by ERIN BEDFORD
Ignoring my stepmother’s outrage, I turned to Julianna. “You know that you might not be safe here anymore? When it starts, they might try and come after you.”
Julianna nodded. “I know. Richard and I have already discussed options. We have a few places we know we can hide out until the majority of the fighting dies down. Once they’re all gone, it’ll be easier to talk reason and find a new way to govern that’s fair to all.”
I was surprised at my stepsister. I never expected her to have two brain cells to rub together that didn’t have something to do with dresses or the latest gossip. The fact that she seemed to know exactly what she was doing put me more at ease than anything anyone has said to me. I knew that if I couldn’t, Julianna would be able to keep them safe.
Chapter 17
Julianna helped me to the door despite my stepmother’s insistence of throwing me out on my ungrateful backside. Lea was left asking a million question, something her mother gave me a good glare for.
“So ...” Julianna let out a little laugh. “I guess I’ve been demoted to your level now.”
I quirked a brow and smirked. “It’s not so bad down here.”
“Tell that to my mother.” Julianna rolled her eyes, crossing her arms over her chest. “You’d think I’d done something atrocious like becoming a vampire or something.”
We exchanged a look and then burst out laughing. I’d never expected to finally connect with my stepsister. Especially not like this but I was happy I did. It made things a little bit easier, knowing she was on my side. Even if I never got to see her or the rest of them ever again.
“Yeah, that would be horrible. Just unheard of.” I wiped the tears of laughter from my eyes. After a moment, when we stopped laughing, I sighed. “So, are you really going to be okay?”
Julianna glanced back to the house and then back to me. “Yeah, I think we will. I mean, I can’t see the future or anything, and I know there will be some trying times ahead, but I think we’ll be fine. What about you?” She inclined her head to me. “What are you going to do?”
I shrugged. “I don’t know yet. I’ll figure it out, I guess. Kind of depends on how this whole thing goes down.” The first sign will be them coming at me with an ax, then I’ll know if I should run or not. My biggest worry was that I wouldn’t be able to figure it out until it was too late.
“What about Patrick?” Julianna bumped my shoulder. “He’s one too, right?”
“Yeah. He changed me,” I said lowly. “And I used to hate him for it, but now, I know he’s just like me, put in an impossible situation with no easy choice.”
“Does it feel any different?” She cocked her head to the side. “You know, being a vampire.”
I smiled slightly. “A bit. There’s the blood thing of course but other than heightened senses I feel normal.” I chuckled darkly. “Well, as normal as I’ve ever felt.”
“Well, there’s something to be said for that and hey,” - she placed her hand on my arm and grinned cheekily - “at least, you’ll never have to worry about wrinkles.”
Snorting, I dragged Julianna into a tight hug. “I wish we’d had the time to get to know each other.”
“Me too,” she murmured in my ear. “Who knows? We might still get that chance.”
I pulled back and gave her a tight smile. “I’m sure we will.”
I could tell by the sad look she gave me that she didn’t really believe it, but I had to say it anyway. We lied to each other like we lied to ourselves, because otherwise, what did we have to live for?
“I better get going.” I released her and started back down the path. “I’ll see you around?”
Julianna lifted a hand. “Yeah, I’ll see you.”
Nodding in response, I turned away from her and forced myself not to look back. It didn’t matter what we said or what we wanted to happen, the next few days would unfold with or without our blessing. I just prayed we’d all be alive to see the end of it.
The walk back to the tunnel was a depressing one. Seeing my stepfamily had really put things in perspective for me. No matter the outcome of this fight, I didn’t think I’d be able to see them again. At least not for a while. The most significant problem was where to go until then?
As I approached the trees hiding the entrance to the tunnel, I heard a noise. A rush of hushed whispers and clanking metal. I darted behind a tree and focused on what they were saying.
“Are you sure they are ready?” a voice I recognized as Nex asked. “I mean, Richard told us to wait until morning.”
“Stop your worrying,” another voice, Quell’s, snapped. “This is our fight. You heard what he said. He can’t be trusted to be unbiased.”
“But it’s his daughter,” Nex argued, and then grunted as if he’d been hit.
“That’s exactly why he doesn’t need to be leading this attack,” Dale growled out with what sounded like a stamp of his foot. “He’ll be worried about getting her to safety, not taking down the monsters.”
“They all need to die.” The pure hatred in Quell’s voice made me shudder. He really hated us, and he hadn’t even met the worst of the vampires. A petty part of me hoped he’d find out just how horrible we could be before the night was over.
“Look we don’t have time for this,” Dale reminded them. “The others will be here any minute now. Then we’re going to rush them.”
I started to wonder how many people they really had when a flurry of voices filled the air. I couldn’t pick the voices apart but knew there were enough in there that they could do some real damage.
I hid in my hiding spot until they finished gathering, my heart pounding in my chest. My feet itched to get going, but I couldn’t risk them catching me. They might not have enough to take the whole Crimson Fold down, but they definitely had enough to take me down.
