I couldn't stop myself, i had to keep posting. I warn you though, this chapter might upset a few of you. I have a feeling you will all hate Daniel just as much as all the others. ALSO! Two of the plot bunny's have been posted, so check them out! You can find them on my page.
The car sped over yet another bump and my head cracked against the top of the trunk. It hadn't been my idea to ride in this cramped place, I've fought and clawed and cursed Daniel when he forced me in, hating the way it made him laugh. I was sure he was driving, he took corners harshly, speeding over bumps and making sure that I rattled around in the trunk. The heat was extraordinarily intense and made breathing somewhat difficult. I had begun to fear that I might suffocate in here when finally, blessedly, the car stopped and the doors were opened.
I was curled around myself, fetal and helpless when the trunk was opened and a rush of the winter air outside burst over me. I sucked in the crisp, clean air, eyes closing in pleasure until hands appeared above me and dragged me out of the trunk. It wasn't Daniel, he was waiting by the front door of Colette's manor with a smile. I wanted to rip it right off his face. To my shock, the vampire who had taken me from the trunk, was Sanura. She wasn't smiling, in fact her eyes seemed hollow and dull, her fingers trembling as she walked me to the vampire.
"Sanura?" I asked softly, trying to understand why she would help him.
"I'm sorry, kitten," she whispered, her voice light and tormented, "He made me."
I recalled what she had told me of the power of a sire. That all he had to do was insist and she was powerless to disobey. I told myself I wouldn't hold it against her, she was Sanura and she loved me like I was one of her children, she'd told me so. I nodded, squeezing her hand to let her know I was not angry with her, but she only lowered her head, ashamed.
"Kitten?" Daniel said suddenly, bringing our attention back to him. He chuckled looking over Saunra and pulled her away from me, wrapping and arm around her shoulders and make her fold down into herself as if she might melt away from his touch. It was clear from the look in her eyes that she hated him more than anything at this moment, and he seemed thrilled by it.
"Oh darling, has she wormed her way into you as well? I thought I'd taught you better than that."
"Please don't hurt her." Sanura said softly and the vampire laughed, releasing her to take my wrist and pull me through the door without an answer. It sent a shiver of fear down my spine. I recalled what I'd been told of him, of his cruelty and love of causing pain and it made me sick. Was I in danger of him here? Could I withstand torture? I knew in my heart that I could not, but for Sanura's sake, I held my head high and tried to pretend like I wasn't terrified of his touch.
No one was fooled.
Colette's manor had gone through some changes, not in the architecture, but I noticed symbols had been carved into the doorframe and into the stone around the windows. They were the same thing Josep had used to keep Cern and the Fae out of his cabin. I frowned at this, wondering what exactly she would need them for.
Cern would not be able to get to me if I entered this place and that filled me with a crushing feel that made me nauseous. I turned back to the door, trying to pull out of the steely grip of the vampire and grabbed the doorframe.
"Cern!" I cried out into the cold night. "Cern help!"
Daniel laughed, dragging me through the door again and wrapping his arm around me from behind. The feeling of his body, warm with blood and death made me shudder and I struggled against his as we both stared out into the twilight.
"He can't help you here, precious," Daniel whispered into my ear. "You're all mine now."
"Cern." I tried again, but my voice cracked as tears filled my eyes. Out in the darkness, amidst the first fall of snow, something shimmered on the lawn. I stared out into the dark, praying it was him and then my heart leapt in my chest.
Cernnunos was there, standing tall, his eyes blazing green fire out at us. He stared at Daniel, then looked at me and his face contorted in rage, but as he moved to rush the vampire something in the air rippled and he was thrown back just outside the gate. The god looked confused a moment, staring up at the gate. He raised his arms and slammed his fists against the invisible barrier, roaring when it sent him hurtling back again.
"You see?" Daniel said softly, hugging me tighter, "He can't get passed the wards. Josep figured it out for us, and that sweet little invalid psychic explained the rest. He can pound on the walls until the world ends and never step foot inside."
"No." I whispered, choking on a sob. Behind me Daniel chuckled, low and horrible, patting the top of my head as he pulled back and moved to the door.
"You're on your own, now little girl." He said to me, then turned his eyes on the god and raised a hand to give him a taunting little wave. When he shut the door the ground rumbled beneath us and there was a roar like nothing I had ever heard. It hurt my ears and I had to cover them a moment until it passed as Cern continued to beat against the wards.
"He's throwing a tantrum," Daniel mused. "You must be very important to him."
"He's going to kill you." I hissed then and Sanura's eyes went wide, shaking her head to ask me silently to stop, but I ignored her. "He'll get in, he'll help me, and then he'll find you. Every one of you. He'll rip you apart and I'll tell him to take his time with you, you filthy piece of shit."
