Cave of Terror

by Amber Dawn Bell

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  19

  I am Vanator

  "Why ... is ... she here?” I couldn't stop my voice from trembling.

  "She's part of the ceremony, my love.” Constantine rubbed his palms together in delight.

  I knew I'd regret it, but I had to ask, “What part?"

  "Why, she'll be the feast.” Constantine's face beamed. “We need a human and she needed to be dealt with for all the pain she's caused you. A perfect solution!"

  Val's eyes widened even more. She stared at me with all the desperation of a cornered prey.

  Constantine was mad. He actually thought I'd be pleased—thought he was doing me a favor.

  "No, I won't let you do it. Let her go. She has no part in our bargain."

  His eyebrows furrowed and he pursed his lips in confusion while he stared at me, seeming to try to comprehend my words. Then, his face cleared of all emotion like a freshly erased chalkboard. “It's too late. She has seen us and we need a human for our feast."

  I moved to stand right in front of Constantine, his gaze following my every move. “Erase her memory and just leave her somewhere. And we don't need a feast. I'm good. I'm not hungry at all. I can go to Sonic and get us some burgers.” I took a deep breath and grasped his arms as a gentle gesture. “Please, don't do this."

  A brief flush of sympathy glazed across his eyes, then he shook his head as if clearing his thoughts. “You watch too many movies. We have no power to erase memories. What's done is done. The ceremony will continue."

  Shocked, I opened my mouth to speak, but then shut it. I released my hold and let my arms flop uselessly at my sides. It would do no good judging by the stern set of his jaw. When my dad gets that look, me and Mom know it's no use to argue. I'd figure out a way to save Val and Ryan both. After all, I was a Vanator ... for whatever good that did me.

  Constantine caught my chin between his thumb and forefinger, gently forcing my eyes to meet his gaze. “You will soon learn our ways and enjoy the freedom it brings."

  Not wanting to give myself away, I kept my mouth shut and concentrated on not balling my fingers into a fist. It was imperative I keep my wits. I couldn't afford to allow my anger to take control.

  He took my hand and led me to the lighted circle. I turned my head and sent a silent message to Val that everything would be okay. Then, I glanced at Ryan. My heart skipped a beat as our eyes met. His jaw muscles bulged and his eyes sent out flares of fury.

  A Liliac pushed Val into the circle and forced her to lie at our feet. Tears flowed down her face as she sent silent pleas of help in my direction. But, there was nothing I could do. Not yet.

  Another Liliac—a huge one well over six and a half feet tall and as broad as a house—approached. He presented an ornate, jeweled dagger in his outstretched hands.

  Constantine took it and bowed. “Thank you, Dracul."

  My heart completely stopped. Now I understood the fear I had witnessed in Stefania and Celestina when his name was mentioned. I could only imagine what purpose he served—none of it good.

  Before I could shake myself loose from Dracul's paralyzing presence, Constantine knelt, pulled up the sleeve of Val's robe and sliced three quick gashes into her forearm. Blood immediately oozed from the wounds.

  "No!” I screamed and lunged toward Constantine before he had a chance to do more damage.

  I never even reached the ground before two beefy hands seized me and held me upright. Left with no choice, I watched aghast as Constantine dipped his finger in Val's blood. He stood and drew a design onto my left cheek with her blood, then ran the same finger along my lips. The metallic sweetness sent a flood of saliva into my mouth, and the urge to lick my lips became overwhelming.

  Constantine chuckled. “Go ahead, little Vanator, you know you want to. I can see the lust bright in your eyes. Don't deny yourself the pleasure. It's senseless."

  To my alarm, my fangs descended in record speed. I wanted to run my tongue over my lips and savor the sticky substance, but it was wrong. No! I wouldn't allow myself. If I gave in now, I wouldn't be any different than them. But the temptation unnerved me.

  I closed my eyes. “I'm not like you."

  "Ah, but you will be soon enough. We have all the time in the world. And I'm nothing if not patient,” he said.

