by Tara Shuler
“I want you,” he said, as though the answer
was obvious.
“What does that even mean?” I asked,
irritated. “What do you want me for?”
“He wants you to marry him,” Max snarled,
clearly disgusted.
Alexi’s grin widened. “Young Maksim is very
astute.”
“Marry you?” I boggled. “Why would you…
but you don’t even… explain!”
“What is there to explain?” he asked.
“You’re a hunter, aren’t you? Aren’t you
supposed to hate vampires? Aren’t you supposed
to want me dead?” I shouted, flailing my arms.
He chuckled again.
“He’s not a hunter,” Max glowered. “He’s a
vampire.”
“Well, well, well,” Alexi gloated. “My
reputation precedes me.”
“We all know who you are, Alexi,” Max
snapped. “We all know who you are and what
you do. You and your family.”
I turned to face Max and glared at him. “You
knew all about him and you said nothing?” I
shouted.
“I didn’t want to get you involved,” he
explained. “I didn’t know what he wanted from
you. Not at first. Then I remembered hearing
about him and his father a long time ago.”
I turned back to Alexi. “Why do you want to
marry me? I don’t even know you.”
“It’s destiny, Alice,” he said.
“Destiny,” I scoffed. “And how would you
know that?”
“Don’t you?” he asked incredulously.
“I most certainly do not!” I snapped.
“Hmm,” he mused. “Perhaps your abilities are
not as well-developed as I thought.”
“Look, Alexi,” I said. “I’m getting tired of
playing charades with you. Stop being so obtuse
and just get to the point.”
“You’re an impetuous little thing,” he
spewed. “You don’t stop to think things through.
You want me to get to a point when there is no
other point to make. You spit venom at me with
your words, when there is no reason to do so.”
“You’re holding my brother and Kai hostage,
you tried to kill Max, and you’re really getting
on my nerves!” I yelled, clenching my fists. “I
have plenty of reasons to do so!”
“Well, yes,” he agreed. “Those are good
points. But you should realize by now I have no
wish to harm you or anyone else.”
“Wait a minute,” I interrupted. “If you’re a
vampire, how did you become an Elder hunter?”
“Max really has kept you in the dark, hasn’t
he?” Alexi asked. “Didn’t he tell you? All Elders
are vampires.”
“What?” I gasped. “Why would you hunt your
own kind?”
“It is a long story that is perhaps better saved
for another day,” Alexi returned.
“No!” I yelled. “Now!”
“Would you rather get into this with me, or
would you rather take your friends and leave?”
Alexi prodded.
“I… you’d just let us leave?” I asked.
“But of course,” Alexi said. “I have no wish
to harm you. I only want the chance to meet you,
to spend time with my betrothed.”
“Be-betrothed…” I muttered, feeling utterly
floored. “What are you… Exactly who betrothed
us?”
“Your father, of course,” he answered, as
though it was obvious.
“My father is dead,” I hissed.
“Indeed,” he acknowledged. “And I truly
grieve for your loss.”
“How could be betroth me to you if he’s
dead?” I demanded to know.
“Your father and my father were old friends,”
he explained. “He did it the day you were born.”
“The day I was…” I whispered.
Suddenly, I felt weak. My knees started to
shake, and they soon gave out. I felt myself begin
to fall. In a flash, Alexi was by my side. His arm
went around my waist to catch me, and he
wrapped my arm around his neck and pulled me
to my feet.
I tried to stand, but my legs trembled and
caved again. The world began to spin, and I
shook my head, frantically trying to stay
conscious through the shock and turmoil that
was raging in my mind. Finally, I succumbed to
the darkness.
When I came to, I was in Alexi’s arms. He was
carrying me somewhere. I couldn’t tell where we
were, because everything was still blurry, and I
felt woozy.
“I can do that,” Max insisted.
“Nonsense,” Alexi snapped. “She is my
responsibility.”
“Stop that!” Max demanded. “Just because
your father and her father made some deal nearly
twenty years ago doesn’t mean...”
“It means everything!” Alexi hissed.
“What…” I started to ask what happened.
“Alice!” Alexi
whispered.
“Oh,
thank
goodness! Can you stand?”
“I think so,” I said.
Carefully, he lowered my feet to the ground.
They were still shaky, but they held. He kept my
arm around his shoulders, supporting me as I
tried to regain my composure.
I looked around. We were in a dark hallway.
There were no windows, but I could see several
rows of doors. It looked very similar to the
basement of the warehouse in Georgia where
we’d been held captive by the hunters. I assumed
this place was similar. Alexi’s arm was still
wrapped firmly around my waist, supporting me
as we walked.
