Chapter Seven
I knocked on his door. A few seconds later, the door opened.
"Torture, will you go out with me?" His silver eyes looked down at me. His muscular body filled out the door frame.
"I do not understand you. I tell you multiple times that I do not like you, yet you insist on asking me this question of yours?" I reached up and put my hand on his cheek. He flinched under my touch. I gave him a warm smile.
"I know that secretly, you love me." He stared at me for second then reached over and peeled my hand off his face.
"I suggest you leave before I get annoyed."
"Dax!" I yelled excitingly, "you owe me three café trips!" I turned around, and I heard the door shut behind me. I skipped over to Dax as he stepped away from the corner he had been concealing himself behind. Dax lost the bet. He didn't think I would be able to go up to Torture and ask him out. Good thing I won too; I didn't think being a slave for three days would have been fun. I won room service. Even though I sometimes enjoy the café trips, it would be nice to get breakfast in bed.
"Anything for you," he said as he expertly caught my hand in his and started to walk down the hall way to Zane's. I looked down at his hand gripping mine and rolled my eyes.
"You're going to abandon me aren't you?" I asked as I took my hand out of his and crossed my arms.
"Why would you think that? I'm just going to be gone for I don't know… A few hours then we can do whatever-"
"You're abandoning me! Just say it," I groaned.
"I'm leaving you alone for no more than twelve hours and-"
"Twelve hours!" I protested when a sudden plan entered my mind.
"I have a good idea! You can let me stay in the café."
"Blair, your ideas aren't very good most of the time. They usually involve doing something stupid which I'm ok with if I'm there, but I won't be. So… no."
"But there are always guards there!" I pleaded. I hated sitting at Zane's doing absolutely nothing important, and I secretly had something I needed to do which involved going to the café.
"That doesn't make me feel any better. They're not going to put up with your escape plans and all of that. They'll just put you in a cell then wait for Zane to tell them what they should do with you…What plan are you on now anyways?" Dax asked.
"Plan J," I said with a frown. I wasn't doing very well. I was a long way from plan A. "and then we'll have no problem! Zane won't do anything." He wasn't buying it.
"Blair, Zane is just a little moody. One minute he can be your friend, the next moment he'll be killing you." I didn't want to resort to offering him this.
"If you let me stay in the café… I'll be your slave for three days." His hand grabbed mine and he turned around quickly.
"Deal. You can't try to escape though. If you do well…hmm… you have to be my slave for a week."
"I'm not going to escape, so don't plan on it." That was the truth.
It took two hours and seventeen minutes before Sarah walked into the café. Immediately, I grabbed the brownie I was picking at off the table and got up.
"Hi, Sarah!" I asked with a friendly smile on my face. I had to keep up with her fast pace.
"Hey, Blair, I see you're still alive and without a mark." Her eyes wandered around before she focused on me again.
"Right…" I answered as I thought about the ring Revenge had given me. It was in my pocket. "Well, I need to talk to you about something."
"What do you want?" she asked slowly. She threw her blonde hair over her shoulder as she sat down. The chair made a loud screeching noise as I sat down too.
"Well… I need to go see someone, and I don't know where they are in this building or whatever. All I have is the name of who he's with."
"And you're asking me this because?"
"Because I was hoping you would be able to help me find a certain vampire who could possibly help me… or if you knew anything about him."
"Go on," she said as she opened the can of her coke.
"His name is Colten." She laughed as she brought the drink up to her mouth. She took a sip then smiled. She waited a few seconds then spoke.
"That would be my vampire."
An hour later, Colten sat across from me at a table in the café. His silver eyes looked at me with energy in them.
"So, Blair, I hear you would like to ask a favor of me." He leaned back in his chair with a satisfied smirk. I frowned at his much too pleased behavior. Sarah sat beside Colten and picked at her nails.
"Do you have any idea who Barrett is?" I whispered.
"The doctor?" he asked. That would make sense since Revenge had passed out and needed help. I wanted to go see him and make sure he was okay since Zane, Dax, and Torture weren't sharing any information about Revenge with me.
