by Emily Reese
Fingers tore at my wrists and he groaned, laboring to his feet, his strength and my lack thereof beginning to worry me.
My world spun as he threw us against a train car, a jagged piece of metal hitting me just right, slicing open my shoulder. I cried out but kept my hold, knowing that he needed to pass out before I lost the strength in my arm.
It would be a tight race.
Reave sank to his knees, his hands clawing some more, trying to find purchase. Pain seared when he dug his fingers into the wound at my shoulder, and despite my will, my arm loosened from around his neck.
I scuttled away, looking around desperately for something to help me disable my enemy, who coughed while still getting to his feet.
Taking a few uncoordinated steps toward me, his look was murderous.
The smart thing would be to run. I could run for miles, and he’d have a hell of a time catching me. But that would mean abandoning Elliot.
Pulling myself up with my good arm, I got back into our train car and positioned myself between Elliot and the door.
“I’m not running,” I panted, “you want him, asshole? You’re gonna have to work for it.”
Reave smiled beatifically at the words I spat at him; crouching into more of a fighting stance, I prepared for his attack.
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
The attack never came.
One second, Reave grinned at me like it was Christmas morning, the next, his head was whipping back and forth, eyes searching everywhere.
My ears weren’t at 100% yet, but a moment later, I picked up on what put a damper on the vampire’s spirits. Footsteps, running towards us. Someone was coming. A lot of someones.
His disappointment was my relief, and I found myself smiling across at my enemy.
“We’re not done,” he spat, pointing a finger coated in black blood in my direction. “Not by a long shot.” Then he turned and disappeared into the night.
A second later I went back to high alert. It was naive to think something that scared such a sadistic vampire would automatically mean they were my friend. Kneeling down, I looped my arm around Elliot’s chest and tried to pull him further into a corner.
Family. Elliot’s words in my mind were barely a whisper. Cavalry’s coming.
A flashlight blinded me and a second later, and I heard a woman’s voice cry out, “I’ve got him! He’s here!” The light lowered and I found the barrel of a gun inches from my face. “Back away from him, vampire.”
“Fuck you,” I growled and bared my fangs. If she knew what I was, then she’d better know what would happen if she made a move to lay a finger on my partner.
“Have it your way,” she said coldly and cocked the weapon. I took a breath and prepared to strike, when Elliot’s hand shot up between us.
Stop! His voice boomed between my ears, and the woman across from me lowered her weapon. More feet approached and soon several large shadows loomed outside the car.
“Brother?” the woman asked.
Elliot kept his hand raised, though it shook from the effort, his breath in pained gasps. His eyes bored into hers, as he “spoke” to her, willing her to understand.
“I see,” the woman said and nodded, putting her gun away a moment later. “Vampire. Your name is Claire, is it not?” She spoke with a slight accent, possibly French. I glared at her, still not willing to drop my guard. “My name is Eloise. Elliot is my brother. We’re here to help him.”
Understanding dawned on me and I relaxed. As if he felt my tension leave, Elliot’s arm dropped and his head fell back against me. I looked down and saw how pale his skin had become.
“Help him,” I squeaked, opening my arms.
Five men and two other women entered the car and removed him from me. They were gentle and efficient as they began their work to stabilize him. A gym bag full of medical supplies appeared and the members of Elliot’s family pulled all manner of items out, bandaging and cleaning. I ceased to exist to them, nothing more than another piece of cargo in the train car.
They spoke softly, arguing in a language I couldn’t quite place; by their tone I could tell the situation was grim.
“I could give him my blood!” I stood and pulled up the sleeve of my injured arm. “I can’t promise it will save him, but —,” I looked up to see everyone had gone still. Eight pairs of eyes stared at me, taking my measure.
“I’m afraid that’s not possible,” Eloise said and walked towards me. She towered over me, somewhere around 5’10” without the heels on her boots, her brown hair pulled back into a ponytail that swished around her shoulders. “You know what he is? What we are?”
“I do.”
“Then you should know that our eternal self must be tied to a living creature. Something you are not.” The distaste with which she spoke had me ready to plant a kick right into one of her knee caps. Take her down a notch... and an inch or two.
Eloise’s eyes narrowed and I recalled Elliot’s ability to read minds.
You might be taller than me, but I can out bitch you any day, and kick your ass, I thought and smirked at her. Eloise’s hand went for her gun, but a sharp word from one of the men tending to Elliot stayed her hand. He spoke in that almost-French language of theirs, and whatever he said had the woman before me backing down.
“He wants to talk with you before we take him,” she spat and walked back to her brother’s side.
My partner’s request stole the fight from me and I limped over to Elliot, dropping to my knees beside him.
“He’s weak now,” the Jumper next to me said. He was a handsome man in his thirties and of Arab descent. “I’ll help him speak to you.” With a kind smile he placed Elliot’s hand in mine and covered it with his own.
Proud of you, Elliot spoke in my head. You kick more ass... than I gave you credit for.
I made a noise somewhere between a laugh and a sob. “You haven’t exactly seen me at my best.” I wiped a tear as it tried to escape down my cheek. “Are you going to be okay?” I was afraid of the answer, but had to ask anyway
“If we take him now,” Eloise answered with a pointed look.
