Chapter 16
Selene's eyes fluttered open for a second, but that was all Michael needed. He looked at her now fragile form that could survive bullets. When she finally stopped the blinking and her eyes were fully open, Michael immediately asked her, "Are you alright?"
"Hmm." Selene let out a confused moan. "Yes. I'm fine. What the hell happened?"
"You- you don't
remember?" Michael didn't really want to retell the event, but if it came to it
he would.
"I was walking in the alleyways when I saw something from the roofs. They shot
me a full round, and then someone picked me up…" Selene tried to remember, but
the more she tried the more pain came out of it. "It was a vampyre. He shot
me."
This was news to Michael. " I know." Michael nervously touched her cheek. The other lycans felt sure that it was vampire.
Suddenly, Selene's stomach did a back flip. What was that god awful- "Smells like sh-" She had no time to finish her sentence. Instead, she leaned over the bed and vomited in the bowl that was filled with water and a soaked towel.
Michael leapt to the other side to make sure she was all right. He applied a bit of pressure on the back of her neck, a trick his mom had taught him when his brother got food poisoning. Then he thought of what the smell could be. He leaned to blow out the candles. He had gotten used to the smell already and forgot about them. In a way it had really soothed his senses, but it shouldn't be so bad that it made her vomit.
Selene felt herself purge her empty stomach. The awful smell came from some odd scented candles. She watched Michael blow them out. There was another smell, however, that caught her senses. She couldn't place it. It almost smelt of…
Vampyre.
"Michael…" She gasped finally. She felt she had emptied herself of everything inside her. "Vampyre."
Michael tuned his senses like a snap. He didn't move from his spot cleaning Selene's interesting little present. He couldn't smell anything or feel anything close enough to be a vampyre in the room. Well, besides Selene. What was she talking about?
"No." She paused again. The smell kept changing. Then she smelt it. "Never mind. I must have gone lost my senses for a moment."
"Selene, are you sure you're OK?" Michael asked worried. He had finished cleaning the bowl. Luckily, she had aimed in the bowl or he'd have to be cleaning up some a nasty mess.
Selene couldn't explain it. How? How could this have happened? That night… After the battle… It wasn't vampyre. It wasn't lycan. It must have been hybrid. How could she smell it? Had other lycans and vampyres smelt it? Why hadn't Michael smelt it? He was inches from her.
"I'm fine. I'm just a little hungry." She had to get out of here. She couldn't stay like this. She couldn't stay, and she couldn't tell Michael.
Realization dawned on Michael. "Yeah. Sure. I'll go get something. Be right back."
Michael moved slowly, as though he didn't want to leave.
As soon as she saw the door close, Selene threw the covers away from her. She had been changed into some of Michael's clothes. She wondered if he had changed her? The thought lingered for a moment, then she went back into a cold hard state. Though this time there was worry in her eyes.
She walked towards the door. Then, smelling lycans on the other side, she rushed through her mind to decide a better plan of escape. She saw the curtains and she threw them back. The moon was only a slit of silver now.
"Perfect" She muttered underneath her breath.
She quietly broke the latch from the window and peered down. She expected to be floors up. Instead the ground was only a few feet below her. At first it seemed odd to her, but she remembered and she thought of the underground tunnels that led every which way like an old oak tree.
She jumped down. Instead of landing in her graceful style, she tripped as she landed. Holy shit. I have got to get out of here.
Maybe the vampyres would take care of her problem.
Lucian sighed. He was partially confused, waiting for Marcus to answer his questions running through his head. The thick silver chains didn't hurt his hands like as they had the last time he had been in this stone chamber. The last time he had been in here, he watching the only thing he loved most was about to be incinerated. He didn't want to see that again.
Marcus walked in, signaling the two watching death dealers to leave the enemies alone.
"It's about time we saw you here again." Marcus sat on one of the steps. His Elder's robes of black and red were strewn about him. His midnight hair was tied back in a leather thong.
Lucian rolled his eyes and grunted. "Why am I here Marcus?"
"You're a lycan. Why the hell else do you think you're here?"
Lucian gave him a warning glare. "We were at peace Marcus."
"What are you going to do after the war Lucian?"
"What? What in the bloody hell are you talking about?""The death dealers have no life besides war, Lucian," Marcus roared in frustration. He stood.
"The-," Lucian looked bewildered. "Then give them a god damned life. War is not their life!" Lucian said through gritted teeth.
"There is nothing left for them after this war." Marcus went to the door. "I can't let them go on like that. Charli will start this war again; I swear to it." He left with that.
Lucian used all his power to try to yank the chains off the hinges, but failed miserably. He growled and then roared into a howl of frustration. He knew that no one would hear him now that they had the torture chambers below ground. All he had worked for was gone.
Charli awoke so suddenly, she forgot where she was and screamed, "Lucian!" She didn't understand why, but her awful nightmare was still fresh in her mind.
She realized she was still in the Viper. The driver's door was ajar with no driver in sight.
She scrambled out of the car.
No one. Not a sound in the air.
Then she smelt it. It was a faint scent.
"Vampyres." She whispered.
Michael hurried back to the room. He didn't want to leave his sleeping beauty all alone for too long in the lycan den.
