Longo fiddled with something out of his view, humming the whole time. When Gary came back, smelling of Evangeline’s fear, Nic tried, one last time, to wrench his hands free from the silver. But he only chafed his skin further, and blood slicked over his wrists.
“Are you prepared to leave this world, vampire?” Longo approached, holding a thick leather strap in his hands. Nic spat around the metal gag, cursing, but Longo only laughed. “I suppose I should let you speak for your last act on this earth.”
A quick flick of the lock and the gag fell away. “What did you do to her?” Nic tried to raise his head, but the serum stole his strength.
“Her? You’re the one about to suffer. And you ask only for her?”
“She is an innocent who deserves so much more than you as a father.”
Longo laughed. “She’s a fool. She cares about you. Perhaps she always has. I made a mistake years ago, letting her see you, speak to you. But she's no match for me. A few months locked in her room and she’ll submit. Or perhaps, I’ll bring her in here. Throw her in the cell I made for you.”
“You goddamned fucking pig!” Nic strained against the silver, shaking the entire table, desperate to get free. He would not let that animal put Evangeline in danger. He had to escape. He had to protect her.
“Struggle all you want. I enjoy watching your impotence. I'll miss that when you’re gone. I’ll have to capture another. Perhaps the next vampire I bring down here will be willing to bite my little girl and test the ‘enhancements’ I’ve made to her DNA.”
Nic lunged for Longo, trying to get close enough to sink his fangs into the scientist’s arm, but Gary grabbed his hair and slammed his head back against the table. Dazed, he couldn’t fight the gag when Longo forced the metal back between his teeth. In the next breath, white-hot pain coursed through his entire body.
Blood dripped from a knife in Longo's hand. Every weak pulse of Nic’s heart brought more pain. “You won’t heal this time, vampire. I’m going to collect all of your blood, then send your body to the incinerator.”
Icy fear seized his heart as Longo tossed the knife and then dangled the leather strap within his view. Silver spikes protruded at regular intervals.
Nic screamed, pure agony coursing through him as Henry pushed the spikes into Nic’s chest. Blood streamed from the wounds, down his chest, and into the troughs in the table.
Each breath brought more pain. He tried to will his body to heal, but death hovered, a dark presence he feared. Longo and Gary maneuvered his body so they could buckle the leather strap tightly around his torso, forcing the spikes deeper.
His Evangeline would never be free. A single tear rolled down his cheek.
The men laughed at his struggles, taking turns carving lines into his flesh or pushing against the leather strap. When Nic stopped fighting and closed his eyes, they abandoned their game, and soon, their footsteps faded away, leaving him alone to die.
11
Evangeline paced, tears stinging her eyes. Gary had used her father’s override to lock her in, and Nic’s screams echoed in her ears. Her hands shook, and the bitter taste of his fear coated her tongue. How could she still sense him?
If he lived through the night, it would be a miracle. The murderous rage in Henry’s eyes terrified her.
Maybe the air ducts? If she dragged her chair over to the wall, maybe she could pull herself up?
The door beeped, and Cassie strode in. Before Evangeline could rush her, Cassie leaned against the panel, arms crossed. “Not so fast, Eva Marie.”
“Move, Cass. I don’t want to hurt you.”
She laughed. “Hurt me? I’m the only one who can open that door. Henry wants you out of the way until that thing dies.”
Anger flared, and Evangeline balled her hands into fists. “You knew. All these years. You knew he was torturing Nic.”
“Vampires are evil, Eva. I’ve helped Henry for the past few years because I want them dead. Everyone wants them dead. Except, apparently, you.”
“I thought you cared about me,” Evangeline whispered. “What happened to you?”
“For all I know, that vampire killed my father. Now go sit down on the bed. I’m giving you a sedative, and you’re going to take a little nap. Once Henry finishes his experiments, he’ll decide what to do with you.”
“What to…do with me?” Raising her fists, Evangeline advanced on the woman she’d once considered a big sister. “Henry doesn’t get to do anything with me. Neither do you.”