Daniel stared at me a moment, titling his head as if he couldn't quite understand what I had said, then a smile slid across his lips.
"You really shouldn't threaten me, Mira. Not when I hold your life in my hands." He moved forward and I backed away from him, pressing myself back against the wall. He braced his arms on either side of me, staring down with cold, hateful eyes. "Do you have any idea what I can do to you, girl? What I plan to do?" My lip quivered, but I stood my ground, glaring back at him. "Oh, darling, you'll learn soon enough, and then you'll treat me like a king, if only to stop it all."
"Threaten me all you want." I grit out. "If you didn't need me, I wouldn't be here. Whatever Colette is doing, I'm a part of it, so don't treat me like I'm stupid. You can't kill me and you can't hurt me, so let's just get this over with."
Daniel, to my shock, laughed at this, pulling away. "You are clever," he nodded, "but you're wrong. I can hurt you Mira. Being alive and being intact are two completely separate things."
"Mira, be quiet," Sanura hissed. "Just do what he tells you and it will be alright."
"Don't lie to her, kitten. She's too smart for that." The vampire grinned.
"Daniel."
We all turned when Colette appeared in the hallway. Her cornflower blue eyes took in the scene, my tears and Daniel's smile and she frowned.
"What are you doing? There is time for foolishness later."
I looked back at Daniel, wondering what he might reply but suddenly there was a pressure in my head. The room swam and I stumbled back against the door gaining everyone's attention. My hands clamped over my skull and I let out a strangled groan, falling to my knees.
Mira. I knew his voice instantly, but it was colored by pain. He was struggling to speak to me and the harder he tried the more it hurt. I cannot get to you. You must take down the wards. Quickly child.
"I don't know how." I answered back.
"Who is she talking to?" Colette demanded. "Has she gone insane like that little English brat?"
Daniel shook his head, glancing out the window. "No, Lottie, I think she's talking to her god."
Colette's eyes went black and she hissed. "Stop her! Is he can speak to her, he will be able to get through the wards."
Now, Mira. You must break them now.
"How?" I cried as Daniel approached me. He grabbed my arms and lifted me back to my feet, searching my face.
You're ring, child. Ruin the symbols, just one. But you must hurry, I'm losing the connection.
Involuntarily, my eyes dropped to the shining braided gold around my left hand and I nodded. "Ok."
Daniel, however, had noticed this. His eyes narrowed and he grabbed my hand, holding up the ring into the light. "And what is this?"
"Destroy their connection!" Colette demanded, very much like a petulant child. "Now Daniel!"
His eyes slid to her, but he was in no hurry and it struck me as strange that he would defy her, so openly in front of others. As if he hadn't a care in the world, as if he was untouchable.
"Cern they know!" I tried to tell him, tugging at my hand to free it from the vampires steel grip. There was silence for a moment and I felt as if he had sighed, slow and heavy.
You must be strong then little one. I will find a way to you, but you must be strong for me.
"Cern, I'm scared." I said and my voice broke again, tears falling down my cheeks to drop onto Daniels hand. "Please don't leave me alone."
Daniel rolled his eyes and pinched each side of the ring to pull it off, then frowned when it didn't budge. He tried again, and again and his humor slowly melted into fascination. "What a neat little trick."
"Remove the ring, Daniel!" Colette shrilled and he scowled at her.
"Yes, Lottie. Try not to have an aneurism."
We were moving then, no, Daniel was dragging me deeper into the house and Sanura was yelling after us, begging him not to hurt me. There were more wards here, carved into the walls, painting on the floors and the farther we went the more I felt that Cern was lost to me, that I couldn't reach him. We reached a room deep in the manor and Daniel tossed me inside, closing the door behind him and shutting out the sound of Sanura's screaming.
"Now that I have you all to myself, how will we pass the time?"
My eyes went to the walls of the room and my gut dropped down onto the floor, my head swimming in terror. I knew what this was, with tools and knives and other horrible things resting on pegs. The floor was white tile, stained pink from blood. At the center was a drain in the floor to wash it all away when they'd finished, and there was a table above it, made of thick dark wood with straps to hold down the unlucky victim.
This was a torture chamber, and Daniel had brought me in here first.
"No!" I scream when he rushed me, lifting me up off my feet and slamming me down onto the table. I kicked and screamed and clawed at him to no avail as he quickly secured me with the straps, tightening them until I could no longer move but to struggle pathetically. He stood back a moment to inspect his work with a smile.
His icy blue eyes glowed in the darkness, reflecting the single shaft of lamplight above us like a cats. He'd turned to a small tray beside the table, littered with dirty tools and blood, lifting a long knife from it and turning it around in his hands. The way he looked a it, the way he held it was very much like an artist. As if it were an extension of his hand, his artistic tool and the thought made me sick with terror.
