The Captive Series 1-5

by Erica Stevens

  Gideon started to protest, but light blazed at the top of the stairs seconds before Melinda plunged into the depths of the dungeons. The torch she held highlighted the planes of her face and her ashen complexion. Her gray eyes fell on Braith, and for a moment color returned to her skin as her shoulders slumped.

  "You made it," she whispered.

  "What are you doing here, Melinda?"

  "I came." Her gaze flitted over the cells before landing on the broken door behind him. "I thought I would try to get to Aria while they were distracted."

  "She's gone."

  "Ashby." She took a step toward him, the yearning on her face nearly palpable. "Where is he?"

  "Outside the gates."

  Her face paled; her hand trembled on the torch as her lips compressed. "They're flanked out there, Braith; father had troops moved into the town. They're trapped."

  He was still as his mind churned rapidly. He wouldn't be able to take any troops with him to find Aria. Every man and vampire would be needed if they were to succeed in getting those gates open and saving his brother and Aria's father.

  It would weaken his chances of getting them both out of here alive, but if they were going to win it was what had to be done. It was not the choice he wanted to make, it was not the choice he would have made a week ago, but it was the choice he had to make now.

  "You will take all of the men and go to the gates, Gideon; it's the only element of surprise we have and the only chance we have of succeeding." Braith had expected an argument, but Gideon simply bowed his head in acquiescence. "Melinda, go with them, Xavier—"

  "I am staying with you," Xavier stated flatly. "I assume the humans will also insist upon going with you, and you ought to have another vampire at your back." The three humans glared at Xavier but nodded their agreement. "Getting those gates open is important, but keeping you alive is also a necessity. Besides, if we don't survive this, I would like a chance to see the girl and her brothers in action."

  "What does that mean?" William demanded fiercely.

  Xavier chose to ignore him, as did Braith.

  "Fine," Braith relented. "We have to go."

  "Braith, you… ah, you need to be prepared," Melinda's hesitant words froze his approach toward the stairs.

  "Prepared for what?" he growled.

  Melinda swallowed nervously as she glanced at Gideon and Xavier, but they remained mute.

  "I don't know everything that has been done to her," Melinda said.

  William stepped closer to Braith; his eyes narrowed, and his hands fisted as he studied Melinda.

  "But she has suffered abuse, and it's very apparent," Melinda gushed out.

  He was afraid to move for fear he would rip the entire place down as Melinda's words echoed in his head. He could barely get words out of his constricted throat. "I have to get to her."

  "What about us?" the man demanded from the shadows when Braith spun on his heel.

  "We'll come back for you," Braith responded impatiently.

  "Wait, you can't leave us here!"

  He was already moving down the aisle when Max grabbed his arm. Braith almost ripped Max's arm off in his rush to get to Aria.

  "Braith, if we lose they'll be trapped here,” Max said. “We have to let them out now. This may be the only chance they have."

  "We can help you fight them," Mary said eagerly.

  "We can't leave them here like this," Max pushed.

  He pulled his arm free of Max's grasp and seized the bars of the woman's cell. With a brutal jerk, he snapped the lock on it and pulled the cell open. The woman stood for a moment, her mouth parted as she waited hesitatingly in the shadows.

  "Free the others," he commanded gruffly.

  He was almost to the steps when he froze, his nostrils flared, and his head turned when he caught a familiar scent. Lauren was cowering in the back of the cell, pressed flat against the wall as she stared at him. She whimpered when he took a step toward her.

  "Please don't hurt me," she pleaded.

  Braith's gaze traveled over her filthy, trembling body. "Except her; this bitch stays here," he snarled.

  William and Daniel glared furiously at the girl, while Max didn't bother to look at her as he led the freed prisoners up the stairs.

  "Wait! Please don't leave me here!" Braith turned away as Lauren took a hesitant step toward the door. "I just wanted back in! Please don't leave me here!"

  William moved closer to the bars. "If he doesn't come back for you, I will," he assured her.

  "I'll be coming back for her," Braith promised.

  The feral, fleeting smile William flashed reminded him that her brothers were a lot more ruthless than Aria. Braith climbed the steps to the servant's hall and paused as he opened himself up to the flow of his blood within Aria's veins. Though it wasn't as strong as it had been, he could feel the rhythm of it within her as it pulsed through her veins.

  He turned back the way they had come from.

  "The scent of her blood goes the other way," Xavier pointed out.

  "I can get to her quicker this way."

  He maneuvered through the hallways, steadily climbing as rising horror began to pulse through him. Aria didn't know where she was heading, but he did. He was running, not paying any attention to the people he sensed still following him as he burst out of the servants quarters. The kitchens stood before him; startled servants stepped back from the group they'd huddled in.

  "Your Highness," a woman blurted as she stumbled into one of the counters. "But… oh."

  There had been no avoiding this; the kitchens were the fastest way to get to their destination. He couldn't kill all the servants within the massive room, and truth be told, he didn't want to. It was too late anyway. Aria was on a one-way path straight into the lion's den, and there was nothing he could do to stop it. He could only hope to get there first.

  One of the women fell to her knees. Another man knelt, but the rest seemed too astonished by his sudden appearance to do anything other than stand and stare in amazement.

