It was obvious no one understood and I knew why…they didn’t want to believe. They’d been bred on romantic ideals of life outside these fences, they didn’t want to give up the hope, the dream.
“Tom.” I moved away from Will and started toward him. I was acutely aware of the way his gaze took in my outfit, the look of bewildered shock upon his face at my unexpected arrival, or maybe the change in my appearance. I was someone he no longer recognized. But did he still trust me?
I paused only a few feet away, keeping my gaze focused on him and not the girl at his side. “You know me. You know I’d never lie to you. It’s true. If you are chosen, they will kill you.”
He released a harsh laugh. “But you were chosen, and you’re still alive.”
“I escaped, but Sally…she didn’t.”
He shook his head, stepping back, as if distance could keep the truth away. “What are you saying?”
My frustration grew, and when he latched onto his girlfriend and pulled her even closer as if to protect her, my annoyance flared. “Tom, come on. You can’t truly doubt me?”
“They killed the guards!” someone cried out.
I cringed and Tom saw the truth on my face. The truth caused chaos. The younger children cried out, scattering toward the older ones. The older ones, who looked just as terrified, started shuffling into a group like deer in a herd. How stupid we’d all been. How unprepared. And now, I could see that fear clouding their judgment.
“Help!” one woman cried out, as if expecting some beautiful one to come to her rescue. “Help us!”
Their naiveté disgusted me. Kelly rushed toward the woman to try and hush her, but it was of no use. This was not going the way we’d expected and I couldn’t help but feel responsible. I’d picked this compound for my own selfish reasons. But we should have realized they would never turn on the beautiful ones. They had been brain-washed from the beginning. Will couldn’t understand it, but I did, and I could tell by the disappointed look on Kelly’s face that she did as well.
“We need to go now,” Will said impatiently. “Are any of you coming with us?”
Not one person stepped forward, they merely huddled together in a blob, terrified, completely clueless and utterly unready to accept the truth. They didn’t know us, why would they trust us?
But I did know one person here. “Tom?”
If I could get him on my side, maybe, just maybe the others would follow.
“Tom,” I repeated, stepping toward him.
He shook his head, looking nervous, scared. And in that moment I remembered and understood what Thane had said… there were two kinds of people: the kind who took the books and the kind who didn’t. I’d tried so hard to change Tom over the years, but I couldn’t. Tom would never take the books.
“Tom, please.” I started to reach for him, but he stumbled back, out of arm’s length. “You have to believe me.”
“You’ve never liked them, Jane.” He wrapped his arm around his girl, holding her close. She looked terrified and I realized he’d found the perfect woman after all…someone who would conform. “You’ve always wanted to be outside the gates.”
“I wouldn’t lie to you!”
“Jane.” Will gripped my upper arms, pulling me back. “We have to go now.”
My anger flared, I jerked out of his grasp, desperate to make him understand. “I wouldn’t lie about murder, Tom! And that’s what they’ll do, murder you!”
“Jane,” Will hissed, shoving me toward the gates. “Go! It’s no use. They won’t listen.”
But I spun out of reach. I had to save Tom, even if I had to force him to leave. Suddenly, Thane was there. Before I could guess his intentions, he picked me up and threw me over his shoulder. I hit his hard body with a thud that momentarily knocked the wind from my lungs.
“Let me go!” I gasped.
“Some people don’t want to see the truth, even when it’s right in front of them.” He started toward the gates and I could only watch as I got farther and farther away from that cowering group. “We tried, Jane.”
“Tom, please!” I cried out, although I knew Thane was right; it was a lost cause. The Tom I had known was gone, perhaps he’d never existed. This man was a stranger to me.
At the gates, Thane settled me on my feet. As I regained my balance, I found Tom easily, still protecting the woman, whoever she was. As much as I wanted to be angry, I couldn’t, knowing that he was going to end up regretting his choice. In those last moments, when he was pinned to the tabletop before the beautiful ones tore out his throat, he would realize I had been right all along.
“Please,” I whispered one last time.
