by K. A. Jones
My vampire heart swelled with his admission. My fingers gently tugged his head down, before our lips met I whispered, “I love you too Dario.” I claimed him, devoured his mouth, making him mine.
Clapping and cheering filled the room and Marco gently pushed us forwards to let our guests congratulate us. Mackinley and Arius took up their positions at our side as the congregation waited for Dario and me to walk amongst them and receive their kind words.
By the end of the meet and greet and congratulatory comments, I was more than ready to leave the guests to their own devices. The way that Dario had kept a hand in the small of my back and moved us through the guests told me that he wanted to keep his promise to me. “Traditionally we would take to the dance floor after speaking to every guest and have a final dance together before we leave.” It sounded pretty much like a human wedding but I had a feeling that there was more to this dance than Dario was letting on.
Dario gestured to the orchestra and they began to play. “Mrs DeLuise, would you do me the honour of dancing with me?” He already knew that I would, the sooner the dance was over the sooner we could depart, and believe me, I was more than ready.
Mackinley and Arius took up positions close to the dance floor; I couldn’t help but smile when I saw Keera approaching them. Now that the Prince was out of bounds, she had set her sights on someone else. I briefly wondered which one would be the lucky guy? Arius kept his eyes sharp on everyone in the room; he was continually searching for threats as Keera spoke with Mackinley.
The overhead lights dimmed, giving the room a romantic feeling. We swayed together in time with the music. Dario’s hands held me in place as he lowered his head to rest on the top of mine. Even though the room was full of day walkers and vampires, it was as if we were the only couple in the room. The only thing that was real. His gentle touch, his gentle kisses on my head as he held me just that little bit closer, made everything feel perfect. We were bound together eternally, witnessed by many vampires and I had survived meeting the King.
The song finished and Dario stood still, looking down at me. His cool ice-blue eyes with midnight blue flecks sparkled in the dimly lit lighting. I was captured by the immense look that he was giving me, not one of lust or desire but one of pure love. I felt cherished, special. I had never felt anything remotely like it before. Yes I had experienced lust and desire – but this, the way he was looking at me made me understand that he was my weakness as much as I was his. I loved everything that I had learned about him and looked forward to learning more and loving him a little bit more tomorrow. I wanted him to look at me this way forever. “There is about an hour until the sun rises, I would like to spend that time alone with you.” His voice was pure seduction and I was up for being seduced. Actually, I was up for anything that he had to offer.
Arius and Mackinley joined us as we walked away from the dance floor. I quirked an eyebrow at Arius, he smiled and gave me a cheeky wink before he became a fierce guard once more. Was he seriously going to join us on Dario’s private level on our wedding night? I glanced back at Dario, my mouth opened and closed a couple of times unsure what to say…. I didn’t want to sound petulant, but the thought of whispering Dario’s name at a pivotal moment, wasn’t exactly getting me hot and bothered in a good way!
Before we had made it to the door, several of Dario’s guards were marching in formation behind us. It seemed that slipping from the room and returning to Dario’s private quarters without anyone noticing – was out of the question.
The lights in the room flashed brightly and then we were plummeted into darkness. I gasped loudly along with everyone else before mayhem broke loose.
Dario picked me up and quickly carried me towards the back of the room as the guards drew their weapons. The power had been cut. Not a sound could be heard apart from the hammering of my heart.
‘Carlos is here, I can sense him.’
Concentrating on my vampire radar I noticed that the guards who were securing the property were no longer with us. They had been wiped out. Dario must have sensed it too. He swung around as the door was flung open and gunfire opened on the room. The rounds were too fast to be a sniper rifle, they were using machine guns. Several hunters entered the room. Red dots were appearing on the guard’s heads and bullets were fired.
It didn’t take long for my eye’s to adjust to the darkness. Dario and Marco’s guards surrounded us, as one guard was killed – another stepped forwards to take his place, protecting me. I could see Marco and Dario trying to influence the hunters but it was useless, they had no control over them.
Keera and the other day walkers were attacking the hunters whilst we stood and watched. It was a blood bath.
The hunters were covered in black clothing and wore balaclavas over their heads disguising their faces, not that I would know who they were. I knew that they had done it so that they could blend in to the background without too much difficulty. They had managed to do that and so much more, like cutting the power! Several hunters lay on the ground, killed by the guards or Dario’s day walkers but it seemed for every hunter that was killed, another three took their place. They continued to fire and continued to kill.
My anger was rising. I saw Keera take a fatal shot to her heart and something inside of me snapped.
Grabbing a gun from Mackinley’s leg holster, I dropped to the floor and fired a few rounds taking out some of the hunters. This seemed to spur Dario and Marco to do the same. I changed position hoping to get a better line of sight on the doorway to stop any more of the hunters from entering. If we could secure this room, we might stand a chance of getting out alive. Grabbing some of the material from my dress, I tugged it hard and discarded the skirt part of the gown so that I could move more easily. My shoes were next, I slid out of them as quickly as I could and noticed that a red dot appeared on my chest. I moved quickly, spinning away from the marker but keeping him in my sights. He was mine!
