Born in Chains (Men in Chains) (31 page)

A dark sensation moved through her as Adrien brought her closer to Beijing. Daniel would want to hurt them both because of what had happened in Mexico. She felt naive suddenly, that her previous and very brief spurt of confidence hadn’t taken into account that once Daniel had tested Adrien in Mexico, he’d now turn up the heat. And what better way to remind her of the pact she had with Kiernan than to bring Josh to the Black Caverns.

But she strove to calm herself as Adrien flew them east. She needed her wits about her, to hold Daniel at bay, if possible, while she sought the weapon, maybe even to get to Josh and take him away before Daniel could stop her.

The flight lasted less than a minute, a huge change from her first night with Adrien.

He took them to the far edge of what turned out to be a landing field for those just now flying in.

Adrien chose a spot and brought them down gently, using the experience of four centuries to avoid other couples.

Lily held his arm tight as she walked beside him through a grand but very dark hotel entrance, a dozen chandeliers illuminating what turned out to be walls of glimmering obsidian detailed with white crystals in small, scattered diamond-pattern designs.

She reached out for Josh, and maybe it was her mother’s heart or maybe her tracking ability, but she knew exactly where he was, even though at least two miles of rock separated her from her son.
I know where Josh is.

We’ll get to him, Lily, as soon as we can. But first the weapon. I’ve been thinking maybe we could destroy it before Daniel got to it.

If only we could.

Too many ifs and maybes in this equation.

She wanted to reach out to Josh telepathically, to let him know she was nearby, but she feared alerting Daniel. What if he could discern her telepathic communications with Josh? She just didn’t want to take the chance.

One step at a time.

With such a large gathering of Ancestrals, even the air felt different, humming with power as she descended a wide, carved staircase into the Beijing resort.

Moving down a large hall, she used her tracking ability and focused on the weapon. What came back to her was a massive machine not far from where Josh was being held, and the pull from this machine was enormous.

The extinction weapon.

She truly had found the weapon, or at least one significant version of it.

She shared the news with Adrien, who stiffened.

Another frightening thought intruded.
Do you think Daniel already knows where it is?

Adrien shifted to meet her gaze, shaking his head.
I sincerely doubt it, but he may have had reason to guess it might be here.

You’re probably right. If he knew where it was, he wouldn’t have gone to this much trouble.

When she entered the banquet room, she climbed three steps, grateful because of her heels to have Adrien’s support. The tables were laid out on a raised portion of stone and carpeted with thick, plush burgundy-and-black carpet.

At the far end was a dais beside which Daniel, his two subservient sons, and other elegantly garbed Ancestrals chatted together.

She had to admit, though, that of all the male Ancestrals present, Daniel exceeded them all in basic charisma. He had a champagne glass in hand and smiled, always his smile. He wore a finely tailored tux, like Adrien’s, his black hair oiled and combed straight back.

“He seems to enjoy his role,” she whispered to Adrien.

“That he does.”

Daniel stood smiling, his gaze roving the guests, of whom there had to be at least three hundred present. Since there were only about five hundred Ancestrals in the vampire culture, the number here tonight was significant.

Every race was present, so that it would seem the vampire world truly did share basic human genetics. But somewhere a couple of genes had taken a hard turn that had to do with the ability to grow and release fangs, increase bodily strength, and develop a severe reaction to sunlight. The rest, even Daniel’s behavior, was very human. In her opinion, he was a contented psychopath who had somehow maneuvered his way into a position of power, reveled in his rule, and intended to do whatever he needed to keep it, including acquiring, and probably using, a weapon that could wipe out his species.

As she glanced around, and saw that many vampires were staring at her, she sensed a kind of group curiosity and amazement, especially since the chain she wore drew a lot of attention. Adrien’s chains were less evident, hidden as they were beneath his shirt. But as she let her own gaze wander, she noticed that a lot of women present wore chains similar to hers, though enhanced with other jewelry. There were even women with multiple chains.

