Chapter 23 Kael
KAEL
Despite my best efforts, pounding my fist against the door does nothing to make the steel miraculously open. The only thing it seems to achieve is the pain ricocheting down from my wrist to my elbow, but I push on to no avail.
Frustration burns deep in my veins, despair clawing at my insides as each second passes, making it clearer with every breath that I can't be there to protect Elodie.
Again.
With the next thud of my hand against the door, I pause, splaying my fingers across the metal as I hunch forward, trying to catch my breath. I can sense eyes on me from every direction, the flickering of their heartbeats ringing in my ears, but otherwise, the only noise comes from my heaving chest.
Sweat beads at my temples as I clench my eyes shut, willing a solution to reveal itself, all while the mark under my arm burns, fighting with me to make it right, to protect her at all costs, just like I promised, just like she vowed when she used the Veilstone to control me.
It all feels like it was for nothing now.
The sound of shuffling doesn't concern me at first, until it quickly morphs into steps drawing nearer, and my gut turns. Despite my delirium, I know exactly who it is coming from behind me.
“Not now,” I grunt, my words taut and blunt, but they do nothing to slow their approach.
They don't stop until I can see the outline of their shoes in my peripheral vision, and I sigh, taking a deep breath before I find the strength to tilt my face toward them.
Prying my eyes open, I find him standing with both hands raised with an air of surrender.
“I’m outside of fist range,” he murmurs, a gentle curl to the corner of his lips, and the guilt in my gut knots sharper than before.
“About that…” I start pushing up off the door as I turn to him, but he quickly shakes his head.
“No explanation necessary. Focus on telling me what I need to know instead.”
I drag my hand down my face, blinking at him as I lean against the door. Using it as a prop, I dare to cast my gaze across the rest of the room. Every pair of eyes is open, and each of them is aimed my way, all filled with confusion and uncertainty as they squint at me.
I don't need to ask for everybody's attention; it looks like I've already got it.
Scrubbing the back of my neck, I take a deep breath again, standing taller as I bring my attention back to Odie.
“It's not just you, it’s what you all need to know,” I state, and everybody seems to perk up, sitting taller as I cast my gaze around the room again.
“Who are you here for?” I ask, not directing the question to anyone in particular. It's a collective at this stage.
“Sorry?” Odie asks, tilting his head to the side, and I rub at my chin, trying to find the right words in my muddled mind to explain.
“Who did my brother threaten you with? Who did he put in danger to ensure you stayed here without argument?”
Odie drags his tongue along his bottom lip as he gulps. “No one.”
“Don't lie. You're wasting time,” I insist, but the look that Odie gives me tells me he's not ready to confess the hold Jude has over him. Desperate to break the tension in the air, I search for another, tilting my gaze toward Jenkins instead.
He looks just as hollowed out as he did before, but the curiosity in his eyes confirms he’s more alert now. He clears his throat. “My sister,” he admits, and my chest aches for him, more so because I never even cared to ask if he had one or not.
“You,” I push on, pointing to the girl beside him. The one whose powers were used against me to make my brother aware of my lies. I can't hold it against her. I'd be channeling my energy at the wrong person, and it's clear that I need to conserve it all for the right target.
“My father,” she breathes, and I nod, distracted by movement from the corner of my eye.
Snapping my attention back to my left, I find Odie’s wife approaching him. She laces her arm through his, blinking up at him, and her presence seems to offer him an air of confidence. It reminds me of Elodie.
She has the ability to offer silent strength and support, just like her mother, who rubs her hand gently on her man’s chest as her gaze meets mine. “I sacrificed myself for our daughter. Odie sacrificed himself for his godson.”
Odie’s gaze dips down in defeat, but quickly pulls back up as he takes me in. “What aren't you saying?” he asks, and I find I'm the one stumbling over a response to give.
Digging my fingertips into my temples, I push through the desire to curl up in a ball, unsure how to deal with everybody else's issues. I can barely manage my own; it’s foreign to consider others.
The pain under my arm refuses to let that happen.
There's no burying my head in the sand now.
Taking a deep breath, I envision Elodie beside me with that resilience of hers. “I’m going to assume you did that to ensure they never had to face this man themselves,” I start, and Ellie nods.
“You'd be right.”
I clear my throat, taking a sharp inhale, but it does nothing to soothe the bite that burns down my throat as I speak. “You've met your daughter.”
She scoffs as she rolls her eyes. “Obviously. I birthed her.”
It seems like the sass came from this one too.
I shake my head. “She was in here a while ago.”
She rears back, gaping at me as her eyebrows furrow. “No, you're lying,” she insists, and I shake my head.
“Purple hair, big blue eyes, except one is ringed with red now, giving that fizzled purple effect,” I explain, waving my finger in front of my eyes in hopes of punctuating what I'm referring to, but it's not needed as I watch the color drain from both of their faces.
