Blood of the Infinity War (Afterlife saga Book 8)

by Stephanie Hudson

  “We need to go look for her, we need…!” I said shaking my head wondering where on earth she had gone and then something terrible occurred to me.

  “What if she was taken! What if someone sneaked in and…” I started to think the worst when Vincent spoke up.

  “No, this did not happen, for she left me a note,” he told me and I looked down at him, finally taking in the sight of the piece of parchment he held firmly in his grasp in a destroying grip.

  “What did it say?” I asked delicately. I saw him flinch as if I had wounded him and he tore his gaze from me. So, hating seeing my dear friend this way, I decided to help him.

  “Vardanis, listen to me, there is something you need to know about my sister,” I started and this was when he looked back up at me. So, I walked over to him, ignoring the way Draven tensed the closer I got to Vincent. I placed my hand on his arm and said,

  “She doesn’t understand who she is. It’s hard to explain but she suffered a great tragedy at the hands of men and because of it she lost all memory of her life before. Now her biggest fear is getting too close and suffering once again. It’s why she doesn’t trust people and no doubt this is the reason she is running scared,” I told him, knowing that even without her telling me so, this was why Ari never opened up.

  Unlike anyone else in the world I knew how she suffered, but unlike her, I had at least been granted my memories back. I could only imagine what Ari was going through and for someone like Vincent to come along and try to force her through her fears, well it was most likely why the Vincent back in my time was being so patient with her.

  But the Vincent staring back at me now, looking utterly stunned, well then, he hadn’t known what she had been through. He looked thoughtful a moment as if he was replaying where he went wrong now he had this new information to go by. Then he covered my hand with his, one I still had on his arm and he said,

  “I cannot thank you enough for sharing this with me, for things are starting to become clear and the shadows of her refusal to speak, are now understandable. I will find her and I will not fail her again,” he told me as a promise.

  “Arsaces.”

  “I will soon follow for I need moment alone with my sweetest one,” he said without looking at his brother, as his intense gaze was rooted to me. I didn’t even notice when Vincent had left as all my focus was on Draven, as if he had the power to suck all my mental ability and centre it solely on him.

  “You eased his suffering,” he stated as if in awe by the fact.

  “Of course.”

  “But why, you owe no loyalty to my brother, but you do to your sister?” he asked me and I knew it wasn’t said in a nasty way.

  “He is a man in love and I know that deep down she loves him too, it is why she runs.”

  “As it was why you yourself ran from me?” he surmised. I gave him a small smile and said,

  “Let’s just say that I know how she feels, as there are certain things in our past that are hard to explain to another, even if the person facing us is the person we love, because sometimes, it makes it harder.”

  “Why do you say this?” he asked frowning.

  “Because, it is said to the one person we hope not to cast judgement on us the most.” This was when he finally understood what I was telling him as it wasn’t just my sister who faced her own demons of the past but me as well.

  “And what of you little lamb, do you fear my own judgement be cast upon you, if I knew the truth?” he asked stepping closer to me, and tracing my jawline with a gentle fingertip. I closed my eyes for a moment and tried to strengthen my reserve, but one look at him once I opened them again and I knew I had failed.

  “It’s what I fear the most,” I whispered to him and he swiped away the single tear as it started to fall. Then he placed his forehead to mine and whispered,

  “I will know you my love, and I will not let you down when I do.” Then he kissed me and left to go and join his brother in the hunt for my sister. I thought about his words and wondered if I could trust in them? It was easy to claim to not let the truth affect you, but when you didn’t know what it was, could you really make such a promise. But in this case, then I knew…

  Only time would tell.

  Thankfully I didn’t find myself alone for long as all I was doing was sitting in the seating area with my legs bobbing and my fingernails turning soft on two fingers from being chewed on.

  “Any word yet?” I asked standing the second Sophia and Pip walked in. Sophia shook her head and Pip came over to me and gave me a hug and whispered,

  “No worries Tootie babe, we will find her.” I gave her a small smile in thanks and sat back with a sigh.

  “Do we at least know why she ran?” I asked and Pip shook her head this time but Sophia no doubt had an idea.

  “I fear my brother in this time isn’t yet used to showing restraint,” she said sadly and I grabbed her arm and said,

  “But surely he wouldn’t…force her.” I hated that the words even formed and her eyes widened for a moment before she swallowed down the insult, putting it down to what it was, concern for a sister.

  “No, never but…” She stopped and I knew she didn’t want to finish but I needed to hear this. I knew there were things about Vincent that no-one spoke of and that steely reserve and calm nature had to end somewhere and I had a feeling where…the bedroom.

  “Let’s just say he has a lot of our father in him and like Dom, demands control in almost every aspect of his life. But unlike our brother, Vincent battles against the Angelic nature embedded in his soul. Therefore, has to fight harder to supress the darkness in him when faced with something he is passionate about.” She sighed and then continued,

  “After all, love is the most powerful of all, an emotion he has not yet experienced until Ari came into his life…and almost two thousand years is a long time to learn control for when that first happened.” Well, put like this, then it was easy to understand why the Vincent from the now was so different to the one I knew and this was something I needed to explain to Ari before Vincent found her.

