The Chosen Ones

  ****

  I woke up alone to the sound of rain. The sun had yet to rise and a crescent moon glowed eerily outside, making the cave glisten silver and gray. My body was chilly and stiff, and my clothing still damp, but I could tell I had slept for hours for my mind felt clear once more.

  As I looked around the empty cave I had a feeling Thane hadn’t returned at all. Concerned and confused, I pressed my hands into the dirt and sat up. It took a moment for my aching body to catch up with my mind, and another moment to realize that the sound I heard outside wasn’t the sound of rain pattering against leaves after all, but the sound of laughter floating up the hill. I frowned, confused. Who? Had Will arrived?

  That thought had me surging out of the cave, my heart hammering. But the area was dark and quiet. I paused, listening, searching the trees. Nothing. Bemused, I started down the hill. Where was Thane? The sudden bark of laughter had me stilling. No laughter I recognized. I knelt behind the tree where Thane and I had kissed. Below, near a shallow creek, I could see dark forms racing through the water, up and down the side’s the bank. Were they playing some sort of game? The moon was bright, but I was too far away to identify the culprits. I sat there in indecision, trying to decide if they were enemy or friend. Suddenly the men parted and a woman in a white dress stood in the middle of their circle.

  “Please! Please let me go!” she begged.

  That white dress glowing in the moonlight told me everything I needed to know. An escaped chosen one. My heart leapt into my throat, fear bitter on my tongue. The beautiful ones surrounded her in a nightmarish childhood game. Memories of that night in the castle came flooding back. Me, in my own white gown. Thane forcing me to jump…hitting the water.

  “Help me!” she screamed.

  I jerked from my memory.

  “She’ll taste delicious,” someone crowed.

  My body went cold. Oh God, they were going to kill her. I started to surge forward when a steel arm wrapped around my waist and jerked me back into an equally hard body. I recognized Thane’s scent immediately.

  His hand clamped across my lips. “Shhh. Quiet. They’ll hear you.”

  I swallowed hard over the lump of fear clogging my throat and somehow managed to nod. I knew better than to scream and draw their attention. He released his hand from my mouth, but didn’t remove his arm from around my waist. And I was thankful for his presence, even more so for his comforting touch.

  “I was watching them when I saw you leave the cave,” he explained, his gaze pinned to the scenery below. They were pushing her back and forth, as if she was a ball they might play with. Her terrified screams ate at my conscience and I had to resist the urge to bolt down there.

  “How many are there?” I asked.

  “Five.”

  Five. Could Thane take five? Doubtful. And so far I’d been little help where the beautiful ones were concerned. Still, we had to try. Maybe my grandfather had been able to ignore the fact that innocent humans were being tortured and killed, but I couldn’t. “We have to do something.”

  He sighed, his breath a warm caress across the side of my cheek. “I knew you’d say that. You’re injured, and as amazing as I am, I most likely can’t kill five blood drinkers on my own, while protecting you.”

  In other words, yet again, we might die. “I can’t just leave her to be murdered.”

  “I know you can’t.”

  Perhaps I should have taken that serum, but it was too late now. “Thane, you don’t have to—”

  “Shhh.” He glanced back at the cave. “You stay in there, I’ll lure them away. I don’t care what happens, you stay put.”

  I spun around to face him. We were close, so close I could see the glow in his eyes. “You’re joking, right?”

  “Not at all.”

  When I didn’t respond, merely glared up at him, he sighed again. “What do you suggest then? There is no reason for the both of us to die.”

  He fully expected to be killed. “I’ll…play the bait again, just like I did with my grandfather. Just like I did when we ran into those vampires in the woods weeks ago.”

  He frowned. “No, this is different. Not going to happen.”

  “How is it different?”

  “Because, I…” He trailed off, his jaw clenched.

  He made no sense. Why was he acting so strangely? “Thane, we have no other choice. It’s either use me as bait or I scream now.”

  His jaw clenched, his gaze flashing with emotion. “I could stop you.”

  “And I’d never forgive you.”

  We sat there staring at each other for a long moment, a battle of wills, as the girl cried out for help below. Maybe I was an idiot, and I knew at some point I was going to have to put my own safety above another, but not now. Not yet.

  “Fine.”

  I nodded even though my nerves flared. I’d left Sally. I’d left Jimmy. I couldn’t leave this woman too. “What do you want me to do?”

  He pulled a pistol from his waist band, reached behind me and tucked it into the back of my trousers. “You’ll figure it out.” He stepped back. “Shoot them straight through the heart or head. And Jane, try not to shoot me.”

  I fought my grin. “I thought you couldn’t die.”

  “We can still feel the pain.”

  “Big baby,” I got in before he blended into the darkness.

  Alone, I refocused on the group below. Thane was trusting me to take the lead, and I’d have to trust him to show up because I sure as heck couldn’t fight off five vampires on my own. But deep down I knew he would be there. He was always there for me.

  “Please, no!” the woman screamed. She’d somehow managed to break free and was stumbling through the creek, holding her skirts in a white cloud around her as she attempted to escape. Running would only feed their sick desires.

