B008GMVYA4 EBOK

by Drake, Rebecca Ann

  Trace pulled her to a stop a few feet away from the end of the corridor.

  The corridor ahead veered off to the left and right like a T junction. It was much brightly lit compared to the medieval corridor they had just come down. The granite in the stone walls sparkled in the brighter light, giving the appearance that the stone was made out of diamonds. A wall of light stood invisible at the end of the corridor, shinning their way towards their destinations. The Twins and Madison remained still as Trace moved silently towards the wall of light followed closely by Gabby. The guards had now disbursed down the left of the corridor; they didn’t seem to notice the Vampires and Madison approaching or seemed concerned by them. Trace stood with his back against the right wall, Gabby remained behind him her head cocked around to look up the corridor to the left.

  Trace peered around the wall to the right. He stood motionless as something caught his eye. Gabby tried to lean over Trace’s shoulder, frantically trying to see what had caught his attention.

  Madison shuffled on the spot, turning her head slowly back down the corridor to where they had just come from.

  Alex and Andy stood side by side, there yellow animal like eyes glowed in the dimly lit corridor. Their facial features hard like stone, a spark of fear twinkled in their eyes.

  Madison swayed backwards a little so she could look past Andy into the corridor behind him. She hoped to see the outline of Brendan’s medium build moving within the shadowy corridor towards her, but the corridor was empty, still. Only the frames from the torches danced erratically on the stone walls. Although the corridor was lit up in an orangey glow, the end of the corridor stood in complete darkness that appeared to be creeping forwards, threatening to consume the whole corridor. The dark in the lower parts of The Coven was just as threatening as the Vampires that lived within it. It seemed to move on its own accord, dangerously threatening to consume everything in its path. Movement caught Madison’s attention and her gaze flickered to Andy who was eyeing her suspiciously. She straightened up and turned back towards Gabby and Trace who were motionless.

  “I don’t like this at all!” Gabby whispered to Trace, still peering over his shoulder.

  “I know…” Trace whispered back, a speck of fear now in his voice.

  “Where is everyone? This isn’t right. You know there are normally more guards patrolling down here. They must know something…” Gabby whispered a spark of panic in her voice.

  “Do you really think we would be standing here if the Coven knew?” Trace whispered angrily.

  “But….where is everyone then? Where did the two guards go?” she asked, placing one hand on Trace’s shoulder and peering further around the corridor.

  Trace shrugged her off angrily. Gabby removed her hand from Trace’s shoulder, hurt spread across her face once more.

  “They went into the great hall” Trace murmured after a few seconds of silence.

  Gabby did not reply, her eyes were still glued to the side of Trace’s face – hurt and confused. Trace ignored her, pushing his body away from the wall using his back as leverage. He bumped into Gabby’s shoulder as he passed her. She stumbled backwards but did not turn towards him. He ignored the contact and didn’t apologize.

  “Ass hole!” Gabby muttered under her breath, but loud enough so Trace could hear it.

  An amused smile crept across Trace’s face. It had become apparent that Trace had some kind of twisted desire for Gabby and was immensely jealous of her infatuation with Brendan. It was also clear that due to Gabby’s lust for Brendan that Trace had never thought it was necessary to mention this to her. Instead he chose to punish Gabby for her lack of interest in him and ever growing interest in Brendan.

  Even though Gabby seemed confused by Trace’s comments and hurt at his attempts to dismiss her, she knew what Trace’s intentions had always been. She found comfort in the fact Trace would always take her side over Brendan’s, that the twisted way he loved her meant that he would always follow her lead and take the fall for her. Gabby probably even enjoyed being treated badly by Trace, neither the less; she had been by his side for many centuries.

  Madison braced herself as Trace approached her. Trace’s pupils were like saucers in the darkness, making his eyes appear completely black. She stepped backwards as he lunged towards her, grabbing her right lower arm and pulling her towards him. Every inch of her wanted to fight him off, her muscles flinching as his icy cold hands tightened around her arm. However, her head reasoned with her body - restraining her from causing a scene which might draw attention.

  Trace’s black eyes met Madison’s hazel eyes. She was completely absorbed by them, they were pools of darkness that sucked her in and she was stunned at how demon like they appeared now, scarily growing wider in the dim light.

  Trace turned quickly pulling Madison behind him. Her legs moved fast and her eyes darted towards the end of the corridor, her breathing growing fast and shallow. Gabby watched as Trace dragged Madison down the corridor towards her, a small smile crept across her face. The twins followed Trace, taking light footsteps not to create any additional sound.

  Gabby joined Trace at his side as they approached.

  The brilliant white light blinded Madison as it flowed over her whole body as they stepped into the joining corridor. She had become accustom to the light, since arriving back in London she had been kept continuously in the dark. The only light that she had witnessed had been the light in the mind of the Black Orchid - and that light was superficial. The light that now consumed Madison in this reality rained down on her like acid rain. Madison wanted to throw her hands up to shield her eyes, but Trace gripped hold of her arm tightly. Instead, she squinted through the bright light – black spots floating around the corridor.

  The vampires seemed unaffected by the dramatic change in light and continued on without hesitation.

