“Sull…!” I cried out just as he quickly slung the knife, piercing Sully’s side like butter.
He dropped to one knee, clutching his side in pain. Dark fluid leaked through his tightly closed fingers, spilling onto the ground.
I rattled my shackles, which did nothing but remind me I was still trapped on this damned table.
Dalton knelt down in front of Sully, who was having a hard time moving. His eyes slit into a sinister glare. “Does it hurt, Sully?” Sully sputtered a cough. “That is the silver coating seeping into your bloodstream right about now. That’s the one substance that is lethal to the both of us. Did you not think I came prepared, you ignorant piece of shit? I guess the Ashford’s aren’t as smart as they try to fool people into thinking.”
I'd always thought that werewolves were the only things harmed by the effects of silver, but tonight proved me wrong when Sully groaned loudly as the silver further poisoned his body. Dalton braced his foot on Sully’s chest, steadying his slender body before yanking the dagger from his wound. Sully instantly fell onto his side, breathing in huge gasps of air.
“Now, you bloodsucking maggot, I will finish my ritual. Take care of him,” he ordered Xander with the snap of his fingers. I panicked when Xander headed towards him.
“If you do anything to hurt him Xander you will pay! It will be the death of you! The Ashford’s will never rest until they have their revenge!” The acid in my tone was strong. He looked regretfully at me as he hurried by. I lowered my voice to Dalton. “When we’re dead, Davin will be back to avenge our deaths.”
“I’m counting on it.” He waved his fingers at me, brushing off my threat.
Sully’s eyes wandered around the room, desperately searching for a release from the pain the silver was sending throughout his body, weakening him minute by painful minute, and unable to fight back while Xander tied his hands and feet together with thick rope that seemed to have appeared out of thin air.
“Sully, look at me!” His eyes squinted, giving me a halfcocked smile, trying to mask his increasing agony as though I didn’t know that he was suffering. “Davin will be here soon, I can feel it! Use your mind to alert your father!”
“It’s too late; he’s blocked me somehow,” he whispered.
He was losing consciousness lying there with his arms tied behind him. I couldn’t let him leave me yet. Davin had to show up soon. He had promised me he would be back, and once he was, he would realize something was amiss in Hanover.
Dalton grazed my cheek with the back of his hand, making my skin crawl. “No rest for the wicked, my beautiful Adelay. I am already behind schedule.”
“NO!” Sully shouted as Dalton raised the dagger to his chest, uttering cryptic words under his breath before he drove it into my stomach with gruesome ease.
I gasped in shock, not yet feeling the pain I expected to feel until he decided to shove his hand harder into its handle to deepen the sharp blade. The sting shot through me like a volt of electricity had just struck my every nerve from the inside out. He pulled the blade out and thrust it into me again, sticking it a little higher into my stomach this time.
Xander let out a sorrowful howl. Perhaps he still held onto a few human feelings, but his soul was Dalton’s now, therefore taking away his ability to do anything to help me. Blood seeped through the slices in my dress, making the wet fabric stick to my clammy skin. A sudden cold chill touched my skin, sending tremors coursing through my expiring body.
Everything went dim, sounds lost their clarity, and focusing on objects around me was next to impossible. Time had drastically slowed within just a few short moments. The fresh wounds in my stomach burned something fierce, and Sully’s low suffering moan was just a quiet echo in my ear. We were both running out of time.
Dalton picked up the gold goblet that was collecting my blood, drop by drop, and lifted it to the roof in a toast to his invisible master, whose company infringed the air as a thick cloud of asphyxiating evil. The putrid stench of iron made it hard to breathe. He sloppily took a swig from the cup, letting some dribble down his chin. I gagged, trying to hold down whatever was trying to make its way back up.
The leftover liquid dripped down the side of the chalice, leaving an outline of where the blood quickly coagulated against the cool metal. I coughed harshly, pushing the thick warmth I was fighting so hard to swallow up into my throat, and gurgled out bubbly traces of blood from my mouth.
