“Get out of here!” he yelled, and Sami nodded, then turned and ran out of the cavern.
With a last burst of energy, he picked up Selene and fell onto his back, the cool rock knocking the breath out of him.
His arms gave out, and he lifted them over his head to release her. She got to her feet and picked up the knife, her chest heaving from the exertion. As she loomed over him, her eyes resembling saucers of insanity, he knew his time had run out.
He’d been lucky throughout his life. He’d grown up without any parents, and hadn’t sunk into the world of drugs and crime, but instead, turned out pretty good. He’d survived combat situations. He’d fought vampires, and won. Now, he’d die in this damn cave, his body to probably never be recovered, especially if Selene had anything to say about it. She’d most likely gut him and leave him for the wolves and bobcats who also made this mountain their home.
She straddled him and sank to her knees. Holding the knife above her head, she smiled. “I’ve wanted to do this for days now.”
As the blade traveled downward, he reached up and grabbed her hands in his. The quick action took seconds, but seemed like minutes as everything moved in slow motion. He noticed the glint of silver in the torch lights, the contortion of fury on Selene’s face, her light weight upon his abdomen. He inhaled deeply, wishing his last breath could be fresh air instead of the dank, humid crap filling his lungs now.
He vowed to keep his eyes open, to not show any fear to her. His time with Selene had proved that she fed on fright, and he wouldn’t give her that satisfaction.
The blade lowered to his throat, and he gritted his teeth, the muscles in his arms quivering as he tried to fend off the pain about to assail him.
However, it never came.
Selene raised the knife again, and he let go of her hands. She slammed it down toward him once more. It was as if it had met some sort of force field, some type of shield that kept the blade at bay. It was then that he noticed his Ko glowing brightly, and he realized Dedou’s spirits were hard at work to keep him alive.
“About time,” he muttered as he fought for control of the blade.
After a moment, Selene stood, tilted her head back with her hands at her sides, and screamed, the low, guttural sound a pleasant change from the high-pitched shriek she’d let loose before.
“I’ll deal with you later,” she murmured as she dropped the blade, then walked out of the cavern. He heard her call Sami’s name, but only silence greeted her.
He closed his eyes, contemplating his future. She’d most likely force him into a trance, and he’d become her next ‘pet,’ if she decided to keep him alive and not slowly drain the blood from him. He’d be the one responsible for retrieving the victims she needed to survive, for fucking her, for bringing her oral pleasure. The thought made his stomach roll.
He gazed up at the ceiling and then back at the way she’d gone after Sami. The knife lay within reach, and he sat up and grabbed it.
As he did so, his Ko glowed brightly, and seeing it gave him a burst of energy. A small smile crept across his face. One night while drunk in Hawaii, he and a friend had decided to have a competition to see who could break out of a pair of handcuffs the fastest. That experience had taught him that shackles could be opened with a bobby pin or a paperclip. Although the cuffs on him now were much thicker and wider than regular handcuffs, he hoped the premise was the same.
Taking a deep breath, he began working on the ankle cuffs with the knife. The area had swelled and become more painful than ever. If he got out of them, he wondered if he’d even be able to walk. It would definitely be mind over matter. Sami had a crazy vampire ready to rip her skull off her body. He needed to at least try to help her.
Sweat poured off his brow, despite the cool cave air. His hands began to shake, and he set down the knife and closed his eyes for a moment. A rock settled in his chest as his small flicker of hope threatened to completely extinguish.
“Please help me,” he whispered, wiping the sweat from his eyes. He wasn’t sure to whom he sent the request, but he hoped someone was listening.
He didn’t know what to expect, but when nothing happened, he wasn’t surprised.
When he was young and being raised by the nuns in the orphanage, he’d prayed nightly for years for a mother and father. He’d begged, pleaded, and tried to negotiate. For instance, he had promised that if he were to be adopted, he’d never get into trouble and would always eat his vegetables without complaining. He’d sworn he’d never ask his parents for anything—not even the things he really wanted, like a bike. Despite his groveling, his pleas had never been answered. Why should it be any different now?
