"Would you die for him?" He made the question sound neutral.
"Yes."
"Do you love him?" This question wasn't as neutral.
I took a moment. "In a way, yes."
He was still holding my face. I saw something flicker behind his eyes. "Then he is a very lucky man," he said quietly.
I didn't know what to say to that, so I started on a different topic. "What do you think Damien would do if I shot him the moment he opened the door?"
Callum released me, taking a small step back. "He might not waste any time killing you if you did."
"So, I'm just going to walk in there."
"No."
I threw him a confused look. "Then what do I do?"
"I have a feeling Damien's not alone. Let me call Liam and Ophelia before we go in."
"I can't wait for them to get here. Will could be, could be—" I choked on the next word, so I picked another "— hurt."
"If we go in now, it could be us alone against five vampires."
I gulped. "I don't care."
Callum made an irritated sound. "You're being irrational."
"Maybe."
He exhaled sharply, and said, "Just walking in there would be foolish, Dahlia."
"You've taken Damien and his little group before," I said, "And you won."
"Damien's been planning this since he tasted your blood, Dahlia. He and his "little group" will be more prepared this time."
I shook my head and walked the short distance to Will's door. I pressed my ear against the hard wood, but heard nothing. Callum leaned against the wall next to it.
"Dahlia," he tried to reason. "Just let me call Liam."
A yell sounded from within Will's apartment. It was a deep, masculine sound. The possibility that it was Will was highly probable. Adrenaline pumped through my veins fiercely, making me lightheaded but alert. It converted any fear I had into blind courage.
I glanced at Callum in the dimness of the hallway. "No time to call," I said.
My hand went to the Firestar. I drew it, clicking the safety off. I knew bullets wouldn't do much to a vampire, but it was something. And something was better than nothing.
I faced the door with a determination that arose only out of concern for Will and the adrenaline coursing through me. "Ready?" I asked both Callum and myself.
Callum came to stand by me. "Not yet," he said softly.
I turned to look up at him. "What—?"
He grabbed the collar of my jacket and kissed me. It was passionate, almost desperate, and wonderful. I stopped breathing. My head floated, my thoughts jumbled together. I didn't have time to respond before he broke the kiss. He set me back on my feet and released me.
"Now I'm ready," he said.
Chapter 17
* * *
I raised my hand to Will's door and knocked twice. All clear thoughts had eluded me. With Will stuck in the apartment with at least one vampire and Callum surprising me with that kiss, it was hard to think rationally. My head was still reeling with the memory of his icy lips pressing against mine.
The door opened to reveal a dark hallway. A shadow emerged from the darkness, but hovered on the line of light coming from the hallway.
"It's nice to see you again, little human," it said in a familiar voice.
"Can't say the same goes for you, Dario," I replied.
Eerie laughter reached my ears. He stepped forward and the light spilled onto him. The thin, gaunt face and pale hair were just as I remembered them from the motel parking lot. I took an involuntary step back. He smiled, stretching that white skin taut over the bones in his face.
"It was so good of you not keep us waiting," Dario said, seemingly pleasant. He ruined the geniality by adding, "We are not in the mood to be patient."
My hand tightened around the Firestar, but I left it hanging by my side. I peered around Dario into the dim hallway of Will's apartment. I didn't see anyone. "Where's Will?" I asked.
The smile twisted into something sick, disturbing. "He's waiting for you."
I inhaled sharply through my nose. "Did you hurt him?" I asked, my voice low and threatening.
"Hmm," he hummed, "we have been having our fun with him."
"Fun?" I questioned.
Dario laughed, but it came out strange. He wiped the corner of his mouth with his thumb, and it came away with sparkling red blood. He licked it off. "Yes. Though, he's not nearly as entertaining as you."
"You son of a bitch," I snarled. I sent my hand out to hit him, but Callum grabbed it before it made contact with Dario's jaw. His fingers firmly encircled my wrist, and he stepped into view.
He looked at me pointedly and said, "Not yet, Dahlia." He turned to Dario and acknowledged him with a curt nod.