Dalton swiped his thumb across my mouth licking the smear of blood left on it. “I am not particularly as much of a blood drinker as I am a life taker, but I must say your vampire has to have incredible control to not have torn into you yet. Your blood is remarkably appetizing.”
I opened my mouth to say something –anything- but nothing would come out from the wet puddle that remained in my throat. I coughed again spurting out another bit of blood.
“Just hold on Adelay, your savior is coming. I’m sorry I can’t be.” Xander’s voice was inside my head again.
Sully looked to me, then back at Xander: Visibly still in pain, but fully aware of the voice that was speaking to me.
The walls suddenly rumbled like an earthquake, shaking the wooden table, and making my wounds throb worse from the unexpected jolt. I shuddered at the shrill scream that followed from a presence I couldn’t see. The scream quickly merged into a chorus of demonic groans wailing through the tiny room.
“They’re here.”
“Wha…?” I choked.
Wispy black shadows materialized from within the walls, spreading across them and turning the pieces of blank concrete into a swirling sea of black smoke.
“Marque me que je suis à devenir. Make me what I am to become.” He winked at me before outstretching his arms wide and pushing his chest towards the ceiling to offer his body to our new-found guests.
One by one, the blob of wailing darkness separated into single entities, detaching themselves from the wall to circle above me while continuing their haunted moans before vanishing into his bare, waiting chest without a trace of their presence left behind.
Their ghostly residency inside him rippled his skin in unnatural waves. Dalton’s head shook side to side rapidly, as though he was trying to shake out whatever was taking over inside him. His nose stretched into a grotesque muzzle, his ears turned up into points, his fingers lengthened with sharp claws. All naked areas of skin filled in with rough fur. Yellow never returned to his eyes, they remained blood red and as evil as ever.
His entire body moved, rolled, ripped and stretched. A demon was manifesting before my very eyes. There was something more to this transformation than the last time. Although Xander was a nightmarish creature himself, he cowered in the corner like a scared little boy…er…wolf.
“Xander, please let me go,” I whispered, while wiggling my body to get his attention before Dalton’s metamorphosis fully completed itself.
“He’s a beast too, Adelay. Ouch.” Sully’s eyes closed for a minute. “Don’t forget that.” Purple veins had branched out all over his pale face, and his beautiful blue eyes were slowly clouding over. He was dying.
“Oh, Sully!” Sorrow in my voice brought a smile to his lips. He was still trying to mask what was really happening to him. “Sully, we need to get you help!”
“No Adelay, we need to get you out of here alive. I have lived my life. All that matters now is yours. I…I love you, Adelay. Whether or not you love me in return, I am still happy to give my long-lived life so that yours can be spared. Davin is a lucky man, and better cherish what he has found with you.”
I blinked back a tear. He was dying because of me yet was at complete peace with it! This couldn’t be right; he was a vampire he wasn’t supposed to die!
“Sully? Sully!”
He didn’t answer, but I could see his eyelids flickering faintly, indicating he hadn’t left me yet. A wave of exhaustion unexpectedly washed over me, making my own eyelids heavy, but I fought the urge to close them because if I did, I feared I wouldn�
�t be opening them again. I was awake, but not aware; functioning, but not feeling.
Before Davin decided to go on his overnight journey to play Sherlock Holmes, I thought I had everything in the world. A gorgeous vampire that loved me and vowed to protect me from any harm that came into our lives, a high-strung friend that understood what my new life had become, two amazing friends back home, and a family that knew nothing of the undead but easily welcomed Davin into our home.
What was left now? He had let me down; no, I take that back. He let Sully and I both down. Maybe I had chosen the wrong brother because, when all was said and done, he was the one here by my side.
CHAPTER FOUR
“I’ll kill you, and the one who created you! Move the hell away from her!” An angry voice yelled out.
Dalton looked towards the doorway where I knew Davin was standing. My entire head was in a fog, so that I couldn’t see his entire person from a distance, but his unmistakable voice reassured me he was there.
