Hunger Awakened

by Dee Carney

Chapter Twenty-Six

  An executioner? Here? This world of Sebastian’s got crazier by the minute.

  “I can’t leave her. I won’t,” Sebastian replied.

  The man peered past Sebastian, who’d turned just a fraction. Just enough to let him glimpse her in bed. Alice didn’t like the way he dismissed her with perusal that couldn’t have taken more than two seconds. “You were summoned. No one else.”

  “She’s my intended. My mate. I won’t leave without her.”

  The man did a second perusal. “Has it been sanctioned?”

  Gotta love the way they talked about her as if she didn’t exist. Except with the guy’s lifeless tone and the way her pulse raced, she had a feeling this was one for the boys.

  “I’ve not made the request yet.”

  The executioner’s left eye narrowed a fraction. Had she not been staring at him, she might have missed it. “I understand your dilemma, but I’m afraid I don’t face the problem you do. I’ve been directed to bring you with me. I won’t stop you from bringing your intended, if you want her to serve witness to what transpires—”

  “She’s sick.”

  The executioner continued, ignoring the interruption as if it never happened. “—when you stand before the Council. As for what they plan for you, it’s none of my business. Only know that it’s possible you will not walk away from judgment. If you bring your intended, you potentially subject her to being witness to your end.”

  “I won’t allow her to leave that bed.”

  “Then she won’t be coming with you. Wise choice.” He tilted a hand toward the door in invitation to precede him.

  “I don’t think you understand. If she doesn’t leave, I don’t leave.” Sebastian stood deceptively still, but Alice knew better. There would be at least one gun beneath his blazer. Maybe a stake or two tucked behind his back. “I’ll stand before the Council, but on my terms. Not theirs.”

  From behind, Alice watched two long tendrils of smoke drift away from both sides of Sebastian’s face.

  So not good. Not good at all.

  The executioner slid his hand beneath his own blazer, not even making an attempt at being subtle. A vein in his forehead throbbed forcefully, as if about to burst through the thin veil of skin covering it. “My name is Anteaus Stavrou. You may have heard of me?”

  A jerk of the head from Sebastian.

  “My dog isn’t in this fight. I am only a messenger. However, if you test me, dragon—yeah, I’ve been told what you can do—then I will use lethal force as expected of me.”

  Alice had heard enough. “That won’t be necessary Mr. Stavrou. Sebastian’s going with you and he won’t put up any resistance. His loyalty to the Council far exceeds any loyalty he has to me.”

  The look Sebastian turned on her could’ve straightened every curly hair on her body. His jaw went rigid, but he managed to squeeze out, “Not. Happening.”

  Antaeus looked amused. As much as someone whose facial expressions didn’t vary from I’d just as soon knife you as smile at you could look amused.

  Alice sighed. “Would you please excuse us for a moment, Mr. Stavrou? Apparently my intended and I need to talk.”

  His gaze flickered from Alice to Sebastian and back again. It then darted to the window next to her bed. She studied it too, realizing there was no obvious way to open the glass without breaking it. He must have been satisfied that Sebastian wouldn’t try to escape through it because he gave a curt nod. The room still tingled with his energy once he’d left.

  “What the fuck do you think you’re doing?” Sebastian barked as he whirled on her.

  She stared back at him.

  “Well?”

  Silence.

  “Alice, now is not the time...”

  “Let’s agree that’s the last time you’ll speak to me like that,” she said softly and with purpose.

  He stormed up to her side. “Then we’ll agree that’s the last time you’ll make a decision for me like that one. You actually expect me to abandon you in this place? You are my mate. Mine to watch over.”

  She folded her arms over her chest. “Not yet, I’m not.”

  “What?” Sebastian leaned closer. “What did you just say?”

  A deep breath. “I’m not your mate. Not yet. And if there’s to be any chance that I will be, you’ll set aside this grizzly bear rudeness you’ve got going on and talk to me. Voice lowered. Calmly.”

  Sebastian seemed to realize then that he’d been yelling. More plumes of smoke rose from his nostrils, the scent of a burned-out match almost overtaking the small room. He visibly shuddered before closing his eyes. She waited for him to collect himself and a temper she feared had been borne out of concern. Still...

  “I won’t leave you,” he whispered.

  Alice glanced at the equipment surrounding her. “And I won’t let you ignore the Council’s request, nor deal with that hulk out there unnecessarily. So it looks like I’m going with you.”

  He looked defeated. “Until I can get approval to turn you, I need you to stay well, Alice. We don’t know when the next seizure might be. If the people here can help you through it, you need to stay here.”

