by Shuler, Tara
“I hope you don’t mind this,” Kai told me. “I just want to be close to you while Alexi’s allowing it. He’s hardly let anyone in all this time.”
For a couple of minutes, Kai just lied there holding me. I felt he rhythmic rise and fall of his chest with each breath, and I enjoyed the warmth of his body next to mine. I didn’t want him to leave.
Of course, Alexi had other plans. The door creaked open, and I felt a draft blow in as Alexi breezed into the room.
“Alright, that is enough,” Alexi growled.
“Has it been five minutes?” Kai asked.
“Yes, it certainly has been,” Alexi responded. “She needs her rest, now.”
“I suppose you’ll be staying?” Kai grumbled.
“Of course,” Alexi admitted. “But I will be sitting over there in the chair and letting her rest.”
“Whatever,” Kai mumbled, turning back to me. “Alice? I love you, baby. Get some rest, okay? I won’t be far away.”
I felt him kiss my cheek again, and his lips didn’t leave my face for so long that Alexi cleared his throat purposefully. Kai sighed.
“Fine, I’m going,” Kai muttered.
After he made his exit, Alexi sat beside me again.
“I am going to let you get some rest, now,” he said, placing one hand on my cheek. “I will be right over there in the chair if you need me. I am not going anywhere, I promise.”
Once again, I felt Alexi’s lips kiss my forehead, and then he nuzzled my cheek with his nose. There was so much love in his touch and his kiss, and it made my heart heavy to know how much he was hurting over my love for Kai, and my affection for Max.
“Sleep, my love,” he said, and I heard him walk across the floor and sink into a leather-sounding chair.
I relaxed, allowing my eyes to close. Instantly, I felt a little better. It had been taking so much out of me just to keep them open. I could hear Alexi breathing nearby, and the sweet sound lulled me to sleep.
Chapter Three – Betrayed
I woke up and my eyes opened naturally. I squinted, even though the room was almost entirely dark. Only a faint light from a dim lamp illuminated everything. I still couldn’t move, but my eyes were able to scan the room.
Alexi was resting peacefully in his chair in the corner. The room was very white – sterile. It looked like a hospital room, but I couldn’t imagine Alexi actually taking me to one. This must be some kind of infirmary in his grandfather’s compound, I thought. I wondered if Max was in another room like mine, and if he was all alone.
I concentrated and tried to move, but it was useless. My body still would not comply. So I channeled that energy into speaking.
“Ah…” I croaked, and then I tried to clear my throat. “Alexi?”
Alexi’s hooded head shot up, and he flew to my side when he noticed my eyes open. He sat beside me and took my hand with one of his, and he brushed my hair away from my face with the other.
“Yes, darling,” he said. “What is it?”
I opened my mouth, but I choked. I felt my tongue push against the back of my throat, and it just sort of stuck there. All I managed to do was make a bizarre clucking noise.
“Oh, honey,” he sighed. “I wish there was something I could do to help you.”
I struggled to swallow, and I gulped. I really needed to speak to him. There was so much I wanted to say. Why couldn’t I just speak?
“M…” I squeaked.
“It is alright, my love,” Alexi said gently. “Take your time. I am not going anywhere.”
I took a deep breath, pulling air into my lungs and trying to relax.
“M… Max…” I finally muttered.
Alexi sighed, and his shoulders slouched slightly.
“Max is fine, honey,” he told me. “He tried to help you keep the portal open, but not being a vampire, it drained him badly. As soon as he touched you, he passed out. It was too much for him. But he is fine, darling. Don’t worry about him.”
I closed my eyes and breathed a sigh of relief. But there was so much more I needed to say to him. This was so difficult. I felt desperate to tell him things, but I just couldn’t.
“You…” I muttered.
“Yes?” he asked, breathless with anticipation.
I opened my mouth, but nothing would come out. Come on, Alice! I shouted inside my head. Say it! With all my strength, I forced myself to utter one word.
“Love,” I whispered.
Alexi’s mouth fell open. He was motionless… silent.
