“Kariann, take her legs. Sayer, take her arms,” Lucas ordered.
He was biting into his arm again.
“No, not here. Not in front of them,” I whispered.
He didn’t listen.
I fought with all the strength I had left, but the two vampires wrested control of my limbs. Once again I was helpless. My breathing came in harsh, ragged gasps and the memories of my time with Jerome returned. Being tied to the bed and completely vulnerable. No way to get free and no way to fight. That was the kind of pain that went beyond the flesh and never left you.
I glared at Lucas, arms held above my head. “If you do this I swear I’ll never forgive you.”
He took a good look at me—really looked—and his determined expression fell.
“Let her go.”
They released my arms and legs. Slowly, I sat up and brought my knees to my chest. It relieved some of the pain from my injuries.
“Perhaps the sensor would like her dress and shoes?” Kerbasi had hobbled over to bring them to me. The gaping wounds in his legs had closed up, but the pain reflecting in his eyes said he wasn’t fully healed yet.
I reached out and took them from him. “Thanks.”
It wasn’t easy, but I managed to pull the dress over my head and push my arms through the sleeves. It hung loosely on my body. I set the shoes on the ground and wiggled my feet into them. Once they were on I fought my way to a standing position and pulled the dress the rest of the way down. Every move hurt, but at least I was handling it myself.
“Want me to zip it?” Kariann asked, giving me a cautious look.
Even I had to admit that was beyond me at the moment. Between my bruised stomach and broken ribs there was no way I was reaching back there.
“Yes, please.”
She came up behind me and zipped the dress closed. Lucas watched with an expressionless face. I’d turned down his help, but allowed hers. Little did he know if he’d offered to handle the zipper I would have let him do that much.
People were still milling around, casting glances our way. I had no idea what they were thinking, but at least the emotions coming from them weren’t hatred or anger. Lian was gone. She couldn’t have healed from a broken neck that fast so I had to assume someone had moved her.
My attention caught on Theirn striding toward us. There was an expression on his face—regret, sorrow? It was hard to tell.
“I’m afraid I’ve got some bad news, but I think you’ll want to hear this in private.”
He’d addressed us as a group. That couldn’t be good if we were all involved.
We exchanged wary glances and followed him inside. I hobbled along, refusing anyone’s help. There were still too many eyes on us and I didn’t want them seeing me as weak. Lucas hadn’t considered it, but taking his blood would have been cheating. I’d earned my injuries and had to heal from them on my own. At least until we left.
Theirn led us past the ballroom and through another series of doors before we reached his office. It had dark wood paneling and shelves filled with books across the back wall. A fireplace stood at one end and a heavy oak desk stacked with papers at the other. Near the middle was a sitting area with several chairs gathered around a small coffee table. He gestured for us to take a seat.
I lowered myself onto one of the chairs slowly. Lucas and Sayer chose to remain standing, but Kariann and Kerbasi sat as well. We looked at the master vampire expectantly.
Theirn clasped his hands together. “I received a call a few minutes ago from Nikolas in Fairbanks. I’m sorry to be the bearer of this unfortunate news, but he wanted you all to know Zoe has escaped and your shaman was killed in the process.”
“What?” I rose painfully back to my feet. “How?”
He couldn’t be dead. Charlie was a shaman with powerful abilities, including foresight. What could have possibly killed him? Caught him off-guard?
“I didn’t get the full details.” Theirn gave me a sympathetic look. “Nikolas simply said it would be best if you all returned as soon as possible.”
Lucas nodded. “Thank you. We’ll be on our way now.”
“I assumed as much,” Theirn said, gesturing toward the door. “You’ll find your car out front waiting for you.”
I swallowed the rising lump in my throat and forced a clear expression on my face. We couldn’t go back out there and let anyone see something was wrong. Lucas, Kariann, Sayer, Kerbasi—they all strode from the room with no sign of emotion on their faces. I still hobbled, but I did it with my head held up.
Yerik was near the entrance when we reached it.
He caught Lucas by the arm and smiled. “I’ll join you in New York in a few days. We can catch up with each other while searching for your brother.”
I glared at the daimoun. The liar.
“And you, Melena. You’ve proven yourself to be quite…tenacious.” There was a hidden meaning in his eyes. “I’m certain you’ll make a wonderful addition in our world.”
It hit me then. The duels might have been staged, not just a random series of events. Theirn might have been testing me to see how I performed. He could have started with Kerbasi and segued to me. Had Lian been in on it as well or had she been manipulated into challenging me? I’d seen no evidence either way.
“Thanks, Yerik.” I lifted my chin. “I’m not sure what I would have done without your stamp of approval, but I’m sure a pint of Häagen-Dazs would have been part of the solution.”
I moved on, following the rest of the group down the steps toward the car. Sayer took over for the attendant and the rest of us climbed inside with me trying not to groan at the effort. No one said anything for the first couple of minutes, but as soon as we cleared the estate Lucas looked down at me.
“Will you take my blood now?” he asked.
Heavy tension ran between us.
“Give me your arm.”
I’d planned to drink from him after we left anyway, but with the news about Charlie I had even more important reasons to heal quickly. Whoever had freed Zoe would pay for it.
Chapter Thirty-three
Yvonne opened the door for us at Nik’s house. She looked like a mess with her gray hair matted down and her eyes swollen. Seeing Lucas carrying Kariann in a black body bag in his arms, she stepped aside for us. It was early afternoon and the female vampire was out cold. At least Sayer hadn’t come back with us or we would have had to do the same for him.