  "Do we kill them to silence them?" Max inquired flatly.

  One of the servants let out a startled cry as they stumbled into a workstation loaded with more pots and pans.

  "It's too late for that," Braith informed him.

  "What do you mean?" William demanded. "Does the king already know we're here?"

  "No, but we can't remain hidden for much longer."

  "Why not?"

  "Because Aria is heading straight for the king's throne room."

  William tripped and nearly fell as he gaped at Braith. "And that's where we're going?"

  "It is."

  He strode out of the kitchen, breaking into a brisk jog as his body thrummed with anticipation and bloodlust. She was so close; he could feel her there, just beyond his grasp. Fire licked over his skin with his driving urge to see and touch her once more. He needed it more than he needed blood to survive. He burst into the palace foyer, startling the ten guards stationed outside the throne room.

  The guards leapt into action as they jumped forward to try and block him from the room. Braith grabbed one, shoving him back against the door as he drove a fist into the side of another guard's cheek. The man grunted as he fell back beneath the blow.

  Another guard shouted as he called for more of his brethren. Braith seized his neck and ruthlessly tore the guard's throat out before he could raise too much of an alarm. An arrow whistled over his shoulder and pierced another guard in the forehead.

  Xavier was suddenly beside him as a soldier grabbed Braith's shoulder and tried to pull him back. Braith drove his elbow harshly into the man's chin and snapped his head back. The dull thud of arrows hitting their targets filled the hall, and the shouts died away as Braith took down the last standing guard.

  Rising to his feet, he wiped the blood from his face with the back of his arm. He doubted he got it all, but Braith didn't want to be completely drenched in blood when he saw her again. Braith grabbed the handles and flung
the massive wooden doors open on the hideous room his father cherished.

  The king sat at the end of the vast room, lounging on his throne, and seemingly unaffected by Braith’s intention of killing him. He didn't appear at all concerned about the fact his soldiers had just been dispatched of with relative ease as he grinned at Braith and gave a small wave of his fingers. Braith's jaw clenched as he nodded a brief greeting in return.

  Even with the light from the massive chandelier, his father had always insisted upon having torches lit across the walls to highlight every gruesome, emaciated, and unwilling occupant of his trophy room. William inhaled sharply, Max's step faltered, while Daniel studied the room with disgust. Keegan growled as he crouched at Braith's side.

  "Awful," William breathed.

  Braith hadn't seen the room with his own eyes in over a century, but it was as hideous as he remembered. In fact, it was worse. There were even more vampire, and human remains preserved within the room now. He also saw the reason for his father's nonchalant demeanor as guards slipped from the alcoves within the room. They moved noiselessly forward to protect the man they served.

  "I was wondering when you'd join us!" his father called to him. "Come closer, son, I think our girl will be joining us soon. I sent Caleb to retrieve her for us."

  Braith's gaze moved over the guards gathered within the room. There were at least thirty of them, and he wouldn't be surprised to learn more were hidden throughout the room. He felt no concern over being outnumbered; he had no fear anymore. He only had the burning urge to have Aria back and the vampire before him dead. He'd kill all these men if that were what it took.

  "Is that Xavier with you?" the king asked.

  The king leisurely rose to his feet and straightened the rich, voluminous maroon robe he wore. He scanned Xavier from head to toe as his eyebrow quirked, and a smile flitted across his mouth.

  "You've sunk even lower than I thought, Braith, if this is the pitiful company you've started keeping. You thought you could beat me with this pathetic excuse for a vampire," his father sneered.

  Braith refused to rise to his father's baiting. Xavier stepped forward with his hands encased in the sleeves of his robe, and his shoulders were thrust back as he stared wordlessly at the king. Max and William were beside him, but Daniel had moved a little bit away; he seemed oddly fascinated by the withered vampires. Braith had to restrain himself from grabbing the kid and forcing him to stay near them.

  "What exactly was your plan here, Braith?"

  Aria was close; he could feel she was almost within his grasp. He just wasn't sure which passageway door she would come through as he knew of at least three within the throne room.

  "Did you honestly believe you could come in here and what, overthrow me? Kill me? With this sad assortment? They're not even all vampires. What were you planning on doing with these humans, distracting me with them as a snack?"

  He didn't know what the plan was; he only knew he had to get her out of here, alive, if at all possible.

  "They're still alive," Daniel muttered as he hastily stepped away from one of the desiccated remains.

  "The vampires are," Xavier confirmed. "The king has always liked his trophies."

  Daniel's eyes were huge as his hand twitched on his bow. Braith moved to the side, to step partially in front of Daniel. Daniel was usually stable, analytical, and rational to the bone, but this room seemed to have rattled his restraint completely. Braith was fearful Daniel would do something irrational before they had a chance to get Aria back.

  "Where is your poor excuse for a brother?" the king inquired.

  "Caleb is chasing down the human who escaped him," Braith answered, knowing full well that was not the brother the king meant.

  A small flicker of a muscle in his cheek was the only reaction the king had to this revelation.