  He nodded to Dracul, and the pressure on my arms increased. Constantine dropped to Val's side again and lifted her other sleeve, making three more gashes on her arm. She moaned and more tears dripped from her red rimmed eyes. I struggled against the bonds of Dracul's grip with no result. How could I ever be a threat to these evil creatures? I couldn't even free myself from one giant Liliac.

  Blood scented the air. The hooded Liliacs surrounding us raised their noses and sniffed as they rocked side to side.

  Constantine rose and snapped his fingers. Dracul abruptly released me. “See how the blood excites them? Soon they'll be in a feeding frenzy. It's quite a sight to watch them devour their prey.” Constantine licked his lips in apparent anticipation and walked behind me. He pressed his body close to mine as he wrapped an arm around my waist and whispered in my ear, “Admit it. It excites you as well."

  "You're sick.” I turned my face away from his.

  "No. I merely accept what I am. And someday you'll have to do the same.” He walked around me, making sure to keep his arm firmly around my waist. “It's time."

  I tried to pull out of his hold to gain some distance. “Time for what?"

  "Time we begin the lifemate bond."

  Oh great. Time to bond. And I still had no idea how I planned to get out of the mess and save Ryan and Val. I needed help. Some kind of guidance.

  I squeezed my eyes shut. Please, I need help. Show me the way.

  My pendant vibrated, encouraging me, giving me hope. A vision of my great-great-grandmother appeared, shimmering with beauty and light, letting me know she was there to aid me. How I knew it was her, I can't explain, but I knew it all the same.

  Grandmother, I need your help. I'm lost and don't know what to do. My friends are in danger and I've made a deal with the devil. Help me. Time is running out.

  She placed her hands over her heart. Everything you need to know is inside of you. Accept who you are and allow the knowledge to come. She began to fade.

  No, don't go. I need you.

  Accept who you are. Believe in yourself. She tapped the area above her heart one more time, then she disappeared.

  I glanced around, wondering if anyone else had witnessed our little exchange. If they had, no one else seemed to care. At once, all the Liliacs began to chant in a language I couldn't understand.

  "I need your arm, Cheyenne,” Constantine demanded, his voice low and steady.

  "Huh?"

  "Your arm.” He held his hand out and without thinking, I stuck my arm out.

  He grabbed it and slid the dagger across my wrist.

  "Ow! What the heck?” I tugged my arm back, but he held tight.

  Dracul held what looked like some kind of medieval jeweled chalice under my wrist to collect the blood dripping from the wound. Constantine raised my arm to his mouth and licked across the sliced flesh. I watched as the cut closed and healed in front of my very eyes. Constantine did the same with his arm, allowing his blood to drip into the chalice along with mine.

  The chanting grew louder and more frenzied. Constantine swirled the contents together, then drank. I scrunched my nose and grimaced. How disgusting. He handed the chalice to me. “Drink, little Vanator, and we shall become one."

  I glanced at the contents, the scent wafting toward my nose. My fangs dropped and my mouth watered.

  "Go ahead, Cheyenne. You know it feels right. Don't fight it,” he coaxed.

  All my senses were on high alert, begging me to take that drink. My body cried out, but my mind screamed no. I was at war with myself, and I was losing. Just one drink. I tipped the chalice to my lips.

  Over the rim, I noticed Ryan struggling against his
restraints. He shouted something, but I couldn't hear over the chanting. I snapped back into my right mind and lowered the chalice.

  "Drink!” Constantine demanded.

  "No, I can't."

  Constantine snatched the cup from my hands, and Dracul grabbed me by the neck, forcing my head back. Constantine pressed the chalice to my mouth, and I felt the warmth of the contents as they made contact with my lips. I clamped my jaws shut tight, refusing to drink.

  "Drink! Now!” Constantine tried to pry my mouth open, but I wouldn't give in. “Or do I need to have a visit with your lover boy?"

  As I opened my mouth to remark, he forced the cup back against my lips and the mixture slid into my mouth. I wanted to swallow—in a bad way—but I turned my head and spit instead. As Constantine tried for a second time, he was roughly pulled away and thrown out of the circle.