It’s just a body, Elliot tried to reassure me. Either way, they’ll take good care of me. He squeezed my hand and gasped, his back bowing in pain. It’s going to be okay. I’ll find you again. Everything’s going to be okay.
Another spasm racked Elliot’s body, and the man next to me removed both their hands.
“We have to go, I’m sorry.” He moved to block my view as the rest of them carried Elliot from the car. “We’ll contact you when we know more. In the meantime, if you need anything, call me.” He pushed a card into my hand and I nodded mechanically. “I mean it,” he leaned sideways and caught my eyes. “You defended our brother with your life. That’s not something we take lightly. Stay here, we’ll send someone to drive you home.”
“My home is in New Orleans.” Even to me, my voice sounded dead.
“Not a problem.” He typed a few words into his phone and put it away. “One of our people will be here in ninety seconds. His name is Phil. He’ll have you home by tomorrow.” The man removed a gun from a shoulder holster, checked it, and then handed it to me. “Until then, take this. My name is Amir,” he looked anxiously in the direction the others had gone. “Anyone who wasn’t sent by me, shoot them. No hesitation, understand?”
“Yeah, okay...”
“Good. I’ll ward the car as well.” Amir touched the side of the car and murmured some words in their language before jogging down the tracks after his family. “I’ll call you!” He repeated before disappearing into the night.
Tired, sore, terrified yet empty, I huddled into the darkest corner of the car and waited. Balancing the gun on my knees, I kept it trained on the doorway.
Exactly ninety seconds later, a male’s voice called out, “Amir said I was to meet someone here.” Then he stepped into the car, the air around the door shimmering as he passed through. “God, I
hate wards, especially his,” he told me and shivered. Only then did he notice the gun I had trained on him. Raising his hands slowly above his head he introduced himself. “Are you Claire? Amir sent me. My name is Phil and I’m here to take you home.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
The tension in the compound had Ben ready to crawl out of his skin.
When Claire left, (yet again,) he swore that was it. He was able to maintain that stance for maybe two hours before he wanted her back, needed her home. But this... this was bad.
It all started with her shriek coming from the service elevator.
He’d heard the sound before, recognized it from decades ago when she had nightmares about her captivity. Ben didn’t even wonder the how or the why when he heard her voice, just pounded down the hallway, desperate to get to her.
“What the hell?” he’d said, nearly falling over his own feet in shock. She sat upright, shaking in a coffin, an honest-to-God coffin, dried blood caked on her skin, her face a mish mash of fading bruises. “Claire, are you all right? Talk to me, love. What happened? Where have you been?” It was all he could do not to shake her for answers. Seeing her like this killed him, tore him open and left him bleeding like no weapon ever could.
“Oh, Ben!” she said a moment later and threw her arms around his neck. He scooped her up gently and carried her to her room while she sobbed. A few heads poked out from different rooms as they passed; all were given a curt nod and nothing else.
“Tell me what happened?” he asked, tucking her between the sheets of her bed. “Was it that Jumper from the Council?”
“Elliot? No, no... he...” she hiccupped while trying to smother another sob. “He’s... he was hurt.”
“Oh.” Jealousy reared its green-eyed head at the tears she shed for someone else. Another someone else. “But surely he’ll back.”
“Does it matter? He nearly died, Ben! He might already be. He did it trying to save me, because of me. It was my fault! It’s always my fault.” The last barely came out a whisper.
The wounds he carried for this woman opened all over again, the shame at his previous rejection of her stinging.
“Then I will thank him when he returns. And he will, love. His kind are rare and secretive, but they’ve been around longer than even us vampires. He’s in good hands.” He urged her down onto her pillow and smoothed the hair back from her face. “Rest now. I’ll bring you something to drink, and you can tell me how you ended up in that box.”
Despite his gentle questioning, Claire refused to give up the details of their time apart. She told him only that when Elliot was injured the night before, the coffin was the fastest and safest way to get her back during the day. The whole thing happened before sundown, and she’d momentarily forgotten when she woke up.
“I need to be alone,” she told him not long after she finished her meal. He rose to leave, her rejection yet another punch to his gut. Her hand on his stopped him. “About what happened, before... Ben, I’m... so sorry.” Her eyes welled up and he found himself wiping the tears away, being the stability he knew she needed.
“Shh. We’ll talk later, love. We’ll figure it out. You’re home, you’re safe. That’s enough for now.” In spite of his words and feeling like a bastard, he’d kissed her as gently as he could. Then he left.
Two nights passed.
Claire walked around like a zombie, barely remembering to eat. His efforts to draw her out ended in failure, and all he could think of was the years right after her transformation. It was the only time she’d ever been this despondent. Even more maddening, his Elder refused to speak with her about it.
“She’ll come out of it in her own time,” Khale said.
Not bloody likely. The desperation that clawed at him made him want to roar.
His moment came later that very evening. Sera, of all people, managed to get Claire out of her room at least. The only other female vampire in their territory could drive him up a wall, but damned if she didn’t have her uses. While the two of them talked quietly in the common room, Ben snuck into Claire’s suite.
