A Time To Kill (Elemental Rage Book 1) (21 page)

Taking
a page out of Gladys’ book, Jade grabbed one of the vampires holding the kid by
the shirt. Using the beast for emphasis, she growled, “I like to play with my
food first, and I don’t need an audience.”

It
was the right thing to say. The vampires stepped back. One of the guards at the
door said, “Good to see you back.”

Jade
watched as the vampires, even her guards left the room.  The beast was so close
now that she could hear the kid’s heart beating like a runner having just taken
a lap. He was scared.  She was hungry.

Jade
yanked herself away.  Not she. The beast. The beast was hungry.  She realized
how close she stood to the kid.  He was shrinking away, looking for a weapon. 
Even though he wouldn’t go down easy, Jade knew in her heart of hearts that if
they got into a fight, the beast would defeat the boy.  She also knew that if
he roused the beast enough, there would be no way for her to stop him.

“Wait,”
Jade said to the boy, “I’m fighting it. I haven’t had blood yet.  Just move
slowly.  I’m trying to control the beast.”

Shaking,
he nodded.  He swallowed a few times and asked, “How long have you been a
vampire, then?”

“Two
days, well, I turned at night,” Jade found the strength to take two steps
back. 

“I’m
sorry,” the boy took a step back, too.

Jade
sank down onto the bed. She sat on the edge, not trusting herself to get
comfortable. The beast was strongest when she was relaxed. She couldn’t afford
to get to that degree of comfort.

“Me
too,” Jade said.

The
beast freaked out inside Jade, like a neurotic animal trapped in a too-tight
cage at the zoo, lashing out and trying to get free. Jade closed her eyes and
tightened her grip. She was intelligent, much more so than the thing inside
her, and that made her stronger. Using that strength, she locked the beast down
tighter.

With
her eyes closed and her mind focused, Jade didn’t see it coming.

The
door opened.

Four
vampires burst in, grabbing the boy. They murdered him, stabbing him while he
screamed.

Jade
opened her eyes, and suddenly she was remembering another stabbing.

“Daddy,”
Jade whispered the words.  She had watched her own father die. She had watched
him die at the treachery of a trusted friend.

She
couldn’t bear what was happening here.

There
were no weapons in the room other than what the vampires brought with them. 
Blood poured on the carpets and sprayed on the walls.

The
beast leapt like a dog on a chain.

Jade
found herself crawling on her hands and knees toward the blood.

He
would make her drink.  If she got too close, that vampire born inside of her
would turn her into an evil creature just like the others.

“I
will not.” Jade screamed the words, flipping herself around and dragging
herself toward the bed.

The
room reeked of copper, iron, the things that fed evil.

Jade
remembered her Dad’s last words, “I’m so proud of you both.”

Raven
was with her when Dad died.  Jade had almost forgotten.  Grasping the comforter
in both her fists, Jade pressed her face against the cloth, breathing in fabric
softener and detergent.  It couldn’t mask the smell, not even remotely.

She
could hear the others feeding.  Just that thought brought the beast to the surface,
and she felt her mouth water.  Ripping the comforter off the bed, Jade dragged
it past the four vampires.  Her guards were feeding. She didn’t dare the
slightest glance over.  She knew what horrors she would see. 

Forcing
the door open, she walked unchallenged out of the room and down the stairs. 
The beast was in ecstasy, and Jade learned another thing about vampires.  They
lived life through one another.  When one fed, they all participated in some
weird telepathic way.

The
beast wanted to return, but Jade was in control. She tried not to think too
hard about her plan.  It was like a strange meditation where the very thing she
wanted to do was the very thing she couldn’t think about.  At the front door,
she covered her head with the comforter.  Not an inch of skin was open to the
sun.

Still,
Jade didn’t know if she would survive the next twenty minutes.  Pushing the
door open, she walked outside.

The
beast started howling.

It
was too late for the vampires inside to stop her.  She’d already gotten down
the porch and halfway across the yard when the beast’s screams drew their
attention. It reared against her, trying to wrest control, Jade said, “Just try
it and I’ll let the sun in,”

 The
beast stopped cold.  Jade couldn’t see where she was going.  She looked down
and just moved one foot in front of the other. She had a feeling for the general
direction she should take.  That would have to be enough.

