The burning sensation running rampant through my body stopped for a moment, and then started again, worse this time. My back arched against the ground and another cry escaped my lungs, sounding animal and wild. A bright light sprouted from my chest and enveloped the maze of warehouses with the light of the sun, nearly blinding all of us. The darkness came back quickly and it was like everything I heard was on stereo and echoing in my ears. I felt nothing.
I could hear Gordon’s yells followed by Sam’s as well as searing flesh and pained grunts. Rough and callused hands were on me, gripping my shoulders and shaking me. All I could do was turn my head to see Gordon’s face within inches of my own, tears mixing with the rain spilling down his face.
He pushed the wet hair away from my face and I winced when he spoke.
“Can you hear me?” he asked, blinking against the drops of rain collecting on the tips of his long eye lashes. I couldn’t answer. I could understand what he was saying, but I couldn’t form the words to respond. All I wanted was to close my eyes and sleep. The beast was like liquid moving through me, but the pain was no longer present. I closed my eyes and felt the cool rain on my eyelids as Gordon lifted me from the wet ground, one hand underneath my knees and the other under my back. I didn’t even have enough strength to place my arms around his neck as he carried me. I felt the heat from the fire inside of the warehouse when everything went dark and I heard nothing.
The darkness moved in and out of my vision, being replaced occasionally by the flickering firelight to my left. The heat licked at my skin and was so hot I was sweating. I could feel the sweat trickling down my back and from my hairline. I felt the back of someone’s hand on my forehead and heard Chase’s voice sound next to me.
“She’s burning up,” he stated. “But I think it’s because she’s next to the fire.” Thank goodness someone understood. I still wasn’t able to form words and felt like my eye lids were held closed by lead weights. “I’m going to move her.” Yes, please move me away. The thought crossed my mind.
I felt strong arms take me into them and carry me to another area, the coolness of the air caressing my skin. Something moved and I was laid down, the coolness of whatever I was lying on was refreshing. Why had they put me so close to the bonfire anyways? I still felt weak and sluggish. All I could see behind my lids was darkness tinged slightly with red, like I was bleeding. The blackness took over again as I fell back into unconsciousness.
My eyes snapped open. Had it been minutes or hours? I had no idea,. The stiffness and the ancient vampire shackled in silver to the opposite wall, head hung low and groaning softly, bothered me more. I couldn’t help but mirror the sound as I moved to roll onto my side. Someone started beside me, taking a rushed and startled breath in, and moved to face me. My eyes met a broad chest and rose to meet Gordon’s angelic face. The scruff on his jaw made him look more rugged and handsome than before. I smiled, but even the smile hurt.
“How are you feeling?” he asked, his voice scratchy with sleep. Did I lie or be honest? I went with honest. You know what they say about honesty.
“Like I’ve been hit by a Mac truck,” I replied. It was the truth. My entire body was sore; it was hard to move because of the stiffness in my joints, and my head was pounding. The fire in my veins hadn’t seemed to do any lasting damage; but the beast saving my life and the life of our unborn child, caused so much pain I wanted to sleep through it all. That was going to be impossible.
The worst part about everything was the vampire hanging by his wrists across the room. He was clearly in pain, but that wasn’t the issue. The issue was that I had been passed out for who knew how long and he had been here the whole time. He got to watch me squirm under the weight of unconsciousness for what could have been days, laughing and grinning like a maniac.
“Here, let me get you something.” Gordon stood and there was the rustling of him going through a bag on the other side of the warehouse. I heard some mumbling that sounded like Chase waking up and then Gordon came back into view. He had a white bottle in one hand and one of the colored bottles of water in the other. It was nearly neon green and clear and I could see the water sloshing around inside of it as he came closer.
I tried to sit up, my entire body screaming with the effort. Gordon quickened his steps to come beside me, placing an arm against my back to help me sit. I took the water bottle in my hand and chugged half of it before he placed two white capsules in the other hand. Good, old fashioned Tylenol.
