As I stared at his noise I saw the corners of his lips draw up into a smile and I had to find something else to focus on. His forehead would work. Gordon hadn’t come back yet so, aside from a reassuring squeeze on my arm and shoulder I was on my own. I let more heat build underneath my skin and both Beth and Sam took their hands on off me, hissing as the heat seared their fingertips.
I didn’t turn away from Vlad. I couldn’t afford to make that kind of mistake with him in the same room. I had nearly zoned out looking at the smooth, sweat speckled skin of his forehead when Vlad cleared his throat and asked, “You had a question, Executioner?” His voice was soft and tentative. I snapped back to attention.
“Yes, sorry.” I wiped my sweaty palms on my jeans and letting the nervous energy out through tapping my foot against the concrete floor. “We need to know Lilith’s location. We have a feeling you know exactly where she is and how to get to her.”
He raised his eyebrows. The smile had never left his face. “That’s more of a statement than a question, Executioner.”
He was mocking me. My brow furrowed and I felt myself frown before I could catch it. It was too late. He had already seen I was irritated.
“I’m not playing games, Vlad.” I crossed my arms over my chest and cocked my hip, letting him know I meant business. I was getting tired of playing games. I wanted everything to be over so I could have my child and raise him or her in peace. I was beginning to think there was a permanent scowl on my face. I would never smile again.
He shifted in his shackles and said, “All of this with Lilith is a game, Executioner. It’s all she knows how to do. She has a plan and plays games to meet her ends. You’ve met her more than once now. She killed you. You know all of this.”
“That doesn’t change the fact that someone needs to end this. I’m destined to do so. So you’ll give me the answer I need or I’ll make you tell me.” I meant every single word I said. The smirk on his face told me he didn’t believe me. I would have to change that and I knew just how to do it. All I had to do was actually ask the question. “Where is she, Vlad?” A wave of power washed over me and I felt a growl build in my throat, but I swallowed it down. I didn’t need a growl to be intimidating.
His devilish smile widened, which forced me to take in the entirety of his face. I saw the reason for his smile in the reflection of his eyes. My eyes were glowing amber and molten fire, swirling like a broiling volcano.
“There you are,” he whispered. Anger flared inside my chest and a pit formed in my stomach that I could feel was churning with the same fire and intensity. I took one step closer, gripping his shirt and ripping it down the center, his sweat falling in small drops from the fabric as I squeezed. Surprise moved across his face, a rigid and cold expression taking its place within seconds.
“You want me?” I asked as I stared into his eyes, not letting them pull me in again. The beast and I would not bend to him. He nodded in response. “Where’s Lilith?” This time the question was more of a murmur.
He didn’t say a word. He only stared with his lips slightly parted. I kept telling myself I wouldn’t look at him and it was proving harder than I originally thought it would be. Why? Why? Why? I gave him a little bit more time to answer and, after a few heartbeats, he still hadn’t said anything and I was becoming impatient. If I was going to save what was left of humanity he needed to start talking. I knew I would have to make him.
“If you wanted me, you have me,” I hissed between gritted teeth. I took my hand and placed my palm on his chest, directly over his heart as the heat I had been holding back began to build just under the skin. His face was hard, but not for long. Within moments he was fighting for composure against the pain of the heat I was sending into his chest. The sizzle of his skin burning underneath my hand was strangely satisfying. I took my hand away from him and held it inches above his scorched flesh. There was a black handprint where I had touched him with embers burning along the edges. A grin worked its way across my lips and I knew it wasn’t me smiling. It was the beast.
“That’s it, Executioner. Embrace the fire you’re made of,” he breathed. “This is what you were made for.” His voice was raised in elation and when I looked in his eyes something I saw there stopped me. Something shifted behind his eyes like before and adoration bled out of him, spilling out onto the floor and flooding me. What the hell was going on?
“To kill things like you? Yes, that’s exactly what I was made for, but before I get rid of you you’re going to answer my question.”
