by Amy Miles
Without waiting for William’s response, Sadie slapped Roseline again. This time Roseline’s eyes fluttered open.
“Oh thank God!” Sadie exclaimed, shaking her. “Rose. You need to eat.”
The arm that wasn’t completely shattered tried feebly to push Sadie away. But Roseline was too weak to put up a fight. William grabbed Gabriel, thankful that the boy was unconscious for what was coming next. He placed Gabriel’s arm over Roseline’s mouth and waited.
The scent of fresh blood hit Roseline hard. She sniffed the air, saliva already beginning to pool in her mouth. Her lips closed around the wound, sucking deeply. A contented sigh escaped her lips as blood slowly trickled into her mouth.
“Is it working?” Fane shouted, narrowly missing another precision lunge. He ducked under a table, throwing himself horizontally down the length of the solid oak slab and came out the other side, giving him a couple seconds to breathe.
“She’s drinking…I think,” William called.
Vladimir hesitated for a second, casting his murderous glare at William. The boy shrank back, suddenly doubting if the iron cage could really keep out the ticked off vampire.
“Hurry up!” Fane shouted, launching himself at Vladimir, kicking out his attacker’s leg while he was distracted.
Sadie bounced up and down next to Rose, finding it freakishly odd that she was cheering on her friend. Surely she would need to spend years in therapy over this one!
Roseline grunted in disgust, weakly tossing Gabriel’s arm away. A trickle of blood seeped from her mouth as she cried out in pain. Her body shook as a spasm hit her. Bones splintered, cracking loudly in the small room. William doubled over, losing every ounce of his stomach contents.
Sadie held her friend as she shrieked in agony. “Fane! It didn’t work!”
“Gabriel’s barely breathing,” William cried wiping his mouth. He move forward and cradled Gabriel’s limp form under his arm. William tore the bottom of his shirt and used it to stanch the blood flow from Gabriel’s arm. “I think he’s almost dead!”
Fane grunted as he hurled a torch at Vladimir, pleased that the ashes lit his cloak on fire. As Vladimir danced about, frantic to put out his clothes, Fane’s eyes swept the room. He quickly noted Sorin’s shattered arm and Nicolae’s bloody thigh and chest. This wasn’t going well. Vladimir and Lucien were outmaneuvering them.
And then…everything stopped. Fane whirled around, sniffing the air. Vladimir and Lucien lowered their swords; their eyes alight with blood lust.
“No,” Fane cried as the two brothers rushed the cage. Their battle with Fane and Sorin was long forgotten. The scent of blood drove them into a frenzy.
Sadie winced as she dropped the dagger she’d grabbed from the platform, hearing it clatter to the floor, the sound echoing as if she were in a tunnel. Fresh blood poured from her neck, splattering on the ground. She was barely aware of the guttural screams nearby or William’s desperate cries.
Roseline came into view, her eyes filled with need. Sadie rolled her neck to the side, sucking in a breath as she felt Rose’s lips surround the wound. She’d expected pain but all she felt was an odd tugging sensation. Then the flood gates opened and Sadie sagged, her energy draining quickly.
“Let her go!” William cried, dropping Gabriel to the floor as he tried desperately to pull his sister away from Roseline, but it was too late. The bloodlust had taken over.
Roseline hissed at William, her aqua eyes blazing with fierce possessiveness. “William, back away now,” Fane shouted, racing across the room. “Don’t try to stop her while she’s feeding. She’ll kill you!”
William backed away in horror. Pain flared on his neck and he whirled around, terrified to see Lucien grinning madly as he pulled away a long bloody fingernail. He sniffed William’s blood, closing his eyes as the aromatic scent hit him. Lucien’s head lolled to the side as he licked his finger, savoring the taste.
Using his hand to staunch the blood, William backed away, falling over Gabriel. His eyes were locked onto Lucien, horrified as he watched Vladimir fight his brother for a taste of William’s blood. “Oh that’s just wrong,” he groaned, feeling his stomach flip flop again.
