CH. 23
My first thought after waking up was how strange it was that I was such a magnet for getting kidnapped, first by the Purebloods and now twice by the Unclean. The answer was simple, of course. I was an object of power for them. Whoever "owned" my allegiance my unusual powers as well.
As I lay there bound and blindfolded, I thought about how my life had changed since my family and I had moved to Shadyview. It seemed as if the only good thing that had happened to me in all this time had been meeting Atton. Even the Purebloods thought of me as a pawn in their game to gain control. Still, I knew theirs was the right side to take, even if it meant being kidnapped every other day. I would just have to do my best and try not to screw up.
"On your feet!" A man's voice suddenly ordered from somewhere above me. Before I could even think to move, the hard end of his steel toed boot connected painfully with my abdomen. Knocked from my inner thoughts, I coughed raggedly and struggled to sit up without the use of my hands. Pain flared across my left side, letting me know I'd soon have an ugly bruise. From the way the floor creaked when I moved, I guessed I was inside a building with hardwood floors. I didn't have longer than a moment to ponder this, however, because the man grabbed my arm the moment I was sitting up and yanked me to my feet, almost pulling my arm out of socket in the process. I gasped, my eyes watering under my blindfold, earning myself a sharp slap across the face and a harsh "Quiet!" from my jailer as he tugged me through a door and into a warmer, brighter room. I could only tell it was lighter because my nose pushed the blindfold out far enough to allow a thin line of light to sneak under the fabric. Unfortunately, it wasn't wide enough to even see my feet as we continued walking.
"You will speak only when you are spoken to and you will answer truthfully." My chaperone spat into my ear. Obviously, I was about to be interrogated. I would have to be very careful. If I made a single mistake or they saw through even one lie, a feeling in my gut told me I would die a slow and very painful death. Of course, that would be only after they'd forced me to tell them what I knew about the Purebloods or worse, make me kill them. I shivered at the thought, glad the blindfold hid my expression from anyone who might be watching my face.
We walked down a long hall and through another door before I was shoved backwards onto a hard chair. After untying my hands and retying them firmly to the chair's arms, my blindfold was removed. Blinking rapidly into the sudden bright light, I pulled vainly at my restraints and cast my gaze quick around me, trying to take in as much of my surroundings as possible. The man who'd so kindly escorted me was standing to my right with a dark sneer on his ugly features. Slightly surprised, I stared at the first vampire I'd met who wasn't unnaturally beautiful. His eyes, the brown of the Unclean, were beady and set too wide apart on his square face. His nose, with a beaklike ark not unlike a certain professor's, was so large it cast a shadow over his thin lips. Over all, he reminded me strongly of a great, muscular rat. Focus Wednesday! I chided myself. You're tied to a chair for Pete's sake! Get your bearings! Obediently, I pulled my eyes away and continued looking in every direction I could with my limited mobility.
I was in some sort of library. Bookshelves lined two of the four walls, and I could see a thick layer of dust over the books closest to me, indicating no one had read any of them for quite some time. The third wall, the one I was sitting nearest to, was dominated by a huge, ornately carved fireplace. The kind you saw in old movies whenever the young gentleman was invited for tea in the lady's mansion. Sitting directly opposite, in a much more comfortable chair and unbound, was Jamie. I ogled at her, taking in her shiny silk gown and stylish up-do. She stared back, a smug look on her haughty features.
"You betrayed us?" The question burst from my lips into the tense silence, making Barbie's lips turn up in a mocking smile. Yes, her eyes told me, she had.
"Why?" I whispered, trying hard not to let my voice shake from the anger I was only barely holding in check. What had they offered that was more important to her than Atton? She was quiet for a long moment, obviously relishing her moment of victory.
"Because I was tired of being on the losing side." She finally answered. "Maybe after this you'll understand. The reign of the Purebloods is coming to an end, Wednesday. I plan to still be around when it does."
By the time she'd finished I wanted to claw her eyes out so badly I was surprised at myself. Unwilling to let her see how she effected me, I forced myself to stop digging my nails into the armrests and sat back, determined to speak with as little emotion as possible.
"You're the one on the losing side, Barbie." It took some effort not to smile at the look on her face when she heard what I'd dubbed her so long ago. "We will win, and once we do, I'll make sure you regret even setting eyes on me." My voice, as I'd hoped, was dead calm, and I never once unlocked my gaze from hers. In the back of my mind I realized that that was the first time I'd counted myself among the Purebloods and meant it, but I filed that away for later contemplation.
Jamie frowned and shifted wordlessly in her seat, signaling that my voice and words had unnerved her. It only showed in her eyes for a moment before it was replaced by fury. After all, I'd dared to threaten her. Baring her teeth, she stood and slapped my face in one fluid motion. Now both cheeks would be sore, but I took the blow without flinching, knowing my lack of a response would only get further under her skin. I was right. With a cry of hatred, she lifted his hand a second time, her fingers clinched into a fist, but just before it was about to come down the door behind me opened and Baine's cold voice broke through our battle.