  “I have to go look for her!” I said making Sophia shake her head.

  “If my brother finds out then that would be disastrous! Our main goal here was to get him to trust you enough to…”

  “I know, I know but what else can I do Sophia, she is like a sister to me, I can’t just leave her to be dragged back here kicking and screaming without any understanding?” I told her and she gave me a sad smile.

  “I understand, I do but…”

  “You know I think it might work in our favour,” Pip said after being unusually quiet and obviously deep in thought, which could sometimes lead to genius solutions from Pip…or other times, just crazy shit we had no clue or chance at understanding.

  “How so, because if my brother finds out, he will shit harpies!” Sophia said and I had to agree with her there.

  “Yes, but if he finds her coming back on her own free willy and bringing a compliant big booty back with her, then what right does he have to wig out?”

  “You know she has a point,” I said and Sophia look thoughtful for a moment.

  “Alright say we let you do this, that might also mean that our one way out of here is going to be compromised,” Sophia informed us and this definitely peaked my interest.

  “So, there is a way?”

  “Yes, but once Dom knows about it, then that avenue of escape is lost to us.”

  “Well either way it doesn’t matter because unless we have Ari back, then we are going to be stuck here a long time and I don’t know how long I can hold your brother off from…”

  “Engaging his rocket?” Pip added helpfully and I rolled my eyes before saying,

  “What she said.”

  “So, the plan is working then?” Sophia asked with a smirk.

  “Well yeah, after our rad, mad cooking skills, then I shouldn’t wonder.” I smiled, looking down at the empty plates wishing I was back on the bed with Draven and none
of this stuff with Ari had happened. I wish she had just let herself fall madly in love with Vincent and feel the same happiness as I did with his brother. But I knew now that my only way to help her was to find her first before the royal Draven brothers did.

  “There is one other thing we need to discuss,” I told them as it was my other concern.

  “And that is?” Sophia asked and Pip scooted closer.

  “I know I may be jumping the gun here but how exactly are we going to get back, because unless you know of a Janus gate around here or a quick way to get back to England, then I don’t see many options.”

  “I only know of the Black Gates that are in the mountains where we were kept prisoner. It was what Pertinax used to get his own kind here so quickly,” Sophia told me and I remembered hearing about it when Draven was speaking with Lucius.

  “That’s what Draven told Lucius to use to get back to Rome,” I told them.

  “It is a portal to use in the mortal realm, not one to be used for travelling through our worlds, let alone using it to get back to the future,” Sophia said sounding as deflated as I felt on hearing it.

  “Well, I guess that is just something we will have to face when the time comes,” I said, knowing we had more pressing matters to deal with, like finding one of our lost Boobeteers.

  “Now we have to think about where in Persia Ari could be?” This is when Pip slapped her hands to her knees and said,

  “Well that’s my cue.”

  “Cue for what?” I asked and she gave me a little head pat and said,

  “To shake the bush.” Then she left, leaving me and Sophia to look at each other and say the same thing at the same time,

  “Recon.”

  “Recon.”

  It took until almost dawn for Pip to come back and I found myself glad that Draven nor his brother had found her yet. Pip had heard word that someone had seen a cart full of goods leaving the previous night that had seemed a lot fuller than usual. So, was it possible that someone had helped her or had she simply snuck in there when no one was looking?

  Either way, it was our only lead so it was all I had left to go on. The cart had left by the north gate and Pip had heard that Draven and his brother were looking outside the south gate, which was the main gate into the city. They assumed she would go this way as really it was the only way to anywhere. But Ari wasn’t heading to anywhere she knew, she was just heading away from here and that was all that mattered to her right now. I didn’t know what was going through her head but I knew that I was the only one to help her, as I was the only one who knew what she had been through.

  So here I was, heading out down a secret passageway after using the door in the bathing room. Sophia told me that only her kind knew about these tunnels, so she would try and think of a viable reason that I would know of them as well. It turned out that the tunnels took me deep underground until finally they levelled out. It was dark and wet down here but thankfully Sophia had given me a flaming torch, one that made my hand sweat, making the wooden pole keep slipping in my palm. I certainly missed my handy phone at this point, as the flash light app would have come in handy.

  I don’t know how long I travelled down the narrow tunnel but I was getting spooked doing so when it felt like a black wall was following me close behind. That was the thing with being in the pitch black, it almost felt like something solid surrounded you. I would find myself spinning around every now and again just to check I wasn’t being followed. It took me back to the Hellfire caves, and fumbling around in the dark. It almost felt like you were being buried alive!

  I stopped and leant my body back against the curved wall just to try and catch my labouring breath. I was scared.

  “Come on Kaz, get it together, now is not the time to lose your shit,” I told myself, almost jumping at first with the sound of my own voice cutting through the looming darkness. I didn’t dare close my eyes so instead I focused on Ari, and what she could be going through right now. After all, it wasn’t like I had landed in the desert and had the best of welcomes. What if another band of thugs were out there too…what if…oh god no!