William saw a glint of silver just before the bloodlust in Lucien’s eyes vanished, replaced by disbelief as a thin red line appeared on his neck. A tiny trail of blood slipped from the line, dropping onto his bright white shirt. Glazed eyes stared at William as Lucien’s legs gave out on him, his body slumping to the ground. Vladimir’s piercing screams rose in intensity as his brother’s head separated from his body, rolling across the grimy floor. It halted at the base of the platform, Gabriel’s blood splattering onto his lifeless face.
Sorin stood a foot behind, grinning maliciously at his fallen foe. “That’s for my sister!” he shouted, spitting into Lucien’s face. Blood seeped freely from Lucien’s horrid neck wound, a thick pool of crimson blood stained the stone, seeping into the ancient cracks.
“You’re a dead man!” Vladimir raged, attacking Sorin with lightning quick reflexes. Sorin barely had time to think before Vladimir chopped down at him from overhead. Sorin fumbled backwards, sure this would be his last moment on Earth, but Nicolae snatched up Lucien’s fallen sword and parried the blow, coming out of nowhere to save his uncle.
Fane watched in amazement as the humans fought against Vladimir. Lucien was gone, leaving only one really ticked off vampire to deal with. “Let me in,” Fane cried to William, arriving at the cell door in one bound.
William looked at him with distrust. “How do I know you won’t bite me?” he asked, cradling his wounded neck in his hand. Fane had to admit William did smell good, but his concern for Roseline overruled his discomfort.
“If you don’t let me in your sister will die.”
William cried out when he glanced at his sister. Her face was ashen, her eyes rolled back into her head. She’d slumped to the floor, too weak to even hold up her own head. Roseline clung to her neck, desperately taking the blood she needed to live.
“Please, William. I can save them both,” Fane pleaded, glancing behind him to make sure Vladimir was still busy. Sorin and Nicolae had skillfully backed him into the far corner, but Fane had no doubt Vladimir would rebound. He always did.
William stumbled forward, shoving the key through the bars. Fane quickly inserted the skeleton key and yanked open the door. He threw himself at Roseline’s feet. “Rose. You have to stop. You’re killing Sadie.”
Roseline growled at Fane, unwilling to let her go. William paced, terrified of losing his sister. Fane tried again. “Roseline, my love…I don’t want to hurt you.”
She yanked Sadie around, nearly pulling Sadie’s hips out of socket as she fought to keep her prey from Fane. Roseline wasn’t going to share!
“Hand me that torch,” Fane ordered, holding out his hand.
William whirled around. He found a metal sconce on the wall and yanked it away; tossing it into Fane’s waiting hands.
“I’m really sorry,” Fane whispered as he brought the torch down over Roseline’s head. She cried out, releasing Sadie as she turned to fight.
Fane caught her attack in his midsection and rolled with her. Roseline came up, her eyes blackened with thirst. “Roseline…it’s me.”
She snarled at him, gnashing her teeth as she went for his throat. Fane knocked her aside, holding out his hands to keep her at bay. A shrill scream jerked their attention off each other.
“Uncle!” Nicolae screamed, rushing to Sorin’s side.
Vladimir shouted in triumph as Sorin fell to the ground, his lifeless eyes staring up at the ceiling. A sword lay buried in Sorin’s side, nearly cleaving him in half. Nicolae howled in agony. Rising to his feet, his sword settled firmly in his grasp. He attacked with a vengeance, shocking Vladimir, who was forced to retreat in search of another weapon. His eyes fell on the sword that’d flown from Sorin’s hand. He dove and came up prepared for Nicolae’s attack
“Fane?” Roseline whispered, blinking
rapidly as she glanced around her. “Where am I?”
He took her in his arms, cradling her as she wept. Her wounds had healed for the most part, but there were some wounds that blood simply couldn’t fix.
“Shh. It’s ok. I’m here!” Fane soothed.
Nicolae grunted as the tip of Vladimir’s sword buried deep into his arm. He gritted his teeth, summoning the waning strength in his right arm and tossed his sword into the other hand. Vladimir’s triumphant grin melted away as Nicolae confidently approached. Vladimir dove back into the fight.
“Oh my gosh! Sadie!” Roseline screamed, diving for her friend the instant she saw her.
“Get off her!” William cried, shoving Roseline back.
Roseline wrenched away, shocked by the venom in his voice. “William…what’s wrong?”
