Burning Alive

by Shannon K. Butcher

Page 48

 

  Helen reveled in his love, bathed herself in it until she thought she would fly apart with the force of it. Her skin tingled and her stomach tightened as the last of her control vanished. She let go, let herself shatter into tiny pieces in Drake’s arms, trusting him to hold her together. He would never let anything bad happen to her.

  His body clenched and she felt him tumble headlong after her into orgasm. Her body was still quivering with the tremors of her orgasm as he climaxed deep inside her, roaring out his pleasure.

  Drake’s weight bore down on her as he went limp atop her, but she reveled in the feel of his body on hers. She stroked his back as their breathing slowed to normal and their pulse steadied. Her hands shook, but she doubted that he noticed her weakness.

  Helen smiled at the ceiling, feeling happier than she ever had before in her life. He loved her. She was the luckiest woman in the world and she couldn’t prevent herself from letting some of that joy spill through their link.

  Drake stiffened and she realized her mistake too late. She’d opened herself up to him and she had no way of knowing how much of her plan he’d seen.

  She panicked. She had to protect him and she could only think of one way to do it. She gathered every ounce of power from him she could and willed him to sleep. If he was asleep, she could get away and find Kevin’s sword and he would stay here safe and sound.

  Drake’s head shot up and his eyes blazed with anger. “Don’t—” was all he could get out before his eyes fluttered shut and he collapsed on top of her.

  The air was forced from her lungs and she had to struggle to push him to the side. He was still hard and slick inside her and Helen felt like the worst sort of bitch when she separated herself from him. They’d still been joined when she betrayed him. She only hoped that the betrayal would make it easier for him to move on with his life after she was gone.

  Helen did a quick job of cleaning herself up and dressing. Within two minutes, she was out the door with the vial of blood, the Synestryn locator, and the keys to the van in hand.

  Chapter 22

  A heavy pounding roused Drake from a deep, dreamless sleep. He opened his bleary eyes, recognized his surroundings as his suite, but the familiarity did little to rid him of a heavy sense of confusion and fear. Something wasn’t right, but he couldn’t figure out what it was.

  The pounding sounded again, louder this time. “Open the hell up, Drake!”

  It was Nicholas’s voice, followed closely by Zach’s. “Move. I’ll bust the damn thing down. ”

  “I’m coming,” rasped Drake. His voice was wobbly, but loud enough that they’d heard him.

  He pushed himself to his feet and had to hold on to the wall for support. He felt drunk or drugged or something. He wasn’t sure, but it certainly wasn’t the way he should be feeling after making love with Helen.

  Helen.

  His breath froze in his lungs. God, no. She couldn’t be gone. He had to be wrong about what he’d seen her planning to do. She couldn’t be foolish enough to think she could go after Kevin’s sword on her own.

  He tried to reach out to her, but he couldn’t feel her presence nearby. All he could feel was a desperate need to close his eyes and sleep.

  A sense of urgency shoved away some of the grogginess, but his movements were still clumsy. Drake ripped the door open, uncaring that he was naked and shaking like a newborn colt. Zach and Nicholas took in his physical condition in a quick glance and each of them took an arm and helped him to the couch. It was a good thing, because he wasn’t sure he could have made it across the room on his own.

  “Where’s Helen?” he asked them as his friends lowered him to the couch. “Tell me she couldn’t get through the gates. ”

  Nicolas’s face darkened with anger until the multitude of small scars on his skin stood out in pale contrast. “I’m sorry, Drake. I was in a meeting with Joseph when she left. One of the Gerai was covering the gate. He knew she was a Theronai and didn’t think to stop her from leaving. ”

  Helen was a Sentinel and the Gerai were bound to do her will, even if it meant letting her go out there alone. Drake should have known she’d try something like this. He had sensed a change in her resolve, but he hadn’t stopped to think what it meant. He’d been too busy kissing her. Loving her.

  Zach’s dark face twisted with a furious scowl. “Fucking women running off. What the hell do they think they’re doing?”

  A wave of fatigue slammed into Drake and he had to fight to keep his eyes even halfway open. Whatever this was, it wasn’t normal, and if he didn’t get rid of it, he’d never be able to find Helen.

  “I’ve got to find her. ” Drake’s voice was high pitched, panicky.

  Nicholas was the voice of reason. “Calm down. You’ll be able to find her. Just clear your head and focus. Can you sense which way she went?”

  Drake closed his eyes and fought the panic clawing at his insides. Helen was gone. He could feel a faint tug on his ring, but it was so slight, she had to be miles away by now.

  Zach was talking on the phone to someone, but Drake wasn’t listening. He couldn’t seem to clear his head of this damn fatigue. His eyes were gritty and heavy and he felt as if he weighed four hundred pounds. Sweat trickled down his ribs and it took all his concentration to stay upright on the couch. “Coffee,” he croaked. “And my clothes. ”

  “Coffee won’t help,” came a voice from the open door of Drake’s suite. Logan.

  A flood of rage drove away the sleepiness at the sound of Logan’s voice. “You fucking blood-sucking bastard,” growled Drake. “You talked her into leaving me so you could get her blood, didn’t you?” His body lurched from the couch and he nearly fell over the coffee table. Only Nicholas’s strong grip kept him up.