“I must have misheard you, darling,” he finally said. “Or perhaps I misunderstood?’
I shook my head slightly, trying to tell him he hadn’t misunderstood.
“I want more than anything to believe you are telling me you…” Alexi gulped, unable to finish the sentence. “But I cannot. I know you love Kai, and I understand. I just cannot help but feel… hopeful, I guess.”
How could I make him understand? Yes, I still loved Kai. That hadn’t changed. But when I thought Alexi wasn’t going to make it through the portal, something inside me had changed. It altered my whole world. Then, lying there listening to him breaking down at my bedside, I realized how much I stood to lose if anything ever happened to him.
I felt so conflicted. I loved Kai so much, and he was such an amazing, gentle, caring person. I knew I would do anything for him. And, of course, there was Max. I cared very deeply for him, too. But now, something was telling me that there was much more to Alexi than I’d ever realized. I needed to tell him.
I opened my mouth to try once more to tell him how I felt, but I paused in terror. I heard a faint whispery sound somewhere far in the distance. I strained to hear, trying to verify what I heard. Then I realized, it was indeed...
“Wraiths!” I forced myself to blurt out.
“What?” Alexi gasped, jumping to his feet. “No, no, no. This cannot be happening. It is supposed to be safe, here!”
He picked me up and flew out of the room, shouting, “Wraiths! Everybody get out here! Wraiths!”
Kai and Liam were already in the hallway outside my room. Both of them sprang to attention, frantic looks upon their faces.
“How did wraiths get in here?” Liam gasped.
“I do not know, but Alice just said ‘wraiths’, and I know she would not say that unless they were here,” Alexi said. “Liam, go tell Grandfather. Kai, find Hillary.”
With as much effort as I could muster, I sputtered, “M-Max!”
“They will get him, darling, do not worry,” Alexi comforted me.
Alexi rushed down the hallway. Near the end, he pressed his back to a door handle and it flew open. He raced down a stairwell, and burst through another door at the bottom. There, he headed down another hallway. At the end of the corridor, there was a door similar to the bunker at Barnabas’ compound. This one had only a keypad. Alexi gripped me tightly while straining to punch in some numbers.
A hissing sound escaped as the door slid open, and I heard a couple of metallic clanks. Alexi grabbed the door handle and almost bumped my head into the door. He put his foot inside it and kicked it back, slipping inside and letting it close on its own behind us.
We headed down another stairwell, and at the bottom, there was a giant door. This one had a large scanner beside it, and Alexi peered into it, jabbing a button with one finger. I felt my body lift up as he raised his arm high enough to touch it. The scanner beeped and whirred, and a red line passed over Alexi’s face. I guessed it must be an optical scanner.
Something clanked loudly inside the door, and Alexi yanked it open and carried me inside. It was pitch black inside the room, but I could faintly see a corridor similar to the one in Barnabas’ bunker. We traveled down the corridor, which opened into a room with bunks and shelves like the one we’d hidden in before. This one was twice as large, and was much better stocked.
Alexi gently laid me on a bunk, and then he turned to stare anxiously at down the corridor. I knew he must be waiting for the others.
My stomach churned as I thought of Kai, Max, and Liam out there with the wraiths. I wanted to scream or cry, but I couldn’t move. My arms felt cold and clammy, and a tingling sensation spread through my body.
Helpless, Alexi sat down beside me. He buried his hands in his face. I heard him sigh deeply. I knew he was twisted up and hurting inside. His brother and his Grandfather were out there, as well as Kai, Max, Hillary, and many others Alexi knew. I could tell he desperately wanted to help them, but he wouldn’t leave me.
“G-go,” I urged him.
“What?” he asked, turning his head my way. “You mean leave you? No! No way. I am not going anywhere!”
“Go,” I repeated. It was all I could manage to spit out.
“I will not leave you, Alice,” he said sternly. “Not for anything or anyone.”
I tried to insist, but once again, I couldn’t manage to get anything out. I was growing more and more frantic as time went on. Being unable to move or speak had been hard enough lying in a bed in an infirmary, but with so many people I cared about in danger, it was unbearable.