Mackinley was at my side in an instant, pushing me to the ground to protect me. I snarled something intelligible as my fangs bit into my bottom lip. Mackinley grabbed a dagger from his leg holster and threw it at my quarry. The hunter went down. Mackinley grabbed my arm and tugged me backwards and flung me back behind a line of guards. “Stay behind us Princess.” I couldn’t argue with him when they were fighting off hordes of hunters, but I wished they would let me help!
Dario was no-where to be seen. I glanced looking for Marco. He was missing in action too. ‘Dario?’ Nothing….
I tried my vampy radar and found three bright lights close by, surrounded by several dimmer ones. I couldn’t pin point their exact location and it frustrated me to no end.
Needing to make a connection with Dario, I decided on sounding positive and not whiney. ‘Dario, can’t you hurry up already? My libido is kicking in and I need you!’ I heard his soft chuckle in my mind before he blocked me. I kept trying and got nowhere.
Worry was etched in my mind. He had never made himself unavailable, even when I’d refused to speak to him or acknowledge him in my mind. When I’d blocked him when I was feeding, or just didn’t want to have a banal conversation or listen to him, whenever I reached for the link I could always feel him, it was a comfort to know that he was always there. I kept switching from – trying to feel him through the connection, to my vampy radar so I could keep an eye on him, but even that was hard. It was as if I was being blocked, one light was fading fast, and then the pain hit me and I went crashing to my knees as the pain intensified. A voice screamed at me through the link, just two words… ‘SHYLA, RUN….’
Panic swept me over the edge and without thinking; I did as I’d been ordered. I leapt up and ran at full vampire speed towards the door. I could hear Mackinley and Arius calling after me as guns fired and bullets hit their mark. It didn’t stop me. Nothing would.
Several pairs of feet were running after me, desperately calling out. The door slammed closed as I exited and I was hauled off my feet by two sets of hands and held into plac
e. Someone wrapped duct tape around my wrists and a piece taped my mouth closed. I didn’t stand a chance against them.
Kicking out at my assailants made me feel slightly better, but didn’t aid my escape. My knees and ankles were secured by the same damn tape. Without a word, they carried me away from the great room. Hunters surrounded us giving covering fire as I was taken from the castle, and bundled into the back of a truck.
It rumbled to life and was driven away with me sliding across the dirty floor. A hand reached out and helped me to a sitting position. He crouched down and ran a hand over my face, brushing off some dirt. I frantically searched the link between Dario and me. I called out mentally but it was in vain. There was nothing. We must’ve been travelling fast because the little lights on my vampy senses were down to a couple, and they weren’t very bright.
“You must be wondering why we didn’t rescue you before now Shyla.”
Rescue me? I snapped my head to the side and tried to search his face. His balaclava kept most of it hidden and it was dark inside of the lorry. It wasn’t as though I could answer him; the duct tape was still fastened across my mouth. If he freed it now, I would bite him for sure. “The sun will be up in a couple of minutes. Sleep, you are safe now.”
Chapter Nine
A soft blanket covered me, but my wrists, knees and ankles were still bound together. The truck wasn’t moving anymore but I sensed that I wasn’t alone. I managed to shift position so that I was sitting up, my back resting against the wall of the lorry. The hunter swiftly rose from bed of the lorry and made his way to the roller door, giving it a swift kick before coming to crouch at my side. His identity was still covered with his balaclava… I was really beginning to hate them!
I tried to reach out to my vampire but failed miserably. Had the freaky mind link broken? Was Dario dead? I would be left with this gaping hole in my heart and mind. I tried to focus but my heart had been ripped out and my world had been shattered into a thousand tiny pieces. He was the only constant in my life, he was the only one to ever love me and show me compassion. He had taught me how to love, how to feel, and now he was gone. The emptiness I was feeling began to consume me. I had to get a grip. I was in the hands of the hunters and my fate was sealed.
The roller door began to lift up, I scrunched my eyes closed and scooted backwards away from the light. The hunter crouched down, held out a hand and said, “Relax, its safe… it’s the flood lighting, that’s all. No-one wants to hurt you Shyla.”
Yeah right!
Two dark clothed hunters jumped up on the tailgate and lifted me up from the base of the lorry. I struggled to get free but their hands clamped down on me as they carried me across the compound and into the building. I was back at the training facility.
I was taken straight down to what I can only describe as a holding cell…On the way there I’d made a mental note of my surroundings. The stairs had been carpeted and paintings of the outdoors hung from the walls. I guess when you were in a basement and missed the outside world, this was as good as it got. There were also a lot of doors along the way. Most of them had locks on. He unlocked a door and waited for his men to help me inside. The hunters carefully lowered me on to a comfortable bed. Two of them strode from the room leaving me with the one who had travelled with me in the back of the lorry. He watched me from the doorway before shutting the door, taking a step closer. I felt myself inwardly cringe at the thought of him touching me.
Sensing my alarm, he gently said, “I’m going to help you get more comfortable and then we are going to talk.” He crossed the distance between us and slowly lifted his hand to the tape that was across my mouth. “I’ll try to be gentle.”
