Crumbling Control (Helena Hawthorn Series Book 3)

by May Freighter

  Lucious searched the room. Anna’s familiar figure entered through the double doors. Their eyes met, and she waved for him to come to her.

  “I’ll be back. I must speak with my sire,” Lucious said and crossed the room. He scrutinised his sire’s emotionless face, seeking anything that could give him an answer to what was going on.

  “Follow me, childe,” Anna whispered. “I have requested for you to stay with me instead of separate quarters during this time.”

  They headed out of the busy room, and Lucious slowed his pace to match her short strides. “What is the meaning of this?”

  “The fire in the Archives caused the Council to take the hunter threat a little more seriously. Consider this as quarantine. We will gather great numbers and strike back.”

  Lucious grasped Anna’s upper arm. “I cannot stay. I need to find Helena.”

  She stared at the offending gesture. “Lucious, you heard Eliza’s order. No one can leave here…”

  “You know why I must!”

  Anna sighed and rubbed her eyes. “Let us not talk where others can overhear us.” She quickened her pace and, a few minutes later, they sat on the plush chairs in her chambers.

  A knock on the door interrupted Lucious questions.

  “Come in,” Anna called out.

  The doors opened, and Vincent strode into the room with his childe, Hans, at his side. The Councilman seemed much older. The expression he wore appeared to be that of a heartbroken and exhausted man. Vincent inclined his head in greeting. “I apologise for the interruption, but I wish to know if you’ve found Helena.”

  “Not yet.” Lucious leant forwards in his seat. “Have you heard anything?”

  Vincent shook his head and sat on the edge of the bed. His childe joined him without a word.

  “Tomorrow is the funeral of my son, Levile. We were finally able to recover his remains from the human morgue.” Vincent wiped the escaped tear away from his watering eyes.

  “I am sorry for your loss,” Lucious mumbled.

  Hans patted Vincent on the shoulder. “He died doing his duty, sire. I am certain he put up a good fight.”

  “Vincent, I cannot stay. I must find her,” Lucious said.

  The Councilman ran his hand over his face as he contemplated Lucious’ words. “There is little I can do. Even I cannot defy the Council’s majority vote. And, as you know, if you are caught, you will be trapped in a cell. We cannot let that happen.”

  Lucious erupted from his seat. “She may not have much time!”

  “I know. Believe me, I am as worried as you are. But you being alive indicates she is also unharmed…” Vincent trailed off.

  To keep the urge to argue under control, Lucious nestled back into his seat. He combed his fingers through his hair. “She’s in a warded place. I cannot track her and cannot tell if she’s well or not.”

  “I thought you could feel each other,” Hans said in a thick German accent.

  “Not if witches are involved,” Lucious snapped.

  Vincent nodded. “If they chose to side with the hunter clans, it explains why the Wiccan Circles did not wish to help restore our old wards. This makes matters a little more complicated.”

  “You know why I must leave here! I must find her before it is too late,” Lucious pleaded.

  The Councilman looked at Hans. “Find a way for young Lucious to get out undetected.”

  “Understood,” Hans replied and walked out of the room.

  Rising, Vincent bowed his head. “It appears we all suffered a loss in this war. I will pray for Helena’s safety.”

  Once Vincent was gone, Lucious paced the length of the chamber, counting the seconds. He didn’t know what he would do once he was outside, but there were more chances for him to succeed without the Council’s restrictions.

  “I have a request,” Anna said softly enough that he almost missed it amidst the loud thoughts rattling in his mind.

  “What is it, sire?”

  She offered her wrist to him and pulled back the sleeve of her onyx sweater. “I want you to drink from me again.”

  “What?”

  “Drink from me, Lucious,” Anna said with more force behind her words.

  He took a step back and swallowed at the sight of her exposed flesh. “I do not need to do so for another few days.”

  “You will need as much energy as possible once you are alone out there, childe. Or do you not agree?”