“Finally, let’s go,” Quell snarled, and their feet pounded down into the tunnel, their voices beginning to fade into the darkness below. I moved slowly from my spot toward the entrance, but before I could get out of the trees, a hand clamped over my mouth. My eyes widened, and I whipped around, my hand flying through the air. I managed to pull my punch back even as the distinctive head of my father ducked before my fist hit him in the face.
“What are you doing here?” I whispered quietly, my eyes searching around us. “Why aren’t you back in the Glade?”
My father frowned, a severe look on his face. “You mean, why aren’t I left behind by those idiots who think they are so smart?” He shook his head with a fierceness in his eyes. “Mara overheard them and came and told me about their plans to attack tonight. And I couldn’t ...” He grabbed my hands tightly, his eyes full of emotion. “I couldn’t let them get you. I had to warn you. So, I snuck away before they were planning on leaving and have been searching for you ever since.”
“How’d you find me?” I wrapped my arms around his waist and hugged him tightly.
“Julianna.” He held me close. “I went to the house, and she mentioned you’d just left. Alas, here I am.”
“Well, I have to say I’m happy to see you, especially after that mob came through.” I pointed toward the tunnel door still left ajar. “I barely missed them. I could have been their first victim.” The very thought made me more depressed than what had happened with Marsha.
“What are you going to do?”
“Don’t worry about me. What about you?” I asked, glancing up at him with sadness in my voice. “I mean, they think you’ll be too lenient. They might come after you after all this.”
“I’m going to get your stepmother and stepsisters and get them to safety first.” He explained, brushing my hair away from my face. “Then I am going to find Mara, and we’re going to gather the sane leaders of the other sections and figure out what we are going to when this is all over.”
“You’re not going to join the fight?” I asked, cocking my head to the side. “I’d have thought you’d want to get a piece of the action.”
My father shook his
head. “No, I’m too old for that. Violence only causes more violence. I’ll let the other hotheads take care of it. I’m going to focus on keeping everyone safe.”
“What about the ones in the dungeon?” I reminded him. “There’s a whole room of people who won’t know what’s going on. Heck, that mob might not even realize what’s wrong with them and might go slashing heads without asking.” I chopped my hand through the air to illustrate my point.
“I suppose I could gather a group to search for them.” My father stroked his chin as he thought about it. “That way, someone is there when the crazies start showing up, but how are we going to fix those people?” he asked, his eyes boring into me. “Were you able to fix Marsha?”
I coughed at the mention of Marsha and cleared my throat a couple of times. “Yeah, yes. We did. As far as fixing them, I think it will have to wait until the dust settles, you know?” I licked my lips and tried to figure out how to explain. “I’ve never done what Patrick did, so I wouldn’t know the first thing about fixing them or even if they can all be fixed. With the angry mob out there, I’m not so sure we’ll be welcome near here for a while, even to give them their minds back.”
“I understand.” My father nodded. A shout in the distance drew his attention. “You should probably get going. They have probably made it to the Core by now. If you leave now, you’ll be able to get out before they even finish going through the palace.”
Swallowing thickly, I pushed back the tears. He didn’t need to see me cry. I needed to be strong for him. He had enough to worry about, he didn’t need me in the mix.
“Clarabelle,” he said, stopping me from leaving. “Just promise me, when you get somewhere safe and when this is all over, you’ll let me know you’re okay?”
I smiled at him and nodded. “I promise.”
“Good. Now, get out of here.” He gave me a little push away from the tunnel. “Don’t go that way. They’ll still be some in there looking for your kind trying to escape.”
“Gotcha.” I held his hand tightly and then, with a deep breath, let it go. It seemed I had to do a lot of that lately. It was something I was going to have to get used to and quickly.
I darted into the darkness, not stopping until I couldn’t see my father any longer. I reached the wall between the Inner Circle and the Core. What was I doing? I hadn’t told my father because I didn’t know. I’d planned to get away but had no idea where. I knew I couldn’t leave Patrick behind. Also, Asher was still in there. If I had a chance to save them from the coming attack I needed to do it now.
Glancing around behind me, I made sure no one was looking before I bent my knees and jumped. I scaled the wall the same way I did the first time I turned. This time my speed and agility didn’t surprise me enough to make me stop at the top. Instead, I dropped over the other side and landed in a crouch off to the side of the palace. From where I was standing, I couldn’t be too far from the Core tunnel entrance, meaning I had to move fast.
As I crept through the hedges and trees, I heard yelling and pounding of feet. There were shots from blaster guns in the distance. I wasn’t sure if they were from our side or theirs. If they had been smart, they would have convinced the guards to turn on the Fold first, but I wasn’t so sure they did that.
I waited behind a large bush for an opening to get to the palace. Half a dozen men and women attacked one of the servants. I was pretty sure they weren’t a vampire, but they didn’t seem to care. They beat them to the ground and then chopped their head off.
When the blood tinged the air, my fangs ached. I forced my thirst back. This was not the time to get all fang happy. This was the time to play human. Human would keep me alive.
After they made sure the servant was dead, the mob ran around the side of the castle. That was my chance, and I took it. I bolted from my hiding spot and into the side door of the castle.
The inside was worse than outside. Blood soaked the air and the ground. Bodies of servants and companions alike were left discarded in the hallway. Some of them without heads, others with their hearts pierced through with blaster bolts. Apparently, they had indeed gotten some guards on their sides.
