Chapter Twelve
Claudia had been very quiet since her talk with Ursula. I knew she was disturbed by what Ursula had told her about my father. That did not surprise me in the least. Satan would have described my father as a needlessly cruel man. His finest quality was his love for travel, which often kept him away for months or years at a time.
Excerpt from Roman Draksel’s blog
Aiden moved slowly through the house to avoid running into anyone. He didn’t want to frighten any of the women staying there. After he walked out the back door of the house, he closed his eyes and sought the familiar energy. He’d spent enough time with Tempest to easily track her. Actually, he had never been able to track anyone this easily. Usually, it took a little concentration to find the right thread. In this case, it was like he was looking at billions of muted threads and hers was ten times bigger than the others and flashing like a neon light.
He came to a clearing not far from the house. There were at least twenty women dressed in dark hooded robes surrounding a bonfire. They all chanted and danced around the fire like pagans.
Aiden felt a strange energy in the air, swirling around him. It was both terrifying and exciting. He wanted to flee, but he was also drawn to it. It hummed along his skin and occasionally stabbed at him like tiny needles. It was definitely time to run.
It’s too late to run now. It was a familiar voice speaking in his head. Fear gripped him. You wanted to watch me. Watch me, Aiden. Tempest had said she wasn’t a telepath, so he wondered how she was communicating with him now, and he knew without a doubt she was communicating with him.
Aiden nearly jumped out of his skin when he heard a man scream. He wasn’t sure how he’d failed to notice the guy’s presence. The man was hanging from the branch of a tree by his bound wrists, his feet dangling so his toes barely touched the ground. They’d stripped off all his clothes, and the ropes cut into his wrists causing the blood to trickle down his arms.
Aiden might have pitied him if there weren’t something sinister about the man. It wasn’t obvious by his physical appearance, it was deeper. He twisted his body, which caused the ropes to cut into his wrists more. It was hard to make out his facial expression from this distance, especially in the lighting, but it was easy to hear the threats he was hurling at the women.
“Fucking bitches! If I get my hands on you, I’ll cut you up while you beg for mercy! I’ll make you wish you were dead! You’ll suffer for days!” The threats continued. The man seemed oblivious to the fact that these might be his last moments of life. Aiden wondered how he could still believe his threats had any value.
The women continued to chant, ignoring the venomous words spewing from the man’s mouth.
He wondered what was up with the chanting. The energy from multiple sources flowed through the air, and he was certain the chanting had nothing to do with it.
That part is all for show, Tempest answered in his mind. Again, he wondered how she was speaking to him or hearing his thoughts.
The chanting stopped, and one of the hooded women moved toward the man. She used a knife to make a small cut on his arm and held a silver goblet underneath the wound to catch the blood. Aiden gazed longingly at the goblet as she took the hand of one of the hooded women. The woman pushed her hood back. Even with just the light of the fire Aiden could see hideous red scars covered her face. Her hands trembled as she dropped her robe to the ground and approached the man. She was young, no more than sixteen years old and as the light hit her nearly naked body, Aiden thought he might be sick. Two other young girls came forward with similar scarring. The other girls were older, but not by much.
The hooded woman beside the girls spoke to the man, and Aiden recognized Tempest’s voice. “You are charged with the rape and torture of twenty three women and children. You are also charged with the rape and murder of twelve women.” She held the goblet of blood in the air and shouted. “I call upon the healing powers of my ancestors. Take the blood of this sacrifice and heal these women.”
A near-blinding light flashed, and Aiden stood frozen as Tempest stared directly at him. If the voice in his head hadn’t been convincing enough this was. She knew he was watching her. She wanted him to watch. She spoke in his mind again.
Most of it’s just a show, but this part is real. It’s what our family can do when we combine our talents.
Two other hooded women came forward, and they rubbed the blood onto the scars on the young girls’ faces and bodies. Not much, just a small amount on each girl.
Tempest and the two other women took the young girls hands and walked them to the fire. The girls walked directly into the flames of the bonfire. He could see the flames dancing around them, and he smelled burning flesh. It was the worst thing he had ever smelled, and he’d lived in a time when indoor plumbing wasn’t commonplace. The man screamed out in agony. As the flames licked against the girls’ skin, the man’s flesh burned, blackening as he begged for mercy, probably the way his victims had begged. When he stopped moving altogether, the young girls emerged from the fire. Their scars were gone.
The women wrapped the young girls in hooded robes.
After Aiden’s initial awe at what had happened passed, terror gripped him. He turned and ran through the woods, hoping he was heading toward the cabin. All he knew was he had to get away from here. Though there were no sounds behind him, he still dared a quick look over his shoulder. No one was there. They were too distracted with their ceremony to follow him.
When he turned his attention back to where he was going, Tempest was in front of him with her hood down and her long hair blowing in the breeze. She looked otherworldly. Her skin was so pale, she appeared almost ghostly. Her eyes fixed on him, and he stopped so quickly he stumbled to his knees.
“I’m not going to hurt you,” she assured him in a weak voice. She leaned heavily against the trunk of a tree, and her eyes glazed over a little.
He gave a nervous laugh. “I saw what you did to that guy back there.”
“It was the only way to cure the girls. The damage to his body is only temporary, but the girls are healed. At least, they’re healed physically.”
“Is this what you do to the guys you hunt down?” he asked as he stood and backed away from her slowly.
“No,” she replied weakly. “We usually turn them over to the police. He was a rare exception to the rule. I actually hate doing this because his mind is probably too damaged to stand trial now.”
“He’s alive?” It amazed Aiden that such a thing was even possible.
She nodded. “As I said, the damage to his body is only temporary. In a day or two, he’ll be healed enough to hand over to the police.” She slumped forward slightly.
It was then he noticed how drained she seemed. That was why he hadn’t noticed her in front of him. She was weakened almost to a point of unconsciousness, so her energy was muted. It came as no surprise when she collapsed, but he still barely managed to catch her before she hit the ground.
For a moment, he stared at her limp body as he cradled her against his chest. His fear slowly faded and gave way to amazement at what she’d done. He spotted the car parked just outside of the cabin. He had run in the right direction. His lips curled into a slow smile as he carried her to the cabin. He wouldn’t be able to keep her there, so he quickly loaded her into the back seat of the car and drove off whistling.
Safe Hex With a Vampire Page 12
