House of Pain

Chapter 3: Planned Pain

Somehow I managed to get Quen inside the safety of the Church. While I struggled to pull him in I did wonder if whoever did this to Quen had followed him here. If anyone were waiting to see who helped him they would've ambushed me by now. I stopped pulling him to open the front door and then continued to drag him inside by grabbing him from under his arms. I was glad I was doing some progress by having him partially inside the door when I bumped into someone.

"I got it," Ivy said.

"Are you…sure?" I said looking at her.

She was back to her normal self. She wasn't freaking me out anymore with her weird vampire brouhaha. I got out of the way and watched her pick up Quen as if he weights nothing. I followed Ivy towards the kitchen and I was glad to see Ceri sitting down before she saw Quen. Unlike Ceri, I had to figure out who he was she in the other hand automatically knew it was Quen. She covered her mouth with both her trembling hands and tried to fight the tears from falling down her face yet they proved to be unstoppable because large droplets streamed down her fearful face.

"We have to put him on top of something," Ivy told me, not showing any sign of strain while holding the bigger man.

I ran to bring some clean blankets and set them on the table. Ivy gently set him on top of the clean sheets. I was amazed at how quickly Ceri's demeanor changed; she was now a determined woman ready to help him. She stopped crying all together even at the gruesome sight of her baby's father. She found a clean basinand filled it with warm water and with a clean cloth Ivy brought to the kitchen, she made herself busy by cleaning his face first from the blood that was beginning to dry. In order to make myself feel useful I checked our fridge for any cold bags. I found a bag of frozen vegetables and took it towards the table. Gently she had removed all the blood from his face. I saw her set the bloody cloth aside and murmured something to him while she was stroking his hair away from his face. Her face was concerned at the state he was in but there was a hint of relief. She knew he would come out alive from this. I didn't want to disturb them and so I set the bag near her reach. She gave me a sad smile and took the bag of frozen vegetables and gently she set it on the swollen eye.

The coldness of the bag must've awoken Quen because he began to stir. Slowly he opened his one good eye and looked at his surrounding. His gaze went from Ivy, Jenks, me, then finally he looked at Ceri. He looked at her with such tenderness and love that I wanted to get whoever did this to him. Slowly he raised his hand and took hers into his. Quen gave her a reassuring squeeze and they both smiled lovingly at each other. I looked at Ivy and Jenks and they seemed as uncomfortable as I did. Quen stopped looking at Ceri and turned his gaze upon me.

"Rachel, I'm going to need your help…please." His voice sounded strained.

"Who did this to you Quen?" I asked, getting closer to him so he wouldn't have to speak louder.

"They have him, Rachel. They have him and I couldn't stop them."

"Who do they have?"

"They have…Sa'han…Trent." He said struggling with the words.

I tried to keep my face neutral. Part of me was happy they had thatthievingand murderous elf. But part of me felt sorry. Whoever did this to Quen got me wondering what state they had Trent. "You want me to…save him?"

"You are the only one I trust to do this. Please…pl-ease." The strain on his voice was getting worse causing him to cough uncontrollably.

I touched his shoulder. He knew I would feel bad for what they did to him and that I would end up helping him. As much as I can't stand Trent, especially after what happened, I wouldn't be able to live with myself. "Quen, I'll help you." I looked at Ivy and she shook her head. "Don't worry Quen."

"You can't do this Rachel. Look what they did to him!"

"I know." I had to try even if I still didn't know what or who had done this to Quen. I didn't know what I was getting myself into. I looked back at Quen, "Tell me what we are facing," I motioned to Ivy and Jenks. "I would like it if you two came with me on this one."

"You know I got your back, Rache," Jenks had been serious throughout this time. He and Quen had grown to respect each other. After working together in a run I didn't even know about they knew how good one another was at their profession. I think maybe in some way Jenks considered Quen a friend as well and seeing him like this had him worried.

Ivy didn't know Quen as much, but she did know that Quen had helped me from Piscary's henchmen that in the process got him bitten. "I'm in it too. Tell us what to expect."

I looked at her and mouthed a "thank you." We all looked at Quen and waited for him to take his time and tell us the information we needed. He painfully gulped and licked his dry lips.

"I would like some water, please." He tried to smile but the cut on his lip prevented him from making it into a broad smile.

"Of course," I went to the kitchen and brought him a cold glass of water. Ceri took the glass from me and helped Quen tilt his head forward while he drank the water.

"Thank you." He let his head fall down and instead of falling flat on the table his head was resting on a pillow Ivy had brought. I hadn't noticed when she left the room and came back. Maybe she was feeling bad for Quen as well. He looked at her and thanked her. "I'm fine Ceri, have a seat."

She was stubborn in that she didn't want to leave his side. She pulled a chair next to him and sat near him while she still held his hand. He smiled at her again and then his face went serious. He looked at me and began to tell us his tale.

"My Sa'han had received an invitation to an important business meeting. In such typical routine job it's customary that either Jonathon or myself takes him to the proper destination. I drove towards a newly remodeled building in which the owner wanted us to enter from the back. The building had been converted into a new dance club called House of Pain. I thought it was a curious name for a dance club but I didn't mind much. I figured they wanted to sound hip and new for today's young generation. The reason we entered through the back door was that for starters the club is now in operation and secondly it would not make good headlines if word got out that Sa'han was entering this type of establishment. Once inside, a rather thin pale man in a black suit with red stripes and a top hat led us to the owner's office. We never got to meet the owner.