He’d have to get free on his own, and if he couldn’t, then he’d die. It was all pretty simple.
Picking up the knife, he took a deep breath and tried to renew his focus. He placed the tip of the knife onto the locking mechanism, his Ko flaming red.
Shock rolled through him as the sound of the lock opening met his ears, especially since he hadn’t twisted it to get the damn thing open. Apparently, someone had heard his cries for help, after all.
He pulled off the shackles with a low curse, his ankles screaming as bits of skin came with the metal.
Setting them to the side, he hoped the handcuffs would come off just as easily.
He placed the tip of the blade to the lock, and the same thing happened. When his hands were free, he picked up the ankle shackles and threw them into the darkness. Then he did the same with the wrist cuffs, except into the other direction. He moved his wrists around in a circle, then balled his hands up into fists and stretched them out. The muscles that hadn’t been able to move in so long ached, but it still felt great. It was as if he’d been released from under a one-ton boulder instead of restraints.
He slowly stood up, a litany of curses falling from his lips as he put his full weight on the soles of his feet. His ankles—red, bloody, and swollen—almost looked deformed.
Taking a deep breath, he took a step. The pain radiated from his foot up through his leg and back. He tilted his head back and opened his mouth in a silent scream, his chest heaving from the agony. However, if he was going to help Sami, he needed to push it aside.
As he hobbled out of the cavern toward the way Sami had gone, he realized he’d been correct before.
It would all come down to mind over matter.
24
Sami ran through the caverns, fear propelling her, her mind a jumbled mess of worry, anxiety, and regret. Her hair flew into her face as she glanced behind her to make sure she wasn’t being followed, her chest heaving from the exertion.
Why had she left Connor there? Why hadn’t she stayed with him?
Because Selene was a full-bred vampire who wanted her dead, and Connor also knew that. He’d told her to run because he wanted to see her live. However, the crux of the matter was she didn’t think she could without him.
She needed to find someone to help her because she didn’t stand a chance against Selene’s incredible power. That knife had brought down Pedro like he’d been run over by a tank; yet, with Selene, it was as if Sami had delivered a kick to the shin.
How in the world did she get out of this place?
Every turn she made led to a different cavity in the mountain, and they all looked the same. Panic had her unable to focus, to remember which way she’d come from and where she’d already been.
As she turned another corner, her shoulder caught the rock wall, and she grimaced and fought back a groan, bringing her hand up to hold the aching bone.
That will leave a huge bruise.
At this point, it didn’t really matter, though, did it?
Thankfully, this tunnel seemed to lead to daylight.
Forgetting about her shoulder, she ran toward the light, her legs burning from the exertion.
As she approached, a stench met her nose, giving her the dry heaves. She slowed to a walk while placing her hand over her eyes, trying to block some of t
he afternoon sunlight that blinded her.
When she reached the outdoors, her heart sank. She stood on a cliff with no way to get back down to earth. Looking down, she fell to her knees as she realized what caused the odor.
Below her lay the dead bodies of humans in a shallow pond. Beyond that, nothing but forest. Placing her head in her hands, she curled up into a ball and shed tears for the dead. She’d witnessed so many lives coming to an end in the past year, it weighed heavily on her soul. However, she now knew who had been responsible for all of it.
Selene had to be stopped. With the grief she’d caused Sami and the reign of terror she’d laid on those in the pond, Connor, Tyson, and who knew how many others, she had to be destroyed.
She sat up and stared down once again at the bodies of those who would never receive another hug from someone who cared for them, whose lives had come to an end much too soon. Unable to believe that one of her own family members could be responsible for so many deaths, she took a deep breath, rose to her feet, and turned around.
