"Ashby, we need men behind us!" he called.
Ashby glanced at him from around a wave of arrows raised to fire another round. Ashby took a step back from setting them on fire to peer down at the town below. He nodded briskly before gesturing toward Calista and Barnaby. They took some of the militia with them as they pushed toward the back of the group, preparing to take on the soldiers that were still gathered at the bottom of the hill.
Jack didn't like the fact their attention was now divided, but they'd known that the guards in the town wouldn't be distracted by the fires forever. He could only hope they'd bought Braith enough time to have entered the palace already, and that the other soldiers would soon be making their way inside after him. Jack was distracted by an echoing shout, and a loud bang as another tree rammed into the gates.
"Fire!" Jack shouted.
Another wave of arrows rained down from above as answering flames soared into the air. Jack jumped to the side in time to barely avoid being taken out by one. David grunted beside him and fell back as an arrow pierced through his shoulder. Jack grabbed for him but his hand was knocked aside as an arrow shot through the center of it. A hiss escaped him; his teeth clenched together as he snatched hold of the shaft and ripped it from his hand in one sharp, jerking motion.
He had no time to coddle the injury though, no time to staunch the blood flowing from it as he grabbed hold of David and pushed him back from the onslaught of fresh arrows. David's face twisted as his lip curled, but he managed to reach up and break the tail end of the arrow off. "I'm fine!" he yelled at Jack over the rising noise of the battle. "It's just bone."
Jack nodded but took the bow from him. Even if it wasn't a mortal wound, there was no way David was going to be able to fire anything over top of the wall. Jack took up the stance that David had taught him and placed an arrow against the bow. With a trembling hand David was able to ignite the cloth for him.
Raising it up, he aimed the arrow over the wall but failed miserably as it bounced off the top of the battlements and spiraled back to the ground. He cursed angrily as David shook his head and lit another arrow for him. "Put some of that vamp strength behind this one Wimpy."
Jack scowled at him but he leaned back and fired the arrow with a lot more force. This time it cleared the high walls and sailed into the courtyard of the palace. "Back away!" someone shouted as a sudden influx of soldiers lined the walls.
The troops outside the gates fell back as a fresh wave of arrows cascaded down upon them. A ferocious shout rose up from the back. Jack had to strain to see over the sea of heads surrounding him as he turned to look behind him. More soldiers had filtered out from the alleys and homes that weren't yet on fire within the town. Jack suspected that much like the tunnel that only Braith knew about, there were also a few that only the king did, and he had used one of them to establish more of his troops secretly within the town.
From the back, his father's soldiers released a loud battle cry as they charged up the hill. With a sinking feeling in his stomach, Jack realized they were pinned in between the soldiers behind, and the soldiers above as more arrows were released upon them.
- CHAPTER 8 -
Muffled shouts echoed from above as the sound of running feet pounded over the stone ceiling above her. Aria's head followed the sounds; her heart did an odd little skip in her chest, as her throat went dry. Moving to the front of the cell, her hands curled around the bars as she strained to hear what was going on. She'd never hated the bars more, she wished she could rip them from the wall or bend them out of her way so she could crawl free of this awful place. She had to fight the urge to stomp her feet and scream like a two year old.
"What's going on?" the disembodied voice floated through the darkness from the cell to her right.
"It's Braith," she whispered.
Saying the words aloud made them true. Saying the words aloud confirmed the bubble of hope that had been building inside of her, at the same time that apprehension swelled within her. He was here, he was in danger, and she was trapped, unable to break free, and of no use to him. If she was there, if she was with him she could help, she knew she could.
"I'm sure you want that to be so child…"
"I'm not a child!" she snapped. "I know it's so. He's come, he's here."
"Do you really think so Aria?" Mary whispered.
"Yes."
There was a collective inhalation of breaths and then Lauren began to sob. Aria thought she should feel some pity; instead all she felt was the hard rock of resentment that festered inside her every time she thought of the girl and the torment she had caused.