  Licking his lips, Lucious mulled over her words. He edged closer to her chair and went down on one knee. Taking her wrist in his hands, he felt his fangs extending and his eyes flared with a red glow once his teeth sank into her flesh.

  With every mouthful, a power unlike any he had ever absorbed found a home in him. It gathered in the depths of his chest like a snake readying for slumber. Anna’s overwhelming energy merged with his, and the whites in his eyes became midnight-black.

  Lucious lifted his gaze to meet hers once he could take no more. He had to stop, or she could die.

  She grasped his hair and ordered, “Drink, my son, until I am almost dead.”

  The binding command erased his will, and he bit into the raw flesh again. He sucked her blood to the point where his stomach was ready to burst. The entirety of his being burned with regret and hatred for what she was making him do.

  “Enough,” she said in a hoarse voice.

  He ripped himself away from her as if she were the Black Death and speared his pale sire with a glare. “Why did you make me do this?”

  Anna spared him the tiniest of smiles and her eyes closed. He caught her lolling head and lifted her into his arms. There was no reason for Anna to do something so dangerous. A few more seconds, and she would be dead.

  He tucked her into bed and pulled up a chair to watch over her while trying to piece together her ruthless actions.

  “I can’t make him notice me, sis!” Maya fumed inside of Helena’s mental shields. “He doesn’t even try searching for me.”

  Helena swayed on the spot, and Michael grasped her shoulders, keeping her upright. The four days she spent without food and water had taken their toll on her. And, since Norton took a fair share of her blood, she shivered uncontrollably as her fever spiked.

  “Are you listening to me?” Maya asked.

  Michael glared at her. “Helena is in no shape to help you with your inability to attract the hunter’s attention.”

  Maya’s face softened. She drew close to them and ran her cool hand over Helena’s sweaty forehead. “She won’t get better unless I talk to him, idiot.”

  “You are a demon through and through!” Michael’s voice rose, and Helena cringed.

  “Guys, stop it. My head is ringing,” she hissed. Helena pressed her palms to her ears in an attempt to drown their heavy breathing only to realise it was her breaths doing the damage.

  She let out a pained moan and her concentration slipped. Waking in the dark cell, something bit her wounded leg. In a haze, she kicked at it, hearing a loud squeak in response.

  Damn rats. She shuddered then used the wall for support which sent a violent pain up her leg. Hugging her waistline, she willed her mouth to stop chattering. It didn’t help.

  Whether some light appeared or she was hallucinating, she couldn’t tell. Someone waved a hand in front of her face, and she frowned as a number of fingers did not belong to a human. No human had ten of them.

  “Are you awake?” Ben asked, shaking her a little.

  Helena’s head rolled to one side. It was too heavy to lift. She eyed her captor from an odd angle.

  “One more day and you can die. Don’t give up yet,” he added.

  Her lips tugged into a smirk. How funny would it be if she died now instead of tomorrow? His grand revenge would go to waste. She giggled, and he shook her again.

  “Listen to me!” he snapped.

  Maya’s voice filtered into her mind, “Helena, now is our chance. Let me possess you.”

  “What?” Helena asked. Maya had to
be kidding.

  “If I can talk to him through your body, I can get you out of here. Let me in,” Maya urged.

  Too tired fight, she lowered her shields. Helena’s eyes rolled back into her head, and she slid to the ground. Before she hit her head on the stone ground, Ben caught her and forced her into an upright position.

  “Don’t clock out on me,” Ben shouted and hit her hard across the face for the sixth time.

  Maya’s body burned as she filled out the space left behind by Helena vacating the premises. Her eyes snapped open and, for the first time in months, she saw him again. Her heart ached at the sight of outrage and hatred on his face. She reminded herself that she was in Helena’s body and not that of her own.

  “Ben, don’t do this anymore.” Maya slapped his hands away. “You’re hurting Helena.”

  He snorted and took a step back. “Has the fever driven you mad?”

  “You’re an idiot and always were one. It’s me, Maya.” She tried to stand instead of having him dwarf her with his large frame. The first rule of being a hunter: never let anyone look down on you. He taught her that, and she would not disappoint him.