Dario bowed at the waist. The gesture clearly showed his inferiority to Callum's status as a master vampire. By the look on his face, he wasn't happy about it. "Mr. Knightley," he greeted tersely, "How nice of you to join us."
I yanked my wrist out of Callum's iron grip, and he let me. "Enough of the pleasantries," I said. "Where's Will?"
Dario straightened, waved an obliging hand, and stood to the side to let us pass. I didn't hesitate before stepping into Will's dark apartment, but I wanted to. I was walking right into Damien's hands. I should have been running in the opposite direction.
I paused just inside the door to wait for Callum. He didn't move, though. He stood there like a statue, his eyes sweeping the doorframe. "What is it?" I asked.
"I can't get through without permission," he replied, sounding angry with himself for not realizing it before.
"Didn't think about that, did we?" Dario said smilingly.
I sent him an unpleasant look. He grinned at me. Smug bastard. I looked back at Callum. We stared at each other for a moment before I said, "I'll try to get Will to invite you in."
"You're not going in there without me," he said.
"I have to."
"Dahlia, no."
Dario reached out one long, bony hand and touched my arm. I jerked backwards. "Don't touch me," I hissed.
He moved his hand back to his side, and said, "Your human is waiting for you." He seemed cautious now. Maybe he remembered that I had unintentionally burned his master Thanatos' hands.
"Dahlia," Callum pleaded.
I turned my attention back to him. The look in those beautiful eyes made me want to stay with him. But I couldn't, for so many reasons. I had to stare straight into them and force myself to say, "It's okay. I can do this alone."
"Damn it, Dahlia, get back out here," he demanded. His hands traced the outline of the doorframe as if testing for some invisible barrier.
Will let out another yell, almost a scream. Dario's smile broadened, and he began walking down the dark hallway without a backwards glance. I gave Callum an apologetic look before I turned on my heel and followed Dario. I heard him slam his fist against the doorframe. It sounded like he had splintered the wood. "No!" he shouted after me. "Dahlia, no!"
There were no lights on in the apartment. Every room I passed was dark, empty. There were no signs of anyone else. I followed Dario's heels, my hand gripping the gun hard enough to hurt. He led me past the living room, the bedroom, and the bathroom. Callum's protests were echoing, bouncing off the thin paper walls. Dario stopped at the end of the hallway, turning right into the kitchen. Wary, I turned the corner as well.
The brightness from the florescent lights of the kitchen blinded me momentarily. I blinked several times before I could see what was before me.
Damien stood in the center of the sparse kitchen. His expression was mild with a hint of amusement. His russet-coloured hair was down tonight, the tips brushing his muscular upper arms. The bright light brought out his olive skin to the point where it looked brown. To his left stood two women I recognized as Rhiannon and Camille. They looked so odd next to each other. Rhiannon's darker features stood out from Camille's lighter ones. Camille's blond hair fell to her chin, while Rhiannon's chestnut-br
own hair touched her waist. Camille had large blue eyes and Rhiannon had narrow, nearly black eyes. One thing they did have in common, though, was that smugly delighted expression on their faces.
Dario had taken a place to the right of Damien, next to another man I was painfully familiar with. Thanes' wiry form was leaning against the stove, grinning at me. He had thick, shiny hair cut stylishly, and small, beady eyes that shined with a hidden intelligence. His face shone with youth, looking almost boyish.
He cocked his head to the side, and said, "You're shorter than I remember."
I ignored him, and swept my eyes around the room, searching for Will. I didn't see him. Forcing myself to meet Damien's eyes, I asked, "Where is he?"
"Who?" Damien hummed humourously.
I clenched my fist in frustration. "Cut the crap, Damien."
Damien walked out of the kitchen. He turned back down the hallway Dario and I had just come from. Dario, Thanes, Camille, Rhiannon, and I trailed after him, but came to an abrupt halt in the middle of the hallway. Damien was standing stock-still, blocking the rest of us, staring at the open front door where Callum stood. Even from behind five vampires, I could see Callum's green eyes glowing through the dimness of the apartment.
