Chapter 27 Kael
TWENTY-SEVEN
KAEL
The door to the basement creaks as I swing it open, letting it fall shut with a thud as I jog down the stairs two at a time. Swinging the key in my right hand, I reach the bottom, the musty smell filtering my senses as I make quick work of opening the lock and turning on the light.
My target remains in the center of the room as expected, only now he’s clearly had a visit from Thorne, who healed him. Sending a silent thanks to my friend, I stuff the key in my pocket and rock back on my heels as I stare at the man in question.
Warren Blackwood.
I should leave. I should forget he exists.
I should check myself into the medical center on site to deal with the fact that I’m insane, and if I’m not all the way there, I’m not far from it.
I’m addicted to causing this man pain, and I don’t feel any remorse or seek a drop of forgiveness.
I don’t think I’ll ever be done making him pay for what he did to Elodie.
Tilting my head at the fucker, whose body is slumped forward with his chin pressed against his chest, I take a single step toward him when my cell phone vibrates.
Fuck.
Pulling the device from my pocket, I grimace when I spy Anya’s name on the screen.
Anya: We need to talk.
I don’t bother responding. I’m still mad at myself.
Everything that happened with Elodie and Willow is all my fault.
I should have tried harder this weekend, but hell, she had been through enough with the rebellion.
What was I supposed to do, force her to spend time with me while I concocted a lie in an attempt to protect her?
They would have seen right through me. Besides, I thought I still had today, but apparently, seventy-two hours was more like sixty to them before they saw an opportunity for Willow to intervene, and they took it.
“Are you here to set me free?” Anger coils through my body at the sound of Warren’s voice, but I don’t let it show as I level my stare on his.
“What do you think?” I ask, and he grunts, shuffling in his seat, but he’s bound too tightly to be able to do much.
“I think I’ve been here long enough,” he starts as I drag the small wooden stool from the corner and place it down a few feet away from him.
Instead of taking a seat, I plant my foot on it as I glower at him.
“How many times did you hurt, Elodie? Did you ever think enough was enough with her?” I push, rage rattling through me, and he shakes his head, refusing to give me an answer, which only serves to piss me off more.
“I asked you a question,” I growl, his sigh of frustration only fueling my fury.
“I don’t know,” he mutters, but it’s not enough.
“Once? Twice? Ten times? Fifty times? One hundred times?” The anger inside of me is uncontrollable. I don’t know who I’m riling up more. Me. It’s definitely me. “Answer me!”
“I don’t know!” he barks back sharply, and I’m in his face a moment later, his tatty wifebeater in my grasp as I bare my teeth, my vision zeroing in on his pulse as my bloody desires creep to the surface.
“Well, what you should know is I’m here to make you pay for that. There will be no freedom, there will be nothing but my face for you to remember until I fucking kill you. But it’s not happening today, and it definitely won’t be tomorrow either.”
“You’re sadistic,” he hisses, and I snicker.
“You’re probably right.” I release my hold on him, standing tall as I take a step back.
“Elodie wouldn’t want this,” he mutters, and I grin.
“Wouldn’t she?” I cock a brow and he shakes his head.
“No, she wouldn’t. She’s a good girl. She would never accept something so cruel. Is that why you don’t bring her down here? Does she not know?” he pushes, but I quickly turn his words back on him.
“Was she such a good girl that you just had to abuse her?”
He grins. It’s weak, but it’s there. “She doesn’t know.”
“What made you burn her skin with cigarettes?” I snap, forcing his words to go over my head, but he refuses to give in.
“You can’t get to me. Like you said, I’m already a dead man, but you? She’s never going to forgive you for this.” He says it like it’s a promise he knows he can keep, but he really doesn’t understand who he is dealing with.
I let my eyes darken and my teeth elongate as my vampire senses ripple to the surface with urgency, and he gulps, nerves getting the better of him as I crowd his space once again.
“This is where you fall short. I don’t want her forgiveness.
I don’t care if she knows; this is about you and me now, no one else.
So, let’s skip to the part where I grab my weapon of choice. ”
Turning away from him before I sink my teeth into his flesh, I stride toward the far side of the room where my blades are lined up.
They are all coated in his blood already, making each of them enticing.
“Let’s have a little negotiation,” I decide, opting for the smallest blade as I turn back toward him.
