The Chosen Ones

by Brighton, Lori

The tips of my toes no longer touched the bottom. “No, I mean the water.”

  He pulled me closer, supporting me where the water didn’t. “You need to learn to swim.”

  But the further out we went, the more fear began to weave its way through my body. I could drown, and I had to trust Thane to protect me. Thane, a man who was half monster. “Why? I’ve been fine not knowing all this time.”

  His left arm looped around my waist, warm, but not comforting. No, I wanted nothing more than to get away from him, head to shore and find peace, alone. I didn’t like the way my body reacted to his nearness; my heart and mind at war.

  “Because you hate relying on other people, don’t you?”

  How did he know that? “Maybe.”

  “Okay then.” He let go of one hand and placed it on my back. “Relax.”

  I gripped his shoulders. “No.”

  “I have you, Jane.”

  I stared into his eyes for one long moment. He was completely serious, and he was waiting…waiting for me to trust him. But this wasn’t just about trust. I didn’t want to be weak anymore. Not knowing how to swim was a weakness. Breaking the eye contact, I leaned back. His hands were there, holding me afloat.

  “Close your eyes, relax.”

  I closed my eyes, but my body remained stiff, my heart pounding as the water lapped against me. All I could think about were those huge waves that hit me over and over, filling my lungs with salt water as Thane and I had made our escape.

  A wave hit me. Panicked, I opened my eyes and thrashed in the water.

  “Never mind,” Thane muttered, grabbing me around the waist and pulling me close. “Calm down.”

  “I…I can’t do this,” I said through chattering teeth. I was cold, so bitterly cold. “I want to go back.”

  “Damn it, Jane, look at me,” Thane demanded.

  I forced myself to focus on him.

  “Keep my gaze. Relax. You need to learn how to swim. I swear I won’t let anything happen to you. Ever.”

  As I stared into his eyes, something odd happened…I actually believed him. My body felt heavy, my mind lost its frantic edge and I started to relax.

  “Not too much,” he said, his voice pulling me back. “Don’t fall asleep.”

  “What are you doing?” I murmured. How odd that his eyes were the color of the sky so I wasn’t sure where he ended and the world began. The desperation I’d felt vanished like the breeze sweeping across the sea. I knew in the deep recesses of my mind that something odd was happening, but I couldn’t seem to dredge up enough energy to care.

  “I’m helping you relax.”

  I smiled up at him. Right. Relax. Wait…what? I blinked my eyes, jerking my gaze from him. The confusion made me thrash and I found myself going under. Bitterly cold water rushed over my head. Just as suddenly as I went under, Thane’s hands were at my waist, pulling me up out of the water and holding me close to his warm body.

  Gasping for air, I met his gaze. “What just happened?”

  “Nothing.” Lifting me, he cradled my body against his chest and started toward the shore. But it wasn’t nothing, I could tell by the way he was avoiding eye contact. Perhaps I was starting to understand Thane after all, and something was definitely suspicious.

  The moment my feet could touch the ground, I pushed at his chest. “What did you do?”

  Waist deep, he loosened his hold and I slid down his body, into the water. “I can persuade people.”

  Confused, I shook my head. “What does that mean?”

  He shrugged. “It’s been known to happen with blood drinkers, but no one knows I have the gift. If they had, they would have used me even more than they did.”

  “What are you talking about?” I demanded.

  His jaw clenched, his gaze uneasy. “I can somehow persuade people to do my bidding. They have to be looking in my eyes, and willing, but if they are, I can make them relax. Almost hypnotize them.”

  Hypnotize, I’d heard that word before. “At the castle when I fainted and woke up in that field….”

  He stepped toward me. “Jane—”

  “You manipulated me!” I stepped back, shocked. “And you said I could trust you.”

  “Jane, it’s not…”

  But I didn’t wait around to hear his defense. Horrified and disappointed, I raced to the shore and scooped up my clothes. I wasn’t even sure what angered me more, that Thane had betrayed me, or that I had trusted him. Finding the trail that led back to the house, I raced toward the cottage, letting my humiliation spur me forward.