"Ah," Damien said with a smile. "I see Mr. Knightley wishes to join in on the fun."
"Let Dahlia and the human go," Callum replied quietly. "We can sort this out amongst ourselves."
Damien clicked his tongue in a mocking manner. "No, no. This has nothing to do with you. I only want Ms. Simon."
"Then what are you doing with Will?" I asked. Thanes, Dario, Camille, and Rhiannon slithered away, moving closer to the walls of the corridor to allow Damien and I to see each other more clearly.
"Well, Ms. Simon, I mean what I say. I told you I would come after those you care about if you did not come to me first. So, I did."
"You said I had one day to make a decision," I said. "It hasn't been twenty-four hours yet, Damien."
He flashed a brilliant smile at me. "Who said vampires play by the rules?"
Dario let out a high, sinister laugh. The other vampires smiled. I looked past them and met Callum's eyes. The emotion in them was so intense that I had to look away.
"Okay, stop trying to be scary and bring me to Will," I sighed.
Thanes' mouth turned up into a delighted smile.
I saw Damien give Callum a taunting look before he stepped into a dark room on the left side of the hallway. I knew from previous experience that it was the living room. Thanes, Camille, and Rhiannon shuffled in after him while Dario remained outside. I couldn't bring myself to look at Callum again, so I walked into the darkness of the room.
Someone flicked the light on, and the darkness subsided to show Will's body in the middle of the room. He was rolled on his side, his back facing us. His shirt had been shredded, and his feet were bare. Dark red blood speckled the perfect whiteness of the carpet.
My legs automatically went into motion, running to Will's crumpled body. I sank to my knees. The Firestar clunked on the ground, forgotten. With both of my trembling hands, I grabbed his shoulders and shook him. There was no response so I rolled him over onto his back. I swallowed hard when I saw his face.
Bruises were already blossoming against the tanned skin of his face. His honey-blond hair was matted with blood. His bangs hid his eyes from me, so I brushed them to the side. He had the beginnings of a black eye, his left eyelid swollen.
"Will?" I murmured.
I ran my hands over his face frantically. I slid them behind his head and lifted his head up, placing it in my lap. Hot tears welled up in my eyes. This was all my fault. I was responsible for this. He wouldn't wake up. Was he even alive? My fingers felt his neck, searching for a pulse. There was a steady thump thump. I let out a breath of relief.
"Will?" I said again. "Will! Will, wake up."
I slapped his cheek gently. His head lolled to the side. A tear escaped my eye, hot and scalding as it slid down my cheek and onto Will's ripped Nike t-shirt. I squeezed my eyes shut to prevent more tears from falling.
"Why the tears?" Damien mused from the entrance of the living room.
"I don't know whether to be touched by this display of human emotion, or disgusted," Rhiannon commented with a sneer plastered on her face.
I raised my head to look at them. Anger seared through my veins as I took in their amused expressions. My fingers dug into Will's shoulders like he was the only thing keeping me from losing it.
Damien took a step towards me. He was being cautious, watching my face with steady, dark eyes. He stopped three feet away from me, and said, "Come with me without a fight, Ms. Simon, and we won't finish what we've started." He waved a hand at Will's unconscious body.
I just looked at him, jaw clenched.
He took a step closer, close enough for me to feel the movement of the air.
Without much thought, I grabbed the Firestar that lay beside me. The metal was cold against my palm. I raised it and pointed it directly at Damien's chest. "Go to hell," I said through gritted teeth.
In one fluid motion, Damien closed the space between us and grabbed my chin hard. The gun was ripped out of my hand and thrown onto the floor. He jerked my face towards his, his eyes boring into mine with something close to passion. "Don't be foolish, Dahlia. This human is lying here, dying, because of you," he whispered harshly.
A small sound came from my throat, pitiful and helpless. I tried to cast my eyes downward to look at Will. Damien's grip on my jaw tightened, forcing me to look back up at him. "His heartbeat is growing fainter by the minute. He fell unconscious just moments before you stepped into this room. He will recover if he is given the proper care, but he will die if he is left here, slowing bleeding to death."