“Go ahead. Knock me out. You’ll never get out of here. The door will only open for me.” Cassie held out her hand. A white pill rested in her palm. “If Henry doesn’t hear from me in the next ten minutes, he’ll send Gary in to hold you down while I inject you with enough sedative to keep you under for a whole day.”
She couldn’t best both of them. And if Gary had a gun… At least with Cassie, she had a chance. Dropping her gaze to the floor, she nodded. “Okay. Give me the pill.”
Once Evangeline took a seat on the bed, Cassie handed her the pill and a bottle of water. “Swallow, then I’m going to check your mouth.”
Obediently, Evangeline complied, and Cassie peered into her mouth for several long seconds before she nodded. “Good. Now lie down, and I’ll tuck you in.”
The harsh tone didn’t match Cassie’s tender words, and Evangeline glared at her as she stretched out on the cot. “I loved you like a sister, Cass,” she muttered and turned away, facing the wall.
“I know, sweetie. You hate me now, but I still love you. Maybe one day you’ll forgive me.” Cassie tucked blankets around Evangeline and then moved away, dropping into the chair.
“She took it.” The radio squawked, and Henry said something Evangeline couldn’t hear. “Yes. I made sure. I’ll stay until she’s out.” The radio clicked off.
Working her tongue behind her right upper molar, Evangeline swiped the pill from her mouth and scraped her tongue against her pillow. The edges of the sedative had already started to dissolve, and the world took on a soft focus, a shimmer threatening her vision.
Too slow.
Evangeline struggled not to let sleep take her. Rolling over with a soft moan, she kept her eyelids heavy. “Please,” she slurred.
“I really am sorry,” Cassie said with a frown. “You’ll be asleep soon, sweetie. Everything will look better in the morning.”
By the morning, Evangeline had to be far away from here. But she had to bide her time for the next few minutes. Holding the soothing memory of Nic’s voice in her mind, she recited bits and pieces of the stories he’d told her. A hard knot tightened in her stomach. Vague sensations of pain and fear buffeted her like the wind.
Please, Nic. Hold on for me.
A few minutes later, Cassie pressed soft fingers to Evangeline’s neck. If Cassie didn’t check her eyes, she’d get away with her ruse.
When Cassie peeled back one of Evangeline’s eyelids, her face hardened, a muscle in her jaw pulsing.
Evangeline’s punch caught Cassie under the chin. The nurse stumbled back, and Evangeline grabbed her knee with her other hand and yanked, hard. Cassie fell backward and landed on her ass. The air left her lungs with an audible whoosh, and she clutched her chest.
Before Cassie could catch her breath, Evangeline sprang from the bed and flipped her over, slamming her knees down on Cassie’s hands to keep her immobile.
A spare belt draped over the edge of the bed made a suitable tie, and she bound Cassie’s wrists together.
“Now stay,” Evangeline snapped.
“Your father’s going to kill you for this,” Cassie snarled, struggling against the restraints.
“Not if he can’t find me. I’m sorry, Cass. I can’t let Henry kill Nic. He’s different. He helped me when I was a kid. And I believe him when he says he wants peace. He’s kinder than anyone down here, and I won’t stand by and do nothing while Henry murders him.”
Pulling her blanket off the bed, she ripped the wool into strips. With Cas
sie’s ankles bound and her wrists tied securely to the bedpost, Evangeline dug in Cassie’s pocket for another sedative and forced the white pill into her former friend’s mouth. She finished by stretching a piece of duct tape over Cassie’s lips. “Now that’s how you ensure someone takes a sedative,” she said with a chuckle as Cassie glared at her.
With Cassie’s keys tucked into her pocket, she checked the time. She had two hours until dinner, when her father would probably leave the lab for at least an hour. She prayed Nic could hold out that long.
Climbing on her chair, she stretched up and pushed against the access panel in the ceiling. Cassie watched, her glazed eyes unfocused, moaning weakly.
“Enjoy your nap.” Evangeline shoved the pack into the duct ahead of her, then pulled herself up, wriggling forward slowly. Guided by her mental map of the catacombs, she crawled until the right turn that would take her to the tech lab.