  ****

  My body and mind no longer felt like my own. Every time I thought I might be regaining control, it was torn from my grip.

  Desperately, I tried to think back and remember any other time when Thane might have used his strange ability on me. The jump at the castle, that night in the boat house, and today. Fortunately, I couldn’t think of any other odd moments. But it did little to ease my mind. How could he?

  I picked up a stick and pushed at the logs in the fire pit. Sparks took flight, floating high, glowing like the stars that were just barely visible in the evening sky. Thane hadn’t returned since our argument at the beach. Part of me wanted to hear what he had to say, part of me just wanted to hit him…hard.

  I leaned back in the wicker chair Grandfather had made and watched him through the windows as he paced back and forth in his living room. He was mumbling to himself. Not exactly a good sign. How could this man possibly be Raven? A leader of men? It seemed preposterous and dangerous that he was giving orders.

  The sudden snap of a tree branch alerted me to Thane’s presence. He strolled up the trail that led through the woods, his face emotionless, eyes guarded. He was dressed again and his hair had dried, the ends curling at his neck and against his scarred cheek. He didn’t wear the hood, but then I realized that he never wore the hood around me anymore. His gaze found me and I quickly looked away.

  But my lack of eye contact didn’t dissuade him. He settled in the chair next to mine and we lapsed into awkward silence. While I continued my assault on the fire pit, he merely sat there watching.

  “I apologize,” he finally said in an awkward way that made me wonder if he’d ever apologized to anyone in his life.

  “Swear you’ll never influence me again.”

  “I can’t.”

  I surged to my feet in outrage. “What?”

  “I won’t,” he said in a hard tone. “If I feel that it will save your life, I’ll do it again.”

  My anger boiled. “Because I’m so important.” I pointed the stick I held at the cottage. “Because of him, right? You had to save me because he’s my grandfather.”

  Thane didn’t respond.

  “What? Did you think I might have more influence over him?” I released a harsh laugh. “Bet you were surprised when the man treated me like he would anyone else.”

  “Jane, he would have killed anyone else. I don’t think you get that.”

  I hated how calm and rational he sounded. “He wouldn’t.”

  He surged to his feet, towering over me. “He would. Where do you think he got those skeletons?”

  I shivered. He was serious. Grandfather had killed those men merely so he could study their bones? “No, he…”

  But Thane was completely serious. My gaze went to the cottage window where Grandfather was most likely injecting some poor rabbit with our serum. I could no longer see him, and like the toddlers I used to watch in the compound, I worried he was doing something he shouldn’t.

  “I’ve only influenced you three times,” Thane said. “The night we escaped the castle, in that cottage by the pier, and now.”

  As if I should forgive him merely because he hadn’t had a chance to do it again. Slowly, I settled back in my chair, wondering if I could ever trust him. Just when I found myself softening toward him, something always put me back on edge. “Why?”

  He sat too, raking his hands through his hair as if flustered. “Out of necessity.�
��

  Angry, I laughed and dropped the stick. “Today was a necessity?”

  “We’re on an island, Jane. If you need to escape without me, you need to know how to swim. Even a boat can tip.”

  To say I was startled by his statement would be putting it lightly. The thought of being alone out there without Thane, terrified me much more than I wanted it to. “What are you saying? Are you leaving me here?”

  “No. Of course not.” There was a telling pause. “But you could stay, you know.”

  “Where?”

  “Here.” He studied the open clearing. “You don’t have to return to the mainland. Stay here, get to know your grandfather. You’d be safer on this island than the mainland.”

  The thought was tempting. Too tempting. I’d known a peace here that I hadn’t experienced in over a month. But being on this island wasn’t much different than being in that compound, was it? I was still trapped. I had friends out there in the real world, friends who were counting on me. Friends who might still be alive.

  “And would you stay too?”

  He watched me through those eerie eyes. “You know I can’t. Your grandfather is making plans even now to kill me and research my body.”

