A.N Thanks for waiting for this chapter and for staying loyal to this story!
I'VE DECIDED TO WRITE THIS STORY, FROM NOW ON, IN THE PRESENT TENSE. I FIND IT EASIER TO WRITE THAT WAY.
Enjoy…
Nicholas's POV
There is total blindness. Even the small buzzing lights attached to the ceiling have blinked out. My vampire sight doesn't work in pitch-black, no more than a humans can, but I hear a sound so familiar and unwanted that it twists my guts. A sound I'd never thought I'd hear again, and one I don't need sight to recognise.
Solange. Screaming.
Footsteps, mine included, pound over to her. Though we can't see her, we know exactly were she is in the cramped bathroom.
Pained whimpering replaces the screaming. The thick, coppery smell of blood sticks to my nostrils, making me sick.
"Solange, what happened? What's wrong?" Lucy.
Unwillingly memories of the courtyard flood my mind. Only one second do they take centre stage and then the sight I see, though all in varying shades of grey, snaps me back to the brutal present.
My brothers faces, shocked and horrified, all staring at the pointed arrow that sticks out of Solange's chest. Not her heart, I note through my panic, but pretty damn close. Blood oozes and bubbles out from the wound, and drips down her shirt. Solange's hands flutter over the arrow stick along with Lucy's, trying to pry it free.
"Don't Lucy. We'll do it," says Logan, trying to stay calm for Solange's sake. I could have told him there's no point, everything's already pretty shaky.
Lucy takes a step back, making room in front of Solange so Logan can get a clear grip on the arrow. The rest of us stand so still you could probably mistake us for statues. Logan's hands close around the arrow.
"Solange, this is going to hurt."
She nods bleakly. "Just get it over with."
Logan pulls. The arrow squelches free and lands on the floor at his feet in a small pool of blood.
One of the up sides of being a vampire was the quick healing. The wound in her chest, though severe and bad enough to kill a human on site, closes. The skin knitting back together until the only evidence there'd been a wound at all is the ripped clothing and the blood on the floor. Before we can stop her, Lucy wraps her arms around Solange for a hug. Though the wound has disappeared, it is still tender and she will still be weak. Solange winces when Lucy's chest touches hers, but she gives a feeble attempt at returning the hug. It makes me sad to have to interrupt their moment, but I have to. I gently pull Lucy off Solange, ignoring the shot of heat up my arms.
"She's still weak," I whisper in her ear.
My brothers all rush up to Solange, offering hands and asking her if she is OK. She says she is, but she needs to sit down.
I haven't let Lucy go. My hands feel as if they can't ever let go.
"Why aren't you over there?" Lucy whispers to me.
"There's nothing I can do for her. She'll regain her strength in her own time. Plus, I know all the fussing annoys the heck out of her."
"Yes, it does," She turns to face me. "Why hasn't that stopped you before?"
My hands fall to my sides. "Because I know it's the only way to keep you two safe. Me prying and finding out what you're up to."
"Oh." She looks down at her feet and then back up into my eyes.
"That should annoy me, but it doesn't." She prods my chest, drilling in her finger. "Cherish these words I'm about to say to you, Drake," She says fiercely, but then her voice softens, becomes almost husky. "Thank you for the thousands of times that you've probably saved both our lives in the past. And sorry that I've never said thank you for that before."
Though my shock has widened my eyes, I still say "Don't mention it, Hamilton," with a lazy smile.
Just as she's about to return it a wind picks up. It's icy and it's impossible since we're in a bathroom, with the door shut, and there are no windows, but here it is, whipping Lucy's and Solange's hair into their faces, chilling me and my brothers to the core.
"What is this?" shouts Duncan over the howling of the indoor wind. His hands come up to protect his face.
"It's wind, dumbass," screams Quinn, also protecting his face.
"I know that! What I meant to say was how this is possible? We're indoors!"
"I have no idea."
"Comforting," he says sarcastically.
I see Lucy's sigh but I don't hear it. Also like I feel Solange's small hand on my arm but I didn't here her approach. The wind is messing with my senses. Making me feel disorientated, confused.
Maybe it's the shock and reality of the past few moments, or all the survival and tactic training I've been taught over the years, but this wind feels like more than just wind to me. It feels planned. Infact, everything that's happened in this room feels planned. The door slamming, the arrow in Solange's chest, the lights going out, and now this strange wind. The door has shut and magically locked itself from the outside all by itself? I don't think so. The lights blinking out at the exact moment we enter the room? It could be coincidence, but it all feels to perfectly timed to be a coincidence. And then this wind. Blinding us in its intensity, confusing our senses. Making us the perfect defenceless prey. And where did that arrow come form? Nobody in here fired it. Nobody even has a bow. Not to mention that not a soul in this room would even think of harming Solange. That means that it was already in this room. A booby trap. Then why didn't it hit us in the chest? We came in first, then Solange. Unless in was planned for Solange. But then how did the person who set up this said trap know that she was going to be here and when she was going to enter the room?
The facts just create more questions in my head. They circle and beat at my skull like a swarm of angry hornets. Meanwhile, the wind hasn't calmed, if anything it's become stronger, almost knocking Sebastian and me off our feet.
I need to tell them. I need to tell them what I think may be the truth. That we are trapped in this room like flies in a spider's web. That we've been led here blindly and forcibly by someone possibly looking to harm us, maybe worse. But before I can get the words out of my mouth the wind stops. Suddenly and without warning. Just disappears like it was never there. The silence deafens me. In the warped mirror over the sink I see that I look stunned like Lucy and my siblings.
Slowly I lower my arms from in front of my face. "Is… that it?"