From a nearby group, Gabriel joined them. She greeted him with a kiss on each cheek, something the Ancestrals tended to do. He seemed grateful that she was there, but especially Adrien, whom he clapped on the shoulder a couple of times. “Rumy has kept me informed,” he said quietly.

Adrien merely nodded, then patted Lily’s hand. She still clutched his arm, her heart pounding in her chest, thoughts bouncing rapidly from Josh, to the weapon, to Daniel and back again, over and over.

Gabriel drew a small, silk-wrapped packet from the inner pocket of his coat. He offered it to Lily. “I brought you a gift.”

She met his gaze. “You did?” She’d never been more surprised.

“With all that you’ve been through, I thought you needed this, a small gesture. No, don’t open it now.”

Lily felt the air around her waver slightly. At first, she thought she was having another revisiting vision, but the blue silk of the present, cool beneath her fingers, had begun to vibrate.

She looked down at it frowning, then back to Gabriel.

The wave-like feel of the air suddenly made sense, especially when Gabriel’s voice pierced the center of her brain.
I’ve created a brief disguise and we have only a few seconds to speak, but by now you know what you’re holding; the companion chain to Adrien’s. Lily, it would be permanent but it would geometrically increase his power for
every
ability he possesses. Keep that in mind. You’ll have a choice to make soon. Follow your instincts and trust in Adrien’s goodness above all things.

The air warmed up, the disguise dissipated, and Gabriel turned to greet someone else. She slipped the gift into her velvet purse, her heart pounding once more.

Adrien had also turned away, perhaps because of Gabriel’s disguising skill, and she no longer held his arm. She took deep breaths and let the moment unfold.

She had with her now the companion double-chain to Adrien’s, one that would bind her to him forever. She could never escape him or this world.

But she could increase his power.

Josh, the weapon, Daniel, escape.

Double-chain, no escape. Ever.

Her gaze moved to Adrien, who turned and introduced her to a handsome couple, but she couldn’t register their names. Her ears felt full of fog.

She shook hands and Adrien passed her a glass of champagne. She smiled and nodded.

Double-chains.

She looked up at Adrien, seeing him in his element, as a man of confidence and ease among vampires, now his peers because of his rise to Ancestral status. He was already four hundred years old and would live to be much, much older.

What had Gabriel been thinking to have given her the companion double-chain?

She had a choice to make.

But her decision had long since been made the moment she gave birth to Josh.
He
was her priority. Her mother’s heart demanded it. She would do anything to make sure he lived.

Her gaze drifted to the dais. Daniel watched her from over the rim of his glass. He was forty feet away, at least, yet she felt as though he stood next to her.

The air began to spin.

Another revisiting vision.

She wasn’t surprised to see Daniel in the same space, but the tables were gone and he stood with another vampire. Silas.

From the past, Silas frowned. “And you think the weapon is here, in the Black Caverns?”

“There are more rumors about this place than any other site on the planet.”

“What do you want from me?”

Daniel snorted. “To help me find the damn thing.”

“Watch your blasphemy.” Silas tweaked the cuff of his robe.

A smile spread over Daniel’s face. “And you, my friend, should watch your hypocrisy.”

“But you know if I find it, I won’t let you have it.”

“And yet you just might since I can make it worth your while. You know I can.”

Silas grew very still and, after a few seconds, nodded slowly.

But at that moment Daniel turned toward Lily from within the vision and met her gaze dead-on. “Hello, Lily.” He looked around. “What is this? Ah, the annual gala.” He peered past her. “Here, at the Black Caverns. I’ll be seeing you then. I take this as a good sign. You have two children, right?”

Lily nodded.

Daniel laughed, waved his arm, and the vision vanished.

When the room came back into view, she realized two things: that Adrien had his arm around her and was asking her if she was all right, and that Daniel had raised his glass to her from across the maze of Ancestrals.

Are you all right?

Lily couldn’t answer the telepathic question. Though Daniel had shifted his attention to a beautiful African female vampire who clung to him, a hand draped high over his shoulder, she still stared at him.