He giggled, if you could call it that. “Get rid of me? You make it sound like I’m a mutt who needs to be put down.” He laughed again, his Adam’s apple bobbing.
“Aren’t you?”
His eyes met mine and he said with a sigh, “No. Just a greedy man who wants what he can’t have and not even immortality is enough.” He swallowed and continued. “I wanted immortality and I paid the price. It’s not enough anymore. I welcome the pain of your torture.”
I didn’t know what to say. I had been so absorbed in what I was doing I hadn’t noticed Beth, Sam and Chase had backed away from us. I could feel Gordon’s nervous energy still on the other side of the warehouse, but what I noticed most was Vlad in front of me. He was attractive and he was smart, and he could give me a run for my money if I let him. It was like he and Gordon were the same person in nearly every way, but there was something Vlad was missing. Vlad was filled with an obsession and Gordon was filled with love. No matter how you spun it they were not the same thing. Not even close.
“Vlad, I don’t want to hurt you anymore. I just need you to help me. I want to end all of this so my child, your niece or nephew, has a place to call home.” I placed my other hand on my belly to emphasize my point. “You don’t truly feel your kin is an abomination, do you?”
He seemed to think about it, biting his bottom lip and not daring to meet my eyes. He wouldn’t look at me but I knew he was beginning to waver. I didn’t know how or why, but he was. Maybe it was the mention of family. I was hoping I could use that to my advantage. If I pushed him enough, maybe he would want my child to have a place to live and tell me what I want to know without me having to torture him further. While the beast delighted in torture, I didn’t and it didn’t matter of we were truly one entity now. That wouldn’t change.
“Please,” I begged him.
He looked at me, staring deep into my eyes and letting them stay there. After what felt like an eternity, his eyes left my face and moved to stare behind me, no doubt taking in Gordon’s irritation and anger that I could feel hitting me from all the way across the space. I could see red spots at the edge of my vision because of it and it took all I had to resist shaking my head to get rid of them like annoying pests.
“What would I get out of this?”
That wasn’t what I was expecting to hear. I knew he could probably see me deflating as I stood waiting for answers that would never come.
“I won’t kill you. That’s what you’ll get. It’s a favor from me,” I pointed at myself, “to you.” I pointed at him. I could feel the anger bubbling up inside of me as I stood there and from the look on his face he could too. I was feeling a mixture of things but anger was the predominant emotion despite the morning sickness I was beginning to feel. I stifled a groan as I considered him.
“Now, now that’s not enough. You can say you won’t kill me, but that’s not a guarantee.”
“Nothing is guaranteed these days, Vlad. Absolutely nothing.” I crossed my arms over my chest again. “What do you want?” I thought better of the last question. “You know what? You’re not really in the position to be making demands or wanting anything. You can give me the information willingly, or we can do it the hard way. I don’t want to be your torturer. That was never the plan. The plan was to find out where she is and end all of this, but you’re not giving me much of a choice.” I took a step towards him, only putting an inch or so between us and I felt his intake of breath again. “So, it’s up to you. Which way d
o you prefer?”
He considered me for a moment, taking in my posture and the look in my eyes. From the reflection in his I could see they were still that twirling pit of fire that let me others know the beast was awake. Well, the beast would be awake for as long as this took and if Vlad continued to play games he would see a lot more than just a change in my eyes.
“Alright,” I dropped my arms at my sides and said, “you wanted it the hard way, you got it.”
The fire moved through my veins and back into my palm as I made a move to place it against his pale skin. He cringed, but I didn’t stop. I shoved it against his skin, in a different spot this time. If this was what it took I would do it. He was lucky I didn’t feel the need to mar that gorgeous face of his. He cried out this time, but it was clipped short by his need to have control over what was happening to him. He knew he didn’t and was trying to gain some of it back. It wouldn’t be happening that easy. I took my other hand and placed it on the other side of his chest. He screamed. I took my hands away and eyed the three singed hand prints on his flesh, small pieces of him crumbling away into ash on the floor.