I heard a loud clank at the end of the corridor, and footsteps echoed loudly toward us. Liam carried Max, and Kai was behind them. I released a massive sigh of relief. At least they were safe.
“Liam, what’s going on?” Alexi demanded, taking Max from Liam’s arms and placing him on a bunk beside me.
“Alice…” I heard Max whisper.
“There are at least twenty wraiths,” Liam said frantically. “It’s mayhem. They’re doing their best to fight them off, but it didn’t look good. I’m going back.”
“N-no!” I managed to sputter.
Liam turned to me with a surprised look on his face.
“Alice, you of all people should know I can’t just leave them,” Liam said incredulously.
“S-s-stay,” I stammered.
I saw Alexi staring intently at Liam, who seemed to be concentrating on something. Liam finally nodded. I realized Alexi must have been speaking to Liam telepathically, an ability he rarely used because it drained him quickly.
Liam eyed me suspiciously, then said gently, “Alright, Alice. If you insist.”
Alexi’s speaking to Liam that way reminded be that Alexi could read minds. I knew he didn’t do it often, but he’d never really told me why. I couldn’t understand why he didn’t read my mind now that I couldn’t speak. I made a mental note to ask him about it, later.
“I just do not understand,” Alexi lamented. “How did these wraiths get here? This place is protected. No one should even know the location, much less be able to get in!”
“I don’t understand it, either,” Liam said.
My eyes suddenly closed involuntarily, and my body tensed up, stiffening as though I were having a seizure. My muscled ached from the tension. I heard a grunt escape my lips, and slowly I saw strange pictures filling my mind.
“Alice!” Alexi gasped, and I felt his hands trying to restrain me.
The sounds in the room faded out. I could hear people speaking, but it was muffled as though they were in another room and I was hearing them through a thin wall. The figures in my mind began to take shape, and I saw Hillary speaking on a cell phone.
“Dmitri, you promised me your wraiths would not harm anyone!” Hillary shouted into her phone. “You said they would take her, and no one else would be harmed! It’s a bloodbath here!”
What? I thought. Hillary is talking to Dmitri?
“I don’t care!” Hillary screamed into her phone. “I only agreed to open a portal for your wraiths because you promised me you’d get that bitch out of here and away from Alexi. You said that’s all they would do!”
Oh, my God! I thought. Hillary opened a portal for the wraiths! That’s how they got in! I had to tell Alexi.
My body relaxed, and I opened my eyes. Alexi and Kai were standing over me looking frantic.
“H-h…” I tried to say, but apparently the vision I’d seen had drained me.
“What is it, darling?” Alexi asked gently.
I gritted my teeth and took a deep breath, trying to control my body the best I could.
“H… Hillary,” I managed to say at last.
Alexi’s mouth fell open.
“Hillary…” he repeated. “Wait… are you saying Hillary had something to do with this?”
It took all the strength I could manage, but I was able to nod my head very slightly to answer affirmatively.
“I should have known,” Alexi growled.
“You think Hillary opened a portal for the wraiths?” Liam asked Alexi.
“There is no other way they could have gotten here,” Alexi said.
“Why would she do that?” Liam questioned.
“I do not know,” Alexi admitted. “Maybe she was trying to get rid of Alice?”
“By putting us all in danger?” Liam asked.
“Hillary is impetuous and irrational,” Alexi returned. “I would not put anything past her.”
“So what are we going to do?” Liam wanted to know.
“There is nothing we can do without leaving Alice unprotected,” Alexi lamented. “I would not even leave her if she was one hundred percent, but we certainly cannot risk her when she is in no shape to defend herself.”
“No, you’re right,” Liam agreed. “We can’t leave her like this.”
“Max, what are you doing?” Alexi suddenly shouted.
I tried to turn my head to see what was happening, but my neck only moved about an inch. I twisted my eyes toward Max, and I could see him trying to stand. I could see Max standing, but he looked shaky, as if he could barely stay upright. In an instant, Alexi stood beside Max, helping to support him.
