Redemption (17 page)

Ian brought her back into his arms. “I hope it is all true, but if we never find each other again, please know that even in this fucked up mess were in, you are it for me.”

Becca pulled him in for one long, tongue-tangling, teeth-gnashing, lip-burning kiss.

Tears began to stream down both of their cheeks as they softly brought their kiss to an end.

Becca jumped up, grabbed the bag and ripped it open before dumping out the contents. A pair of socks, some running shoes, jeans, a long sleeved t-shirt, and a bra that matched the panties she was already wearing. She dressed herself in a hurry, not looking back at Ian once.

She had just finished tying her shoelaces when the lock turned again.

Liam stood in the open doorway and offered his hand to her.

Becca took a deep breath and looked back to the bed one last time. The pain and terror in Ian’s eyes clawed at her heart. She knew how scared he must be, but she had to see whatever plan Liam had, just until she found Lily.

A tear slipped down her cheek as she mouthed, “I promise”.

He nodded his head in recognition before she turned back to face Liam.

She swatted his hand out of the way and passed by him into the blackened hall. The door shut quickly behind them and she was thrust into darkness.

A sudden light flickered on and she blinked to see what was before her.

Terrified, the word barely made it passed her lips. “You?”

She felt a sharp pain in her back and fell to the floor before spiraling into an unknown darkness, not knowing when or if she would wake again.

His Adam’s apple bobbed as he brought his hand to knock on the door to the illusive Leatherby Manor in the dark of night. His fist scrunched tight as he banged against the hard wood. Within just a moment, Jefferson stood before him.

“Yes, boy?”

“I was told to deliver this to the lady of the house.” The young boy of twelve shook slightly as he produced the thick envelope that had been hiding under his overcoat.

“I will see she gets it.” Jefferson held his hand out for the envelope, but the boy pulled back.

“No, sir. I was told to deliver it to the lady of the house and no one else. I need to hand it directly to Mrs. Lily Edwards.” His voice shook up and down as he attempted to make his stance.

“Alright, then.” Jefferson ducked his head back inside and yelled. “Old girl! There’s a young lad here for ya.”

Slight footsteps were heard as Lily made her way to the front door. She opened the door a bit wider to see the boy standing on her doorstep.

“Mrs. Edwards?” the boy asked as he let out a sigh.

“Yes, that’s me.” Lily smiled down at the boy who appeared to be frightened to death.

“Here.” He thrust the envelope into her hands and took off down the drive without another word.

He ran as hard and as fast as he could until he reached his destination several blocks away. He stood by the building of stone and mortar and waited for his payment to come.

“Did you see her?”

The boy stumbled, almost falling to the ground as the voice poured from the shadows.

“Ye-ye-yes, sir.” His breath labored just as hard as his heart at that moment.

“Good. Very good.” A deep maniacal laughter echoed off the stone walls sending a chill deep into the young boy’s bones. “Your payment is behind the brick on the corner there, twelfth from the bottom.” A loud swooshing sound and the voice retreated into the fog from which it came.

The boy made his way to the twelfth brick and collected his payment while vowing to himself never to talk to strangers again.

Jefferson followed Lily into the living room after shutting the front door.

“You need any help reading that?” Jefferson eyed her as she sat down on the enormous couch.

“No. I think this is something I need to do on my own. Don’t wake the others, they’ve had a long day.”

“Sure.” Jefferson gave Lily a kiss on the forehead before he made his way into the kitchen.

Lily slowly tore the envelope open and retrieved the pages that lay inside. She withdrew several pages of building schematics with certain rooms marked in red. She looked them over carefully before reading the letter that arrived with them.

Lily took a deep breath before returning to the schematics. She studied them religiously until the sun rose, awakening the rest of the house.

“No sleep again?” Ryan kissed the top of her head before noticing what she was looking at.

“I’ve had a few things on my mind.” She handed him the letter from Liam and returned to her studies.

“This guy is completely mental.” Ryan threw the letter back on the table and took a seat next to Lily.

“I know he is, but I just can’t explain it. In Vegas, it was like some sort of magnetic connection. I couldn’t help but be drawn to him. I’m just thankful I had the power within me to run away.”

Ryan brought his arm around her shoulders and held her tight to his chest. “We
will
get them back.”

“I have a plan.” Lily pulled back to see her husband’s gleaming smile.

“Of course you do.”

“We will need Abe, but I think between the three of us, we can pull it off.”

Lily was purposely being evasive. She couldn’t let Ryan know what would ultimately happen if she wasn’t strong enough to resist the pull Liam had on her. The small pieces of metal and plastic embedded in her spine had more than one purpose. If Lily attempted to change Liam, she knew without a doubt the chip would activate and life as she knew it would cease to exist.

Late afternoon approached as they went over Lily’s plan for the fiftieth time.

“I get it, already.” Abe threw his hands up and leaned back in his chair, the wooden legs groaning in the process.

“We just have to make sure we are all on the same page. I know right now he’s human, but we all agree he’s had help on this. We don’t know what kind of traps he could have laid out for us,” Lily replied, as she pulled at the ends of her hair. She knew she had been stalling for hours, but she had to make sure they did everything the way she had laid out.

