by Tara Brown
Aimee nodded, "He obviously believes now."
Lucas shook his head, "You're guessing, we need answers. We need to know how to get into the building."
Hanna sighed, "I can get in. I'm human and once I change nothing hurts me. Its like I don’t notice it till after. This is all my fault, I should be the one to fix it."
Aimee nodded, "She's right."
Lorri shook her head, "We aren’t going to send you in there to get killed." She glared at Aimee.
Ari pointed to Lydia, "She's going to be fine. We need to move before they kill the kids."
"Or worse, leave. If Daniel and the chemist get away I will be pissed."
Lucas looked around, "Where is Annabelle?"
Aleks pointed to the ceiling, "Upstairs. She's upset."
Aimee frowned, "Annabelle?" She called out.
Howling filled the room along with a cold wind.
Aleks spoke soothingly, "Annabelle it wasn’t your fault. Lydia needs you."
The young maid appeared, sobbing at Lydia side, "I be sorry. I never made the guards for humans. The smoke took my magic from me."
Lorri looked at her with the most caring expression Aleks had ever seen her wear, "Annabelle her heartbeat is getting stronger. That means she will live. She just needs someone to protect her and care for her until she wakes up. Can you stay calm enough?"
Annabelle nodded sniffling, "I can do it. I can change the guards."
"I can help her too."
Aleks looked to see Danny standing in the hallway. His tear stained cheeks looked flush.
Lorri nodded, "Thanks kid."
"Its all my fault. I had the dream but I didn’t think it would come so soon. Usually they happen a few days before."
Aleks shook his head, "There is no way this is anyone's fault. Each of us is a victim of the circumstances. What we need is to stand together and get back those kids before Daniel kills them."
He looked back at Hanna, "You ready?"
She nodded, "Yeah." Defeat and the recognition that she would die, filled her eyes. It didn’t kill him to see it but it hurt him on some level.
Chapter Thirty-Four: The Cure
Hanna
She tried to stay close to Aleks as they walked, the smell of him was over whelming. She could feel his indifference to her. She wished she too was apathetic but her feelings and attraction for him were as potent as they had ever been. She noticed everything about him. She needed it to calm herself. She didn’t want to prematurely become the monster. She needed to save Sam. She felt an anger and fear that frightened her, not knowing where he was.
Aimee had winked them to a parking lot several blocks from the building in Boston. Hanna had never been to Boston before. She never considered the history or heritage of the place, only the pain she would soon be in and the death that would follow her shift and saving Sam.
They walked to the large building. It was several stories high, looking more like an apartment building than anything.
She looked up at it thinking about the things she hadn’t gotten to do yet. She hadn’t stopped by Rebecca's parents house. She hadn’t been to her grave yet. She never got to have a Christmas with Roland and she never got to watch her aunt tried for her crimes.
She looked at Aimee, "Punch me in the face, hard."
Aimee looked at her and nodded, "I don’t hate you. I just don’t have all the facts okay?"
Hanna nodded, "Yeah whatever. Ari told me you were a LARP dork. We could never be friends."
Aimee frowned and punched her in the face. Hanna saw stars the moment her head snapped back.
Rage filled her instantly.
The shift started. She tried not to scream. She tried not to make too much of a spectacle of herself.
Her skin rippled, straining as if it would tear. She felt her hands grip her face, as her clothes ripped from her body.
Her legs dropped to the concrete, her vision went hazy and her mind went numb.
She heard herself chuckle as the pain subsided.
She looked at Lorri who was smiling and pointing to the building.
Hanna could see everything the beast saw but not the thoughts the beast had. Somehow Lorri seemed able to control the beast though. She turned and ran at the building as hard as she could.
She saw the huge hands rip the front door from the building and throw it. A man came out but her hands reached for him. She pulled him apart. The laugh was there again. The beast was laughing at the ripping and tearing.
Watching the blood shed of the second person Hanna slipped into the black just leaving the beast to do its work.
****
She woke to screaming. She recognized voices but couldn’t understand the words they said. Blood pounded in her ears.
She leaned forward, throwing up all over the concrete. She felt the cold pavement against her hands. She tried to push herself up but everything ached. She opened her eyes to the pool of blood she lay in.
"I WILL KILL THE NEXT PERSON WHO MOVES!"
She looked up to see Marcus and Henry. Henry held his arms out, they trembled as if they held something. She looked to see Aleks, Aimee and Ari pinned to the ground but nothing touched them. Lorri was gone.
She looked up at Marcus whose hands trembled. He carried something in his fingers.
He knelt on the ground beside her smiling, "My love, you must drink this. It will save you. I found it. He finished it."
She looked down at her arms, pieces of flesh were ripped from them. She gasped. Her stomach bled, as did her face. She put her hands to her face touching the parts that hurt. Her cheek had a hole in it. Her tongue moved to feel the hole. She cried out seeing the desperation in his eyes.
"I'm dying Marcus."
He shook his head, a small tear formed in his eye, "You will live if you drink this. It's the cure."