“Where are Kai and Will?” I demanded, my
voice still shaky.
“They’re fine,” Alexi insisted. “I’m taking you
to see them now.”
“I thought…” I started to say.
“You thought they were in the office?” he
chuckled. “Did you really think it would be that
simple?”
“I guess not,” I mumbled. “You really are
irritating, you know.”
“I don’t mean to be,” he said, sounding
genuinely hurt.
“Could have fooled me,” I mumbled, instantly
feeling sorry I’d said it.
His normal gleaming grin was gone. I still
hadn’t seen his face, but I could tell by the
melancholy way his mouth was twisted that he
was unhappy.
“I’m sorry,” I whispered. “I didn’t mean that.”
“Don’t apologize for telling me how you
really feel,” he argued. “You did mean it. I don’t
want to hear a lie to soothe my ego. I only want
to know you for who you really are, and what
you really think. Don’t ever think you have to
hide from me, Alice.”
“I’ll say one thing for you,” I told him.
“You’re hard to figure out.”
“How so?” he asked.
“One day you’re trying to kill Max,” I
explained. “And then y
ou’re telling me you want
me to marry you.”
“I never intended to kill him,” he corrected.
“Oh, sorry,” I said sarcastically. “I guess I
misunderstood the dagger you were pressing
into his throat.”
“That was… merely an incentive,” he
countered. “I know how you feel about him. I
would never hurt you that way.”
“I see,” I said suspiciously.
“Here we are,” he commented, as we stopped
in front of a door near the end of the hall. “Can
you stand on your own?”
I’d forgotten his arm was around me.
“Yes,” I said quickly. “I’m fine.”
He fumbled with a key ring and unlocked the
door.
“Alice!” shouted Will, sweeping me into his
arms.
“Will!” I shrieked with joy, squeezing him
warmly.
Kai was still sitting on the floor. He had one
leg stretched out in front of him, and one knee
bent. His arm dangled out straight across his
knee, and he looked somber and disinterested.
“Are you okay?” I asked, behind down beside
him and touching his arm.
He jerked away from me.
“Don’t touch me,” he growled.
“Kai, I…” I tried to say.
“Don’t,” he snapped, glaring into my eyes.
“Just don’t. I’m sick of this, I’m sick of him, and
I’m sick of you.”
“Please don’t do this,” I pleaded. “Come with
me. We’ll fix this.”
“I’m done with you!” he shouted, springing to
his feet. He turned to Alexi and asked, “Am I free
to go now?”
“Of course,” Alexi said, bowing and holding
his arm out, inviting Kai to leave.
“Fine,” he snarled, and in a flash, he was gone.
I stood there in shock, my mouth gaping. I
hadn’t fully understood how much he’d been
hurting until that moment. I’d taken the one
person I had promised to shelter from harm, and
I’d hurt him worse than any of those I was trying
to desperately to protect him from.
I moved toward the door, wanting to follow
him – to try to make things better. Max put his
hand on my shoulder and said, “Let him go.”
“I can’t!” I snapped. “This is my fault!”
“It’s not your fault,” Alexi interjected. “You
and he were never meant to be.”
“Oh, stop with the ‘destiny’ crap, Alexi,” I
admonished. “I don’t believe in that stuff. We
make our own destinies.”
“You’re free to have your beliefs,” he said.
“But I have mine. And I know what I feel.”
“Alexi…” I started to argue.
The atmosphere in the basement suddenly
changed. It was charged with intense emotion,
and I could feel it swirling around me like static.
I gasped as I turned to see Kai holding a glinting
silver hunter’s dagger and charging toward Max.
He released a blood-curdling scream, and I could
see murder in his eyes.
“Stop!” I shouted, trying to step in front of
Max.
Alexi sprang forward and pushed me back so
hard I landed on my butt and slid across the
room, hitting the wall behind me. I was
momentarily knocked senseless, and I struggled
to understand what was happening. I heard a
sickening slurp, and a piercing grunt. I shook my
head and tried to focus.
Before me, I saw Kai’s hand gripping the hilt
of the dagger – the blade buried deep into Alexi’s
chest. He placed his hand over Kai’s and tried to
pull the dagger out, but he was too weak. He
sputtered, and blood spewed from his mouth and
dripped down his chin. He slumped to his knees,
clutching the dagger.
“Alexi!” I screamed.
