by Kelly Hall
Kayne’s eyes turned darker with anger. “Do not make me regret coming here.”
“Why did you?” She stepped forward, not stopping until the two were toe to toe. “Do you love me?” She wanted to hear him say it, but another part of her knew it was all lies.
“I do not love,” he bit out. “But if I were capable? Yes, it would be you, my immortal.” He wanted to kiss her so badly. His passion was at an all-time high. He would have her on her back and be between her legs if he wasn’t sure she’d try and do something foolish, like stab him with her dagger.
“Liar,” she hissed, backing away. “I don’t need this. I’ve got a mission first thing in the morning.”
“Mission?” He tilted his head. “You’re going to Arcadius?”
“Stop doing that!” she scolded. “Go away.”
“Tell me why.”
“No. I’m not going to sit here and tell you about my mission, and I’d appreciate you staying out of my head.” She knew she had to keep her thoughts vague.
“I’ve been able to be in your head for a long time now, Rebekah. I’ve never interfered with your missions.”
“That’s not completely true. You showed up in New Orleans in front of my entire group.”
“You were hurt. I was curious.”
“Like you care.” She let her thoughts go where she usually kept them bottled up. To a time in her life when she’d felt weak and helpless. Vulnerable. Exposed. Violated.
Kayne’s anger grew. “You think I left you there with those animals. That’s what this anger is all about?”
She wasn’t going to get into it with him now. “Go.”
“Rebekah, I never—”
“Go!” she growled. “Get out!”
As she raised her dagger high, he vanished, and she brought the blade down to where his stupid heart should have been.
The air in the room was so still all of a sudden, like all of the oxygen had been sucked out with his disappearance, and suddenly, she looked down to where Liam should be and realized Kayne had taken the dead vampire with him.
All that remained was a bloodstain, and she walked across the room to the smaller courtyard window and found the others still in their celebration. She would have enough time to clean it up, and then she would never speak of him again.
Chapter 24
Fiona had jumped out of the window by the sea and then ducked into one of the caves to rest a moment before scaling the castle wall high enough to hear the voices coming out of the tower bedroom. She had known the risk was high, but she had to see for herself just what was going on with Kayne and the Immortal Huntress.
Their relationship had always been a mystery to her, and while she had never told a soul what she’d known of them, she was tempted to take it to the Council. The only reason she hadn’t so far was the fact that no one would believe her, but now, was there anything to lose?
When the voices stopped and she was sure Kayne had vanished, she crawled her way down and jumped out onto the rocks below. She would leave the Immortal Huntress be, but only because she’d underestimated her strength.
Having ditched her heels earlier before scaling the wall, she found them on the rock where she’d left them and then put them back on. The shoes were her favorite, though highly impractical, but she hadn’t set out to find herself at the Huntress’s castle or on the rocks along the sea behind it.
It made no matter. Nothing did now. Liam was dead. The only thing that Kayne had ever given her that might be construed as a token of love, he’d taken away in one swift movement.
Now where was Liam’s body? Kayne would no doubt drop his body somewhere in the sea, far away where it would be forgotten, and she would be left to mourn without closure. Just like she had their unborn child. He had called it her fault, but it had been his experiment.
Her Liam could have been so much if she’d only had more time, but he’d been dead set on going after the Huntress. Fiona had planned to take her down after he had his fun, but she’d grossly underestimated just how powerful the other woman was. Perhaps if Kayne hadn’t interrupted, no doubt to save his whore’s life, then she and Liam would be far away together by now.
Kayne’s choice made her ill inside. The sickly feeling of a turned stomach was more than she could take. Especially since she didn’t think she’d be able to throw up if she wanted to.
She looked up at the castle in the distance as she continued to walk along the rocks, making good time with her vampire speed and reflexes taking her far away fast. But then, something happened.
Her foot hit a stone, and her ankle twisted as her high heel snapped. Fiona nearly fell. “Bloody hell,” she said, looking down at the broken shoe. “I should have left them off.”
She still had a way before she could get back on solid land. But she took off her shoes and tossed them into the sea. “Fucking useless. I’ll have to buy another pair.”
She hopped from stone to stone until she reached the beach, thinking of the little shop where she’d bought them. She’d taken Liam there to fetch his new suit and couldn’t pass them up. Surely, they’d have another pair in just the right size and color.
She ambled along, thinking of what to tell the Council about Kayne and if that was the way she should go. There wasn’t getting any revenge on him, and she didn’t think she could just show up and beg for forgiveness. Could she?
“He’d probably skin me alive. Behead me like he did Liam and stick my head on his mantle.” She missed him already—Kayne, not Liam—though she would forever miss the boy too.
It just wasn’t fair, what he’d put her through, and then to take Liam? Another voice inside her head told her it was just to teach her a lesson. Liam had been a test run, and she had failed as his mother. Perhaps Kayne would give her another? Not likely, but if she went home, she’d at least have him in her life—if he didn’t kill her.
