by Andrea Wölk
Aragón opened his eyes to find himself in a dark, windowless room. He was on the floor and his hands and feet were still tied together with steel cables. He could hear footsteps coming closer, a heavy stride and springy gait, like that of a woman. When the door opened, pale neon light poured in from the hallway, showing a bare, gray room with nothing more than a chair on the opposite end. He felt dizzy and his eyes couldn’t adjust to the light. He urgently needed blood. Kilian Castaway strode into the room majestically, as if he were walking into a party.
»Oh, you’re awake, Aragón. That’s your name, right? Or have my people misinformed me?« Aragón’s eyes flashed with anger. »My name is Ramiro II of Aragón,« he hissed between his fangs. Castaway grabbed at the heavy cross Aragón was wearing on a chain around his neck.
»Yes, I’ve heard of you. Ramiro, king of Aragon. You’ve had an amazing life so far, almost as amazing as mine. It would be such a pity to end it now and only because of a single piece of information. So, where have you hidden the Diarium?« Aragón crept up to lean his back against the wall. A woman with short black hair was sitting on the chair. She was watching him out of the corner of her eye while keeping a blank look on Castaway. »I have to check on Philippe. He needs blood again,« she mumbled quietly. »No, you stay here!« He commanded. Sunny shrugged and stayed seated on her chair. »My brothers will get me out of here, somehow, and if you kill me, it will be an honor to die for them.« Aragón’s voice was soft, but firm.
»Oh, the proud king. You lost your kingdom a long time ago, so this isn’t the time for a false sense of honor.« Castaway hissed through his teeth and threateningly stood up in front of Aragón. »We’ll give you a couple more days and see how long you can survive without blood.« He gave Sunny a signal and they both left the room together. After a while Aragón heard the door open again. This time there was no light from outside and his eyesight was so limited from lack of blood that he could hardly see who’d entered the room. He only felt a bag of blood being held to his lips and the energy slowly flowing into his mouth.
Eva was sitting on Shia’s bed with her cell phone in her hand watching him put on his clothes for the expected battle. She read Esposito’s test message a second time: WE HAVE TO TALK TODAY! ALONE!
She looked over at Shia concerned, as he tucked a half dozen knives into his clothing and inserted the SIG and a few rounds of ammunition into his belt. The Blue Murasame was still on the bed. »I’m coming with you,« decided Eva. Shia looked over at her after he’d laced up his combat boots. »Absolutely not. It’s too dangerous. We don’t even know what to expect, so it’ll be impossible to keep an eye on you as well.« »I can look after myself.« This answer even sounded lame to her. »In a house full of deadly vampires and creatures? I doubt it! We’ll be thankful if even the warriors come out alive, so forget about it.« »Shia, we need a plan. I think Esposito is on to us. He sent me a message that we should meet tonight, alone!« »We’ll have to worry about that later, Eva. We’ll think of something, I promise.« He took his sword and turned towards the door. »Shia.« The tone of Eva’s voice made him pause. »We have to figure something out now because I won’t let you walk out that door alone.« He turned away from the door and crouched down in front of Eva who was still sitting on the bed. »Okay, Eva. What if something happens to you today?« He took hold of her hand. »I couldn’t bear losing you. I love you too much for that to happen.« »If something happens to me, you could transform me.« He looked up at her in surprise. »But I thought that wasn’t an option for you. Something you would never do.« »Well, I thought so too, until now. But I love you more than life itself and I never want us to be apart. It’s been so long since my life was how I’d imagined it to be. Until ... yeah, until I met you. You’ve totally changed my life, for the better and I don’t want to live without you. I love you and that’s why I won’t let you walk out that door alone. And if you feel the same way about me, then you won’t leave me alone here.«
»You love me so much that you would give up your mortal existence?« Shia had been looking into her eyes the entire time and knew that Eva was right. He didn’t want to leave her here either. He ran his finger along her chin and nodded. »What are you going to tell Esposito? What about your job, if you stay with me? When it comes right down to it?«
»Maybe I’ll tell Cruz that I’m going back to L.A. or to New York. I’ll think of something.« He looked at her and couldn’t believe what she’d just said. »You really love me. I can hardly believe it. You love me! And I love you, more than I love eternal life. More than my own life. So hurry up now and get dressed!«
After the sun had set, they all met in the meeting room and divided themselves up into groups. »Live in light – die with pride!« They shouted and then knocked their fists together.
