‘I’m not leaving you alone with her.’
‘Need I remind you I’m not the one with the self-control issues, little brother?’
‘No, but I know you like to play dangerous, and that’s just a little too close to the edge. Whether she’s active or not, that blood flowing through her veins is still poisonous. She needs to be kept out of the way. We could get Hade to take her somewhere. Hand her over to someone until dawn. Keep it underground. You’ve got enough loyalty to keep this hushed.’
Caleb glanced back across at his brother. ‘And what’s the fun in that?’
‘I knew it. I knew you wouldn’t be able to resist. Caleb, I can’t let you do this. Not for your sake. Not for hers. If you’re right, if she has done a holding spell, you need her alive, right? She dies, I die with her.’
‘I’m not going to kill her.’
‘You can promise me that, can you?’
Caleb looked across at his brother. ‘Until dawn, yes.’
‘When was the last time you fed, Caleb? A proper feed.’
‘I’m fine.’
‘I’ll line a couple of girls up for you. Get yourself sated. You need to tackle her with a clear head.’
‘My head is perfectly clear.’
‘Like an alcoholic says to a full bottle of Vodka. Caleb, I’m not happy about this.’
‘There’s only one way I can make a decision, Jake. If that façade is real, she won’t be able to keep it up all night. If I want to see what she is, I’ve got to lower those defences first.’
Jake’s grip tightened on his glass. He knew exactly what that meant. ‘If you’re to justify whatever it is you’re planning to do to her, you need that façade to slip, you mean. You want her to prove herself to be like the others. That’s the main reason you’re keeping her here. You’re insane. I am not going to let you do this – this crazy power game you’re starting up is going to stop right here.’
‘Is that my brother actually stressing about something?’
‘Look me in the eye and tell me you’re not daring her to do something.’
‘I am making sure we’re prepared.’
‘Making sure she knows who’s in charge, more like. But this is too dangerous, even for you. And don’t forget Alisha’s in the equation.’
‘Is she still in the club?’
‘Hade’s keeping an eye on her. I told her there were a couple of things I had to sort. But she’s going to start getting twitchy in another hour or so.’
‘Then ply her with plenty of drinks. Use one of the spare apartments tonight. I don’t want her around until tomorrow. I don’t want you around either. As soon as those sedatives wear off properly, reality is going to sink in and I don’t want you in the firing line.’
‘And what about you? What if you take a bite? What if she’s that one serryn too many? Like you said, what if she is exceptionally good at what she does? It’s been a long time for you, Caleb.’
‘Not long enough for me to forget how to handle them,’ he said, staring back at the screen.
Jake needed to get back in the dungeon and warn her. He needed to tell Leila to keep calm. He needed to tell her that if she kept her head down, he would work on Caleb to let her go.
But this was his brother. His brother whom he loved and trusted. Caleb was no fool when it came to them. He’d always told him how devious they were and how manipulative – luring vampires in, making them see whatever they needed them to see. He didn’t know if she was any different, not really. He only had Alisha’s word for it. But he did know his brother. And his brother knew how to handle serryns better than anyone else ever had.
Jake indicated towards Tay’s abandoned body out of sight in the room behind them. ‘What about him?’
‘I’ll incinerate him. We don’t want any traces of her blood found. And give that photo we’ve got of the sisters back to Hade. Tell him I want the other sister found.’
‘Why?’
‘She could prove useful.’
‘How?’
‘Just trust me, Jake.’
Jake hovered then ran his hands back through his cropped hair before exhaling a reluctant, terse sigh. ‘You’d better know what you’re doing.’
‘When don’t I?’
Jake tongued his teeth as he shook his head slightly, hands falling to his hips. ‘I’ll sort Alisha but I’m checking on you in a couple of hours. No arguments,’ he said as he stepped over to the door.
He looked back over his shoulder at his brother, but Caleb’s attention was back on the screen.
Closing the office door behind him, Jake stood in the corridor, the music vibrating up from his right.
He had to give Caleb more credence. He never lost it. Ever. He got carried away but the hunt was always perfection, from the tales he’d heard. Every serryn execution was controlled. It was what made him so damn good. It was what made him the most successful hunter of serryns back all those decades ago. Caleb bit only when he wanted to bite. And no serryn had ever succeeded in convincing him otherwise. That was what made him so proficient. That was what had made him the best. And he’d been up against the best and won.
This would be no different.
And Leila wouldn’t act. Leila would think only of getting her and Alisha out safely. And he had to trust in that. She’d be smart enough to know. And his brother, if he really believed she had done a holding spell, loved him too much to do anything to put him in jeopardy before dawn.
He had no choice but to leave them to it for now.
Leila had to get through this one on her own.
Chapter Seven
The wind whipped against the side of the building, whistling through the gaps in the window, the chilled air taunting Leila’s skin. Laughter and voices echoed from far beyond, reminding her of a world that carried on without a care of what was going on in the shadows.
A metallic clunk resounded as the door was unlocked. She looked over her shoulder to see Caleb entering the room, only this time he was alone and armed with two empty chairs.
Caleb – the self-proclaimed serryn hunter.