  I had to act fast. I jumped up, skidding and slipping down the muddy hill. “Stop!” I cried out. “Let her go!”

  They turned immediately toward me. Five faces of pure beauty, glowing eyes, and steel bodies. Within that very moment they could have killed me. But they didn’t just kill to kill. No, to them it was a game and if they could taunt the prey, only better.

  “Let her go,” I repeated, pretty proud when my voice didn’t quiver.

  One vampire chuckled, separating himself from the group and trudging through the shallow creek toward me. “You want to save her, rebel? Very well.” He looked at his friend who held her. “Give her back.”

  He shoved the woman toward me. I caught her when she stumbled, her weight heavy as she leaned into me. That was easy. Too easy. I knew better than to trust them. “Don’t worry,” I whispered. “We’ve got a plan.”

  The woman whimpered in my arms, so afraid, she couldn’t even respond. She smelled of overly perfumed rose soap and sweat, the noxious odor reminding me of that night at the castle and making me ill. She was exactly how I had been that day Thane had saved me. Helpless. Terrified. Alone.

  “Please,” the vampire said, spreading his arms wide. “Do leave. We shouldn’t want to hold you up.”

  “Let’s go,” the blonde haired woman whispered urgently. She was leaning into me with all her weight, making it hard for me to walk. She trusted them, silly girl. I knew better. But maybe, just maybe I could hold them back while she made a dash for it.

  “Can you run?”

  She looked up at me with wide, tear-filled eyes. “Y…yes.”

  “Okay. When I count to three, you’re going to run. I’ll hold them back.”

  She nodded. Hell, the woman actually thought I was going to get us out of this mess alive. Even if they focused on me I had no doubt they would track her down within moments. Still, we had to try. “One, two, three.”

  Gripping her skirts she darted around me. At the same time I reached for the pistol and stepped back…right on the hem of her gown. I knew in that moment we were utterly ruined. We both ended up falling to the ground. The pistol flew from my hand
, out of reach. Suddenly we were surrounded.

  “Well, what can I say,” one vampire replied with a shrug. “We gave you a chance.”

  I had only a split second. As he dropped toward me, I pulled the dagger strapped to my thigh and shoved it upward. He fell onto the knife. It had worked before and it worked this time. Thank the skies. With a cry, he stumbled back. I pulled the knife free, remembering what Thane had said. I had to make sure he would die. But how? I doubted the others would wait patiently by while I sawed of their friend’s head with my dagger.

  Before I could react, I was pulled upright, held tight against a hard body, while the damsel in distress was grabbed by another vampire. “You’ll pay for that, rebel.”

  Frantic, I searched the dark shadows. Come on, Thane. Where are you?

  “Please,” the woman cried out. “I wasn’t going to harm you. I didn’t want to attack.”

  Unbelievable. I slid her a glare, annoyed. Was she actually blaming me for this after I’d tried to save her? If she’d run like I’d said, she could have had a chance. Knowing how my fear would only feed them, I decided to play tough. “Let us go and we won’t kill you.”

  The vampire laughed, his sweet breath wafting over me. Not Thane’s scent, no. This man’s was noxious. “You do amuse me. Pan, what do you say? Shall I keep her as a pet? She could be fun.”

  A shiver raced through me. The thought of being held captive under his power sickened me. I’d die before I’d be imprisoned again.

  “Only if I can play with her too,” Pan replied.

  The girl in the white dress whimpered and I had to resist the urge to tell her to shut up. Damn, Thane had been right. We should have run when we’d had the chance.

  “Too much work,” the man holding me said. “You have to feed them, water them…exhausting. I’d rather just kill them now.” His lips pulled back and long, thin canines glistened in the moonlight. “So much easier and instant gratification.”

  “I didn’t mean I would kill you,” I snapped, trying to delay my impending demise. “I meant my friend would.”

  “What? Her?” Pan lifted the girl in the white dress, holding her up like a prize while she screamed and thrashed her legs, making her skirts billow around her. If I could have slapped her, I would have.

  The rest of the group broke out laughing. All but one. The man who stood back, watching with a smile of amusement. It was obvious he was the leader; his relaxed stance said as much. As his gaze met mine, something shifted deep within. Something that told me this wasn’t right. Suddenly I had the oddest feeling they’d used her as bait to draw us out.

  “Good God,” their leader drawled. “Feed already, this is growing boring.”

  “No,” I interrupted. “I don’t mean her.” I glanced at the girl in the white dress. “I mean my other friend, the one who is stalking you even now.”

  I hoped.

  Their laughter tapered off as everyone looked around. The woods grew silent. Even their leader looked uneasy.

  “She’s bluffing,” the man who held me said, tightening his hold around my waist and making me grimace. My injured shoulder was pressed tightly against his hard chest. If the wound broke open and he smelled the blood, I was as good as dead.

  “Am I bluffing?”

  “I’d say yes,” Pan replied, dropping the girl and letting her crumble to the ground in a pool of trembling white material. “Feed off her now.”

  “Very well.”

  I tried to move, but my arms were pinned to my side. Just as I saw him lower his head from the corner of my eye, I heard the soft swoosh of a bow. The arrow whistled by my nose and pierced the vampire holding me through his throat. The vampire cried out, stumbling back. Another arrow hit him in the chest. He went down with a thud, leaving me fumbling to regain my balance.

