Landon and Nicole walked over and stood behind Chloe while Ethan and Rillae stood behind me. Tabitha would have laughed if the situation had not been so dire.
“You look like the Bad News Bears,” she said, shaking her head. “Now can we get on with this?”
I nodded, making a mental note to ask her who these bears were. I closed my eyes and thought about Jordan. I was closer to him than I was to Zander and thought I would have more luck if I singled him out. As soon as I did, I was hit with a sense of pain so real that my knees buckled. Ethan had to hold me up.
I saw Violeta stab Jordan in the side with a metal spike. Blood streamed down his legs into barrels below. His face was distorted with pain but his eyes were open and clear. He looked at Violeta and told her it was okay as she stabbed him in the other side. I opened my eyes before the tip entered his skin.
My body went completely limp and Ethan let me slide to the ground. I emptied my stomach until there was nothing left and had to fight the urge to curl into a ball and cry. I knew where my brothers were, but had no idea how we were going to get to them.
“It’s hopeless,” I said. “They have turned Violeta against us and we have no weapons to use. It’s over.”
The feeling of defeat overwhelmed me to such a degree that I didn’t see or hear Chloe and her Fare return to the tunnel where they were hiding and retrieve four large duffel bags full of weapons. They began strapping daggers to their arms and thighs as well as swords across their backs. Ethan and Landon grabbed the same bows and quivers that they used in the Ludos, looking like elves from Lord of the Rings.
Rillae helped me to my feet and strapped a small dagger to my thigh. When she was sure that the sheath was secure she turned my head to face her. There was some sort of connection, not like the one that Chloe had made with Landon, but a spark. She was Rillae. My Fare. The girl from a Lower Caste Fare family whose beauty would have been the envy of every Castellano Vampire if they had selected her. She would have lived a life filled with threats and abuse at the hands of her Vampire patrons as well as the household Fare. Rillae, the girl that cried in my arms when I selected her for no other reason than because I thought she was a good person. Rillae was my Fare and she had come when I needed her most.
Chloe and her Fare were standing near the third tunnel with Tabitha. They had apparently deduced that we would be traveling in that direction and wanted to get ready. Ethan put his hand on Rillae’s shoulder and gave me a wink of encouragement. I was going to have to ask him to teach me that because I was still winking with both eyes like some 5 year old. I mouthed “thank you” at both of them and headed down the tunnel at a dead run.
The seven of us ran about 800 yards before we heard the screams. Tabitha was the first one to the door but couldn’t get it open. Landon and Ethan didn’t even try, instead they cupped their hands and allowed Rillae to climb to the top of the door and place her gum on the hinge. On her way back to the ground she placed two addition pieces on the remaining two hinges and stepped back.
Within seconds the gum started to hiss and dissolve the metal until the hinges were gone and the door simply fell into the room. The noise and dust from the crashing door hid our entrance initially, but a Vampire’s sense of smell was hard to escape. Without a plan, we all prepared to fight our way to Jordan and Zander. Violeta was the first Vampire I saw. She still wore the collar and was fighting to get it off. Instinctually I ran over to help her only to have her grab me by the throat and lift me off of the ground. I tried to kick her but she simply threw me onto the floor at her feet.
“Leave me. Save your brothers and go.”
Her voice was hoarse from screaming and she sounded like she was talking around a mouth full of glass. I could see the concentration in her eyes as she fought against whatever it was the collar was commanding her to do. Her hands were working on the collar even as she was preparing to attack me.
“Rillae, I need some gum.”
I had selected Rillae because I thought we would be compatible for the next 100 years or so. It had never occurred to me that her near perfect physics score would be useful so soon. Rillae slid down next to me, already having a chewed up piece of gum in her hand. She looked up just in time to avoid a kick from Violeta. Rillae was able to throw me the chewed stick of gun while putting a second piece into her mouth. She made a circular motion with her finger before dodging another roundhouse kick from Violeta. Hoping that I knew what she meant, I got to my feet, careful not to drop the gum, and looked for an opening.
