“You aren't dying. Stop saying it.”
Nick sighed and leaned back against the wall, his shoulder bumping against mine. I rested my head on his shoulder and looked across our little cell. It was wall to wall stone, the floor and ceiling were the same as well. The only difference was the metal bars over the window and the wood door.
“You need a bit of pessimism in your life. Bit of nastiness and…”
There was a thump on the door, instantly Nick and I perked up. Another thump and the door gave way, crashing open as a man stumbled into the room. He lengthened his body as he got his balance, stepping into the moonlight. This was not who I was expecting to crash into the room. His tall and lithe frame was all too familiar to me, it was a figure that had haunted my days and darkened my nights. It was wrong, this was wrong. Why is he here? He smiled darkly, nodding once at me. I could honestly say that I was shocked at the sight of this man.
Chapter Fifty-six
Surely it wasn't possible. I was imagining things, it had to be the reason for the vision before me. I was still drugged and now I was suffering hallucinations. Yes, that is the perfect explanation for the figure who was grinning like a mad man.
Light washed over the long body in front of us, as always he was in a suit that was perfection. I could imagine him doing mundane chores in suits, that is, if he did chores. It was unlikely, I knew he would have dozens of servants to do everything for him. He flicked the dust off himself and slicked back the hair from his face. I looked at his wrists, he had a claim and by the looks of it, it was pretty heated. There were a lot of flowers and the thought of him and someone was a little off putting. A pang of jealousy struck through me, not having so many flowers on my vines, it was a stark reminder of the fact that William and I were only new.
He smiled broadly at us, exposing the fangs, his eyes widened as he looked over to the door he had just crashed through. The door was in pieces, some of it was still hanging from the door frame, other bits had scattered across the floor.
“In here.” Augustus called out through the now open doorway. “Come on, don't sit around all night.” He snapped at us.
Then he walked out, muttering about lazy people who sit around waiting to be rescued and then look at him like he's the devil with three heads.
“What the hell?” I muttered to Nick as we got up from the floor.
My mother skidded into the room, flinging her arms around me and engulfing me in a hug.
“Oh my darling child, I was so worried.”
“Today Alvarie.” Augustus grumbled.
She smiled brightly at us, taking my hand and tugging me to the door. “Come along Nick, dawn is rapidly approaching. Don't want to be out for too long, do you?”
“Uh no.”
He scampered behind us, I turned back to him frowning at my utter confusion about Augustus.
“What am I missing here, why is he rescuing us?”
Nick shrugged. “Well, he is kind of related to William. His mother's older brother.”
I groaned with embarrassment, all of the terrible things I had said and thought. How much had I said in front of William? Too much. Trouble had brought a new friend to the party that was my life, her name was tactless. My mother pulled me through the corridor that was dappled with moonlight coming from rooms off to the sides. The doors were opened completely like they had been searched thoroughly. Suddenly my mother stopped and pulled me to the side, continuing on.
“Oops, mind the dead body dear.” My mother said cheerily.
I turned back, almost tripping over the bloodied corpse of an unknown man. My mother pulled me around the body, weaving our way through the blood slicked stone floor. I think that my mother and Augustus have been busy.
“Where's Marty?”
“At the car waiting.”
Augustus huffed as he stopped at the stairs and turned back to me. “I can honestly say that I have never met someone who is so much trouble.”
“Trouble is my middle name.” I mumbled.
His eyes narrowed at me as he stepped up to the first step. It was bland and boring, a standard wood staircase that screamed ordinary. “I won't dwell on it too long Eliria but I think you are crazy. Chasing after him like that, honestly, what were you thinking?”
“I knew it was a trap. How could you not see it?”
He huffed at me and turned back to the stairs, stomping his way up as we followed him. “I trusted Anton, he said that he didn't think there was any real danger.”
“Anton isn't to blame, he was stuck in the tree. Eliandra put him in there.”
Augustus stopped half way up the stairs, frowning at me as he turned around. “The witch was behind this?”
“Yeah she must have made some deal with the lycans. She got William, they got me. We need to find where she's keeping William and rescue him.”
Augustus huffed and shook his head, pulling out his phone to call someone. We continued up the set of stairs, the higher we went the more it resembled an ordinary house. Reaching the ground floor, I figured that the cell was the basement that had been created for this purpose. We passed more bodies, I tried not to look but sometimes it was hard. I didn't want to trip over one and end up face first into something that might have been gouged with the blade that was hanging on my mother's side, the blade that was dripping blood everywhere. Gross.
Augustus was at the car finishing off his conversation. I had heard William's names a few times, Anton and Eliandra. From what I had heard, Augustus was organising someone to go and free Anton from the tree and see if there was any information he could give us. He then snapped his phone shut and opened the boot for Nick and Marty to get into. Marty hugged Nick first and then hugged me hard, sniffing and smiling as she stepped back. My mother offered to drive, stating that she was quite proficient in these contraptions.
“How much driving have you done?”
“On the way here.” She grinned.
“I'll drive.” I swiped the keys from Marty's hand.