Their faces were somber, knowing the dangers they’d all be facing. »I wish you’d had more time to practice,« mumbled Sara while she was entering their destination in the car’s navigation system.
She spoke softly on purpose because everyone was connected to each other via the headset.
Channing raised an eyebrow. »I don’t hear worry in your voice, do I?« He twisted his mouth into a slight smile. »I’ve got someone with me who can save my ass if I get into trouble.« »Are you sure about that, Channing?« said Ruben’s laughing voice through the headset.
»You just be careful so that you won’t need my help,« rebuked Sara. »I might not be paying attention when you need me.« Laughter could be heard all around, like the proverbial calm before the storm.
›You don’t think I’m worried about you?‹ Sara sent her thought waves over to Channing so that the others wouldn’t be able to hear. ›Not any less than I’m worried about you!‹ he thought back squeezing her hand supportively.
They let the cars roll to a stop, having turned off the headlights, and parked them hidden from sight. The gate to the fenced in area property was patrolled by two vampires. »I’ll distract them. That will make it easier for you to attack,« whispered Eva, already on her way before anyone was able to stop her. »Lieutenant Butler, Seattle Police Department. I’d like to speak to Mr. Kilian Castaway.« She showed them her police badge keeping the attention of the two vampires on her. While the security guards were busy checking Eva’s credentials, a smooth steel blade silently slit their throats and their bodies collapsed to the ground disintegrating into black ash.
The way up to the house was longer than they’d expected and there was hardly any vegetation along the way to offer protection, so the six warriors strode openly in the direction of the building. Holding their weapons in their hands, they marched head towards the house, looking danger straight in the eye. Eva went back to get the Q7 not knowing what kind of condition Aragón would be in. Luckily there were no further guards along the way, not even directly in front of the house. Channing signaled to the others that he’d picked up Aragón’s scent and then walked purposefully through the unlocked front door. When they reached the hall in full combat attire and swords in hand, another security guard saw them and immediately pulled his gun and fired at Channing. He artfully dodged the bullet, flew at the guard and attacked. First his knees, then when these gave out, he separated his head from his shoulders just like Sara had shown him.
Within a few seconds, all hell had broken loose. Alarmed by the shooting, the place was suddenly crawling with vampires. Doors were ripped open and disgusting creatures with guns and swords came pouring out the rooms to fight the warriors. The plan was for Channing and Sara to search for Aragón, while the others watched their back and fought the creatures of darkness. Channing turned to the right first, but when he lost Aragón’s scent, he took off running in the other direction and then stopped suddenly in the middle of the hallway.
Shia fought with all his power and skill against the creatures, which although superior in numbers, were not well trained. He was able to cut off most of their heads with just one blow. The quiet sound of a car engine distracted him for a second just as a bullet h
it him in his upper arm and shoulder. A burning pain shot through his arm and he dropped his sword. When he reached down to pick it up, another bullet hit him in the chest and the last thing he heard was Eva scream desperately as she entered the front door.
Channing opened one of the many gray doors and immediately saw that it was the right one.
He saw Aragón sitting on the floor trying to get up onto his feet. Channing looked Aragón in the eyes. He seemed to be fine. Sara cut him loose from the chains and handed him a gun and one of her swords. Aragón held up the heavy cross he was wearing around his neck and kissed it.
»Gracias a Dios! Dime con quién andas y te diré quién eres!« he whispered.
»We have to go, Aragón! Can you walk?« He nodded in silence moving a bit stiffly. As they all turned around towards the door, they noticed someone in front of them. Sunny was standing there with a gun in her hand, but she couldn’t fire, only stared blankly at Sara as someone suddenly held a blade to her throat from behind.