  Ryan had managed to free himself somehow. His eyes glowed, and low feral growls escaped from between his lips.

  Constantine backed up and circled Ryan—both intent on destroying the other.

  Ryan attacked and quickly flipped Constantine to his back. Too busy with their freaky chanting, none of the other Liliacs seemed to feel the need to get involved, except Dracul. He approached from behind with a dagger in his hand.

  "No!” I screamed, jumping on his back, hoping to delay him, but I was nothing more than an unfortunate fly that happened to land in the wrong place at the wrong time. He reached behind and peeled me off his back, flinging me aside like a rag doll.

  Before I could pick myself up and go after him, he had reached Ryan. I watched horror struck as he sliced into Ryan's gut and ripped the blade across in one swift motion. Ryan crumpled to the ground on top of Constantine.

  Dracul raised the dagger to have another go at Ryan.

  "No!” I screamed.

  I am Vânetor. I will not allow this to happen. I am Vanator.

  A burst of energy crashed through me like a dam had broken and released a powerful flow of knowledge. And then it all became so clear to me. I knew what I had to do.

  I inhaled and drew all the energy into my center. My body shook from the sheer power coursing through me. I threw out my arms, releasing a ball of energy toward Dracul. It slammed into him, knocking him flat on the ground next to his master.

  He didn't get back up.

  In awe of my own power and what I had just done, I could only stare as Constantine scooted out from under Ryan and came toward me in a slow motion daze. As if a switch had been flipped, all the chanting ceased. The cavernous room screamed with silence.

  Fear and admiration sparkled from Constantine's eyes as he stood in front of me. “Be with me, Cheyenne. Not because I force you, but because you want to. I see the battle raging inside you. We would be great together. I could show you such things as you have never imagined. I would never put you in the cage of domestication like the Panteres have done. You'll be free to be the predator nature intended.” He bent down and retrieved the chalice that had fallen during all the excitement and peered inside. “Ah, there is just enough left to complete the ceremony, bonding us for eternity.” He extended the chalice to me.

  "No! I cannot. I will not. I'm not like you. I don't want to be like you."

  A film of rage glazed his eyes and a sudden chill wrapped around me, even though his stare scalded my skin. “I will not let you go.” He seized my arms—his fingers digging into my flexed muscles.

  "And I will not let you keep me."

  Fear no longer ruled me. I now had the answers. I knew what I had to do. No longer was I trapped in a fog of uncertainty. Cool and confident, I brought my hands between our bodies and placed them on his chest. Once again I centered my power.

  "Fill the dark void in my soul,” I said in a clear and loud voice.

  My pendant vibrated and my mark tingled. Constantine's hands shook as he tried to maintain his grasp. His mouth dropped open and he stiffened. He understood what I intended to do, and he was defenseless against my power.

  I zoomed all my energy into his heart, the keeper of his black soul. My fingers tingled as the flow of power entered his body and surrounded his beating organ. Shutting my eyes, I controlled the stream like the most technical of instruments. I began to extract his essence—his soul.

  An onslaught of memories—his memories—smashed into me at once, taking me by surprise. I gasped, not prepared for the intense pain of his emotions and abuse.

  I cried out, unable to comprehend the atrocities of what I witnessed in my mind's eye—floggings, severed limbs, medieval looking torture devices I had never seen being applied over and over.

  So much blood, so much pain. I moaned and squeezed my eyes tighter. No.

  I watched as his own family withheld the needed nourishment until he entered a full bloodlust, refusing to allow him to do anything about it, and then being forced to watch cruel acts ... until he broke. Acts that would make the worst horror movies seem like a joke.

  And he was just a child.

  Tears flowed down my face. He was a creature of someone else's making. He hadn't started out evil. My heart cried out for his suffering. For his lost childhood. For all his pain.

  I opened my eyes and stared into the near blank eyes of Constantine. I couldn't finish it. No, I didn't have the right to decide his fate. Who was I to judge him? Life had dealt him more blows than any person should ever have to deal with. Never had he been shown love or compassion. Maybe if I'd been treated the same, I would have followed in his footsteps. He didn't have a choice. Just like I didn't have a choice. It was all so unfair.

