Unraveled i-2

by Gena Showalter

  Shaking now, she took Riley’s hand and he pulled her upright. Why did he want her to go with him, anyway? The real reason, and not the “capable” crap he’d spouted. Riley was a protector first, and a flatterer second. Because he still didn’t believe Vlad was alive? Because he wanted to prove to her that Tucker had lied to her?

  Instead of leading her out the room, he dropped her hand. What, she was supposed to walk behind him now, like a good little inferior human? She was not disappointed—except that she was very disappointed. Only, he didn’t leave. He strode to his closet and dug out a coat, then wrapped that coat around her, pulling her hair from underneath. Okay, she really wasn’t disappointed anymore.

  He reclaimed her hand. “Just…stay behind me and do what I tell you, when I tell you. Got it?”

  “Got it. But I’m really not a dimwit when it comes to my safety.”

  “Let’s not get into a debate right now.”

  Funny. They strode into the hall. Going from Riley’s normal bedroom to the all-black hallway was a bit of a shock, but she soon grew used to the drab surroundings. The black walls, the black windows, the violent tapestries, the swirling circles—wards—etched on everything.

  “Do you think Tucker plans on ambushing us?” Even as she asked, she deduced the answer. If he thought that was a possibility, he wouldn’t take her. Unless he wanted her to see Tucker’s “evil” firsthand. She barely stopped herself from rolling her eyes. “Never mind. Don’t answer. Just listen. I. Want. To. Survive. I won’t do anything to place myself in unnecessary danger.”

  “Good. Because your survival is my goal, too.”

  See? A protector.

  Two vampires, both female and pretty, suddenly snaked a corner. Both slowed their steps, giving Riley a long, lingering look, practically eating him up. That always happened at school, too, with the human girls. He was just too hot for his own good.

  He waved to them with his free hand. Apparently, they interpreted that wave as an invitation to chat because they homed in like heat-seeking missiles, barely flicking Mary Ann a glance.

  “Riley,” the brunette said, tone heavy with familiarity.

  The redhead just smiled, her lashes dipping flirtatiously.

  I’m not jealous or angry. Really. Mary Ann’s time with him was almost over, anyway. So why did she suddenly long for a giant bucket of vampire poison and a knife?

  “We’re kind of in a hurry, girls, so…” Riley tried to slide around them, tugging Mary Ann with him, but the brunette jumped in his path.

  “Not so fast, wolf. I have business to discuss with you.”

  “Draven,” he said on a sigh. “Not now. Please.”

  Draven. A pretty yet dissolute name. It fit its owner. She was as delicate as an angel, yet there was something…depraved in her eyes. Something cold and calculating.

  “I’ll only take a second,” the vampire continued, “and you’re the one wasting time right now.”

  He nodded stiffly, and his grip tightened on Mary Ann. “Very well. What do you wish to discuss?”

  She lifted her chin, all attitude and self-confidence. “As you know, I was one of the females chosen to tempt the new king.”

  Riley nodded again, wary this time.

  “As you probably do not know, I issued a challenge.”

  “You wish to be king yourself?” Riley laughed, suddenly relaxing. “Good luck with that. Now, if you’ll—”

  “Actually, no. I don’t wish to be king.” She smiled, yet there was no humor in it. Only satisfaction. “I went before the council and challenged Victoria. For rights to Haden Stone.”

  “What?” The single word was a roar and a gasp blended together.

  Why was Riley so furious and shocked? Aden was king, and he’d never allow another girl to have “rights” to him.

  Draven raised her chin another notch. “Challenges can be issued to anyone at any time about anything. You know this well. If a challenge is not accepted, the challenger automatically receives the prize.”

  “The princess is mine to protect,” Riley growled, “which means your challenge is directed at me. And I accept. You and I shall—”

  “Oh, no.” Laughing now, Draven shook his head. “That is not how our law works, and you know that, too. If Victoria accepts, she must fight me. And you, her guardian, are not allowed to interfere.”

