by K. R. Willis
Seeing Loukas distracted with me, Dr. Johnson had begun inching his way toward the door, but Loukas wasn’t having any of that. He moved, appearing in front of the scientist so fast Dr. Johnson didn’t know what hit him when the vampire yanked his head back by his hair and sank his fangs into his throat. Dr. Johnson let out a startled yelp, then went still and drooped in Loukas’ arms, compliant.
Shouts and gunfire echoed through the hall, drifting in through the broken door. Booted feet pounded on the concrete and then went silent as guard after guard was taken out by whoever Loukas had brought with him. Chills raced down my spine as human screams were snuffed out one by one. I shivered, thankful and yet repulsed at the same time.
Loukas threw Dr. Johnson, limp and lifeless, to the floor and wiped his bloodied mouth on a kerchief he pulled from a coat pocket. “Humans are such fickle creatures,” he snarled. “All this for a woman.” He turned the full force of his gaze back to me and I shivered again. I didn’t like what I saw there.
“You saw what he did?” I asked, amazement warring with the fear growing in my gut. “So you know I’m innocent. You can let me go.” But Loukas just smiled a wicked smile and sauntered over to me. I squirmed and pulled on the straps, but more because I couldn’t stand to sit still any longer, rather than thinking they had suddenly become loose enough for me to escape.
“Innocent?” he scoffed. “I dare think not. Your blood is the reason for this whole mess. Without you, none of it would have happened.” He ran another finger across the strap that bisected my midsection and stared at the wisps of smoke that swirled into the air. His eyes met mine. “You pulled on the Lorum, leading me to this place. We can destroy it and any research we find. For that I thank you. It made it easier for me to find you than the process I would have had to perform to locate you. But you see,” he said, leaning closer to my ear, “Now that we know what your blood can become, you are too dangerous to allow to live.”
My eyes went wide. “But…you made a deal. You saw the proof. With Dr. Johnson and the other scientists out of the picture, you have no reason to fear me. We can go back to the way things were.” I thrashed almost violently, willing the straps to loosen the tiniest fraction so I could break free.
Loukas leaned so close I caught his scent, something pungent like toasted cinnamon or Chinese five spice. I wrinkled my nose and fought the urge to sneeze. He moved his lips delicately across my skin, nuzzling the spot on my neck just above my collarbone. Shivering, I ground my teeth together and forced myself not to move. I was getting sick and tired of everyone wanting a piece of me.
“Such a waste,” he whispered. “Oh, the stories your blood could tell me.” He scraped a fang across my neck, careful not to puncture skin. Then he moved away, and the spot on my neck where he’d just been went cold from his absence.
Loukas stood at the tray Dr. Johnson had used. He took his time, inspecting each device, and decided on the scalpel, which already dripped with some of my blood. “This will do,” he said, coming back to stand by my head. “I would tell you this won’t hurt, but I’d be lying.” He lifted the blade to my throat.
“Stop! Help!” I screamed at the top of my lungs. “Somebody please help me!” My throat hurt as I screamed. Terror gripped me and wouldn’t let go. Air seized in my lungs. After everything I’d survived, I was about to have my throat slit by a stupid ancient vampire while strapped to a gurney. Life really sucked.
My thoughts suddenly jumped to the Evil One. I could try to shadow again to get out of the restraints, but I’d just barely escaped from him. No matter what I did, one of them was bound to kill me, but I had to try. I couldn’t just sit here and let it happen.
The bite of the blade roared through my head and I closed my eyes, searching for the strength to shadow. Fear drenched me in its ice-cold fingers, making my toes numb, so I latched on to that and tried my damnedest to find the trigger that would make me invisible. My eyes watered and my body jerked when the blade bit deeper and began to slide very slowly to the left.
