“Piss off.” I snorted with a laugh. “You want your head on the chopping block?”
He rolled his eyes with a grin, leaning to my ear.
“Baby, you'd be worth it.”
We had made our way through the darkness and into the red sky and crunchy leaf litter of limbo. The darkness was almost like a portal that transported us between the worlds. Now that I wasn't in the darkness and was in a much better place, I could see that it was kind of cool. I looked back at where we had come from, it was nothing but the spindly dark trees for as far as the eyes could see. It was the same in all directions, no matter which way I looked, I saw the same thing. It was almost as bad as the darkness. Autumn leaves that were layered thick on the forest floor were stunning. There was no limp or soggy scraps of leaves. These were like they were cut individually and placed onto the land with love and care. Except that the whole place had a creepy vibe to it so I was struggling to find the admiration for this place. The canopy was high above us, the trunks of the trees were dark browns and blacks that varied in size but were all pretty much the same. Long, lanky and void of branches for several metres up. Above the canopy was a red sky, it was a watery red but it still looked weird. I couldn't understand how the trees would grow with such light and wondered if maybe they weren't really growing.
“Where did the door go?”
“The doors don't appear until you want to leave so of course you aren't going to see one when you don't want to leave, are you?” He grinned as he took my left hand, undoing the lacing. “When we are ready to leave, it will appear for us, do not fret.”
Nick loosened the thin leather straps that held the sides of the cuff together, turning it so that we could see the dragon. The leaves on the vine were already blowing in the gentle hot breeze that was slipping past us, Nick tapped the shield and woke the dragon. It grumbled at us with a puff of smoke and turned its head to its master. At least we were on the right path, as to how far we would have to walk, only time would tell.
“Right, let's get going. Try to keep quiet, we want to avoid being detected if possible.”
“Yeah right, as if that's going to happen. Every single step we crunch a leaf. There is no sneaking Nick.”
We followed the dragon and the leaves, slowly making our way closer. Anton was right about the crows, there wasn't thousands of them dead but there were certainly a lot. Enough to be seriously worried. When we came across the first one, Nick stooped to it, checking it over. He surmised that it may not be dead, that it may be a spell that has frozen them. It struck me as odd that Anton wouldn't know that but I remembered William's words about how much Nick really knew. About how much he read in William's study. It was likely that he knew more about the world of dark and light beings than Anton did. I could hear the cawing of the crows, in the distance their numbers seemed to be in plague proportion. My heart was racing as I looked to the tree that was thick with crows, all of them cawing and flapping their wings. And further into the distance was two figures, William and what I could only assume was Carmella. I believed William when he said that he wasn't going to her, that he would be faithful to me but what I saw in the distance was peculiar. I gripped Nick's arm, watching as we drew closer.
“Is that her?” I whispered.
Nick nodded angrily, sneering at the image of them. It looked like they were just talking, though it did seem a little odd to me. She gripped the edges of his jacket, the smile on her face could be seen even from this distance. And then, my world was struck with one hell of a blow. They kissed. It was deep and passionate, his arms wrapped around her like he had done to me so many times. That was my kiss, she was taking what was mine. I could feel my legs give way beneath me, feeling the crushing defeat of it. Nick pulled me up and somewhere in those few moments, one of us crunched a leaf. Both William and Carmella turned to the noise, I could see triumph in her eyes as she grinned with a sneer. But in Williams eyes, I saw nothing but unease and dread. My heart was thumping hard, watching her wrap her arms around his waist and rest her head on his chest, purposefully showing off to me. William was rigid, it didn't make any sense. And then I remembered Williams tale about how Eliandra had trapped him in his body. The crows were going crazy, flying around the tree, cawing and make some serious noise. I looked at the tree and frowned, seeing a pair of deep brown eyes staring at me.
“Oh my god Nick, Anton's in the tree.”
“Shit.”