"It cannot be removed from your finger correct?"
My eyes widened as he took the hand in question and separated my fingers. This wasn't happening. It couldn't be real. It had to be a dream, a nightmare. I'd never woken up because this couldn't happen to me. Help always came. Someone always saved me. Daniel followed my glances at the door and his lips curled into a mocking smile, the knife he let dangle beside my wrist.
"Are you waiting for the god precious? He can't hear you anymore, not in here." He tapped the table beneath me and I glanced down, noticing for the first time that it too had been covered in ruins. Had they done this specifically for me? Oh god, I had to get away from him. I had to or I would die here!
Daniel tapped one of the runes with the tip of the blade, then used it to turn my head. The sharp steel bit into my cheek, but I ignored it, not wanting to give him the satisfaction of the sound of my pain.
"Perhaps you wait for Isaac instead?" he searched my eyes with a grin. "Your lover won't come for you either, precious. He's been a very bad boy indeed, keeping secrets from his Queen and sire. She's quite cross with him, now. In fact, he should be in your position right about now."
"Please don't." I whispered. The words had come without my wanting them too. Fear forcing me to beg. Daniel stared down at me a long moment before he gave a low chuckle and shook his head.
"I think we've wasted enough time." He sighed. "If I can't take off the ring…"
The next few moments seemed to happen in slow motion. Daniel flattened my palm against the smooth wood and eased the tip of his blade between my fingers. He wasn't looking at my face, but heard my gasp of horror and shook his head.
"Shh, precious. Crying won't get you your way."
And then, with a sound like snapping carrots the blade crunched down into my finger, just above the ring. It only took a moment, and at first I couldn't process what had happened until the second crunch. Until Daniel reached down and lifted a bloody digit that should have been attached to my hand. I stared at it, too horrified to scream, too shocked to feel the pain until I looked down at my hand, expecting it to be a trick. Blood rushed out onto the table, pulsing out of a ragged stump that should have been the ring finger of my left hand.
He'd just cut off my finger.
When the realization finally crashed into me, I tried to scream, but Daniel quickly covered my mouth. He tossed the knife onto the tray and inspected the finger a moment as my world wavered and exploded behind my eyes. I could feel the pain now, a pulsing burning agony that screamed up my arm and made my entire body tremble.
My finger! He'd cut off my finger! As I wailed and thrashed, the vampire made distracted hushing sound and inspected the digit, releasing my mouth to prod at it. He pulled at the ring again, but even severed the metal seemed fused to my flesh.
"Interesting," Daniel murmured, wrapping the digit in a handkerchief he'd pulled from his jacket. He tucked it away in the inside pocket of his jacket and braced himself on the side of the table to look down at me with what was supposed t be an amiable smile.
"Oh, hush, it isn't that bad. I could have taken your hand, or the entire arm. You should be thankful I'm so nice."
I could only stare up at him, vision swimming with tears, and sobbing uncontrollably. Daniel, unaffected by this, dipped his finger into the pool of my blood and licked it away. His eyes sharpened and he made a soft inhale he didn't need smiling brightly.
"So that's why he wants you so badly." He murmured, brushing away the sweat soaked hair plastered to my forehead. "You taste like sunshine, little girl, did you know that?" When I only stared up at him, he frowned. "Don't look at me like that. I didn't have to use the knife you know. I could have just as easily ripped the thing off. I imagine that would have hurt something fierce."
"Fuck you." They were weak words, pathetic and cracking and they had no power behind them. The vampire only rolled his eyes.
"I am not you beloved Isaac, little girl, and you are not my type." Then he smiled, "But perhaps, for curiosity's sake."
"Am I not dead enough for you?" I asked. Keep talking. Ignore the pain so you don't throw up.
"Well aren't you adorable," he mused. "Come one, I'm sure you can insult me much better than that. Go ahead, try."
I closed my eyes, gritting my teeth and trying to stop crying, but I couldn't. I hurt too much, my entire body was shaking uncontrollably and this monster was too close.
"Nothing?" he asked mockingly. "That's a shame. Well, you'll have time to think one up while I take this to the bitch queen. She can be so impatient."
Daniel smiled, bending down to kiss my forehead and laughing when I lurched forward to try and bite him.
"Now don't you go anywhere, I'll be back for you later, precious, and then we can really have some fun together."
That was it. that was all I could take, and as terror and agony swelled through me, my head began to swim again and I felt the comforting pull of unconsciousness. I let it take me away. Far off to a land of dark and stillness and no pain. Far away from the monster.
Off into darkness.