The collar had spikes pressed into the side of Violeta's neck. The spikes were hollow and transparent and I could see liquid pump into her every time she fought a command.
Violeta advanced on me and I narrowly missed a punch in the face. She was too close for me to try for the collar but close enough to wrestle her to the floor. I grabbed her from the back and wrapped my forearm around her throat. She was a lot stronger than me but I used momentum to help me fall backwards and take her with me. As I lay on my back, I held onto Violeta for dear life and tried to put my piece of gum on her collar. Just as I had my piece placed, Rillae’s boot came down on Violeta’s face twice in quick succession. Wasting no time, she put her piece of gum on the other side of the collar and held Violeta's head still.
Hopefully the gum did its trick before Violeta woke up. Tabitha, Chloe and Nicole were climbing Jordan’s cage. They had already let Zander down and the other Fare were standing over him while shooting arrows at Grigor’s men. I watched them in pure awe as each of them hit target after target. Real life action was so much different than the Ludos where they failed to earn a place of honor. If we survived the day, I would make sure their families knew their value.
The smell of smoke brought my attention back to Violeta. Rillae pulled the smoking collar off right before Violeta started to wake up. We scrambled off the ground in case she was still hostile, and assumed a fighting stance. Violeta blinked her eyes and rubbed her face where Rillae’s boot had left a print. She struggled to stand but neither of us attempted to help her up. We just prepared ourselves for a fight.
“Violeta?” Zander asked from his prone position at the feet of the Fare.
She reached for her collar and flinched when her fingers touched her battered skin. Movement from Rillae made her head snap around just in time to catch the collar that was now in two pieces.
Not one for sentimental gestures, Violeta punched me in the arm and said, “I told you to take me out” and jogged over to help Zander to his feet.
Several of Grigor’s men were on the ground; arrows straight through the hearts, but still alive. I went to the nearest one and noticed the same collar that Violeta had worn. I turned his head to the side and saw Red Poppy branded on the back of his neck. He was from the Castellano clan. Although that family had a bad reputation amongst the Fare, their members were on the Council and they upheld Vampiric law. Grigor must have captured him and forced him to do his bidding. I wondered if Grigor had any loyal followers aside from Raphael and his goons.
I called to Rillae for some more gum while I checked the necks of the rest of the downed Vampires. Ethan tried to pull me away but I gave him a look that caused him to back off. I had just turned the last Vampire over when Chloe and Tabitha gently laid Jordan down on the ground. He was bloody and weak but his smile was still in place.
“Tab tells me that you found us. Way to go, Sis.” And with that, he passed out.
“They will need blood,” Ethan was already rolling up his sleeve as he spoke and Landon was doing the same as he walked toward Zander.
Both of them stopped and turned to me and Chloe. I knew that it was against our laws to take blood from a Fare that was not yours except in the case of emergencies. As I looked at the faces of my brothers, I couldn't think of a bigger emergency. With our nod of approval, our Fare bit their own wrists and dripped their blood into the mouths of Jordan and Zander.
“Make sure they do not bite you,” Violeta said. “It won’t go wel
l if the first Vampire you feed is not your own.”
I looked at Ethan and wondered what it was going to be like to bite his flesh and drink his blood. He held my gaze. His face was going to be looking at me for nearly the rest of my long life and I thought I had selected well.
“Now what?”
Rillae was at my side with pieces of a collar in her hand. She had not removed the arrow from the Castellano Vampire’s chest and I didn’t blame her. It was dangerous enough for me and Chloe to be this deep in a Vampire compound but Rillae and the others were genetically engineered to feed Vamps. They were like candy in a kid’s store.
The Castellano Vampire's eyes were open but he was not moving. He could hear us and was whispering his answers as Violeta questioned him. Satisfied with what she heard, she stood back and pulled the arrow from his chest, replacing it with her hand.
