He must have found a smaller tunnel or nook to slide into as he pulled me out of the main tunnel. His chest heaved against my back as his breath sounded ragged and fast in my ear. Even through my turtleneck and sweater I could feel the dampness of his sweat soaked body, and then the tangy scent of his coppery blood hit me. A sense of dread washed over me as I realized that was what was soaking through my clothes.
"Two left. There are two of them left," he grated in my ear. "The others can't see me like this."
My heart leapt as my skin tingled with dread. We needed to get away, I had to get him somewhere that I could look at him, that I could see the extent of the damage that had been done to him. He took another step back and bent to try and hide behind me a little more. I felt walls around me now but my concern for him far outweighed my claustrophobia.
How far back did this small passage go? Would we be safe inside of it? Would he be safe and sheltered inside of it? His grasp on my arms became painful but I didn't protest it as I knew he wasn't hurting me on purpose. In fact, I didn't think he was aware of the fact that he was holding me so tightly.
Aiden took a step toward us. His eyes went behind me, but I was certain that he couldn't see Cade within the shadows. "Two," I whispered to Aiden. "There are two left." Aiden's gaze was full of fright and turmoil as he came toward me. "Please don't tell the others we're here. Please help us Aiden."
Aiden's eyes closed as the footsteps came even closer. Cade's fingers curled more firmly into me as I glanced nervously toward the sound of approaching feet. We had to get away, we couldn't be standing here when they arrived; I didn't know what would happen if we were, what Cade would do.
Aiden shook his head and then began to nod. "Go."
I spun in Cade's grasp and propelled him backwards into the small tunnel. I didn't know where it went and I didn't care. I had to get him somewhere safe, somewhere that I could see the extent of his wounds. Aiden's muffled voice sounded behind us as the others arrived to help him with the monsters. I jumped and urged Cade to go faster as shots echoed throughout the tight confines.
I wrapped Cade's arm around my shoulders as he stumbled and nearly fell. Please, I prayed. Please be ok. I'd never seen him like this, never known he could be so weak and vulnerable. He was always so strong, so self assured and powerful. I knew he was only mortal like the rest of us, but I'd never expected to see him this way and it spurred me on even faster. I could hear the riotous beat of my heart in the silence that followed the gunshots.
"Opening." I didn't know what he meant until the walls gave out. The walls had been helping me to support him, but without their solid presence I nearly tripped and fell but managed to catch myself before we both tumbled to the floor.
Leaning against the wall, I helped to ease him down. My hands were shaking as I pulled the flashlight hanging at my side free of the loop that held it there. A strange calmness settled over me as I flipped the flashlight on. I could do this, I would do this. My hands were far more stable as I placed the flashlight down and focused my attention on the gashes that crisscrossed his stomach and chest.
His skin had been sliced open and blood had turned what remained of his gray shirt red. A jagged cut ran down his cheek so deeply that the skin had peeled back to reveal the flesh and bone beneath. The blackness that seeped through his veins was still running through his face and arms as he struggled to regain control of himself after the battle he had just waged. I found it disconcerting that though black seemed to fill his veins when it appeared, his blood was red.
I wasn't overly squeamish, I never had been, but I had never seen injuries this severe and life threatening before, and they were on Cade. Thoughts scrambled through my mind as I pulled the tattered remains of his shirt from him to take in the full extent of the wounds. His muscles instinctively recoiled from my touch no matter how gentle I was in my ministrations. There was so much blood...
"You need me," I stated flatly.
"No," he grated from behind clenched teeth.
I was grateful he didn't pretend not to know what I was talking about. I refused to back down though. "Yes Cade. You need my blood and you need my soul."
"I said no!" he retorted.
"It will help you heal, you know that. I know that." He shrank away from me as he shook his head. "It won't hurt me. I'm giving it to you." He was still shaking his head when I grasped hold of his chin, the only part of him that didn't appear to be coated in blood. "It will hurt me more if you die!" I snapped.
