"No, sorry. I'm Ari, shit, you're bleeding out. I have to stop this bleeding. This will hurt, I'm sorry." The angel pushes both her hands around the thing in my stomach. Pain slices through me afresh. "Sorry, sorry!"
"It's ok, Angel. If it is my time, then make it quick." I croak as darkness rolls over me. The faint light from the window next to me fades.
"No, you're not dying. Give me your hands. Good, now, press down. I'll find something to... I don't know, help?" The Angel leaves me just as darkness takes over, bringing peace with it.
Karl
Day 60
Finally finding Victor, I sink to my knees beside him. A large piece of metal sticks out from his chest and blood bubbles around it. Shit. Harry climbs onto my shoulder, his small body shivering with fear. His cage lies a few feet from me, tangled and broken. He's lucky to have survived.
"It's gone all the way through, he's pinned to the floor." A short, thin woman at his other side says sadly. She tries, in vain, to stop the bleeding with her scrunched-up shirt, it oozes out around the material.
"Vic, I got you," I tell him as I wrap my fingers around the metal, I pull with all my might, it doesn't budge. "Gar? Shit, man, I need you." Victor's eyes close and his breathing slows down. He's seconds from dying, I can feel it. Garrot appears to my left, he stumbles across chairs and debris until he stands above Victor.
"You'll have to be quick, K, he will have seconds once I pull it out." As soon as he finishes talking, blue light pours from his palms and wraps around the metal, in a split second, the metal slips out of Victor and digs deep into the roof above us, Vic doesn't even cry out as I push my hands over the wound and pour my healing light into it. The female sits back, barely even blinking as she watches.
"Fuck, I heard rumours about you guys, but I thought they were bullshit." She comments, her eyes never leaving my hands, "The Queen's consorts, well, blow me over." Her brown eyes flash red, then back again.
"What are you?" Garrot asks calmly.
"A vampire. But don't worry, I only drink from women and I'm not hungry right now." She replies. I look up as Victor's skin glues back together, repairing all the damage the piece of plane has caused.
"Vampire, huh, our girlfriend would fucking love that, she loves Vampire Diaries." Garrot remarks as he helps people down the aisle and out of the door. The plane is sinking, and water is rushing in at an alarming rate.
"Ah, gods, this hurts," Victor moans as his body continues to heal, "and this is why I hate flying, I am of the sea, it's not natural to be in the sky." He laughs but I can hear in his voice that he’s in a lot of pain.
"Oh, please, help her!" A woman screams from the back of the wreckage.
"Go, help them, Karl, I am fine." Victor pushes himself up. His stomach isn't fully healed, but it'll have to do for now.
"Get everyone on the roof, this plane is sinking, Garrot, help them." I move towards the woman who asked for help.
"What shall I do, commander?" The vampire asks.
"Help me, I may need an extra pair of hands."
Chapter Nineteen
LEYLAND
Day 60
I watch, unfazed, as the plane crashes into the ocean. Screams reach my ears, carried on the wind.
"Idiots," I grumble as I watch several humans scramble out of the door I leapt out of, with no idea they are surrounded by sharks. Several are dragged under, the shimmering blue ocean around them turning red with their blood. Vivid red mixing with blue reminds me of Everly. Visions of her lying in the ocean, her scarlet hair fanned out in the water. Her beautiful, pale skin contrasts her flame-like hair. Her sea-blue eyes watching me with so much love, I thought my heart would burst from my chest.
"I love you, Leyland." Her lips next to my ear, her warm, sweet breath tickling my ear. I shake my head in an attempt to clear it. If Everly could see me now, she would probably explode me, like she did the Dark Fae who kidnapped and tortured me. Her hair had fanned around her then, as well. Seemingly alive. The same happened when I first met her in the station, her hair was the first thing I saw. A pang of something hits me in the chest, tightening it. "No! I will not let it in!" I shout. I look down at the sinking plane, more humans have scrambled to the roof, hanging on for dear life. I'll show them. I’ll end their misery before I take great pleasure in killing my former brothers, slowly, bloody. I swoop down, the cold wind burns my face as I draw in my wings, dropping faster.