She was applying pressure while I went to the only other door in the room. We had only been here for few minutes but I knew that the noise from the fighting must had alerted Grigor. The sound of talking grew louder as I walked closer to the Vampires on the ground. Their earpieces were still live. One of them lay on the floor at my feet. It must have fallen out during the struggle. I put it in my ear and heard frantic questions coming from Raphael. The Castellano Vampire still had his earpiece and being free of his collar and arrow, would hopefully be an asset to us.
As soon as he caught his breath, the Castellano Vampire told Raphael that everything was under control and that he would report back in 30 minutes. This seemed to work because my earpiece went silent. We helped him to his feet and returned to the others. Zander, strengthened by Landon's blood, took the Vampire by the elbow and forearm in the greeting that I have seen him use many times before. It was a royal greeting of friendship.
“You have just saved the life of Sebastian Castellano, Heir to the Castellano Clan.” Violeta smiled up at me.
Upon hearing his name, Sebastian turned to me and bowed. He was straightening from his bow when my earpiece came alive again.
“…there has been a breach! There is grappling equipment on the North wall. All available personnel report to the North wall. I will check on our prisoners.”
The earpiece went quiet again but we knew that Raphael and his goons would find out we had escaped. Each of the injured Vampires went to a broken cage and lifted 20 pound javelin-like spiked bars to use as weapons. Violeta took the lead and we ran through the same door that we entered through.
“We have a vehicle on the South side of the compound,” Nicole said as we rounded a corner. “It is just on the other side of the wall.”
“I thought they found your grappling equipment on the North side?” Zander asked.
“We put it there to throw them off. We may not have your strength and speed but we are pretty smart.”
Nicole’s witty remark was rewarded with a smile from Zander. Violeta made a quick turn in the direction of the South wall. There was no time to second guess where we were going or if our footfalls were being heard. All that we knew was that we had to run or die. The ground was beginning to slope upwards and my legs were killing me as we continued to run under the compound. At the next corner, Violeta hesitated, not going left or right. She quickly reached in her pocket and retrieve the two pieces of her collar, throwing one of them to Sebastian. He nodded his understanding and placed the half collar on his neck. Both of them had to slightly tilt their heads to keep the halves from sliding off, but from that angle they looked attached.
Sebastian had just lowered his hand when a group of vampires rounded the corner. They stopped and looked at all of us, wondering why we were in the tunnels, no doubt. They asked Sebastian and Violeta what we were doing.
“There was a breach and we are taking all of the prisoners to Grigor. Did you not hear? He does not want to take any chances.”
Sebastian’s thick accent and deep voice had just the right amount of authority to keep the group from asking any more questions and they continued moving in the direction that we had just come.
We reached the cellar door that led to the South wall a few minutes later. The sun would be rising soon and we still had to scale the wall and drive away. While the Vampires made sure we were not followed, the rest of us made sure the vehicle was still there. Just over 400 yards from the wall was a small hill of sand. Nicole had said that there was a Humvee on the other side of it. All we had to do was run for it.
One by one the Vampires leapt to the top of the 8 foot wall while the rest of us climbed. The sound of barking dogs grew after the last of us landed on the ground. We had mere seconds to make our way across the sand. Knowing that the Vampires would have no problem making it to the vehicle, I stayed with Chloe. Being the youngest, she was also the slowest even if she could run the 400 in sixty seconds.
I ordered our Fare to go and tried to keep pace in the sand. The barking grew louder; the dogs had been let out. We were running for our lives. I urged Chloe on, but she was running as fast as her legs could take her. Our backs were being covered by our brothers but we still needed more speed. We were almost there when I heard my earpiece crackle on.
“Cheyenne? Cheyenne, baby. Please don’t leave me.”
I came to a dead stop at the sound of Zola’s voice. Despite all that I had learned, I wanted so much for her to mean those words that I forgot everything that I had just learned about her. Since Violeta and Sebastian were the only ones who would have heard Zola call to me, everyone else kept running and were rounding the hill to the Humvee. I was alone and without cover when Grigor and Raphael came into view. They each had a dog leash in their hand and were flanked by the same Vampires we encountered in the tunnels. The Vampires notched their bows and Grigor released the dogs. I knew I had two choices: hit the ground and avoid the arrows or risk getting shot in the back and run for it.