Aria moved away from the bars, she peered up at the dark roof as she followed the running as far as she could. She felt like a caged animal as she paced within the small confines of the cell. If he was in the palace already, he would find her here soon. Though they had hoped that the influx of another vampire's blood in her system would dilute Braith's ability to track her, she knew they'd been wrong. His blood was alive and well within her, it pulsed and surged with every beat of her heart. Even if the king could track her now too, the king's blood had not diluted Braith's blood, no one's could.
Aria flew back to the bars as the door at the top of the stairs creaked open. Anticipation hammered through her, she longed for it to be Braith. She ached to touch him, to feel him, to have him erase the hideous taste of the king and ease the awfulness of these past days. She needed him nearly as badly as she needed air at the moment. She clung to the bars and tried to peer up the stairs as a torch was brought forth.
Slowly her hope began to dissipate. This vampire was all wrong. She knew it before the glow of the torch hit the bottom of the well tailored pants, knew it before the firelight played off of his chest and face. It wasn't Braith that had come for her first.
Caleb lifted the torch higher as Aria fought the urge to slink into the shadows and hide in the back of her cell. She had nowhere to hide, and her self-respect refused to let her cower from him. He'd never brought her down here, had never pulled her from the filthy depths, he didn't know what cell she was in, but it wasn't going to be difficult to find her. She didn't shrink away from the bars, but she also wasn't going to call out, 'Right here, here I am!'
Caleb moved amongst the cells, thrusting the flame forward as he peered into each of them. He paused outside of Lauren's cell, his mouth twisted into a callous grin. "How do you like being back in the palace dear?"
Bitterness erupted through Aria, she didn't like Lauren, not even a little, but she despised Caleb's cruelty even more. He didn't wait for an answer as he continued onward before stopping in front of her. The fire played over the planes of his face as he studied her with a malicious gleam in his eyes. She tilted her chin up and glared at him as his smile widened. His eyes roved leisurely over her body as he licked his lips. "Hello kitten," he purred. "It seems as if big brother has arrived, and our time together is going to become truly pleasurable. I'm sure Braith is going to love watching."
There was a loud inhalation from the cell beside her as the man's hands appeared on the bars again. Keys jingled as Caleb pulled them from his pocket. Aria gulped heavily. They had already enjoyed tormenting her, but now was when they would truly begin to torture her in order to punish Braith.
Though she tried to fight it, a small tremor crept through her body. Her gaze darted frantically over the cell once more. Even with the illumination, she was well aware of the fact that there was still nothing of any use to her in here. Nothing she could use as a weapon, outside of herself.
Caleb pulled the door open. "I'm going to enjoy this. Big brother won't, but I am going to enjoy every second of what I do to you." Aria had no doubt about it. "Don't make me come in there after you."
"I wasn't going to."
Drudging up every bit of courage she had, Aria stepped from the cell. Caleb put the torch into a sconce and extended his fisted hands toward her. Her eyebrows knitted in confusion as he continued to grin at her. "Pick one."
/> She'd played this game as a child, with her father and brothers, but she most certainly didn't want to play it with Caleb. "Pick one!" he commanded when she didn't immediately move.
"What happened to you?" The words just popped out of her mouth. She hadn't meant to ask it, didn't even think there was an answer for someone like him, but the question hung heavily in the air between them. She felt his rising impatience as he took a step closer, forcing her back as one of his fists pushed into her ribcage.
"Pick a hand or I'll break both of yours," he snarled. She felt like disobeying him just to show him that she wasn't intimidated by him, but if she was to have any chance of defending herself against him she required her hands. Plus, she was intimidated by him, it was impossible not to be, the guy was nuttier than an oak tree. Swallowing heavily, she hit his right hand as swiftly and as scarcely as she could. He laughed as he shook his head and opened his empty right hand. "Wrong guess kitten. Try again."
