Though his strength and speed were waning, he could still move faster than any human—his long legs still covered miles in minutes. He would go back home. What other choice did he have? At least, in his own house, he could hunker down and wait for whatever might happen next.
Things were different from before—the real world no longer within reach—he felt it intrinsically. He remembered the battle that had raged within him, how the demon had fought to stay. He’d been dragged here, torn from the real world to this place of shadowy creatures and darkness.
He had no idea how to get back again.
Would this be his existence now? Wandering this strange, dark place until he eventually forgot who he was and became like the bizarre, primate-like creatures, or perhaps the tall humanoid ones he’d encountered previously. Would he starve here, he wondered? Was that to be his fate?
In a way, he hoped so. If he was to live in a world without Serenity or Elizabeth, he could only hope for a quick death.
A flash of a memory—blood and screaming—burst across his brain.
Sebastian shook his head.
What have I done?
He forced his concerns away and concentrated on closing the distance between himself and Los Angeles. He wanted to cut across country, but the memory of being attacked by the weird creatures hiding in the shrubs remained fresh in his mind. At least on the empty highway he was able to see on all sides if anything approached.
The huge distance drained what little strength he had remaining and he slowed to walk awhile. The weight in his arms and legs and the way his muscles burned felt foreign to him.
He raised his hand to his mouth and touched the sharp fangs hidden behind his upper lip. He was still a vampire. His strengths might be leaving him, but he was still an immortal.
An immortal in a place of the dead.
As he closed the distance between himself and the city he’d come to think of as home, his thoughts remained with Serenity and Elizabeth. Would he ever see them again? Hold them again? His heart clenched with pain and a low moan escaped his throat. To be taken from his family was the worst of punishments.
Punishment? Why had his mind taken him in that direction?
What had he done?
The world remained ominously quiet around him, as though paused in wait for something to happen. Was he being allowed to go back to his city, his home? Did this place have a reason for wanting him to be there?
With no moon in the sky, he struggled to tell the passing of time, but Sebastian was sure he’d been on the move for several hours now. His limbs ached in a way he’d never experienced during his immortal existence, his lungs burning in exertion.
Finally, the bright lights of Los Angeles lit the horizon. Sebastian forced himself onward and put on a burst of speed, digging into his final reserves. He entered the outskirts of the city, the lights from the houses and apartment spilling onto the street.
Sebastian focused on getting back to his house. He’d still seen no sign of any other beings, something that made him nervous. The trees stayed motionless and silent, though he was sure he felt eyes from above watch him pass.
He reached his neighborhood, big, walled properties on either side of the wide streets. Suddenly, the sensation of being watched blanketed him, a feeling he could no longer ignore. He spun around, certain he’d sensed a presence behind him.
A shadow darted between the tall walls of the property opposite, as silent as smoke.
Was someone following him? But why? To find out where he lived? Or to drag him into some other version of Hell like the transparent man being dragged across the road he’d seen before.
“Who’s there?” he called, his voice too loud in the still nothingness. “Show yourself!”
Nothing—and no one—responded.
He took off at a run again, quickly covering what remained of the distance between himself and his home—or at least the Dominion version of his home.
He remembered his thoughts of finding Serenity and Elizabeth waiting for him, faceless and terrifying. He shook the thought from his head. They would never exist in this place. He deserved no better, but his family was made of goodness and light. They didn’t cross the boundaries of what should and shouldn’t exist.
Even Elizabeth? A wicked voice spoke in his head. She’s half vampire. Surely she transcends both the light and dark?
Might that be what the beings of this world were after? They had no interest in him—they only wanted a way to connect to Elizabeth, a way to bridge the boundaries between our world and theirs.
Could they somehow use me to get to Elizabeth?
Sebastian stopped outside the tall gates of his home and paused, composing himself. He didn’t know what he would discover, if anything, but at least this was one place he might find some respite.
