by Jenny Allen
The smile that stretched his big, dark lips was definitely a genuine one full of things she really didn’t want to know. Scary things. “Wisely enough, no.” She caught the half smirk that lifted Chance’s lip from the corner of her eye. “I should escort the two of you out, if your business is finished here.”
Lilith nodded nervously and the mountain named Richard, moved around the suddenly tiny desk. The ceilings were at least ten feet tall and looking at him, she was pretty sure he could touch it if he wanted to. They trailed behind him all the way down the hall in silence, just staring at his enormous, muscled back. He had some weight around his waist, like most linebackers do, but she didn’t think any would dare call the man lazy. Hell, his fist was the size of her entire head. He could probably knock her out with his pinkie finger.
When they reached the outside door, Richard shook her hand again, making her feel like she was about three years old, and held the door open for them. Chance was walking through when Mr. Coffee’s massive hand dropped on his shoulder, completely covering it. His deep, thunderous voice took on a very serious tone. “You watch her carefully.” Chance looked up and over his shoulder at Richard’s broad face and nodded solemnly.
“I would give my life to keep her safe, even if it wasn’t my job.” The serious tone in his voice made something inside her quiver. She knew that was pretty much his job description, but when he proclaimed it out loud it really hit home. He wouldn’t even hesitate to sacrifice his entire life for her. There was something purely terrifying about that.
Coffee’s face took on a look of professional respect that made Chance’s shoulders straighten just a hair. He nodded his massive head with a soft smile and then closed the door behind him.
Chance didn’t say anything else until they were squeezed into the tiny rental car again. “Holy crap! That was like Andre the Giants big brother from Africa!” He blinked a few times and slunk into the seat, as much as the cramped confinements of the car could allow. “Seriously, that wasn’t just sleep deprivation was it? Damn, he had to be over seven feet tall.”
“Kinda makes you feel tiny doesn’t it?” Lilith chuckled and rubbed at her tired eyes. “Duncan definitely knows how to hire security. He could just snarl at someone and they’d dissolve into a puddle of fear.”
“Yeah, let’s get out of here before he decides to try it. I hear a couch calling my name. Actually more like fast food and a couch screaming for me to get some fucking sleep.” Lilith could definitely see the dark circles under his eyes now.
She suddenly realized that he hadn’t really slept since the dingy hotel room. After her attack, while she was unconscious, he’d been guarding the doors and tracking down Spencer. No wonder he was so impossibly tired. She felt bad now, complaining how tired she was. Of course, the only reason she’d gotten any sleep was because someone tried to swing an object clean through her head, so she guessed that kind of made them even.
Thirty minutes later they were crawling up the stairs to Miriah’s apartment after sucking down some much needed greasy burgers. Ida didn’t make an appearance, not that Lilith really expected her to. It was almost two in the morning, definitely way past a typical 80-year-old’s bedtime. Lilith dropped everything just inside the apartment door. A full belly on top of an emotionally trying day, a head injury and sleep deprivation was making her impossibly groggy.
Chance rubbed at his blood shot eyes and stalked over to the low Japanese style couch. “I’ll take the couch. You can take the bed.” He flopped down on his back and sprawled his long body out with one arm curved behind his head. Lilith caught herself staring and finally stumbled towards the bedroom and the queen size world of comfort that waited for her.
She had just enough energy to shimmy out of her jeans before she collapsed on the bed. As soon as she was curled up under the covers, the right side of head started to throb, pointedly reminding her that it was still injured. With a low moan, she curled up on her left side, hugging a pillow, and surrendered to blissful darkness.
The bliss didn’t last long. She was crawling through a narrow passage, rough and jagged, like bare ground. Stones and roots bit into her hands and knees painfully, but there was an orange glow ahead, so she pushed on. She was in some sort of tunnel or cave. She knew this had to be a dream, but everything felt so real, especially the pain. Muffled cries and shouts echoed through the air. It was a terrifying sound that raised every hair on her body. The air smelled like wet earth and death so heavy that she choked on her deeper breaths. She kept them short and shallow, almost panting by the time she reached the end.