“We’re ready then.” Ryan stood and offered his hand out to Lily.

Lily got up and held him in her arms as tight as she possibly could without breaking him.

“Jefferson and I will have the blood and food ready for all of you when you get back.” Renee smiled over at Lily and Ryan with watery eyes.

Lily left Ryan’s arms for Renee’s. “I’m so sorry I got you involved in this.”

“Are you kidding? This is the scariest fun I’ve ever had.” They both giggled as they held each other tight.

“I cherish you. Never forget that.” Lily slipped the keys to her cabin in Renee’s pocket out of Ryan and Abe’s sight.

Renee pulled back and nodded in acknowledgment of Lily’s gift. She shed a few more silent tears as she and Abe hugged goodbye while Lily turned to Jefferson.

“You have that coffee that Becca loves?”

“Yes, don't worry. I have all of her favorites. They will be ready when you all set foot on the doorstep.” Jefferson patted Lily’s backside as she gathered the books she needed. “Now, go bring the family home.”

Lily, Ryan, and Abe stepped out the front door and quietly closed it behind them.

Jefferson put his arm around Renee’s shoulders and kissed her temple.

“She’s not going to make it back, is she?”

Jefferson sighed as a tear slipped down his cheek. “No, I don’t think she is.”

Lily stepped with caution as the three of them arrived at their final destination.

The air was frozen, as if being held in place. There was not a sign of life anywhere – no birds flying or chirping, no creatures scampering about. The atmosphere was dead in every respect. That fact alone gave another edge to the multifaceted sword.

The ground was crisp beneath their feet as they approached the lone building. It was an odd setting for an industrial warehouse in the middle of nowhere, but Lily thought that was possibly the exact appeal Liam was looking for.

“I know we’ve gone over this a million times, but once more please?” Lily looked to a solemn Ryan and an anxious Abe for their understanding.

“Go ahead,” Ryan whispered with a kiss to the temple as Abe nodded, shifting from one foot to the other.

“I go through the south entrance there,” Lily stated, pointing to the entrance straight in front of them. “Abe, can you tell if there is a protection field?”

Abe squeezed his eyes tight while taking a deep breath. “Definitely. That bastard isn’t working alone on this one. The hold he’s placed here...I haven’t seen it in decades.”

That did nothing for Lily’s confidence. If Liam wasn’t working alone, there was no guarantee her plans would work.

“Then the original plan stands. Abe, try the second story entrance on the west and Ryan will try the loading dock on the east end.” Lily swallowed hard as the two men nodded in agreement.

She adjusted the strap of the bag across her torso before she was crushed into her husband’s arms.

“I cannot tell you enough how much I love you. Be careful.”

Lily’s chest ached more in that moment than it did when her body was breaking, falling down that hill those many years ago. She knew she had to do whatever it took to keep her daughter safe. If that meant making the ultimate sacrifice, she prayed Ryan would understand.

“I will. I love you, always.” She reached his lips with hers and gave every ounce of herself that she could in that moment.

“I think it’s time,” Abe grumbled, while kicking at the rocks on the ground.

They all nodded their acknowledgment and went their separate ways to face the fate that awaited each of them.

Lily knew that she might have sent her angels on a wild goose chase, but she needed them close by just in case.

Each step she took brought her closer to what she needed most. The pull was even stronger than what she had felt in Las Vegas, something she hadn’t accounted for. She had taken only a sip back then, but in that very moment her throat burned with the irrational hope that she would soon be drowning in his crimson delight.

She tried to shake off the monstrous desires and concentrate on releasing her friends, yet the closer she got to where she knew he would be, the ability to reign herself in reached an epic threat she’d never experienced before.

The first thing she noticed when she entered the room was the blade held at the jugular vein of her daughter. Liam had Becca’s hands and ankles tied down to the steel chair in the center of the blackened room.

Lily kept her distance, for fear that any movement she made would make his hand slip, causing the blade to torment Becca further. She could see he was enjoying the emotions seeping into the room; hate, fear, and unfortunate desire exuded from her every fiber. His exhilaration traveled swiftly through him as he reveled in looming over Becca. The tip of his knife caressed the thin sheet of skin that covered her vein, as his tongue slipped across to moisten his more than perfect lips.

The blade caught a tear from Becca’s cheek before it had a chance to fall; its taste divine as he wiped the blade across his tongue, stimulating each taste bud.

“Time is running out. Blood will be spilt whatever you decide, you need only to choose whose it will be.”

Lily had a choice to make. She knew she had only moments before he would carry out every threat he had promised to. His one demand was the only thing holding her back.

She took one last long look over him. His eyes, still the same deep blue piercing through her from within the shadows; his smile, still just as perfectly charming. When she looked deeper, however, she saw something in him more clearly than she ever had before; his soul. Black and corrupted by words she was sure he himself almost certainly didn’t comprehend.

Her eyes narrowed and her jaw clenched. She tried with everything she possessed to fight the hunger tearing inside of her. “They will kill me if I do this.” Her words were resolute, but her voice was trembling at the incredulous truth of it all.