The boot was shut and the three vampires were momentarily safe, my mother and I settled into our seats.
“You know, I am a fast learner Eliria, I am sure I can cope.”
“It's fine, seriously. You wouldn't even know the road rules. At least I have some kind of idea. Almost.”
I could hear the groan as the back seat dropped. “Would you kindly cut the chit chat ladies? I'd like to get away before the lycans return.”
The car turned over as I ignored Augustus and his words about the lycans. I did not want to face them again. Though some kind of revenge on my former boss would be satisfying. Maybe I might re-think my attitude towards seeing them again.
“Where are we going?” I asked the complaining vampires in the boot.
Apparently, I was in dire need of working on my driving skills. I didn't want to point out that I had only driven once before now and that hadn't gone too well either. It was bad enough listening to them complaining about how uncomfortable it was, about how degrading it was to ride around in the boot. There was one vampire who was complaining the most. Marty and Nick only complained if I hit a pot hole.
“To the house, it is the closest.”
I fumbled in my jacket, pulling out the sticks of dried blood. “Here, toss them back.”
“Oh you are a blessing.” Augustus chuckled.
It was incredibly gross, the smell of dried blood filled the air. Instantly my mother and I wound down the windows, giving each other sneers of distaste. At least I was on my way back into his good books. For half an hour now I had heard his continuing rant about how crazy I was to chase after William and Anton like that, that I was more of a danger to myself than anything else. But with my mother at my side as my confidence, I snapped back, telling him that if it wasn't for Nick and I being in limbo, none of them would know what happened. William would have disappeared and it could have been a long time before anyone found Anton. Because limbo was a large place and without being able to speak, all he had was
the dying crows to alert anyone to his whereabouts. Finally Augustus agreed that as much as it was incredibly stupid of Nick and I to run off like that, it was for the best. We knew who had William, the other masters had gone into limbo to free Anton and then help him with the crows and then they would turn their attention to the lycans. But what about my love, what would happen for him with dawn rapidly approaching? Who would be his saviour?
“What about William?” I called out.
I could hear movement, Augustus had climbed through the opening to talk to us.
“I know you fret for him dear child but we are useless to him at such an hour. To walk into a witches house as the hour of dawn approaches is foolish and William would not want us to do such things.”
My heart was sinking, I was freaking out. Worrying that she had some diabolical plan for him.
“She's cast a spell on him Augustus. What if she makes him marry her or worse?” I muttered.
“Let me tell you something about men young lady. Spell or no spell, you can't make him.”
“Oh Augustus, that is preposterous.” My mother snapped. “Be honest, just because you can't get it up any more doesn't mean all men are like that.”
The laughing from the boot was making me giggle.
“I can assure you that is not an issue for me.” He snipped rather coldly.
“Okay you two, settle down. I appreciate it Augustus, but I'm not an idiot. I know there's tablets for that kind of thing so how about we be honest here. There is a real issue that she could force it, couldn't she?”
I looked into the mirror thing that was hanging off the window, I couldn't remember what William called it. Backwards vision? Rear vision, that's it. Augustus had been nodding, his solemn gaze said it all.
“Been there, done that Augustus and trust me, I wouldn't wish it on anyone. So that's one of the worst things that could happen. We can all agree that she won't kill him, she wants him too much for that, right?”
“Agreed.” He mumbled. “Of course, she may be finally sick of his attitude towards her and do something out of anger. I think the issue here is that she has had all of these years watching him. Her obsession has festered and become something that is beyond healthy. Insane isn't even an appropriate term I would think. Sadly I would agree with you, time is not on our side and we need to deal with this now rather than later. But how do we storm a witches house and get past all of the protections? That's provided we can get it done before dawn. Remember, you've got three vampires to think of Eliria. Then once you've found him, that's another one to care for. How do you move a vampire around in the blistering sun? If you can think of a plan, then by all means, do suggest it.”
My fingers tapped the wheel as I thought about it. Scanning the area, I knew where I was. This was a suburban area on the other side of the city, it was more dilapidated and just a little seedier than my former home. The road was almost empty, a few cars passed us but nothing worth taking notice of. And I was keeping an eye out, as was my mother. It was crazy, this woman beside me was everything that I yearned for. She smiled at me like I was the best thing on this planet and it made me feel that way too.
I looked at the clock, it was three am which meant that we probably had about three hours at a rough guess. “Where does that witch live?”
“Other side of the city. It will take you at least half an hour to get there.”
My mother turned on her side, still with the same crazy smile that was always directed at me. She gripped my arm, her eyes wild with delight.
“Leave the vampires in the boot under the shade of tree or cover, storm the place with me. I am itching to see you in action. Please say yes, I brought you a gift. Let's do it, mother and daughter. Kill them all and save the vampire.”
“Jeez, calm down.”
I grinned slightly and then looked into the mirror at Augustus, Marty and Nick were struggling their way out of the boot. It had seemed peculiar to me at the time, wondering why they instantly went into the boot when dawn was hours away.