Finally the tunnel opened into a large cavern with stalactites and stalagmites covering the ceiling and floor. The points were wickedly sharp and dripped some sort of liquid. At first she thought it was water, but it was too thick and syrupy. The smell of blood and death saturated the air. With startling clarity she realized the rocks were weeping with blood, collecting in pools around the larger stalagmites.
The glow she saw from the tunnel was coming from behind a massive stalagmite about ten feet wide. The light wasn’t constant, it flickered and wavered in strength, like a candle or a flame. The cries and moans of pain continued, weighing heavy in the air and almost visible. It’s a dream, it’s a dream. She repeated the mantra over and over but couldn’t wake up.
Lilith finally pulled herself out of the tunnel with a heave and tumbled to the rough ground. She looked down at her bare feet, her bare legs, her bare everything and suddenly felt horribly vulnerable. She wrapped her arms around herself, feeling the sudden chill against her skin. She crouched there, covering her naked body, not wanting to move, but the cries urged her forward. They pulled at her, thick as strings.
Very carefully she skidded her foot forward, feeling for any sharp rocks before putting weight on it. Tedious step after tedious step, she finally made her way to the massive mound of rock in the center. She tip toed around it, catching the edge of a sharp rock or two that made her swallow a yelp of pain. She felt the bloody cuts on the soles of her feet, but, somehow, she knew that making any noise at all would be very dangerous.
She leaned out to see past it, searching for the source of the light, and saw Gregor, strapped to a chair. Blood dripped from every inch, oozing from thousands of cuts all along his battered body. His eyes were defeated, resigned to his fate and that chilled her more than any of the wounds. Clear tubes ran out of each arm, one to a hanging bag of blood, the other to a bucket on the floor beside him. It overflowed and spilled across the floor, adding to the pools around the room. Lilith bit back a scream that she felt in every muscle of her body. Her fingernails gripped the stone so tight that one of her nails snapped. The blinding pain helped keep her calm as it burned up her arm.
There was someone else there, holding an old world lantern. He held it high over Gregor’s head and she could hear his peals of laughter. There was something completely insane in his voice that made her whole body shiver in disgust. She had to help her father! Despair weighed her down till she sank to her knees. She had no weapons, she didn’t even have clothes. How could she fight off anyone like this?
Lilith watched in absolute horror as the mystery man suddenly smashed the lantern at Gregor’s feet and the flames leapt up his legs instantly. Gregor’s screams were agonizing, almost blocking the sound of blood thundering in her ears. Her heart raced and she panted from her hiding spot with tears stinging her eyes. She couldn’t just stand here while her father burned. There had to be something she could do. Her eyes kept scanning the dark floors while her father’s screams echoed so loud it shook the rock formations in the ceiling.
She was absolutely powerless. There was nothing she could use, nothing she could do. She might as well have been bound to a chair next to him for all the good she could do. She clasped her hands over her ears, rocking, trying to wake up or just make it all stop. She couldn’t just cower here while Gregor burned. She had to try.
She screamed and ran for him, determined to do something, anyth
ing. A face flashed in front of her lightning fast. Dark hair clipped short, a long pointy nose, a thin moustache above thin, cruel lips, eyes dark as night sunken deep into his skull. She knew that face. With a shock she remembered the portrait named Ashcroft, but the portrait didn’t have the network of scars crossing his face and neck.
The man screamed and grabbed her, his talon-like nails piercing her arms to the bone. Lilith screeched with the sudden pain that stole all the strength from her legs. That horrifying face loomed closer, moving along her neck, smelling her as his eyes closed. It was the same face people made when they smelled something delicious and rare. “Mary.” The words slithered past his thin lips like a lover’s whisper and her stomach lurched. Slowly the black pits of his eyes opened and a sickening smile stretched his lips impossibly wide, revealing rows of jagged, stained teeth.