"I… think so," says Connor hesitantly.
"What was that all about?" Asks Quinn, as he runs his hand though his tousled hair.
"Guys, I don't think that's it," says Lucy, eyes wide. "Look."
As one we all look over to where Lucy is pointing. A small blue light shines above us. Not an electrical light as I first thought, but a suspended, quivering illumination that is radiating light in pulsing blue waves. It grows slowly bigger, warping into different shapes as if it can't be contained. Marcus falls back a step, looking up in awe. Its light fills the room, casting a blue glow on everything in its path, including everyone's frightened faces that look unearthly bathed in the glow.
I open my mouth to form words that were earlier forgotten. Nothings comes out except empty air so I close it again. It seems my voice has disappeared along with the wind.
"Nicholas," whimpers Solange. Somehow I can hear her over the roaring in my ears. She tightens her grip on my arm.
I find her hand as the light becomes brighter and squeeze it. My brothers come and stand next to me, never looking away from it. Though Lucy comes hesitantly, she still comes and takes my hand in hers. It's the wrong time to notice the warmth of her hand, so I pretend I never do.
Only when the light threatens to touch our faces does it stop. It stops growing and takes on the shape of a face. A woman. Her hair waves in non-existent wind and her eyes glint with hatred. I don't recognise her.
Drakes. Her mouth doesn't move but we can hear her voice. It's almost like it's projected straight into our heads. It's cold and heartless and unlike any voice I've ever heard. Lucy shivers beside me. My hands become damp and my blood turns cold.
Drakes, you have been sent here for a purpose. You can't escape me or your capturer and you shouldn't try. It will result in consequences, and you don't want to know what those consequences are. You shouldn't trust me. You shouldn't trust any of us. I'm not on your side, Drakes. I'm just the messenger. Part of a much bigger purpose, a purpose that you can't even begin to imagine. But you have to do as I say, even as it'll lead you to your deaths. He's waiting for you. He's been waiting for so long and he's not going to wait any longer. You've got to go to him. Find the second door or we'll have to force you. We've got ways, Drakes. As you've seen. And they only get worse. So use your heads, drakes, and find the door. I don't want to have to come back.
With that she vanishes like smoke. The room plunges back into dull shades of grey. The burning smell of Sulphur, left behind by the woman made of light, tickles my nose. Duncan clears his throat and Lucy lets go of my hand.
"What did she mean? Find the door?" I ask.
"The second door," corrects Logan. Then he walks over to Duncan where they supposedly have a quiet conversation.
The rest off us are left milling, not sure what to do with ourselves. Quinn repeatedly runs a hand through his hair, a gesture I recognise as a nervous tick. My own nervous tick is in motion. My fingers twitch and shake.
"What did that light lady mean by 'second door'?" Asks Lucy, pursing her lips.
"Light lady?" Connor laughs.
"Did she mention a name?" Marcus asks Quinn.
"No she didn't, Marcus."
"I didn't think so."
"We got it!" Logan's outburst cuts through the awkward conversations that had formed around me.
"Yes we have little brother." Duncan sounds smug and pleased with himself. They perform a very elaborate hand shake.
"Sorry to interrupt the bro-mance you guys have going on," says Lucy. "But what is it you guys have got?"
"The answer."
"Answer?"
"Answer."
"Which is…?" I ask. I try to mask my inappropriate urge to laugh with an unconvincing cough as I watch Lucy start dancing on the spot.
Her stern glare shuts me up. "I know the answer and I'm happy about it, so shut up. The second door. It's obvious." She sighs as she looks at the many confused faces around her. As her gaze rests on Logan and Duncan and their happiness that is almost visible in the air around them, she smiles.
"At least they get it," she mutters to herself, but I'm close enough just to catch it.
"Fine, I'll explain it. It can't be the door we came through, can it? That's locked from the outside so we can't get through that. So the second door. There has to be another way in and out of this room. There are no other doors to this room so the exit can't be a door. We're looking for a passage. The house is old enough to have them. Built in secret passages. It's brilliant and wacky enough to may be true. I'm not ruling anything out after what's just happened. What do you guys think?"
After a few minutes of arguing the possibility of secret passages we finally agree to check. Lucy's right though – it's a wacky idea but too much's happened today for us to rule it out straight away.
It OK to say that I feel like an idiot when I'm prodding and pulling at a wall. Nothing has happened after fifteen minutes of shuffling and hitting furniture and we're all starting to lose hope in Lucy's idea. Even Lucy herself. I watch sadly as the hope that blossomed there slowly drains away.
"We haven't checked the toilet yet," says Solange hopefully. She's also noticed the tiredness in Lucy's eyes.
With a determined nod she walks over to the toilet. We stop and stare at her progress, all frozen. She pokes it and springs back like it oozes acid. Her other hand reaches up to flush it and I can almost smell the fear that rolls off her skin. The sound of the flush echoes in the quiet of the room.
"Well I guess it's not…" Solange trails off as she watches in disbelief as the toilet and part of the wooden floor around it sink into the ground.
Lucy springs away with a yelp as the hole threatens to swallow her. I grab her hand and haul her up so she doesn't fall. Green and the smell of damp waft up from the crevice. Distantly, water's dripping. My mouth, I think, is practically hitting the floor, along with Sebastian's.
Never in a million years did I think there would actually be a secret passage in our new house. Trust mum and dad to actually get one that did.
"Come on or that 'Light Lady' will come back," I call teasingly and jump down into the hole.
Six thuds sound behind me as my brothers' land. Lucy and Solange get helped down by Duncan and Sebastian.
"Come on then," drawls Quinn as he takes the lead and saunters away into the darkness.