  “It’s pointless to tell me these lies, I have said this already.”

  With much effort, she used the wall and managed to remain standing on her wobbly feet without help. Her eyes narrowed, and she pointed at his chest with a quivering hand. “Then ask me something only I would know. Let me prove it to you.”

  Ben let out a chuckle that scared the rats back into the crevice in the stone. He drew close, looming over her. “Alright. There is a scar somewhere on my body. Tell me where it is and how I got it.”

  Maya rolled her eyes. “It’s below your third rib on the left side. You tried to protect me from the stray bullet while we were tracking a level two in the Amazon… Ben?”

  He fell to his knees and stared at her in shock. “You can’t be…”

  “I am borrowing her body for a while. You can’t do this, Ben. Call off the wedding and forget about your revenge,” Maya pleaded. She knelt next to him and took his hands into hers. “But first, I have something to tell you.”

  Helena’s guardian appeared next to them with a disapproving scowl. “You’re draining her soul by doing this, demon.”

  Maya pursed her lips. She needed a little more time to tell him how she feels.

  “Ben, I want you to promise me that you will stop this war. There’s no need for more bloodshed,” Maya said quickly, avoiding Michael’s glare.

  Her partner squeezed his eyes shut. “It’s impossible. The elders have already made their decision. I have to get married tomorrow.”

  A stab of pain jolted her heart. She started to protest when Michael’s words sent a chill through her. “Leave now or her soul will perish. Unless that was your wish all along?”

  Her attention jumped between the angel and the love of her life. Two tears escaped her, and she dabbed at them with her dirty sleeve. “I’m sorry, I have to go.”

  Filled with regret and worry, Maya relinquished control of Helena’s shell and forcibly tore her conscience out of the driver’s seat. Once outside the vessel, she stood next to Michael, sniffling. She watched Ben cradling Helena’s unconscious form to his chest and silently crying. She had missed him, more than she imagined. Being there with him for one minute was worth it, even if she knew how much damage she caused her friend.

  “She’ll be fine once Ben takes her to a hospital,” Maya said to Michael.

  “Her soul was greatly weakened because of your greed. There were other ways to make him see you.”

  She smirked and raised a brow. “Don’t use that patronising tone on me. I have seen Lazarus’ memories of the past. I know exactly who you are and what you’re waiting for.”

  “Then you also know why it must be done.”

  Suddenly, Ben shot up and rushed out of the cell. He locked it behind him, and Maya gaped in disbelief. “No…”

  “It appears your partner has abandoned her,” Michael said with an undertone of bitterness.

  “Impossible. He wouldn’t leave her!”

  “Helena will not last another day in here. She is too weak to fight and her body is not able to keep up with such punishment.”

  “Then help her! Tell the vampire where she is. He’ll come. He’ll save her!” Maya shouted.

  Michael took in Helena’s foetal position. “Perhaps it is the time I made a sacrifice of my own…”

  11

  A Few Seconds Ahead

  Scarlet paint amidst the sea of black and purple formed the outlines of the ancient language Lucious could not read. He studied the incantation depicted in Anna’s painting, which portrayed the Demon Gate or Blood Gate, whatever its true name was. Holding his hand over his chest, his heart jolted with agitation. Something wasn’t right with Helena. The bond, although steady, worried him like the vivid red markings before him.

  Lucious eyed his unconscious sire lying in bed. She never told him much about her past or where she came from. The blood she forced him to absorb made him tingle with power. Anna couldn’t possibly be young…

  A strong knock on the door caused him to face it and cross the room. He opened it to find no one on the other side. Frowning, he closed the door and approached Anna’s bed when the same knock sounded. Lucious strode up to the door, ready to reprimand the prankster.

  “I found a solution,” Hans said proudly.

  “Why did you knock twice?” Lucious asked, his frown deepening.