His grasp on my hand was surprisingly strong, yet tender, given his condition. There was a fire in his eyes as he leaned closer. "In the condition I am in I will not stop Bethany, not if it's you. I would rather die than do such a thing to you." The hair on my neck stood on end as his gaze flickered past me. "Now get her the hell away from me Aiden!"
I spun at his words and instinctively leaned closer to Cade as I tried to shield him from Aiden. There was no hiding what Cade was right now, there was no way to deny the darkness within him as it pulsed and swirled throughout his entire body.
"Stay back!" I cried as I pushed myself more firmly against Cade even as he tried to hold me away. "He'll see," I whispered.
"It's too late Bethany. Please, you have to get away. You're smell, ah you're smell..." His fingers wrapped into my hair as he drew me closer and inhaled deeply. My pulse quickened as I thought he would finally see reason and give into the needs of his body. Give into the one thing that would save him. Instead, he recoiled from me as he shoved against my arms. "Get her away. Aiden get her away from me!"
A protest rose in my throat as Aiden grabbed my arms. I fought against him but in the end it was the tormented look on Cade's face that caused me to relent to his wishes. Tears slid down my face as I allowed Aiden to pull me away. "Get Bishop," Aiden commanded.
"I'm not leaving him," I said forcefully. "And Bishop can't know."
I expected to see condemnation in Aiden's gaze; instead I found only hopelessness as he glanced between Cade and I. "You're presence is upsetting him Bethany, even I can see that. I'll do what I can, but he's going to need medical help. Get Bishop."
Cade's breathing was rapid as he gazed at me from under lowered lids. Blood continued to seep from the brutal wounds in his chest and stomach. No matter what Cade was, Aiden would keep him safe, I knew that, but everything in me was screaming against leaving him in such a vulnerable state.
"I'll be fine Bethany, go," Cade urged.
I couldn't withhold the tears that slid down my face. He was in worse shape than I'd realized if he was willing to let me bring Bishop here. "Don't leave me."
Cade forced a weak smile. "Never."
"I love you." I spun on my heel and fled down the tunnel before I lost all resolve and courage.
Chapter 10
I returned with Bishop to find Aiden giving Cade his blood. The scene stopped me dead in my tracks and Bishop bumped into my back. Aiden withdrew swiftly and tried to use his hand to cover his cut but blood seeped between his fingers and Bishop was too astute to have missed what was happening.
Bishop's dove-colored eyes were practically bulging behind his glasses when I turned toward him. "You have to help him," I pleaded, desperate for Bishop to understand.
Bishop's mouth finally closed, but his eyes were still frantic as they bounced between Aiden and I. "He told me my blood would help, before he passed out," Aiden said quietly. "I think he still got some after."
"What..." Bishop's voice was garbled as he tried to find words. He was probably the smartest person I'd ever met, but I was fairly certain his brain wasn't computing what he was seeing. Though he had passed out, the veins in Cade's arms and the backs of his hands were still more defined against his paler than normal skin. "He's not human." Bishop looked as if someone had punched him in the gut and stolen all his money as it completely sank in. "He's one of them."
Aiden grasped hold of Bishop's arm before I could. "I was stunned too, but I don't think he's a danger..."
&nb
sp; "He's not!" I blurted.
Aiden's eyes flickered to me before he focused on Bishop again. "He saved me. He saved us." Aiden looked at Cade in bewilderment and then at me as he tried to reconcile the fact that although Cade was one of the things that had forced us into these tunnels, and taken our mother from us, he was not our enemy. "He loves her, more than anything."
I couldn't breathe as I watched the play of conflicted emotions that flashed across Aiden's face. "Please," I begged as I turned my attention back to Bishop. "Bishop, please help him."
Before my eyes, I watched as Bishop resolved himself to do what he had to. He may have been mostly a research doctor, but he had stitched and sewed and treated live patients before, myself included. Setting the supplies he'd brought with him down, he set to work immediately on treating the numerous cuts and gashes that marred Cade's body.