The sense of someone watching him grew in intensity and he spun around to find two of the humanoid creatures, with their cavernous black holes for eyes and wide-stretched mouths, standing directly behind him.
He let out a yell and stumbled back, but they were suddenly upon him in a flurry of black, like cloaks of darkness being whipped around his head. He raised his arms instinctively to protect his head, but the two creatures had hold of him, one on each arm.
In his mind, Sebastian saw a flash of the transparent man he’d seen before, being dragged, screaming across the street. Was that to be his destiny? What did they even want with him?
Elizabeth.
The thought struck fear afresh into his heart. With an extra burst of speed and strength, he thrust his arms and shoulders back, catching the beings by surprise. They grappled at him, their strange faces expressionless, but he managed to wrestle out of his jacket, leaving the two creatures holding only that item. He raced away from them, leaving his home, his one place of sanctuary, far behind.
Chapter Twenty-two
Outside the trailer window, the sky had begun to lighten, a thin strip of orange scoring the horizon.
Working together, Serenity and Iona covered Sebastian in a thick, woolen blanket. They couldn’t risk him being exposed to the rising sun.
Henry and Conner seemed happy to help load the vampire’s inert body into the open trunk of an old, green Toyota. Conner slammed down the trunk lid and brushed his palms together as if physically wiping the responsibility from his hands.
He leaned against the car. “You know I don’t like this, Iona,” he told the girl. “You’re exposing yourself and leaving us unprotected.”
“Your magic is strong enough to protect the site until I return,” she replied, heading around the side of the vehicle to the passenger door.
“And what about you? This vampire is capable of killing those who are trying to help him. How do we—”
“It wasn’t Sebastian’s fault,” Serenity interrupted, but the man ignored her.
“There’s nothing to stop him hurting you as well,” he continued to argue.
Iona scowled. “You’ve seen the state of him, Conner. He couldn’t hurt anything right now.”
“What happens if you manage to bring him back?”
“Sebastian wouldn’t hurt her,” Serenity tried again, terrified Conner would manage to talk Iona out of accompanying them back to Los Angeles. “I know you don’t believe me, but he hates to hurt humans.”
Conner snorted. “He’s a vampire. He doesn’t have any control over himself, we all saw that.”
Serenity snapped, rounding on the man, glaring. “That wasn’t him! It was the goddamned demon. You have no idea who he is whatsoever!”
Iona’s slender hand touched Serenity’s arm. “It’s all right, Serenity. I’m not going to change my mind. We need to go now.”
With Elizabeth already in position on the back seat, Iona climbed in the passenger side. Serenity took the keys from her and stuffed the keys to her own car into her pocket. She wanted to drive, not trusting herself to be passenger to a sixteen-year-old driver, however powerful a witch she might be. She imagined hersel
f backseat driving the whole way home, stomping her foot down on non-existent pedals whenever a hazard approached. She didn’t want the sorceress to hate her by the time they reached LA.
Iona lifted her hand in a wave as they drove from the site, the small group of her people watching them go, each with equally stern expressions on their faces.
Serenity was glad to put the place—and what had happened there—behind her as much as she could. Exhaustion and an awful, deep soul-wrenching sorrow made her limbs heavy, her eyes hot and gritty. She wished she’d been allowed to get a couple of hours sleep, but the travelers would not have allowed them to stay on their property for a moment longer.
She focused on the road ahead, trying not to think about the shell of Sebastian bundled in the trunk, her traumatized daughter sitting silent in the back seat, or Vincent—heartbroken and furious—having taken shelter, she assumed, somewhere out here in the desert.
Instead, she thought about the comfort of their home, of the tall, protective walls and gate surrounding the property, and their big, soft bed. She wondered if they would ever share the same bed again. Would Sebastian ever be conscious enough for them to be a family within the property’s walls?
No matter where her thoughts took her, they always came back to Sebastian, and she wanted to scream in horror and denial about what he’d done.
Sebastian had killed Bridget.