  Madison was completely blinded by the light, every time she tried to open her eyes the stinging would start and she was forced to screw her eyes shut again.

  She was relying completely on Trace’s guidance which unnerved her. Even though the light caused her eyes to sting uncontrollably, Madison was apprehensive and couldn’t help but grab a few glimpses of the corridor ahead.

  Everything was blurry, but slowly the corridor ahead came into focus.

  The corridor was the same décor as the corridor they had just travelled now, the bright lights making the granite twinkle like diamonds. Doors lined each side of the corridor, stretching down as far as the eye could see.

  All the doors were identical, the in-flight eagle carved beautifully into each one. At the end of the corridor was two large, dark oak, doors. Climbing vines that wove in and out were carved into the large medieval doors; each individual leave of the vine was carved in amazing detail. The craftsmanship was truly breath taking, something that no one from this generation had the skill to produce. It was enchanting and it stood out from the other doors which lined the corridor. It was bigger than the rest and it had something magical about it.

  Madison’s eyes began to adjust to the light and, she could now keep them open without a serve stinging consuming them. She now gazed up to the ceiling, iron chandeliers with black candle sticks hung from the ceiling. Each candle stick had a bubble of eye piecing white light spilling out from it.

  She scanned the corridor slowly - taking in her surroundings. Madison’s legs ached under the weight of her body and her head felt light and dizzy from dehydration. She was on edge, her nerves permanently shaken from the events that had occurred this night. If she survived tonight, she would almost certainly never be the same again. The damage that had been done to her would remain with her for the rest of her life, hanging over her like a dark hood of loss and fear. But Madison knew that she was reaching the end of her journey and she knew she would be extremely lucky to make it out alive.

  As they approached the door Trace held out his arm and stopped Gabby dead in her tracks. He pulled Madison to a stop and joined Gabby at her side
.

  Gabby stared at Trace, her eyes wary and still confused. A few loose strands of hair hung down either side of her face, dark circles hung underneath her beautiful green eyes. Her skin waxy and blemish free, even under the brightest lights she still looked stunning, like she had been airbrushed of all imperfections. She was in a completely didn’t class to Madison, and Madison couldn’t help but feel plain and ugly next to her.

  Trace stared at the large double doors, deep in thought.

  The twins shuffled behind them, their leather black shoes shuffling on the uneven floor.

  Trace slowly directed his eyes from the doors to Gabby.

  Gabby stared at him for a few seconds, studying his features and reassuring him with her eyes. She nodded slowly answering an unspoken question between them.

  Trace lowered his head slightly in defeat and then looked back up towards the doubled doors. He squeezed Madison’s arm again and pulled her towards the doors. Gabby followed slightly behind, the twins trailing even further behind.

  Two large gold door handles stuck out from centre of both doors. Gold vines wrapped around each door hand, perfectly woven giving the appearance that the vines were tightening their grip around each handle.

  Trace reached for the right door handle, he did not hesitate – pushing it down gently. The door unlocked with a loud click.

  Madison caught her breath as Trace slowly pushed the door open. She stared into the doorway, a large ball forming in her throat. The room inside was much dimly lit compared to the corridor outside, the light poured into the room lighting up a section of red carpet. The carpet was as red as blood. It was the kind of décor you would expect to see in a Vampire’s layer on a movie.

  Trace’s eyes darted around the inside of the open door, his posture weary as if he was expecting someone to appear in the doorway.

  He took a step forward, pulling Madison behind him.

  The colour drained from Madison’s face, she resisted, digging her heels into the hard stone to stop herself from moving.

  Trace spun round and stared at Madison. His eyes were no longer black and demon-like, they had now returned to their normal colour of dark brown. His face was blank. He stared at Madison as if he had just noticed her for the very first time. Her eyes were wide with fear, she stared at Trace helplessly. She had no idea why Trace had reacted in such away and the anticipation of what might be in the room before them scared her.

  Madison’s bottom lip trembled, still bit down on it to stop it from quivering. She continued to scare into Trace’s deep brown eyes, horror spreading across her face. Suddenly Trace turned, pulling Madison with him inside the room. This time Madison did not have enough time to resist, Trace had moved too fast.

  Trace pulled her in the blind of eye into the dimly lit room. Madison saw purple spots again as her vision now refocused to the poorer light.

  A large book case stretched round the room covering three of the four walls, thousands of priceless books and novels filled the bookcases. T

  To the right of the door was a small table with two antic chairs sat either end of the table. A few books and scrolls were spread out over the table, like someone had recently been researching something. At the far end of the room was a large dark oak desk with a black leather office chair that was turned, facing the book case behind it. Two cloaked vampires stood either side of the desk, guarding whoever was sat behind the desk. Their hoods hung over their heads, shielding their faces from view.

  Madison’s heart pounded in her chest as the guards came into view. Her whole body began to shake uncontrollably in terror. Gabby and the twins stood nervously behind as Trace pulled Madison further into the room.

  Trace stopped as they reached the centre of the room, Gabby and the Twins joined him, stopping next to Trace, providing a defensive barrier between the guards and the Vampires.

  Trace pulled down on Madison’s arm, using all his strength to knock her to the floor.