The sight he found shocked him; normally a neat freak, the room was in total disarray. Paper and files littered the floor, clothes hung from the back of her chair and at the foot of her bed. Quietly shutting the door behind him, Ben stepped between the debris, his target open on the bed: her laptop.
Leaning over, he skimmed the contents, disturbed by all he read. For whatever reason, Claire now searched for Collin’s other victims, ones that might be alive. Not only that, the tiny snitch of a computer told him, she’d been chasing down leads... back in Regulus’s territory.
He left the room a minute later, no longer bothering to conceal his entry. His vision tinted red, and he wasn’t sure who he was going to murder first, Claire for his foolishness, or... the Jumper. He put that idea into her head.
An irritating beep from his phone told him a call was being forwarded from his office line.
“What!” he barked into the phone.
“Do you speak for Elder Khaleme?” an unfamiliar voice asked.
“Yes, I’m his second. What is this about? I’m busy.”
“I am Elder Verminga from the Council. We’re calling about the charges against one of your females.”
“Charges?” Had Sera gotten caught up in something? He frowned in the direction of the common room.
“Yes, the vampire known as Claire Wallace.”
Ben felt the bottom drop out from his stomach. Not Claire. Not my Claire. “What...” he had to cough to make his voice more than a rough scratch, “what are the charges?”
“The murder of Collin Lucas.”
“I-I see.” Another cough. Does Khale know? Would he keep something this important from me? “Of course we will be prepared to mount a full defense. When is her trial?” So much to do. Have to protect her.
“I’m afraid the verdict has already been rendered.” the woman replied cheerfully.
“How is that possible?”
“As the representative of our species on the Council, naturally I insured our due diligence when investigating this matter. But given the lack of evidence that Ms. Wallace’s actions were anything but a betrayal of our kind, as well as the vicious manner in which our chosen representative was fatally injured…”
Must be that Jumper she’s been hanging around with. What the hell happened?
“I’m afraid,” Verminga continued in her sickly sweet tone, “I was unable to hold off the Council’s decision any longer. Ms. Wallace has been found guilty of all charges; her life is forfeit.”
Ben’s arm shot out to grip a nearby doorway. His head spinning as voices drifted to him from the common room. Others were laughing, joking… surely the world had come to a stop with that Elder’s pronunciation. How could the universe continue to exist without Claire in it?
Not their universe, just mine.
“So,” the Elder said briskly, “Council deputies will arrive before sun up to take possession of Ms. Wallace, and then you can all go about the business of putting this awful mess behind you.”
“Wait!” Ben shouted, taking hold of a sudden, desperate idea. “What if there were additional evidence. Something that proves unequivocally that Claire is innocent?”
The woman waited tedious seconds before answering.
“Then the Council and I would be delighted to hear it.”
“Good,” he replied. “Tell your deputies to meet me at the airport.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT
“Sera, have you seen Ben around?” I asked, popping my head through her open door. She sat at a vanity, brushing out her wavy black locks. Her hair could make the angels envious.
“Sorry, Mija, not since early last night. Didn’t he come home?”
“I don’t think so. His bed’s a mess, but it’s not like he makes it.” I caught myself rubbing the tips of my fingers together and shoved both hands in my pockets. “I’m gonna go chec
k with Khale.”
A moment later I knocked on the door at the end of the hall.
“Enter,” Khale replied. He rose from his seat when I came through the doors and offered me a warm smile. “How are you feeling, Claire? I understand you’ve had a rough couple of days.” He indicated a chair and waited until I was seated before taking his own.
“So you’ve talked to Ben then?”
“Waking up to your screams warrants a conversation, don’t you think?”
“Yeah,” I blushed, “sorry about that.”
“No apology is needed.” He leaned forward and whispered conspiratorially to me. “Personally, I cannot tolerate coffins.”
“That must’ve been difficult, back in the day.”
“We all adapt,” he said, spreading his hands wide. “But surely you did not come here to discuss my distaste for pine boxes. What troubles you? What of your work with the Council member? The charges? Ben informed me of the injury to the Jumper.”
“Um, yeah, that’s... correct.” I swallowed hard and changed the subject to what really mattered to me. “Listen, have you seen Ben?” I had no idea how much Ben shared with our Elder, and I tried to keep things vague. “There are some... things we need to talk about.” While I still have the time.
“Not since yesterday. Is he not answering his phone?”
“He left it on his desk.”
Khale’s brow furrowed and he steepled his fingers. “I will see if I can find him.” He nodded to me and I heard the doorknob click open.
“Thank you. I’ll be here... if you need me.” Leaving Khale to his search, I shut the door quietly behind me. The moment I released the handle, my fingers went back to their fidgeting as if something sticky adhered itself to my thumbs and refused to be removed.
Walking back to my suite, I responded to the greetings thrown my way. Our little “house” or whatever one might call it, was as packed as I’d ever seen it. Male vampires were everywhere you looked, a few with human companions. Though I knew only a couple by sight, all of them deferred to me, moving to get out of my way, holding doors, bowing their heads as I passed. Super weird.