Nick pulled from my grip and started running towards William and Carmella. I was so obsessed with seeing William with his arms around Carmella that I had completely forgotten that Anton was supposed to be with him.
“Free him.”
He gestured to the tree as he fumbled in his pocket, pulling a piece of paper out. Tears were flowing as I scratched at the bark, trying to break it open. Anton was pale, I hoped that he was okay but I wasn't exactly sure of what kind of being he was. Could he survive without air? How long had he been in the tree? Had it been seconds or minutes? I didn't even know how long it had been since we were at the keep together. My bloodied fingers ripped at the bark, pulling pieces away from his face, freeing his nose and over the cheeks. I kept going, pulling enough away for him to breath. He gasped for breath, all he could say was Eliandra, rasping the word over and over again. Nick had started to recite the spell as I continued to free Anton, ignoring the cackles from what clearly wasn't Carmella. I couldn't understand a word he said as he continued to run toward them. I had taken a momentary glance as I continued to free Anton, Eliandra had separated herself from William but it was only a step away from him. Not enough bitch, get away completely my mind hissed. The crows had started to swoop around the tree, ripping at the edges of the bark. Some of them had landed on my arms to help me as I pulled the bark away.
“Trap.” Anton croaked. “Get out.”
There was a powerful boom that sent Nick flying past us, thumping into the leaf litter several steps behind me. I looked back to him, his body was limp on the ground and I wanted to go to him but I had to free Anton first. My hope was that he could stop Eliandra, I knew that I was too inexperienced to go against her. I stifled a sob for my Nick, his devotion for his master had done this... was he dead? Was he maybe passed out or was it a spell?
“Forget me.” He rasped. “Run Eliria.”
Limbo had gone quiet, all except the steps of a witch and a compliant vampire. It was eerie and I knew I was in serious trouble. Nick was out cold, Anton was still trapped and William was under Eliandra's spell. Free Anton was my mantra, get him out of the tree and he will be able to stop her.
“I can't.” I wiped the tears, still ripping at the bark. “I can't leave you, Nick or William.”
“Oh such sweet sentiments.” Eliandra purred. “So sad that he doesn't want you any more, isn't that right William?”
His eyes glistened in the light, I could see the pain as he looked at me. Begging me to not believe a word. I was suddenly grateful for Nick telling me about the eyes and for having the conversation with William about Eliandra. She was a total creeper.
“Yes.”
“You'd rather have me, wouldn't you darling?”
“Yes.”
The word hurt but I knew better than to take it seriously, the tone was robotic and unlike him. She grinned darkly, tugging his jacket as she moved closer.
“I do like it when a plan comes together. It's taken some planning but now I finally get what I want and of course, there are others that get what they want.”
Her eyes looked over my shoulder and I spun around looking at my former boss. Gerard Cameron stood there his smug sneer was stomach churning. To think that I had actually agreed to go to the movies with him, that I looked up to him as a positive male influence in my life, I was wrong about him, really wrong. But like the rest of the oblivious people in this world, he and his kind had all of us fooled. Now I could see him for his true worth, I could see the differences between him and an ordinary human now that I was awakened to the world of lycans.
His eyes were more almond shape, the bridge of his nose was flatter. I thought that he had broken it, but now that I took a good look at it, I could see that it had never been broken. And like the other lycans I had met not so long ago, Gerard was muscles from one end to the other. Me and my assumptions thought that Gerard liked to hang out at the gym when in reality he probably ran around the town chasing humans and vampires for sport.
“Long time no see Mary.” He grinned darkly. “Just thought you'd like to know, you're fired.”
“Screw you, arsehole.”
He laughed, it was creepy. I had heard him laugh when we worked together, it was a normal human like laugh that seemed a little annoying at the time. Hearing his true laugh, I would take the annoying faked laugh any day. A line cracked behind him and it pulled open to show pure black darkness behind it. Another man stepped out of thin air and moved beside Gerard. It was raven hair from the van, a face that I was never going to forget easily. Kietan grinned at me then turned back to where he had appeared from, gesturing to someone. Eminilo appeared and the two of them moved to Nick, picking up his hopefully unconscious body and taking him through the door that I could not see. I tried to stop them but Gerard stepped in my way to block me. It was pointless anyway, once they stepped through the door, Nick was gone.
