Chapter 14! It's kinda long too! Whoot! Hope you like!
Ack! I forgot!
Disclaimer: Well, you all know what this says. TT_TT
When Ash got home, he was restless with worry, but he forced himself to calm down. Luckily, no one was home to hear him frantically talking to himself – "It's okay, Ash, it's natural to worry but she'll be fine, you'll see her in four hours, breathe, Ash, breathe" – since Mark was over at Jade's house – probably being teased about his human-ness by Kestrel and Jade, while Rowan just rolled her eyes and sighed at their childish antics.
So Ash had the house all to himself. All the better.
He slumped down against the kitchen counter, then sprang right back up again. He paced back and forth, back and forth…
That uneasy feeling in his gut only increased tenfold.
He decided to take his mind off the dilemma at hand by…playing computer games!
Yes! Good idea! He jumped out of his chair and bounded upstairs to the study. He clicked open the browser, which went straight to its Google homepage. His fingers were poised over the keyboard, read to type "Neopets" or something (yes, he was secretly a fan of the Jubjub), but he hesitated.
When his fingers fell, they didn't punch out "Neopets." No, instead the words that appeared in the search box were "Café Eternal."
Before he could change his mind, he hit "enter" and immediately, several news articles appeared. He randomly selected the first one his cursor happened to be hovering over.
It was written by a reporter form the local newspaper. The title read, "Eight girls in eight months. Who is next?"
Riveted – and a bit frightened about how this connected to the café – Ash read on.
"Eight months ago, a young girl went missing. Eight months later, the eight girl is gone. What could have possibly happened to them?
"The police have been investigating, but so far no leads have turned up. The culprit has left behind no tracks or clues whatsoever. This criminal, whoever it is, has probably been at this for years. Only now, he or she has decided to plague our very own, quaint little Briar Creek.
"The families of the victims have been interrogated, and they all say the same thing: 'She went off to work one night and just never came back.' Yet, when asked where the girl worked, none seemed to remember. It was as if the place had simply never existed.
"Until now. A close friend of the seventh victim, high school senior Sunny Kim mentioned that he'd heard the name 'Café Eternal" somewhere. The police are trying to find anything connected to a place called Café Eternal.
"It seems that the criminal is getting sloppier. The police suspect that they've found something useful, but refused to disclose it until they are sure.
"Hopefully, the police will find their man – or woman – before he or she strikes again."
Ash sat back in his chair, struck limp by the contents of the article. It was dated only a few weeks ago.
Suddenly, a thought flickered in his mind. Mary-Lynnette might be in danger! He glanced at the time; only seven thirty. Good, it hasn't been too long since I left her. I'd better check on her. Just in case.
He ran downstairs and grabbed his jacket off the kitchen counter. As he bolted out the door, barely remembering to lock it, he thought desperately, She's fine, she's fine…she has to be fine!
. . .
Mary-Lynnette struggled to untie the ropes around her wrists. They chafed her skin, but she really couldn't care less at the moment – she just needed to get free.
Luckily, they didn't tape her mouth shut – probably didn't have any tape – so she could keep their attention away from her hands.
Thought she might end up losing her voice.
"You bastards! Let me go! I swear, fi you don't let me go right now, the police will be the least of your worries! My boyfriend will come save me, just watch! He'll ruin you! Once he's done with you, you'll be too ashamed to go get out of bed!" she raged rashly, not at all sure if her words held any truth to them.
The crowd of vampires all turned to look at their leader as she stepped closer.
"Ah yes…Ash. I'm afraid he won't be doing much ruining, once I'm through with him." She chuckled darkly.
Mary-Lynnette caught her first glimpse of the vampiress. She had a veil over her face, but now she ripped it off and shook out her hair.
She was truly beautiful. Dressed in all black, she looked like one of those badass spy chicks right out of one of those spy flicks Mark seemed to love. Her tight black leather pants hugged her shapely legs, and her very low-cut black shirt that must have been three sizes too small, emphasized her many curves. She was busty, all right. Her long, wavy blonde locks floated down her back and her shiny black boots with five-inch heels completed the outfit.