"Now that I think about it, they never searched me. Usually they want to make sure the guards are not packing a lot of firepower. We were kept waiting in the office for an extended period of time in which it got Sa'han infuriated for being treated like this. I know what you are thinking, Rachel. You have to understand that in a serious business meeting it is not good etiquette to keep a potential partner waiting for so long as we were. I didn't like it either. I was beginning to feel this eerie feeling that we were being watched. I looked around the small room and I could not see or hear anyone. Yet this strong sensation in my entire being led me to believe that we were being watched.

"Sa'han had enough and instructed me that we were leaving. The moment he stood up the lights in the office went off. Immediately I stood close to Sa'han and without a warning we were ambushed. I fought whatever was attacking us; once my eyes adjusted to the dark I was able to see our assailants. They were thin and pale like the man who first led us to the office. The only difference is that they looked frailer. They were all men and wore no shirts, exposing their thin bodies that you could see their rib cage. They shouldn't have been a problem looking the way they did but they were inhumanly strong. Two of them took Sa'han away while I was left fighting to reach him. I felt them scratch me with what I thought were claws, except it was their nails. I thought they were lycanthropes. Then one of them slammed me to the wall while another one latched into me, digging his long nails and I saw it try to bite me. That's when I realized I was dealing with vampires when I saw his sharp fangs. It never bit me because it must've heard a voice unbeknownst to me that prevented this creature from biting me.

"Even though they didn't bite me the vampires continued to fight me. They began to cut me up bad that I felt woozy from the loss of blood. After my first encounter at Piscary's I decided to always carry a cross. I was happy to see that it was still intact. I managed to get it out and I saw the creatures scrambling away from me, almost as quickly as the ambush. I was too weak to look for Sa'han and I knew I needed help. The moment I stumbled towards the back door and I smelled the cold night air I was happy to be alive. I got inside the limo and drove to the only place I knew I would get some help. That's why I'm here, Rachel. I need your help."

"If there are any new vampires Cormel should be the first to know," Ivy said thinking thoroughly to what was said. "I'll give him a call." She took out her cell phone and went towards the living room to speak with Cormel.

Quen started to sit up, "I can go and help."

"Don't be silly Quen. You've done enough. Lie back down and rest. You have to heal."

He looked at me and directed me a smile, "I know how you feel about Trent. And I'm grateful that you are still willing to help me. I could give Jonathon a call so he can aide you as well."

I raised my hand to stop him from continuing. "No offense Quen, but I think with the help I have from Ivy and Jenks that is all I will need."

"You said it Rache. Don't worry Quen my man, we will get your boss out of whatever dark hole they have him stashed." Jenks flew nearby Quen so the wounded man didn't have to strain his neck to look at Jenks.

"Thank you Jenks. Very well, I know I can trust in you three. Besides, I don't think you could manage to work well with Jonathon by your side. If I was a betting man, I would say that you dislike him more than Sa'han."

"Yeah, well I dislike both of them in different ways. I think instead of saving Trent I might end up fighting against Johnny boy instead of working with him."

Ivy strolled back into the kitchen. She still had the phone in her hand when she stopped next to me. "Cormel said that there was a new groupof vampires that paid their respects. Just like you said, they wanted to run a dance club business in Cincinnati. Other than that he has not heard of any disturbances or connections to the missing Trent Kalamack."

"Then I guess we have to go to the House of Pain," I said.

We all had our game face on and were ready to check this place. Based on the information from Quen, we got dressed in clothing to blend inside this club. If the name was any indication this sounded like it was a club for vampires. I hoped they would not kick me out for being a witch. Good thing Ivy was tagging along. Although I knew it would be difficult for me to be able to manage to stay in a place full of vampires. Mainly because of the effect I felt from my unbound vampire scar.

Ivy looked the part when she came out of her room dressed in a black jumpsuit, boots, and a black leather trench coat. She tied her hair in a sleek bun. Jenks didn't have a black outfit but he was ready with his sword on his hip. I kept it simple. I wore black jeans, a black t-shirt, black running shoes and my black leather jacket. I didn't look as nice or as cool like Ivy but it will do. Since I didn't have Ivy's strength, I made sure I packed my splat gun on the small of my back, snugged in my jeans. The jacket helped to hide it well. Also I made sure I had enough ley line energy spindled in my head. It might come in handy.

"I guess we're ready. Are you sure you will ok, Ceri? Quen?"

"Yes, Rachel. Please, be careful all three of you. You don't mind if I make an amulet in your home for Quen?"

"By all means, Ceri. Make him a pain amulet. I should've thought of that."

"You have a lot of things in your mind now. I'll worry about taking care of Quen."

Jenks landed on my earring, ready to hide in my collar as we made our way quickly into the car. The nights were not freezing but cold enough that he still took precautions. Ivy was ahead of me and was about to twist the knob to open the door when someone began to bang the door. Whoever was outside they desperately wanted to come in. We stood back as if whoever was banging the door like a maniac would drop it down on us. Which I was feeling like that might happen if they kept it up. I took out my splat gun and Ivy had something in her hand, which appeared to be a small dagger. She looked at me to see if I was ready, I nodded while I had the splat gun pointed at the door. In a fast motion she opened the door and the person banging the door fell right inside.

"Hey! I almost shot you!" I said realizing who it was.

"I need your help!" he said frantically.

To be continued….