No, no, no. She couldn’t allow herself to think that. The demon inside him had either caused him to do it or had killed her itself. Sebastian said he’d killed before when the demon had control and not remembered, why should this be any different?
Because Iona said she’d sent the demon back, that was why.
She scrunched up her fist and pressed her knuckles hard into her forehead, causing herself pain. This physical pain was far easier to handle than the emotional anguish clutching at her heart. Would she ever be able to look at him the same way again without seeing Bridget’s decapitated head?
All of this was a moot point. If Iona wasn’t able to bring him back, wondering if she could still love him in the same way wouldn’t even matter.
When the city’s outline eventually came into view, relief made her whole body sag. She navigated her way through the suburbs until she finally reached home.
Feeling conspicuous in the old vehicle in their neighborhood full of Audis and BMWs, she took her keys from her jean pocket and pressed the fob to open their automatic gate. She gave a quick side glance at Iona and caught the girl’s jaw drop at the sight of their impressive home. Serenity’s cheeks heated in embarrassment at the luxury of the place, wanting to make excuses for where she lived—wanting to reassure the girl that she’d come from a poor family—and, like Iona, wasn’t used to such riches.
But she knew she’d sound like she was trying too hard to make excuses for both herself and Sebastian, knowing the money they lived from wasn’t earned through honest means.
Bridget’s Prius sat in the driveway. The car was like a physical accusation, the sight of the vehicle like a knife stabbing in Serenity’s heart. She still fought with the idea that Bridget was gone. Not only gone, but taken by Sebastian’s hands.
Serenity pulled up beside the Prius. They climbed from the car and she opened the front door of the house for them, sending Elizabeth in ahead.
“Go up to bed, honey,” she said, knowing her daughter was exhausted. “I’ll come up and sing you a song in a minute, okay?”
“But what about Daddy?”
“Iona is going to help him, but right now, I need you to go up to bed. We’ll make sure your daddy gets to bed safely, won’t we, Iona.”
Iona smiled and nodded. “Yeah, of course we will.”
Taking Iona’s word above her mother’s, Elizabeth yawned, big and wide, and made her way up the stairs to bed.
Serenity waited until she heard Elizabeth’s bedroom door open and shut, then headed back to the car. She popped the trunk, exposing Sebastian’s covered body to the bright, California sun. She didn’t know how well the blanket would protect him and wanted to do this quickly.
“Okay, I’ll lift him under his arms and you get his legs.”
Iona nodded, looking every bit as young as her years.
Feeling like they were trying to maneuver more than two hundred pounds of dead body—and supremely glad they weren’t overlooked by neighbors—they managed to drag Sebastian out of the trunk. His hand dropped from beneath the blanket and the back began to crinkle and smoke.
Iona’s blue eyes widened at the sight. “Oh, shit!” she exclaimed and then dropped Sebastian’s leg and clapped a hand over her mouth.
Serenity grabbed his hand and tucked it back beneath the thick material. She lifted her eyebrows at Iona. “I think we’re a long way past worrying about a bit of bad language.”
The girl gave her a lopsided grin and picked Sebastian’s leg back up.
Together, they struggled across the gravel drive, up the steps leading to the huge front door, and into the entrance hall. Breathing hard and bent over, sweat poured down Serenity’s forehead, back, and into her cleavage. She felt filthy and thought she must stink. Iona didn’t look much better, her white-blonde hair plastered to her face and neck.
They stopped for a moment and put Sebastian down in order to catch their breath and consider their next move.
Serenity eyed the big, curved staircase. He’d be protected from the sun in the bedroom with its blacked-out windows, but she didn’t think they’d manage to get him there. Her eyes flicked to the kitchen. He’d be protected from the sun in the basement, but did she have the heart to leave him?
Oh, Sebastian. Why did you have to do it?
Tears threatened once again and she blinked them back, needing to hold it together.