  She considered his words for a moment but then came up with a conclusion of her own. “The final seizure is coming, whether I’m in the hospital or out of it. If my brain’s gonna turn to mush because of one, no amount of doctors or nurses surrounding me is going to be able to help. Think about it. At best, they’ll be able to revive my body, put me on a feeding tube or something, and then you get to watch me slowly rot over the next forty or fifty years. Think you can handle that? I gotta tell you, from where I’m sitting it doesn’t sound very appealing. If I have my way, I won’t meet my end like that. Besides, we don’t even know when it might happen. For all we know, I’ll be fine for the next twenty years and then one day while I’m watching TV, it’ll come then. I’ve spent the past two years waiting to get here, hospitalized with no future ahead of me. Then I met you.” Alice looked at him through shimmering vision. “I don’t want to just exist anymore, Sebastian. I want to live whatever time I have left to the fullest. Without regret. I refuse to do it from a hospital bed. Can you understand that?”

  “I wish I was as certain as you. I wish I didn’t have this weight here.” He thumped a fist against his chest. “This thing that tells me that I have to do anything and everything in my power to keep you safe. Especially when I don’t know how to do it. Every instinct is screaming at me to keep you surrounded by people who know what to do and how to take care of you. But then the pain tells me that no one will or can care for you better than I will or can. I’m torn on what to do.”

  “Trust me,” Alice insisted. “Trust yourself. Trust that we weren’t brought together, only to be broken apart so soon afterward. There’s a plan for you and me. Trust it.”

  Sebastian tilted his face toward the ceiling, indecision almost visible in the air surrounding him. She would win this discussion whether he realized it or not, but it would be so much simpler for everyone involved if he came to the decision himself. Alice knew what she was asking of him. How hard it would be to just allow fate to guide their courses. But fate was what brought her to him in the first place. She couldn’t be wrong that they were meant to be together.

  “What happens if I’m wrong?” There was so much anguish in his words. A despair she didn’t think possible to come from one person. “What happens if I take you from here
and you...you leave me?”

  Alice sat up straighter. “Then I leave behind a man who is stronger than he thinks. Certainly stronger than anyone else dared dream. One who will endure, no matter how hard it might seem in the beginning.” Her voice lowered. “But for now, let’s believe you and I have a chance. Let’s go, sweetheart.”

  Sebastian stared at nothing, his eyes glazed over. Lost in thought, perhaps. When his phone sang a soft tune, she wasn’t certain he’d even heard it. By rote though, his hand found the device. He flipped it over a second later, scanned the screen, and Alice watched his face crumple.

  “What?” She couldn’t keep the alarm from ringing through. “What is it?’

  His brow furrowed before he closed his eyes. He opened them again and in the dark depths she found a decisiveness that hadn’t been there only moments ago. “That was Drew.”

  “Yes? What did he want?”

  “He wanted to let me know that the Council has it out for me. They’ve pretty much already decided my fate, which means that nothing I say or do will ever convince them to allow me to turn you.” A thunderous cloud of emotion covered his face. “We’re getting out of here.”

  * * *

  God, he didn’t know what they would do or where they would go, but he would not and could not accept that the Council had deserted him. Not now. Not over this.

  “What about Stavrou?”

  As if he’d heard his name, the executioner tapped against the door, opening it before he’d done knocking. “Has a decision been reached?” he asked, his tone insinuating he didn’t care one way or the other. The time for talking and hesitating reached its end.

  It physically pained him to say the words, but Bast replied, “She’s coming with us.”

  He had to admit that Antaeus remained patient while they notified the nurse on duty, who then insisted Alice’s doctor be notified. Truth be told, he kind of hoped the man would come in and insist that Alice stay, giving Bast just a little bit of ammunition to perhaps rehash the argument. Instead, while the physician wanted to continue to monitor Alice, he agreed with her in not being able to predict when the next seizure might occur.

  Technically, the nurse explained as she unhooked IVs and helped Alice get ready, all they’d be doing is running additional tests if she stayed, which might or might not be useful. There was no way to be sure. All that, and Alice might never have another seizure again. However, she wanted Alice’s promise to see a neurologist and an oncologist within a week. While Alice might have placated her by agreeing, Bast would be certain she kept her word.

  When she’d been dressed in clothing he’d had the foresight to bring, he took one look at her wan face and almost rescinded his decision right then. But when he realized that if she stayed behind, there was a possibility he wouldn’t be allowed to come back to her, he reluctantly retrained his mind.

  “Are you sure you’re okay?” he asked Alice. He’d insisted on rolling her wheelchair downstairs himself; however, a bored-looking aide trailed behind him. Antaeus followed not far behind all three.

  “A little tired, but I’ll make it.”

  “Don’t push yourself, you hear me?” He meant every word yet couldn’t help scanning their surroundings. Nothing but patient rooms seemed to flank them on both sides. Some doors were propped open, eerily dark inside. Others resonated with faint beeps and clicks, the sounds of equipment hard at work on saving lives. Most of the patient rooms had been left closed, allowing their visitors to rest comfortably in the late night.

  Bast looked for some way out and pledged that making her leave the chair was a very last resort. Still, he had to leave that option there. With Antaeus so closely on their heels, they’d get one shot and one shot only.