Everything was at odds with what I remembered about the training facility. Nobody here cared if you got hurt. Why was he trying to be kind? If he cared, then that meant that I was safe, for the moment. His nail scrapped across my skin as he fumbled for the edge of the duct tape. I held my breath not caring if it hurt, I would get my revenge soon enough. I just had to bide my time, work out who was responsible and then wreak havoc.
He winced for me as the tape was slowly ripped from my mouth. His thumb gently stroked my skin that had been covered. It was as though he was trying to take away the pain that he had caused. My brain tried to process everything that was happening, but I swear it was close to melt down.
Now that my mouth was free, I felt strangely naked. I had no wish to speak but knew that it would be expected of me. “I won’t remove the tape from your hands or legs yet, I want you to feel safe before I free you. Do you understand?”
I sat perfectly still; making sure that my breathing was easy, almost casual. I didn’t want him to pick up on my fear or the burning anger that was rising inside of me. I had no plan and no means of escape. I had to keep my cool. It was time to think like a hunter and not a vampire! That simple thought made my vampire heart ache, it beat dully in my chest for Dario. I tried to reach out to him once more but was met with an empty silence. I couldn’t feel him lurking in the background, and it sucked!
The hunter slowly tugged the balaclava from his head. His mussed up hair stuck out at different angles. His features so much like his brothers, unlike Dario’s cool ice-blue eyes with midnight blue flecks swirling in his pupils, his were dark with bright red flecks that glistened in the lighting. Carlos perched on the edge of the bed beside me and surprised me with his words. “Do you need to feed?”
I held my breath as my fangs elongated at the thought of ripping his throat out. “Are you offering to donate? Your brother once said that there is nothing sweeter than the taste of revenge!” I ran my tongue over the tips of my fangs and narrowed my eyes at him, waiting for a response.
“I will ignore your hostilities, but be aware that my ignorance will only last so long.”
His voice was harsh and clipped. It was how he sounded on the phone when he had a mission for me. This was the hunter that I knew and… no, not loved!
Carlos pinched the bridge of his nose, scrunched his eyes closed for the briefest of moments and took a steadying breath. “Shyla, what you have to understand is – I have been chasing around the country trying to bring you back. I knew that your mission with Dario would fail and that was why I requested you back in the facility, assuming that you survived.”
The words, ‘Gee, thanks!’ ran through my head, yet I had to admit, my interest was piqued. My mind flew back to the warning that he had given me; he’d warned that if I failed my next mission that I would end up back in the training facility. “So you set up a mission knowing that I would fail?” Accusation laced my voice.
He looked as guilty as sin, a sad smile formed on his lips. “You were the best chance that I had. I knew he would be completely enamoured with you, but I also knew that if the mission failed then the only place that you would be safe, would be here, with me.” He glanced down at my bound wrists and then back to my face. “For your safety, I will leave you with the restraints on. I will go and fetch us some refreshments.” With that said, he upped and left me wondering why the hell he thought I would sit and drink tea with him!
I tried desperately to reach Dario, sending my thoughts into the deep abyss hoping that my careful words got through to him. I wanted him to know that Carlos had taken me. I needed him to know that I was here under duress and not by will, but more than anything, I wanted him to know that I would do everything possible to gain Carlos’s trust so that I could escape and get back to him, where I belonged.
Silence greeted me making the hole in my heart feel twice as big.
Carlos entered the room and found me overwhelmed with emotions, tears threatening to spill over. I turned my face away not wanting him to witness my breakdown. I knew that I was entitled to one, but this was Hunter… beat the crap out of them, make them hard, make them uncaring, make them lose any humanity that they may have so they can get the job done – well, I guess all their hard work hadn’t paid off.
He held up two blood bags and placed one on
my bed before biting down on the one he was still holding. Once it was drained, he chucked the empty bag into a bin and turned back to watch over me.
The loneliness I felt consumed me. I was alone even though Carlos sat at the end of my bed, never seeming to take his eyes off me. If I had the energy I would’ve got angry, but this was a game to him. He was the master of his domain. I kept my eyes averted and when I thought he wasn’t looking I would surreptitiously take a look, his eyes were transfixed to mine. Waiting.
One hour rolled into another. It would be daylight soon enough, I could feel its pull, trying to lull me into a false sense of security so that I would fall asleep. In another twenty minutes, there would be no gentle lull, I would be hauled into a state of the living dead, breathing but completely unresponsive until the sun set and night ruled once more. I longed to be in that state. I longed for Dario to come to me in my dreams so that we could be together.
Carlos placed a hand on my shin to get my attention. I had been so wrapped up in my own thoughts that I had zoned out. Not good, especially when I had trained as an assassin, I knew better than to let my mind wander from the task in hand…. Maybe that was the problem; I didn’t know what I was supposed to do, or how to get out of this mess. I just knew that being bound with duct tape was no fun! “I will set the locks; no one will be able to get past my security system. It will just be you and me here, okay?”
Part of me wanted to freak out at the thought of being locked into a room with hunter, ‘chief assassin;’ the other part of me reasoned that none of the other hunters could get to me with him here. Concentrating on keeping my breathing even and not letting my rising fear break through my cool exterior, I gave a small reluctant nod of my head.