He pulled one hand away, bringing a single finger, drenched in her blood, to his lips. His beady eyes stared into hers as his mouth closed around his finger. The sucking sounds made her want to curl into a ball under a rock and never come out again. She fought against him, trying to pull away, screaming and kicking, but his nails were still buried in her left arm and the pain made her almost black out. With a fierce, guttural growl, Ashcroft sunk his fingers back into her right arm, the nails scratching sickeningly against the bone. The wave of pain made her arm twitch and her knees buckle. His face hovered above hers, his hungry eyes drinking in her pain with a horrendous, maniacal glee. He purposefully scratched his nails deeper against the bone, laughing in drunken satisfaction at her screams.
When the pain finally started to subside, the panic started clouding her mind, all logic leaving her to suffer. Her heart threatened to pound right out of her chest and all she could hear was her screams mixed with Gregor’s cries of agony and the blood raging in her ears. We’re all going to die, she thought. Tears poured down her face as her body gave out. Struggling made his grip on her unbearable, she just couldn’t fight anymore. It was all over.
Arms grabbed the man from behind and heaved him away. His nails ripped from her arms in sudden blinding terror and she collapsed to the ground like a sack of rocks. Slowly she pulled herself up on her wounded arms with blood pouring down them, making her hands slick on the rock. She saw Chance fling the scrawny man back towards the massive stalagmite with incredible force. Ashcroft hit the rock with a sickening crack and collapsed to the floor like a pile of bones.
Lilith’s arms finally gave out and she collapsed on the floor with her cheek against the cold stone. She could feel the blood pooling from her arms, drawing all the strength out of her. Still, she watched as Chance fought the flames that engulfed Gregor, finally managing to put them out, but not soon enough to save him. Her chest heaved with the heavy sobs as she tried to crawl closer. “NO!” She meant it as a scream, but it came out a weak, hopeless whimper of despair. Her nails scratched uselessly against the stone floor.
Chance ran to her and slid onto the floor, pulling her into his lap. His arms were warm and strong as he tugged her close and cried against her hair. She fought weakly to get past him, to save her father, but he held on like his arms were made of steel. Her head felt light and dizzy so she stopped fighting, just sank against him and stared up at his face, his beautiful face. There was a light beneath his skin that made him look like some avenging angel. His eyes blazed green and his hair glinted with fire and gold. Looking at him stopped her breath and she weakly reached to brush her fingers down his cheek. Her hand fell limply to the floor as all the strength just went out of her.
A metallic glint caught her eye mere seconds before a bony, taloned hand grabbed Chance by the hair. In a split second, impossibly fast for even a vampire, a knife slid across his neck. Chance didn’t even have time to scream. She stared at the horror in his eyes and blood began to cascade down his shirt. She screamed and screamed until her throat was raw, pushing back away as fast as she could. God no. The glow beneath his skin started to leak away with his blood and his hair lost all its blazing shine. His eyes stayed fixed on hers, those beautiful hazel eyes flecked with green. She watched as the light dimmed and vanished. It felt like her heart shattered into cruel pieces in her chest, tearing her apart from the inside. Her screams came out as raspy croaks giving way to tears that racked her whole body.
She knew Ashcroft was moving slowly towards her, his knife dripping with Chance’s blood, but she didn’t care. She stared at Chance’s lifeless body and knew every piece of her was broken. She couldn’t breathe past the gut wrenching sobs. She just stared at him, afraid to look away from his body. Her whole world collapsed on her in seconds. Lilith knew Ashcroft was standing over her now, his knife directed at her heart. Still she kept her eyes on Chance. Nothing else mattered. Ashcroft could rip her heart out of her chest, it was shattered and dead anyway. Death would be merciful. All she could do was stare into Chance’s eyes, everything else just disappeared.
She felt the knife plunge into her chest, stealing any breath she had left. Miriah’s lidless eyes and nose-less face circled around her, contorted with manic laughter. The ribbons of her ears flapped sickeningly with bloody slapping sounds. “You let them die. You let us all die.” Miriah’s voice gargled as blood spilled from the corners of her shredded lips.
Lilith screamed as she shot bolt upright in bed. Her skin was cold and clammy, covered in a sheen of sweat. She struggled and fought to breath as tears streamed down her face. Pain flared through her body as the sound of pounding fists on the door finally registered in her brain past the thunderous sound of blood pounding in her ears.