I pull up at the last second, grabbing a human in my hands, I lift them into the air with me and then drop them into the icy water.
"No! Cease this madness, brother!' Victor screams as the human sinks into the inky depths of the ocean.
"Never, Slave! Know your place, before I put you in it, Kraken." I shout back as I land on the tip of a wing. The giant of a man storms towards me, anger making his face ugly. I tip my head back and laugh as his feet slip on the slick surface, "Useless! You're a completely useless, bitch." I chuckle as he scrambles to stand but his feet just slide, again and again, he loses traction. I make my way towards him.
"Leyland," Garrot warns from behind me. I spin on him, arching my wing out, I clip his leg, blood spurts as a feather slices his skin, "Fuck!" He cries out and a hard body crashes into me. We plunge into the water, he kicks and punches, blood pours from a long gash on his chest. Something bumps my legs just as Victor grabs my throat and headbutts me. The lights go out just as something takes a bite of one of my wings.
Victor
Day 60
My head connects with Leyland's as a shark chomps on his wing. Another shark bumps into my back, knocking me forward. Instinctively, I change into my Kraken form, my tentacles burst free from my arms. When no pain comes, I change fully. My body rises from the ocean, Leyland clutched in my hand. I gently lay him on the wing of the sky ship as sharks circle me. Karl yells, but I can't hear what he says over the roaring of my heart. It feels incredible to be able to shift without pain and blood. I scoop my tentacle into the water and pull out an eight-foot shark. Its jaws snap as it wiggles. I break it in half with my teeth and throw both pieces across the ocean. Several Selkies, in their seal forms, surround the plane. One jumps up and grabs a human from the roof, pulling it into the ocean. I glide through the water and draw them away.
Seven seals follow close behind me, a couple are huge, bigger than normal. Elite. Their mouths are full of razor-sharp teeth, even in this form. They're great swimmers, their bodies designed to cut through the water. They snap at my tentacles as I push myself harder through the water. One of the larger ones sinks its teeth into me. I spin and hit it over the head with my hand, its bite loosens but it doesn't let go.
"Victor!" Karl screams, and Garrot floats above me, his blue, lightning spiked inner light pours from his hands. Several Selkies are lifted from the ocean, they flail and flop around, shifting into their humanoid form as Garrot throws them through the air. They land with big splashes miles away from us.
"Thanks, brother. Now, get back to Karl, I've got this." I shout to Garrot without looking up. I scoop up two seals, bring my hands together and smash them against each other. Blood and guts fly. A third is torn in two by my tentacles. Two left. One is almost the same size as me, which is huge. The other is only small. I bat one away when the other barrels into me. We sink, it shifts as we drop. The creature’s teeth snap in front of my face over and over. I plough my fist into its body, bones crunch. The Selkie fights viciously, scratching and clawing at me. Blood runs from my wounds but I don't stop hitting the damned thing, not until its limp in my tentacle. Silence falls over the open ocean. I break the surface to hear shouting.
"Victor, help us," Karl yells, his voice barely audible over the howling wind. As I swim towards the wrecked, sinking plane, I look up to find that Leyland has gone.
Together, we help as many humans as possible. Wrapping wounds and healing what we can. Many give us strange looks some ask what Leyland is. We answer with lies. Unwilling to expose Other kind to the world. I can see in their ey
es they don't believe us. Our stories of turbulence and carbon monoxide poison induced hallucinations don't add up.
"Karl, this woman needs your assistance." I call out for his help. Her femoral artery is severed, her leg is dying. Despite healing hundreds of wounds and saving many lives this day, Karl pushes through his exhaustion to save as many as possible. Garrot hands out plastic wrapped blankets he found in the sinking fuselage. His breath puffs from his lips as he works.
"So, can I grab a lift? I'm kinda on the run from someone. Need to hide out for a few." The vampire asks Karl. He looks up at me as he heals the woman's leg. The vampire's hands are covered in blood and I have watched her help many people. I nod slightly, giving him my opinion.
"Ok, but listen, you can't stay with us. We have to get Everly back, but we will take you to Scarborough." He lays out the terms and she accepts readily.
"Thanks, man." Her smile is wide and genuine.
