“I have no choice do I?”
“Not unless you want to call everyone in here one by one and ask.” He grinned.
I sat in silence for a moment.
“Fine. Get my father, will you?” I smacked him on the arm and he jumped off the bed and ran out of the room at a sprint.
Marshall returned a moment later with my father at his heels. My dad looked at me, irritated, as he pulled a piece of parchment from behind his back.
“You sure you want to do this?” he asked, looking at Marshall.
“Yes, Sir,” he nodded.
“Nice to see that my daughter actually took our little talk to heart.” He glared at me.
“Things happened,” I said in a monotone.
“What things?”
“Close the door,” I demanded.
Marshall ran and shut it before jumping back onto the bed next to me.
“Sheridan has Nadine,” I said as soon as the door was shut.
“How do you know?” He seemed unconvinced.
I grabbed my phone and called Nadine’s cell number. When nobody answered it went to voicemail and my father’s face flushed.
Hi. You’ve reached the voice mailbox of Nadine Dunst. I am currently unavailable. If you could please leave a message I will call you back. If this is Dawn, please for the love of all things good come and get me.
I hit the ‘end’ button on my phone.
“Son of a bitch,” he seethed.
“I have to find her. It is the only way to save Nadine and everyone here.” I coughed as the pain seared through me again.
“How do you expect to do this?”
“If I’m not gone by the morning Sheridan will unleash an onslaught of creatures on Harrisville and the camp. I have to leave before then.” I stumbled over my words.
“Leave?” He didn’t seem impressed.
“Yes. I’m assuming the fact that she showed me the house means that is the first place I need to go.” I nodded my head as if I was agreeing with myself.
“I don’t like this,” my father grumbled. “What about Wesley?”
“He has to stay here. He cannot know where I am going.” I motioned towards the paper. “Can we do this now?”
He took my hand and slit my palm with a knife before dipping an odd pen into my blood. He wrote out the contract with just that one pen. The wound healed quickly but the pen kept working. He finished the document and laid it between me and Marshall.
“Understand this, son. Once this contract is completed you are bound to my daughter. If at any time you are to pass your soul will find her. She will then either choose to hold on to it or send it to the place she feels you belong. Once you are sent it is no longer in her power. If she sends you to heaven and they decline you then you will go to hell and vice versa.” My father waited for Marshall’s agreement.
“Yes, Sir,” Marshall said, nodding.
“Then please sign here and I will have my daughter sign below.” He handed Marshall a safety pen and motioned to his index finger.
After Marshall had signed the contract I felt like I was in silence again as my body healed entirely. When I came out of the time warp I felt rejuvenated. My skin was pale but not gross. My body didn’t hurt and the irritating cough that I had was gone.
“So now what?” Dad asked me.
“Marshall, Kelly and I will be leaving after dark. I need you to keep Wesley busy until I’m gone. Tomorrow you can tell him that I left, but today he cannot know,” I said, straight-faced.
Not that I had thought it out. As soon as Dad told Wesley there was a good chance that he was going to come after me. I only hoped that I was going to be far enough away where he could not find me. Not until I got Nadine.
“There is one correction to this plan,” I heard Prudence say as she came through the door.
“What’s that?” I asked, perturbed that she had entered unannounced.
“There will be four of us. Sheridan will expect that I come along. She never believed that I was dead.” Prudence looked at my father. “I will make sure that she comes back alive.”
“I have no say in this, do I?” he asked her.
“No, Damien. This is something that has to be done. If Dawn is not gone by the time Sheridan said, she will unleash death upon your people.”
“How do you know this?” my father asked.
“Because I was once her ally; I know how she thinks. She doesn’t make threats that she will not carry out. Her cursed ones are powerful and they have teleportation skills like none other. If she descends on this compound nobody will be left alive.” Prudence spoke the truth. I could tell by the way her eyes never wavered from my father’s.
“So a warden, a shifter, one werewolf and the priestess are going to go and save one single human girl.” My father blinked.
“You make it sound like this is a joke,” Marshall said.
“No, you see I know that it is not a joke. Just promise me that this human is worth saving.” He looked at me.
“Nadine is a great person. She never did anything wrong. The only bad thing she ever did was try to get Adam to love her. Even then that isn’t bad, it was just the wrong guy.”
“Then I suppose I have no say in what happens. There is enough money in my account to fund such a quest. I will have some transferred to yours. Take nothing with you. Just the car. You can stop outside of town and pick up some clothes at the Walmart.” My father was looking between the three of us.
“Thank you,” I whispered.
“I will tell Wesley nothing. But when he finds out in the morning what has happened you know he’s going to come and look for you.”
“I know. When that happens you make sure he has both Shawn and Krista.” I frowned. “All I need is a good day’s start.”
“I will make sure that nothing is revealed until it is necessary. I will send him to the farmhouse before I send him towards Midvale.” My father did not seem happy with this plan.
“Thank you again, Dad,” I said, getting up to hug him.
“I will tell your mother what is going on in confidence.” He patted my back. “I expect my daughter to be in full health when we see her again.”