  Sadly, I believed him. I swallowed hard and looked back at the house. The windows were empty, but they glowed warmly from the firelight inside. Truth of the matter was, without Thane here, my unease around my grandfather would surge. “I don’t know if I’m any safer with him than with the beautiful ones on the mainland.”

  “You are.”

  So if I stayed, he would leave me then, just like that. As if we’d never met. Did he want me to stay? Was I a bother to him? The thought stung. “How long would I be safe here anyway? After all we have to face the real world soon enough, right?” I was babbling, but couldn’t seem to stop. All I knew was that the thought of being without Thane terrified me. “Besides, staying here would be no better than staying in those compounds and—”

  “Shhh,” Thane whispered, his gaze on the woods.

  Frowning, I started to ask what was wrong when he surged to his feet, his body tense, those hands fisted. I knew the look well by now. Well enough to know he’d heard something or someone. “What is it?”

  “The water sounds odd.”

  Since I couldn’t hear the water from where we stood I took his word for it. “Odd? In what way?”

  He shook his head slowly. “It’s stopped.”

  My heart slammed wildly in my chest and I had to remind myself that the beautiful ones didn’t like water. Thane closed his eyes and took in a deep breath, as if trying to sense the world around us. For a few minutes everything was silent. I didn’t dare speak although I was dying to ask questions.

  His eyes popped open, glowing white-blue. “They’ve found us.”

  I knew immediately who he spoke of. Without pause, Thane raced into the cabin. I ran after him, my heart slamming erratically against my ribcage. When I reached the cottage, Thane had already told my grandfather.

  “On my land?” Raven demanded. He seemed angrier about the prospect of someone invading his privacy than the fact that they were beautiful ones out to kill us. With heated footsteps, he stomped toward the counters that made up his kitchen.

  “I’m not sure how many,” Thane admitted. “But they’re coming fast.”

  “Damn bastards growing more bold every week.” Grandfather knelt, pulling a case out from underneath the counter. “Was afraid this was going to happen. Had heard reports of them surveying the island from the mainland.”

  In other words, we weren’t safe here.

  “Why didn’t you tell us?” Thane snapped.

  But grandfather ignored him, turning toward me and tossing something. “Take it!”

  I caught the gun right before it fell. I was reminded only too well of when Will had given me that sword and I hadn’t a clue what to do with it. If only I had my sword now. “How does it work?”

  “See that little trigger? Point the gun and push that.”

  It seemed so simple.

  I held the gun by the tips of my fingers, afraid it would go off and I’d kill Thane or Grandfather or worse, myself. “Why haven’t they attacked yet? No offense, but they aren’t known for their patience.”

  Thane headed to the windows and brushed aside the curtains. Grandfather was rushing around the room, gathering a variety of supplies and stuffing them in a bag as if he was going to flee: food, a blanket, what looked to be some sort of small bow and arrow.

  “They’re just in the woods.” Thane let the curtain fall back into place. “They’re waiting for us.”

  “Waiting for what?” I demanded. The gun felt cold and heavy and unfamiliar in my hands. I’d seen how fast beautiful ones moved. Could I really shoot one before it got to me? Or would I end up shooting my foot instead?

  “Waiting for us to attack.”

  “How many?” Grandfather asked, holding out a gun for Thane.

  Thane took the weapon. “Ten, at least. I can’t take them all. Especially considering I haven’t fed.”

  It took me a moment for me to realize Thane meant he hadn’t fed on blood. Which meant he was weaker than normal. Unless Grandfather had a magic tunnel that led underneath the ocean to the mainland, we were in trouble.

  My grandfather started toward the door as if he’d done this plenty of times before. “Let’s go.”

  “We can’t just walk out there!” I snapped. What was wrong with him? Did he honestly think he could take on ten vampires? Had he not heard Thane? The man truly was insane.

  Grandfather paused, glancing back at me. “What choice do we have? Wait until they attack? This is my land, and I’ll go down fighting, if I have to, in order to protect it.”