Another tear trailed down my cheek, rolling onto Damien's cold hand that was holding my chin. With a sharp intake of breath, he released me. His eyes were wide as he stared at his hand. I crawled backwards until my back hit the couch.
Thanes walked over to Damien. He looked down at the hand Damien had held out in front of him. "What is it?" he asked in a lowered voice.
"Her tears burn like… holy water," Damien replied softly.
The vampires in the room fell silent, freezing. It was an almost tangible tension. I felt like I could just reach out and touch it. I watched from my position on the floor as their haunting eyes flickered from Damien's hand to me and back again. Uneasy, I wrapped my arms around my knees and slid my gaze from one to the other, but never made actual eye contact.
"How is that possible?" Thanes said roughly.
Damien gave a close-lipped smile, and said, "It seems that the Letalis Flora's power is evoked with strong emotion."
For awhile, the room was quiet. That pensive, thoughtful quiet tinged with a sort of restlessness. Damien, Thanes, Dario, Rhiannon, and Camille stared at me the entire time. Goosebumps crawled along the skin of my arms with the weight of their eyes.
"Come here, Ms. Simon," Damien finally said.
"I'm fine where I am, thanks," I replied.
"Get up," he said, eyes suddenly flashing.
I looked for the Firestar. I knew it wouldn't do me much good, but it was something. The gun lay on the other side of Will, much too far away to reach. Sighing with defeat, I stood up.
"You have an hour," Damien said brusquely. He crossed his arms over his chest. "We will leave you for an hour, to tend to the human, but then you are ours."
"How very generous of you," I said unkindly.
He smiled without humour. "I wouldn't call it generosity, Ms. Simon."
"Do you really think I'm going to go to you in my own free will?" I asked incredulously.
"Yes."
My eyes widened at his confidence. "Why is that?"
"Because," he answered, "I'm taking Mr. Knightley with me and leaving Dario in his place."
"What?"
Damien glided a bit closer to me. He smiled, showing his sharp, extended canines. "You heard me, Ms. Si
mon."
I stared long and hard at him before saying, "Callum can take you down before you even leave this building."
"Ah, that is undoubtedly true. Our experience at the motel has taught me my lesson," he said. "That is why Dario is to remain here, with you. I'll make sure Mr. Knightley understands that Dario is to cut off your fingers one by one if he makes any trouble for us." He was within touching distance now. One hand came up to hover at the side of my face. Quietly, he added, "I do not wish to harm you. Yet."
I said nothing, and just stood there while Damien's hand brushed my face tentatively. His thumb swept a tear from under my eye. Raising his thumb to his mouth, he licked the tear off.
"Doesn't that burn?" I asked.
He smirked at me. "A little pain feels good every once and awhile, Ms. Simon."
I looked at him closely. My eyes narrowed ever-so slightly. "You get off on it." I made it an expressionless statement.
"I have not lived centuries to shy away from the pleasure of pain," he replied. He extended his glistening thumb towards me. I jerked backwards before it could touch my skin.
Damien laughed, then turned to the rest of the vampires. "Come. I think we have worn out our welcome." His eyes darted to me, and he said, "I have a feeling that Mr. Knightley overheard our conversation."
I gave him a deadpan look as I answered, "So?"
"He might need some persuading to come with us without a fight," Damien said.
"And what do you want me to do about it?"
"Persuade him." His dark eyes bored into mine. Even from across the room, his gaze was heavy and made me want to squirm.
I looked down at Will. His chest was hardly rising with each breath. I had to let Damien take Callum. I had to, for Will. Callum would be able to take care of himself around vampires, but Will couldn't.
"Fine," I said and walked out of the living room and into the hallway.
Turning to the open front door, I stopped when I saw Callum. I was prepared for him to protest to Damien's terms. I was ready for him to be completely opposed to the idea. But when I saw him, his face held a reluctant understanding. He just closed his eyes and nodded.
Death of Night Page 23