  Guilt over my inability to accept my own position in the clice made me nauseous. How selfish of me to have been given a special gift and then want to deny it, while he had no option but to follow the evil ways of his ancestors. I may not have any say about my ability or what I am, but my clice didn't torture me and expect me to carry on a horrific tradition. And my parents loved me.

  When I dropped my hands from his chest, the energy flow ceased and snapped back toward me, momentarily leaving me stunned. I swayed from side to side. A dirty, foul presence crowded my psyche. Ugliness now rested alongside my own soul—his memories, his pain, his life.

  Constantine stared at me in confusion, eyes wide with shock. “Why ... did you spare me?"

  Several Liliacs rushed toward me and seized my arms, but I didn't care. All I could focus on was the horror he'd had to endure. No one should have to go through what he had.

  A tear trickled its way down my cheek. “I couldn't. I saw everything.” I lowered my voice and stared deep into his eyes. “I know."

  Hurt and humiliation glazed his eyes, turning him into the tortured little boy he once was. “You sacrifice your own freedom because you feel sympathy for me? You could've been done with me. Our bargain would've been no more ... but you didn't."

  "No."

  He raised his hands before him, turning his palms up. “Why?"

  "Underneath all the horrors I witnessed, I saw the good in you. You weren't always evil. I know what you went through. I experienced your pain. You were made to be the creature you are now. And I'm so sorry. You didn't deserve it. It wasn't your fault. But you have a choice now, and I have faith you can change. You are not bad. What you've done is bad."

  Again, confusion played across his features. “You'll still stay with me and honor the bargain? Become my lifemate?"

  "To save Ryan, yes.” I looked down at Ryan who remained crumpled in a heap next to the motionless Dracul. My heart squeezed. He needed me. I had to go to him. My glance settled back on Constantine, allowing him to see into my soul—to read my feelings. He studied my face, flicking his eyes back and forth. I held nothing back. I needed him to understand.

  His eyes widened with realization, then darkened with pain so deep it hurt to watch. “You really do love him."

  "Yes."

  His expression fell and he exhaled, his shoulders slumping. He turned his body away from me. “Then go to him.” His head dipped
to his chest. “Release her. It's time we leave here."

  "My Lord?” one of the Liliacs questioned.

  He turned back around, unshed tears glistening in his eyes. “You heard me. We leave,” Constantine ordered.

  The Liliacs freed my arms. I stepped forward, closing the space between me and Constantine. I stared deep into his questioning eyes. His heart thumped loudly in his chest. I clasped his cold hands, bringing them up between our bodies. “You are not bad.” I didn't break eye contact, letting him know I cared and saw what lie beneath his evil trappings.

  A single tear slid down his face. “Ah, little Vanator. Don't you know I would have given you the world? I may need your blood ... but it is you I want.” He sighed, a soul-wrenching sound. “It can never be though. Not as long as you love another."

  "You know I'll come looking for you if things remain as they are,” I threatened, my voice hitching from his unexpected words. Words that drove a stake into my heart. He continued to stare deep into my eyes. To my surprise, I realized he is capable of love after all.

  He stepped closer. “I know. We both must do what we are destined for. Farewell, little Vanator.” He ran his finger down the side of my face, then morphed into a bat and circled my head.

  The other Liliacs followed suit. Hundreds of bats flew out at once.

  I had a feeling our paths would cross again someday. But for now, Ryan needed me.

  Dizzy and still disoriented, I stumbled to Ryan and knelt by his side. His eyes opened and a smile spread across his face.

  My jaw dropped. Stunned, I looked him over. His shirt was ripped across the front and blood smeared his belly. Other than that, he looked fine.

  "Hi, Sparkie. You look like you've seen a ghost."

  "How? But I saw Dracul..."

  Ryan chuckled. “I moved out of the way just in time. His dagger barely caught me."

  I glanced back at Dracul's still motionless body, then turned back toward Ryan. “But then why didn't you get up? You just..."