The baby in my arms coos, its mother is resting after Karl had to repair a cracked skull. Rocking my arm, I look across the ocean at the rising moon. I'm half tempted to change into my kraken form and dive into the ocean and attempt to rescue Everly on my own. But I know it would a suicide mission.
Chapter Twenty
GARROT
Day 66
By the time we were rescued, we were all too exhausted to do anything other than crash in a hotel. We slept like the dead and now we’re on our way back to Scarborough in a hired car.
"Move over, Vic, Jesus, how big are your balls that you need to sit like that?" I grumble as I wiggle next to Victor. The car we hired is tiny. Or so it feels next to the beast beside me.
"Sorry, I can't move any farther away. There’s no more room." He replies, frustrated.
"Fuck Leyland, man, five fucking hours in this tiny fucking car." I mean, Leyland has fallen, but surely there must be a cure? Because thirteen people lost their lives in the crash he caused, it won't be long before the higher powers become involved, and then, people like Karl, hunters, will be sent after him. If they haven't already.
"Just chill, we’re almost home." Karl barks from the front seat. In the passenger seat is the vampire from the plane. Karl's squirrel is asleep on the parcel shelf behind us.
"What did you say your name was, vamp?" I ask while trying to not sound like a prepubescent boy because my nuts are squashed.
"I didn't." She replies, "Though, I know all your names. The one who caused the crash, Leyland, fuck, the rumours are true. He's not long for this world."
"Shut up." Karl fires at her, "Leyland is a good man, he's just... he thinks the love of his life left him. He can't help it."
"Bullshit." The vampire laughs, "We've all heard the story. She went with that arsehole, Poseidon, to save the fucking world. He should be thanking his lucky stars she did. Besides," she twists in her seat to look directly at me. "He still has you, lover boy." I blush a little at her words, but a lump forms in my throat, too.
"He doesn't see past his grief to see us. He can't. It's all-consuming, I should know, I feel it too." I say quietly. Leyland only sees his loss of his child and of his fiancée. He doesn't see me, or Karl, or Victor.
"Well, he's blind. And an idiot. You guys are hot as fuck." She giggles.
"I wouldn't let our Queen hear you speak like that, she would probably explode you," Victor replies seriously. No hint of humour in his tone. The vampire turns back to face the road, a red blush across her pale cheeks.
"Yeah, probably." She whispers, "The name's Ari."
None of us reply when she tells us her name. We’re all too lost in our own thoughts. If the higher powers send hunters after Leyland, we won't be able to protect him. Especially since he seems determined to kill us.
Karl
Day 66
I park the tiny, yellow car outside of Everly's house, our house.
"Right, everyone get out. Victor, check the garden and field, Garrot, you check upstairs, I'll check down. First sign of trouble, yell." I slip into commander mode easily. The guys separate and the vampire follows me through the front door, Garrot lifts himself up to the windows upstairs and Victor jumps the side fence.
"What are you looking for? Isn't this your house?" The blood drinker asks.
"Shush," I whisper as I unlock the door and push it open. A pile of menus flutter to the floor as they are pushed over. Everly would complain about the mess I think as I silently enter the house. It's cold, so cold my breath fogs in front of my face. Harry has curled up in the hood of the jumper a paramedic lent me.
I go from room to room, making sure we’re alone. We've been gone for a long time; I'd be surprised if something isn't sitting in wait for us.
"All clear," Garrot shouts from upstairs, the vampire, Ari, jumps, her small feet leaving the ground as she lets out a yelp. "Skittish, for a vampire, aren't you?" He chuckles right behind her. She spins, her fist arcing, she punches him in the throat, he goes down, gasping for air.
"Wheezy, for a consort of the Queen, aren't you?" She seethes. I can't help the small chuckle that leaves me as I look down at the fallen Garrot.
"Bitch," he chokes out. Victor walks into the living room.
"Pussy." she shrugs, indifferent.
"The surrounding area is clear. Though, there is evidence of Others being here. Several pairs of footprints circle the house." His boots are muddy, and his usually tanned face is pale. It's then the front door crashes open. We look at each other, I push the vampire into the dining room. She lands with an umph.