It
started with a sunburn. Jade’s skin flushed, and then peeled.  Walking through
the gate, Jade felt a strange smoke rising from her skin. She could smell her
skin burning. 

Jade
didn’t know where the house with her sisters was. Although Jade tried to move
quickly through the sun-drenched yard, she couldn’t move fast enough. She might
never see her sisters again.

Chapter 18

~~ Amy ~~

Tony
found Amy sitting on a stump in the forest trying to figure out her next move. 
He looked almost rueful, as if he’d known she would make the attempt to escape
and fail. He said, “Are you ready to come back?”

“This
isn’t even Earth, is it? You’ve used the Gate to bring me to a new dimension.”
Amy’s feet bled freely where the blisters had broken and where sharp rocks had
scuffed and penetrated her skin.

“No,
this isn’t Earth. You’re a long way from home.  It’s not a bad place, really. 
We have movies, books, a beach to walk on…everything a person could want,
really.”

“Except
my family. My very own desert island in the middle of nowhere—how thoughtful. 
How many of us are captive?”  Amy said with a hint of sarcasm. She refused
Tony’s hand and stood up on her own. 

“We
are all captives here, Amy, even me. This way…” Tony pointed toward a space
between two trees. He didn’t help Amy as she stiffly picked her way across
brush and plants, rocks and pine cones.  She wouldn’t have taken his help
anyway.

“You?”
Amy scoffed, “You expect me to believe that?” It wasn’t the first time she felt
anger toward Tony, but this anger was confused.

“I’ve
been here since a few weeks after the funeral. This may be the only chance I
get to talk to you. The house is bugged.  I know you passed the gift of Time on
to someone else.  I don’t want to know who.  The Keepers think it’s in the
necklace.  I helped them so that they would trust me knowing full well that the
power isn’t there.”

“You
can never find what doesn’t exist. Tell them that.” Amy was a half-step behind
Tony.  She couldn’t see his expression when she told him…and he didn’t see
hers.

She
had practiced that particular lie in front of the mirror for hours.  Not all at
once, but over the course of several years while she was married to Lawrence as
they were planning for the worst.

Tony
glanced over his shoulder at Amy.  Their eyes met, his grey to her green. She
thought he was about to say something important.  He hesitated.  She could tell
when he discounted what he was originally going to say, Instead he said, “The
necklace is our best bet for now.  It will take them time to test it.”

“I
want it back,” Amy said.  She stepped on a sharp piece of bark.  She bit her
lip and refused to react.  She wouldn’t give Tony the satisfaction.

“Look,
I’m a prisoner, just like you.  They may trust me a little more, but they’re
not going to listen to a word I say.  I’ll ask, but just by asking it will
probably guarantee that you’ll never see it again.” Tony stopped at a giant
rock and sat down. He unlaced his sneakers.

Amy
wasn’t about to give up on the necklace, but for now, she accepted that Tony
wouldn’t be able to help her.  Changing the subject, she asked, “What are you
doing?”

“You
can’t walk all the way back barefoot.  I’m giving you my sneakers,” Tony said
as he pulled of the first one and handed it to her.

Amy
shook her head, “What difference does it make? If I have your shoes, you won’t
have any.”

“I
have tough feet.  Please?  I feel bad for taking your necklace. Let me make it
up to you.”

“This
doesn’t come close to making up for stealing the first present I ever got from
Lawrence,” Amy said, grabbing his sneaker. It was several sizes to big and a
clown shoe on her, but she wore it anyway.  If nothing else, she would take
some pleasure in watching Tony navigate the woods barefoot.

“Listen,
we’ll be to the house soon enough.  When we get there, I’m going to ask you to
write a letter to your daughters.  They’re hoping you give something away in the
letter.  I’m to tell you it will be sealed and unread by any of our group, but
I promise you, it will be.  They want you to sign paperwork that will turn the
daily running of the shop over to one of our agents.”

“I
won’t do that,” Amy said.

“I
get it, but if you don’t, they’ll have a whole team watching your daughters.
You could counter with a few things, either ask for Martha and Bill to be the
ones to watch the shop or in your letter to Jade, have her hire the name the
Keepers provide to you.”

“Why
would I do any of that?” Amy flopped along feeling like a child in overgrown
shoes.