"I guess…all I know is his name. Do you know where he lives?"
"Of course I do." Talking paused for a minute.
"Will you take me to see him?" I asked and watched the smile on his face grow.
"Perhaps I will, but you should know that I do not do things without a price."
"If you take me out to see him… I will take a mark from you." Sarah's head snapped up, and she sent me a glare. She stopped picking at her nails.
"I would certainly love to," Colten replied.
Thirty minutes later, he entered the code. Three. One. Four. Beep. Open. It was the same door he took me too when I asked him to show me where the cells were. We took a right into the main hall. The colors of the main hall made me slightly happier. We walked a ways in silences. We came to another door with a code pad on it. This time Colten entered the code quickly. Beep. Open. I felt nervous walking in the halls.
"What are you doing?" A voice startled me, and I jumped a little. I turned my green eyes toward the voice. It was a guard. He was wearing a tight black shirt, a dark pair of jeans, and a symbol was on the top right hand side of his shirt. It was a red sun, and in the middle was a red dot. It looked like an eye and a sun all at once.
"Humans are not permitted to be in this sector."
"Ah, we were just going to the gathering. It seems it has been a while, and I might have lost my way," Colten spoke up beside me. The guard stared at him for a while then turned his back on us.
"Follow me, I will guide you to the right place," the guard said. I had no idea what a gathering was. We went back through the door we had just come from and walked past the three-one-four door. A slight hum started to enter my ears. A steady beat. I glanced up at Colten who had a small smile on his face. The hum grew louder; it was music. A code was entered into a door we stopped in front of. Beep.
The door opened to darkness and flashing lights. Music poured into my ears. Glasses clinked together, and people were dancing. Colten grabbed my hand and stepped through the doorway. I looked down at my yellow tank top and jean shorts. Everyone else was wearing dresses. The door shut behind us. Two guards stood on each side of the door. My eyes tried to survey the room, but the darkness kept the edges of the room invisible.
"Since we are already here…why not enjoy ourselves?" Colten whispered really close to my ear; if he was any further away, I wouldn't have been able to hear him.
"I don't have time for this!" I shouted as a pang went off in my chest. I realized that this maybe wasn't the smartest idea. I shouldn't have trusted Colten. My eyelids collapsed together from the flashing lights.
"There's always time." Colten smiled as he said that. I realized that indeed he did have a lot of time. I could only see the shining of his silver eyes and white teeth in the flash of the lights.
"Let me get you something to drink, and don't you try to stray too far. Without a mark someone could take you." He left without a second glance; I stayed by the door and the guards. The vibrations of the music shook my eardrums. I jerked away as a hand gripped the side of my body. The hand only gripped me tighter. I looked up into a dark and unfamiliar face.
"Here alone are we?" he asked as his silver eyes traced over my body.
"I would never come here alone," I said seriously. His hand ran down my arm then grabbed my hand. I let my hand go limp in his. I tried to pull away.
"There's no need for that," he said as I watched his headshake as a smirk crept onto his face. Suddenly, his gaze got intense.
"We are only going to have fun." I stared into his silver eyes. They were bright in the somewhat dark room. The music faded and his eyes take a hold of my thoughts. I was in the middle of pulling my hand away when I realized something. We're just going to have fun…I told myself as I stopped pulling away from him. Why wouldn't I want to have fun? I let his cold hand tow me in whatever direction he wanted to go. Everything was fine; we were just supposed to have fun. A tall brown haired woman walked by carrying a tray of drinks for the chaotic crowd. The vampire leading me stopped and turned to me with a drink in his hand.
"Here, you can drink this. It will make you feel better." Wow! That would be great to feel better. I thought as I reached for the glass he offered.
"Just drink the whole thing," he told me. I downed the glass as quickly as I could. It tasted wonderful. It was like a rainbow in a glass. There was a voice in the back of my head that asked me what the liquid was, but I ignored it. That voice was trying to ruin my fun.