  “Ari!” I shouted her name and knew I had to hurry. So, with this in mind, I started to run down the darkness, no longer caring about my fear as it was now being overridden by a greater one. I needed to get to her and fast. So, I continued to run as fast as I could, nearly weeping in happiness when I found the door at the end. Thankfully it wasn’t locked otherwise it would have been a long walk back with me singing every curse word I knew.

  I looked to the wall and found an iron holder for my torch, so that I could see what I was doing without burning the crap out of myself. Then, once it was safely attached to the wall, I turned my attention to the door. I carefully lifted the heavy metal catch, and slide it through the hoop, making it creak and groan, before I could pull open the door.

  Sophia had told me that it led straight out into the surrounding fields and was made in case there was ever a siege on the city and they needed to get the woman and children to safety. She told me the only path for Ari to follow from this side would eventually lead into the mountains. But thankfully the passageway had cut out a lot of the distance between us, so I was hoping it meant I wasn’t too far behind Ari. That was of course, holding out for the hope that if she had snuck out in a merchant’s cart, that she didn’t just stay in it until they reached their destination.

  Okay, so as it turned out there was a lot that could go wrong with this plan but in the end, all I could hope for was that Ari had snuck out of the cart from fear of being caught and was now currently walking at an incredibly slow rate. I raised up the hood of the cloak Sophia had given me and went on my quest to find my sister.

  I was thankful that it was almost dawn as there was a warm pinkish glow meeting the night sky over in the distance, allowing me enough light to see where I was going. I had been half tempted to take my torch but then I would have stuck out like a sore thumb and I wasn’t sure where Draven and Vincent were looking.

  I decided to follow the straight lines of the crops until I could see the farm land end and meet the harsh desert sands. Well, back to the desert for me then, I thought with a grimace.

  I don’t know how long I walked but by the time I turned back the city was small enough that I could have hidden it with my thumb. Thankfully, the hot Persian sun wasn’t yet out in full force as the sunrise had only started about twenty minutes ago. It was as though someone had turned a switch on the world, casting the sky into a burnt orange hue, making it look almost on fire.

  And there in the distance was a lone shadowy figure that could only be one person. So, with the last of my energy, I started to run.

  “ARI!” I shouted her name and the figure stopped dead, turned slowly and then started running back towards me. My heart felt utter relief when I saw it was her and we joined together, catching each other’s bodies as we collided. Ari sank to the floor and started sobbing uncontrollably and I was left holding her tight to me. I stroked back her hair, ignoring my own tears as they fell, telling her,

  “It’s okay, I am here, I’m here now.” I let her cry for a good long time until her sobs started to subside enough for her to speak.

  “I…I…so, so…sor…sorry,” she started to say in between her tears and I pulled her head closer to me and whispered,

  “I understand why, Ari.”

  “You…you do?” The sound of her voice breaking had my heart aching for her.

  “I do. I was there, so I know how hard it is to trust again as Katie is still inside me, she is still with us both Ari,” I told her, admitting it for the first time to anyone.

  “What do you mean…she’s still inside you?” I gave her a small smile and told her,

  “When I received my memories back, it was as if we just switched places and the Katie part of me, the Katie I was, well the only way to describe it was as though she took a back seat and let me drive.” Ari looked thoughtful as if she was trying to process it all before asking,


  “Does she ever speak to you?” I gave her a smile and nodded.

  “She guides me, it’s how I knew I couldn’t lie to Draven.”

  “She told you not to?” Again, I nodded and then told her,

  “Just like she told me to come looking for you, our sister.” At this she smiled through fresh new tears and then grabbed me for another hug before telling me the truth of why she was here.

  “I feel so lost and just thought…I thought that I could make him see me, that I could make him find the real me.”

  “You wanted him to know what he was doing to you?” I asked finally relieved that she was opening up.

  “He’s so intense and what he asks of me I can’t give him. I wish I could, but each time he tries I get scared and he doesn’t understand.” I frowned trying to make sense of what she told me and then she spoke again and it all made sense.

  “How can I fully give myself to a man I love, when even I don’t know who I am?”

  “It will never make a difference to him who you were in your past, he only cares for who you are in the future,” I told her but she shook her head.

  “But that’s not true and we both know it. Look at the lengths Draven has gone to trying to find your past or even back in our own time. He nearly sacrificed my life to have you back and would have done so had it not been for you or Vincent…not that I blame him,” she added squeezing my hand. I thought about her words and knew that she had a point.

  “But Vincent will love you no matter what,” I told her and she winced and then came the next stream of tears when she said

  “But what if…what if he falls in love with someone that’s…that’s…bad?” This opened the flood gates and I caught her as she fell forward into my embrace. Luckily, we were still sat on the sand or she would have knocked me over.

  “Oh Ari, my sweet sister, is that what worries you? Listen to me…look at me Ari,” I told her lifting her face up. Then I wiped away her tears and said sternly,

  “Now you listen to me! You are one of the kindest, most courageous, caring, loving souls I have ever known and I can say this not because you are my sister but because I owe you my life for I would have died without the strength you gave me to carry on. All those times, every beating, every starving day and every over worked muscle I did it all finding a smile each day because of what you gave me!” I told her and when she tried to turn her face from me I wouldn’t let her, not before I told her,