Nothing extra was left inside my body, that was already doing its best to hang on for the time being, to even allow for the excitement I wanted so bad to feel; but just hearing his voice soothed me. Xander was right; my savior had come, but something inside was telling me it was still too late for me. I couldn’t heal myself like a creature of the undead. If I didn’t make it, at least Dalton would pay for what he had done.
Davin’s body whizzed past me at full speed, heading directly for Dalton. It took nothing more than a single outstretched hand to stop Davin in his tracks as though he slammed into a solid brick wall, flying backwards, but not before raking his hand down Dalton’s face, leaving four deep, bleeding scratches behind. Davin plummeted backwards, but wasn’t down for long, in fact he never actually hit the ground; more like he caught himself midair and was back up and fighting again.
His fangs had descended and his violet eyes were as black as the night sky. Although he had turned into the creature he didn’t want me to see, he was still such a beautiful sight to look at. He swung his arms wildly, but in controlled movements, breaking Dalton’s skin each time. Dalton grabbed hold of one of his wrists, twisting it behind his back and pushing him up against the wall.
“It’s too late, Davin. She’s almost gone, and the power is already beginning to work inside my body. A few more short moments and it will be completely mine. You cannot stop it. Your father couldn’t have prepared you for this.”
Just as Dalton started to bring his mouth to rip the flesh from Davin’s neck, he flung his head backwards into his snout, and pushed himself off of the wall with his muscular legs. Dalton still had hold of his wrist but lost his grip when they tumbled backwards into the table I was on. Their weight turned the table onto its side with me still chained to its corners, digging the shackles into my wrists which hurt like hell, but not half as bad as my stab wounds did now that I was being jolted all over this damned table. They wrestled around on the floor, each one seeming like they were going to overtake the other one, until roles would reverse, and the other one would have the upper hand for a few short moments before being overpowered once again.
The room had turned into a gory movie from the bloodshed out of every single one of us. One of the candles that had fallen to the ground from Sully and Dalton’s earlier altercation was remarkably still burning right side, up until one of the men kicked it over, rolling it straight into the table I was on. Moments later my nose was filled with the rich scent of burning wood; definitely not a good sign, considering the unfortunate position I was in.
“Sully the table is on fire!”
His eyes shot open, focusing directly where the small fire crackled. Clouded opaqueness still fogged over them. Strategically using his feet to scoot his tied body across the floor, he inched himself closer to me. He closed his eyes, sucking in huge gasps of air every few inches, and each movement looked more painful than the last, but he continued to move determinedly. Sully's flesh was transparent crepe paper over the purple veins in his face that had deepened in color, spreading now down his neck and disappearing underneath his torn shirt. He was weak, and he was using more energy than he had in him to make his way to me despite his dwindling life.
He rolled onto his back, raising his feet up off of the floor and kicked at the bolts that were holding the shackles in place. Xander still remained against the wall, absolutely motionless, watching Sully’s attempt to help me even though it was contrary to reason; I was chained, not tied, therefore making it impossible for him to break the restraints without his full power.
“You worthless beast, help her if she ever meant anything to you!”
The sweltering heat was becoming unbearable in the tiny room. The fire had crept its way up the table, threatening to touch the bottoms of my feet if I wasn’t freed soon. Thick black smoke engulfed the leg of the table and filled my lungs. I coughed; which instantly sent shooting pains through my stomach. My head began to spin.
Davin and Dalton were still exchanging blows, not once looking my way to see that the entire place was about to go up in flames. Johnny Cash’s lyric “I Fell into a Burning Ring of Fire” played in the back of my mind. I didn’t know which was worse, bleeding or burning to death.
Sully continued to kick at the shackles, desperately trying to free me from the table, but his own confinement was making it next to impossible.
I relaxed my body. “We’re not going to make it out of here Sully. I’m so sorry I got you into this mess.”
“Don’t say that, Adelay! I will get you out of here; if it’s the last breath I take. I meant it when I said I loved you, and if it means saving you so that you can be happy with my brother, then I will fight until the end to make your dreams come true.” Sully stopped for a moment cringing in pain before fighting with the shackles again.