She’d heard of them, read about them. She knew they were as rare as serryns themselves. She also knew how revered they were. Only the select intrepid few even dared to take on serryns. Serryn hunters were brutal, cruel and merciless. They were also the strongest of their kind, both physically and mentally. They had to be. Serryns were renowned for breaking any vampire they chose. But even the most powerful of her kind were known to waver under the prospect of coming up against a true hunter.
And she wasn’t surprised if they were all like him. Caleb was lethal for more reasons than his proclaimed skills.
He locked the dungeon door, crossed the room towards her and planted the chairs a couple of feet away.
Leila braced herself and clenched her hands in their constraints as he stood astride her hips.
‘I’m going to untie you,’ he said, his stern eyes burning into hers. ‘But if you try anything stupid, including attempting to utter one nasty little spell, even a hint of an incantation, I will strap you back down and go and rip your sister’s heart out. Do you understand me?’
She had no doubt he meant every word. She begrudgingly nodded.
He took the key from his back pocket and crouched at her feet. He released her ankles first and then her wrists.
As he took a step back, Leila pulled down her gag and took a deep intake of breath. She sat up too quickly, the blood rushing to her head, tilting her off balance, forcing her to lean back on her arms.
‘Take it easy,’ he said. ‘The sedative will be in your system for a little while longer yet.’
She looked up at him, his green eyes darkened in the shadows as he held out his hand to help her up – a hand that was as steady as his uncompromising gaze.
Ignoring his offer of assistance, she got to her knees. She waited a moment, realised she didn’t have enough balance, and sank back onto her haunches again. She clutched her icy-cold feet and sq
ueezed to try and evoke some circulation as she warily watched him ease into the nearest chair side-on to her.
Having one more go at getting to her feet, she succeeded, relieved both to be standing and off the hard floor. She wrapped her arms around herself in an attempt at some much-needed warmth – another luxury her constraints hadn’t allowed.
He kicked the free chair towards her. ‘Sit down.’
She felt her indignation soar, but she knew the sensible thing right then was to comply. She perched on the edge, her hands clutching either side of the seat as she fought against her shivering, at the indignation of her situation, the fear.
Reaching forward, he placed his hand between her knees and dragged her seat towards him. He leaned back again as he rested his foot on the left rung of her chair. ‘Not exactly dungeon material, are you?’
She released her right hand’s grip on the side of the chair so as not to risk brushing his thigh and instead wrapped her arm protectively across her stomach. She squeezed her knees together so their legs wouldn’t touch. He’d taunted her with his proximity on the terrace, but she wasn’t going to give him the satisfaction again.
She glanced over his shoulder at the open door. Everything in her screamed to make a break for it, but there was no telling where she was or her chances of finding Alisha. Wherever they were it still had to be Blackthorn, and that meant far more vampires than Caleb out there baying for her blood.
Besides, she didn’t stand a hope in hell of outrunning him – and he knew it. Something told her the unlocked door was his way of daring her to try. She lowered her gaze to the floor.
‘Look at me,’ he said.
She closed her eyes for a moment, resentment tearing through her.
‘Look at me or you’ll learn the hard way that I don’t like asking twice.’
She tore her gaze from the floor to glower up into his green eyes.
He smirked. ‘Well, if that isn’t a “fuck you” glare, I don’t what is.’
He couldn’t have been more right, but she ignored the coax. Instead she averted her gaze to the stains beneath the manacles. Stains she had already worked out were blood. Her stomach tightened in contemplation of how recent they were.
It took all her restraint not to demand where Alisha was, if she was okay, but she guessed it was pointless asking him anything.
‘You didn’t seriously think you’d get away with it, did you?’ he asked. ‘Saunter in here and saunter back out again unnoticed?’
She turned her head away and kept her lips closed.
‘I’m talking to you,’ he said.
She sighed with defiant resentment.
In the corner of her eye, she saw him lean forward, hands loose between his thighs, his head tilted towards her. ‘Just to make it clear, I can make you talk. It’s a method I’m all too happy to adopt. It just depends how much of your dignity you’d like to retain.’
Begrudgingly, she met his gaze. And as he looked at her as though he could tear her apart without cause, it wasn’t just fear that overwhelmed her – the injustice of his judgement infuriated her.
But for now she was alive. This time he had come in unarmed. A conversation was required and one she had to participate in whether she liked it or not. ‘Where’s my sister?’
He leaned back again. ‘With Jake. Probably intoxicated by now but happily oblivious to any of this. He’s keeping a watchful eye. And there are a couple keeping a watchful eye on him – just in case.’
‘In case of what?’
‘Let’s neither of us be naïve. You’re a serryn. Jake’s a vampire. Isn’t there some kind of serryn lore against what you did tonight?’
She hated the word coming from his lips. She hated the way he made it sound real. ‘I came here as an interpreter, not a serryn.’
‘Is that right?’
‘I did what you asked.’
‘But so far I’ve only got your word for that, haven’t I?’
She frowned. ‘You saw me do it.’
‘You seemed to do it. But I also know how very effectively holding spells can be used to get you witches out of tight spots.’