“I will make sure of it,” Prudence promised.
“I will have both the blessed and cursed ones start working on portals. Once you find Sheridan we will be on guard. I will get word out to the other compounds.” My father pulled away from me and glanced at the others. “I will give you one day before I say anything and another day until I send Wesley in the correct direction where you are headed. After that I will not know anything until you tell me. So play this right, Dawn. This is far more dangerous than when you infiltrated the enemy camp. You don’t have an additional being inside of you anymore.”
“No, but she has one right beside her,” Prudence said quietly.
“I do wish to know your heritage. You look so much like her it gives me the chills. I feel like I’m looking at the person my little girl should have been, not what she became.” He gave me another pat on the shoulder then left the room.
“I suggest today we tie up loose ends. I mean, we don’t let people know what is going on but we make sure there’s a trail that can be followed,” I said to my companions.
“What time do we leave?” Prudence asked.
I hated that she was going. Edmund had just got her back. He was not going to take this well when she disappeared with me again.
“Ten,” I said, saying the first number that came into my head.
“We take nothing, right?” Marshall made sure he had heard my father right.
“Correct. Leave everything here. We will stop outside of town and get necessities. There are still clothes and whatnot at the old house.” I sighed and ran my fingers through my hair. “Prudence, are you sure Edmund will be OK with this?” I asked, looking at the blonde woman.
“Of course. He already knows. No worries, he will say nothing
because he will not remember until we are gone.” She grabbed my hand and gave it a squeeze. “Spend the day with Wesley.”
“I will,” I said, frowning.
The hardest part of this whole thing was going to be leaving him behind. I couldn’t afford him to be with me. There was a chance, of course, that she was bluffing about not wanting him. How would I make a better trade than her two beloved hostages?
Chapter Twenty-Four: Into Blackness
“You feeling better?” Wesley asked as I came down the stairs.
“Yeah,” I nodded. “Where were you last night?”
“I went for a walk and wound up having an in-depth conversation with Edmund concerning the vampire blood in me,” he said without a single hesitation.
“What did you learn?” I asked.
“I learned that there are several difference races of vampire. Each one is just as bad as the first. There are four that tried to change me, so apparently I fight each one. The red eye is the one like Edmund. They are the most compassionate. The orange eye, they are the type that feel the world is owed to them. The yellow are the ones that are more catlike and agile. Finally the pink, they will kill anything in sight if they feel threatened.”
“All right, so you pretty much know nothing,” I laughed, smacking him on the arm.
“I know that I love you,” he said, putting his hands on my waist.
“And I you,” I said, smiling.
So much for being able to do this without feeling guilty. I swallowed a lump in my throat and looked up at him.
“Good. I understand what happened last night.” He hugged me close. “I’m sorry for leaving you alone.”
“It’s fine, I needed it. I was quite weak anyway. And I got to spread out over the whole bed.” I tried to joke with him but his face stayed serious.
“I told you I would never leave you again,” he said and my smile dropped.
“I know, but last night wasn’t one of those nights,” I said.
“It was, though. You were in a fight, wound up, visited by Sheridan, and Prudence was placed back in her body. It was a lose-lose-lose situation for you. I should have been there.” He wasn’t letting it go.
“This isn’t like what happened with John. I wasn’t accosted and my innocence stolen. This was simply a collection of bad luck topped with one piece of good. No need to beat yourself up over it,” I said, touching his face softly.
“You will always fight me on this won’t you? Every time I feel that I have wronged you, you tell me that it wasn’t my fault.” His eyes narrowed. They were their brilliant blue.
That’s the color I wanted to remember. I was sure going to miss him. Just when I got him back, I had to take the time to race off to save another soul. I knew if I blew this off that it would be deadly, not only to Nadine but everyone in the compound. All that blood on my hands was not something that I could live with.
“Behind every good man is a woman who nags,” I smiled as he broke out into laughter.
“I just hope in twenty years you are still there,” he said.
My heart fell. I couldn’t even decide if I was going to be there the next day, let alone in the next twenty years. I stood on my tiptoes and leaned my face into his, allowing his lips to brush softly against mine.
“What was that for?” he asked me with an odd smile on his face.
“Just because.” I felt like I was choking. The lump in my throat was gagging me and it was taking everything in my power to keep my heart under control.
“Well I think I like this ‘just because’.” His smile reached his eyes and I all but melted. I laughed. I really was going to miss him.
***
Ten came all too quickly. The four of us met in the garage and piled our bodies into the Bentley. My father had told my mother, who was not happy at all to hear of my abrupt decision to save Nadine. I promised her that I would call as soon as we arrived at the house. She hesitantly hugged me and fought not to cry.
Nobody knew that we were leaving aside from my parents. My father had sent Wesley on an errand into the city at nine forty five, aiding my escape into the darkness.
Prudence said a few words over the car and reinforced the protection spells within our amulets. I knew what she was doing but I wasn’t going to make it vocal.
“Let’s do this,” she said, sitting down next to me in the passenger seat.
