Graced

by Sophia Sharp

  It was splotchy, alternating between yellowing spots and dark spots indiscriminately much like their faces. But that was not the worst of it. All over, there seemed to be different types of deformities. If the top half of an arm was covered in hives, the bottom was struck by a vicious looking rash. If thick, red boils were infected on the left side of a stomach, the disfigured warts that mixed together with patchy bits of hair were right beside it on the right. On neither of the men did there seem to be a single clean sport of regular, recognizable skin. And it was repulsing.

  Again, Serkhol bowed his head towards his brother, this time leaving his arms pressed to his sides. And Borrak reached towards him very carefully, very gingerly, to take hold of the chain holding the pendant. Slowly, he lifted it up, over Serkhol’s head, to take it off. As soon as it was off, Laura saw that the pulsing glow started to fade. Borrak extended his arms over the table, and very carefully let the pendant drop, right in the middle of the candle arrangement. As soon as it touched the wood, the light winked out completely.

  Borrak jerked in a small but awkward convulsion, and nearly knocked over the entire table. Laura winced. Less than a second later, though, he was back up straight again, looking as if nothing had happened. His brother did not so much as acknowledge it.

  Borrak bowed towards his brother the same way, and Serkhol reached out to take the pendant off his neck. The same thing happened when the second pendant was placed on the table – that is, the light that had shone in the delicate lines faded completely.

  It was only once both pendants were on the table, placed precisely in the middle of the candle arrangement, did the two brothers look at Laura.

  And she saw hunger in their eyes.

  They walked towards her casually, and Laura knew the ceremony was over. Whatever it had been, whatever it had done, it was over with. Their movement ceased to feel so scripted now. They were moving normally.

  “I’m sure,” Borrak began quietly, “that you are wondering what that was all about.”

  “She looks the type to have a curious mind,” Serkhol offered.

  “Yesss, brother,” Borrak crooned. “That she does.” The two of them started circling around her like snakes.

  “Which means you’re in luck, child,” Serkhol said. “For we found it is best for our guests to not have any lingering thoughts when we start the fun. They… take away from our enjoyment of events.”

  “And we wouldn’t want anything less from you, would we?” Borrak asked. “We want you to be fully present with us when we take care of you tonight.”

  “Which begins with your mind,” Serkhol explained. “So. We’ll answer the most basic question first. The medallion.”

  “You see,” Borrak said, his face coming mere inches away from her ear, “it is something we don’t expect you to understand. But the least we could do is give you the courtesy of allowing to try.”

  “The medallions,” Serkhol hissed into her other ear, “keep track of what we do. They are the elders’ way of keeping tabs on us.”

  “Of course,” Borrak sneered, “they grant us other powers, too. One such is what we used to capture you so easily.”

  “Yes,” Serkhol said. “But the thing is, like the good hounds that we are, we are given certain privileges that others might not, if they ever found themselves in our position. For example… we are allowed certain private moments with them off.” Laura felt his tongue trace the outside of her ear, and was helpless to stop it. “And that’s where you come in.”

  Laura was breathing hard. The air in the room was completely stifling. As soon as the pendants, or medallions, or torrial, or whatever they were, had been placed in the middle of the arrangement on the table, the smoke from the candles intensified. Where it had been thin and light before, it had now become thick and viscous. And it had darkened, too, in a strange burn that stung the inside of her nose with every breath.

  “Of course,” Borrak intervened, “it is not so easy to just remove them. The medallions… well, you remember that story I told you earlier? These medallions were the very same devices that my brother and I found to enter that other world.”

  “A cruel fate, don’t you think?” Serkhol asked, “To be bound as slaves by the same item that gave you such freedom once?”

  “It is the price we pay,” Borrak whispered. “And we cannot removed them ourselves. Somebody else needs to do it, always. And yet, there’s a catch. For if one of us does it without the other, we both die.”

  “We have become tied in more ways than one,” Serkhol added, “so that we cannot go for more than even a few hours without the medallions on.”

  “A cruel fate,” Borrak said. “But trust me, my darling, we intend to take advantage of every minute we get.”

  Chapter Twenty

  ~Surrender~

  Laura closed her eyes, but then forced them back open. She promised herself she would be strong enough to not give Borrak or Serkhol the satisfaction of knowing her fear. Do what they would with her body, they would not have her mind.

  The irony of the whole thing was that she was a vampire, while they were just human. No matter how twisted they had become, and no matter what powers those torrial gave to them, they were, at their core, human men. And she was, at her core, a Vassiz. Humans were supposed to be her prey. She should have no problem dispatching with them, but she no longer had the powers that could free her. It was now two men against a teenage girl, and nothing more.

  Serkhol came in front of her first. Slowly, he traced a finger along the curve of her neck, and then down her arm. Laura wanted to scream. But she held it all in. She kept her eyes focused squarely on the man in front of her, on the vile creature that had overpowered her so completely.

  Suddenly her ears picked up something outside the tent. Both men were looking greedily at her body, and smiling to each other in anticipation. Both were so preoccupied that they couldn’t possibly notice the sound.

  The noise came again. It was a rustling noise, like something big and heavy moving through the woods outside. And it was getting closer.