Weighing my odds for point zero seconds, I turned and ran. I mentally thanked my track coach for having us do high knees because I called upon that skill to lift my feet out of the sand. I pumped arms and extended my stride like my life depended on it, which it did.
The roof of the Humvee had just come into view when I felt something warm on my back. I tried to take another step but couldn’t quite lift my leg...then I felt three more hot spots. My legs became dead weight and I went down. As I was falling I could see my shadow. And the four arrows sticking out of my back.
Chapter 26
The last thing I remembered was falling down. There were four arrows sticking out of my back and Grigor’s dogs gaining on me. I tried to get to the Humvee but my legs wouldn’t move and my arms wouldn’t support my weight. Bright light shone through my eyelids, making it impossible to see straight. Damn. Was that little boy who wrote about Heaven right? Does a light come to guide you? And what would happen if I fought against the light? Is there a truly darker, hotter alternative? I had about 2 seconds to ponder the concepts of Heaven and Hell before I was hit with a wave of pain.
At first it felt like someone had lit a match under each of my fingernails. It was very uncomfortable but bearable. A few moments later the pain moved up into the joints of my arms and shoulders until it took hold in my throat. Gagging, I convulsed until I was sure I was dying. I reached out for the light, hoping for any type of relief and felt the cool sensation of flesh.
The contact immediately pushed the fire back down to my fingertips where it waited like an attack dog. I squeezed the flesh to try to identify what it was. It felt like a hand; long fingers and a slim wrist. I cracked an eyelid open and saw Pleasant. Her eyes were filled with concern but she managed to smile at me. I opened the other eye and glanced around the room. I wasn’t sure where I was but I knew that I wasn’t in Vegas anymore. Pleasant glanced behind her at something unseen and shook her head. She turned back to me with tears in her eyes. I was wondering what had made her so sad right before I passed out.
It is not clear how long I was out. I remember Pleasant crying and the pain that had filled my body but not much e
lse. Still laying down, I was colder than before, almost as if I was in a freezer of some sort. There was no bright light peeking beneath my eyelids this time; only darkness creeping into every centimeter of my being. My blood pressure decreased and my heart had slowed down. So, this was death. .
I was coherent for hours before I heard anything other than my own heartbeat. Other sounds joined it in a macabre type of song; dripping water, ants crawling on the outside of the window, bird feathers rustling in the wind. I could hear everything.
The realization caused me to inhale deeply; so deeply that my body rose off of the bed and crashed back down before I could catch myself. I waited for the pain to come but felt nothing. I inhaled again and felt only crisp clean air filling my lungs. There was soft material beneath my fingers and I curled my hands into fists as I opened my eyes. I was in my room at the compound.
There was an IV in my arm with four different bags of fluid dripping into it. One of the bags was undoubtedly blood but I wasn’t sure what the other three were. On the nightstand was a copy of a vampire romance novel and a half glass of water. Tabitha had been there. She was addicted to those mushy romance books. She had tried to get me to understand the appeal but I was more into subtle romance if any at all.
My room was empty and quiet except for the new sounds I could hear. I swung my feet over the side of the bed and rolled my IV stand to the bathroom. What I saw in the mirror scared me. I was looking at a woman with chocolate brown eyes and clear, smooth mahogany skin. Any sign of adolescent acne was gone along with the scar on my elbow from crashing my bike when I was eight. I looked perfect.
The sound of footsteps in the hallway caught my attention and I waited for a knock on the door. There were at least two shadows standing right outside as if trying to decide what to do next. Not possessing the virtue of patience, I swung the door open to find Jordan and Tabitha standing on the other side. They looked at me as if they had been caught in some sort of conspiratorial plot.
Blood Descendants (St. Clair Vampires Book 1) Page 26