“To
protect your children. As long as the Keepers think they’ve got the person with
the power, they’ll only watch the house.  The minute you prove that you don’t
have the Time gift, they will take your daughters. For now, they are only
watching,” Tony sounded so slick when he presented the reasons, but Amy knew
her children weren’t safe. 

Still,
it sounded like she wasn’t going anywhere anytime soon. With the letter, Amy
could give Jade some hope until she could find a way out.

“I’ll
write the letter, but no one is touching my business,” Amy said.  As they
walked back to the house, she thought about Tony’s words
a few weeks after
the funeral
. He must have been a captive on the island for seven years.
Maybe there truly was no escape.

~~ Claire~~

It
had taken Claire’s last ounce of strength to climb out of the tunnel.  Water
splashed back and soaked the grass. Claire wobbled a bit, but managed to walk
to the van.  Claire hadn’t seen Raven grab the bottle for the pure water to
save Jade.  She thought she had to get back into the van and find it.

She
walked in a circle around the van first. It was still dark. The idea of
crawling into the van at night was too much. The windshield was broken out now
and their boxes and suitcases and duffel bags strewn everywhere. It looked like
the vampires went back in after the sisters were gone.

She
found sleeping bags and pillows a few yards away from the van in a pile.  After
yawning for the bazillionth time, Claire changed into a clean t-shirt and
sweatpants, climbed into a sleeping bag open to the sky, and closed her eyes.
Water promised to watch for trouble.

At
first Claire didn’t sleep.  She worried about Mindy and Raven, wondering if the
vampires had killed them or turned them.  Claire closed her eyes but opened
them at the smallest rustling sound in the woods.  Finally her anxiety gave up,
and she fell asleep.

When
Claire awoke, the sun had already crested over the mountains and was shining
between the trees. She climbed back into the van through the windshield, but
didn’t find the Keeper’s bottle.

When
she found Mindy’s teddy bear, Claire held onto it.  Of all of the items in that
van, Pebbles was the most beloved. The bottle was necessary, but the teddy bear
was also important.

She
asked Water if she had been able to find pure water and if she seen the
bottle.  Water found pure water, but didn’t know where to put it.

After
hours searching, Claire gave up. She didn’t want to leave the site until she
knew for sure that they could save Jade.

“Can
you find Raven?” Claire asked Water, “See if she has the bottle.”

Claire
gathered necessities into a single duffel bag.   Mindy’s teddy bear took up
precious space, but Claire couldn’t bring herself to leave it, even if it meant
less food or clothes.  She considered a second bag, but decided against it.

Finding
the box of food overturned, Claire righted it and dug into the contents.  While
she waited for Water to report back on her sisters, Claire ate.    

~~ Raven ~~

Raven
sat in an arm chair yawning. The door was locked and two guards stood inside
the room. Mindy was unconscious on a bed. Raven wanted to join her and get some
sleep, but Raven didn’t trust the vampires.  

At
some point in the night Raven fell asleep anyway.

She
woke up with a sore neck, not from the vampires but from sleeping at a bad
angle. Her first thought was of Mindy. Feeling groggy, she forced herself to
stand up.  She was tired and sore and hurt where she’d been bitten and bruised.
Shaking her sister, Raven tried to wake Mindy.  There were no vampire bites on
her sister, but Mindy was still out.

Raven
sat heavily down on the bed. It was hard to think straight. Mindy needed to get
to a doctor, but the vampires had no intention of letting them go.  It wasn’t
like Raven could carry her. She could ask Air to help with Mindy, but it
wouldn’t take long until she would have to rest.  She was so tired now.

Air
was as lost as Raven. The Element had lots of suggestions, but none of which
were practical or that would really be useful.  

Raven
was still thinking about it when Water contacted Raven and Air.

Raven
pulled out the bottle and unstoppered it. That was what Water wanted.  Water
released its prize inside then Air dropped the stopper in.
Don’t open the
bottle until the Jade  is ready to drink it.
Water instructed.

“Agreed,”
Raven said.  She felt shy around Water.  It was like that when an Elemental
spoke to an Element that wasn’t a connection. Raven thanked Water and Water
disappeared with a wave.

“But…”
Raven was going to ask what she should do next, but Water was long gone. With a
sigh, Raven wondered what to do next.