“I know where you can park the car.” Nick leaned closer. “We can stay in the shade of the trees and still get to you if need be. I think your best plan of attack would be just you two, she will be expecting vampires to come for him. She will never expect any fae warriors nor the half cast that is supposed to be locked in a cell.”
“Agreed.” I muttered. “Lead the way to the bitch witch.”
It took me twenty minutes to get to Eliandra's place, I was getting used to this driving business and loved the power that I held by manoeuvring such a fine piece of machinery. Augustus said that I had a led foot which wasn't ideal in his opinion. It draws unwanted attention and of course it was dangerous. I said nothing about it, just nodding at his constant chastisement. My mother sat with a supreme and smug smile, it was likely that she was agreeing with him but did not want to say anything.
Chapter Fifty-seven
The woodland between Eliandra's little shack and the petrol station wasn't deep yet it seemed rather thick. Nick's plan for staying with the car at the edge of the woodland was now shot to pieces, apparently they now thought that she might have some kind of spell cast over the woodland. It would be dangerous for vampires to go near the woodland too early on in the rescue mission, she would be expecting vampires to search her out. For the time being, they would remain in the petrol station that neighboured the woodland. The three of them were going to seek refuge in the bathroom that sat at the back of the petrol station. I could park the car beside the door and no one would bother to take any notice, it had been abandoned a few months ago. Once they were safe within the room, my mother and I readied to take on a witch. I hadn't thought to ask what she had brought in preparation for such a task but watching as she lifted the floor panel of the boot, I was suitably shocked at the contents. Dozens of swords in varying lengths, armour and an odd box. Her movements were fast as she pulled out the armour, fitting me into more suitable items. She looked at the cuffs around my wrists with a sly smile.
“Now, we shall leave the one for you, which one is William?”
I held out my left arm to her as she undid the lacing and replaced it with a much sturdier and longer piece of leather. It was open on the underside, held there by buckles. Then came one heavy piece of armour, a breast plate. “This is important, I know it's heavy but it will stop a direct attack. Witches always aim for the heart.”
She strapped me in tight, with each item I was becoming more like her and I loved it. “Right, time for some blades.”
The odd box was opened to reveal large bottles of a green liquid, which she poured over swords. With a flick to cast away the excess, I watched with awe as the green liquid that coated the metal dried almost instantly. As soon as they dried my mother then strapped them to me. Small blades were placed in varying locations with two medium swords on each side of my hips. Then came the mother of all the swords, one that looked like it would drag on the ground if it were to be strapped to my hip. It was mounted against my back on the diagonal, then she set about doing the same for her swords.
“What's the green stuff?”
“A venom that is toxic to dark beings so don't be sticking it into William.” She grinned. “Come on, if we're quick we can get him here before dawn.”
Under the light of the moon, I looked at the dragon. He was drowsy, lethargic in his movements and I knew that William had been drugged. It wasn't the greatest thing to see but at least he was still alive. The dragon looked up at me and whined sadly, almost like it was begging me on behalf of William. Smoke billowed from his nostrils as he laid on top of the shield, slowly it was giving up hope. The flowers weren't so bright any more and it even though there weren't that many to begin with, I knew that some of them had disappeared. Pain filled my heart, I knew what it meant. He was beginning to forget me. Eliandra was determined to make him completely devoted to her and that meant removing me from his life. Time was becoming increasingly important, if my fears were true, we would have to get h
im into the memory pool quickly.
We skulked our way through the long grass of the field, making it into the woodland with no issues. I had never seen anything witch related aside from Eliandra's efforts in trying to wipe William from my memory but as soon as I stepped into the woodland, I could feel a difference.
“Be mindful.” Alvarie whispered. “Who knows what spies she might have working for her.”
“She's been fraternising with lycans, nothing is as bad as they are.”
Carefully we stepped through the thick undergrowth approaching the little wood shack. It seemed to get more and more distorted the closer we got. A few steps from the interior edge of the woodland and it seemed like there was a giant bubble that surrounded her clearing. It glistened a colourful reflective glaze, shimmering in the moons light. My mother tested it first, throwing a stick at it. Nothing happened so she poked it with one of her toxic swords. Again, nothing. She then held her hand out, stepping closer. I wanted to tell her to stop but I couldn't form the words, enthralled by her movement. Her hand pushed through the clear wall and nothing happened, she stepped back with a pleased smile. I wanted to know why she didn't go straight into it but then as I moved to her, I understood. Eliandra had company. Company in the form of my former boss Gerard Cameron.
“That's my ex-boss.” I whispered. “Lycan.”
I watched with curiosity as their conversation looked like it was becoming heated. Eliandra hadn't changed since I had seen her in limbo, still in the demure dress that she had tricked William with. Gerard had changed from the suit he had been wearing into a white singlet and jeans, both of which were coloured with a red tint. Blood had dried on him, he was sweating like he had run here. His arms flexed as he jabbed his finger at Eliandra, poking the air in front of her. The sweat on him glistened in the moonlight, highlighting his muscles and darkening his his pale brown hair.
Deadly Beasts (The Curse of the Rose Book 1) Page 37
