Calvin smiled at him as he moved his mouth away from hers. Calvin was still too close to her; he would destroy her before Jack could make it to them. Pain twisted Hannah's features, she tried to fight against Calvin but her exertion only succeeded in drawing more blood from where the stake pressed against her chest. Her eyes shimmered like rubies as her fingers tore into Calvin's hand. Calvin didn't seem to notice it though, he was grinning as he pulled her back a few more feet. Jack stalked them but he didn't dare get too close as Calvin angled her toward the massive black stallion that had danced a few feet away from them.
"I can catch a horse," he said in a quiet, lethal tone.
Calvin's fingers rubbed against the underneath of her chin as he tilted her head further up. "Not if you want her to stay alive. You don't wish to catch a corpse, do you?"
The smirk that curved Calvin's lips caused Jack's hands to fist as he tried to calculate some way to get a hold of Calvin before he could drive that stake through her heart and effectively end both of their lives. He'd vowed he was never going to let anything bad happen to her and though he'd been too late to keep her completely protected, he was going to make sure she walked away from this if it was the last thing he did.
Calvin dragged her with him as he retreated a few more steps. Panic drove Jack forward another step, but when Calvin pressed the stake more firmly against her, he froze again. "I'd stay back lover boy, if you intend for her to live anyway," Calvin said with a cruel sneer.
Jack's eyes raced over the town surrounding them, but though smoke still filtered through the air it wasn't thick enough this far away from the tavern to cover any of his movements. Exasperation filled him as Calvin pulled her even further away. Jack spotted Daniel and Braith on the right side of Calvin seconds before Daniel fired an arrow. Jack lunged forward as Calvin turned toward the whistling arrow; it pierced through his shoulder and knocked his hand back from Hannah. The stake clattered to the ground as it fell from his limp hand.
Hannah spun and drove her fist into his face. Blood spattered from Calvin's battered nose, he staggered back a step but quickly recovered. He was already grabbing for her arms as she stumbled to the side in an attempt to avoid his frantic grasping. Calvin's left hand had caught in the sleeve of her dress when Braith grasped hold of her and ripped her away. A triumphant cry escaped Jack as he leapt over his brother and grabbed Calvin by the throat.
Dust kicked up around them as they tumbled onto the ground together. Something volatile and ferocious tore from him, something he'd never even known could reside inside of himself, but he knew that the driving urge to see this man dead was intricately interwoven with Hannah's safety. That if she was ever threatened this thing inside of him would destroy anyone that ever dared to touch her. Calvin tried to deflect Jack's hand as he repeatedly drove his fist into Calvin's face, but he couldn't hold him back.
A bone broke beneath Jack's hand, Calvin's right cheek caved in as his lower jaw cracked. Red continued to fill Jack's vision but he wasn't sure if it was because of his frenzy or from the blood that was spraying off of Calvin's face. Calvin managed to get his hands up, Jack felt his fingers digging into his face, tearing back the skin from his cheekbone, but he didn't stop pummeling the man.
A blow to the side of his head almost knocked him completely off of the man. Calvin managed to get his legs in between them and lever Jack the rest of the way off. "Jack!" Hannah screamed. Jack spotted her as he fell back to the ground. She strained to get free of Braith's hold but his brother kept her pressed against his chest as he moved her rapidly out of the way.
Blood trickled from Jack's temple and into his left eye as he rolled to the side. Calvin was still clenching the board he'd used to hit him with as he scrambled back and rose to his feet. Jack wiped the blood out of his eye to focus on the man across from him again. The right side of Calvin's face looked more like mush than anything truly resembling a vampire. His nose had been flattened, both cheekbones were broken, and his bloody and broken lips pulled back to reveal his lethal fangs.
Pushing himself up, Jack remained half bent over as he lunged forward. Calvin danced to the side but Jack still managed to snake his hand into the collar of his shirt. Calvin turned and swung the board up again but Jack grabbed hold of it before Calvin could hit him with it. Wrenching the board from Calvin's hands, he spun the burnt piece around in his hand and drove it forcefully upward.