It was no use, he was powerless. His legs dropped hard to the ground. I looked at Xander, who had begun to stir in the corner he was backed up against. All his fur had disappeared, but his unnatural muscles stayed visible underneath his sweaty skin. He was on his hands and knees with his head hung towards the floor, heaving in and out, trying to catch his breath. He was returning back to human form and was stuck somewhere in between a wolf and a man.
“Xander. . .” was all I could force out of my mouth, before coughing up more traces of blood that gurgled in the back of my throat.
The smoke had gotten thicker. He looked up at me with his eyes black as night. Sharp teeth still jutted out from his mouth that had been almost perfect the last time I seen him. His forehead trembled while he struggled to speak, but nothing came out. He sat up, staring at his shaking hands with its clawed fingers in confusion, as though he was just realizing what he had become. He darted a look at me, his eyes wide in horror, then looked at the end of the table that the candle had set ablaze.
He moved on all fours to where my feet were held down by the shackles, grabbing their chains into his massive hands. With one powerful yank, the shackles were ripped from the table and my legs slumped to the side, leaving me held by only my wrists now.
The metal dug deep into my bony wrists from all of my weight pulling tightly against them. Within seconds he reached the top of the table, and ripped the remaining two shackles from the table, sending my body dropping to the ground. A whoosh of air pushed out of my chest after the impact with the ground, making my head woozy all over again. Next, he scurried over to Sully, slicing the rope with his nails.
Dalton came hurdling over the table, smashing his back into the wall, not even giving notice to me lying freely on the ground. His focus was solely on Davin who leapt over the table after him, grabbing for Dalton’s throat that he quickly slipped from his grasp, and bounded for the open door. Davin looked at Sully, Xander, and I, overwhelmed at the scene cast before him. He kicked the blazing table away from us, hiding Sully’s face in the newly found shadows and keeping Davin from seeing how truly awful he looked.
Dropping to his knees, Davin grabbed my face with both of his hands pushing
his forehead into mine. “Oh, my love, I should have never left you! All of this is my fault; I’m so sorry, Adelay! I have failed you!”
I didn’t argue with him because this truly was his fault. I was angry with him.
Sully raised his voice enough to keep the charade going that he was okay. “I’ve got Adelay, Davin! Don’t let that son of a bitch get away!”
Davin squeezed his eyes closed, not wanting to leave, feeling my resentment; but nodded with his head still against mine, knowing what he had to do. He gently kissed above my eye, releasing my head from his hands, and ran for the door after Dalton as Sully slowly rolled onto his hands and knees.
“I’ll get you out of here, Adelay! Just hold on!” His arms shook underneath him as he struggled to steady himself enough to move closer to me. He crawled a couple inches then collapsed back to the ground. He clearly wasn’t strong enough.
I stretched my arm out to him, lightly touching the ends of his fingertips. “At least we’re together, and not going to die in here alone. . . right?”
He closed his fingers tightly around mine. My cheek was moist with fresh tears. Xander stirred next to us. I had forgotten he was still inside the room.
Suddenly powerful arms closed in around me, scooping me up off of the ground. Xander flung me roughly over his broad shoulder and headed for the door; but not before grabbing a hold of Sully’s shirt and dragging him across the floor behind him.
A burst of cold wind whipped at my face but was refreshing to my airways that had been suffocating in the heavy smoke inside the tomb. Snow was coming down hard outside, completely devouring the cemetery in sparkling white powder.
Xander let go of Sully’s shirt, dropping him inelegantly onto the wet ground; then gently maneuvered his body in an attempt to set me down next to him, but was caught off guard when something tackled him full force from the side. He lost his flaccid hold on me, sending me rolling into a nearby gravestone.
Xander got to his feet, shaking off some excess snow from his body before quickly crouching down in a stance ready to pounce on his alleged attacker. A disheveled Dalton stood there with a familiar smirk, as though just waiting for Xander to attempt an assault on him. Suddenly Xander grabbed and wildly swatted at each side of his head, shrieking in agonizing torture from whatever was going on inside him. Something horrible was happening to him that I couldn’t hear, but I didn’t have to; for I knew that Dalton had control over his mind again.
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