This time, I felt the darkness. It swirled around my thoughts, beckoning me. Sabin’s power flared to life, a bright shining thread, so I grabbed hold of it and tugged with all my might. My body started tingling, letting me know it worked. A sudden thought occurred to me. Loukas stood close enough for me to touch with my left hand, so I grabbed on to the cuff of his coat as tight as I could, pulled on the thread, and willed myself and Loukas to return to the Evil One. The darkness swirled faster and sucked me in like a vortex.
When I hit the floor this time I rolled, trying to lessen the damage to my knees. Loukas plowed into me as he went sprawling, knocking the wind from my lungs. Holy shit! It worked. I had successfully shadowed, and piggybacked Loukas along with me.
“What have you done?” Loukas hissed. He was on his feet in the blink of an eye, body rigid as he surveyed his surroundings. It didn’t take long for him to spot the Evil One, who had noticed our arrival and charged toward us. Loukas must have sensed the threat the Evil One posed because his form blurred as he raced to meet this new enemy. The sound of flesh hitting flesh and skin being shredded echoed throughout the room.
Loukas and the Evil One occupied each other, but it wouldn’t last long. I closed my eyes and searched for anything I could use to pull myself out the way I had pulled on my tie to Rya and then the Lorum. Now that I knew what to look for and concentrated on them, they lit up like Christmas trees, each one taking on a different color and resonating with a different feel.
The first one, red, felt dark and oily, but not altogether evil. When I followed the path it created it led me straight to Loukas. He was here with me now instead of on the outside so I didn’t think I could pull on my connection with him. The other one, gold, felt light and good, but as I followed its path, thinking it might somehow be Rya, it turned black and crawled with absolute evil as it led me to the Evil One. I shuddered and jerked away mentally. The gold section must be what remained of Sabin—half of it good, half of it evil.
Frantically, I searched for another way out as the sound of fighting continued to echo around me. Time was running out. Powerful, Loukas held his ground, but I doubted he would last long against the Evil One.
Come on, think! What the hell was I supposed to do?
And then I saw it. Another thread ran alongside the two that tied me to Loukas and the Evil One, but whereas theirs were roughly the thickness of a climber’s rope, it was more like fishing twine and almost see-through. I reached out mentally and touched it. The thread was strung so tight it looked ready to snap, but it sang with pure joy at my touch. Rya. I could feel her, faint but there. My connection to her wasn’t missing, it was just stretched so thin from our distance that I hadn’t noticed it before. Should’ve known our connection couldn’t be severed that easily.
Relieved, I wrapped my hand around her thread, about to give it a good yank, but then something hit me and I went flying. The Evil One had thrown Loukas across the room, but the vampire quickly jumped back to his feet, and lunged at him once again. They tore into each other like rabid dogs. Blood sprayed and skin flew off in chunks. I had to get the hell out of here. Rya’s thread seemed to pulse when I latched on to it and pulled with a hard yank. The sounds of fighting disappeared as Sabin’s power came to life and sucked me into the darkness. And with any luck, safety.
CHAPTER 33
Three loud booms went off in quick succession as I crash landed back in the lab where Dr. Johnson still lay in the same spot Loukas had tossed him. Instead of my knees, I landed on my back this time and saw stars. Pain exploded all over my body, the air whooshed from my lungs. I really needed to work on my landings.
The building shook again, raining plaster down on top of me. The light fixture swayed precariously, making me worry it might come crashing down on top of me. I rolled onto my hands and knees, took a few quick breaths, and pushed to my feet. This place shook at its core, no doubt the result of the attack from the vampires. Loukas would want everything destroyed
, no matter who was inside.
Halfway down the hall, in the direction I hoped would lead me outside to freedom, I heard footsteps pounding out a hasty rhythm from the hallway off to my right. I slid to a halt just in time to avoid colliding with Leo. He looked a little worse for wear; his white shirt and black pants were riddled with bullet holes and he had a nasty cut on his cheek that slowly closed.
My heart stuttered. He’d come for me.
“Keira.” Something flashed through his eyes, but another boom went off somewhere behind us and it disappeared. “Arnaud is leading the other prisoners to freedom. We must leave quickly.” The building rumbled and dust motes swam through the air as more plaster rained down around us, emphasizing his words.