"Now, we should dance," he said as his hand wrapped around my waist. Dancing did sound fun at the moment.
"Blair!" A hand grabbed my arm and yanked me away from the arm wrapped around my waist.
"What are you doing?" Colten's arm came around my shoulder, and he steered me away quickly. In his haste, I tripped over a girl's high-heeled foot.
"Having fun," I answered without really thinking about it.
"Having someone use mind control on you doesn't seem too fun. I told you to watch out for yourself, girl. You were just about to give yourself to one of the most powerful vampires in The Court of Radiance." His whisper in my ear made me flinch away. The lighting hit his blond hair, and it was shinny and pretty.
"I don't…" Everything started to get cloudy. I tripped over something again and looked up at a human girl. She was wearing a lot of makeup. She smiled as Colten pulled my arm and held me up. His cold mouth pressed against my ear.
"Blair, did you take anything from him. Did you take a drink?" His voice sounded so serious. I thought about it. The lights of all colors flicker around us.
"Yup! I think I did," I told him as I tried to reach for a glass on a close passing tray. I snatched it up while knocking over a few. I took a sip.
"Well, Blair, I am disappointed. You have ruined our night. We have to leave now."
"What, why?" I asked.
"I don't want to cause a fight because of you. The good news is that the drinks effects will wear off in a few minutes. " I caught an image out of the corner of my eye that made my whole head turn. His eyes glowed red and a girl tilted her neck towards him. I saw a flash of white teeth, but I lost the image as Colten pulled me forward.
The guards at the door wouldn't let us through.
"No drinks are allowed past this point," the guard said. Colten stole the drink from my hands. Beep. The doors opened. A sigh pressed through my lips. Colten dragged me across the doorway. I stumbled as I walked and squinted when the lights in the hall way sank into my eyes. The hallway stretched out until forever. I walked along and let Colten lead me.
I stopped. My eyes caught onto a door. The door was wooden, and I remembered it from somewhere.
"Wait," I whispered to Colten. I walked over to the door and placed my hand on it.
"Where does this door lead to?" I asked as I tried to pull it open. He laughed.
"Well, that leads to the cells," he answered. He lingered behind me.
'We should go in there," I stated.
"I suppose we could have a little time to ourselves," he answered. He brushed past my side and entered a code into the door. As soon as the door opened, I raced down the spiraling staircase it opened to. My footsteps slowed when I came to the bottom of the staircase. It looked like a jail. I walked down the first stretch of hallway. The light was dim, and most of the humans there were sleeping on the small beds. It made me feel horrible; I got a huge soft bed, and they got little uncomfortable ones. I knew that from experience.
I ran my hand against the cool metal of the bars as I walked. My footsteps seemed to echo in the much too quiet space.
"I don't like this," I whispered to no one particular. I stopped walking when my eyes caught onto someone familiar. Her back was straight as she sat up on the bed. Her blue eyes seemed void of reality. My hand dropped from the bars as I stared into her cell. She stared off straight beyond me, and into the cell behind me.
"What's your name?" I asked. My voice seemed loud. Her wide eyes flicker to me.
"One-one-two-five," she answered with a fragile voice. I frowned. Her blonde curly hair shifted as she turned towards me.
"I think he's dead." Her voice was soft as she looked beyond me again. My heart jumped in my chest.
"What are you talking about?" I asked her. Her thin arm lifted up in the air, and her finger pointed behind me.
"Him," she said quietly. I turned around and stared into the cell across from hers. His brown hair was longer and spread out against the floor like a web, and his pale face was tilted toward the floor. His lips were gapped open very slightly. His eyes were half-open and staring at the cold floor. His chest didn't move.
"They took too much," she said softly with her eyes tilted towards the dead boy.
"Too much…" I trailed off.
"Blood," she finished as her eyes flickered toward me. I felt a piercing in my heart.
"This has really been a lovely conversation, but I must speak with you, Blair." I had forgotten that Colten was beside me. I turned toward him slowly. My green eyes traced over his body and settled on his hands. In his rough hands, he held a necklace.