  The relief I felt was immediate. Thane had arrived. Frantic, I studied the forest, but I couldn’t see him. Judging by the direction of the arrows he was north.

  Only four vampires remained. Their gazes darted from us to the woods, as if they couldn’t decide what to focus on.

  “Who are you?” Pan cried out.

  “Merely a dhampir,” Thane said as he stepped out from behind a tree, bow raised. He shot the man through the heart, then within a blink he’d turned and shot another.

  “Traitor,” their leader hissed.

  “That’s right.” Thane let the arrow go. It hit the man in the eye. “I am.”

  The last vampire raced forward so fast I could barely see him. He hit Thane hard and they both flew back a good ten feet. Everything happened so quickly, I barely had time to think. Thane hit a tree, his head cracking against the trunk. The bow he held tumbled from his hand and into the brush.

  I stumbled toward the area where my gun had fallen. “Where is it?” I demanded of the girl laying in a white, satin puddle. But she merely only sat there whimpering. Big help.

  Desperate, I shuffled my hands around until I found the cold metal. Grasping it firmly, I pointed the pistol at Thane and the monster he fought. Pull the trigger. Just pull the trigger. But they were rolling around so quickly I couldn’t tell one from the other. The sun burst above the horizon, brilliantly, blindingly bright.

  “Shoot!” Thane demanded, right before the vampire hit him in the face.

  I cringed. “I might shoot you.”

  Thane stumbled upright and threw his fist forward, connecting with the man’s jaw. “I’ll heal.”

  “Shoot him,” the girl in the white dress hissed.

  And so I pulled the trigger. The bullet hit the vampire, flying cleanly through his torso. He wasn’t the only one who gasped. When Thane stumbled back, falling to his knees, I realized the shot had hit him as well.

  “No!” I screamed, running to him.

  “Jane,” Thane seethed through clenched teeth, as he pressed his hand to his gut. “Shoot him in the head!”

  I stopped and jerked my gaze toward the vampire who sat in the weeds, bleeding. His lips lifted as he growled at me. “You think you can win, human?”

  I swallowed hard. My hand trembled, but I couldn’t do it. For some reason, I couldn’t shoot him in the head while he stared up at me. What was wrong with me? Suddenly Thane was standing, his right hand pressed to his wounded stomach. He snatched the gun from my fingers and pulled the trigger. The blast sent a flock of birds screeching into the air.

  Cringing, I looked away.

  Truth was I took no glory in witnessing their deaths. Truth was I grew tired of the fighting, the blood, the battle. I could hear the thump of the vampire’s body hitting the ground and knew we had survived yet again…thanks to Thane. Instead of focusing on the dead and dying surrounding me, I left them to Thane and made my way to the woman who was sobbing on the ground.

  As much as the sight of her disgusted me, I also knew that I was her only a little over a month ago. And so I kept my tone soothing, my hands gentle. “It’s going to be okay.”

  Around us two vampires were dead, the other two laying there moaning in pain. I knew what this chosen one was thinking…what sort of world was this? Believe me, I understood the terror in her eyes, the confusion, and even anger. I reached out and took her hand, helping her to her feet.

  From the corner of my eye, I noticed Thane move toward the two vampires who still lived. He lifted the bow and pointed it at the first monster. The arrow struck his head. Then to make sure, Thane raised the bow and pointed it at the vampire’s chest.

  The woman in the white dress suddenly showed some spirit and spit toward the body. Her reaction surprised and confused me. I’d never known a chosen one to have so much bitterness. Not even I had been this angry. Had she been a servant forced to endure years of torture?

  “You think you are going to get away with this, dhampir?” the last vampire alive lay on the ground, his glowing gaze pinned to Thane. His hatred was almost palpable. “There’s a bounty on your head, Thanatos. And we will hunt you down, just as we do t
he humans.”

  Startled, I glanced at Thane, trying to read the truth in his eyes. Thane lifted his bow and shot. So, they had known each other. Thane didn’t seem in the least bit upset that he’d just killed an acquaintance. But then I expected nothing less. Still his lack of emotion worried me at times. Was it normal?

  The girl whimpered, drawing my attention back to her.

  “It’s over,” I promised.

  For now. Until the next attack.

  But apparently I didn’t offer the comfort she needed for she ignored me, and stumbled to her feet just as Thane arrived, bow in hand. For a brief moment I thought he’d frightened her. But no, she launched herself at him and wrapped her arms tightly around his neck.

  “Thank you!” Her sobs came out pretty and delicate, just like her. “Thank you.”

  Shocked, I merely stood there staring at them. Anger and annoyance fought for control, a feeling I’d never experienced before. I found it odd that a woman who had been attacked by a group of beautiful ones would so willingly give herself over to Thane, someone half vampire. Yes, I trusted him to protect me from the beautiful ones, but that didn’t mean I had at first. Perhaps she’d been brought up in the castle. Maybe she was much more trusting than myself.

  Or perhaps, just perhaps, something was incredibly wrong here.

  Chapter 16