Thane grabbed my hand and jerked me from the compound. We left the gates open, perhaps in a last-ditch attempt to free the chosen ones, or maybe we just didn’t have time to close them. But it didn’t matter, because a chosen one raced forward to close the gates, trapping them within their own prison.
“Halt!” a dhampir guard called out, appearing in front of us, someone Thane had missed.
“Go!” Thane shoved me toward the others as he blocked the guard. I could hear the grunt of their fighting, fists hitting fists, but didn’t dare look back. I’d seen enough death for the day.
Where one guard appeared, another would follow. If I fell behind, Will and Kelly couldn’t afford to come back for me. Not this time. And so I ran. I ran as fast as I could even though I’d rarely run in my life. Shot back up the hill, ran so long and so hard that my entire body trembled with exhaustion. And although they quickly outdistanced me and I could barely see the rest of the group ahead, I kept going, trying to outrun Tom and his rejection, trying to outrun the realization that he would be murdered soon. And only when I thought I might faint, did I finally see them paused atop a hill.
I managed to make it up the steep grade and collapsed near them. Above, the trees wavered in and out of focus as my mind fought to maintain consciousness. I clung to the exhaustion, needing the pain to forget.
“It was a damn waste of time,” Will snapped breathlessly, slamming his fists against a tree. “And worse, we no longer have Thane on the inside.”
I threw my arm over my face, squeezing my eyes shut and refusing to feel guilty. Raven, whoever he was, had wanted this. Yet, Raven hadn’t picked this compound. “I’m sorry,” I muttered. “If I hadn’t chosen this one, we might—”
“They all would’ve reacted that way,” Will muttered, giving me reprieve as he rubbed his injured knuckles.
“They might not tell,” Kelly said, always the positive one. “Surely Thane will kill the guards, so they won’t—”
“Oh, they’ll tell,” Will snapped. “Stupid damn sheep following whatever those murderers say, never thinking for themselves.”
Yet, Will was following some faceless man he’d never met. Raven.
“You don’t know!” I cried out, stumbling to my feet, my anger giving me energy. I wasn’t even sure why I was defending them, but they were my family, my friends. “You don’t have any idea what it’s like there, on the inside!”
Will’s jaw clenched, but he didn’t respond. Instead, he merely turned away and paced across the clearing. He couldn’t reply. He knew I was right.
“Should we go?” Kelly said. “Get as far away from the compound as possible?”
“We have time,” Will said, raking his hands through his hair. “If there are any dhampir left they won’t want to leave the compound unguarded.”
“They’re morons,” Tony growled. “That’s the truth.” He didn’t wait for a response, but started back toward camp, a hike that would take us all day.
Thane came up the hill, the only one not panting, the only one who didn’t look upset or surprised. Most likely he’d killed the guard. Another dead. I had to remind myself that this man had actually loved someone at one time, someone other than himself. But it was hard to remember when he was covered in blood and he stared at us with such cold detachment.
Unable to stand any
longer, I collapsed onto a fallen log. It was my fault. I’d picked this compound. No matter what Will said, it was my fault.
And I knew the group blamed me. I saw the anger in Tony’s gaze before he had stomped away. I’d seen the wary glance from Kelly when she thought I wasn’t looking. I rested my face in my hands, completely exhausted, completely depleted. I didn’t know anything. I didn’t understand this life. I sure as hell didn’t understand why Tom hadn’t believed me.
“We need to go.” Will started after Tony, Kelly following, leaving me alone with Thane.
Even though I didn’t want to give up on Tom, I knew I had to go. Slowly, I stood, forcing my trembling, weak legs to hold me. The beautiful ones would find out soon enough what we had tried. And although we had failed, they would take it as a sign that we were growing too bold, and no doubt they’d retaliate. I glanced back, but couldn’t see the compound through the trees.
“It’s fear,” Thane commented, as if sensing my unspoken question. “Most people are content to stay where they are, questioning nothing. It’s easy.”
As much as I hated to admit it, he was right.