"The mark," I said then looked up into his gleaming silver eyes. My hands fell on my pockets, and I found the mark Revenge had given me. I wanted to go see Revenge today to make sure he was ok, and I wanted to give the mark back. I didn't want to ever be owned. I was in a bad situation, and I believed Revenge's mark would help. I pulled the ring out and slid it onto my finger. Colten started to take steps towards me. I took steps back.
"Oh, you've already received a mark? I didn't want to share you, but I guess there's really no choice now." His voice came out angry. His blond hair looked darker under the shaded lights. My foot hit against the bottom of the bars. I couldn't take any more steps; I had hit the dead person's cell. My back was pressed against the cold bars.
"I said that I would take your mark, not that I would wear it or keep it. We didn't even make it to Barrett's," I said with my voice strong.
"Well, I interpreted it so much differently." He paused half a foot in front of me. He held the necklace in the air.
"You will wear this mark." His hands came up to put the necklace around my neck. My hand automatically came up and swatted it away.
"No, I'm not wearing it." I began to get worried when a smile transformed onto his face.
"That is not an option." He tried again, but I slapped his arm away once more.
"I told you I'm not wearing it," I said. He stepped closer, and his hands wrapped around my wrists.
"I was trying to be gentle with you," his said calmly. I tried to jerk them out of his grip, but it was impossible. It became a struggle; I tried everything to get away from the necklace, but he was a vampire and so much stronger. Eventually, I felt the rough chain of the necklace slide onto my neck. I was afraid. My palms were starting to sweat, and my back pressed into the metal bars. As soon as the necklace hit my skin, he let go of my hands.
My hands immediately shot up and tried to pull the necklace off me. It was half way off my neck when pain pierced my cheek. My head snapped to the side as a slap echoed in the quiet hall of the cells. My shaking hand came up to touch the side of my cheek. My finger brushed the side of my lip. I stared down at the blood on my finger. A metallic taste fled into my mouth. A hand pulled on the back of my hair and forced my head up.
"I had warned you." I tried pushing against his body. Colten's hand came up and backhanded me again. My eyes stung. Blood pooled in my mouth; he had hit me much harder. My head jerked back by the grip he had on my hair on the back of my head. I let out a groan. I felt blood trickle down my lip.
"You will leave the necklace on." His voice pierced the air with authority. My hand came up to push him, but he caught it. The space between us became nonexistent as his lips brushed against my ear.
"Now, you are mine." His whisper skidded through my ears, and I tried to pull out of his grip. It was useless. Tears collected themselves in my eyes, but I didn't dare cry. His lips traced my skin as he dropped them down to my neck. I let out a groan as I tried to pull away.
"It will be better if you don't resist." His soft voice was against my neck. His hand still gripped the back of my hair. He pulled my head to the side. His red eyes caught my green ones, and he smirked. He glanced back down at my neck and lost eye contact with me. The sharp edges of his teeth hit the surface of my skin first. Without warning, pain swirled from my neck and into the rest of my body. I let out a pained sound as I tried to keep my eyes open. It hurt. Needles flew through my blood stream, and razors cut from the inside of my skin to get out. Pain. Pain. Pain. Numbness started to take over next. My vision started to go very blurry, and I was starting to forget what was happening. Slowly, calmness glided through my body, and I began to relax. It didn't hurt anymore.
A scream left my mouth. The hand on the back of my head was pulled away along with some strands of my hair. My body fell to the floor too weak to stand. Memories and realization flooded back to me. Colten was removed from me. My hands flew up to the wound on my neck. Blood seeped onto my fingers. I sat up against the wall in pain and gasping for breath.
I saw his eyes first. They tore right through me. His eyes weren't blue; his eyes were a threatening red. Anger was laced into his stare. His silver hair was in disarray and brushed into one of his eyes. His eyes said one thing mine. Our stares separated when he turned around. My eye site was still a little blurry, but I saw Colten on the cold floor. His body was perfectly still. Zane blurred over to him and lifted him up by the collar of his shirt with one hand. Colten's red eyes opened. Blood trickled down Colten's chin, and a smile spread onto his face.