“I have to see her,” Max said weakly.
“Alright, alright,” Alexi agreed. “Let me help.”
Alexi assisted Max, helping him move over and sit beside me on my bunk. He put his hand on my arm, and leaned in close to speak to me.
“Alice, I’ve really missed you. I’ve been so worried about you,” Max said. “I wish I could have been there for you, but I couldn’t get out of bed.”
I managed a very weak smile at him.
“I love you, Alice,” Max whispered in my ear. “You should get some rest. I just wanted to tell you that.”
“Good idea,” Alexi agreed. “She needs to get some rest if she is going to recover.”
Alexi bent down and kissed my forehead gently.
“Please get some sleep, darling,” he whispered.
Then he helped Max back to his own bunk, and turned off the light. Within seconds, I was fast asleep.
“You have some nerve showing your face in here!” I heard Alexi bellow, jerking me out of my slumber.
I shot up in bed, shocked to realize I was now fully in control of my body again. Alexi and Hillary were standing in the middle of the room, with Alexi towering over the fragile and contrite Hillary.
“What are you talking about?” Hillary asked, trying to conceal her betrayal.
“There was no one else who could have led those wraiths here, Hillary!” Alexi shouted. “You are the only one!”
“No, Alexi!” she cried. “I would never betray you that way!”
“I do not believe you,” Alexi said. “Why should I?”
“Because I didn’t do anything!” she pleaded.
“Yes, you did!” I interjected suddenly.
Everyone in the room turned to me with their mouths gaping. Liam, Kai, and Max had been quietly watching the entire scene unfold, and now they looked thoroughly shocked.
“Excuse me?” Hillary demanded angrily.
“I saw you, Hillary!” I shouted.
“You…” she started to say, lurching forward slightly. Then she became defiant, shouting, “What exactly do you think you saw?”
“I had a vision of you on the phone with Dmitri,” I said pointedly, jumping to my feet. “You said you only agreed to open the portal because Dmitri promised no one would be hurt!”
; “A… vision?” Hillary gasped, clearly shaken. “How did…”
“Do you deny it?” I snapped, now standing inches away from her.
“I… I do deny it!” she shouted, suddenly belligerent. “You’d say anything to turn Alexi against me!”
“I have no need to turn anyone against you, Hillary,” I said, glaring. “You’re denying that you spoke to Dmitri on the phone?”
“I am!” she shouted.
“Liar!” Alexi hissed.
“Get out of my head!” Hillary screamed at Alexi.
“You can lie to everyone else all you want, Hillary,” Alexi growled. “But you cannot keep secrets from me!”
“You think you know everything, don’t you?” she snapped at Alexi. “Stop reading my mind!”
“Why?” Alexi asked her. “Because you do not want me to know the truth? Too late, Hillary. I already heard it all!”
Hillary’s chin began to quiver. Her face turned ghostly white, and she obviously realized she couldn’t hide what she’d done any longer.
“I’m so sorry,” Hillary sobbed, her hands hidden in her face. “Dmitri said no one would be hurt, and he would only take her. He promised!”
The way she said “her” sounded dark and spiteful. The resentment she had for me was still raw, and the bitter emotion hung in the air like a thick fog.
“This is the ultimate betrayal,” Alexi spat at her. “You are hereby banished! You are stripped of your title as Elder, and your protection status is thus revoked. Leave here at once! I do not ever want to see your face again!”
“Alexi, please!” she begged, suddenly clinging to his cloak. “Don’t do this! It was a mistake! I’m sorry!”
“You are dead to me,” he snarled, glaring with venom into her pleading eyes.
“Don’t say that, Alexi!” she beseeched, looking up at him longingly from her kneeling position. “Please forgive me! I only did it because I love you! Can’t you see that?”
“If you had any love for me, you would never wish harm on Alice,” he growled. “You know how I feel about her!”
“But she doesn’t love you, Alexi!”
“That may be true,” Alexi said, his voice sounding pained. “But she is my life. If anything ever happened to her…”