Aria somehow managed to keep her chin raised defiantly. The thought of touching him again caused her stomach to somersault, but concern for her life outweighed her revulsion as she brushed his other fist. His hand unfurled.
Aria was too aghast to move, too horrified to even breathe. In Caleb's hand, glimmering and bright, was a simple golden chain. The kind of chain that blood slaves were forced to wear when they went into public, a chain that Braith had even put on her a couple of times. At least then she'd known that Braith would take it off of her. There was no guarantee that Caleb would do the same.
He was watching her with a calculated malice that made her realize he had no intention of ever removing the chain from her. His father's blood was inside of her, but Braith's blood would always be stronger within her, and if the king died she would be free again. She didn't know if the chain came free if the owner was killed, or if it remained there permanently, but she wasn't going to take the chance that she would have to wear it for the rest of her life. She'd rather die than have that constant reminder of Caleb.
There would be no waiting for the opportune time; there would be no trying to get her hands on a weapon. It had become apparent that now was the only time she would have to try and escape.
He dangled it before her, moving it back and forth like someone teasing a cat with string, and she suddenly understood his newfound, irritating, kitten reference. Caleb's eyes gleamed; the torchlight caught his teeth, highlighting the canines that had extended into fangs already. No, Aria thought savagely. There was absolutely no way she was going to let this sadistic son of a bitch think he had broken her already, think he could make her cower, or allow him to put that thing on her.
Aria dropped her head in an attempt to hide the rage sizzling through her. "Give me your hand."
Aria stuck out her right arm, trying to appear limp and weak as she kept her shoulders hunched and her knees loose. He was reaching for her, the golden chain dangling by his feet when she seized hold of his arm. He hadn't expected the movement, nor had he expected her to roughly jerk him forward. While off balance, Aria lifted her knee and drove it into his groin with as much force as she could muster. She was glad her brothers had taught her how to fight dirty as Caleb released a low grunt of pain, instinctively grabbed himself and hunched forward. Before he could recover she fisted her hands and slammed them into his back. A hollow echo resounded through the dungeon room as he fell to his knees.
She wasn't going to give him even a moment to recover as she leaned back and delivered a solid roundhouse kick to the side of his face. His head snapped to the side with a loud crack. Aria didn't hesitate as she turned and fled down the aisle of the filthy dungeon.
"Run Aria!" Mary screamed, the hysteria in her voice alerting her to the fact that Caleb was already starting to recover.
Aria hit the stairs, taking them two at a time as she ascended rapidly. She was dismayed to realize she was already breathing heavily and her heart was lumbering from the effort. The loss of blood, lack of food, and brutality she had endured had taken far more of a toll on her than she'd thought. A toll she was going to have to do her best to ignore if she were to have any chance of surviving this.
If Caleb got his hands on her now…
She shuddered at the thought and broke it off. Reaching the top of the stairs, she grabbed hold of the knob on the heavy metal door at the top and swung it shut. Even though Caleb had the keys, and for all she knew he could get through the door without the key, she was still reassured by the loud click of the lock as she slid it into place and spun away from the door.
"Bitch!"
A small gasp escaped her as a hand snagged in her hair. She hadn't realized there was a hole at the top of the door. Caleb's hand cruelly fisted in her hair, she clawed at it and jerked roughly to the side as she tried to force him to release her by pinning his arm awkwardly against the door.
Frustration filled her, her eyes burned as he pulled her head back, bending her neck at an unnatural angle. He may not mean to do it, it would ruin all of his plans, but she was becoming increasingly fearful that he was going to accidentally break her neck. A strangled cry escaped her as she threw herself forward. Stars burst before her eyes; she could feel the hair ripping from her scalp as she kept her weight shifted forward. Losing her hair was far preferable to losing her life.
A clump of her hair gave way with a wrenching tear that caused her eyes to burn. She fell forward, her knees and palms stung as they slapped on the floor. Scrambling to her feet, she didn't look back as she bolted down a lengthy corridor. She was completely unaware of where she was going as she fled into the bowels of the palace.