“Lilith?!” Chance kicked the bedroom door open and ran into the room. He didn’t even hesitate. He pulled her up out of the bed and wrapped his arms around her. “God. Are you okay?”
Her whole body shook and none of her limbs wanted to respond. Her arms hung limply at her side, trembling, and her legs were weak. His arms were the only thing keeping her on her feet. She managed to press her cheek against his chest and then the sobs started. She couldn’t stop. The sight of Gregor burning, Chance dying right in front of her, Miriah’s mutilated face laughing, it all played over and over again tormenting her.
Chance tried to pull back, but her knees buckled and he had to pull her in tight to keep her from falling. He backed her up and carefully lowered her to a sitting position on the bed. His hands cupped her face as he dropped to one knee in front of her. His eyes were searching hers frantically as his hands pushed back her matted hair and cupped her face. It took her a while before her eyes could actually focus on him.
“Lily. Please, Lily. What happened?”
“So awful…” The words sounded rough and breathy and her throat felt like fire. “You… Gregor…” She couldn’t finish before the tears doubled her over and she was gasping for breath.
His hand smoothed through her damp hair and he made the same comforting sounds he had earlier at Miriah’s office. “You were screaming and screaming. I…I tried to get in to wake you up, but you had the door locked.” When she didn’t stop crying, he released a little moan of despair and pulled her off the bed, curling her up in his lap. He held her so tight that she couldn’t move if she wanted to, which she didn’t. She let him rock back and forth, whispering against her ear.
A spot of blood caught his attention and he softly grabbed her right hand. The middle nail was broken past the quick, like she’d grabbed the sheet so tight it had just snapped. “Lily.” He whispered the word with so much pain it made her chest feel tight. The tears finally stopped and she just laid there against him, listening to his heartbeat, letting the fact that he was alive, right here, comforting her, sink in. It was all just a horrible dream. Gregor was safe in New York and Chance was here, alive, warm and real. Miriah…Miriah was dead. A wave of nausea swept over her, making her skin feel hot and sticky as her mind reeled.
She felt the smooth softness of his lips press against her hand and the skin there felt suddenly warm. He cradled her hand in his and pressed his cheek
against hers, his breath playing over her neck in cool wisps. She closed her eyes and tried to focus on him, just him, alive and breathing. Those soft lips brushed against her cheek and lingered there as his arms squeezed around her.
“I’m right here, Lily.” His breath tickled against her skin but his words meant more. It was like he’d read her frantic thoughts. “I’m not going anywhere. I won’t let anyone hurt you. You’re okay.” She felt the terror slowly leaking out of her body. Her throat was still raw from screaming and she was still trembling but the paralyzing horror was slowly fading.
She had to clear her throat several times before she could get anything out, and even then it was a hoarse croak. “He tortured Gregor, and then just…set him on fire.” She paused to draw in a deep breath that rattled in her chest. “He attacked me and you… you tried to save me.” Tears stung in her red eyes again and she had to swallow them down to continue. “He…god…he killed you while we were sitting just like this.”
Panic welled in her eyes and Chance saw it. He squeezed her tighter, nudging his nose along her cheek until she felt the warmth of his lips caressing a kiss against the clammy skin. “No one is here but us. You’re safe.”
The tightness in her chest made her body ache as she clutched at his arms, hugging them close to her. “When he killed Gregor and then you…” Her red rimmed eyes drifted up to his and she knew he could see everything. All the pain, terror, heartache was naked in her eyes. “My heart tore into a million pieces, Chance.” She shook her head and squeezed her eyes closed as tears spilled from the corners. “I didn’t care if he killed me after that.” She drew in another shaky breath and pushed past the pain in her throat to keep going. “Dying was a mercy.”
She felt his hand on her cheek and opened her tear filled eyes. When they met his it was like a bolt of electricity shot straight down her spine. His lips crushed against hers so suddenly that it stunned her for an instant. His lips were salty with tears and his hand swept through her damp hair to cradle the back of her neck.