He brushed her hair back and pressed his fingers against the fading marks Jack had left on her. "Especially this betrayal. Have you seen your good friend Turner lately?"
Fury and frustration tore through her at his taunting words. "You're nothing!" she shouted at him. "There's nothing you can do to break me, nothing that will ever make you anything other than the coward you truly are!"
He laughed as he pressed his face closer to hers. "By the time I am done with you I will be your everything Hannah. I will be the only thing in your world for the years that I choose to keep you alive. You'll pay for turning to him, you'll pay for costing me everything I earned here, and I will make you suffer for your indiscretions for many, many years of your life."
She had seen that torture room, if he got away with her now, she knew that she would most likely be praying for death by the time he was done with her. Desperation drove her, she couldn't lose everything she loved so much; she couldn't lose Jack. She swung back with her arms and finally managed to drive an elbow into his ribs. He released a loud grunt as his grip briefly loosened on her.
Turning within his grasp, she was able to break free of one of his hands and twist to the right. Through the curling smoke still filling the air, and the bodies pressing around them, William emerged from the conflict. His sapphire eyes were intense as he lifted the crossbow he kept at his side and fired at Calvin.
The bolt created a small breeze in the air as it rushed past her. She felt the brush of the feathers against her ear before it slammed into Calvin's shoulder and knocked her free of his tenuous hold. "Hurry!" William shouted as he held his hand out to her.
She raced forward and was nearly to him when Kane rose up from the smoke behind William, seized hold of his shoulder, and drove his sword through William's back. The tip of the blade ripped through the flesh of his stomach and burst out the other side. Shock and pain caused his eyes to enlarge as his gaze fell to the offending instrument tearing through his muscle and bone. His hands instinctively curled around it, but there was nothing that he could do to stop the weapon destroying his body.
A loud scream escaped her as she rushed to get to him, but she knew that even if she'd already been by his side, there was nothing she could have done to save him. Kane kept hold of his shoulder as he ripped the sword free of William's hands and body. The scrape of metal against bone was a sickening sound that made her wince as she poured on the speed to get to him. Blood spilled from the corners of William's mouth as he took a staggering step forward. Hannah leapt forward in an attempt to catch him before he hit the ground, but arms wrapped around her waist and pulled her away before she could get to him.
Her fingers stretched toward William but came up with nothing as she was swung away from his crumbling body. "No," she moaned as Calvin's hand snaked back into her hair.
"Don't mourn for him dear, he got the better deal out of the two of you," Calvin whispered in her ear.
She knew that this was true but even still her heart was breaking as she looked back at the young man lying face down in the street. He had deserved so much better than this. Tears streaked down her face, a sob wracked her body as she realized how truly devastated Jack was going to be. Her heart broke as she fought to get free, to get to William, to do something to try and help. She'd only known him for a short amount of time, but in that time he had become an important part of her life.
Calvin kept her restrained as he pushed through the crowd. There was a growing puddle of blood spreading around William as he remained motionless upon the ground. She tried to detect a heartbeat from the human but if there was one she couldn't sense it amongst the crowd gathered around her. She ineffectually beat and clawed at Calvin's back as he ruthlessly shoved people and vampires out of his way.
Aria's heart wrenching cry pierced through the commotion surrounding them as Calvin grabbed the horse's reins. "William!''
Jack had spotted the smoke miles before they rounded over the last mountain. "Hannah," he whispered as he moved with renewed speed toward the town nestled in the valley below.
The sounds of battle drifted through the air as steadily as the smoke still wafting from the ruined remains of what he now could tell had been the tavern. Braith was a little ahead of him as fear drove them faster than he'd thought possible toward the town they'd mistakenly left behind.
As they moved closer to the town they passed many humans and vampires running toward them to escape the chaos. Jack didn't stop to talk with them, didn't stop to ask them what was going on. There was no time for that, and no matter what was going on, he wasn't going to stop until he had Hannah in his arms again. They were just arriving at the outskirts of town when Aria's broken hearted scream pierced the air.
Something within him curled up and shriveled as within that scream he heard all the sorrow and anguish he knew only one of the twins could exhibit if the other had died. A roar erupted from Jack at the realization that his friend had fallen; his fangs sprang forth as he followed Braith's relentless pursuit of Aria.
"William." He felt hands pressing against him as Aria rolled him onto his back. He blinked against the influx of light on his eyes and it took him a moment to get her blurred face to come into focus. Tears were streaming down her face as she dropped at his side. "Hold on William."
Her hands were frantic as they pressed against his stomach in a useless attempt to staunch the flow of blood oozing from him. It was too late though and even if she was too stubborn to admit it yet, he was well aware of the fact that his life was coming to an end. There was no stopping the blood escaping his body right now, no stopping the weakening he felt in his extremities.
"Aria," he croaked. His throat was still sore from inhaling so much smoke and with his wounds he'd lost the strength to speak strongly. It felt as if his hands had been split in half by the sword but he couldn't feel his arms enough to lift them.
"Don't you dare leave me!" she yelled at him. "You just hold on. I'll get you out of here."