It caught Calvin under the chin, lifted him up, and flung him ten feet back in the air. Jack twisted the board in his hands as he stalked toward Calvin. The larger vampire was attempting to get back to his feet when Jack placed his booted foot against Calvin's chest and shoved him back to the ground.
A twisted smile curved his lips as he leaned closer to him. "I told you not to touch her again."
Jack lifted the board over his head and drove downward with the full force of his weight. A low howl escaped Calvin, his hands curled around the board as it pierced through his chest. Jack turned the board in his hand, twisting it until it burst out of Calvin's back.
Though he doubted it was possible Calvin could return like his father had, he still held his hand out to Daniel as he approached. "Knife." Daniel didn't question the action, he simply tugged the foot long knife free from the holder on his side and tossed it to him. "Don't let her see this," he said to Braith.
"Stop!" Hannah cried. Jack forced down his unreasonable anger at his brother's hold on Hannah as Braith turned her away from what he was about to do.
The dying vampire watched him from terrified eyes as he squirmed to get away. Jack placed his hand against Calvin's forehead and pulled his head back. Calvin made a sick gurgling sound, even though he knew he was dying, he still tried to squirm away as Jack placed the blade against his throat and drove it deep. He hated Calvin, he'd kill him a thousand times over if he could, but he took no pleasure in severing his head from his body.
He dropped the knife at his side as it cut through the last of the sinew keeping it connected to Calvin's neck. He rose slowly, wary and beaten, and worried about what Hannah would think of what he'd done. Bracing himself, he turned to search the crowd for her. Braith still had a hold of her but he released her as Jack took a step toward them. He expected to see revulsion and condemnation in her eyes when she turned toward him, instead she let out a relieved cry as she raced across the ground and flung herself into his arms.
"Are you ok?" she demanded as her hands ran over his face and she wiped the blood from his eye and the scratches that marred his cheeks. He could already feel the wounds on his cheeks slowly closing back together. "Jack?"
"I'm fine. It's nothing, really," he assured her as he tried to hold her back in order to get a good look at her. The wound on her chest was already beginning to heal, the ends of her hair were singed and her face was still pink from the fire but he didn't see any burns on her. Even so, fresh anger spurted through him as he pulled her against his chest. "Are you ok?"
"I'm fine," she whispered in his ear. "Why did you cut off his head?"
Jack shuddered as he pressed her closer against him and turned her away from Calvin's remains. "My father survived a stake to the heart." He felt the shock that coursed through her body and caused her hands to tighten on his shoulders. "And though I doubt Calvin could do the same, I wasn't taking any chances with him."
She nodded as she pressed her face into her neck; he felt the hot wave of her tears against his skin. "Oh Jack, William..."
He held her closer as she released a moan. His eyes drifted to Braith as his brother pushed into the crowd. People and vampires scrambled to get out of the way as Calvin's remaining fighters attempted to flee the town. Braith's soldiers regrouped around him as Braith pointed in different directions and issued commands to them.
Jack reluctantly released Hannah as Braith snatched one of Calvin's vampires by the back of his neck and lifted him off the ground. He kept Hannah behind him as he hurried to help Braith. "The survivors are to be hunted down and locked up," Braith said
sharply as he thrust the smaller vampire at one of his soldier's. "I'll be in the house at the end of the road. Find me when you've located them all."
"Yes Your Majesty," the man said and carried the kicking and swinging vampire away.
"William..." Daniel started.
"Aria's with him," Braith interrupted briskly.
"He's alive?" Hannah breathed.
"No," Braith told her. "He is most certainly not alive."
***
Hannah stepped into the shadowed foyer of Uncle Abe's house. The house was as silent as a tomb and was enshrouded in the same air of melancholy as a cemetery. Uncle Abe was sitting on the couch with his hands folded between his legs as he leaned forward. Heath hovered nervously by his side. Lucas and Ellen were sitting beside him; tears streamed down Ellen's cheeks as she shook her head at Hannah's questioning look.