He opened the door and his eyes met an impossible scene. The window was open letting in a cold night breeze through the room. Michael shivered, but he wasn't too sure it was because of the wind. The curtains flowed inside the room blown by the breeze. The curtains rapped against the walls. It was the only sound Michael could hear besides the low chirpings of crickets fading out.
He reached the end of the bed and placed the glass of orange juice on the table. He dropped to his knees, no longer able to hold himself up.
Why the hell?
He smelt the air for his sire's scent. Nothing… just…
The sky! Dawn was approaching. Three hours max. Oh shit!
Charli drove as fast as the American sports car would go. For her, it wasn't fast enough.
Then something appeared in front of the car. She slammed the brakes.
Michael's blue hybrid form appeared.
"Do you have a death wish?" She screamed out the open windows. She got out of the car. Then she lowered her voice. "Never mind. Stupid question." She rolled her eyes. Then she noticed Michael's tired stare. Even in his blue devilish form dark circles crept below his eyes. "What in bloody hell?"
"Selene's gone."
"No, honey, she's asleep."
"She woke up!" Michael tried to act furious, but all that came out was a weak mumble.
He's lost his marbles!
"Well then we'd better hurry our asses up!" she said and they clambered into the car.
An hour after their hard search looking for Selene, was pointless. "It's like looking for a needle in a silver hay stack, dammit!" Charli muttered fury rising. How could finding one vampyre be so fucking hard? "Why don't we round up some lycans?"
Do you honestly think they'll search?" Michael roared. Charli knew how it was for a lycan to lose a loved one. She hoped for everyone else's sake Michael hadn't lost his. "Lazy son of bitches they all are!"
Charli placed a calm hand on his shoulder. "We'll find her. I promise."
"I don't know Charli. If two hybrids can't find her…" He left his sentence hang, "OH FOR CHRIST SAKE! HOLY FUCK!" Michael screamed.
Charli noticed as well. A slit of blood red shown across the city. She smelt daylight coming. And it wasn't far away.
"C'MON!" Charli yelled.
In a blink of an eye, Charli and Michael retraced their steps with inhuman speed that not even immortals could catch up to.
Lucian's head was bowed. His eyes closed. Memories of this room had bought tears to his eyes. He could still see his precious Sonja enwrapped in thick rope.
He could still smell the sweat of his brothers and the stench of other vampyres.
He could still feel moist air. The sun was rising.
He could still hear the roar of his lycans and the shrill cry of his beloved calling his name instead of calling for her own life.
"Lucian!" She cried as she saw him being whipped. The black leather slapped his back causing crimson slashes to form on his back and face.
"Lucian!" She screamed as she saw him being cut with sliver knives by death dealers.
"Lucian!" The last words that came from her mouth before the sun engulfed her life, never to return to him.
"Lucian!" He felt himself being shaken and thrown awake from his horrible nightmare. His eyes shot open and he saw a girl with blonde hair falling past her shoulders and breasts. Some of it was pinned up letting him see her violet eyes. She looked like a princess from his past life.
"My name's Sabrielle. Charli calls me Riea. We're friends." She wore a velvet purple Arthurian dress a silk purple dress that looked straight out of Arthurian mythology with gold trimmings.
"I hope you didn't get all dressed up for me?" Lucian laughed and Riea snickered.
"Charli said you were… interesting." She winked at him. "No, the Red Blood Coven is here from California and the rest of the west US."
"What the hell is Marcus playing at?" Lucian asked.
"I don't know. The god damned blood is going psycho." Riea agreed.
"Wait, what about the guards?" Lucian asked.
"Let's just say they won't be around to see you get away."
"Why are you helping me? The cost could be your life."
Riea smiled. "We have one thing in common. We live for the kill, but we want peace between our species after the gazillion-year war."
Lucian smiled, waiting patiently as Riea fiddled with the knots with her two silver sais.
"Going somewhere, precious Riea?" Marcus stood behind her. She swerved around.
"Yeah. In fact I am."
"Well not with my prisoner you aren't."
"WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU!" Riea screamed at the top of her lungs.
Marcus grinned, but his eyes showed something else that Lucian couldn't put a finger on it. What is he playing at?
"I think it's time to take some real action because the death dealers are getting impatient." Marcus said.
He used the slightest movement to call on the death dealers. Three different guards came in. One held a silver whip, while the other two held old swords.
From the corner of his eye, Lucian saw Riea take both Sais in her hands. No.
"You can't fight death dealers Riea."
"Would you like to try me Marcus?"
"Riea! Don't!" Lucian growled. He would be damned if he let one of Charli's closest friends die for him.
"Lucian shut it. I guess Charli never told you about me because I don't take shit from our so-called leader."
The death dealers shook with anger. They were loyal.
"Please Riea. Don't do this." Lucian begged.
"It's not like my intent is to kill her." Marcus began. "No. Quite the opposite."
Riea gave up. She put her skilled hands down. Lucian sighed. He knew it was hard to tell her not to fight, but he wouldn't watch her die.
"I have plans for you Riea." Marcus smiled maliciously.
A/N: Tune in next time to see what Marcus has in store for Riea!