She grabbed hold of his arm and draped it around her shoulder. "Aria don't."
"I can lift you up!" she cried.
A groan escaped him, his hand clenched on her shoulder. It felt as if a hundred swords were piercing his gut as she began to lift him to his feet. "I know you can," he whispered. "But please don't."
She lowered him carefully back to the ground. The sound that escaped her broke his heart more than the realization of his imminent death did. She had Braith now, a life that was so different than any they had ever dreamed of, but he knew that his death would destroy her more than their father's had. Just as her death would have done the same to him. They were a part of each other, together since conception, and even when they were apart he always felt her with him. If she had died, a piece of him would have died with her.
Their father, he wondered if he'd see him again now. Wondered if there truly was something after this life or if he was going to fade away into nothing. He hoped there was something after death, hoped he'd once again see the man that had meant so much to him. It was the only bright thing he could find in the growing darkness surrounding the end of his too short life.
It suddenly didn't feel as if he had enough air in his lungs, he tried to inhale but there was a crushing pressure growing in his chest that made it almost impossible to breathe. Unconcerned about his blood, Aria pressed his hand to her face as she leaned over him. Tears dripped onto his cheeks as her fingers curled into his.
"I can get you help," she choked between the sobs shaking her.
"It won't do..." a racking wave of coughing broke his words off as more blood burst from his mouth and trickled down his chin. She leaned forward and wiped it quickly away. "Any good," he finished when the coughing thankfully eased.
"I can fix this," she insisted.
He would have laughed but he couldn't find any humor right now. "Always so stubborn, you can't fix death."
The ring of red that flickered through her eyes momentarily startled him. He knew what she was now
, but she'd remained so similar after her death that there were times when he forgot she had become what he'd once considered his greatest enemy. "I can," she grated and he finally understood what she was proposing.
Dread trickled through him. He'd hated vampires his entire life and though one of his best friends was one, his twin now was, and his brother-in-law was the king of them all, he'd never once considered becoming one himself. It wasn't something he'd ever wanted, but then neither was death, not this way and not this soon. He'd been running away from his grief for over a year, hiding in a way that wouldn't have made his father proud, but he'd always known that one day he would come to terms with everything that had happened. That one day he would return to the home he had fled, and he would find his purpose there. He'd planned to do so much more with his life eventually, not to have it end before his nineteenth birthday.
"There's no guarantee you'll survive," Aria gushed out. "But if you'll let me, I can give you a chance. There..." her voice broke and she pressed his hand more firmly against her cheek. "There isn't one now."
He hated the tears that continued to spill from her eyes as she pleaded with him to let her do this. She was offering him a chance, but was it a chance he was willing to take?
His eyes rolled to the side as Daniel burst free of the smoke and chaos surrounding them. Daniel skidded to a halt behind Aria, his mouth dropped open, his eyes brimmed with tears as he met William's gaze. "No," he groaned as he fell to his knees beside Aria and resumed the useless attempt to staunch the blood flow.
He was losing sensation in his arms and legs, there wasn't much time left now. His gaze went to the sky, but he couldn't see the blue through all the black smoke filling the air around them. He could feel the sluggish pulse of his blood as it oozed from him; feel the stuttering beat of his heart as it struggled to pump what little remained of his blood through his extremities. He was dying and he couldn't even get a glimpse of the sky he had spent most of his life sleeping beneath.
His fingers twitched at the thought. He wasn't ready to die, not yet, and though the alternative was almost as unappealing as death, it was one that he could actually live with. Or at least he would be a different kind of alive after. "Do it."
His voice was so weak that even he barely heard it but Aria bit deeply into her wrist and tilted his head back to press it against his mouth. His body recoiled from the coppery tang of her blood, but as it flowed into the back of his throat, he found himself instinctively swallowing it.
Aria bent close to his ear as his heart slowed to an alarming rate. "Try proving that you are just as strong as me for a change and make it through this," she whispered.
He didn't have it in him to get angry, not as his heart gave its last lumbering beats, but if he made it through this he was going to throttle her.
Chapter Twenty-Four
Jack skidded to a halt behind Aria as she sat back from her brother. William's blood stained her clothes; it was streaked across her face and matted in her hair. The blood continued to seep from his mutilated body, it had discolored the ground beneath him a rust color but Jack was acutely aware of the lack of William's heartbeat. A sharp pang stabbed through his heart, he took a step closer to the still body of his friend as sorrow built within his chest, but he didn't have the time to mourn him right now. There would be plenty of time to mourn after he found Hannah.
"Aria..." Braith started as he knelt and rested his hand on her shoulder.
"I gave him my blood," she murmured miserably. Jack felt as if he'd been punched in the gut. Braith recoiled, his lips pulled back in a snarl to reveal the fangs that instinctively sprang forth at the knowledge that his bloodlink had shared her blood with another. "Braith..."
Braith's eyes faded back to their natural gray blue color as he regained control of himself. "We have to get him out of here."
He nudged her gently out of the way and slid his arms under William. William's head fell back; his eyes were still open as he stared unseeingly at the sky. "He can hear you," Aria said.