  How had his life come to this point? Walking the green mile with a vampire executioner at his back. While Bast was a warrior, the executioners specialized in taking down vampires. Bast realized he’d spent so long doing his service with a gun that trying to defend himself against a blade and stake would be clumsy at best. If he made it out of this, he’d refocus his skills.

  Alice reached across her shoulder and placed a hand on his. Roiling emotions eased back a fraction. She was worth it.

  The elevator ride down was filled with a soft rendition of “My Heart Will Go On” and he had to wonder who in hell had programmed the thing. Still, better than the ominous silence of four bodies with little in common. Also, it helped drown the doubt screaming at him that there simply wasn’t enough time to plan an escape. Once they hit the ground floor, Antaeus would take over, ensuring Bast headed for the Council’s transportation.

  Think, goddamn it. Think!

  His hands tightened around the wheelchair’s handles when he pushed Alice out of the elevator all too soon. The foursome strolled down a long corridor lined with pictures of important older men done in acrylic paints. Doorways led to offices, which had been shut down for the day. Administration, patient relations and a few others. None of which would be useful, seeing how they seemed to house empty desks and chairs and not much else.

  He didn’t have much choice in the matter. He’d have to take Antaeus on. With hardly anyone around to witness an altercation, now seemed as good a time as any.

  As they approached the automatic glass doors, he tried to peer beyond the bright lights of the entrance to see if he could spot any people lingering, maybe catching a smoke break where they could. There didn’t appear to be any parked cars in the circular drive. No one hung out near the columns on either side of the doors. The darkness of night took over from there.

  Sliding a hand to Alice’s shoulder, he squeezed it gently. Be ready to move, it said. He wanted to add don’t linger if you can help it. No matter what she heard and no matter how things looked, she needed to not interfere. Her safety meant more than anything else right now. If things didn’t end the way they wanted, Gray and the others would see to her wellbeing. It was a grim prediction, but one forced on them.

  The wheels of the chair whirred ominously, so Bast slid his hands back on the rails. He tightened his jaw and got ready to push her forward. As soon as they cleared the entranceway he’d attempt his assault. Only a few more feet...

  Bast jerked his head toward the sound of tires coming at them. Fast. Headlights announced the car’s approach with equal animosity. A white car, something large and loud, hurtled toward them.

  “What the fuck?” he muttered before having to yank the wheelchair back. He kept backing up until the wheelchair sat in the doorway once again, not willing to trust the skill of a drunkard. Had to be someone throwing back forties or snorting the good stuff. The car took the circular drive at a breakneck speed, going at least sixty in a driveway before screeching to a halt in front of them. It hadn’t stopped moving before the driver’s side door swung open and a young man, couldn’t have been more than twenty or so, jumped from the vehicle.

  “We need a doctor! Are you a doctor?” His wide gaze flew past Bast and Alice to land on the people behind them.

  The aide spoke up. “Dude, the ER’s on the other side—”

  “My friend’s been hurt, and we need a doctor.” His voice hovered right on the verge of hysteria, teetering back and forth between high-pitched panic and unreasonable calm.

  Over his shoulder, Bast watched someone push open the passenger door. One sneakered foot landed on the ground before the other followed suit. Another young man stood, his face tortured and sweaty. He lurched toward them,
arm folded across his middle inadequately covering a growing red stain.

  “Princess,” Bast murmured. The guy needed the wheelchair more than she did. Beyond the abdominal wound, the man’s skin was shiny-looking and paper pale. Blood seeped down the front of his blue jeans, creeping toward his knees as if on a slow death march.

  Alice reached for his hand, and Bast helped her to rise. His gaze darted from the injured man to her. He watched her carefully. Any sign she couldn’t stand without assistance, any sign they needed to turn around and he’d drag her back inside, kicking and screaming, if necessary. Fuck the injured guy.

  Although her legs wavered for longer than he would have liked, Alice found her balance and took a few tentative steps. She tilted her head to him, gifted him with an amazing smile, then moved to the side. Everyone else moved en masse.

  Bast realized at once what kind of clusterfuck they were in. The injured man didn’t have the strength to make it to the wheelchair, his friend kept trying to shove past the aide to get inside and the aide tried to maneuver around him and the wheelchair to get to the outside. Best of all, the jostling crush of bodies blocked him and Alice from Antaeus.

  “Go,” he urged, barely above a whisper. The man had begun to sob openly, and Bast prayed to the universe that it was enough to drown his command to Alice. If Antaeus heard him before she could take at least a few steps, witnesses to the resulting carnage could not be helped.

  Her gaze snapped to meet his, then a subtle tilt of the chin followed.

  Bast did his best to remain still as she sidled away, inch by slow inch. An achingly subtle crawl away from them. Please let Antaeus keep his focus on the man. Not on her.

  He swore he could hear his heart speed up, pounding against his ribs and telling anyone and everyone within a five-mile radius about his state of agitation, but Antaeus had little choice but to focus on the crowd in front of him. Her movement might be caught out of the corner of his eye or simply because he’d turned his attention to her at the wrong time.