By the time she peered through the mesh in the lab’s ceiling vent, sweat plastered her hair to her forehead. She held her breath, listening for anyone in the room. Confident everyone was gone, she yanked on the mesh, then lowered herself carefully onto Don’s desk. None of Cassie’s keys unlocked his drawer, though.
“Shit.” With her knife wedged between the lock and the drawer’s frame, she wiggled the handle. Nothing. Resigning herself to the noise, she grabbed a book from the desk and slammed the tome against the knife. She flinched with each loud bang, but on the fourth try, the lock shattered.
With the portal generator tucked into her pocket, she had one last task. Get the day’s code. Evangeline flipped the switch on Don’s monitor.
“What the hell?” A glowing dot on the screen with her name blinking alongside had her brows knitting together. A few clicks later, she understood. A map of the catacombs flickered on the screen with thirty-two dots spread among the rooms—a large grouping of them in the dining hall. One for every resident.
“Shit, shit, shit.” Henry was tracking everyone’s movements. If she couldn’t figure out how, she and Nic couldn’t escape. “Focus.” With a shake of her head, she memorized the code she needed, shut down the computer, and crawled back into the air duct.
Heading for the bathroom right outside the door to the north wing and Henry’s lab, she tried to sense Nic. How long had it been? An hour? He’d hold on. He had to.
Thankfully, the bathroom was empty, and she dropped down inside and locked the door. But what now? When had her father implanted the tracker? And where? Evangeline stripped out of her flannel shirt and stretched in every way she could, patting and pulling at skin. She rammed her shoulder and back into the wall, searching for a lump, a telltale twinge…anything. Her fingers threaded through her hair, down her neck, and she even kicked off her pants and shoes and checked her feet and between her toes.
Running her hands over her abdomen, down her hips, and back up her buttocks, she’d almost given up when she found a small bump, almost out of reach to the left of her spine.
“This is going to hurt,” she muttered. Craning her neck so she could use the mirror as a guide, she dug the knife into her back. Blood ran over her hand. She panted through the pain, but after a few tense seconds, she felt something hard and warm slide against her fingers and fall to the floor. A small silver cylinder, no bigger than a seed, floated in the pool of blood.
Evangeline grabbed a wad of toilet paper to press to the wound, but her skin had already started to knit back together. Was Nic’s blood still helping her heal?
She’d just cut something out of her body. How could this happen? She dressed and tucked the tracker back into her pocket. If she managed to escape with Nic, she could use the tracker to their advantage.
Back in the air duct, she headed for the secured wing. Rather than risk the door again, she continued her trek in the tiny crawlspace. With her father so close, she held her breath with every inch she gained, listening. Henry and his men laughed from his private office, and the scent of beer filled the small space.
Please don’t be dead. Please.
She almost cried out when she reached the lab. Nic lay still, bound to the metal table with a leather strap across his chest. Blood trickled from dozens of wounds. Was he still alive? Relief washed over her when he shuddered weakly and stuttered a shallow breath. He lived. Barely. She had to get down there. Soon.
“I thought he’d be dead by now,” Henry said, approaching Nic and slamming a hand down on his chest. Nic jerked, and a thin moan escaped around the metal gag.
“Fucker has some serious strength. More serum? Or just leave him alone?” Gary waved a syringe in the air, and Henry shook his head.
“The silver won’t allow him to heal. I want him to suffer. Let’s go. He’ll die soon. Alone and afraid.” With a final blow to Nic’s heart, Henry leaned down and whispered something in Nic’s ear. Another spasm of pain wracked his body, and his fingers twitched, but he didn’t open his eyes.
“What about your kid?”
Gary followed Henry out of the lab and down the hall. “A few months in that thing’s cage hooked up to IVs manufacturing serum, and she’ll be begging for my forgiveness. She’ll fall into line.”
You fucking lunatic. I’m your daughter! Not your guinea pig.
Tears gathered in her eyes: loss of a father she’d not wanted to believe hated her, fear they wouldn’t survive, desperation. Her body ached from lack of movement in the cramped duct. As soon as her father and Gary shut the door behind them, Evangeline pulled back the vent and dropped into the lab with her pack.
Her hand shook as she unbuckled the gag and tossed the metal rod onto the counter. Cupping Nic’s cheek, she whispered, “Come back to me.” His quiet moan shattered her heart.