Not allowing myself to waste time on mourning for the mistaken humans, I rushed to Asher’s room. He was closest. Besides, Patrick knew the revolutionaries were coming. He had to have a plan, right? Right?
Chapter 18
I walked down the halls with a purpose. I didn’t use my super speed, at least not out in the open like this. It would just draw attention to myself.
The carnage was far more than I ever expected. Not that I really knew what to expect, to be fair. I’d never been in a fight. I didn’t know what war looked like, but the further into the palace I got, the more bodies there were on both sides.
A gurgling noise stopped me as I made my way down the hall. Moving toward the sound, I realized it was coming from a person. As I came closer, I realized that it wasn’t just anyone, it was Dale. His eyes looked around him wildly, and his mouth gaped open and shut. When he saw me, he didn’t move, just kept moving his mouth as if he were trying to say something to me. Looking down from his head, I grimaced.
It looked like someone had reached into his neck and ripped his throat out. This could only be the work of a vampire. It seemed like Dale had mouthed off to the wrong person, and they had done precisely what I’d imagined doing myself a time or two.
Despite our differences, I sat by him until the gurgling stopped and his mouth stayed open. He was gone. Reaching out, I brushed my hand over his eyes closing them. A horrible way to go.
Standing to my feet, I glanced around. It seemed this area had been worked over already. There wasn’t anyone around to worry about having my head cut off or my heart ripped. Unfortunately, that meant they were working faster than I gave them credit for. I expected the vampires to put up more of a fight. Of course, so far, I’d only see the human victims.
Rounding a corner, I had only a split second to duck before an ax came swinging at my head. With my cover blown, I was suddenly surrounded by three angry mob members from the corridor ahead. They jeered at me, poking out at me with their makeshift weapons. One had a pitchfork, while another had a hoe. The one with the ax twisted it in his hand a nasty grin on his lips.
“Come on, now.” I held my hands up and backed away from them. “I’m one of you.”
“No, you’re not.” The one with the ax growled. “You’re married to that Blordril, meaning you’re one of them.”
“Hey, you can’t blame that on me.” I pointed a finger at him, trying to make him see reason. “I was forced to do that. I didn’t have much choice in the matter.”
“Still, vampire or not, anyone associated with the Fold has to die.”
This was the nonsense Quell was putting in people’s heads? No wonder there were so many casualties. They weren’t just going for vampires, they were going for anyone they saw. There was no reasoning with that level of crazy.
I wasn’t a fighter. I’d never gotten into a fight in my life, not counting the little scuffle with Zara at the ball. That’d been more of a hair-pulling incident, not a ‘pointy end in the soft flesh’ battle. I did know that I was faster than them, stronger than them, and that had to give me some sort of advantage.
“Enough talking,” The one with the pitchfork snapped and, with a yell, charged at me.
I jumped to the side and grabbed the pitchfork by the handle, swinging the man around with it until he slammed into the wall. I didn’t have time to see if he was out because the others decided to come at me at the same time. An ax swung at my head, and the hoe went for my body. I dropped to the ground and kicked my leg out, knocking the ax guy onto his back.
The one with the hoe seemed enraged by my actions and started swinging at me wildly. I grabbed the end of the hoe, the sharp end of it cutting into my hand. We played tug of war for a moment before I jerked it hard, taking it from his hands. Now that I was armed, the others weren’t so confident in themselves. Flashing
my fangs, I dared them to come after me again.
Instead, they jumped to their feet and ran in the opposite direction, all except the one I had slammed into the wall. My nose prickled, and I slowly turned to see blood seeping from the man’s head. Having just been injured, my fangs ached for me to feed.
I dropped the hoe and started toward him, unable to resist the call of the blood. I knelt beside him and drew back to bite him, my stomach rumbling its encouragement. Before I could strike, I was jerked away from the body. With a snarl, I twisted my head around to snap at whoever stopped me.
“It’s me. Clarabelle, it’s me.” Marsha held his hands up, fear in his eyes.
I forced myself to relax and put my fangs away. Standing up with Marsha, I searched for him for any sign of injury. Seeing he was as he should be, I asked, “What are you doing here? You should have run by now.”
Marsha snorted. “I could say the same about you.”
“I had to get Asher and Patrick,” I told him, not letting his disgusted look making me feel bad. “They’re my friends. I’m not just going to leave them.”
“And what about me? Or Violet?” Marsha snapped, his hands curling into fists. “Were you going to just leave us?”
I shook my head. “I didn’t know they were just taking everyone out. I thought they’d go for the vampires and that’s it.”
“Well, they are,” Marsha bit out, anger coloring his face. “I was able to gather a few of the companions and helped them out into the Inner Circle. Thankfully, some of the idiots out there aren’t too consumed by the bloodlust to see reason.”
“That’s good.” I nodded, and then when shouts sounded like they were coming toward us, I said, “Come on, we can’t stay here.”
With a nod of agreement, Marsha followed me down the hallway. We were almost to Asher’s room, and by the body count, a sinking feeling filled my stomach. Please God, don’t let us be too late.