“Beth?” I said into the air, not taking my eyes away from his ruined chest.
“Yeah,” she answered as she took a step towards me.
“Can we do something about the noise? I don’t want him drawing anything to us.” I turned my head in her direction. “I didn’t realize he would be a screamer.”
Chapter 34:
The Pursuit
After what felt like days but was truly hours I had stepped away from Vlad. We had finally gotten the answers we wanted and I was surprised he held up so long. His chest and stomach were a complete mess. Every wound was cauterized so there was minimal bleeding, but tiny flecks of burned flesh were floating away from him and embers were still burning around the edges. His head was hung low and his breathing was ragged, his body sagging against the shackles. My palms were black with soot as I let the beast drift into unconsciousness. She would have another chance at vengeance later.
I turned to the rest of them. Beth had done what she could to keep the noise from escaping our confines and she had done an amazing job. There wasn’t a single vampire, crawler, or creepy crawly trying to knock down the door or walls. Sam was sitting on the floor against the opposite wall, Chase was standing watching me, and Gordon was pacing. Once he realized it was silent he stopped and turned to me, not caring to look at his brother’s limp form.
“So? Where is she?” he questioned. I almost forgot they hadn’t heard him divulge the information. By the time I was finished with Vlad he could only whisper after all the screaming.
“She’s been staying in the U.S. Bank Tower.” I scoffed. “Why not watch your plan come to fruition from the highest point in the city?” It made perfect sense. You can only see the rising smoke and hear all of the screams all at the same time from up there anyway, right? Why wouldn’t that make sense? She was truly sadistic.
They shook their heads as if their thoughts had followed the same route. The sadism of the woman bothered all of us and we couldn’t hide that anymore. You can only remain stone-faced for so long before things start to boil to the surface.
“What’s the plan?” Sam asked as she stood from her spot on the floor.
I hadn’t even begun to think of a plan yet. I wasn’t sure what would be the first thing we needed to do. The place would be swarming with vampires and crawlers protecting their precious dark mother. Not like she needed much protecting anyway. If history taught me anything, she was more than capable of taking care of herself.
“That place is going to be crawling with vamps,” Chase stated. I looked at him, doing my best to bite my tongue to keep from being sarcastic. It was working, but barely.
I crossed my arms over my chest, trying as best as I could not to get any of the burnt blood that had become crusted on my palms and fingers on the only clothes I had left. They’d be covered in something soon enough. I didn’t want to help them along. After all of this was over we would have to raid some local stores and get new clothes. These would be covered in blood and ash, no doubt.
“Either way we’re going to have to fight our way in and up. There’s no way around it so we might as well arm ourselves with what we have,” I exclaimed. “Beth, what other nifty tricks have you learned in the last six months?” Her gaze moved over us and came back to me, her eyes wide like she was shocked I asked. Her mouth was slightly parted and she licked her lips before taking a breath in to begin speaking.
“Well, I learned how to do a few things. After you,” she paused like she didn’t know how to say it, “died I didn’t have to a choice but to learn things that could protect us, and I had to learn fast. The protection barrier was the first thing I learned.”
Chase laughed and said, “Yeah and you should’ve seen how many times that backfired on her. Kind of funny if you ask me.”
Beth broke out into laughter, bending over and placing her hands on her knees. Something hilarious had happened and I was curious now. She stood up, took a deep breath, and said, “You remember when I created that ball of energy and it practically exploded in my face? I looked like I had been electrocuted.” She was giddy as we stood and watched her, Chase was beginning to chuckle remembering the event. Gordon, Sam, and I stared at them and I could feel the awkwardness creeping in.
I looked at the floor and kicked at some stray ashes from the bonfire on the concrete floor, feeling extremely out of place. I hadn’t been able to share these experiences with her so I felt left out. Not her fault, but I still felt a tiny bit mournful of the fact I couldn’t see all of this first hand.