  A muscle ticked below his eye. They’d entered dangerous territory, though Draven didn’t seem to care. “Aden will change the law,” Riley stated.

  “He may do so, yes. After my challenge has been met. Otherwise, everyone will know of my challenge, and of Victoria’s refusal to meet it. Everyone will know that Aden belongs to me, and Victoria will then be condemned by our people.”

  Condemned. What did that mean in vampire terms? She wanted to ask but held her tongue. She didn’t exactly know the protocol for asking a vampire bitch to explain something. And if Mary Ann had thought Riley furious before, she’d had no idea how deeply he was capable of feeling the emotion. Rage rolled off him in great waves, palpable, stinging, even heating the air around them.

  “I will tell her,” he said through gritted teeth. “She will accept. The match will be set for sometime next week.”

  For the first time, Draven frowned. “I wish to get this done today.”

  “No. You will wait until next week. If those terms are unacceptable, you will have to forfeit. The king can choose the time of the match, and will insist on watching. This I know, as well. He won’t be available until next week.”

  “Very well. Accepted.” Draven inclined her head, her smug satisfaction as strong as Riley’s fury. She tossed a quick sneer at Mary Ann. “Until then.”

  The vampire pair floated away, talking and laughing now, as if the bombshell they’d just dropped on Riley was insignificant, without consequence.

  “Is Victoria a decent fighter?” Mary Ann asked quietly as Riley jerked her back into motion.

  “Yes. I trained her myself.”

  “Is Draven?”

  “Yes. Regrettably, I trained her, too.”

  “Who’s better?”

  His jaw clenched.

  Mary Ann would take that to mean Draven was the better fighter. Her stomach clenched. “What will happen if Draven wins? To Aden? To Victoria?”

  “They won’t fight to the death, but until one of them admits defeat. The winner will own Aden.”

  “Own. How? He’s king!”

  “Yes, but he is also human, and there’s the loophole Draven is using. We’ve never had a human king before, and our laws regarding humans were designed with blood-slaves in mind. And blood-slaves may be passed around like baseball cards. Aden will have to change the law, but Draven was right. He cannot do so until this challenge has been met. Otherwise, Victoria would look weak.”

  “And be condemned. But what does that mean, really?”

  “It means that everyone will see her as easy pickings and challenge her for every single thing she owns. For the rest of her eternal life, until she has nothing left. No guardian, no clothes. No room, no furniture. No food. Until she’s forced to strike out on her own to survive.”

  What a harsh reality these vampires and werewolves lived in. “And what happens if Draven loses? Seems unfair that if she wins, Victoria will lose everything she owns on top of losing Aden. Yet if Draven loses…”

  “She will become Victoria’s property. Which is why this kind of challenge isn’t issued often. No one wants to chance such an outcome.”

  Draven was utterly confident of her success, then. Great. Another worry. Would they never stop piling up?

  “Come on, pick up the pace. We have a task to complete.” Down the winding stairs they finally pounded.

  Several other vampires passed them along the way, grouped in twos and threes. Each group was discussing Aden and his taming of the beasts. They were clearly awed, shocked and a little frightened. Thankfully, though, no one else stopped Riley for a chat.

  Outside, the air was colde
r than it had been that morning, and a dreary mist dampened her hair. She was immediately grateful for Riley’s coat. There were no vampires out here, no wolves either. Too cold and wet for them? Riley didn’t seem to mind the weather. He wasn’t wearing a coat, just a thin T-shirt, but he wasn’t shivering. Or were they too busy? If so, what were they doing? For that matter, what did they usually do during these daylight hours?

  She might never know.

  You weren’t going to think like that, remember? Nothing else seemed relevant, though.

  Mary Ann sighed. If she only had a day to live, she didn’t want to spend it doing this, she realized. Visiting a crypt. Searching for a possibly dead, possibly alive vampire king. Hunting witches. She wanted to be back in bed with Riley. She wanted to go home to her dad and hug him tight. Victoria had convinced him they’d interacted recently, but they hadn’t, and she missed him.

  If Aden had made no progress with the witch, that’s what she was going to do. In that order.