"Zane, you can't kill me." Zane slammed Colten into the bars of a cell; the bars creaked from the blow. The sound of a sword coming out of a sheath filled the hall. Zane had a sword drawn out. I hadn't even seen him take it out the motion was too fast.
"I believe I can." And in one quick motion, Zane drew the blade through his neck with a sound so sickening I had to turn away. I turned my head away from the Zane and toward the ground. I closed my eyes and focused on breathing.
"My human…" His voice was gentle, which surprised me. I didn't look at him. He just killed. I was afraid of that fact. This group of vampires I was growing to really like were killers. It didn't matter if they protected me; they killed. It was hard for me to look at him after I had witnessed his instinct to kill.
"I am trying very hard to stay calm, but if you chose not to look at me I will be very angry." Slowly, I opened my eyes. I stared into the gray cement of the floor. I took a deep breath. My eyes drifted from the floor to his face. His eyes were still red. He took out a small knife, and I watched as he sliced into his wrist. I winced. His blood welled up from his skin. He dropped the knife in a clumsy motion, which was unusual for Zane.
"Drop your hand." I stared at him. I hesitated before I let my hand fall from my neck. He turned his bleeding wrist towards the ground and squeezed it with his other hand. Blood dripped into the palm of his hand. He stopped, and the hand with blood cupped onto my neck. I flinched.
"It will help you heal," he told me softly. He removed his hand, and my neck stopped bleeding. My hands came up shaking, and I took the necklace off with jerky motions. I let the necklace drop on the floor and pushed it away.
"It's… It's about time you got here," I said jokingly with a small smile. I must've said the wrong thing because he dropped his head.
"I could sense your confusion and pain. I just could not figure out where you were. The tracking that I have on you was clouded."
"Zane, it's ok. Thank you," I said with a smile.
"I almost failed." He pressed the words between his teeth.
"I wanted him to live longer. I wanted him to feel more pain, but then his eyes opened, and I could not stand seeing him alive." He got to his feet. I held onto the bar behind me with my right hand and let Zane hold my left hand to help me up.
Suddenly, his arms were wrapped around my waist. My heart slammed in my chest, and a nervous like pattern hit my stomach. Mine. The word echoed over and over again in my head, and for a moment, I almost believed it.
"I like this feeling," he said in a voice that sounded concentrated. I leaned against his chest for a while as my breathing slowed down. A loud sound made my back stiffen. My eye wandered down to the side of his arm a few inches from my face. He was pulling me to him. My hands came up and peeled his arms off me. Surprisingly, he didn't protest. I watched his hands drop to his sides. After a few moments, I glanced up and faced him. His expression looked down at me in amazement.
"Have you felt like this before?" His now blue eyes locked onto my green ones.
"I…I…" My throat felt closed off. His hand grabbed my left one again. A small zing went up my arm.
"Just the smallest touch and it has to be you." His voice quieted, and he turned his back to me. His silver hair shifted a little. He appeared to be more relaxed now.
"You know, of course, that you have been trespassing on grounds and you are not permitted to do so." I watched his back stiffen.
"I should take your life," he said then turned to face me. His blue eyes stared into mine. I let a smirk slide onto my lips.
"Been there, done that. You aren't going to kill me." I rolled my eyes. The smile fell off my face. Silence gathered into the hall.
"Zane… why is there so much death?" I asked him in a whisper.
"This boy, he died. Revenge told me that the humans are cared for down here."
"I just killed one of my own for a human life. The court could put me on trial, and they would if I were not who I am." His cold hand reached out and grabbed my right one. Electricity ran through the skin that he touched. He was touching me more than usual.
"My human…" He abruptly paused in what he was going to say and glanced down at my hand. Confused, I followed his glance. My eyes landed on the ring. It was the mark that Revenge had given me. I had forgotten I slipped it on.