Her mind was all over the place, and as if she needed the rest, she walked slowly along the beach, feeling the sand in her toes. The sea breeze blew her red hair that was still wild from the fight, and she wished she’d snatched the Huntress bald. Let’s see how much Kayne likes her without any hair. “Fucking brunette. What’s so interesting about that?”
Suddenly, a strong wind came, blowing the stench of rot in her face. “Ew. It’s terrible.” She figured there was a dead fish somewhere or, by the intensity of the smell, a dead whale.
She decided to pick up the pace, but then, something caught her ear. A sound that was not quite distinct enough to be certain.
In the distance, a baby cried. “No, it couldn’t be,” she said, glancing around. There weren’t any homes for miles, but the sound stayed on the wind, traveling through the dark night.
She walked toward the noise, figuring it would be some kind of bird but far too curious to leave a baby all alone in such a deserted area. Had someone abandoned the baby? Was it a group of people camping? Perhaps she’d have her a baby after all.
Maybe it was time she took what she wanted. She could never go back to Kayne’s, and without his rule of no infants in his home, she would be free to raise a baby all alone.
The cries grew louder, and she listened carefully for a mother’s soothing voice, which never came.
There in the distance, just up on the banks, was a small bundle. The moonlight shone on its cradle, and the tiny movement of a little foot kicking caught her eye. It’s real!
It was a baby, and it was all alone. “Fates be kind,” she whispered. Everything she’d ever wanted was in that tiny basket. She ran closer, stopping far away enough to take caution, and looked down at the squalling infant. Its hair was black as night, its little eyes squeezed tightly in distress. Smooth pale skin had turned beet red.
It looked just like the baby she had dreamt about all those long years before. A little bit of Kayne, a little bit of her. She had thought the dream could never come true, but here it was in flesh and blood. How could it be? She didn’t even care. She looked around to see if ther
e were anyone near.
Fiona would kill them for the infant. She would take it as her own and raise it. Kayne may take her from the only home she’d ever known, but he could not take her fortune. It was hers. She would give this child everything it ever wanted.
She had longed for a little one. She even had a name all picked out before she lost it. “I shall call you Fortune,” she whispered.
“Shh,” she said as she approached. Fiona reached for the infant but was suddenly pushed back. Her body felt invaded as her hands and feet lit on fire. A slow pain burned in her side and temples.
She couldn’t figure out what was happening to her. Before her, where the infant cried, a dark mass appeared, and the infant disappeared like a reflection in water.
“What are you?” she asked, moving away. “Don’t hurt the child.” As soon as she said it, she realized the infant was a trap designed to lure her closer.
“Your darkness calls to me,” said a soft, soothing voice. She realized it was much like her own, only echoed by others.
“Fuck you,” she snapped.
She planned to run, but suddenly, her feet wouldn’t move. It was as if she’d sunk in the sand.
“I should kill you for tricking me like that,” she said nervously, hoping it would fear her. But it had to be something powerful. Anything that knew her heart’s desire had to be. Her heart had been dark for too many years since the loss.
It came closer. “You are dark indeed, lost one, but so weak. Let me make you stronger and give you purpose.”
Black arms, much like octopus tentacles, reached forward and caressed her cheek. She felt a wave of unease but soon recovered.
She recoiled but could not get away. “What do you want with me?”
Suddenly, the tendril was around her neck, and as she gasped, another went into her mouth.
“We’ll be fine,” she said, but it was as if someone else had hold of her mouth, her tongue, her voice. A chorus of voices, all speaking together as if the darkness held many souls. All she had left was her mind. For now.
What’s happening to me, she wondered.
Then, not even her thoughts were her own.
Chapter 25
Rebekah sat right between Jarreth and Brock. The two talked over her, but both insisted she stay put for the duration of their private flight to Rome. They’d all left for the airport before dawn after a late night of activity.
Jarreth held the original blueprints out in front of him. “This is the best way in,” he said. “If you take into consideration that it’s the closest to the entry of the basement level.”
“Not according to this map,” said Brock. “See this addition? They put a steel wall here. Unless you’re able to move it, you’ll be shit out of luck going in that side.”
Rebekah knew the older Barnes was right. She pointed. “Here. This is where we’ll go in. No one protects that side, and we’ll be much closer to the power grids. Once we kill the intended circuits, we reach this hallway, where I know for a fact they’ll have a guard. And this one.” She tapped the paper. “This is where there will be another. I’m sure there will be others on the way as soon as they know their security cameras are down on this wing.”
Brock saw the line of cells depicted on the plans. “What do you think they’re keeping here? The entire place is a prison, and they have cells upstairs. So what do you have to be or have done to be down in this place?”
Rebekah had already looked over the plans and had a pretty good idea what they were keeping below. “It’s their dirty secrets, is what. I’m sure they’re up to no good, creating weapons to use against me.”
“You think that it’s a weapons lab?” asked Trillion, who had leaned up in his seat directly behind her to look over her shoulder.
Rebekah yawned. “Yeah, it’s some kind of lab. Look at these lines. See this?” She pointed at a thick dark line that went along the walls. “That’s gas lines that go to these counters. Why else would they need that?”
“I think she’s onto something,” said Jones. “That looks like a lab to me. But what of the cells? Are we going to find monster mutants down below?”