Unable to watch, I turned away as I tried not to cry. Cade moaned repeatedly as Bishop worked on him but I couldn't bring myself to look. A loud shout echoed through the room and caused me to spin around. Bishop's hand was knocked aside, the needle and thread bounced against Cade's chest as a vicious snarl erupted from him and he bolted upright. His eyes were completely black; his veins flooded with ebony color once more. Bishop was gaping as he fell back and scrambled to get out of the way.
Aiden grabbed hold of me as I launched forward. Cade's gaze swung toward us, and though I felt it latch onto me, I knew that he didn't see anything. Ice pooled through me as I realized he might just rip us all to shreds, and he would never even know what he'd done if he remained trapped within the depths of whatever delusion held him.
I ripped away from Aiden as Cade launched at Bishop with his hands curled. If he got a hold of Bishop he would shred the thin doctor. "No!" I shouted as I thrust myself between them.
Cade fell against me, his face was warped and cruel as it hovered just inches over me. I barely recognized the man I loved as his face lowered toward mine. He would hate himself for doing it, destroy himself because of it, but as of right now the creature hovering above me knew only that it sought my blood and soul. I turned my face away from him as he pressed closer against me. His fingernails scraped against my skin, a growl of pleasure escaped him when the scent of my blood hit the air.
I was barely able to move my hand for fear that it would draw an instant attack from him, but I was able to do so enough to wave Aiden back. If he tried to attack Cade there was no way that I would be able to stop Cade from destroying us all. Aiden froze as he looked between Cade and me.
"Cade," I whispered. His hand trailed over my throat, the fingers that had once caressed me so lovingly and with such reverence were now poised to kill me. "You don't want to do this Cade." His hand stilled around my throat, my breath froze, I couldn't move. "It's me Cade. I love you."
His eyes remained unseeing and as cold and distant as outer space. Then, the blackness seeped out of them as they fixed on me in utter dismay and revulsion. A moan of anguish escaped him as he flung himself backward. He hit the wall with a heavy thud that caused the walls to shake and the room to echo with the hollow sound. He was panting, his breath rapid as his eyes crazily spun around the tunnel.
I turned over and pushed myself to my feet. "Stay back Bethany," he sneered when I took a step toward him. "Knock me out. Bishop give me something to knock me out!"
Bishop was shaking as he dug through his bag of supplies for a syringe and bottle. Filling the syringe with the clear liquid in the bottle, he looked nervously at Cade whose breathing had become even more rapid. Taking a deep breath, Bishop hurried toward Cade. He fell next to him, grabbed hold of his arm, and shoved the needle in before Cade could change his mind.
Cade bucked, his legs kicked out, and then he went completely still. His eyes locked on mine before his lids reluctantly fell closed. What little strength I had left fled my body as I collapsed onto the floor.
Bishop sat back on his heels beside Cade, the color had left his face, and lines I hadn't noticed before were now visible around his mouth and eyes. Yet I could tell his curiosity was piqued as his head tilted to the side and he glanced between the two of us. I leaned into Aiden as he sat beside me and wrapped his arm around my shoulders. With a trembling hand, Bishop leaned forward and reclaimed the needle lying against Cade's chest.
***
"He's the reason why your blood is different."
I lifted my head from my knees and blinked Bishop into focus. It felt like I had bits of sand in my eyes as I slowly pressed and rubbed my fingers into them. He was almost done stitching Cade's skin back together. I'd lost count of how many it had taken to get this far. Bishop's eyes were focused on me, his eyebrows raised as a look of dawning betrayal began to creep over his features. I liked Bishop, he'd saved my life, and he was helping to save Cade's life. I hated that look on his face.
"I didn't know that. Not until recently," I hurried to assure him.
Thankfully that look of me just having stolen his last morsel of food began to leave his face. "But it was because of him," he murmured as he rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "He is the reason."
"His blood won't help anyone else Bishop," I informed him before he got too carried away. "He took a chance with me, but he told me that mixing the blood kills most people."
Aiden's nostrils flared as fury crept over his face. "And he still did it to you?"