“Thank you,” I said as I placed the bitter pills in my mouth, swallowing them down with the rest of the bottle of water. I shook my head trying to get the rest of the taste out of my mouth. It didn’t make a difference at all. I dropped my hand, letting the bottle come to rest against my leg. I felt like I could down five more bottles, but knew we had to conserve what we had. My throat and mouth were dry and my skin felt like it could crumble if touched.
“Do you need more?” He nodded towards the bottle, the question burning in his eyes. He was willing to give me whatever I needed, even if it took our meager supplies. I nodded and he stood again, walking away to bring back another bottle. This one was blue. I snatched it from him and gulped it barely caring that my stomach was starting to hurt. “Better?” I nodded again. “And the baby?”
Reaching out with my consciousness, I felt our tiny bean resting comfortably in my belly. Very much alive. Its tiny heart was hammering away against its tiny ribcage like it was supposed to be. I grinned and I felt my bottom lip nearly crack from the dryness of my parched body. After two full bottles I could still stand to drink more. I sighed and set the bottle down next to my legs.
Gordon’s hand moved to cover mine and the painful groans coming from the other side of the large room of the warehouse turned into amused laughter. Both of our heads snapped in the direction of the sound, the muscles in my neck protesting. Vlad’s head hung low, his skin steaming and sizzling where the silver rested. It didn’t matter how long the silver touched his flesh. The pain and the heat would never stop until it was taken away. I wouldn’t be ending his torture willingly unless it was to end his life. From the sound of his glee I had a feeling it would come a lot quicker than any of us counted on, whether it be Lilith herself or me. Well, that was if Gordon didn’t get to him first. Gordon sprung to his feet and crossed the room so quickly I blinked and he was standing beside his damned brother with Hell in his eyes.
“What’s so funny, brother?” he hissed, leaning his head down to look at Vlad’s face.
Vlad’s laugh didn’t die away as he lifted his gaze, eyes meeting mine across the room and shifting to his younger brother in the firelight. The flames danced against the crimson of Vlad’s eyes, causing the golden glint in them to sparkle and whatever there was inside of him to move behind them. I couldn’t tell if it was an effect from the fire or if I had really glimpsed something within him. I was hoping for the former.
“Oh nothing, just listening to you two worry over that abomination is hilarious,” he wheezed past his pain, sounding snide and disgusted.
Gordon’s muscles coiled, his fist slamming into Vlad’s abdomen. To be honest, I would’ve done the same thing. He coiled around himself as far as he could with the shackles, coughing and retching. I had thought Vlad would be a tough as nails vampire who was so old the only vampire who had lived longer was his own blood mother, but I was beginning to see through the façade a little bit. You put silver on him and he’s just like any other vampire. Nothing special to see here. As I watched their exchange I stopped wondering why Lilith had silver plated shackles anyway. Now I knew for certain.
I moved to stand, my muscles screaming with the effort, and stumbled a few steps with hands out to the sides. I could feel myself recuperating quickly, but not nearly as fast as I would’ve liked. My head still swam and my muscles burned. I knew I looked like a newborn giraffe learning to walk. Vlad’s cool laugh floated through the atmosphere again, caressing my cheek like a living thing. I grimaced at the sound, trying
not to be too obvious as the world became level once more.
I took a tentative step forward, my skin meeting cold concrete. I noticed I wasn’t wearing my Converse All-stars or socks. They were trying to cool me down without stripping me in front of Vlad. I was just happy not to have woken up without any pants on.
My feet slapped against the cool stone as I made my way towards Gordon and Vlad, the fire heating my skin as I closed in on the pair. As they spoke, they looked so much alike. If they were wearing the same clothes, had the same eye color, and had the same haircut I wouldn’t have been able to tell the different besides how they spoke and how they moved. Even the subtle differences wouldn’t have made it any easier. I couldn’t hear their words, but that didn’t matter. I had some of my own questions.
“I have a question for you,” I said as I came to stand between Vlad and Gordon. I could feel Gordon’s chest moving against my back as he breathed and it was all I could do not to lean into him and close my eyes.