  “You’re not going to die tomorrow,” Riley said.

  “How did you—never mind.” He’d read her aura again.

  He stopped in the center of a large winding circle, placing his feet in…concrete grooves? He pulled her flush against him, his body heat seeping into her, and wrapped his arms around her, his chin resting atop her head.

  When the ground began moving, she yelped, floundering.

  “I’ve got you,” he said, gentling her. “We’ll descend and start spinning in just a few seconds. Just hold on to me.”

  “Spinning?” She gulped, imagining the carnival rides she’d enjoyed as a child. But then, she’d been strapped into a seat.

  “Slowly. Promise.”

  She relaxed. And sure enough, they began to slowly spin and inch downward, into a wide chasm that formed even as the concrete or metal or whatever it was rearranged itself at their feet. The lower they went, the more the scent of dust and—her nose wrinkled—old pennies saturated the air.

  “That smell… I would have bet… I can’t believe…human death,” Riley finally finished, grave. “And very recent.” He very gently, but very quickly moved Mary Ann behind him, but not before she saw the claws sliding from his nail-beds. He was preparing for attack. “It’s too late to get you topside, so when we reach the bottom, I’m going to push you against a wall. Do not move from that spot. Okay? You won’t be able to see, so you won’t know where to step.”

  “But you will?” she asked on a trembling breath.

  “Yes.”

  The foundation jolted as they hit bottom, jarring her, and all that darkness Riley had promised enveloped her instantly. His strong hands gripped her waist and shoved her backward, until something hard and cold met her back. Then the comfort of his hands vanished, and she was left alone. With the darkness.

  She heard the drip of water, the shuffle of feet, a frustrated curse from Riley. Several curses, actually, and her tremors intensified. Would Vlad, if he truly was alive, really attack a favored wolf? Would Tucker really ambush him? Tucker would never hurt Mary Ann, she was certain of that, but he’d always been a fighter, and that courtesy might not extend to her current boyfriend.

  A scrape of stone against stone, followed by another curse from Riley, tugged her from her thoughts.

  “He’s gone,” he croaked. “Vlad’s gone. Unless his body was snatched, which no one here would have done, he’s out there. And like Tucker told you, he’s probably planning to ruin Aden.”

  TWENTY-EIGHT

  ADEN GAVE HIMSELF A PEP talk as he tugged the witch, Jennifer, through the misty forest. This will work. Your friends will be saved. You’ll get through this just fine.

  She was still blindfolded, her arms still tied behind her back, and demanding to know what he was doing with her. So far, he’d ignored her, but finally they were far enough away from the cabin that no one, even a wolf with supersonic hearing, would pick up on the conversation.

  “What am I doing?” he responded, still chugging forward. “I’m letting you go.”

  “I don’t believe you!” She stumbled over a twig, his grip the only thing holding her up. “Otherwise you’d cut the rope. I mean, really. Your Drainer used up most of my powers, so I’m pretty helpless now. You don’t have to worry about my casting a spell or anything like that.”

  “You’ve said that before, about the Drainer, but as I told you, I don’t know what that is.”

  She laughed without humor. “Whatever. Just untie me. Please. We’ll go our separate ways and pretend this never happened.”

  As if. She’d never forget. Neither would he, for that matter.

  Now or never, Caleb said, determined.

  He’s right. This is the spot. Elijah sounded solemn. Something will happen here, I can feel it.

  With a sigh, Aden stopped. Jennifer didn’t realize and bumped into him, stumbling backward. Once again, his grip prevented her from falling. For a moment, he just stood there, watching her, feeling her desperation. If he did this, there was no going back. You don’t want to go back. She would be on the loose, would want revenge against those who had wronged her.

  But he might also be taken right into the lion’s den…

  Steeling himself against the threat of magic, he removed her blindfold, quickly moved behind her and cut the ties with one of his daggers. Instantly, she whirled on him. Again, he steeled himself, expecting a spell, or, at the very least, a punch. Something. She merely backed away from him, blinking, frowning.