I shook my head as I bit my bottom lip. "He had to take the chance Aiden; otherwise I would have been frozen too. There would have been no saving me then." Aiden's eyes burned into mine, I could sense his logical side waging a war against the side that was irate because Cade had done such a thing to me. "He'd never do anything to harm me if he could help it Aiden, there wasn't any other choice."
Aiden shook his head. "Bethany..."
"If my blood was like yours he wouldn't have done it, but it's not. I'm not. He saved me Aiden, many times. I know it's hard to understand, I was angry and thrown off by it too, but I'm alive and I wouldn't be if it wasn't for him. If I can understand that, then so can you."
"I want to Bethany I really do, but he's one of them and you didn't tell me."
He'd been listening to our mother more than I'd realized as he really knew how to drive the guilt nails in. "I know Aiden and I'm sorry, but that's my fault. Don't hate him; he did what he had to."
"I understand that."
I felt like a chastised child but I refused to back down. I'd been protecting Cade, I'd done what I had to do, but I knew I wasn't in the right here either. "We both did what we had to do."
Aiden shook his head and glanced at Bishop. The doctor snipped off the thread and sat back on his heels. "We can't undo what has already been done and truth be told it's probably good to have one of them on our side. I've seen some of what he can do and I imagine that's only the tip of the iceberg. He's done nothing to hurt us." Bishop's intense eyes pinned me to the spot. "And I don't think he would do anything to hurt you."
"He wouldn't," I agreed. "He got us off The Cape, Aiden, and he has done absolutely nothing threatening to any of us."
Aiden still looked torn as he shook his head. Heaving a large sigh, he tossed his hands in the air. "He needs more blood," he relented. "And I assume a transfusion won't help. I doubt any of us have his blood type."
"When will he wake up?" I asked anxiously.
Bishop shook his head. "I gave him enough to knock out a small elephant, but there is still no way of knowing. I don't know what his metabolism is like. It could be another day, it could be an hour."
I began to roll up the sleeve of my shirt; I was grabbing for my knife when Aiden stopped my hand. "What are you doing?" I demanded.
"It can't be your blood." I opened my mouth to protest but he cut me quickly off. "We saw how he reacts to you Bethany; he refused your blood before because he was nervous about what he would do to you. We don't know how he will react now. He could kill you; he could kill all of us before he ever realized what he'd done."
"He's drugged."
/>
"And if your blood happens to wake him there is no way to know how he will react."
"But the two of you won't be enough, and you've already given him yours!"
His jaw clenched as his warm brown eyes flickered. "I'll find someone else."
I rebelled at his statement. I already felt as if Cade had been too exposed, that he was far too vulnerable right now. I didn't like the idea of even more people knowing about him. Bishop bent over Cade and pressed his fingers to his neck as he checked his pulse. Concern for Cade's life swiftly buried my dread of revealing what he was to anyone else.
"Go," I managed to choke out.
"Stay away from him Bethany."
A single tear slid free as I nodded mutely and Aiden disappeared. I turned as Bishop wordlessly made a cut on his wrist and pressed it against Cade's mouth. Even through his drugged stupor Cade reacted to the blood as he sluggishly began to swallow it. My hands folded against my chest as I fought the urge to go to him, to comfort him in some way. I wanted so much to help him, but there was nothing that I could do.
A noise from the tunnel caught my attention and for the first time I paused to think about who Aiden would bring back. I hoped that it wasn't Abby. I trusted her completely, but I despised the thought of using her in such a way, of having Cade feed from her like that.
Aiden stepped from the tunnel first, followed by Bret and Jenna. I instinctively stepped in front of Cade as a million protests surged up my throat. "It will be ok Bethany," Aiden said.
It couldn't possibly be ok. We had gotten closer but I still wouldn't have trusted Jenna with this and Bret had never liked Cade. However as my ex-boyfriend I thought Bret had every right to dislike the man I'd broken up with him for. No matter how much he didn't like Cade though, I didn't believe he would do anything to hurt him, or me.