The monster who had inflicted unimaginable pain on his children.

The vampire who owned sex-slave clubs specializing in human females.

The ruler determined, at all costs, to get his hands on the extinction weapon in order to control everything.

And closer to home, the man who had seen into the future, during her revisiting visions, discovered her identity and orchestrated the slaughter of her husband and daughter and the kidnapping of her son.

Lily, what’s wrong? I can feel that you’re distressed, but not like before. What’s going on?

She turned to him, aware that the other Ancestral couple looked concerned as well. But she couldn’t worry about them right now, or anyone else, only the terrible truth of her current situation and the events she would soon set into motion.

She blinked once then twice, and in the space of those few seconds, her life and purpose shifted entirely. She turned to Adrien, meeting his gaze.
I’ve come to a decision. I can’t, I won’t do this anymore. I won’t be used to hunt for the extinction weapon and I sure as hell won’t turn the location over to Daniel, not now, not ever. I’ll die first.

Adrien’s arm tightened around her waist.
But Lily, Daniel will kill Josh.

A lump formed in her throat and her eyes filled with tears.
I’ll find him, So long as I live and breathe, I’ll travel to the ends of the earth to get him back. Now that I have a telepathic link with him, somehow I’ll find him and save him. But I’ll no longer be enslaved to Daniel, who would use the weapon to kill so many.

CHAPTER 15

Adrien fell back into his old self. That was the only way he could describe what happened to him once he understood the level of Lily’s determination to end the hunt for the weapon and find her son on her own.

But why should she have to do that? Why was she even here? How could his world have devolved so badly that a vampire like Daniel would have control over any human’s life?

Then the other half of the equation surfaced as well: Daniel still had control over Lucian and Marius. If Lily refused to go farther, would Daniel kill Adrien’s half brothers in retaliation?

When he thought of his brothers, his heart seized. After this night, would he ever see them again? He shook his head. After this night, would he even be alive?

Adrien shifted slightly to stare hard at his father. As soon as Daniel met his gaze, Adrien telepathed,
You’re not getting the weapon. Not tonight. Not ever. Not so long as I have breath.

Daniel offered a half smile.
Then you’re a fool, my son.

The air all around the room began to flow in strange visible waves. As Adrien glanced around, it was as though the room fell into stasis: glasses raised to lips but unmoving, gestures halted midair, bodies frozen in gala poses.

He blinked and shifted to look down at Lily.

She turned toward him.
What’s happening?

Adrien released a long breath.
Daniel. I challenged him, told him he wasn’t getting the weapon.

Then we’re in for it.

I need you to know that I agree with you wholeheartedly. This is the right thing to do.

She nodded, but pain flashed through her hazel eyes and his chains vibrated heavily. He knew she was terrified at severing the link to her son, but he also felt her determination to get him back. And this was a place to begin, to stand up to the monster wherever that might lead.

He watched Daniel levitate above the silent, immobile crowd of Ancestrals, floating in his powerful way.

When he arrived, he stood in front of them both but addressed Adrien. “You don’t possess a tenth of my power, which means you’re going to put your woman here through a world of hurt before the night is out. Are you ready for that?”

“We can’t let you have the weapon.” Lily’s voice sounded strong and sure.

Daniel shifted his gaze to her. “So you found it.”

She said nothing. When he tried to enthrall her, Adrien again blocked him with a thought, which brought Daniel’s gaze back to Adrien in a quick flash.

Daniel snorted. “Too bad Lily didn’t take on a double-chain. Then this might even be a challenge.” He lifted his right arm and snapped his fingers.

The wavy lines dissipated and movement and chatter began again abruptly, as though nothing had ever happened.

Adrien tried to put Lily into flight, but he couldn’t move; Daniel’s power now surrounded him. At the same time, from all four corners of the room, Daniel’s hired thugs—dressed in black—poured onto the raised stone platform, streaming through the guests who started to cry out, some in protest, some in surprise and fear.