Goren lay motionless on a wooden bench, his skin blackened, eyes closed. Whether he was alive or dead, I couldn't guess. Conal and Matt were in terrible shape, their bodies blistered and bleeding. Alberich Bran, his grey cloak covering his head was standing by the fireplace and he watched me warily. With a silent groan, I recognized Arawn beside him. The Drâghici was smirking, his gaze focused on Gwynn. His hands and forearms were soaked in blood and he raised a hand, licking blood casually from his fingers before he spoke. “Ah, my little redhead. It is a pleasure to see you again. We have unfinished business, you and I.”
Gwynn was transfixed on the blonde vampire, her gaze frozen on his pale blue eyes. She still retained her hold on Arasinya, but her hands were trembling and I could see the terror in her expression. The fearless sigil she'd marked didn't seem to be working – perhaps it couldn't suppress the intense fear Gwynn held of this sadist vampire.
“Pick on someone your own size, Arawn,” I announced carelessly. “You've harassed Gwynn enough to last a lifetime.”
Arawn lifted his chin proudly. “Are you talking to me?” He took a step towards me, but Archangelo growled.
“She is mine!”
Arawn sneered. “Control her, or I will.”
“You will not touch her,” Archangelo warned.
“Or what?” Arawn chuckled. “You are pissweak, Archangelo. I do not know why Odin continues to allow you control here. I would have had the information we want from these vermin days ago.”
Over their raised voices, I could hear dozens of enemy vampire storming the passage outside, their footsteps echoing on the cobblestones, their voices thunderous as they bayed and screamed for blood. I drew on more spirits to help Lucas keep the vampires at bay, thankful we only had Archangelo, Arawn and Bran to contend with for now. They were more than enough and if Arawn and Archangelo were about to start a fight, I needed to find some way of getting our people out before they tried to kill one another. Somehow I had to distract Archangelo's attention from William, and find some way of controlling Gwynn and stopping her from completely freaking out. Otherwise we were completely screwed.
Chapter 34: A Crazy Plan
I risked a glance at Conal, saw the concern in his eyes when he met my gaze. I looked away, needing to come up with something to get us out of this mess.
For now, I could only deal with one disaster at a time. Getting William out of Archangelo's clutches was my highest priority, and I turned to Archangelo, saying the only thing which came into my head. “I thought you told the dog you wanted to make love to me?” I slipped the Katchet back onto my belt and took a tentative step forward.
“The dog?” Archangelo repeated. His eyes widened and confusion was evident in his tone. His argument with Arawn was instantly forgotten.
“Yeah.” I inclined my head towards Conal. “That dog.”
“She's trying to trick you, Archangelo,” Arawn said. “Don't be a bigger fool than I've already given you credit for.”
“Shut up, Arawn. You're just jealous because I'm not interested in you,” I snapped.
Arawn stared at me coldly for a few seconds. “What makes you think I would be interested in you? You are a feisty bitch. I prefer my women more… subdued.” He started to stroll towards Gwynn again and she cringed, nearly losing her grip on Arasinya. “All women lie, Archangelo. Just like you did, hey, my little bambino? Telling me you didn't want what I did to you, when you obviously enjoyed it.” He glanced across at William and his smile was smug. “She screamed my name, you know? She moaned and—”
“Shut up! Shut up!” Gwynn screamed. She let go of Arasinya and held her hands to her head, her fangs extending as she stumbled backwards in her haste to get away from Arawn.
“Gwynn!” She was rapidly approaching a meltdown and we were already struggling. I needed her back on board with the plan, regardless of Arawn's taunts. “Gwynn, you need to pull yourself together! Don't listen to his bullshit.” It suddenly dawned on me that Arawn's presence was a worst case scenario I'd never anticipated.
Arawn chuckled, holding a hand to his stomach as though Gwynn's terror was incredibly amusing, even as he continued to stalk Gwynn like a lion chasing a gazelle. “Don't run away, bambino, we have some unfinished business to deal with.”
From the corner of my eye, I caught sight of Gabrielle gently lowering Arasinya to the floor, then her hand crept into her bag. I was praying she had something miraculous in there, because at this stage I was completely clueless as to what to do next.