Her heart leapt. It hadn’t even crossed her mind. ‘You think I did some kind of trick?’
‘At dawn, we’ll know, won’t we?’
Dawn. Dawn was hours away. It was out of the question. He had to be insane if he planned to hold her there that long. It was unthinkable. ‘You can’t keep me here.’
‘You’ll find I can do whatever I want. You’re in my territory now.’
As those dark green eyes glinted, she knew that was only too true. Just as she now knew why she was still alive – if she had done a holding spell and he killed her, Jake died with her.
Ironically his suspicion appeared to be her current salvation and she wasn’t stupid enough to argue to the contrary. ‘How did you know what I am?’
‘I’ve met enough. And the fact it takes something a hell of a lot more powerful than a regular witch to do what you did tonight.’
‘So you had your suspicions even before I came. But you still brought me here?’
‘I had no choice.’
‘And you accuse me of being stupid or reckless?’
She could tell from the narrowing of his eyes that he didn’t appreciate the jibe. She glanced at his blood-smattered shirt from Tay’s execution – reminder enough to stay smart. She warily looked back into glossy green eyes assessing her pensively, attentively reading her every reaction, her every expression. And she begrudgingly struggled under the intimidation of those beautiful eyes so dark in the shadowy room, his black hair untamed over his thick, straight eyebrows. She was back where she was the first time she saw him – that instinctive, deep sense of desire washing over her again, consuming her; something innately, intensely sexual awakening despite her fear.
She clenched her hands, irritated and bewildered by her attraction to him. It was impossible for a serryn to find a vampire attractive. They were inherently immune to their charms. But more than that, he stood for everything she despised. Everything she had learned since a child to despise. But equally she knew she would have to be dead on the inside not to see his appeal.
She stared at the floor. It was pointless arguing with him. And argue with him she would if death or torture were imminent. But seemingly they weren’t. As her teeth chattered from more than the cold, she clenched her jaw.
‘So,’ he said, ‘how can Alisha not know what you are? Because unless she’s a remarkable actress, she really is clueless about you.’
Her gaze snapped back to his. ‘You said something to her? You said she was oblivious.’
‘She is. For now.’
Her heart pounded. ‘Your problem is with me, not her. Let her go.’
‘In case you haven’t noticed, our siblings are somewhat enraptured by each other. I don’t think she’s planning to go anywhere.’
Leila narrowed her eyes. ‘If you hurt her…’
‘You’re hardly in a position to be making threats, are you, serryn?’
‘You have no right to do this to us. I came here to help.’
‘Which, of course, you would have done willingly if your sister hadn’t been in the equation.’
‘Just as I’d be dead or sold already if your brother wasn’t in the equation?’
His eyes glimmered in the moonlight. ‘So how does she not know?’
‘Because there’s no need for her to know,’ she said. ‘And you owe me not to tell her.’
‘I thought we’d established I might not owe you anything yet.’
This time she wouldn’t break away. This time she stared right back into those penetrating green eyes. ‘Believe what you want. At dawn, you’ll see.’
After a couple of seconds, Caleb stood. He forced a knee between hers, kicking her thighs apart as he stepped between them.
Leila recoiled, clutching either side of the seat. She leaned back to break the intimacy as he gently caught her jaw, forcing her to meet his stony g
aze.
‘You’d better hope so,’ he said. ‘Because I’ve got you exactly where I want you. You and your little sister. Just you remember that.’
He held her gaze for a moment longer before stepping away.
Leila caught her breath, still clutching the chair as she watched him saunter across to the door.
She expected him to slam and lock it behind him, but instead he left it wide open – an invitation, an instruction, for her to follow.
Chapter Eight
Leila couldn’t move at first. The door that should have been a symbol of open arms suddenly became a looming threat, the dungeon paradoxically morphing into her security net. But as silence beckoned from beyond, she pulled herself from the chair and stepped warily over the threshold.
Clutching the architrave, she scanned the tiny, windowless room. It was bare aside from a single chair secured to the floor. Directly opposite was another open door. She crossed the concrete floor, her bare feet too numb to detect the change from stone to wood.
The office was generous in size but enticingly snug with its mahogany floor and furniture, complemented by dark green leather sofas in the middle of the room. An impressive desk sat at an angle in the top right-hand corner ahead. Above it, secured to the wall, was a sword, unmistakably the one Caleb had been wielding.
Central to the wall ahead, an arc of monitors, five screens high and at least twenty across, was a dominating feature. A broad black leather chair rested off-angle where the workstation bowed inwards.
As she stepped further into the room, she was instantly drawn to Caleb stood in the open doorway to her left, shoulder against the doorframe.
She could hear the distant monotonous beat of bass music beyond, a clear indication they were still in the same four walls of the club. Hopefully Alisha was too.
She stepped past the sofas, scanning the arc of monitors as she passed – monitors that showed every angle and recess of the club. Images rebounded back at her in all their colourful but silent glory: the dance floor, the bar, the entrance, booths, further rooms, corridors, stairwells. Some people were dancing, some talking, some entwined within each other, some in small clustered groups, some wandering alone.
02 Blood Roses - Blackthorn Page 7