Vlad’s eyes met mine and this time I didn’t feel the familiar pull of our first meeting. The silver was doing us some good here. The only thing I saw in his eyes was disgust for what was germinating inside of me and adoration for what I was. He had an obsession and I was sure I could use it to my advantage.
“You may ask it, Executioner.” The words rolled off my flesh and down my spine like warm water, but I had a problem with the statement he just made.
“You’re not exactly in the position to give me permission to ask, now are you?” I asked with a smirk, crossing my arms over my chest. His face hardened and my smile grew broader. “What is it about our child that bothers you?” I felt Gordon stiffen against my back. That still small voice was whispering in my mind again and as I strained to listen to it Vlad answered.
“Executioners should not be breeding with the likes of us.” He nodded towards Gordon. “I can say I am glad I was still human when Illona bore my children. I couldn’t stand to let them live otherwise.”
“Given your obsession with Executioners I’d figure you would be okay with it, Vlad. You know, considering your wife was one and all,” I remarked with a flick of my wrist, like I was waving his disgust away. His eyes widened and he looked at Gordon. “Did you really think your brother wouldn’t have told me? I’d like to think it’s important to our situation here.” I motioned to the three of us.
His eyes flitted to Gordon behind me and back to my face, meeting my eyes. Energy was pulsing around me, and I knew Vlad was trying to get to me. After the display outside he should’ve known I wasn’t the same Executioner he had first met. I leaned into him and I heard a sharp intake of breath like he was trying to breathe me in and memorize my scent. My heart skipped a beat and the smirk on his face told me he could hear it. I made sure poison leached out through my eyes to greet him when I looked at him again.
“And I know what the Order of the Dragon did to her after they turned you,” I whispered. I pulled back from him and saw something I didn’t expect. Tears were welling in his eyes and they were wide like he was trying to keep them from falling. I knew what the obsession was about. He was trying to replace her after the Order had taken her away from him. I wasn’t sure if it would’ve mattered to Ilona what they had turned him into. Love is love. I leaned into Gordon, not caring if the display of affection caused Vlad pain. I felt sympathy for him but that only went so far. “And I also know you loved her deeply. Do you think it would have mattered to her what you are?”
His face hardened and if he could have, he would have shot fire out of his eyes in my direction. “That wouldn’t have mattered. The Order of the Dragon doesn’t mix breeds and I adopted that belief after her death. They wanted to teach me a lesson and they did just that.” He looked back to Gordon and I wished I could see Gordon’s face, but I wanted to remain as tough as possible and keep facing forward. “I would think my brother would agree.”
“Go back about one hundred years and I would have. As you can see I’ve found a reason to change my mind,” he retorted as he put his arm around my waist, his hand stopping on my belly where our child grew. “And I’m happy to say I wouldn’t go back.”
Vlad sighed as if his brother’s words were more than he could bear,. You could see the tension of what Gordon had said in his face, but his body was rigid with pain. And he was so tired already. Sweat was beading off his forehead and soaking his shirt. I would’ve gone a different route to hold onto him if it weren’t for how dangerous he was. We would all be dead within seconds if we let him walk around free. I wished things could be easier, but since when did I get what I wanted?
Chapter 33:
Questions for the Impaler
Sam had woken after our small conversation with Vlad, quickly followed by Beth and Chase. It seemed everyone went to rest while I was passed out and I couldn’t blame them. Sometimes you never knew when someone would wake up after blacking out. So all you could do was wait. Beth’s bandage had a line of brown blood on it as I watched her.
“Beth, let’s change that bandage huh?” I said as I walked over to the bag that held our first aid supplies.
We took the kit and anything else we could find in the Bed, Bath and Beyond but we would probably need to try to get some things from a pharmacy before too long. She walked towards me as I sat on the floor next to the blazing fire, bag in hand. I rifled through the bag until I found the first aid kit and removed the clean gauze and paper medical tape we had been using to bind her wound. As slowly as I could, I removed her bandage and wrapped it with new one after cleaning around her crude stitches. There was no redness and no inflammation. They weren’t perfect but they were doing their job so I was happy with them. She sighed and I looked up at her.