She looked at her body, "I don’t w-w-want t-to live this way." Her words were broken as blood gurgled in her throat.
He shook his head, "My blood will heal you after you drink the cure."
She took the vial looking at everything around her. She looked at Henry and drank the vial.
It seared its way through her. Her mouth struggled with something that was building in her throat. She choked on it until suddenly it ripped its way from her in a cry. She screamed as the liquid felt as if it cut its way through her body.
The pain grew beyond agony, she had no reference points for it or ways to express it. Her mind had gone blank as her body convulsed on the ground.
Chapter Thirty-Five: Look out its, HANNA
Aleksander
He had been stunned watching her grow into the beast. The looks on the faces around them were one part disgust mixed with two parts of something else, hope.
Lorri spoke to the beast in a tongue he didn’t understand.
The beast seemed to know what she wanted. Suddenly like the giant lumbering monster it was, it ran at the building. It ripped open the door. The guards placed around the building weakened it but only for a second as it passed through them.
It grabbed a man tearing him to pieces. It destroyed the front of the building. People began pouring from the doors attacking with weapons and magic. The beast screamed in pain but continued to rip everything it saw. It crushed beings with its massive foot and squeezed others until blood burst from them.
Aleks watched in horror as the thing attacked an army worth of creatures and monsters. Anyone else would have had to work incredibly hard to kill a third of what she did in no time. The few that trickled from the building, and past the thing, were destroyed instantly by Lorri or Aimee or Ari. He and Lucas stood back watching. Lucas remained in wolf from. The blood bath was the most horrifying thing he had ever seen.
Aleks looked at Lucas, "Ready to find them?"
Lucas stood and sauntered to the side of the building. Aleks whisked himself inside the door, opening it for Lucas. They climbed the stairs slowly together. Voices filled the rooms as orders and commands were shouted.
Aleks cloaked himself instantly and Lucas stayed low to the ground. The halls were filled with papers and people. Lucas hid behind a door as Aleks walked along hurriedly, trying to find where they were being held.
He walked down the stairs to the lower levels of the building. It smelled dank and wet. The building was old, making the basement musty.
"I can't seem to hear anyone's thoughts. Everything is blank." A girl spoke softly.
"It’s the one with the smug look on her face." A guy answered.
Aleks walked back up the stairs a bit and whistled low, he knew he was in the right place.
He waited until Lucas came creeping down the stairs. Fresh blood coated his muzzle.
They walked together back to the basement.
Aleks remained cloaked as he snuck behind the girl as Lucas prepared to attack the man.
As Aleks reached around the girl, she tried to spin, "What the fu..." Her neck was broken.
"Where did…?" The guy spun but Lucas launched himself, knocking the man to the ground and ripped his throat out.
Aleks kicked the door open to the small room.
"Aleks!" Little arms rushed toward him crying out and jumping to him. "You came for us." He hugged the kids.
Anne sneered, "About time." He shook his head wanting to swat her.
Dawn looked like she was ready to cry. She knelt to the ground to hug Lucas but pulled away, "Ewww you have skin in your teeth. Oh my god I'm going to get sick. That’s nasty."
Sam smiled, "Hey guys."
Aleks looked at them, "How did they get you?"
Sam shook his head, "It was brutal. They had a smoke bomb that disabled every one of us. I watched them knock you out and shoot you several times. They have something like Anne, every time I tried to use my powers they worked against me." He looked around, "It was weird. Must be Nephilim too. The humans shot us with something and we woke up here."
"Did they hurt you?"
Sam shook his head, "No, not really." He smiled, "Everyone likes me Aleks, you know that."
Aleks rolled his eyes.
A loud crash happened above them. Lucas wined and started toward the door.
"What is going on up there?"
Aleks sighed, "We need to get going before she destroys the entire building."
"What did you bring?"
"Hanna."
Chapter Thirty-Six: In Theory, actually doesn’t mean anything
Hanna
She woke to the muted light of the castle. She sighed feeling safe at long last. Terrified of what she would find she lifted her fingers to her face. Her cheek felt normal again. She lifted her arms seeing nothing but her normal skin.
"Oh thank god." She whispered.
"Pretty sure the name is Marcus."
She looked up seeing him sitting in a chair across the room, "What?"
He smiled standing in the dim light and walking to her, "The person you need to thank is not god, it's me."
He sat on the bed beside her. She smiled, "Thanks."
He bent kissing her lips tenderly, "Never scare me like that again."
She nodded, "Okay."
He lay down on the bed beside her and held her.
"Is everyone else alright?"
"Yes, Lydia is waking up now, a few hours a day she actually speaks and tries to do magic."
"What about those kids?"
He laughed, "Those wicked little brats are fine."
"Aimee and Aleks and Ari and Sam?"
He pulled her back, "Everyone is fine. Honestly. You were the only one hurt. Well and Lorri a little bit but that was nothing to do with the Dark Ones."
She frowned, "You and Lorri got into a fight?"
He smirked, "One doesn’t fight with Lorri. One attacks savagely when she is distracted and then retreats."