There was a murmuring behind me, I turned to Anton to see that he was still struggling in the tree and by the looks of it, Eliandra had sealed his lips shut to stop him from saying anything. William stood behind Eliandra, his plain face seemed to reveal nothing to the average observer but to those who truly knew him, they could see so much. Please run, please don't believe her. Run now, run and don't look back. But it was too late, I could never out run a lycan. I didn't know a lot about them but I knew that they were fast on their feet and had strong leg muscles to help them in their pursuit of their victims. Built for the kill. Gerard turned back from the line that had sealed shut, I didn't want to leave so it was never going to show for me but I figured there was one mighty door open for him. His grin turned more malevolent as he looked at me, his top lip curled into a sneer.
“Your turn sweetheart, do be a good girl and behave.”
“Never.” I spat back.
He shrugged, pulling a needle from his pocket and jabbing me in the neck. Instantly it burned through my neck and down my arms, into my chest. It rushed down to my legs and made them feel like they were made from jelly. The world swayed as Gerard wrapped his arm around my waist, drawing me into his hardened body. I fell into his arms as my body went limp, watching the pain in William's eyes as Gerard stepped backwards away from him and Eliandra.
“We are done witch. You have what you want and we have the key. The agreement is fulfilled and you will not darken our doorstep any more.”
“Of course.” She smiled supremely. “Pleasure doing business with you.”
As the door closed us into the darkness and the pressure of whatever it was that I had been drugged with finally weighed down on me, I saw William. I knew he would be screaming inside like I was but for the both of us, it was useless. All hope was lost.
Chapter Fifty-five
My head was thumping as my senses slowly started to return. I could feel my limbs, I could hear reasonably well. I blinked hard as I opened my eyes, all I could see was a dark blur. I was cold but there was an odd warmth near me even though I was on a cold stone floor. The sound of dripping echoed through wherever I was. Feeling around in the darkness, I felt that the odd warmth was a body. Continuing over the person, I felt the scruff of a beard and wanted to sob with happiness. Nick was here, he was warm and that meant that he was alive. Tears brimmed in my eyes as he wrapped his arms around me and pulled me into his body, holding me tight. There were no thoughts of William, this wasn't a physical hug, this was purely emotional. I needed to know he was okay and this was telling me everything I wanted. He was alive but the crushing defeat brought me back into a depressed mood, we failed.
“What have I done?” I quietly sobbed.
“You did what you thought was right.” Nick whispered.
I wrapped my arms around him, crying at how sorry I was.
“Stop it.” He chided. “You will get out somehow.”
“How? I can't even see properly.”
“Your eyesight will return, it would have been a normal knock out drug.”
Nick moved away from me, I could hear him searching along the walls, his shoes scuffing over the floor.
“Looks like we're in a cell of some sort. Stone walls, there's a window over there that I'm not enthused about.”
“Cell window or normal window?”
Nick sat down beside me, leaning against the wall. I could make out his blurry image as he helped me up, pulling me against his body. I was still lethargic from the drug and was grateful for him being so sweet and caring.
“Cell.” He sighed. “Nice and nasty bars with no cover for the poor vampire.”
“Nick.” I wrapped my arms tight. “I'll cover you.”
“It's a nice gesture Eliria but somehow I don't think it's going to help. It doesn't matter too much, I'm a turned vampire so it's different.”
I frowned as I thought about it. I knew that he burned in the sunlight, I had seen it.
“How? I've seen you burn.”
“It's slower. Much slower.” he sighed.