William looked like he wanted to lash out at her but he just shook his head. His sister had known what she was getting in to the moment she’d sliced her neck. He couldn’t fault Roseline for wanting to survive. “You needed blood,” he sighed, sinking down next to his sister.
Roseline wailed as she realized what she’d done. “Oh Sadie! You stupid girl! I could’ve killed you!”
“You probably did,” William muttered, stroking the sweat dampened hair back from Sadie’s face.
Roseline jerked around to look at Fane. She was too panicked to concentrate. Her mind was still fuzzy, her body still buzzing from the fresh blood that raced through her veins. Sadie’s blood!
Fane’s face was grim as he shook his head. “She will be fine. You stopped soon enough.”
“Really?” William growled. “Cause it sure looks like she’s dead to me!”
He had a point. Sadie had lost all color in her face. Her breathing was so shallow it was hard to tell if her chest was moving.
“Her pulse is slow but strong. I promise she’ll be fine,” Fane assured him. “Her neck wound is already healing.”
Roseline closed her eyes, tears flowing freely as she stroked her friend’s hand. She’d never wanted this. Roseline had thought by leaving she would save her friends the pain of discovering her secret. And now look where they’d ended up.
A clash of swords caught her attention. She gasped, noticing for the first time who it was fighting her husband. “Is that…Nicolae?”
“Yeah. Guess you’re not the only one with secrets,” William said coldly.
She sat, watching in amazement as Nicolae twirled out of Vladimir’s grip with ease. She glanced over at Fane and saw her thoughts mirrored her own. He was good. Deadly good!
“So he finally came out then,” Roseline muttered.
“You knew?” William gasped.
“Of course I did,” Roseline said. “Do you honestly think he’d let a monster like me around your sister?”
William glanced down at Sadie, his tears falling onto her pasty cheek. “He loves her.”
Roseline nodded. “He was trying to protect her…from me.” Her voice cracked as she looked away. In the instant she did, she felt a sword bury to the hilt in her heart. “Oh no,” she screamed, throwing herself onto her knees and crawled around Sadie. She found it hard to breath. “Gabriel!”
Her hands flitted along his face, his scarred chest and the gaping wounds on his arms. “What happened to him?” she whispered, horrified.
“He was bait,” Fane replied without emotion.
Roseline felt faint. “For me?” she asked, already knowing the answer. She groaned and lifted Gabriel’s head into her lap. Roseline closed her eyes, desperately fighting to block out all of the other sounds in the room to find his heartbeat. It felt like ages had passed before she found it. She’d never heard a human’s heart beat so slowly, so weakly.
“How is he still alive?” she gasped, staring at Fane. “He should have been dead hours ago.”
Fane shrugged, completely at a loss as to the answer. He’d been wondering the same thing. No human could lose that much blood and still be alive. But then again…did they really know that he was human? He was Lucien’s son after all.
Fane rose to his feet, pausing at the cell door. “I should probably go help…” he broke off as blood gurgled from his mouth.
Roseline cried out, her eyes dropping to the sword that’d sliced through his chest, wedging not far from his frantically beating heart.
“Fane!” she shrieked.
Fane’s eyes bulged as Vladimir pushed the sword deeper, its angle piercing away from his heart, slicing off bone splinters from his sternum. A sickening gurgling sound erupted from his throat as he coughed up a bubble of blood. It popped, spraying Roseline and William.
The sword jerked to a halt as Nicolae attacked, forcing Vladimir to retreat.
William stumbled backward, frantically trying to wipe the blood from his face and arms. Roseline rose to her feet, the edge of her vision tainted red. “You ok?”
Fane’s eyes met hers as he nodded, weakened by the pain. “I will be…” he gasped, sinking to the floor. Roseline knelt by his side, placing her hand behind his back. “Just get it over with.”
Roseline nodded, yanking the sword out of his body. Fane’s scream wrenched at her heart, but she clamped off her emotions. Roseline eased Fane to the floor, turning towards William. “When I leave, lock the door. No matter what happens, don’t open it.”
William’s eyes were as wide as saucers, his mouth filled with the foul taste from a second wave of bile rising in his throat. “What about him?”
