampire female.
“You are.” Nadira squeezed her. “He was just too stubborn to admit it. You remember what you told me about human men?” Anika nodded, finding a small smile appearing on her face. “Well the same goes for vampirian males. They are clueless when it comes to love, that’s why fate has to tell them who their mate is.”
They continued to walk in silence for a few more minutes before Nadira paused, holding her finger up to her lips. Anika looked up at the large pink colored moon seeing the full eclipse, high in the sky before turning to see Nadira’s darkened blood red eyes looking at her.
“We need to hide, someone’s coming,” Nadira whispered, pulling Anika over behind a tall thick tombstone. “Stay here,” she instructed before disappearing into the night.
The sounds of the crickets and cicadas seemed to grow louder as time passed. She shifted her aching body as she continued to grow worried. She could barely see, with only the moon providing light as she peered around the massive tombstone, hearing a struggle. Her eyes widened seeing Nadira struggling with a hooded figure.
She rushed to Nadira’s defense, jumping on the figure’s back.
“Let her go!” she screamed, pounding with all her might on his head.
He dropped Nadira, twisting around taking hold of her by her neck. The hood fell away, showing a male necromancer with a crooked nose and beady amber eyes.
“You must want more of what Xalak has to offer,” the necromancer laughed as he squeezed her throat tighter.
“Run,” she tried to scream to Nadira but it wa
s no use. His grip tightened until only a squeak came out of her lips.
Nadira let loose a roar as she slammed into the necromancer. Anika tumbled to the ground gasping for breath watching as Nadira tussled with the necromancer, before gaining the upper hand. She straddled him raising her sword high in the air before swinging it down in one quick stroke.
He bucked her off of him causing her sword to meet the earth. Two bursts of bright lights appeared, displaying the arrival of two more necromancers. Nadira dashed over to Anika trying to help her up, practically dragging her away.
“There is no where for you to run, princess,” the crooked nose necromancer said as they advanced towards Anika and Nadira.
“Leave us be and you shall live,” Nadira threatened. Crooked nose raised his hand, eliciting a scream from Anika as the crushing pain began again at the base of her neck.
“Anika!” Nadira’s scream was the last thing that Anika heard before her world went black.
22
~Anika~
Beep…Beep…Beep….
Anika gasped opening her eyes, blinking a few times to try to get them to focus. Panic began to set in as she looked around the room. She settled back as she realized that she was in what looked like a hospital room. She glanced to her right seeing the vampire queen dozing in the recliner next to her bed.
“Your grace?” Anika’s voice croaked, her throat was as dry as the Sahara desert. Alin Olaru jumped in the chair, opening her ice blue eyes.
“Oh Anika,” she exclaimed rushing to the bedside. “How are you feeling?” she asked grabbing a cup of water from the bedside table and helping Anika take a sip of water. “Slow down honey,” she coaxed as Anika coughed a little.
“I feel like I’ve been run over by a mac truck,” she said, falling back against the pillows. “Where am I?”
“You’re in Lutheran Hospital,” the queen said placing the cup back on the table. “We had to bring you to the paranormal hospital. You are in the royal private suites. No one will call the authorities or leak that we brought you here.”