Walking back into the cave was the most difficult thing she’d ever done, yet there wasn’t a way for her to get off the cliff. She couldn’t take down Selene on her own, but it seemed that unless she found a way out, she’d have to try, and possibly end her own life in the process.
Instead of running through the labyrinth like a mad woman, she stopped and listened for footsteps, but heard nothing. She decided to head to the left in the hopes that it would take her to the crawlspace where she’d entered.
She kept her own footing quiet, carefully choosing where she put her boot so she wouldn’t alert Selene to her whereabouts.
There were two ways a vampire could be killed. First was the sunlight; second was the knife. She’d blown it with the knife, so she supposed that somehow, she’d have to lure Selene into the sunlight.
As she made her way down the tunnel, she came to another small cavern. Bits of light filtered from the cracks in the rocks above, and she realized this was where she’d come in. She located the small space where she had crawled in.
Selene’s voice startled her, causing her to gasp.
“No one knows this mountain better than me, Sami!” Selene yelled, her words echoing off the walls. “I will find you, my dear.”
Sami had no idea how far or how close Selene could be, and she glanced around for a rock or something to fight off the vampire, but came up empty-handed.
She looked up at the sunlight beaming through the cracks, and a plan came together.
Instead of leaving the cave or hiding, she stood right in the middle of the cavern. If Selene appeared in the opening, there would be sunlight between them. The vampire wouldn’t dare attempt to get to her. Somehow, maybe she could get Selene into the sun. That would certainly kill her, and then Sami could go back for Connor.
She didn’t hear the footsteps, but sensed the movement in the tunnel before Selene emerged at the opening, her abdomen still hissing and popping, but Sami could see the wound had healed even more in the few minutes they’d been separated.
Sami squared her shoulders, fists at her sides.
“I see you found one of the entrances,” Selene said, looking upward. “I also see you’re hiding behind that blasted fireball in the sky.”
She said nothing, but stared at Selene, her heart thundering against her sternum.
“That’s okay, honey,” Selene said as she crossed her arms over her chest and leaned against the wall. “I can wait right here until the sun goes down. And then, I’m going to bathe in your blood.”
A chill ran down Sami’s spine. “You aren’t supposed to kill family.”
Selene nodded. “This is true, and it’s a shame you didn’t follow the law. When a law is broken, a penalty must be paid. Since I am the new overseer of our race, I also get to play judge and jury, and in your case, executioner.”
“We’ll have to see about that,” Sami said, taking a seat in the dirt, hoping that the next few hours the sun protected her, she’d somehow, someway come up with a plan that would end Selene and get her and Connor out of here.
25
Connor hobbled through the maze of tunnels, having no idea where he was going, with no sense of which way was north, south, east, or west. He’d been out cold when Tyson had brought him into the mountain, and his current state reminded him of a rat caught in a maze—constantly running into walls and turning around, only to find himself just as lost going the other direction.
He stopped and leaned up against the wall, trying to calm his breath so he could listen and try to figure out where Sami and Selene had gone. Shutting his eyes, he concentrated.
He thought he heard something to his left, but he couldn’t be certain. For all he knew, it had been bats flying around, or a snake slithering across the dirt. However, it was all he had to go on, so he moved that way, each step delivering a fiery dose of pain shooting throughout his body. He thought about giving up and sitting down to wait for Selene to do with him what she would, but if Sami hadn’t gotten out, he had to help her. If she had been able to leave, maybe he could also find his way out and to freedom.
What he wouldn’t give to have the sun warm his face and body.
After a few moments, he stopped again, more out of necessity than anything. He leaned over and put his hands on his knees and tried to quiet his breathing once again. This time, he heard voices.
He recognized Sami’s voice right away.
“You aren’t supposed to kill family.”
“This is true,” Selene answered. “And it’s a shame you didn’t follow the law. When a law is broken, a penalty must be paid. Since I am the new overseer of our race, I also get to play judge and jury, and in your case, executioner.”