We entered the foyer and Kerbasi went around us to head for the kitchen. There hadn’t been time to eat in our rush to get back to Alaska. The guardian had appeared a little disturbed over the news about Charlie, but not enough to affect his appetite.
“Can you tell us what happened?” I asked Yvonne.
I’d paced for half the flight from New Orleans, hating having to wait for more details.
The mystic’s eyes watered. “He’s dead. And the way they did it—” Her breath hitched. “It was awful.”
“Who?” I wanted to know which heads I’d be lopping off in the near future. Anger was what had kept me going during the flight back. And having to wash up from my own battle.
“Melena.” Lucas shifted the body in his arms. “Let’s get Kariann settled first, then we’ll discuss it.”
I nodded. He was right. Yvonne was in bad enough shape without bombarding her right at the door—and Lucas did have his hands full.
I led him down the hall toward the vampire’s room. Pulling the door open, I switched on the light and waved Lucas through. He set her on the bed and I helped him pull the body bag off of her. She looked peaceful and barely stirred throughout the whole process. It had to be tough, trusting others with your care during the day when you were the most vulnerable.
We headed back to the living room and settled on the couch with Yvonne across from us in an oversized leather chair. She took a throw blanket from behind her and wrapped it snugly around her body. For a minute she didn’t look at us, but after a series of deep breaths she looked up and the haunted expression in her eyes was gone. I felt bad bothering her after seeing how hard she was taking things.
“Tell us what happened,” Lucas said.
“They came to his home at sunset,” she began, voice clearer than I expected. “We’re not quite sure how many of them, but most were sensors from what we gathered. Charlie’s grandson Kyle was there, getting some tools from the garage when it happened. He watched through the window and thought they looked like some of the people who held the city last spring.”
Zoe had kept some of her people stationed at every road leading into the city. With Kyle being human they wouldn’t have stopped him from coming and going, but he would have noticed them. His grandfather had warned his family about their presence.
“How can he be sure they were sensors?” I leaned forward.
“They…they had weapons. Big ones. Charlie couldn’t deflect them with his magic because they had sensor blood on them. He was…oh, my.” She looked away for a moment and collected herself before speaking again. “They hit him with explosives too many times for him to survive.”
I squeezed my eyes shut. The bastards had used the same tactics I’d used when invading Purgatory. The difference being I’d used it on immortals who couldn’t die from it.
“And after he was down they broke Zoe out,” Lucas surmised.
I opened my eyes again to find Yvonne had a tissue in her hand and was dabbing at her face. She and Charlie had enjoyed bickering with each other, but they’d also been good friends. The sorrow coming from her weighed heavily on my senses, amplifying my own grief.
She inhaled a shaky breath. “That is what we assume happened. As soon Kyle saw them disappear into the cellar he jumped into his truck and headed straight here. By the time we made it over to Charlie’s place Zoe and the sensors were gone.”
I almost shook with anger. “Did the werewolves try searching? At the very least they might have picked up a scent they could use to track them.”
“They searched all night and Derrick still has men out looking, but they can’t find them. I’ll tell you, he’s not happy.” A worried look came over Yvonne’s face.
“Because of the truce.” I stood up and paced the room. “Nik can’t hold up his end of the deal if he doesn’t have Zoe.”
Dammit. The attack destroyed everything we’d worked for to keep Fairbanks safe.
“Where is your family?” Lucas asked.
I checked my radar and realized they weren’t in the house. With everything else on my mind I hadn’t noticed. I should have been the first one to ask.
“They went to the wake,” Yvonne replied. “We didn’t want to leave the house unprotected so I went first and them after me. They called and said they’re on their way back. I’m sure they’ll be here in a few minutes.”
There was no reason to wait for them. We had all we needed from Yvonne.
“We should go to the wake,” I told Lucas. “I need to see Charlie’s body for myself and pay my respects.”
The shaman deserved that much.
He stood. “Yes. I’d like to look the place over while we’re there as well. There could be something the others missed.”
***
Over a dozen cars were parked around Charlie’s house when we arrived. The only place to put the Jeep was on the dirt road leading up to his home. I got out and shut the door to lean against it. Going in there wasn’t going to be easy. In fact, it was going to be one of the most difficult things I’d done recently and that was saying something.
I bowed my head and took deep breaths, preparing myself for the worst. Not just at the thought of seeing his body, but at having to face generations of grieving relatives. Charlie had left a legacy of people who cared for him deeply and I was having a difficult enough time with my own grief. Going in there would be torture for my senses.
Lucas pulled me into his arms and pressed my head against his chest. Strength poured into me through our bond. Not physical, but psychological. The constriction in my chest loosened and the weight of my worries didn’t seem quite as unbearable. He couldn’t perform magic on me, but somehow our bond allowed him to help me on an emotional level.
I looked up. “How are you able to do that?”
“It is difficult to explain. I simply knew I could and willed it to happen.” The expression on his face said he was as surprised by the revelation as me.
“Will you promise me something?” I asked.
He caressed my cheek. “Maybe.”
I took hold of his hand and kissed it. “No matter what happens in the future, promise me you won’t let anything destroy what we have together.”
I needed to hear it from him. To have some hope that even once he found out about Micah and the big plot he wouldn’t walk away from me. That he wouldn’t decide our relationship wasn’t worth it. With all the obstacles and pitfalls that kept cropping up, it seemed like it never got easier. We needed more time to grow in our relationship and I wanted the chance for that to happen.
Lucas studied me closely. “Is there a reason you’re asking this of me?”
“With the way things have gone lately, do you really wonder?” Hey, I could answer a question with a question, too.