"They're in the back bedroom," Uncle Abe told her softly.
Hannah led the way through the narrow halls to the room at the back. Though it was a large room, it seemed much smaller with Xavier and Timber standing guard. It became even smaller when Braith and Jack filtered in to stand on either side of the full size bed.
Aria's eyes were a fiery red color as she rose from the chair that had been set up by William's bedside. "Calvin?" she demanded.
"Dead," Braith told her. Aria nodded before turning her attention back to her brother. "Any change?"
"No, there won't be for a little while now. He can still hear us though." She brushed the hair back from William's forehead as she slid into the seat again. Daniel walked to the other side of the bed and pulled another chair forward. "It's going to be grueling but he'll get through it, otherwise he'll just prove I am the stronger twin."
Braith ran his hand over her hair as he knelt at her side and pressed a kiss against her temple. "You're right, he will get through it."
Hannah kept hold of Jack's hand as he moved to stand beside his brother. Though blood still marred Jack's cheeks, the scratches on his face had already healed. She couldn't tear her gaze away from him, she'd almost lost him and she couldn't get enough of looking at him. She shuddered as she recalled what she'd just seen him do. Braith had tried to hide most of it from her, but even still she'd witnessed just how deep Jack's brutality and desire to protect her was. She thought she should be repulsed by the ruthlessness she'd just witnessed, instead she found herself loving him even more for it.
"Was Calvin the one that did this to him?" Aria demanded.
"No, it was Kane," Hannah answered. "I didn't see him out there with the others, but I didn't see everyone that has been killed or captured. He may be among them."
Aria nodded as she took hold of her brother's hand. It remained stiff and unmoving within her grasp, but she held it firmly. "If he's not out there, we'll find him," Jack promised her. Hannah wrapped her hand around Jack's arm as a shudder racked through him. "William will be ok."
"He will," Hannah said.
Aria's red eyes were forceful as she lifted her head. "I survived, we came from the same womb; he'll survive too."
"I'll get some chairs," Hannah volunteered.
She was reluctant to release Jack but she had a feeling no one was going to be leaving this room for awhile. She glanced out the window as Lucas helped her to gather some chairs. Tubs of water were being rushed up from the lake by vampires in order to put what remained of the fire out. The water would be enough to save the blacksmith shop but the tavern was a crumbled heap of burnt cinders.
Though tears burned her eyes, she knew it could have been much worse. They were all still alive, or at least she was hoping that they would all still be alive when this was over. Turning away from the window, Lucas helped her carry the chairs into the bedroom. Jack gestured his chair away with a flick of his wrist as he remained standing by the foot of the bed.
CHAPTER 25
The next few days passed by in a blur as William's body continued to be battered by the changes it was going through. Hannah had never seen anything like it as the rigor mortis stage slipped away leading him into one of extreme agony. Though she hated to just wait around while William suffered so greatly, she found herself unable to leave Jack's side as he and Aria unfailingly stayed beside William. Xavier remained ever present in the shadows behind Aria, but Braith and Daniel were pulled away numerous times to deal with the aftermath of Calvin's raid on the town. They returned as soon as they were able to and resumed their positions around William's body. Timber checked in often but he came and went as he helped to hunt down Calvin's remaining vampires.
There were many times when she was convinced that William would never survive the changes his body was going through. She hadn't thought the human body could handle what William's body seemed to steadily endure as he writhed and moaned upon the bed. She thought she heard a bone break but she couldn't be sure as his body was wracked with a spasm that caused his back to arch three feet off the bed. Hannah took a small step away but Aria knocked Jack's hand away when he made an attempt to push William back down on the bed.
"Don't touch him!" Aria snarled through clenched teeth.
Jack looked torn but he held his hands up in surrender as he took a step away from William. He flopped back onto the bed, a strangled cry escaped him before he became still again. Aria waved them back as she sat beside him on the bed and rested her fingers in the center of his outstretched hand. The thin shirt he'd worn had been torn from his body yesterday and the blankets had been stripped from the bed. The only thing he could tolerate against his skin was the thin shorts he wore and Aria's subtle touch.