  Madison whimpered as the force nearly dislocated her shoulder.

  “Stay down!” he said angrily.

  Two oil lamps provided dim lighting for the room, one stood on the dark oak desk and another in the centre of the small table on the right.

  Madison’s eyes widened at the sight of the two guards shifting their weight from leg to leg. Panic rose in her body, placing all her senses on standby, her legs flinching for the moment when she knew she had to make a run for it or fight off her attacker. The end was now here, Madison knew it was now only a matter of time before the Vampires or The Coven killed her. She was terrified but clung to the small speck of hope that she might she Brendan once more.

  “Jonas, I come baring a human that is aware of our identity. It seems Brendan has become over friendly with this human and has disclosed our identity to her. She must be destroyed before she can reveal our identity to anymore of her humans kin” Trace said, his voice almost sincere.

  “No! I wouldn’t! Why are you doing this?” Madison shouted her voice broke in fear.

  “Lies! She’s only fearful of losing her pathetic life; you know how these humans are... Fear may overpower her now, but sooner or later she will let it slip and when she does, the whole world will know of our existence” Gabby said bitterly, her eyes glued to Madison in disgust.

  “I would never say anything! I promise” she protested, a large ball forming in my throat. Madison was confused, this wasn’t the plan the Vampires had disgusted earlier in the car. Gabby had been so keen to kill Madison herself, but they had planned to give Madison to The Coven. She would be a distraction for them while they stole the scroll for The Black Orchid.

  “Your promises mean nothing to us, what makes you so sure? Human’s have a way of letting the truth slip” Gabby argued.

  “Because I love Brendan” Madison spat. Her words rang in her ears, she was shocked at her own words, but she could deny how she truly felt. Her heart fluttered and began to beat in a rhyme it had never done so before.

  Madison hadn’t thought about it until now, she knew she was fond of Brendan from the first moment she met him. But the more time they spent together, the more he grew under her skin, making her smile in a way she had never smiled before, making her happy in a way she had never been happy before. She was completely and utter in love with Brendan. Now it had all become clear, every feeling, every sensation, every time he touched her he made her heart and skin sing. She couldn’t deny that it was love, unconditional, uncontrollable, utter heart wrenching love.

  “Ha! A human in love with a Vampire? Like that hasn’t happened before...” Gabby said sarcastically.

  Gabby’s eyes flickered from Madison back towards the large black office chair. Her eyes widened as she waited for Jonas’ reply - nothing.

  Jonas wouldn’t be too happy to find out that Gabby had already killed a human, Stephanie, turning her into a blood thirsty newborn vampire who resulted in Faye being killed in the process. Madison knew revealing this bit of information wouldn’t help her; it was too late to save her.

  Madison hung her head in shame and complete surrender, all hope that she had once had, had now diminished. There was nothing left for Madison to say, no hope left. Stephanie was gone, so was Faye and Brendan had run out of time, the end was here.

  She stared at the blood red carpet; every inch of her body was numb. She couldn’t even muster the energy to think. With all hope gone there was no longer any point to fight it, all she could do now was accept her fate and die with a little dignity.

  Silence flew over the room, Gabby and Trace stared towards the black leather office chair which was turned towards the bookcase behind. Both Vampires’ almost lent forwards with anticipation. The twin shifted nervously on the spot, their eyes darting from guard to guard, watching for any sign of moment.

  “Jonas?” Trace asked suspiciously after a more moments of silence, his eyes narrowing.

  Madison watched as the chair slowly spun around to face the desk in front. She gasped as a pair of crystal blue eyes cam
e into focus, the same crystal blue eyes she had been longing to see.

  Brendan sat comfortably in the chair, both arms laid flat on the arm rest.

  His silky black hair hung down either side of his face, his skin pale and waxy but he was even more gorgeous then Madison had remembered from memory.

  He wore the same black jeans and white cotton t-shirt which he had worn the last time Madison had seen him. Brendan looked tired and stressed, but just the sight of him brought back a spark of hope Madison thought she had lost.

  “I’m sorry, were you talking to me?” Brendan said sarcastically, standing up from where he was sat.

  “Brendan!” Madison almost screamed jumping up and trying to dash towards him.

  Before she could even make it two leaps towards the desk, Trace grabbed her around the waist and pulled her backwards towards him. Madison gasped as all the air was knocked out of her from the force of Trace’s pull.

  Madison struggled against Trace’s retrain, kicking out her legs and pushing the whole of my body away from his. A cold sensation tickled on the right of Madison’s temple, it froze her on spot.

  “Madison!” Brendan shouted, running around the desk and stopping five feet away from them.

  “Don’t come any closer, or I’ll blow her brains out!” Trace spat, his voice cold and soulless.

  Madison’s heart stopped as it began to dawn on her that the cold sensation on her temple was the barrel of a gun. She stared at Brendan in horror, her mouth hung open as the ball became two large in her throat and she struggled to absorb the oxygen. Her whole body shook violently against Trace, uncontrollable tears streamed down her face, splashing down onto Trace’s arm that held her tightly against her chest.

  “Brendan” Madison whimpered her eyes wide with fear.