Archangelo's grip on William's neck loosened imperceptibly and he drew his gaze back to me. “You are trying to trick me. The dog is one of your boyfriends.”
I laughed loudly, desperate to keep his attention away from Gabrielle. “Did he tell you that? It's bullshit, I'm not interested in him.” I rolled my eyes. “He's a lying, cheating prick.”
“You're a fool if you listen to her,” Arawn said. Another quick glance located him standing just a foot away from Gwynn, who'd come up against the stone wall with nowhere else to go. Gabrielle was whispering beneath her breath and a trace of her magical powder drifted across the dungeon towards Arawn.
“You told me you were interested in him!” Archangelo challenged. I heard a soft click and glanced to where Alberich Bran had been standing. He was gone, a concealed doorway stood ajar where he'd been just seconds before. I swallowed nervously, wondering if he'd gone to get more reinforcements. We needed to act swiftly. As a precaution I released a further group of spirits, setting them to guarding the open doorway.
“Yeah, well I was. Until I discovered the bastard was screwing some other girl behind my back. Bet you wouldn't do that to me, would you?” I was lying through my teeth, making up crap as I went along. I didn't dare look around the room in case I lost my nerve, and I had to keep Archangelo's attention on me, not on what Gabrielle was doing. The temptation to turn and see what was happening was acute, but I had to put my faith in Gabrielle's ability to deal with Gwynn and Arawn. For now, we were two against two, at least until the rest of the vampires managed to make it into the dungeon.
“You're trying to deceive me. I'm no fool, Charlotte.”
I loosened my weapons belt, releasing it and letting it drop to the floor. “Am I? What does it matter either way? After what he did to me, I don't give a damn about him. It's the others I'm trying to rescue. He's just collateral crap I have to pick up. You want me, you told me you wanted me.” I took a deep breath, barely managing to conceal a shudder of disgust. “I'm here now and I'm kind of curious, you know? What sort of chemistry could you and I have together?”
There was silence behind us, no derogatory comments were forthcoming from Arawn, but I didn't have time to wonder why. The sound from outside the dungeon was growing louder, a tangible way of counting down the minutes we had left before our mission failed spectacularly.
“What about the child?” Archangelo asked quietly.
I snorted. “You're kidding, right? You believed what I said that day?” “Besides,” I added with a laugh, “you think I'm stupid enough to get pregnant? I do know what birth control is for, you know.”
Archangelo licked his lips, desire igniting in his eyes. I was betting on the fact that his crazy lust would overcome his common sense; a tall order, but it was all I had to work with. We were running out of time and I forced myself to take the next step. “You told me you wanted to have sex with me,” I lowered my gaze suggestively across his body, my eyes coming to rest on his groin, “and I'm kind of interested to see exactly what it is you've got that's so… special.”
Archangelo lifted his hand from the side of William's face and straightened up a little, but his arm remained around William's neck and I could have screamed in frustration. “You're full of shit. I don't believe you. You tried to kill me in Zaen. And not for the first time.”
“Now you're playing hard to get? I thought you told the dog you wanted to have sex with me while he was forced to watch?” I tugged my t-shirt from the waistband
of my pants, pulling it over my head and stood in front of Archangelo, my upper half clad only in a lacy bra. “Here's your chance.”
The noise of the battle was growing more frantic with every passing second and I heard the unmistakable sound of bodies clashing together. I took another step forward and saw Archangelo's look of confusion finally morph into fierce desire as he stared at my breasts. He released his grip on William, his hands drifting towards the button of his jeans.
I raised my arm to attack, but he was too swift, thrusting an orb towards me. Lunging to the right to avoid it, the orb grazed across my lower back, spinning my body through the air and I crashed heavily to the ground. Archangelo leaped, landing on top of me and gripping my wrists above my head. “I'll have you, you lying bitch, whether you want to be had or not!” he screamed, his face mere inches from mine.