The energy in the air changed as Beth and Chase felt our unease and their merriment began to trail off, leaving the silence empty and full of sorrow. The fact that the three of us were uncomfortable changed everything about the small moment of happiness they were trying to share with all of us, but we couldn’t help it. Sam was new to the group, and Gordon wasn’t there and couldn’t save me from the fate Lilith had planned for me. Now we were back and everything was different. We couldn’t ignore that. Hell hadn’t only changed us, but it had changed them too. Now we were standing in Hell on earth, and maybe that was the reason.
Beth cleared her throat and continued, “Anyways, I think the only way to do this is to blast our way in. More than likely we won’t be able to use the elevators so…”
“There’s nothing you can do to start them up in some magical way and keep them going till we reach the top? Maybe also put a cloak on the floor numbers so they don’t know where we are stopping?” Sam asked. If Beth had learned to do so many things while we were gone, there had to be a way she could do this, right?
“I don’t see why I couldn’t. I’ve gained enough power in the last six months and could possibly power the entire city without blinking. Not that I’ve tried it since the city never lost power. It all happened so fast that no one was prepared. Plus, I may blow us all up.” Silence followed for a few moments.
“I think you guys need to be reminded of something.” We all turned to Beth. “How long has it been since you’ve been to the tower? If you remember right the elevator stops at the observation deck and you have to take the stairs to the helipad at the top.”
“Then why even bother trying the elevator?” Chase asked with an annoyed tone to his voice.
“Here’s the plan. We use the stairs the whole way up and not bother with the elevator at all. It’ll be easier.” Beth was right.
“We can, but I think we’re going to need more weapons. There’s only one person in the group who doesn’t have any supernatural advantages so he’ll need as much firepower as we can get him,” I explained.
Chase’s mouth fell open and he said, “Can we all not talk like I’m not here? That would be fantastic.”
“Sorry, but it’s true no matter how I say it. We need to make sure you can hold your own without holding us back. We need to get in as quickly as we can so no one can stop us. Once we
’ve killed Lilith the rest is cake.” It was the truth and I could tell he knew it based on the look on his face.
“So, where do you suppose we get more weapons for him? We don’t exactly have a ton here with us,” Beth questioned. She was right. We had a few handguns, a couple of knives, and my silver-tipped machete. We weren’t exactly armed to the gills. There was silence for all of a moment until I looked at Chase who seemed to have a moment of clarity.
“What is it, Chase?” I asked. I seemed to have been the only one to notice his expression. He flushed and paled like no one was supposed to see him.
All heads turned to him and he looked down at the floor, a sheepish grin spreading over his lips. He flushed again at the attention. He didn’t seem to want the attention, but with a look like that plastered on your face you were bound to get it. He knew, in this kind of situation, any kind of look could be taken so many ways. This time I wasn’t sure what to think.
He looked up at all of us, a proud expression on his face. “Well, it’s my uncle.”
All of us looked confused. We didn’t know he had any family. We seemed to be learning all kinds of new things about him we would’ve never guessed before. I, for one, was shocked at the revelation. He never mentioned family of any kind.
“What about your uncle?” Sam asked. I was glad she was becoming more active as a member of the group. I almost felt like a proud mother as I stared at her, her eyes alight with the new information. What was it about the apocalypse the brought everyone out of their shells? Was it the threat if imminent death or the fight to survive?
“He owns, or owned, a pawn shop here in Los Angeles. I lost track of him after everything fell apart and haven’t heard from him since. Of course, it’s not like there’s cell service or anything. One of the few things that managed to go out and it had to be the cell service.” He sighed. “He has a lot of weapons there, but I can’t be sure how much of it survived the looting.”
Maybe it was time to find out.
Follow the Bloodshed (The Executioner Trilogy Book 3) Page 22