“I’m sorry,” I whispered. Even though I wanted to look anywhere but at him, I forced myself to meet his gaze.
Thane shrugged. “Doesn’t matter. We would have eventually gone to the compound, and to be honest, most of them probably would have reacted the same way.”
Just as Will had said. In his weird, cold way, I realized Thane was trying to make me feel better. Or maybe he was merely being honest.
He didn’t wait for me, but started after the others. He could have traveled so much faster than I, but he stayed only a few steps ahead. He’d saved my life upon numerous occasions, but for the first time since meeting him, I could honestly say that I felt actual gratitude toward the blood drinker.
Of course, knowing Thane, that gratitude wouldn’t remain long. But for now, for the hour or two it would last before he said something to anger me, I’d take comfort in the fact that at least one person was on my side. How very odd that it was a blood drinker.
Chapter 9
We didn’t speak as we hiked all day.
Even when we stopped for a midday meal, not one person said a word. We merely settled upon the forest floor and ate our mixture of nuts and fruits in silence, food Will and his band had stolen from wagons headed toward the compounds. Like squirrels, they had caches stashed along trails and throughout the woods. Everything I learned about survival I filed away, much like they stored their food, for the day when I would leave. And I would leave. Tom might not have wanted to go with us, but I wouldn’t give up on my brothers and sisters. I would help them escape, even if I had to force them.
Although I appreciated the food, I grew wary of the meal. I craved breads, pies, meats. I’d lost at least five pounds of fat since coming here, if not more. But I’d certainly gained muscle. I’d changed so much, I was surprised Tom had even recognized me. Except for my hair. Kelly had offered to cut it short, like hers, but I couldn’t, although most days it was braided down my back and out of the way. All the women had long hair at the compounds. It was my last link to home.
We’d finished eating, and by some unspoken command had started forward once more. The further away I got from the compound, the more the entire situation seemed unreal, as if it had never happened. A nightmare. I certainly didn’t belong there any longer. In fact, it was pretty clear I never had. But I didn’t exactly feel as if I belonged here with these people either.
Thane brushed by me toward the rest of the group ahead. He’d been surveying the area as he did every so often to make sure vampires weren’t following. Oddly enough, as I watched him move so confidently toward Will, I realized with some unease that if anything, I had more in common with Thane than anyone else. Neither of us truly belonged. The realization was disconcerting, to say the least.
“Kelly,” I whispered, moving closer to her. She’d been trailing behind and I knew it was so I wouldn’t be left alone. As much as I appreciated her concern, my obvious exhaustion was a constant reminder that I couldn’t fend for myself. “Can we talk?”
The men had no such worries about me falling behind and were further ahead, eager to get back to the group we’d left behind. I could only hope that Thane was far enough away to not hear.
She glanced at me curiously. “Yeah?”
“Thane’s love… if they killed her, how could he possibly keep working for them?”
I supposed there was a part of me that didn’t believe the romantic tale in the least. Thane was pining over some long lost love, like one of the stories I’d read? Was he really capable of such emotion? Doubtful. I didn’t even know if I was capable of loving anyone anymore.
She paused. “Don’t you get it?”
The others were ahead, moving up a hill. We were almost to camp, and who knew when I’d get her alone for answers again. “He has the most difficult job of any of us. He has to pretend to be working for the very people he hates more than anyone else.”
I found Thane’s broad shoulders as he started up the hill. The sun shone upon him, highlighting his body in an ethereal glow, making his dark hair shimmer. I’d always thought him so unreadable. But maybe he wasn’t. Maybe, just maybe, that coldness wasn’t indifference, but anger, pain, heartbreak, just like any normal human would feel.
“He’s doing all of this for her?”
“Yeah.” She looked as if she expected nothing less. “Of course. Why else?”
How did I tell her that he didn’t exactly seem capable of love? “He cared for her that much?”
She shrugged. “He is capable of affection, you know.”