“No. You. Won't!” I grunted, struggling beneath his weight. Pain radiated from my lower back, but I pushed it to the back of my mind. The table on which his instruments of torture lay was just a few feet away and I concentrated on them, using telekinesis to lift every single item en masse and directing them at Archangelo's back.
Archangelo realized my intentions a split-second before the items flew across the room – he roared with fury and made to jump away, but his movement came too late. His weight dropped heavily onto my body, as his back was pierced by a multitude of metal instruments, scalpels stabbing deeply into his skin, scissors penetrating through skin and bone with brutal speed. The slight movement he'd managed before the weapons hit left my arm exposed and another sharp pain entered my psyche when one of the scalpels stabbed into my upper arm.
Lowering my hands, I exerted enough energy to produce two orbs, slamming them into Archangelo's lifeless body. The kinetic energy forced him back, throwing him into the air. He hit the wall with a resounding crash, the ancient stonework collapsing and tumbling down to cover him in debris.
Breathing heavily, I dragged myself onto my feet, pain stabbing where the orb had hit my lower back. My arm pulsated with pain when I gingerly pulled the scalpel out. I stepped towards Archangelo, needing to confirm he was dead. Surely he couldn't have survived this time?
“Charlotte, hurry!” Lucas shouted urgently. “We need more backup!”
Awareness of the increased tempo of fighting outside filtered into my frazzled mind and I sighed heavily. There would be no opportunity to verify his demise now, his body was buried under dozens of heavy stones – I could only hope he was dead. I released more spirits into the battle, ignoring the pounding headache at my temples.
When I turned around, my mouth dropped open in shock. Arawn was frozen on the spot, mere inches away from where Gwynn had been standing. His eyes were motionless, staring at the wall where Gwynn had cowered, and to all intents and purposes, he could have been carved from stone. “Gabrielle?”
“A binding charm.” Gabrielle had her arms wrapped around Gwynn, and they were crouched beside the unconscious body of the Fae princess, staring up at me in stunned silence. I picked up my t-shirt, wrenching it back on. Regardless of how traumatized Gwynn might be, or how painful my back and arm were, we needed to move swiftly. “Gwynn, get that blood into William and get him unchained. Gabrielle, see if you can get the door by the fireplace closed.”
Gabrielle snapped to attention and moved quickly as I'd directed, but Gwynn didn't move. “Gwynn!” I yelled. “Pull yourself together, for God's sake!” She stumbled to her feet and headed towards where William sat.
I turned my attention to Matt and Conal. For a moment I stood paralyzed, torn between the two men and wondering who needed my help most.
“Get Conal down, baby,” Matt urged. “He's in bad shape.”
I studied the shackles attaching Conal to the roof, trying to avoid looking at the ugly mass of burns, cuts and bruises on his body. If I thought about his injuries too much, I would probably break down and cry, something none of us could afford in the current circumstances. The restraints were thick metal and I decided the only way to release them would be to use energy orbs.
“Charlotte, for Christ's sake,” Conal muttered. “What the hell are you doing here?”
“Saving your ass.”
He managed a faint smile, scanning my chest. “I just knew there was a fearless sigil involved in this insanity.”
“It's my best one,” I responded.
Conal's gaze held mine for a moment. “You could have gotten killed, you crazy girl.”
“I couldn't live without you,” I whispered. Against my will, my eyes drifted across the mass of burns on his chest, the cuts and severe bruising. It was hard to believe Archangelo could subject him to so much torture in little more than forty-eight hours.
“Christ, Charlotte.” He swallowed heavily. “I'm not worth it. The baby—” Conal trailed off, his face filled with anguish.
“You are absolutely worth it,” I muttered fervently, “and the baby is fine.” I had to believe it was true, needed to trust in Nememiah to keep his word and protect the baby. I wasn't sure what damage an orb could do to an unborn child and I couldn't afford to think about it now.
Gabrielle appeared. “I'll try to support Conal's weight while you get him down,” she offered.
Standing on my toes to reach, I released a tiny spirit orb from the tips of my fingers. It hit the manacle at Conal's left wrist and shattered the metal. Conal hissed with pain when his arm dropped limply to his side and Gabrielle struggled to hold him while I prepared to break the second one.