  "Ah, the human," the king purred as he licked his lips. "She is quite the tasty little treat, Braith. I'm amazed by your astoundingly good taste, or should I say her taste and your restraint with her. I was unable to be so restrained with such a morsel."

  "Easy, Braith," Xavier urged as Max stepped in front of him.

  It took all he had not to launch across the hundred feet separating them and pound the smile from his father’s hideous face. His vision clouded with red again, and his hands fisted. Father, or not, he was going to enjoy ripping his heart out and stomping on it.

  "Yes, Braith, easy. We don't need you getting all worked up before our girl is here to enjoy it. Oh, the fun we three will have." The king rocked on his heels as he smirked at them and rubbed his fingers together before him. "I assume since he isn't here, Jericho is amongst the group being decimated outside the palace walls right now."

  Daniel and William exchanged an uneasy look.

  "I have no idea where Jericho is, and he goes by Jack now," Braith managed to grate out.

  Braith strained to hear something, anything, outside of this room. Then he caught a muted scraping of feet and a muffled heartbeat coming from within the walls. Unfortunately, she was closer to the king than him.

  But even worse was that behind the soft sounds of Aria, Braith heard the relentless pursuit of someone else.

  Chapter Ten

  Jack stepped toward the gate as Ashby breached the top of the wall. Ashby, loveable, affable, carefree Ashby grabbed one of the soldiers and ripped him over the edge without one moment of hesitation. Apparently, there was a darker side to Ashby than Jack had ever suspected as he remorselessly tossed aside more soldiers.

  David suddenly appeared beside him again. The blood from his seeping puncture was vibrant as it spread across his torn shirt, but it didn't seem to be slowing him down yet. Another group of vampires ran past and slammed another giant tree into the massive gates.

  Though they were solid metal, and at least a foot thick, a wrenching noise alerted Jack to the fact the doors were starting to give way beneath the repeated force of the blows. For the first time, hope flowed through him. They were going to get inside; they were going to do this.

  Running across the top of the battlement, Ashby moved swiftly through the soldiers trying to stop him. Ever whistling Ashby continued to toss them aside like discarded peanut shells. Realization settled over him as Jack finally understood what caused Ashby to become so ruthless. Melinda.

  She must be somewhere nearby, perhaps even in peril, and Ashby was going to do everything he could to get to her. With the way Ashby was moving, Jack thought they should have just used an army of vampires who had found their bloodlinks and thrown them into the fray. He suspected they might have won already if that was the case.

  Ashby disappeared as he leapt from the top of the wall. The guards stationed on the battlements turned, their attention was divided as they sought to face the new threat from within the palace. Braith had arrived; Jack was certain of it. They'd made it into the palace and succeeded in reaching the front gates.

  A hush descended over the battlefield as, for a poignant moment, they waited to see what would happen. A loud shout erupted from within, a few of the guards on the walls broke ranks and ran away; others renewed the fight with fresh vigor as arrows began to fire speedily down on both sides of the walls.

  David took a step toward the gates, the look of longing on his face tugged at Jack's heart. Another loud shout echoed from within, flames and sparks leapt higher as something far larger caught fire. A few more guards slipped away from the wall and vanished over the side as a loud groan filled the air.

  Jack stilled as the groaning grew louder. He had no idea what to expect and was half certain a mass of soldiers would burst forth to overpower them. The gates, bent and battered from the repeated blows they had sustained, moved agonizingly slow as they were pushed open.

  Ashby was grinning from ear to ear as he stepped forward. His arm was wrapped possessively around Melinda. Ashby's gaze skipped over the group before settling on Jack.

  "Well come on, you lazy bastard, there's still more of them in here to play wi
th!" Ashby announced jovially.

  Jack grasped his sister and kissed her forcefully on the cheek. "Good to see you, sis."

  "You too." Though she was smiling, sadness resonated in her eyes.

  "Where's Braith?"

  Gideon's face was drawn and tired as he stepped forward. Blood coated him, but he didn't seem to be relishing the battle; instead, he looked far more reserved than Jack expected.

  "He took a few soldiers with him and went after your father, and Aria," Gideon said.

  Jack swallowed the hard lump in his throat as he turned to inspect the group surrounding him. He was acutely aware of the few people who were missing from it, and so was David as he inhaled sharply. They were all damaged and tired, but there was still far more they had to accomplish.

  "We need to get to them," David said forcefully.

  "Yes," Gideon agreed. "Before they're all killed."

  Gideon didn't sound any more convinced it was possible than Jack felt.

  Aria had no idea where she was within the convoluted mess of passageways that made up the inner workings of the vast palace. Her shoulders and legs brushed against the walls as she hesitatingly felt her way forward. She longed to move faster, but she was worried about running face first into a wall.

  Her fingers brushed against the solid walls surrounding her as she fumbled to find an escape. Caleb must have tracked her into the other tunnel before realizing she'd fooled him as she didn't hear his cheery humming anymore, and he didn't taunt her with calls of 'here kitty.'

  She sensed he was behind her again though, back on the right trail, and like a dog on the scent he was homing in on her.

  She stopped as her fingers brushed against a wall in front of her. She was unable to understand why it was there; unable to grasp she was now trapped between the wall and Caleb.