  Yeah, completely insane. “He can’t be serious. Thane, do something! He’s walking into his death.”

  “Do we care?” he muttered.

  I parted my lips, intending to tell them both where to shove their stupid plans, when there was a sudden thump on the roof. I froze, my gaze on the ceiling. Another thump and another.

  “Three,” Thane said softly.

  “Oh God, they’re on the roof.”

  “Apparently they’re no longer waiting,” Grandfather whispered.

  The sound of shattering glass rang through the air. Shards burst around us. I dropped my pistol and instinctively I raised my arms to cover my face, but I was too late. I felt the sudden stab of a piece of glass hitting my shoulder. I stifled my scream, frantically swinging up my gun and pointing it at the broken window. A wad of burning material rolled across the floor, landing against the far wall. But I could see no one outside. Dare I fire anyway?

  Grandfather and Thane raced across the room, leaving me alone to make the decision. But as I stood there waiting for a vampire to appear so I could shoot, my arm began to tremble, the pain from the glass almost unbearable. Cursing, I lowered my gun, and slumped to the floor, my back somewhat protected against the wall.

  A triangular piece of glass had pierced my shirt and upper arm. “This is going to hurt.”

  Gritting my teeth, I gripped the edge and pulled it free. The sharp pain made me cry out, momentarily distracting Thane, who looked my way.

  “You okay?”

  “Fine.” I dropped the shard and stumbled to my feet as the blood trailed down my arm. I was more annoyed by the fact that I had somehow managed to get hurt once again, than the actual pain. I managed to make it to the kitchen. While Thane and grandfather put out the fire, I grabbed a towel from the counter and using my teeth, I tied it around the wound.

  “Why bother?” my grandfather mumbled, looking at the charred floorboards. “They won’t let up.”

  As if in response to my grandfather’s statement, another window broke and another pile of burning weeds raced through the room. It hit the curtains on the opposite wall. They burst into flames.

  “Go,” Grandfather growled. “Go out back to the pier. I’ll hold them off. Use the rowboat.”

>   “We can’t leave you,” I cried out, racing toward the curtains to put out the fire.

  Grandfather grabbed my arm, jerking me to a stop. “You’re a good girl, Jane. A smart girl and I’m proud to have you as my granddaughter. You can find a way out of this, I believe in you. Trust him. You need someone strong, you need someone on your side.” He looked up at Thane. “You’ll take care of her?”

  Thane nodded. He always had taken care of me. That wasn’t my worry. My worry was for the old man who had lived here alone. Smoke had me coughing into my sleeve and I realized the fire was getting worse. The flames had leapt from the curtains to the boards on the wall, destroying the cottage my grandfather held so dear. Soon, they would make it to the bookshelf and the novels he had painstakingly copied. Grandfather was right, the vampires were never going to stop. And just like in the decayed city over a month ago, they were going to smoke us out.

  “Get the bag” Grandfather said, releasing me. “It has supplies.”

  Thane grabbed the sack and tossed it over his shoulder.

  Grandfather raced into the back room. “Hold them off until I get the serum.”

  Thane moved to the windows, that pistol in hand. “Grab your gun and protect the back of the house. Make sure it’s clear.”

  I raced across the room, dodging the two chairs where we’d sat in front of the fire while my grandfather had told us stories about the past. Near the broken window, I scooped up my gun. Thane had covered the front. They wanted me to protect the back, as if I could. Using the butt of the pistol, I broke the glass in the back window. I searched the water outside, the pier beyond, but saw no one. That didn’t mean they weren’t there. I could practically feel them lurking on the roof, waiting to pounce.

  “Here.” My grandfather came running back into the room, the hobble making his gait awkward, and once again I was aware of how fragile he really was. “Take it.”

  He stuffed the case into another sack and threw it to me. I caught it, holding the bag tightly to my chest. I didn’t understand what was going on, but that wasn’t new. The fire had made its way up the wall and the smoke was growing thick. They were merely waiting for us to come stumbling out in surrender.