  What would he do if she ran from him? Without taking him with her?

  “Why did you do that?” she asked. “Did you think a nice deed would cause me to spill my guts and tell you about the meeting? Well, guess what? There won’t be a meeting. Not now. Not after everything that was done to me. Your friends are as good as dead, human.”

  She tossed the words at him as if they were weapons.

  Don’t listen to her, Elijah said.

  He blinked in surprise. “You think they’ll be okay?”

  “Didn’t I just tell you they wouldn’t?” she demanded.

  I don’t want to lie to you, Ad, so don’t ask me that question. All you need to know is that she’s going to take you with her. That, I can promise you.

  Like Aden could really leave that alone. “I have to ask. Will they be okay?”

  “Why do you keep asking me that?” Jennifer snapped.

  Ignore Elijah and beg the witch’s forgiveness, Caleb pleaded. If you’re nice to her, she’ll make sure there’s a meeting. I know it.

  Don’t listen to him, Ad, Julian said. He’s too involved. Not objective.

  Shut up! Caleb shouted, and it was the angriest Aden had ever heard him. I know what I’m talking about.

  The conflicting advice, suggestions and demands razed his nerves to the breaking point. “Just tell me what you know, Elijah!”

  “Who’s Elijah?”

  A sigh. Do you remember when we were in that vampire meeting, and I told you about blood and death? When I said those things, I wasn’t talking about the attack you endured at the hands of the councilmen. I was talking about this, with the witches. And your friends…I saw them on the ground. All three of them. Mary Ann, Victoria and Riley, each splattered in red.

  “No,” Aden said, shaking his head in denial. “No.”

  “No, what? What’s going on?”

  I didn’t tell you then because, like Caleb, you have no objectivity in this. You would have tried to alter things, and that would have made the situation worse for you.

  “I don’t care about me! Only them.”

  Jennifer said something else, but he couldn’t make out the words, was too focused on Elijah.

  I know. But I care about you. I’ve always cared about you.

  Yes. Yes, Caleb suddenly said, and there was joy in his tone. Finally.

  You want them to die? Julian screeched.

  No. Look.

  Aden pulled himself from the hated, confusing conversation—he was shaking, breathing heavily, h
is heart beating savagely—only to realize he was now standing in a circle of witches. Shocked, he spun. They wore their ceremonial robes, their hands joined, the circle closing him in. Jennifer, he noticed, was grinning.

  Elijah moaned.

  “Well, Summoner, we meet again. Did you think we wouldn’t find you?” the blonde he recognized from last time said. The one from Jennifer’s memories. Marie. “We’ve merely been waiting for you to move your hostage from the cabin. There were too many wards there, preventing us from even stepping foot on the property.”

  “Hello, witch. How did you find us?” he asked as calmly as he was able.

  “Magic, naturally,” Marie said smugly. “Several times in the past few months, our friend acted strangely, completely unlike herself. And afterward, when I questioned her, she had no idea what I was talking about. She’d had these little blackouts, you see, and we began to fear she’d have them when we weren’t around to protect her. So we placed a tracking spell on her and disguised it as a ward.”

  One of the “cosmetic” wards, he would guess. And added because he’d possessed her body. He’d done it to find the witches, so, mission accomplished. “Smart,” was all he said.

  “Aren’t we, though? And now that I’ve assuaged your curiosity, answer a question for me.”

  He gave a single nod. Now wasn’t the time to play hardball.

  Caleb practically purred. Her voice…it’s so sweet.

  “To whom were you speaking to a moment ago?”

  For once, there was no reason to lie about the souls. “To the three souls in my head.”

  Her brow puckered in confusion. “People live inside your head?”

  Here was his opportunity. “Ask me anything and I’ll answer.” That would make this a meeting. Right? That would mean his friends—

  The witch laughed. “I can guess what you’re thinking. You think this is our meeting. I’m afraid not, Summoner. A meeting must be officially called to order. And as Jennifer told you, we won’t be having our meeting. Not now. Your actions have revealed exactly whose side you’re on.”