"Revenge gave you this." I studied the initials L.G. that were engraved in cursive. Zane's back turned on me, and he dropped my hand. Whatever he was going to say previously was left unsaid.
"You better keep up. I am not slowing down for you," he said then started to walk toward the stairs I had entered through. I didn't look at the dead body of Colten. I could handle peaking at the boy. I couldn't handle glancing at Colten. His death was partially my fault. That was the difference.
As I walked into the room I was staying in, a huge slam made me flinch. After Zane had seen Revenge's mark, his voice grew icy, and his motions were stiff. He did slow down for me though. He even helped me walk when he saw how weak I was. I was still a little dizzy.
I jumped and went limp as a fragile hand wrapped around my mouth.
"It is okay. It's Revenge." His voice was so soft. I relaxed when I recognized the tone of his words. He let his hand fall from my mouth, and I turned around and hugged him. His whole body tensed before he relaxed.
"What are you doing here? I was looking for you!" I whispered happy.
"Are you doing well?" he asked and pulled me away from the hug. I rolled my eyes. Zane had called the whole crew to update them on my status and command them to get someone to 'clean the mess in the cells'. I didn't know he had been talking to Revenge too.
"I'm fine. Zane put his blood on my neck, and it healed."
"He's strengthening the bond by doing that," Revenge whispered. There was silence then I looked down at my hand.
"Listen, Revenge, I can't take this mark from you. I don't want to be owned by anyone." I started to pull the smooth silver ring from my hand. His hand flew out and stopped my hand from taking it off.
"Human, I do not think you understand. I want you to be safe. Vampires usually respect if another vampire has marked a human. They won't harm a human if they're marked. From me, it doesn't mean 'I own you' it means… it means 'I care for you'." He brought his eyes up to meet mine. The blue in them looked brighter than usual. My eyes wandered down to his lips. He swiftly removed his hand from being on mine and took a step back. Whoa. I can't be a hundred percent sure, but I might just have thought about kissing a vampire.
"Revenge, what was wrong with you?" His silver blue eyes looked at me then looked away quickly. He didn't answer. Instead, he changed the topic.
"Human… I have been trying to find you for a couple hours. It's your mother… she isn't well." My heart sank.
Hi there again everyone! Whatcha guys think? Ohhhh and I would love to know which character is everyone's favorite! So leave me a review, and let me know? :D
Disnemm- hello there! :D Well… sorry for the long wait again! Haha but I'll try to get better at updating faster! Glad you liked the 6th chapter! I hope you enjoy this one as well! Thanks for your review!
AlexandraSterling41- Hi! Thank you for your review! And I know :( poor Revenge is right! You'll be finding out more about him in a few chapters I believe!
1SouthernBelle- Well hello there! I'm so happy it was your favorite chapter so far! It was my chapter that sort of changed the relationship of Blair VERSUS the assassin group to Blair WITH the assassin group! Made them able to joke around and now they have a more relaxed relationship! As for the relationship with Zane and Blair, their relationship will develop more throughout time. It'll just be a slower process! Thanks for reviewing all the time :)
- Hello! I'm sure you were happy to see Revenge in this chapter! :D You'll be learning about him more in a few chapters! Haha! Really hating on Zane, huh? You made me laugh :D I don't know if you'll ever see Torture smile! That would be a miracle! Happy you like Dax—he's one of the most clear characters for me to write. Thanks for reviewing!
ZisisGirl23- Thanks for reviewing! It makes me happy to hear that you like it so far! :) You know, I like the title too! I love ice cream! :D
Tamika- Ah! I'm sorry I didn't update soon again! I will try and be better about it! Thanks for reading and reviewing!
darkmoonlight11- Wow! Thanks for all of your reviews and reading! :D I got really exciting getting them! Chocalate chip! Now I really really want some chocolate! :( I'm going to have to make a trip to the store sometime today now and grab some! Hehe… Blair's escape plans. She is not one to give up very easily! Glad you enjoyed the story so far!