"Ah, I see she's awake. That'll do, darling. I will inflict any further pain myself if the need arises." His tone left no room for discussion. Barbie had been dismissed. Gulping softly, she turned and hurried to leave, her face pink with the embarrassment of a child who'd just gotten caught coloring on the walls. Only my ugly friend stayed, obviously serving as my guard. Baine sat down in front of me, his face empty of the false civility it had held the last time we'd spoken. I shifted nervously, scared of what was to come. How could I ever lie to this man and get away with it?
"How are you feeling?" He asked suddenly, his face unreadable. It was an easy enough question to answer. I decided that telling the truth when I could and half-truths when I couldn't were my best bet at getting out alive without endangering the Purebloods.
"Not too amazing, I have to admit." I managed to half smile as I replied, letting him know I was trying to make the best of the very serious situation I was in. His answering smile was brief and very obviously only to humor me.
"Do you know why I've taken you, Wednesday?" He asked, his eyes boring into my own. I nodded, working with all my strength not to succumb to his gaze, knowing that all would be lost if I did.
"You want to use me against the Purebloods." I answered simply. My voice almost shook as I spoke but I held it steady just in time. I would not let him have the satisfaction o knowing I was frightened. He smiled for real at this, a slow, thin-lipped snarl that sent a shiver creeping up my spine. It was like a cruel joke was playing out in his head and I was the butt of it. I shifted in my seat, suddenly cold in the warm room. There wasn't any other reason to keep me, was there?
"The Purebloods are merely a stepping stone, my dear," He began, his grin widening into a full on baring of his teeth, "and you are the key to everything. You have made all my centuries of waiting and careful planning worth it. Tom!" The last word was an order directed at the man still standing silently to my right. At the sound of his name, Tom scrambled forward and bowed to his master.
"Take the girl to the dining room with the other two and make sure she is fed well. I will interrogate her when she has her strength." Without another word, Baine turned and left out the door he'd come in from. I blinked a couple times, confused as to what this had been if he'd never intended to interrogate me. Understanding came to me when Tom bumped the side of my face while untying me from the chair, the painful sting reminding me of Barbie's slap. Baine hadn't called for me. She had. She'd had brought to this room just so that she could gloat on her success in capturing me. With a shocked gasp, I suddenly remembered what my pain and confusion had caused me to forget. I hadn't been the only one taken. Atton! Where's Atton? The others! Is Amilio even still alive? The questions rushed through my mind in a jumbled mess as I was lead through a pair of double doors and into a huge dining room, complete with an oversized table and chandelier.
The table wasn't empty. At the far end sat Atton and Sakuya, both bound tightly to chairs. I couldn't understand why Sakuya didn't simply rip through the rope until we grew closer and I saw that her restraints were glittering and shifting as if they were made of shadows. What I'd assumed were ropes ten feet away were really cords of magic that moved with a life of their own, giving her the ability to breathe but not much else. Atton, I was glad to see, was held fast by the same kind of ropes I was tied with and seemed to be in the same condition he was in the last time I'd seen him. Despite everything, my heart still managed to beat faster when I saw the same relief and joy I was feeling reflected in his expression. Evidently, he'd been worried about me as well.
"I have a question." Sakuya said, startling me with the sudden sound of her quiet voice. "How are we supposed to eat if we're unable to move?" I blinked and glanced at Tom to see if this had even occurred to him. It had, apparently, because he simply snarled at her and motioned with the hand that wasn't finishing the last tie on my left arm for some unseen person to come out. A moment later, two human women walked between us and placed a large steaming plate of food on the table. I'd only just guessed what they were going to do next when the first bite of piping hot mashed potatoes was put in my mouth. I gagged, naturally, and could hear similar sounds from Atton's chair beside me. While the women waited for us to get our breath back, a third came out holding a very large goblet of red, viscous liquid. I knew immediately that it was blood meant for Sakuya. At first, I tried hard to ignore the slurping sounds but in the end gave up and focused on not letting the crazy woman feeding me burn my mouth off.
After a few minutes the woman, whom I learned was the head servant, and I had finally worked out a system. She would pick up a forkful of food, and I would blow on it until it wasn't so painfully hot before taking the bite myself. I didn't want to be fed, and she didn't want to feed me, so this worked out best for us both. Atton, unfortunately, wasn't getting anywhere with his feeder. She ignored what he said completely and only focused on getting the food down his throat. She, on the other hand, was very lucky. If I hadn't been tied down as thoroughly as I was, she may not have lived through the first course. As it was, I could only glare at her banefully and grit my teeth against the insults I knew would only make Atton's situation worse.