Leo placed his hand at the small of my back and pushed me down the hall in the opposite direction from where I’d previously been headed. “I do not know where Loukas is, but he gave the others orders to destroy this place and everything in it.”
I finally found my voice again. “Loukas won’t be a problem for a while,” I said, hoping that statement held true. Leo raised his eyebrows in question. “I’ll tell you later, once we’re outta here.”
The lights flickered eerily for several seconds before going out completely, plunging us into darkness. Moonlight filtered in through a small hole that had opened up in the ceiling. I stopped, unable to see well enough to continue.
“Allow me,” Leo said. He wrapped his arms around me and pushed off the floor. I ducked my head and snuggled as close to him as I could when I realized his intent. His warmth sank into my bones and soothed my frazzled nerves. He must have felt it, too, because he pulled me tighter to him. We broke through the damaged ceiling, chunks of plaster and metal tearing at our flesh, but Leo shielded me, protecting me with his own body.
Finally, we burst through the roof and out into the cool night air. I opened my eyes and watched with satisfaction as the entire facility crumbled to the ground. Dozens of vampires milled about, destroying machines and corralling several humans into a large Humvee they had commandeered from somewhere. I cringed when one of the lab coats made a run for it and the vampire who caught him bled him dry. Ashamed, I turned away. They deserved to be punished for what they’d done, but I wasn’t sure I agreed with the vampires’ methods. I didn’t know what the Council had planned for the others watching wide-eyed from the Humvee, and I wasn’t sure I wanted to.
Leo set us down outside the perimeter fence not far from where his limo was parked. Leo held on to me as I stumbled a few steps, trying to regain my balance. When the world stopped spinning, I said to him, “I have to go. Lily shot Sally and I think she might be….” I couldn’t even say the words, as though doing so would make it true. “I need to call Sam. Can I borrow your cell phone?” Mine had disappeared somewhere along the way.
“I contacted Sam when we learned where you were,” Leo said. “He is at the hospital with Sally.”
My heart skipped a beat and tears welled up in my eyes. Sally. She’d made it.
Leo wiped a wayward tear from my cheek and smiled tenderly at me. “The fastest way to the hospital is through the air. I have kept my ability to fly hidden for over a century, but now that it is no longer a secret, I have no reason to hide it anymore. Arnaud will take the rescued supernaturals wherever they wish to go, and I will fly you to the hospital if you will allow me.”
“Thank you.” I wasn’t that crazy about flying all the way to the hospital, but if it reunited me with Sally and Sam I’d fly to the moon if I had to. Leo stepped up to me and wrapped me in his arms.
“Wait!” someone cried. A young woman broke from the line of what I assumed were the other prisoners Arnaud ushered to the limo. She made a beeline straight for us. Her blond pigtails bounced as she hurried to us. “Are you the ones who arranged our freedom?” Her pretty blue eyes shone in the light, and the witch’s knot charm she wore on her index finger declared what she was when she reached up and moved her long bangs out of her face.
Leo didn’t miss a beat. “We did not necessarily arrange to have you freed, but if anyone is responsible, it would be she,” he said and pointed at me.
I started to open my mouth to say I hadn’t done anything other than get myself caught and nearly killed, but the little witch launched herself at me and hugged me with enough force to make me cough.
“Thank you,” she said. “I have a gift for you.” She pulled a necklace from around her neck—it had a beautiful silver chain with a clear crystal hanging from it—turned it around, and placed it over my head. When it fell against my skin, a strange sensation raced through my system, making me shiver.
“What is it?” I asked, fingering the crystal curiously.
“I was told that a crazy old witch spelled it a long time ago. It’s supposed to provide protection, but seeing how I was captured while wearing it, I don’t think it works,” she said. “I’ve always just thought it was pretty. I want you to have it as my way of saying thanks.”
I didn’t know what to say. “It’s beautiful.” She smiled and gave me another emphatic hug. When she pulled away, her eyes shimmered. Before I could say anything else to her, she turned and ran toward the limo where Arnaud waited. “Thank you,” I whispered.
