Cora was driven by two vampires to an old deserted looking shop about an hour away from Redferns vast property. Immediately she could sense her team, deep within the foundations of the building.
Within a second she had set off running towards them, crashing through all the security. There was a large heavy wooden door and she hear the familiar movement of her team behind it.
Cora could feel tears of frustration welling up now and was glad for it, maybe they would realise that she was doing this against her will.
She kicked the door off its hinges easily and stood in the arch of the door.
There were yells of delight as people moved towards her but she remained rooted to the spot. She managed to hold an arm out palm facing them.
"Cora what's wrong?" Taylor asked looking petrified and holding out her arm to stop anyone else advancing.
Cora shook her head gently.
Everyone grabbed weapons pointing them at Cora. Cora stopped moving and heard a voice in her head whisper 'Kill them!'
Cora didn't move and felt the acid surging through her veins again, but she remained on the spot. As the feeling intensified, she let out a strangled yell and grasped at her neck falling to her knees staring up at her teams' confused faces.
Keller walked cautiously forward.
"You! Stay back!" Cora shouted aggressively, and jerked towards her as if to attack.
Everyone jumped backwards but Keller had remained still and was staring at Cora with a worried expression.
As the words 'Kill them' screamed within her mind louder than ever, Cora heard herself shouting them aloud.
Blood was pouring from her nose and her ears, and yet she continued to fight against her own body trying to move towards Keller.
Keller took a step closer and Cora let out a groan before their eyes locked together.
"Kill me." Cora whispered.
There was a sudden and sharp blow to the back of her head which sent her crashing face first to the ground.
Keller was on top of her in a flash and had hold of her arms. Cora felt her wrists being bound together tightly. Taylor bound her legs proffesionally, as Cora had taught her to.
"I'm sorry Cora." Keller croaked and smacked Cora round the face with all her might.
_
"Do you think she can hear us yet?"
"Yeah, I'm fairly certain she can."
"She's not going to attack us or anything is she?"
"No. She had something in her blood. I've seen it before but I've never seen anyone hesitate."
"Will she be ok?"
"I think so."
"She looks really ill."
"Don't worry."
Cora attempted to open her eyes but her brain was struggling on who was giving the orders, so instead she decided for a squeeze of the hand.
She could feel someone holding hers tightly and concentrated on bending her own fingers.
"She just squeezed my hand!" Cora heard Emily squeal.
"Cora, if you can hear us you need to take it slow." Keller's voice said. "See if you can open your eyes now."
She felt someone touch her cheek which seemed to help giving her brain some direction as to where her eyes were as she opened her eyes slowly and then blinked, her vision was blurry and she couldn't focus properly.
"You've had a full blood transfusion, so you'll feel a little off for a while."
Cora focused on Kellers face and felt a surge of relief as the urge to kill had completely vanished.
She parted her lips to try and speak but no sound came out. Emily and Keller helped her into a sitting position.
Cora looked around at the small room around her.
It was dark and smelt damp. The walls which looked as if they used to be white were a mixture of black, brown and grey.
"We're in Thea Harmans basement...again. Do you remember being here before?" Emily asked gently.
Cora shook her head and massaged her throat. Keller passed her a large bottle of water and Cora drank for a long time. She could feel her lips were cracked and sore but the water made her feel a lot better.
The door opened and Harriet and Caddy walked in looking pale and tired. When they saw she was awake they both perked up immediately.
"You're alive!" Caddy screamed and jumped at Cora wrapping a hug around her. Cora winced slightly but appreciated the gesture.
Harriet walked up and grasped Cora's hand tightly smiling and leaning down to give her a quick squeeze.
"I knew you'd be ok."
"Where's Taylor?" Keller asked looking at Caddy and Harriet who exchanged nervous looks.
"She's beating herself up pretty badly." A voice came from the door way. A pretty girl with blonde hair stood looking unhappy.
"Cora, this is Thea Harman." Keller said quickly and Thea moved towards Cora and took her hand and shook it. Cora made to let go but Thea held tight and closed her eyes.
"You're healing nicely!" The girl announced after a minute or so and finally let go of Cora's hand.
"Thanks." Cora said looking up at the girl. "So...where is Taylor now?"
"She's upstairs with Eric. She's been a bit of a handful over the last couple of days." Thea replied and Cora raised her eyebrows looking towards her team for information.
"She's pissed off because we won't let her leave the house." Harriet said. "She blames herself for Logan..."
The air in the room grew tight at the mention of Logan's name.
"What about Logan?" Cora asked tentitively. "Where is she?"
"We buried her at the Harman manner not far from where. They have a graveyard." Caddy replied suddenly sounding as if she had a headcold. Harriet put an arm over her shoulder and lit a cigarette with her other hand.
"I'm going to speak to Taylor." Cora said pulling back the blankets and slowly standing up. She stretched gently and heard various cracking noises from inside. Everyone was staring at her.
"I'm ok. Just sore." She said and flashed them a rare toothy grin. There was a slight limp in her step and as she walked she held her hands to her ribs, massaging them slightly. She climbed the staircase carefully and entered a the living room.
Taylor had her head in her hands and a human boy rubbing her back gently. His eyes widened and he quickly jumped to his feet as he saw Cora stood watching them.
Cora moved to kneel in front of her placing her hands on her knees, she concentrated, and her head gave a long throbbing ache.
"You're not to blame." Cora whispered quietly and Taylor lifted her head and shook it slightly looking into Cora's eyes. The pain in Taylors eyes made Cora ache.
"Listen to me Taylor. I know how you're feeling. You're second guessing all those decisions you made and wishing that you could change the way it happened. We all know Logan, and she's just as headstrong as you are. I highly doubt you had to drag her along with you. Am I right?"
Taylor shrugged.
"Exactly. You're not to blame for any of this."
Taylor held her head in her hands and began to sob and Cora moved to sit next to her, gripping her into a tight hug. After a while Taylor grew still and her breathing calmed.
Cora stood and held out her hand pulling Taylor to her feet and pulled her back towards the room where the rest of the team waited.
When they entered the room, Emily moved forward and stood in front of Taylor. Taylor bit her lip but kept eye contact, and after a moment or two Emily opened her arms pulling her into a hug. Taylors eyes welled up again but she managed to keep her composure.
"We'll get those mother fuckers back for this." Harriet said from behind them, her eyes were uncharcateristically swimming with tears.
"We'll get them." Taylor agreed moving over and placing herself in her usual position at Cora's side.
_