Perhaps, like always, I was being overly cautious. They did know him better than I did. “Forgive me.” I gave her a half-smile, the most I could manage. “But it’s hard to picture the man who rips heads from bodies without a second’s pause as loving and affectionate.”
She laughed, sliding her arm around my shoulders. “I understand, but trust me, he’s one of us.”
Trust. I’d never been good at trusting, and after all that had happened I was even worse now. But what did I know about love? Maybe Thane’s romance wasn’t so unbelievable because he was lacking, but because I was.
“Come on. I’m tired.” She led me toward the hilltop. “I say we head to the creek and swim before supper.”
“I can’t swim.”
She stumbled, so shocked. “What?”
“We only had a small, shallow pond and it was for the cows.” I wrinkled my nose, remembering the foul smelling water. “Not something to bathe in.”
She shook her head in dismay. “Sweetie, that is definitely a weakness that can get you killed. Don’t worry, I’ll teach you.”
After that jump with Thane from the castle and into the moat where I’d practically drowned, the idea of swimming wasn’t all that appealing. “Great,” I muttered. “Can’t wait.”
Kelly laughed and said something, but I wasn’t listening. A tingle of awareness pricked my skin. Something I’d felt before. A warning. I pulled away, frowning, my gaze pinned to the top of the hill. “Will told them no fires, but I swear I smell smoke.”
She grinned. “I’m betting I know who talked them into it.”
But I didn’t return her smile. Instead, I started racing up the hill. Something was wrong. I surged upward, ignoring the burn of my exhausted muscles. My heart slammed wildly in my chest, screaming at me to hurry. Jimmy and the others had been left behind. Nothing had happened. Surely nothing had happened. They were well and I was overreacting.
“Will!” I cried out, reaching them. “The smell.”
“Fires?” Will looked at Thane. I didn’t miss the worry in his gaze. “Cooking?”
You could see the smoke swirling up in wisps through the trees on the next hill, the wicked dance of red flames through the trees.
“No, not cooking,” Thane replied. “Blood. I smell blood.”
He didn’t explain more, but b
olted forward so fast he was a mere blur. Will took off, followed by Kelly and Tony. I, of course, was the slow person behind them. As I huffed my way up the next hill, I knew something terrible had happened. The fear that pressed down on my chest like a lead weight had me stumbling.
I heard Kelly’s scream first. A terror-filled cry full of pain and despair. I stumbled, falling to my knees. Must help. I dug my fingers into the dirt and shoved myself up to the top of the hill and toward the camp. The scenery before me had me freezing in horror. They stood there in a half circle, three beautiful ones, Bacchus at the head, amusement in his green eyes. Terror gripped me in its icy claws.
“Hello, Thanatos.” Bacchus smiled, his hands folded demurely in front of his brilliant blue cloak. “I’d like to say that I’m surprised to see you here amongst this pond scum, but frankly I’m not.”
Bacchus, the very vampire who had chosen me at my compound, the blood drinker who wanted me dead. For a brief, heart-pounding moment, I thought he had come for me. But no…he didn’t even glance my way. Not a speck of blood marred his clothing, but I couldn’t say the same for the other two. They were covered in red, made all the more noticeable against their white shirts. How had they found us?
Desperate, I tore my gaze from them and scanned the carnage. Shredded bodies were strewn about the camp, Sam…Carla, others I didn’t recognize. Limbs tossed to the side like bloody tree branches, so much wreckage that I couldn’t identify the forms. The world around me wavered. I was going to be ill.
“Your little letter,” Bacchus said, turning his gaze to Will. “That was actually from our camp.”
Will’s face flushed, his hands fisted at his sides, and I could tell he was doing everything possible to keep from surging forward. But I wasn’t concerned about Will. No, it was the bodies that terrified me. They had to still be alive. Surely someone still lived. I saw Carla lying face down, dead, blood splattered across her back, matting her light brown hair. Her arm was torn from her body and lay ten feet from her. Sam’s legs gone, his body still, his eyes open and staring unblinkingly up at the sky. Bile burned a path up my throat.
The Chosen Ones Page 11