»No, my brother. She isn’t one of them. She helped me!« shouted Aragón to Maroush, who had snuck up on Sunny from behind. Maroush hadn’t recognized her at first, but the scent of cinnamon gave her away. She struggled in his arms, but he didn’t move an inch. »Where’s Philippe?« asked Sara. Sunny shook her head. »Give me your gun and I’ll let you go,« whispered Maroush into her ear, unconsciously inhaling the smell of her. She nodded and let the gun fall to the ground. He took the sword away from her throat but didn’t let go of her.
»Philippe isn’t here. He went with Castaway to light a house on fire.« »What house?« shouted Sara upset, thinking immediately of the house in Blue Ridge. »A bank in Beacon Hill!« »Oh my God, Phoebe!« murmured Sara quietly.
When they got back to the hallway, they saw Eva firing her gun trying to keep the creatures away. Shia’s head was resting in her lap. He was bleeding heavily and had already lost consciousness. Tears were running down Eva’s cheeks obscuring her view so much so that she didn’t notice the creatures creeping up to her from the side. »Eva, watch out! Head down!« shouted Jôrek ready to fire at one of the creatures. However, it had already jumped Eva and was biting into her neck. Jôrek couldn’t shoot. The danger of hitting Eva was much too high.
He flew towards the both of them in one leap and pulled the creature off Eva and sliced open his throat in one smooth cut. Blood was oozing out of a huge gaping wound on Eva’s neck.
»Jesus Christ, we have to get out of here!« shouted Sara pulling Aragón towards the SUV, which was parked running outside the door. Maroush covered them while the others carried Eva and Shia to the car.
»We have to get to Beacon Hill and save Phoebe!« screamed Sara to Jôrek and Ruben.
Channing sat down behind the wheel of the Q7 and looked questionably over at Maroush who was still standing in the front doorway.
»If you want to get out of here alive, come with me!« he shouted at Sunny who was standing undecidedly there with a gun in her hand starring at all the injured vampires piling up in the hallway. Without turning around, she dropped her gun and jumped in the car. Before Maroush did the same, he took two small hand grenades out of his pants pocket, pulled the pins and tossed them through the door into the hallway. Channing took off towards the street going as fast as he could possibly drive.
You could see thick gray smoke rising in the distance and hear the siren of fire trucks approaching. Sara screeched the Audi to a stop on the side of the road, while Ruben steered the SUV directly towards the burning building. He pulled up as if he wanted to drive the car directly into the building. And that’s exactly what he ended up doing. After Jôrek got out of the car, Ruben hit the gas and raced through the glass entryway, which exploded into thousands of tiny glass splinters.
Sure-footed, he leapt from the car and ran into the building, pulling his sweater over his mouth and nose so that only his eyes could be seen beneath his dark hair.
The smoke was so thick that it was impossible to see anything. However, the heat created by the fire was worse. The entire ground floor had been set on fire in several different locations. Ruben could smell fire accelerant. He made his way to the spiral staircase leading down to the basement. Sara had informed him by radio where he would be able to find Phoebe.
He immediately saw that smoke was also drifting under the door barricaded from the outside with an iron bar.
»Phoebe, are you in there? Sara sent me to get you out of here!« he shouted loudly. After he’d removed the metal bar and opened the door, Phoebe fell into his arms. Her eyes were filled with fear. »They killed Pete. They shot him,« she whimpered softly. Ruben soothingly stroked her face. »It’s okay. I’ll get you out of here as fast as possible! The fire department will be here any minute now.« »No, I can’t!« she screamed in terror. »I can’t leave this place.« She thrashed out wildly with her arms trying to free herself from Ruben.
»Phoebe, we have to go, otherwise we’re going to burn to death! Be reasonable!« There was nothing she could do against Ruben’s strong arms.
»Listen carefully. I’m going to pick you up and carry you out of here. Sara and Jôrek are waiting for us outside. We’ll take you with us and no one will see you. Come on, put your arms around me and hold on. I’m going to protect you and I’m not going to let go of you.«
As if hypnotized, she looked into his eyes and willingly let him pick her up. She buried her face deeply into Ruben’s broad shoulder like a little girl wanting to be comforted.