Hannah watched the two of them with a lump in her throat. Jack would be heartbroken if William didn't survive this, but Aria would be devastated. Braith's face was strained, his hair disheveled as he helplessly watched his wife. Taking a step forward, he rested his hands on Aria's shoulders and began to rub them. William had to survive this, he simply had too.
The following day Aria requested buckets of water to be brought forth. Lucas and Ellen hauled buckets of cool water up from the lake and huddled nervously in the doorway as they watched. Aria and Jack took turns sponging William's face with the cool liquid as he moaned and thrashed upon the bed. Even the slightest touch made him recoil like she used to from the rays of the sun. She knew exactly what he was going through, what it felt like to have your skin feel like it was on fire and even the smallest breeze rubbed the flesh raw.
"It's nearing the end," Aria whispered from where she knelt at William's side. Aria wiped back the strand of hair that stuck to her sweat streaked face as she turned her head to survey the room. "He'll need blood."
Jack's bowed head tiredly came up as his bloodshot eyes focused on Aria. His broad shoulders were hunched forward; his hair was disheveled from running his fingers through it. Hannah could feel the tightness of his muscles as she rested her hand on his back. "I'll get it," she offered.
She knew neither one of them was willing to leave and Braith and Daniel had been called away again an hour ago. "Not by yourself," Jack said as he rubbed at the thick black stubble shadowing his jaw.
"Jack..."
"Not by yourself," he interrupted brusquely. "Calvin may be dead but some of his men are still running free out there."
"I'll go with her," Xavier volunteered.
Hannah nodded and turned back to Jack. His bloodshot eyes were focused upon her as he studied her intently. He glanced at William before rising to his feet. "That's ok Xavier, I'll go with her."
"Stay with your friend Jack," she assured him.
He shook his head as he came toward her. "We'll only be gone for a little bit."
Fighting him on it wasn't going to get her anywhere, she knew that. Her skin came alive as his hand wrapped around her elbow and he walked with her out of the room. She moved closer to him as they made their way through the hushed house.
The sun was low in the sky when he opened the door for her and stepped aside to let her exit. Hannah's gaze instantly went to the skeleton of t
he new tavern rising into the air. The burnt out lumber had been removed from the site of the fire and a frame had already been erected. She spotted Uncle Abe and Lucas with the crew working to nail the beams of the roof into place.
Tears of gratitude burned her eyes as she watched the townspeople hauling lumber to the new building site in order to help them rebuild. They'd lost twenty two residents to Calvin and his men and thirty had been injured, but the town was coming together to help rebuild the tavern and bury the bodies. The bodies of Calvin and his fallen men had been burned yesterday, and his men that had been captured had been put to death.
Most of what was left of the town's inhabitants were now gathered round to help with the tavern. It was something that never would have happened when Calvin was in charge as Calvin had banned gatherings this big centuries ago.
Some of the other occupants of the town were trying to identify the remains still being pulled from Calvin's torture room. Most of the bodies that were in good enough condition to be identified were people and vampires that no one seemed to know. It seemed that Turner and Lola were the only two victims that had been residents of the town. Some of the bodies that had been identified were those of passing out-of-towners thought to have moved on, but they hadn't gotten far.
Sunlight poured onto her as she stepped onto the first step of the porch but instead of exhibiting the ability to move around in it like she had over the past few days, the warmth of it caused her skin to blister almost instantly. A startled cry escaped her but before she had a chance to retreat into the shadows, Jack wrapped his arms around her and propelled her into the house.
His hands were in her hair as he brushed it frantically back from her face. "Are you ok?"
She wasn't entirely sure what she was right now, confused and stunned definitely, but she hadn't been exposed long enough to do any lasting damage. "What happened?" Xavier demanded from the doorway of the bedroom.
"The sun," Hannah whispered.
Aria gave her a sympathetic look. "It will be ok," she said before retreating back to her brother's side.