Evangeline went to work on the locks that held his ankles and wrists to the table. “Nic, I don’t know if you can hear me, but I have to get this strap off. I need to roll you over. It’s going to hurt. Try to keep quiet.”
Sliding her hands under his back, she grunted as she muscled him onto his side.
He shuddered. “Evangeline. Run.”
“No. I won’t leave you to die. Not like this.” Evangeline worked the buckle loose and bent so her lips almost brushed his ear. “I need to pull out the spikes now. Please don’t scream.”
“Do…it.”
The torturous blades slid free with a terrible suctioning sound, and Nic whimpered, his entire body shuddering. “Get me…away…from the silver.”
Evangeline helped him sit up and draped his arm around her shoulders. “I can’t carry you. We’re just going down to the floor, okay?”
“Si.”
Once she had him propped up against the cabinets under the counter, she knelt in front of him and examined the wounds. “I need to stop the bleeding.”
“You will never…get me out of here. I…cannot walk. Too weak.” He tried to focus on her, but with his next shuddering breath, his eyes closed, and his head fell back.
Evangeline bit her lip and scanned his body. Dozens of small cuts covered his legs and abdomen, but only a deep stab wound below his ribs and the vertical punctures from the silver spikes bled steadily. “You eat food, yes? Will that help?”
“A little. Maybe…enough.”
Withdrawing a piece of dried apple from her pack, she held the fruit to his lips. “More?”
“Yes.”
After another three pieces, she offered him a sip of water from her canteen, and he had enough strength to lift his hand to hers. “I am dying, Evangeline. Run. Leave me.”
“No. Shut up. Save your strength.” Evangeline found some gauze in one of the drawers and bound his chest tightly. He was so pale. Unable to open his eyes. Blood trickled from the corner of his mouth.
Pulling her knife from her belt, she held the blade against her palm. Could she give him her blood? Fear stayed her hand until footsteps raced down the hall.
Instinct took over. Evangeline flung the knife, catching her father in the gut as he and Gary burst into the room. He stumbled
back, cursing, and Nic toppled against Evangeline’s legs with a weak cough. In the single moment she glanced down at him, Gary tackled her. His fist slammed into her ribs. “Goddamn meddlesome bitch,” he spat and pulled out a gun, aiming for her shoulder.
“Don’t kill her! We need her body!” Henry struggled to his feet as Gary cocked the gun. With a snarl, Nic grabbed Gary’s ankle while Evangeline brought her knee up and caught her father’s lackey in the crotch. He yelped and writhed in pain, the gun clattering to the floor, and she shoved him off of her. Before she could reach Nic, Gary grabbed her ankle and pulled hard, flipping her onto her back, then belted her across the jaw.
“Goddammit,” she said as stars swam in front of her eyes. She tasted blood. He stepped over Nic with a smile on his face, and a shot rang out. Gary’s head jerked, and he fell, his eyes vacant and staring, a crimson stain spreading under the back of his head.
Evangeline scrambled over to Nic and eased the gun from his unsteady hand. Blood stained the gauze around his chest. Henry stumbled towards them, a tranq gun in his hand. Nic pulled Evangeline down as the shot skimmed her shoulder. “Shit!”
“Get behind me,” he managed. So fast she barely registered the movement, he leapt forward, grabbed her father by the neck, and tossed him over the metal table. “Run, cara.”
Footsteps echoed from down the hall. Her father’s reinforcements.
“Not without you.” Activating the portal, she grabbed Nic’s arm and yanked him forward. “Stay with me, Nic,” she whispered and guided him towards the blue oval of light. “And don’t bite me.”
As the portal grabbed them, cold, unforgiving darkness felt almost like death, but Nic’s warm breath on her neck kept her calm. Her ears popped, and a heavy weight settled in her stomach. Nic’s fear skittered down her spine as they tumbled into a heap onto the pine-needle-covered forest floor.
12
Light from the waning moon filtered through the trees, casting an eerie glow over Nic’s bloody body. He wasn’t moving, though his chest stuttered weakly as he fought to breathe.
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