“Keep him comfortable till I get back,” she replied, her voice clipped.
“You mean he’s not going to die?” William gasped, horrified at the reality of how much it took to kill an Immortal.
Roseline slipped off her bloodied cloak and tossed it to William. “Use this to stop the bleeding. I’ll be back soon.” She crouched low and leaped through the opening, spinning in mid air as she slammed the door shut. The lock sounded before her feet even touched the ground.
“Whoa!” William breathed. “Now that’s cool!”
“Tell me about it,” Fane croaked, scooting towards William. “You should see her when she’s really angry!” he laughed sarcastically, wincing at the burning in his lungs.
Roseline ignored their quips, focusing only on Vladimir. He had yet to realize she had joined the fight. It was taking all of his focus to keep up with Nicolae’s flashing reflexes. Roseline swung the sword around and around, watching the battle. It was time to act. Nicolae was tiring. It was only a matter of time before he was slain.
“Vladimir!” she screamed, planting her feet as she raised the sword her husband had buried into Fane’s back.
Her husband bashed the hilt of his sword into Nicolae’s face, not even pausing to watch the blood that flew from his shattered nose as he turned to face his wife. “Ah, I see you’re whole again…and looking as lovely as ever.” Vladimir’s frosty voice sent chills racing up her spine.
“No thanks to you,” she hissed, clasping the sword tightly in her hand. Her knuckles turned white, popping under the strain. This was a battle she refused to lose.
Vladimir tried to look pained, but failed miserably. “This is all your fault you know,” he said, waving his hand around the room. His gaze flickered towards the cell. “Your friends and your lover are all in pretty bad shape because of you.”
“You’re poisonous words won’t work on me this time Vladimir,” Roseline growled.
Her husband tsked, shaking his head. “That’s no way to speak to your husband.”
Roseline snarled at him, raising her sword into the air. “I want a divorce.”
Vladimir’s cold black eyes narrowed. “You belong to me Roseline Dragomir…for all eternity.”
“Never,” she screamed, launching herself across the room. All of the years of torture, misery and loneliness mounted in that single moment, fueling her rage to heights even she had never known existed.
Her sword sliced cleanly through Vladimir’s replacement sword, sending sparks into the air. His sword fell, it
s pieces clattering to the floor. Vladimir spun away, desperately searching for a new weapon. Roseline had to move fast.
She crouched low and shot up into the air, whirling over Vladimir’s head. The bottom of her dress grazed his face, obscuring his vision for a split second, but it was enough.
“Roseline,” Nicolae shouted, tossing his crossbow high into the air.
The instant her fingers wrapped around the weapon, Roseline’s foot smashed into Vladimir’s face. Blood spewed from his lips, teeth ground into dust. He sprawled on his back, head slamming forcefully against the stone floor. The sound of his skull fracturing fueled Roseline’s rage.
She knelt above him, trapping him with her knee on his chest. “This is for my sister!” she shrieked, letting loose the arrow.
It pierced through his ribs, grazing his heart. Blood seeped into his chest cavity, slowly filling up. His eyes widened in fear as he listening to his own heart struggle to beat.
“Play time is over,” Vladimir growled, tossing Roseline end over end as he shot to his feet. The arrow protruded from his chest. He gripped it, roaring as he tore it out. Vladimir launched it with immense velocity. She barely had time to blink before the arrow slammed into its target.
It took her a second to realize that she felt nothing. No pain. Then she heard the thud.
“Nicolae!” Roseline screeched, instantly at the boy’s side. The arrow had impaled through his shoulder, luckily missing all vital arteries. His face was pinched with agony as he writhed on the floor.
“Hold on,” she whispered. Without warning, Roseline snapped off the end of the arrow, pulling the spear head away from his back.
A fluttering of black was the only hint of Vladimir’s escape. Roseline’s arm sliced through the air, hurling the broken steel tipped arrow at his back. The blood coated arrow head burrowed into Vladimir’s fleeing back but it did nothing to stop him. The wound wasn’t fatal…unfortunately. He was gone.
“You stupid fool!” Roseline growled, pulling Nicolae into her arms. She carried him carefully over to the cage, her heart wrenching at the sight of her war ridden friends.