“Are you ready?” Leo asked. I nodded without looking at him, afraid that if I did, what little hold I had on my emotions would crack and I’d start bawling like an idiot. He wrapped me in his arms, and then we took off through the night sky like a bullet.
The wind whipped my hair around furiously and the cool crispness bit into my skin, but Leo kept it from being uncomfortable. Shadows of trees blurred past at what seemed like the speed of light, threatening to give me a headache, so I closed my eyes and reveled in his strength and the fact that I was flying. A giggle flew from my lips, only to be gobbled up by the wind, and I thought, Hang on Sally, I’m coming!
CHAPTER 34
We landed skillfully beside the curb of the parking lot, just out of plain sight of anyone coming in or out of the hospital, and I breathed in and out my nose several times as I waited for my equilibrium to catch back up. Leo steadied me with a hand on my shoulder, patiently waiting. It obviously hadn’t bothered him at all because he looked utterly perfect standing there in the moonlight. Even the blood and bullet holes I’d noticed earlier were gone. Not even his hair appeared out of place.
Finally feeling like I could walk without falling over, I glanced down at my clothes and groaned when I saw the various cuts, tears, and blood. I looked like an accident victim. There was no way they were going to let me just walk into the hospital without everyone trying to help me, and though I could use a little doctoring, I wanted to see Sally first. Swearing, I said, “Every doctor and nurse within twenty feet of me in there will be clamoring to help me and calling the cops thinking I’ve been abused. How the hell will I get in to see Sally?”
I glanced up at the glowing neon EMERGENCY sign of the Great Falls Regional Medical Center and blew out a breath of frustration.
Leo smiled. “Do you trust me?” he asked.
Do I trust him? I thought about that. He had come to my aid more times than I could count, and put himself in harm’s way for my benefit on more than one occasion. My stomach did a little flip flop. Yeah, I trusted him, I realized. The fact that he’d tried to persuade me to sell him the firehouse had been long forgotten. Or at least, forgiven.
“Yes,” I said.
Leo’s smile grew wider as he gently grabbed my hand and held it. Power raced across my hand and snaked its way up my arm until my entire body sang with it, coating me with warmth.
I gasped. “What did you do?”
“Look.” Leo nodded at my shirt and I followed his gaze.
Amazingly, my shirt appeared brand new. “How did you…?” I trailed off, unable to believe what I saw with my own eyes. My fingers reached up to touch my shirt where I knew blood had been, but I hesitated.
“It is merely an illusion,” Leo clarified. “I did not fix your clothes.
I bathed you in an illusion to make people see what you want them to see.” So that’s why Leo’s appearance seemed perfect. His eyes darkened. “Loukas does not know of this power. If he did, nothing would stand in his way to possess me.” He stared into my eyes, the threat quiet but clear.
Shuffling my feet on the pavement, I said, “Um…about that. I sort of transported Loukas somewhere he won’t be coming back from soon. If ever,” I added quietly, but I knew he heard me when his shoulders tensed.
“What do you mean you transported him somewhere else?”
A sigh escaped my lips. I needed to see with my own eyes that Sally was alive and okay, but I also knew that Leo needed to know about Loukas, so I gave him the cliff notes version. The corners around his mouth wrinkled when he frowned, but he didn’t look angry like I thought he might be. After all, this was the leader of their entire race.
He seemed to consider my words for several moments before speaking. “Your motivations are understandable, but finding a way to explain Loukas’ absence from the Council will not be easy. My power of illusion should convince them I am Loukas long enough to have the sentence on you removed, but a long-term solution will have to be found. I will escort you inside and then take care of this immediately.”
My shoulders sagged with relief, and yet, I was nervous. What would the Council do to me if they found out I’d gotten rid of their leader? I thought of Dorian and shuddered. Best not to dwell on that right now.
Leo motioned toward the emergency doors. “Shall we?”