“I just want to say, I’m going to kill any freak of nature that crosses my path,” said Crest. “Whatever came through camp is still giving me nightmares.”
“Just be careful,” said Rebekah. “I don’t want us starting anything with our enemies at this point. The Church could have them down there hoping I’ll do something. Then they’ll use it against me like they’ve done in the past.”
“Can I kill an elder?” asked Jones. “I’ve always wanted to knife one of those uppity bastards.”
“Only if necessary,” she said, turning her eyes toward Brock. She gave him a pleading look, as if asking him to keep his men under control, and he got the hint.
He turned around in his seat. “Come on, guys. Let’s focus on the mission and not on killing shit. If you have to, do what you have to do. As long as we all make it out alive, we’re successful. Right, Rebekah?”
“Well, that, and as long as we find these records. There has to be something about the stigmata. The Church has known about it for centuries. I’m sure they’ve made an account.”
Just then, the light came on that the plane was about to land. “Here we go, boys,” said Brock. “Buckle up.”
An hour later, Brock and the others were on the grounds outside of Arcadius. “There’s the back entrance we need,” he said, pulling his weapon, a reaper-curved battle knife that looked like it was ready to do some damage.
His men pulled their weapons, and Jarreth glanced at Rebekah. “Do you have the device?”
Rebekah nodded and took out the device that Ignis had made from where it was tucked inside her bra. “This should get us in without anyone noticing. Then we have to get to the box and attach this.” She held up the second part. “After that, we go to the basement entrance. Crest, you can take care of the guard and make sure he doesn’t signal. There should only be one.”
“What if there’s two?” asked Crest, who was smiling like a fiend. Brock nudged him and shook his head.
But Rebekah ignored their exchange, making sure they were all clear. “Then make sure neither of them signals the other.”
“Gotcha,” he said with a wink.
“Jones, cover him, and Jarreth and Trillion can cover me and Brock. When we get down below, we’ll know exactly what we’re dealing with. Are we ready? When that camera pans away, I’ll go. I don’t want them to see that there are a lot of us. You wait until you have the all clear that the door is open and the alarm is down, and then you watch that camera and join me. We’ll have about two minutes, so don’t fuck up and run out prematurely.”
They gave a collective affirmative, and then the Huntress ran to the door. In a moment, she was in. The hallway was clear, and Rebekah waved them on, knowing they should still have time before the camera panned their way.
She went right to work installing the devices just as Ignis had instructed. “I hope this is going to work or else we’re going to have a lot of enemies to defeat.”
“I’m ready,” said Jarreth. “This is the first battle with my father. It may as well be impressive.”
Brock was the last one in the door, and Crest and Trillion had already gone ahead to cover Rebekah.
There was noise down the hall, and Rebekah could tell by the sounds that the two rogues were already fighting off one of the guards. “Do we have the all clear?” she asked Jarreth, who went to the end of the hallway where they needed to go next.
“All clear.”
She moved forward, and even though she didn’t want to take anyone down, she was prepared. But when she rounded the corner to the hall, she could tell that Trillion had already taken care of business.
“It should be secure ahead,” he said, pulling his blade from the fallen Hunter. This was their own kind they were infiltrating, hunters and humans alike.
Rebekah knew that Trillion had no choice, and she pushed
ahead, holding Stella in her grip as she headed for the basement entrance. Luna was on her hip, and she would only pull the other blade if need be. “Jarreth, are we good to enter?”
Jarreth pushed ahead with Trillion and opened the door. He turned and nodded at the others. Then he pushed his way in, his knife at the ready.
When Rebekah crowded into the room with the others, she expected them to push ahead, but instead, something had stopped them in their tracks. She moved to the front, pushing Brock aside, and he held on to her arm as she stepped in front of him, as if to hold her back.
In front of them, those cells contained barely recognizable, starved, toothless vampires—their bones protruding and their limbs shaking. Shifters of all kinds were in cages hooked up to wires. Some were alert, some weren’t, and others were in human form, their bodies beaten and tortured.
“They are for experiments,” Rebekah said.
“What about him?” asked Jarreth, pointing toward the corner. There was a man standing in a cell, his body totally naked, his hunter’s mark displayed high above his chest on the front of his shoulder.
He opened his mouth as if to let out a cry when he saw the others, but no noise came. The entire room was strangely quiet. Then Rebekah saw the fangs protruding from his mouth. Both were broken at the tips, and his mouth bled as if he’d been beaten recently.
“That’s not possible,” said Brock.
“It is. There are rumors that somehow it is. I have Ignis on it. He’s looking for the reason.” She wondered if it was because of her blood. Kayne had said he had tried to change hunters a long time ago, but it wasn’t clear if that was Ethan’s hunters or hers. She had never bothered to ask.
“Is this our bloody future?” asked Crest.
“I’m sure it’s not all of us. I’ve never seen it happen, and I’ve seen plenty of hunters exposed. We think it’s limited to a certain line. It’s like siblings who get different DNA ancestry. They might have the same lineage but take more or less than their brother or sister from the same parents.”