  Laura looked at Borrak, who had now taken the spot in front of her after pushing his brother away. He grabbed her hair with one hand, and twisted it until pain radiated through Laura’s entire body. He forced her head towards him, and brought his nose down to the nape of her neck to inhale deeply.

  Laura closed her eyes, fully expecting the worse. But then she heard that noise again. Peeking through slit eyelids, she saw that neither of the men seemed to have noticed. She heard the noise, and knew it was from something that was now much closer.

  Serkhol produced the knife he used on her clothes before, and handed it to Borrak silently. Easily, Borrak pressed it up against Laura’s neck, forcing her head back.

  “You’re going to enjoy this, girl,” he said, and reached down for his belt.

  That’s when everything erupted in mayhem.

  A great roar sounded from outside, and one side of the tent ripped open. Laura’s head whipped in that direction, and her eyes fell on the most beautiful sight she had ever seen. Gray was there, looking as fierce and ferocious as ever. And his eyes shone with a savage intensity.

  Serkhol and his brother were just as shocked. They stared, frozen in surprise, at the beast now inside the tent. And the next thing Laura knew, both of them threw themselves towards the side table, where their torrial lay.

  But Gray was faster. In one giant step, he was on the two men. With one massive paw, he threw Borrak aside. At the same time, he knocked Serkhol over, and ripped into his shoulder with his mouth. Serkhol cried out in pure agony as Gray’s teeth sunk into the flesh of his shoulder.

  Laura saw a flash of steel out of the corner of one eye. Her head darted towards Borrak, who had gotten up and launched himself at Gray with the knife gripped in one hand. Laura tried to cry out, to warn her bear, but the gag in her mouth prevented her from making an audible sound.

  Laura watched, stricken in terror, as Borrak’s blade sunk de
ep into the upper part of Gray’s front leg. Gray roared, and threw his shoulder wildly at Borrak. It connected, and the man went flying across the tent.

  Gray was on him in an instant. He roared again, and swept one clawed paw right at Borrak’s chest. Borrak screamed out in pain as Gray’s claws cut deep trenches along his flesh. But there was nothing more he could do. Another scream died in his throat as Gray’s entire weight shifted on top of him, crushing the man entirely. His limbs twitched, but Gray’s jaws were already on his throat, and the man’s life was ripped away with one savage chomp.

  Gray roared again, a primal sound, a sound of pure victory. Laura looked, and saw Serkhol lying face down, completely still, in a pool of his own blood. She could see the tracks across his back where Gray’s claws connected. Another roar came from Gray, this time with him rising up to stand on his hind legs. He looked absolutely deadly, the perfect killing machine. His massive shape took up the entire tent, now, and his fur was matted with human blood. Laura had never seen anything more beautiful.

  Gray came back down, and looked immediately at Laura. And right away, Laura saw the difference in his eyes. Whereas before they held a visceral animal intensity, they were now full of concern, and caring. Only for her. He started to walk over, but abruptly lost a step and fell forward.

  Laura gasped – and choked on the taste of the cloth rag. In Gray’s moment of victory, she had forgotten all about the knife he had taken to his leg. That was the same leg that gave out, just now.

  Gray tried again, getting up and walking towards Laura. But he couldn’t put any weight on the leg he had been stabbed in, and ended up hobbling on three legs. As he labored over, Laura’s heart went out to him. She hoped the injury wasn’t too bad, that the blade hadn’t gone too deep. No matter what, she would nurse him back to full health. Immediately. It was the first thing she would do after getting out of this snare.

  Gary was beside her. And he bowed his head towards her bound arm. His fur brushed her skin, and… nothing happened.

  He stumbled back, looking as shocked as Laura felt. But then she realized what had happened. Of course! The herbs on the rag – they were suppressing her vampire abilities. And that meant her connection to Gray would definitely be affected.

  He looked at her, as if not quite sure what to do. As if he wasn’t even sure she was herself anymore. Laura violently shook her head from side to side, trying to knock the rag out of her mouth. But it wasn’t working. She tried speaking, but all that came out was a low, mumbled noise. Gray still only looked at her, completely unsure of what to do.

  But what could she do? Without the connection, she couldn’t tell him how to free her. And with the rag in her mouth, she didn’t know how long it would be until the effects of the herbs wore off. She thought back. If they had been administrated once to her when she was captured, and then once again a bit after she had been thrust into this tent… it meant that it could take half a day, or more, before she could finally break free.

  But Gray didn’t have that long. If left untreated, even in the best of situations, the wound he took could become infected. And the bacteria would spread to his blood stream, where it would overtake his entire body until he was beyond healing. He didn’t know that, of course, but Laura did. Which is why she was so desperate to get out immediately.

  Wait a second. The pole! The one behind her, that her arms were bound to. If she could get Gray to break it down, she might be able to wiggle free, and then undo that filthy rag in her mouth. She wondered if the effects of the herbs would go away quicker if she wasn’t breathing their fumes every second breath.

  She looked at Gray, making deep eye contact with him. He looked back at her… and suddenly, Laura saw recognition come back. The recognition that had fled momentarily when the connection with her didn’t work.