"I remember Henry there." She felt puzzled by her jagged memories.
He laughed, "I told you it was better for Henry to be smitten. I told him what was going on and he was very adamant we went to help you out."
"He is stronger than any of you isn’t he?"
He nodded, "He is ancient. He is a magic we cannot ever compete with."
"Why does he stay with you?"
Marcus beamed, "I captured his soul. It was a foolish thing to do but I was bored and it was a challenge."
"What happens if he finds his soul?"
"He can kill me. He cannot kill me until the moment he does find it."
She gasped, "You idiot, why would you ever do that?"
He shrugged, "I was young and foolish."
"Give it back and beg his forgiveness."
"No, I cannot. He will never forgive me. He will only kill me and be done with it. He will return home and it will end."
She felt sad for Henry. He was a kind man who didn’t deserve that as a fate. She wondered if she gave back the soul if he would just leave and not bother with his revenge.
Her phone rang. She looked at Marcus who grabbed it for her and looked at it, "Roland. Again."
She took the phone, "Again? Hello."
"My dear you're awake. Lydia told me what you did. That was imprudent and reckless."
"Roland I'm sorry, it couldn’t be helped. I needed to redeem myself. Marcus got the cure from them too. I'm free of the beast, I think anyway."
There was silence.
"Roland?"
"I'm here. What did he tell you the cure did?"
She looked confused at Marcus whose face darkened slightly.
She sighed, "Nothing. Why?"
"Your father had a cure once too but it would have turned him into something unnatural. He chose to stay with the devil he knew."
"I will get the information and get back to you. I will be home tonight."
"Excellent. I will prepare us a feast. Dinner will be at six."
She hung up the phone and looked at Marcus, "What happened to your rule." She mimicked his English accent, "Lets agree to not lie to one another shall we?"
He chuckled, "How else could I get you to listen. You were dying. My blood would heal you but the changes would come more frequently, as your body was weakened. I watched your father go through it."
"What has it done to me?"
He bit his lip, "Well it's made you strong, stronger than the beast. Your anger, when provoked, could be quite bad but honestly it will be controlled by you one hundred percent. In theory."
She closed her eyes, "You made me into a small beast. I won't change shape but I'll still potentially kill people?"
"In theory you should be able to control all of it."
She sighed, "In theory, in theory means eff all Marcus. Who could you possibly have tested this on if I'm the only one of me?"
"I know you're concerned about what you might do but let's focus on what you won't do. No more shifting into the beast, no more black outs, no more injuries randomly."
She frowned, "No more injuries?"
He shook his head, "You're strong now. Like me."
"Will I age and die like a normal person?"
"No. When you were sleeping I gave you the same thing I gave your father a long time ago."
She didn’t know how to feel about that.
"You might have lived longer than a normal human because of your mother."
"What was she like?"
"You. She was kind and funny and beautiful. She laughed all the time. She adored your father."
"How much did you love her?"
"I feel you tensing up, I know it's weird that seventy years ago I was in love with her but in truth I took the potion and then I didn’t love her. I saw her as I saw any regular human. She wasn't anything special to me then."
"Did you love my father?"
"Like my brother. When he and I met we were both so alone in the world. He was terrible with other people. The whole experiment was to give him normal social graces. To make him more than the man he was."
Hanna laughed, "Well he definitely got his wish."
Marcus l
aughed with her, "Oh he got more than he bargained for."
"Were they happy when they found out about me?"
"You ask a lot of questions."
She turned to face him. He kissed her nose.
"Were they?"
His eyes twitched, she knew he was hiding the truth from her. After staring into her eyes he spoke, "No."
Hanna nodded. She watched his eyes and smiled even though it hurt, "You were thinking about using your mind thing on me weren’t you?"
He laughed.
She smiled, "I saw your pupil flex almost."
"I never want you to feel pain."
His lips brushed hers.
"How bad of shape was I in yesterday?"
He pulled back, "I just want to kiss and maybe touch a little. Can we ask questions later?"
She stayed frozen watching him.
He sighed annoyed, "The worst shape I could have imagined. Most of the skin on your body was gone. I didn’t think you would live. Your legs were broken and your hair had been ripped out." He pushed a hand up into her thick strawberry locks, "I didn’t think you would live."
She knitted her brows seeing the pain on his face, "I lived Marcus. I lived because of you." She leaned in letting his lips encompass hers. His arms wrapped around her pulling her into him. He didn’t seem to want to let her go.
Chapter Thirty-Seven: Daddy Dorian
Aleksander
"How is she?"
He looked up to see Giselle standing in the doorway. He couldn’t help but notice how she looked all of a sudden. Her limbs had filled out again, her color was peaches and cream and her hair looked like live silk.
"She's good." He didn’t realize he spoke to her lips. Her luscious pink lips.
She smiled seeing his face, "What's up with you?"
He shrugged, "What do you mean?"
"Dude." She tilted her head mocking him.
He smiled, "Anyway, she's fine. She's waking for short periods now."