***
His rooms were much as he'd left them. Trashed. He clearly recalled the last conversation he'd had with Caleb in these rooms; he'd been getting fitted for his wedding when Caleb had come to him. The tailor had been terrified of him, everyone had been terrified of him, even Caleb, and rightly so as he'd been an out of control, bloodthirsty monster after Aria had left him.
But it was that conversation with Caleb that had pushed him over the edge. Aria had been spotted, in a cave, with another man. He now knew that other man was William, but at the time Caleb's revelation had sent him into another frenzy. He'd already destroyed his apartment once after discovering her gone, but this time he'd ripped it to shreds, leveling it. He'd known the damage he'd done, he'd been there for it, but this was the first time he was actually witnessing it.
He'd gone to the dungeons after with the goal of sating the beast within him, but he'd never made it there. Instead, he'd finally given up on his pride and vowed to hunt her down, vowed to make her pay for turning him into this insatiable monster. Instead, she'd quenched the savagery within him.
Now he was standing here, back in the rooms where it had all started, and he could feel the rising bloodlust as it pulsed through him. This time though, it would only be death that satisfied him.
William let out a low whistle as he stepped over some broken furniture. "Your father has a temper," he muttered.
"I did this."
William's mouth dropped. "Why would you… Aria."
"Yes."
Braith nodded to the soldiers and began to pick his way carefully through the debris that littered the floor. He could see, but he still relied on his other senses the most right now. He would hear and smell the enemy before he saw them. The sitting room was in much the same condition as the living room, and he knew without having to see it, that the room Aria had spent the majority of her time in was the most devastated. He'd tried to destroy anything that held her exquisite scent on it, anything she may have touched, but he hadn't been able to bring himself to ruin it all.
"Wow," Max breathed.
He didn't look back at them. He was not proud of what he'd been then; he had despised the lack of control that had consumed him, the death and misery he had rained down upon the innocent. He couldn't take it back though, and right now he welcomed the thrumming power that came with the knowledge that Aria was being threatened, that c
ame with letting the darkness creep in to take control again.
He stepped into the room that had been Aria's upon first arriving, not at all surprised to find the tunnel near the bed barricaded. He suspected that at least part of the tunnel had also been demolished. He refused to look at the nightgown spread out on the bed as he turned on his heel and left the room. Keegan remained at his side as he made his way into the main living area.
At the door of the suite, he pressed his hands to the wood, and his eye to the peephole. He saw nothing out there, and sensed no one as his hand rested on the knob. He turned it bit by bit and stepped into the hallway. There was no one about, but he could hear running footsteps in the massive foyer below and shouts echoed off of the cavernous walls.
There were some walls breaking the openness of the hallway before him, but for the most part it was an open balcony to the main entryway below. They would be far too visible to the soldiers and people beneath them. Unfortunately, it was also the fastest way to the dungeons.
He turned and went the other way, disappearing deeper into the palace as he moved toward the servant's corridor. It would take longer, but this part of the hall was hidden in shadow, and sheltered from view by massive walls. He had to turn sideways to make it down the stairs at the far back of the hall.
It didn't become any more comfortable as he finally stepped out of the stairwell and into the hallway the servants used to transport supplies, and had their rooms in. A man, stepping from his room, spotted them. His mouth dropped as recognition lit his eyes. "Intru…"
Braith snagged hold of him and snapped his neck before the man could finish the shout that had started to erupt from his throat. Daniel let out a low curse as William made a strangled sound. He turned back toward them, Max had his bow raised, but to Braith's surprise the arrow wasn't aimed at his heart, but at the human he had just destroyed. They stared at each other for a prolonged moment before Max grinned at him and lowered the bow. He didn't know when it had occurred but Max seemed to have started to put some faith in him, some trust. Or if not trust, Max had at least decided that Braith would be the one to get Aria back.