“Then you have a decision to make. Whose existence is more important?” He brought his cheek next to Becca’s, sealing a tear upon it with a kiss. “Hers or your own…?”

Before he could let the last breath pass through his lips, she replied. “Hers.”

Becca whimpered from beneath her cloth gag while struggling with her bindings. Her tears came in longer streams, her breaths in pants as she saw Lily produce a large book from the bag on her shoulder.

“Are you sure?” Lily pleaded one last time for him to run away as the burning within her began to attack every inch of her skin.

“Yes.” His voice was hard and absolutely certain.

Lily swallowed the venom that flowed freely into her mouth as she opened the book to the passage she would need for their binding ceremony.

Lily set the book on the floor beside her before crooking her finger and beckoning her final meal in front of her.

Liam swiftly pocketed his blade and went to stand before the woman that would bring him eternal life.

Lily slowly circled him before whispering the words of the quartet of ancestors. She tried to keep her eyes away from her daughter as her hands roamed the planes of Liam’s torso. The bitter battle raged between her mind, her voice, and her body. Her mind screamed for her to stop, to grab Becca, and run faster than she ever had before while her voice echoed the words of honor and glory for a race forgotten for decades. But her body convulsed slightly in delight as she journeyed closer to her personal vampiric nirvāna.

The final words left her lips as her front pressed firmly to his backside. She took one final look at her daughter. Becca cried, screamed, and fought with everything she had left in her but she couldn’t stop what happened next.

Lily sunk her teeth deep into the jugular vein that had been calling to her inner demon since that fateful day in Vegas. The blood slipped seamlessly down her throat, filling her with a euphoria nothing in the entire universe could be compared to.

Liam twitched in pain as he fell to his knees, but Lily would not yield. Her teeth stayed cemented into his flesh as almost every drop was drained and replaced with the venom from the only female vampire in existence.

Soon, his twitches of pain gave way to moans of pleasure. Liam’s panting breaths came quick and hard as his body gave in to the change.

Lily’s teeth ripped the flesh from Liam’s neck as the excruciating pain surged down her spine. Her body fell to the floor with convulsions caused by the chip embedded in her neck that rivaled any electrical current known to man or beast. The bones that had been as strong as steel for decades began to crack and break. First, every spinal vertebra, then her ribs and sternum, before finally her skull, arms, and legs. As the pain made its final descent through the tips of her fingers and toes, her eyes met Becca’s. Even though she could see the pain and torment echoing in her daughter’s eyes, she knew she had done the right thing.

The last sound she heard was the horrendous screams of the one she gave it all up for.

Becca could barely breathe as her sobs racked her body. Lily was finally still, but Liam was moaning and slowly rolling around on his back.

Becca tried to calm herself as she watched Liam change. The large chunk of flesh that Lily tore from his neck was almost completely healed. His skin had taken on a pale luster while his hair seemed softer and developed more shine.

She counted his breaths, waiting and watching for the last one. He let out a low, almost guttural moan, as his last breath left his body. She only had a moment to take it all in before he began to move again.

Liam rolled from his back to his side and stretched his whole body. He twisted his ankles in a circular motion before setting his feet on the ground and jumping up into a crouch. He slowly got his bearings after the quick movement and stood straight up.

“Not exactly what I expected.” Liam held his arms out in front of himself. He rolled up his sleeves, noticing the new definition to his forearms and slipped the sides of his shirt apart to take in his newly sculpted torso. His fingertips gently strummed the rigid planes of his abdomen as he closed his eyes in pure awe of his new self.

When he opened them, he turned to see Lily’s crumpled and broken body as it lay next to Becca’s feet.

“I am sorry for your loss, but it was necessary.”

Becca squirmed as their eyes met.

“Don’t worry, I’ll-” Liam was cut off by a loud crash, seemingly just outside the room. “They’re almost here. I can hear them breathing.” He concentrated on listening to their incoming visitors. “That is my cue to leave, but it won’t be for long. I have no doubt we will be seeing each other again.” Liam laid a kiss on Becca’s forehead as she struggled away.

Liam walked over to the side wall with a smile. “I’ve always wanted to do this.” Liam punched through the concrete wall with ease. He kicked away enough of the wall to slip through before jumping out the hole and disappearing into the fading daylight.

Not even a second later, Abe busted through the door with Sam and Ryan. Abe was immediately at her side releasing her mouth from the gag.

“We have to help her.” Her voice cracked as it struggled to regain its former tone.

“They’ll take care of her, baby. Are you alright?” Abe was frantic as he removed her restraints and pulled her into his arms.

“No,” she sobbed.

Abe rocked Becca back and forth in his arms as Ryan and Sam took in Lily’s appearance.

“How long has she been like this?” Sam implored Becca.

“Not long.” Becca gasped for breath as she tried to contain her sobs. “Maybe ten minutes?”

“There’s still a chance. We need to get her back to the house.” Sam helped Ryan lift Lily’s body.

“Can I carry you, baby? We need to get out of here fast.” Abe settled his hands on the side of Becca’s face after sweeping her tear soaked tresses from her face.