~~ Jade ~~

Foolish
girl.
That was Gladys speaking through the vampiric telepathic link. 
Apparently she didn’t like her newly minted vampires spending time in the sun.

Jade
was certain that at any moment she was going to spontaneously combust. Her skin
itched like a thousand red ants were crawling under it. Ignoring Gladys, Jade
found the gate and passed through.

The
beast was terrified and that fear bled through to Jade.  She could hardly think
straight. 

Gladys
spoke through the link.
The house is just to your left.  Don’t go wandering
off. You need to get inside.

For
once Jade was grateful that Gladys was speaking to her.

Jade
couldn’t see through the comforter. Her only view of the outside world was the
ground at her feet.  It occurred to her that this wasn’t the most intelligent
thing she’d ever done.

For
one thing, she didn’t have hands.  The minute she removed the comforter to
grasp something, she’d burn up.  For another thing, she couldn’t see anything.
She had no idea where the house with Mindy and Raven would be now that she was
outside
.
Somehow, she thought she’d have better luck and less of a tendency
to turn into a crispy vampire fireball.

She
heard a door opening and someone shouted, “In here.”

Jade
followed the voice. Rough hands grabbed her and dragged her in.  She screamed
in pain, her arms in flames.  Jade struggled, bumping into a couch and falling.

The
beast roared.

Jade
stayed on the ground. She didn’t trust herself to move.

Someone
ripped off the comforter. Jade blinked. At least thirty vampires surrounded
her.  She thought they would leave her alone.  She was wrong.  Grabbing her
hands and feet, they carried her upstairs to a bedroom that looked more like a
torture chamber.  The floor was wood and had a drain in the middle.  An iron
bed with chains and handcuffs stood in the middle of the floor over the drain.

Struggling,
Jade didn’t even come close to an escape.  They bounced her down on the bed so
hard that her teeth jarred and she felt sick to her stomach. She tried to slip
her hands out of their grip but they clamped the metal around her arms.

The
cuffs would have been uncomfortable enough, but Jade’s skin was blistering
where the sun had filtered through the comforter.  The skin actually tore where
it stuck to the metal. 

Jade
didn’t think the situation could get worse until one of the vampires grabbed
her.  He ran his fang along the fleshy inside of her arm opening a blood
vessel.  He drank from her.

The
beast rose and Jade found herself watching from the ceiling again.  She
couldn’t bear to watch. Instead, Jade floated away, through the room and into
the sky.

Air
whispered to her. 
Not too far.

Jade
was beyond caring.  She was tired of fighting the beast, tired of struggling
against the vampires and terrified of Gladys.

Air
said,
Follow me.

Just
one house over, Jade and Air slid through the roof and down down down to the
first floor bedroom. Raven and Mindy were trapped in a room with two vampires. 
Raven was curled up on the bed next to Mindy asleep.

Air
said,
They plan to have a sacrifice tonight.  To kill Earth and take Air as
their own.  Go back. Be strong.

Leaving
Jade back in the room where the vampires fed from her, Air disappeared.  Air
would never stay long in the room with Jade, almost as if she feared too much
interaction. Jade forced herself down into her body. 

She
endured the vampires, refusing to drink when they offered.  The movies
romanticized vampires, making them misunderstood lovers.  They were worse than
serial killers.  At least serial killers had a human life span and most of them
weren’t cannibals.

She
blocked out what they did to her, tried to shove it deep into the recesses of
her mind, but all the while her sense of injustice grew, her sense of rage
grew, and her determination that she would wipe every vampire off the face of
the Earth grew.  And if they turned up in other dimensions, she might just wipe
them out there, too.

 
Time stretched like taffy. An hour turning into a lifetime. A night spanned into
eternity.  Jade detested the slice of teeth on her skin, the cool tongues and
the sense of invasion. She grew up modest. Some people would hug strangers.  Not
Jade.  She didn’t want people she didn’t know touching her.  

Jade
focused on the fight.  She focused on the beast.  She imagined sunlight,
sunlight on the beach, a warm afternoon strolling through the park, sweating in
noon-heat while she painted a fence.  Any memory she could recover of the sun,
she did, pushing it on the beast until it was insane with fear. She didn’t stop
thinking of sunlight, not until they stopped feeding.  Not until nightfall…that
was when the vampires stopped.