Instinctively, they fold into one another. She sobs against Odie’s chest as he tries to console her. While caring for her, he tilts his head toward me.
“How do you know all of this?” he asks, and I gulp.
“Because I love that girl enough to risk my brother's wrath,” I admit, my voice raspy as I try to gather my emotions.
“She's the reason I'm here too.” Whispers cast across the space as my words are absorbed, and yet it somehow fuels me to push on, looking across the room once more as I make my point clear. “If you think you are here protecting them, you’re not. We need to wise up, and we need to figure out how to get out of here. Together. Before he gets back.”
Understanding washes over Odie’s features as his eyes widen and he blinks at me. “When he said the girl…” he starts, and I nod.
“He means Elodie. She escaped last time. That's why she hasn’t been back. But now he's on his way to The Vale, to The Sanctum, in search of her again, and I'll be damned if he causes her any more harm.”
Ellie shakes her head in panic. “We can't get out. Our magic doesn't work in here.”
“I know, but surely, among the combined skills we have, there’s a way out of this for us. This is a moment where it's not about our magic, it's not about what we can offer, not what can drain us, but how we can fuel each other as a collective and get out of here as one.”
“And why should we believe in you? You said it yourself, Jude is your brother.”
Turning my attention to the source of the voice, I find a guy sitting with his legs crossed and his spine ramrod straight without the wall to aid him. My mind swirls, grasping for the right words, but I know there’s nothing I can say that will hold enough weight.
“I don't know what you need to hear to fill you with the trust you need. All I can offer you is perspective into my pain and despair, most of which I have suffered at the hands of my brother, and I’m at my limit. No matter how deep it gets, how much shit he’s put me through, nothing has caused me greater pain than allowing him to hurt those I love.
If you hear nothing else I say, hear me when I say this: he does not care for those that you care for, and he doesn’t keep true to his promises.
If you hold any hope of seeing your loved ones survive his wrath, you won't find it in these walls.”
Slowly, the man rises, understanding washing over his features. “Then do you vow to leave as one?” he clarifies, and I nod, lifting the hem of my t-shirt high enough to reveal the small mark under my arm.
“I bear the mark of the Veilstone. The controller of that mark is Elodie Blackwood, their daughter.” I point to Odie without glancing at him.
“I asked for this to ensure my brother could no longer control me or bring others harm because of my actions. I vowed to do everything it would take to protect Elodie and keep her safe, and that includes everybody in this room, because she would never leave anybody behind.”
Muffled sobs come from Elodie’s mother, and I can't look at her. I can’t let those feelings sink in as they lie thick in the air.
“I trust in you.”
The words come from my right, and my gaze snaps to find Jenkins leaning against the wall for support.
I muster a smile at him. “Are you ready to figure out a way for you to truly live again?”
I could swear hope blossoms thick in the air as Elodie’s mother clears her throat.
“It’s Elodie Silverthorne,” Ellie whispers, and I frown, taking a moment for understanding to slowly wash over me. “Are you always this selfless?” she asks with a hiccup, changing the subject before I can respond, and I scoff.
“No, I'm a selfish motherfucker unless it comes to Elodie. She makes me do some crazy things that go against every vampire fiber inside of me, but that's a deeper conversation for another day. Right now, escaping these four walls is what we need to focus on.”
At my own words, I turn toward the steel door, sucking in a deep breath as I try to find the answer.
Hope quickly turns back into frustration as the desire to slam my fist against the barrier ripples through me.
Taking a step toward it, ready to exert even just a fraction of the tension nestled in my gut, I falter as the sound of the latch clicking rings through the air.
As if my prayers have been answered, the door slides open.
Confusion twists inside of me as I grab the handle and yank it the rest of the way open, startling when I see who's on the other side.
Black eyes.
Black fur.
Black pecs.
There’s only one monster of a man that I’ve ever seen with these traits, and my assumptions are confirmed a moment later as he shifts, transforming into his human form, his familiar brown leather jacket draping his shoulders as he blinks at me.
“Rory,” I blurt, blinking at him as I shake my head in disbelief. “Where the hell have you been? I haven't seen or heard from you in forever.”
He shrugs, unfazed by the fact that he's just rescued me and all of these people with ease. “Biding my time,” he states, and I roll my eyes.
“Obviously, but for real, what the hell?”
He sighs, stuffing his hands in his pockets as he rocks back on his heels. “When I learned of the girl's existence, my priority became your parents. I had to make sure they were safe and that your brother didn't come up with an ingenious plan.”
“So how are you mysteriously showing up exactly when I need you to?” I retort, and he shrugs again.
“Because I heard through the grapevine that you were back here, and your mother pleaded for me to ensure you were safe too,” he answers truthfully, making my chest ache at the mention of my mother, but that’s a hopeful discussion for later.
“Shall we get out of here first? I need someone in this room who can create portals to lead the way. We don't have much time.”