“Sugar, this isn't going to work, Gabrielle won't be able to hold my weight,” Conal muttered. “Get your Dad out. There's no time to stuff around.”
“Gabrielle, I can handle this.” William appeared beside Gabrielle. His naked body was covered in blistered burns, but his color had improved with a supply of blood and he seemed determined to help despite the injuries. He looked down at me, tenderness in his eyes. “I'll hold him; you break the manacle. We can't let him drop to the floor on those legs.”
“You're okay?” I questioned sharply, eyeing the blood oozing from an open wound on Conal's chest.
William nodded, glancing down at my arm where blood was flowing freely. “For the record, yours is fresher – it's still flowing, whilst his has been clotting for a while.” He apparently saw a hint of alarm in my eyes, because he winked. “Seriously, Charlotte. I'm okay, I promise. I won't bite.” He positioned himself beside Conal and took up his weight, taking the strain off Conal's arm. He held him as I broke the manacles around his ankles, then the final one at his wrist. William lowered Conal gently to the ground and Gabrielle positioned him with his back supported against the wall. Gabrielle reached into her incredible bag of tricks and spoke quietly to Conal.
“Is he aware?” Gwynn asked suddenly.
She was standing beside Arawn, staring at him with a crazed look in her eyes. She waved her hand in front of his face and when he didn't react, a calculating grin widened her lips.
“He can see and hear everything, but he cannot move,” Gabrielle explained. She was encouraging Conal to take small sips from a water bottle and didn't see Gwynn poking Arawn's chest with her finger.
“Gwynn, get over here,” I demanded, uncomfortable with the way Gwynn was behaving. “You and William get Matt down, I'll deal with Goren.”
“Charlotte, you've got five minutes. No more!” Phelan yelled.
“They poisoned him,” Arasinya whispered. She had regained consciousness and struggled to draw herself into a sitting position, her frail body trembling with the effort.
I stared at the horrific burns on Goren's torso. There didn't seem to be a square inch of skin which wasn't blistered and some of the blisters had burst, seeping clear liquid. “Poisoned him?” I repeated blankly.
“Lemon juice. It burns into our skin, enters our bloodstream,” she explained. “It acts like a poison to our kind.”
I released the chains shackling Goren to the table. “What should I do?” I asked, feeling utterly helple
ss. I had absolutely no idea how to deal with this situation and as far as I could tell, Goren might already be dead. There was nothing to suggest he was alive in the mutilated body lying on the table.
“Get us away from here…” She slumped forward onto the floor in another dead faint.
“Charlotte!”
I glanced up at the doorway, only to discover the spirits were being overrun. Having fallen back into the dungeon, they were using their bodies to keep the vampires at bay, their arms interlinked and straining to hold them off. “Gwynn, get the portal open!” I shrieked, bringing yet more spirits into being to keep the vampires back for a few more precious seconds. I was rapidly weakening; being hit with an orb, in conjunction with keeping Lucas and the others corporeal for an extended period was beginning to take its toll. I threw orbs towards a couple of vampires who'd almost pushed through the spirits barrier. “Gabrielle, have you got anything useful which can keep them out for another few minutes?”
I heard William yell and saw the small group of spirits left at the concealed door were in danger of being overrun – Gabrielle had closed it, but apparently it could be opened from the other side.
“The portal! Get the damn portal open!” I yelled over the increasing noise. Gwynn remained motionless, staring at Arawn and my temper began to rise. “Gwynn!”
“Throw me your Hjördis!” William shouted.
I threw the Hjördis to William and he snatched it from mid-air, banging it down onto the stone wall. I twisted towards the concealed door and hurled a couple of orbs into the wall above it. A pile of stonework and debris collapsed with a heavy rumble. While it didn't seal the doorway off completely, it might be enough to curtail the vampires' ability to squeeze through the narrow gap. I rallied another group of spirits to back up those still fighting.
“The portal is open!” William yelled.
Gabrielle was chanting something in a foreign tongue but I could see no visible sign of her magic around us. We had only seconds, perhaps a minute to get out of here before we would be overrun. “We've got to go!”
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