Faster than the human eye, he ran up the stairs towards the exit. Jôrek had already opened the back door of the car and was waiting for Ruben to climb in with his delicate cargo. He then sped towards Blue Ridge, with Sara following closely behind.
The light gray column of smoke rose up threateningly from the burning building and the fire department had their hands full getting the flames under control. The fireworks at the Olympic games had been nothing compared to this. Two large fires within a half hour didn’t happen everyday in Seattle. Worried neighbors had called 911 when they heard two explosions from roughly a mile away.
Kilian Castaway couldn’t believe his eyes when he drove his black Bentley Mulsanne down the driveway leading to his house. Where the door had been, there was now a huge hole that looked like the crater of a smoking volcano.
»Holy shit!« were the only fitting words to come out of Philippe’s mouth.
»What happened?« »What do you think, stupid? What does it look like? The warriors were here and it looks like they’ve freed Aragón!«
In the early morning after the fire department had put out the fire, Castaway strode through the remains of his house and took inventory. The vampires who hadn’t burned in the fire had left the scene quickly and there was no sign of Sunny. She’d probably died in the attack too. It was going to take awhile to build a new headquarters, but one thing was sure: This act would not go unpunished. Castaway looked out towards the horizon clenching his fists.
»You will not survive my revenge! That is a promise I won’t break!« he bellowed loudly into the rising sun.
Sara instructed Jôrek to keep watch. For the warriors, Kilian Castaway was still a name without a face and they had no idea what he was going to do next. When she entered the house, she saw Channing standing in the living room with a concerned look on his face.
»Are you okay?« Channing nodded. »Oh my God, Shia?«
»No, he’s injured, but his wounds are healing. It’s Eva.« Channing walked over and took her in his arms. »Is she ... is she dead?« She buried her head into his strong chest, but wasn’t able to look at him. He growled quietly to himself, looking for the right words. »No, she’s alive, but she’s been so badly injured that I had to transform her. She’s sleeping now and Shia doesn’t know. We don’t know how he’s going to react.« Sara nodded approvingly.
»We’ll have to tell him later. But there’s so much to do that I don’t even know where to start. Oh Channing, I’m so tired.« She looked over at him as tears of exhaustion
ran down her cheeks; tears of anger and despair.
»I’m here. You aren’t alone. We can do this together. Let me take you up to your room so you can get some rest. We’ll talk about our plan later.« Channing wanted to lead her out of the room, but Sara’s eyes remained fixed on Aragón.
»Did they do anything to you? Are you okay? She hurried over to him and put her arms around him. He stroked her hair soothingly. »No Sara, everything’s fine. They want the Diarium and they tried to find out where we’ve hidden it.« This wasn’t a huge surprise to anyone. »They didn’t get anything out of me. There was someone there who helped me. Sunny, the vampire who was in the club with Philippe.« Sara looked at him confused. »Are you sure? She’s on their side!« Maroush, who’d been leaning back observing the scene, pushed himself up off the wall. »I’ll find out. I locked her in one of the guest rooms. I’ll go and see how she is.«
Throughout the entire drive, Phoebe clung to Ruben with her face buried deep in his chest. He sensed her fear and could feel her entire body shaking. He gently stroked her back with his hands and spoke to her softly, saying to her again and again, »Don’t worry. You’re safe. I’ll take care of you.« He carried her through the garage up to his room in the attic of the house without being noticed by the other warriors. It was the last door at the end of the hallway away from the others. He put her down on his bed, but kept her tightly in his arms. He sat there for a full two hours, rocking her in his arms like a child who’d just woken up from a bad dream until she finally stopped crying.
Departure
Chapter 16
As the sun began to come up, the warriors felt out of harm’s way and peace returned to the house. The hunters of darkness were not able to tolerate daylight so the likelihood of an eminent attack was fairly low. The fact that Philippe Orlandie knew the exact location of Sara’s house and now belonged to the hunters didn’t make the situation any easier. Each warrior was notified to keep eyes and ears open.