  With her head, she motioned to the pole right behind her. Gray just looked at her. She tried again, slowly bringing her eyes up above her head, towards the pole as best she could. Gray still only looked at her. She blinked, and then banged her head a few times against it.

  Gray straightened, and took a step towards her. She winced as she saw him avoid putting any weight on the bad leg. Then, very slowly, he rose up on his hind legs, and – with his good forelimb – took an easy swipe at the wooden pole above her head.

  It snapped effortlessly, and Laura found herself falling forward. Gray roared again, quieter than before, but he sounded distressed. Then Laura felt the cloth of the ten fall upon her back.

  She hadn’t realized it before, but now knew that the pole holding her up had also been holding up the entire canvas. And with it gone, the tent had collapsed inward.

  She rolled over, and wiggled up to get her hands free of the wretched wooden rod. When her hands slipped over the top of the snapped piece, an overwhelming elation overtook her. She had done it! She had escaped!

  Quickly, she slipped her bound hands underneath her legs to bring them to the front. And then she tore off the rag that she had in her mouth.

  For the first time in what seemed like years, she took a long, clean breath.

  And smelt smoke.

  Immediately, her senses heightened. Smoke? The candles! They must have lit the canopy on fire when it fell onto them. She had to get out. She heard Gray groan, and felt the canvas shift as he also tried to escape. But the cloth on her was thick, and she had no idea which way to go. It was also dark, making it nearly impossible to see anything. She wished desperately her vampire senses would return sooner rather than later.

  She pushed herself up into a crouch, the canopy yielding – barely – to her movement. It felt a bit like having a heavy, thick blanket on top of you, except that you did not know which way to go to get out. Picking a direction at random, she started forward.

  She used her nose to guide her. It might not have been nearly as sensitive as she was used to, but it told her that she was moving away from the smoke. And towards fresh air.

  Laura moved slowly, in a crouch, unable to see anything, and careful not to walk directly into the flames. She didn’t feel the heat from them yet, which meant the fire hadn’t spread very far – and for that she was thankful. At the same time, she could not see them, either – which either meant that her vision was now so bad as to not pick up on the fire, or that the flames hadn’t gotten very far. She hoped it was the latter.

  She took another crouching step forward, and felt a resistance in the cloth in front of her. She pushed against it, feeling the fabric tighten and stiffen at the same time. She pushed – and stumbled out in the fresh night air, landing unceremoniously on her face.

  Immediately, she got to her feet and turned back to see what remained. The moon gave her just enough light to see. The fabric of the tent lay spread out on the dirt floor, and she could see shapes underneath it. One of them was unmistakably Gray. Her eyes darted to the edge where the candles had been, scared of what she might find – and sighed with relief. The small fire that the candles started hadn’t burned very long, and although she could see some charred bits at the canopy’s edge, it was nothing that could start up again.

  But Gray was still in there, and she saw him moving around uncertainly. As it were, he seemed to be getting only more tangled with the tent.

  “Gray!” she called out, and he turned immediately towards her. “Come,” she said, and watched as he took a hesitant step towards her voice. “That’s right. Come here.” He took another step, and then another. Laura winced each time he moved, because she could clearly see the way he struggled with that stabbed leg. But soon enough, he was at the edge of the tent, and his head emerged from the under the canvas.

  Laura hopped over somewhat awkwardly towards Gray. Her feet and hands were still bound. But she did not want to wait until the mixture of herbs wore off before she could finally be free of them. Gray came out completely, and his fur absolutely shone in the moonlit night.

  “Thank you,” she whispered to him, leaning against him with one shoulder. She wanted to
throw her arms around him, to form that connection that would let him know how much she truly appreciated the rescue. But for now, that awkward lean was all she could get.

  Gray nuzzled his head against the side of her arm, and then slowly lay down on the ground beside her. While he didn’t look to be in any great pain, Laura knew the wound on the side of his leg was troubling him. She wanted to fix it as soon as possible.

  But first, she had to get free. She looked around herself, trying to get a sense of whether there was anything she could use to assist her in that. And she felt absolutely stupid when she remembered Serkhol’s knife.

  It would be on the ground somewhere under the tent canvas. She had to get to it, which meant pulling the heavy canvas away. And she didn’t know if she were strong enough to be able to do it just yet.

  She looked at Gray, and wondered whether he might be able to help somehow. But then again, with the way he labored when moving, she did not want to use him unless it became absolutely necessary.

  Another question came up in her mind as she looked at him, though. A question she wondered about from the moment she saw him inside the ten. How was it that he had gotten here, when he was very clearly outside the barrier earlier? She has a suspicion, though. And it had to do with the two torrial.

  She had seen the way their glow had petered out after Borrak and Serkhol took them off. And, if anything she had seen in the previous month was any indication, that meant that they stopped working when they came off. Why, Laura didn’t know. But the timing of everything fit together so well. The barrier that had trapped her before had to be something that required a torrial. And once the first of the medallions had come off, it was likely that the entire barrier disappeared – if Gray’s arrival was any indication of that, which it clearly was. But she also wondered what else the two torrial could do.