“Am I making the right decision?” I asked her as I started the car.
“To you there is nothing more important than humanity. This girl means something to you, as does the compound. What you are doing is smart.” Prudence patted me on the knee.
I backed out of the garage and drove down the driveway with my lights off. I didn’t want to give anyone a reason to follow us. When I hit the highway I put my foot on the gas and took off, the car gaining speed quickly until the compound was nothing but a speck in the rearview mirror.
I didn’t stop the car till we hit the Walmart outside of Harrisville. We purchased enough clothes to last us a week and some food for the drive. We were back in the car within twenty minutes. Kelly was quiet, with Marshall gripping on to her hand. I knew everyone was nervous. We weren’t going to look for Miranda, we were heading towards the queen herself. What powers she would have over us was questionable at best.
“I feel I should be scared to death,” Kelly’s voice squeaked from the back seat.
“For obvious reasons. She is the only being in creation that could actually touch me.” Prudence turned to look at the two in the back seat.
“All because you agreed with Xic leaving?” Marshall chimed in.
“Oh, all of that with Xic was a huge mistake. I told Sheridan to avoid him. He was handsome and silver-tongued. All Sheridan wanted was to be loved. Even with the vampire venom in her veins she still held a lot of light values. Mind you, she was still nuts but at least not as nuts as she is now.” Prudence laughed.
“So do you know her plan?” I asked.
“Oh, heavens, no. Not all of it, at least. When Xic left and Lilly was born her whole personality switched. The angel blood in her turned just like milk in the heat. She was vengeful. Wanted to take it out on all purebloods. The demons for Xic, the angels for her mother, the vampires for changing her, and me for questioning her.” She appeared upset by the events. “I have never been a bad person, trust me,” she promised as Kelly cleared her throat.
“So what are we up against?”
“Lots of magic. Lots of hatred. She wants the wardens to die because of the simple fact that it will make the world a playground,” Prudence shrugged.
“You know, in a lot of ways I don’t blame her for wanting to get even,” Marshall said softly.
“Yeah, me neither. It’s just the whole ‘getting even with everyone’ that gets me. How can she generalize an entire bloodline? So her mother left her, that is between her and her mother, not the entire kingdom of heaven.” I made a right turn onto the highway.
“So what are we doing?” Kelly asked. Her voice was still shaking.
“Sheridan has Nadine,” I said simply, keeping my eyes on the road.
“Nadine is Dawn’s best female friend. Out of their group she is the only one that is human.” Prudence completed my thought.
“So we are saving a human?” Kelly questioned.
“She’s a good girl. She doesn’t deserve this,” I grumbled.
“What was going to happen if we didn’t go on this mission?” Kelly inquired.
“If I wasn’t gone by morning Sheridan was going to unleash her army on the compound.” I felt a chill cross my chest.
“Shit,” Kelly whispered.
“Yeah, it was one of those ‘damned if you do damned if you don’t’ sort of situations,” I groaned.
“So why didn’t you bring Wesley?” Kelly asked.
“Because Sheridan wants him for herself. The last thing I wanted to do was lead him directly into her path.” I changed
lanes to pass a slower car.
“You know he’s going to come after us.” I had forgotten that Kelly had not been in on the meeting the three of us had with my father earlier that day.
“Damien is going to send him in the wrong direction for two days. After that we have to be out of Midvale,” Marshall explained to her.
“So we are going there? Remember what happened the last time you were there?” Kelly wasn’t thrilled with the plan, I could tell that by the tone of her voice.
“Yes. It’s where the trail will begin. The house outside of Midvale. We will stay there for a night or two and head on to the next location,” I said, biting my bottom lip.
“What if the murders start again?” she asked me.
“I have a feeling that they won’t. Sheridan wants us to find her. She thinks that I’m a better hostage than Wesley and Chase.” My heart was pounding at the mention of his name from my lips.
“Hostage?” Marshall must have been deaf during that part of the conversation.
“Yeah, someone held against their will,” I said.
We drove the rest of the way in silence. I checked the mirror at one point to see Kelly passed out on Marshall’s shoulder, his head on top of hers. Their eyes were closed. My heart melted. To have something so innocent once again. Instead I got hellfire and brimstone in my relationships. Every man I touched seemed to have had something happen to him. Everyone but Jeremy, a boyfriend from long-ago whom I had not thought of in a while.
***
We arrived at the white house with the pink mailbox shortly after one in the morning. Everyone had passed out in the car but me. Prudence had her forehead plastered to the passenger window, her shoulders rising and falling slowly. Kelly and Marshall were still stuck together in the back seat. I hated to wake any of them but we had to get inside.
“We are here.” I touched Prudence’s knee and she looked at me, wide-eyed.
“Already?” she asked, stretching.
“You can take my mom’s room. The bed is huge and very comfortable. I know how much you like soft beds.” I gave her a smile and she winked at me.
“You know me so well.” She got out of the car and helped me carry things inside. When we had everything organized I went out to the car to get the two lovebirds up.
The Wardens Boxed Set Page 102