  Hans appeared as perplexed as him. “I only knocked once.” His expression morphed into worry. “Are you unwell? Your eyes are…”

  “Red, I know.”

  “They’re black,” Hans corrected him.

  Lucious drew away from the door and rushed into the en-suite. He flicked the light switch on and studied his reflection in the mirror. As Vincent’s childe had stated, his eyes were completely black. He blinked several times and the darkness receded. He was left to stare at his blue-brown pair of eyes.

  Hans peered around the doorway. “Is that normal for you?”

  “You said you’ve found a solution…”

  “Indeed. You must come with me at once. Perhaps we should awaken Anna.”

  “There is no need for that,” Lucious snapped and stormed out of the bathroom. He spared one glance at his sire’s sleeping face. Talking with her as if nothing happened would be impossible. She had used her will to order him. Whatever her reasoning behind such a deed was, he did not care to stick around and listen to an excuse. “Please, lead the way.”

  Hans’ eyes narrowed, but he said nothing. He headed out the front door with Lucious matching his rushed pace with ease. “I will not ask for the reason why your eyes looked like that of a demon. But, I must know, are you a danger to those around you?”

  Staring at the worn green carpet beneath their feet, Lucious wondered the same thing. He couldn’t answer as the truth eluded him. Would seeking Helena out cause him to attack her? Would he lose control? He reprimanded his thoughts. Fear could only lead to more fear, and he had no time for such trifle emotion.

  Ahead of them, Helena’s guardian materialised, and both men stopped in their tracks.

  “I have something to say to you, vampire,” Michael said with a pained expression.

  “Who are you?” Hans demanded.

  Lucious’ heart jumped into overdrive. He placed a hand on Hans’ upper arm to stop him and looked at the angel. “Where is she?”

  Michael winced. “You must listen carefully. You have little time to find her, Lucious. She is held at St. Mary’s in Watford.”

  From where he stood, Lucious saw the angel’s right hand turning black, starting at the fingertips. The shadow climbed his arm, stopping at the elbow.

  “What is that?” Lucious asked.

  “Punishment. The longer I intervene with Helena’s fate, the more of me will be erased by the gods. So please—” The angel’s face turned ashen as the shadow resumed it’s ascend. He clutched his
arm, his face contorting with pain. “—find her and save her.”

  Before Lucious could say anything else, the angel vanished. He studied the empty space where Michael stood mere seconds ago. “We do not have much time. That angel would not show up unless things were dire.”

  Hans gaped at him. “That was a guardian angel?”

  “Yes, you’ll get used to him soon enough,” Lucious replied.

  “Does that mean Helena is a…saint?” Hans inquired, his eyes brimming with curiosity.

  Lucious snorted. He, too, once thought her to be a saint. With everything that had happened to this day, he had no idea what she was, and he did not care. “I don’t believe she is a saint. We met one a few weeks ago, and she was less than pleasant to deal with.”

  Hans’ eyes bulged. “You’ve come in contact with one and did not report this to the Council?”

  “There are more important matters that require our attention.” Lucious folded his arms.

  Hans blew out a breath. “You are right. Saving Helena should be our priority.”

  “You’re coming with me?”

  “Master Vincent asked me to escort you and aid you in the search.”

  Lucious still couldn’t pinpoint why Vincent treated Helena with such consideration. But, that wasn’t important right now. From what he remembered, the parish contained over one hundred hunters within its stone walls. Alone, it would be an impossible feat. With the two of them, one could act as a distraction while the other took care of the rescue.

  “It is too dangerous,” Lucious admitted. “We will need more help.”

  They rounded the corner and two vampires came towards them. Lucious glanced at Hans who hadn’t noticed them. He stopped mid-step. As if the time rewound itself, the vampires were about to come around the same corner. Outstretching his hand to stop Hans, Lucious whispered, “There are vampires coming our way.”

  “How can you tell?”

  “There’s no time to explain,” Lucious muttered and pushed Hans into the nearby storage room. They listened out intently for any sounds and, confirming his suspicion, two people headed down the hall.