In an instant, I felt all of the breath sucked out
of my lungs. I couldn’t move or speak. I felt my
body begin to tremble, and my vision started to
blur. The red haze slowly seeped across my line
of sight, and I was on my feet. The world was
once again moving in slow motion, and I flew to
Alexi’s side.
I gently lowered him to the ground, cradling
his head. His cloak fell away from his face, and I
finally saw him for the first time. His skin was
snowy white, and framed by a thick mane of
silvery white hair. His eyes were a piercing
violet. The skin was marred by one large, deep
scar that ran from the hairline above his left eye
across his nose to just below his ear on the right
side. That’s why he wore the cloak. He didn’t
want anyone to see it.
The trembling grew so bad I felt my entire
body seize up. I couldn’t control it. I clenched my
teeth in an attempt to control the shaking long
enough to remove the dagger. I pulled it slowly
from his chest, and blood slowly began to soak
through his cloak and spill onto the floor.
“No…” I whispered weakly.
I placed my hands over the wound, trying to
stop the bleeding. I knew it was no use. My two
frail hands could never hope to stop the flow of
blood that was rushing from a wound straight to
his heart.
Very slowly, the world still crawling, he lifted
his hand to touch my face. His violet eyes looked
at me as though he had known me all his life.
That look – it was love. I recognized it instantly.
Inexplicably, he loved me – a girl he’d never met
until recently. That must be why he believed so
strongly in destiny. He really did feel it.
Remorse washed over me for the way I had
treated him. I knew there was no way I could
have known how he felt, and what he wanted.
Still, he lay there dying underneath my hands, and
all he was thinking was how much he loved me.
“No!” I shouted at once.
I pressed my hands harder over the wound, and
I closed my eyes. I didn’t think I believed in God,
but I began to pray.
“Dear God,” I pleaded. “If you’re out there,
and if it’s not too much for a vampire like me to
ask, please help me save him. Please, God. Help
me.”
Nothing happened. I felt adrenaline surge
through me, and my arms began to feel ice cold.
Through the redness that clouded my vision, I
saw his face once more. His eyes appeared to be
closing as though he was nearing death.
I squeezed my eyelids together tightly and
searched deep within me. I was desperate. It was
unexplainable, but I knew I couldn’t let him die. I
would not. There must be something I could do.
In an instant, I was overcome with a sense of
purity and calmness. I knew what to do. I focused
intently, willing my own life force inside of him.
I felt a warm tingling emanating from my hands,
and I saw a golden light glowing underneath
them.
My en
tire body was wracked with such intense
trembling that pain jolted through me. It felt like
a thousand knives piercing into me at once.
Something warm and wet like tears dripped from
my eyes and nose, and I clenched my teeth
together to keep from screaming.
Just as quickly as it started, it was over. Time
was restored, and I heard Alexi gasp loudly as he
shot into a sitting position in an instant. The pain
was unbearable. I closed my eyes, and I slumped
forward onto Alexi.
“Grace,” I heard him whisper as I faded into
oblivion.
*****
Chapter Eight – Taken
“She’s still out,” I heard someone say in the
distance.
“Will she be okay?” another voice asked.
“Time will tell,” the first voice answered.
In confusion, I looked around me. I was in a
soft, warm bed. The room was dark, but I could
see the bed was similar to my own bed at home –
but not the same. It had four tall dark posts rising
up and a pale yellow, sheer canopy with matching
curtains that were tied back to each post. The
walls were a made of a dark wood paneling. I
didn’t recognize the room.
The door opened, and Alexi walked in. He saw
me open eyes, and I saw his white smile
underneath his cloak.
“She’s awake!” he shouted.
In a few moments, I was surrounded by
smiling faces. Alexi sat on the bed beside me and
took my hand, holding it tightly between his own.
Max stood near my head and brushed a stray lock
of hair away from my face. My mother stood
behind him, her face awash with relief. Will
stood beside Mother with his hand on her
shoulder, and Jamie held his other hand. Kai
stood near the door looking anxious and
remorseful.
“Kai,” I whispered weakly.
Alexi’s smile faded.
“Can I talk to Kai, please?” I asked quietly.
“As you wish,” Alexi said. He glared at Kai as
he left the room, and he said, “I’ll be just
outside.”
Everyone left me alone with Kai, who stood
nervously by the door. I held my hand out to him,
and he looked at me as if I’d sprouted a new
head.
“Please,” I begged.
He slowly walked over to the bed and took my
hand.
“Sit with me, please,” I said, and he complied.
He looked down at the blanket and refused to
make eye contact.
“I understand,” I told him.
“Understand what?” he asked solemnly.
“I understand why you did it,” I answered.