And that was what made the whole thing worse. He was sitting on death row, waiting for dawn to approach and the whole time he would know a slow and painful death was coming his way. There were crows still alive, that meant that they would come for him. I didn't like the thought one bit, as much as he could plead with Anton for another chance at life, he would still have to suffer death. I couldn't imagine this kind of death being an easy one. I don't think that I could handle knowing that death was coming for me, to know that within hours I would be writhing in pain as my blood boiled and my body cooked in the blistering sun. Knowing there was no escape from this hell, I wondered if I would go insane before my time was up. But it was not me that was sitting on death row, it was Nick. I knew how his mind would be working, he would be worried for me instead of himself. To have to sit in this cell and watch him suffer death, unable to help him, unable to hide him. Instead of blaming me for this, he would be thinking of shielding me from the torture of watching him die. But I didn't care, if this was going to be his end then I would be here to hold his hand through it all. I would hold him to the corner and cover him for as long as the sun shone through the window. If I had to lift him to the ceiling, I would, though I knew that I didn't have the strength to do it. It didn't matter, Nick was like the older brother I would never have, he was everything to me and I would do what I could to save him.
A tear slowly slipped out as I thought about our predicament. I was to blame, this was my fault. Yet again I had caused trouble and gotten someone I cared about into a terrible mess. Trouble? Oh yes, we are the best of friends. We are quite often found together and don't get too close because you will end up in trouble like Marty or on death row like Nick. Even with a name change and a new address I couldn't escape the bitch called trouble.
Time had moved slowly, the moons shine into the room had slipped into view, glowing across the small room. I could see now, everything was sharp and crisp. My fingers rubbed over the mark that my mother had made on my arm as I leaned on Nick's body.
“What's that?” He whispered.
“A mark that my mother gave me, she said that when I was thinking of her I should rub it and it would glow on her arm, telling her that I was thinking of her.”
Nick sat up, taking my arm and staring at it intensely.
“Shit a frickin' brick.” He muttered. Then he started rubbing the mark hard and fast.
“What are you doing?”
“It's a homing beacon, the signals are varied but if you want to signal that you are in danger, you go hard and fast. Your mother will know that you are in trouble and she will come for you.”
It began to hurt, a d
eep burn was being rubbed into my delicate skin. But I said nothing knowing that if my mother came to my rescue, she would be fast and she might just get here before dawn.
“I'm surprised she didn't tell you.”
“We were limited on time and I guess she figured that I was safe in the keep.” I huffed. “And not leaving to go on some hair brained rescue mission that turns bad.”
“Can't win them all.” He muttered.
Nick had given up after a few minutes of rubbing the mark. My skin hurt like crazy and was pink from the attention. I was more alert now, sitting beside Nick under the window. The moon light missed us, casting over the floor in front of us. Nick turned on his side, pain filling his face. He wanted to say something that I knew would leave me in tears, he was struggling to find the right words.
“I don't know why they want you but I figure it's got something to do with your parents. Whatever happens after I'm gone I want you to promise me to keep their world locked from the lycans.”
“Gerard said he had the key.” I gasped. “What did he mean?”
Nick sighed and nodded.
“You aren't a key as such, it just means that you can open the gate because you are half fae and you know.”
I nodded, knowing that he probably knew of my father and his status.
“So that's why they want me, because they want to get into the fae world?”
“I'd say so. Move to a world that wouldn't know they entered because it was a fae that opened the gate. They could slip in and out without anyone knowing. Once they're in, who knows what kind of damage they could unleash.”
Nick moved a little closer, taking my hand into his. The cold seeped into my veins, reminding me of how William was able to do that.
“I know that I'm on deaths door here.”
“Don't, you aren't. My mother will come before dawn, trust me.”
He let out a pained laugh, shaking his head. “I do love your optimism but somehow I think you are wrong. We should be realistic here, my time is ticking away and I know that I can return if Anton allows it and death doesn't want me but I fear that my time might truly be up and I will not be able to return.”
Deadly Beasts (The Curse of the Rose Book 1) Page 36