She glanced over at Iona. Dark marks hollowed her big eyes and her skin was pale and drawn. She was lucky if she weighed much more than a hundred pounds. Serenity couldn’t put her through trying to drag Sebastian up the stairs. He didn’t even know where he was anyway, she would only be doing so to ease her own conscience.
“We’ll put him in the stairwell to the cellar,” she said. Relief flooded across Iona face.
Serenity took hold of his arms again and, grunting with exertion, dragged him across the kitchen floor. With one hand, she opened the small door to the cellar. She got hold of Sebastian around the chest and wrestled him onto the top step, which was wider than the others. She left him there, propped up against the back wall, his chin resting on his chest.
He’d be safe until night fell.
“I’ll come back for you,” she told his inert form. “I won’t give up on you.” Backing out, she gently closed the door behind her. “Let’s get some rest,” she said, putting her arm around the Iona’s shoulders, guiding her upstairs to the guest bedroom. Iona smiled at her thankfully and headed to the big bed, shedding her sneakers as she went.
Serenity left her to sleep and paused outside her own bedroom door. She couldn’t sleep in their bed, knowing Sebastian’s body was propped on the cellar steps and his soul was lost somewhere in Dominion. Instead, she continued down the hall to Elizabeth’s room. The little girl had fallen asleep fully clothed on top of the bedcovers. Careful not to wake her, Serenity removed her shoes and pants and then pulled a patchwork quilt from the end of the bed up over her shoulders.
Serenity climbed in behind her and snuggled up close, her arm around Elizabeth’s small waist. She pressed her face into her daughter’s hair, inhaling her familiar scent.
Exhaustion overwhelmed her and she fell into a deep and troubled sleep, dreaming of chasing Sebastian down long, dark corridors, knowing he was ahead of her, but unable to reach him.
For once, she feared Elizabeth wasn’t the one having precognitive dreams.
Serenity woke several hours later, groggy, disoriented and starving. Her stomach felt as though someone had hollowed it out. Immediately, a pang of guilt gripped her for thinking about herself when Sebastian still lay unresponsiv
e on the cellar steps.
Or perhaps, with nightfall, he’d woken.
Her heart hitched in hope and she slid out of bed, careful to not wake Elizabeth. Barefooted, she ran down the stairs. The world outside the kitchen window was now dark. Perhaps Iona had been wrong and Sebastian hadn’t been dragged to Dominion with the demon. Maybe she’d find him sitting on the top step, confused about finding himself in the cellar, but otherwise okay.
With her heart in her throat, she crossed the kitchen and cracked open the cellar door.
The shadowy shape of Sebastian, in exactly the same position as she’d left him, greeted her. He didn’t move in response to her entering and his eyes remained closed. He hadn’t woken up when the sun had gone down.
She pressed her lips tight together and backed away, closing the door gently. Her head fell forward, her forehead pressing against the cool, hard surface of the wood. She missed him terribly already, wished so badly he were with her to fold her in his strong arms and keep her safe. She didn’t want to be alone again.
The soft pad of footsteps caught her attention. She turned to find Iona standing there, Elizabeth at her side, the two girls holding hands. Both of their hair was mussed from sleep—Iona’s white-blonde mass and Elizabeth’s thick dark curls, so much like her own.
She took a deep, shaky breath—not wanting Elizabeth to see her cry—and forced a bright smile. “Before anything else, I suggest we eat.”
Elizabeth gave an uncertain look toward the door.
“Your daddy is safe,” Serenity told her. “He wouldn’t want you to go hungry.”
“He’s not going to wake up, is he?” she said, her voice small.
Iona’s hand tightened on Elizabeth’s and the younger girl looked up at the sorceress. “We’ll get him back. I promised I’d help, didn’t I?”
Elizabeth smiled and Serenity felt overwhelming relief at having Iona with them. Tears welled in her eyes, the kitchen swimming before her. What would they have done if she’d stuck to her original plan and refused to help?
Dominion Page 20