“What’s wrong?” I asked.
She turned to look at Vlad and back to me, worry and fear in her eyes was unmistakable. “I know the silver should hold him but I’m worried he’ll get loose…”
“And kill us?” I interrupted. She nodded. How did I know? “He won’t get out. Gordon’s sure of it.”
“How can he be so sure?”
“The silver. He said because Vlad is extremely powerful the silver will have a greater effect on him.” From looking at her I could tell that wasn’t enough, but that was all I had. So, what was I supposed to tell her? “I’m sorry. That’s all I know. And I trust him.”
Once she was fully bandaged she stood and turned back to me, “That’s good enough for me.”
She walked away and Gordon came towards me, holding his hand out to help me up. “I believe we have some questioning to do, milady,” he said as I rose. I smiled back at him with the fakest smile I could plaster on my face.
“That we do, my good sir,” I trilled in answer, almost purring like a cat. We made our way to Vlad and I let my hand slip away from Gordon’s so I could let the beast take presence without possibly hurting him. Now that we had merged the beast wasn’t so much a destructive presence as it was a low thrum through my entire body. This feeling I could handle.
I was in front of Vlad and leaned down to take a look at his face, his head hanging limp on his shoulders. The sizzling sound from the contact of silver on flesh was constant. As I stared at him beads of sweat rolled down his face and soaked his shirt. I cleared my throat. When he didn’t move I leaned down farther and said his name. No reaction again. He wasn’t dead. I could still feel the familiar hum of his power rolling over my skin causing goose bumps. Vlad’s head snapped up and he lunged at me, teeth snapping like a wild animal. A scream ripped from my throat as I jumped back, heart beating frantically against my rib cage and fire ready to burn through me at a moment’s notice. Laughter, loud and contagious bellowed from his smiling lips as he leaned his head back against the brick of the wall behind him. The rest of the group was around us as fast as their feet could carry them, Beth touching my arm in comfort.
Gordon was on him, forearm pressed against his throat and teeth barred. I even saw a curl of coldness hovering over his skin. I could feel t
he icy aura and I wasn’t touching him. “Make another move like that and I won’t hesitate to turn you into a pile of ash where you stand.” Vlad was still chuckling and practically giddy despite the pain. He could handle it a lot better than me.
Vlad’s eyes skimmed over me and settled on Gordon. “You won’t kill me, little brother. You need me.” He sighed and chuckled again. “That’s why brought me here, isn’t it? You,” he turned to me again, “need me.”
The words were innocent enough, but when he said them they felt obscene and filled with promises that you knew he could keep. I didn’t even want to be in the same room with him. If it weren’t for the questions burning away inside all of us he would be a pile of ash on the ground just like Gordon swore.
“You’re disgusting,” I heard Sam say behind me, hand on my shoulder and squeezing to reassure me.
Vlad eyes still stared into mine. It looked like the crimson was swirling as I looked into them and I had to turn away and look at the floor, a blush creeping up my neck and face. He had the same pull as his younger brother. You couldn’t help but be drawn to him. I was fighting against it as best as I could. It seemed like the beast loved the attention, but all it did was make me cringe and my skin crawl.
“Gordon,” I said as I placed a hand on his shoulder. I wouldn’t look at Vlad. I wouldn’t. “Don’t let him get to you. Let’s get this over with.” He pulled away abruptly and walked away, putting as much distance between himself and his brother. I couldn’t worry about him at the moment. He had me and me the entire world to worry about. If only we could focus on one problem at a time, huh? Unfortunately, to ask the questions we needed answers to, I had to at least look at Vlad’s face. I turned my face up to his and made my eyes focus on anything but his crimson orbs. The tip of his elegant nose. That would work. “We do have something we need to ask you, and we’ll do whatever it takes to get the answer.”
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