"Stay there." I yell and together we storm towards the door.
"Oh, thank god! I thought you were all dead!" Mickey, William’s mate, stands in the open door, his chest heaving and a sheen of sweat over his face.
"What is it, Mickey?" I ask, stepping forward I place my hand on his shoulder. As I make contact, his body convulses, and he drops to the floor.
"Whoa, what the fuck did you do, Karl?" Garrot asks as he drops to his knees next to Mickey.
"Is he injured," asks Victor.
"Nope. I'd smell it." The Vampire announces as she walks into the hallway, rubbing her shoulder.
"I told you to stay in there till we knew it was safe," I growl at her.
"Chill, I heard you call him by name. Vamp hearing," she taps her finger to her ear. "Remember?"
"Actually, no, we know little about your kind, vampire," Victor replies angrily. Garrot carries Mickey into the front room, placing him on the sofa and we all follow. Ari wanders around the room, being obvious in her noseying. Oh, Everly would hate this woman.
"Nice place. Shame about the sofa, though." She jabs a finger into the exposed stuffing. We have not had time to replace the thing yet.
"Yeah, Selkie issue." I say offhandedly. We need to wake Mickey and find out what’s been happening.
"Should we slap him?" Ari asks, her arms folded across her chest. "They do that in the movies to humans, right? It wakes them. Here, let me," she moves forward, and Victor grabs her by the shoulder, stopping her from getting close to the witch.
"Do not touch him, bloodsucker. He will wake when he is ready." He growls, the woman backs away, her arms in the air.
"Okay, okay, no worries, big guy. Fuck, I need to meet this Queen, she has excellent taste in guys." She jokes, but none of us takes our eyes off Mickey.
"OH!" MICKEY COMES AROUND, he bolts upright and presses his head between his hands. "Shit."
"Mickey," I rush over to him. "What the fuck was that?"
"I... I don't know. I touched you and..." his gasp is heard by Victor and Garrot in the kitchen. Garrot strolls back in with a tray laden with steaming cups of tea. "Karl, I know what's wrong with the four of you."
Ari
Backing away from the Queen's consorts, I slip away and leave the house. From my research on Google, this town is small. Small enough to hide in. My Master won't find me here, he knows I hate small towns, so he won't think to look for me here. I hope. I could stay with the guys, but I know better than to get my
self mixed up in things that don't concern me. I run down poorly lit streets in search of a meal. I haven't eaten for days, and that's when bad things happen. A man and a woman walk past me, they barely look in my direction even though I could kill them both in less than five seconds. They don't believe. None of them do. Humans are not ready for things that go bump in the night. Or rather, hiss in the darkness. Not that I blame them, I wish I didn't know, either. When my Master turned me, he promised me the world, the sun and the moon. What I got, however, was a thirst for blood and a heart that ceased beating. He didn't love me, like he swore he did, not like the Queen's men love her. In the darkness of the lark, I see a small woman sitting on a bench.
Time to eat.
Chapter Twenty-One
EVERLY
Day 11 in Atlantis
Yesterday was a very long, very quiet day. Gordon didn't have me practice anything after the sand incident, we just swam while Darcy watched. Now we sit across from him in the great room, the table is huge but not so big we have to shout to talk. Not that there is much talking going on. Darcy has not said a word since we entered and all I can do is stare out into the ocean behind Gordon. The more time I spend in it, the more I crave it's embrace. The food in front of me is untouched. My heart feels like it's being split in two. The ocean, she calls out to me, but I also miss my men. Karl, Garrot, Leyland and Victor. I'm also really worried about what Poseidon plans for me. I feel like I'm constantly on tenterhooks, just waiting for him to come for me and execute me. Surely, it's coming?
Gordon says his father isn't planning on killing me, but after these last few months, the monsters he's sent after me, the things he’s put me and my guys through, it can't be true. If he didn't want to kill me, why didn't he ask if I would come here? If he didn’t want my power, why wouldn't he attempt to open a dialogue with me before hunting me down like a rabbit? No. Gordon is wrong, maybe he just doesn't know it yet.
The Everly Davis chronicles Page 49