Once our meal was finished and the horrible red stain around Sakuya's lips was wiped away, we were pulled through three separate doors. Fear for what was in store for them mingled with fear for my own life. What did I know that could help Baine hurt the purebloods? I knew in my heart that I could tell Baine nothing that would further his campaign, but my frantic nerves told me otherwise. I shuttered, praying that I would survive the next hour. What was I against a leader of a vampire coven? I couldn't even use my power against him because my hands were constantly bound behind my back or to the arms of a chair! Still, I would die before I betrayed the Purebloods, if only because I refused to be the cause of so many deaths.
I wasn't blindfolded this time as we walked back to the library. The hallways we walked through were beautiful but very old and dusty as if no one had lived there for many years. It gave me the feeling that we weren't at the Unclean's true home. They must have picked this old mansion out just for our interrogation and imprisonment.
Baine was waiting for us by the now roaring fire when we got there, his eyes watching me with anticipation so powerful and cruel it sent a chill up my spine. He had never looked less human or more like a cold-blooded killer than in that moment. I was so frightened by his fierce appearance that I didn't even realize I'd stopped breathing until Tom shoved me from behind and I had to exhale or cry out with the pain of his nail piercing my shoulder. With a warning glare aimed at Tom, Baine signaled with a graceful sweep of his hand for me to sit in the same seat I'd occupied before. I did so, relieved when no one tied my arms to the chair. It was back enough that I couldn't use them. At least this way I had a tiny chance of escape.
"Feel a little better, dear?" His voice was gentle, but it held a note of impatience. He wanted to begin. Better to get it over with. My instincts spoke softly, giving me the boost needed to make my lips form words again.
"If it's all the same to you, I'd rather just get started. There's no point in trying to be nice to me when you have that expression on your face." My voice, though I'd meant it to come out cold and mocking, traitorously trickled from my mouth in a shaky whisper. Baine smiled, obviously delighted to be able to skip the formalities and get down to the true business at hand. Torturing whatever knowledge he thought I had locked away in my brain out into the open.
"If that's what you'd like, child." He crowned in what was supposed to be a soothing voice. "We'll start things out simply. How many times have you met and spoken with Amilio?" Despite his honey-coated tone, Amilio's name still came out as if Baine were uttering a distasteful word.
"I seen him three times and spoken with him twice." My voice, though louder this time, was dry and dead. I'd already decided to stick to the plan of telling what I could and lying about the rest. Baine stared into my eyes for a long moment before nodding slightly.
"Good. What did you speak about?" This time, he held my eyes with his. This, apparently, was what he wanted to know.
"The first time we spoke, we spoke about you, though I didn't know it was you at the time. It was the day after I saw you in the woods and they were trying to decide if I should be killed or not. Amilio, like you, could feel my power and gave me a choice. Become an inductee or die. Naturally, I chose the first. After that I was sent home. The second time we spoke was after we'd escaped your first ambush. I told him what happened and formally swore my fealty to Amilio and the Pureblood's cause. After that he talked about training sessions. We never got around to that before I ended up here." Throughout my little speech, I worked hard to breathe normally and look him dead in the eyes. What I told him was the truth, if only the barest details of it.
"And the third time you saw him?" Baine pressed, his expression unreadable. I knew he could see the truth of my words and that he didn't like the idea that I had nothing else at all.
"He was fighting you." I replied shortly. I barely had time to blink before Baine's hand was wrapped too tightly around my throat. I struggled vainly as I was lifted from my chair by the neck and held three feet off the ground. Spots dotted my vision as I fought the effects lack of oxygen caused and tried to focus on the words Baine was flinging at me.
"Amilio could not have left you so in the dark, girl! Tell me what you know!" With this, I was shaken angrily and thrown into a bookshelf on the other side of the room as if I weighed nothing. Coughing raggedly, I had to take a precious moment to gulp down much needed air and pull myself out from under the books that had fallen heavily on top of me before I could speak.
"I know nothing else!" I wheezed around the fire in my throat. "He would have been a fool to entrust important information to a weak human girl like me!" This time I expected the attack and managed to brace myself before his fist slammed into my stomach, but such a futile attempt to lessen the pain was useless against the strength of a vampire. The force of the hit threw me back against the bookshelf, where I crumpled into a heap of pain. I only had time to gasp before he yanked my head up by the hair so that he could look at my face. By then I was far past the point of being able to focus on more than one thing at once, so when he forced me to look him in the eyes I felt as if I was drowning in brown. The color flooded my thoughts, froze my limbs, until I felt I would suffocate if I didn't look away.
"Now." His voice snaked into my ears, so full of power it almost pushed me into unconsciousness. "Tell. Me. What. You. KNOW!" A wave of excruciating pain crashed into me as Baine threw all power into the last word. I only had the strength to utter a single phrase before darkness overtook me.
"I know nothing."
Hey guys! im sooooo sorry it took so long to finish this! i dont even hav an excuse...forgiv me? this was a fairly hard chapter to write cuz i hate hurting my characters...but i was mostly just lazy...i pray u enjoyed it and that u pleeeaassee review! :) again im soo sorry!