  An arrogant smile touched Logan’s mouth. “On the contrary. I’d much prefer her to stay far away from harm so that I have many years to feed from her. ”

  Drake ripped his arm away from Nicholas and took a shaky step forward. “I’m going to kill you for committing her to you like that. ”

  “Have you forgotten you’re peace-bound?”

  He had, but his pounding skull reminded him.

  “Besides, if you kill me, I won’t be able to fix what Helen did to you,” said Logan in a calm, even tone. “Would you like me to undo it so you can find her before it’s too late?”

  Drake wanted to pound him into the ground until only a bloody stain remained, but he controlled the urge. For now. He needed Logan to fix him so he could find Helen. “You owe her that much after stealing her blood oath. ”

  Logan’s pale eyes glittered with hunger. “I stole nothing. She offered her oath in exchange for your life. Would you do the same?”

  “I would do anything for Helen,” said Drake without hesitation.

  A flare of victory widened Logan’s eyes and he took an anxious step forward. “Say it,” he demanded. “I need the words to bind you. ”

  Drake wanted to howl in frustration, but he was too tired, too worried. He couldn’t keep his eyes open for more than a few seconds and Helen needed him. Another wave of sleepiness washed over him, making him sway. Nicholas grabbed his arm to keep him from falling over.

  Drake could barely lift his own arm, much less wield a sword. He was useless to Helen like this. “Fine. You can have my blood if you help me find Helen. ”

  “The rest, Theronai. You know what I want. ” A greedy smile curved Logan’s mouth.

  Drake hated Logan and the thought of being bound to him for eternity made his stomach twist, but he had no choice. He had to protect Helen. He pulled in a deep breath and gave Logan his vow. “You may take my blood whenever you have need of it so long as no harm comes to Helen. I won’t allow you to weaken me as long as she needs me. ”

  “Fair enough,” agreed Logan.

  Drake fell to his knees under the weight of his vow. It cut off his air, strangling him, making him feel caged and frantic. He’d committed
himself to a predator.

  Logan moved forward smoothly, making no sound.

  Drake was still reeling when his friends came to his aid. Nicholas helped Drake sit on the couch while Zach helped him into his jeans. At least he wouldn’t have to let the Sanguinar suck his blood while he was still bare assed. Some things simply couldn’t be tolerated, and that was near the top of the list.

  “We don’t have much time,” said Zach, anger ringing in every word. “Helicopter’s waiting for us. ”

  “I won’t be long,” said Logan. He knelt beside Drake and lifted his wrist to his mouth.

  A stab of pain and a throbbing heat swamped Drake’s arm. Logan’s mouth worked over the wound and Drake felt worse than before. Weaker. He couldn’t keep his eyes open. Couldn’t fight the need to sleep.

  “Enough!” roared Zach, making Drake jerk awake.

  Logan pulled his mouth away, leaving no wound behind. He pressed his hand to Drake’s forehead, and a split second later, Drake felt a hot spike of energy jolt through him. Every cell of his body was humming with strength. He was wide awake, pissed as hell, and reached for Logan’s throat with the intention of breaking his neck.

  His hand stalled out, frozen in midair, unable to move no matter how hard he tried.

  Logan gave Drake a sly grin that made him look eerily beautiful. “You can’t hurt me. ”

  “Fuck you,” growled Drake. “You’d better pray Helen makes it out of this safely or you’re going to see just how much I can hurt you. ”

  “Temper, temper,” chided Logan.

  “We don’t have time for this,” said Zach. “Helen may be able to slip away the way Lexi did. ”

  Zach was right and Drake shoved his desire to kill Logan from his thoughts.

  Nicholas handed Drake his sword, which he belted around his waist as he shoved his feet into his shoes. Screw socks. He was out the door, heading for the helipad with Zach and Nicholas close on his heels.

  “We’re coming with you,” said Nicholas.

  Drake nodded, feeling a flicker of relief to have his friends at his back. He was going to need all the help he could get.

  Why did it have to be a cave? A mine and now a cave. Helen was beginning to develop a serious fear of close, dark spaces. Why couldn’t the Synestryn enjoy a nice, open beach or maybe even lurk in an eerie forest? At least that way there wouldn’t have been tons of dirt and stone over her head to come crushing down on her. That would have made this job a whole lot easier.

  Helen steeled her resolve and tugged on Drake’s power. It was easier now than it had been, which made her think that he must be getting closer. She’d felt the moment her sleep trick had failed and knew he was angry and coming right for her. She had a two-hour head start, and prayed that was enough.

  Helen remembered Drake telling her that the Synestryn would be able to see her for what she was now, and the idea of walking into that cave, glowing like a light-house, didn’t sit well. So she experimented with turning herself invisible—like Drake’s sword. She tried making her body see-through, but that didn’t work and it hurt like hell, so instead, she urged the light to flow around her, rather than bounce off her, and that seemed to work fairly well. She checked out her reflection in the rearview mirror of the van and all she saw was a wavering spot where her head was supposed to be. It looked like heat coming off pavement in the distance, but in the dark cave, it might be enough to cloak herself. She sure hoped so.