Braith glanced at her as she hovered nervously at her brother's side with Daniel. "He'll get through this," Jack assured her. "I know he will. I have to find Hannah."
"Calvin has her," Aria whispered and pointed through the crowd. Jack's hands clenched as a ferocious growl tore from him. Braith nudged her back with his shoulder as he eyed Jack. He regained enough control of himself to take a step away from Aria before Braith went after him. The last thing he needed was to start fighting with his brother when there was someone else he was much more eager to destroy. "He took her that way."
Jack focused on Hannah's blood, allowing it to lead him to her as he pushed his way through the battle waging around him. He dodged an arrow as he mercilessly shoved a vampire out of his way. She was close, he could feel it, his body thrummed with the need to see her, to feel her. He was going to rip Calvin limb from limb when he got his hands on him and he was never going to let Hannah go again.
Grabbing hold of one of Calvin's men, he jerked the vampire toward him and ripped the stake from his hand before driving it into the man's heart. Bloodlust ripped through him; he could feel the press of his fangs against the inside of his mouth as he tossed aside the dead body. Daniel appeared at his side, blood and soot stained his strained face as he lifted a spear and drove it into another vampire's chest. He'd never seen the calm, artistic boy look so enraged as his blue eyes shone with wrath.
Daniel shoved a human out of his way before stepping alongside Jack. "Where are they?" he demanded in a hoarse voice.
Jack jerked his head to the side. He seized hold of another vampire's neck as the man ran at him. Without any hesitation, he ripped forcefully back and tore the vampire's throat out. Through the fighting, he spotted Calvin's large frame ahead of him as he tried to force Hannah onto a horse. Amazement and wariness flickered through him at the sunlight filtering over her exposed skin. She wasn't burning though, and she wasn't crying out in distress as she fought against the hold Calvin had on her. Aria had given Braith his vision back and his blood seemed to have given Hannah the ability to move about in the sunlight without it singing and scorching her body. If he had anything to say about it, he was going to make sure she got many more hours and days within its warm rays.
Like a raging bull, he lowered his shoulder and plunged through the mob gathered around him with a loud roar. He shoved the last of the stragglers out of his way and raced across the ground toward them. Calvin must have heard him coming as he released the horse and spun to face him. Though fury drove him, Jack was still coherent enough to realize that he couldn't launch himself at them and destroy the bastard when he saw what Calvin was holding in his hand.
He slid to a stop as Calvin pressed the stake even more firmly into Hannah's chest. A small gasp escaped her, she tried to wiggle away from the stake but Calvin held her firmly against him as he kept his hand entangled in her hair. "Don't!" Jack spat as Calvin pressed the stake forcefully enough against her flesh to draw blood.
"Don't what? Do this?" Calvin taunted as he turned her head toward him. Hannah's struggles only pressed the stake deeper into her flesh as Calvin forced his mouth against hers. Red exploded across Jack's vision, the sound that ripped from him was one that would have made even the largest lion cower. A strangled cry escaped her, the scent of her blood caused Jack to lurch two more steps forward as Calvin bit into her bottom lip. He jerked to a halt as Calvin pressed the stake in hard enough to draw more blood from her.
"Stop!" Jack shouted as terror clawed at his chest.
Calvin smiled at him as he moved his mouth away from hers. Calvin was still too close to her; he would destroy her before Jack could make it to them. Pain twisted Hannah's features, she tried to fight against Calvin but her exertion only succeeded in drawing more blood from where the stake pressed against her chest. Her eyes shimmered like rubies as her fingers tore into Calvin's hand. Calvin didn't seem to notice it though, he was grinning as he pulled her back a few more feet. Jack stalked
them but he didn't dare get too close as Calvin angled her toward the massive black stallion that had danced a few feet away from them.
"I can catch a horse," he said in a quiet, lethal tone.
Calvin's fingers rubbed against the underneath of her chin as he tilted her head further up. "Not if you want her to stay alive. You don't wish to catch a corpse, do you?"
The smirk that curved Calvin's lips caused Jack's hands to fist as he tried to calculate some way to get a hold of Calvin before he could drive that stake through her heart and effectively end both of their lives. He'd vowed he was never going to let anything bad happen to her and though he'd been too late to keep her completely protected, he was going to make sure she walked away from this if it was the last thing he did.
Calvin dragged her with him as he retreated a few more steps. Panic drove Jack forward another step, but when Calvin pressed the stake more firmly against her, he froze again. "I'd stay back lover boy, if you intend for her to live anyway," Calvin said with a cruel sneer.
Jack's eyes raced over the town surrounding them, but though smoke still filtered through the air it wasn't thick enough this far away from the tavern to cover any of his movements. Exasperation filled him as Calvin pulled her even further away. Jack spotted Daniel and Braith on the right side of Calvin seconds before Daniel fired an arrow. Jack lunged forward as Calvin turned toward the whistling arrow; it pierced through his shoulder and knocked his hand back from Hannah. The stake clattered to the ground as it fell from his limp hand.
The Captive Series 1-5 Page 103