“What does that mean?” he asks, his gaze on the weapon in my hand as I twirl it excitedly. I wonder if he would be more scared of me if I actually let myself sink my teeth into his flesh. The only thing that’s stopped me is the lack of desire to eat trash, but I’d do it just to prove a point.
Dragging the stool a little closer, I take a seat so we’re almost knee to knee before I tap the blade under his chin and force him to look at me.
“If Elodie isn’t your biological child, how did she come into your care?” I didn’t forget that little tidbit of information he provided last time, but the way he snarls is as if I’ve caught him by surprise.
“Fuck you, I—”
Before he can finish whatever bullshit he’s about to say, I aim the blade down and add a little force, stabbing his thigh.
“Arghh! Fuck,” he screams, breathless as pain vibrates through him. Eager to proceed, I yank the blade from his flesh and clear my throat.
“Let’s try again. How did she come into your care?” I repeat, and he glares at me with clenched teeth.
“I’m not telling you shit,” he bites, sweat beading at his temples as the veins in his neck protrude.
I shrug, aiming the knife in the exact same direction again, only this time, over his other thigh.
It slices through his skin with ease, and the scream that tears from his lungs this time is wracked with pain.
I grin like a fool, opting to leave the blade deep in his leg, adding a little pressure for good measure, and he howls.
“She was just there,” he splutters, and my eyebrows gather as I lean in a little closer.
“Sorry, what was that? I can’t hear you.” I twist the sharp blade inside his leg, watching as he trembles from the agony it’s causing. His despair is muted on his tongue as his face reddens.
I hold patiently, minutes rushing by as blood pours from his wounds, waiting for him to explain. When he can finally make use of his tongue, he groans.
“She was a baby, wrapped up in a blanket on the doorstep of our trailer.”
“And you just kept her?” I clarify, and he nods. “Why?”
He wets his dry lips. I should probably offer him some water, but I’m not really the hospitable type. “Do you know how much money you can get for a child from the system?” he asks, and understanding washes over me. With it comes the burning desire to finally bring this man to his end.
“So she was a paycheck and a punching bag for you, nothing else?”
He shrugs and I move on instinct, rearing my hand back to slam my fist into his face. Blood splatters from his nose, adding another layer to the floor, when my cell phone vibrates in my pocket again.
Reluctant to walk away from him, I move one step, eyes focused on the blade still planted in his leg to see who it is. A text highlights the screen.
Elodie: Are you free?
Kael: Why?
Elodie: I need to learn to fight while controlling my magic.
Finally, this girl is willing to listen. I need to make the most of it before she changes her mind.
Kael: Give me ten minutes.
Without a word, I yank the blade from his leg and place it neatly back in line with the others and head for the door, making sure to lock it behind me before I trail upstairs.
My stride is long and determined, my mind laser focused on getting back inside the institute, where I race up the stairs before barging into my dorm to find Rion relaxing on the sofa.
He takes one look at me and raises an eyebrow.
“Again?”
“Thorne needs to heal him.” He nods, but there’s a glint of uncertainty in his eyes. Before he can say a single word, I beat him to it. “You brought him here, Rion. Deal with it.”
I slam my bedroom door shut behind me and dart into the bathroom, making quick work of showering, ensuring I rid every inch of blood from my body.
Satisfied, I wrap a towel around my waist and hurry to change, having no desire to keep Elodie waiting when I know she could very easily change her mind.
She’s held me at arm’s length for long enough.
Switching out my towel for a pair of black boxer shorts, I shrug on a pair of black shorts and a fitted gray tee before reaching for my sneakers and socks. I’m tying the final lace when a knock sounds from the hallway door.
I rush to my feet, but by the time I make it to my bedroom door, Rion’s already swinging it open to reveal Elodie on the other side.
“Petal, want to hang out?” he asks, sweeping his arm out for her to come inside, but she shakes her head, spying me over his shoulder.
“I’m training with that guy.”
My eyes narrow. I don’t like being referred to as that guy by her of all people, but I brush it off, attempting not to piss her off before we even leave the room.
Rion glances over his shoulder at me, a frown furrowing his brows as he turns his attention back to her.
“Training? You could have asked me,” he insists, rubbing a hand at the back of his neck, and she shakes her head.
“You would be too distracting,” she admits, her cheeks turning a slight shade of pink as Rion snickers, his hand finding its way to her waist.
“Yeah, I would.”