Suddenly, Mary-Lynnette could guess why a beauty like her would hate playboy-turned-good boy Ash – who definitely must have left a trail of broken hearts in his wake, even after apologizing.
An apology does not equal forgiveness, especially for a trampled heart, and vampires had centuries to stew over every little thing and plot revenge.
Mary-Lynnette thought it must be tedious to be a vampire, even if their superhuman skills were kind of – okay, really – cool.
"I don't see why you need me. I'm sure Ash would go settle things with you if you just asked him," Mary-Lynnette thought aloud.
The bust vampiress scoffed. "Hah! You humans are so stupid and naïve. A little one-on-one convo can't make up for years of waiting. I thought I was special, you know…I have to hurt him the way he hurt me. Apparently, he really loves you, so I do need you."
Mary-Lynnette shook her head, exasperated. "What the hell did Ash do to you?"
Blondie let out a humorless laugh. "You wanna know? Fine, I'll tell you! After three years of waiting for him to come back to me, I ask about him, where he's been, stuff like that, and someone tells me he's moved on. Moved. On! Like it was just a casual one-night stand, or something. He didn't even have the guts to break up with me to my face! He just left and never said anything! Do you know the pain? No! You don't!"
Actually, Mary-Lynnette winced inwardly, I'm pretty sure he just forgot about you the day after. HE probably did think it was a one-night stand…and three years later? Like, hello? But Mary-Lynnette considerately kept her thoughts to herself, since it'd probably just fuel the vampiress' anger.
As Blondie ranted – yeah, she just kept going – Mary-Lynnette looked around and happened to notice Adam lurking in the shadows. Her heart leaped a tiny bit with hope – until he saw that he was gazing adoringly at Blondie.
Realization struck. Mary-Lynnette knew how Blondie got Adam to help her. She seduced him, Mary-Lynnette thought bitterly, with a promise to turn him into a vampire.
Adam glanced at her and their eyes met. Help! She tried to project at him. Instead, he merely broke eye contact and said blandly, "Mistress, her ropes may be coming loose. Perhaps you should tighten them."
Blondie stopped in the middle of her tirade, oblivious to the fact that no one was listening. "Hm? Oh yes, fine." She waved a hand and some burly vampire henchmen darted forward to fix Mary-Lynnette's ropes.
Unable to hold back, Mary-Lynnette cried out, "Adam! You're a human; I'm a human. Why won't you help a fellow human?"
Glancing at Blondie, he licked his lips in anticipation and sneered, "Well, hopefully I won't be vermin much longer. Eternal love is too good an offer to pass up."
Mary-Lynnette stared at him in disgust. "Oh my Goddess, no way. You slept with her."
He smirked.
All of a sudden, Blondie was in her face. "Excuse me, was that an insult?"
Mary-Lynnette regretted speaking out. She cursed herself for being so stupid. Nonetheless, she mocked, "If I'm such stupid and lowly vermin, then I'm sure a genius like you can figure it out."
Blondie scrunched up her face like she was really thinking about it. Then she gasped and glared at Mary-Lynnette, who grinned back. Snapping her fingers, Blondie called sharply, "You know what? She's getting annoying. You guys can have her. But leave some for me!"
In a flash, Blondie and Adam were gone. With her ropes newly tightened and a gang of very bad muscular vamps advancing on her, Mary-Lynnette was very much trapped.
Help!
. . .
Ash nearly tripped over himself when he felt the pull on his chest – it was the silver cord! A cry for help echoed in his mind and he knew it was Mary-Lynnette.
He tried to send an answer back. He poured all his love and protection into their bond, hoping she got it.
He sprinted faster.
Hold on, Mary-Lynnette! I'm coming!
. . .
Mary-Lynnette was surprised to feel a tug on the silver cord and a wave of warmth washed through her. It was Ash! He'd heard her plea.
But her fear didn't diminish, thought she tried to hide it. The vamps were getting closer and she was utterly helpless.
She squeezed her eyes shut.
Ash Please save me!
Almost at the end! One more chapter to go, I think! :D Bear with me!
Write on. Read on. That's my motto. :D
© Copyright 2011 by The Siege :D