“We’ll have to see about that,” Sami answered.
It almost sounded as they were in some type of standoff.
He crept slowly toward them, wishing they’d keep up the conversation so he could figure out where they were.
As he rounded the corner, he came to a halt to take in the situation.
Selene stood at an entryway into another cavern. However, this one had rays of sunlight coming through the cracks in the rocks above. Sami sat in the dirt on the other side of the sunshine. She was safe there, until the sun went down. Then, Selene would have full run of every nook and cranny in the mountain, and she’d hunt them down.
He estimated he stood about fifteen feet behind Selene. Although he still carried the knife, he knew they would have to do more than to sink it into her skin in order to land the final deathblow and win. However, if they could somehow get her into the sun’s rays and also stab her, hopefully, that would be enough to end her.
He moved to the center of the tunnel, trying to catch Sami’s eye. She sat cross-legged, staring at the ground while picking up handfuls of dirt and letting it run through her fingers. It almost seemed like she enjoyed a day at the beach instead of facing one of the most dangerous killers of her life.
How should he get her attention and let her know of his plan? Besides announcing himself, which took away all elements of surprise, he didn’t know.
Knowing it was a huge risk, he slowly dropped to his knees, grimacing as he did so. If Selene heard him, she’d turn around and murder him without a second thought. He hoped being eye-level would make Sami notice him.
“You know you have a way out of here, right?” Selene asked. “It’s right in the back of you. Why don’t you scoot on your way and leave me with Connor?”
Sami still focused on the ground. “I have a feeling you’d come after me even if I did do that. You’ve proven to me that you’re—”
She stopped mid-sentence as she looked up and saw him. For a second, he thought she’d give away his position as her eyebrows arched and her eyes widened in shock, but she recovered quickly and focused on Selene.
“That I’m what?”
Sami got to her feet and brushed her hands off on her jeans. He also stood, hoping she could understand what he intende
d to do.
“That you’re an awful vampire, and you don’t even deserve the title of one. How dare you take our history, the names of our makers, and pervert it for your own purposes? I hope you die in the sun as its rays melt the skin off your bones and turn you into nothing but ash.”
Well, he hoped that was her letting him know she understood, or perhaps she thought she was giving him an idea. Either way, it was time to move.
“The problem with your theory is that I would have to be stupid enough to allow myself into the daylight. I had such hopes for you, but you’ve proven yourself to nothing but an ignorant …”
Gritting his teeth, he ran toward her at full speed, each step feeling as though it could be the death of him as the pain radiated throughout his legs.
She turned and hissed at him as he reached her, but it didn’t deter him. He ploughed into her, sending them both into the space where Sami stood. Selene landed on her back, her eyes directly in a ray of sunshine.
As a guttural cry tore from her lips, she struggled to get away from him, closing her eyes against the onslaught. She caught one of his ankles and gripped it with such force, his own screams melded with hers, and he had to move away from her.
Sami jumped on her, straddling her as she wrapped her hand around Selene’s throat.
Her shrieks blended in with Selene’s and his own, yet a look of absolute insanity took over her features, her mouth open, her eyes wide, and her cheeks flaming red.
In the moment, she looked as crazy as Selene did.
Steam began to rise from Selene’s eyes, and he realized his plan would work. He crawled over to her as she fought against Sami, who seemed to be holding her own. An adrenaline burst, perhaps? There was no way Sami could be as strong as Selene, but she didn’t back down against her.
He grabbed one of Selene’s arms and held it out to the side, then stabbed her in the shoulder. Her back arched as she tried to buck Sami off of her, but his girl held fast. He crawled around and did the same to the other arm, both of them now fizzing and bubbling from the sunlight and Dedou’s voodoo. Her chest began to convulse, her arms flailing around uselessly as she clawed at Sami.
Heroines and Hellions: a Limited Edition Urban Fantasy Collection Page 125
