Chapter Five. #2
I nodded. This was my task, and I wouldn’t fail.
I hated him with a passion beyond belief.
He deserved to die a horrible death, and I would ensure that this plan of his would be unsuccessful.
Angrily, I cursed the fool who’d brought his broken, tortured soul back to our world.
Right now, I hope they are rotting in hell where I’d sent them.
When I discovered the plan to bring him back, I’d tracked down those responsible with the aim of stopping them.
We’d arrived here last night and, tragically, I’d been too late, and his soul had fled as I killed them.
One of them had planned to sacrifice themselves so he could live again.
Stupid cultish idiots. They’d no idea what they’d been dealing with until it was too late.
Death had been too easy for them. Their deaths at my hands had caused our enemy to become desperate, hence the innocents who’d been drawn here.
“Jacques, everything will be okay,” Eden murmured as she came closer.
I smiled at her. My beautiful wife had changed so much from the beaten, timid woman she used to be. Eden laughed frequently, loved hard, and played harder. Her confidence had grown in leaps and bounds, and she’d fulfilled the promise she’d once shown but had been dampened until now.
“I know my love. D’vid should be present, but I couldn’t tell him. How could I say that he’d returned when I knew it would devastate him?”
“Say his name; not saying it gives him power,” Eden said.
That was the one thing I wouldn’t allow. Power over us. He’d had it once and abused it, and we’d become Vam’pirs because of it. A trusted friend had betrayed us because of this one man.
Claudias: the instrument behind the creation of Vam’pirs. D’vid’s brother and someone who deserved to die more than anyone.
Claudias wouldn’t be allowed to live again. Not ever.
Sabine
Daniel paced back and forth, every so often trying the shutters that had locked us in.
They wouldn’t budge. We were all afraid and chatting quietly.
My husband was frustrated, but it was worse because Oakwood Manor was being stifled as well.
We could sense our home, but the link was so weak we couldn’t draw on her strength.
Something was acting as a damper between us.
“Where do we go when we leave? The roads are probably still blocked,” Kate asked, and Inglorious sent her a warm smile.
“Babe, we can get as far away as possible and then sleep in the cars,” he replied.
“Together?” I inquired, and Daniel’s head shot up.
“Darling?”
“Do we stay together in our cars or go our separate ways? The latter would possibly be a huge mistake,” I said.
“Agreed. Whatever is happening here is dangerous.” James nodded, wincing as he shifted his leg and knocked his foot.
Kate snorted, and I looked over at her.
“It’s a haunting, James, you can say it. You won’t lose your man card,” she teased, and James frowned.
“Babe, I don’t believe in ghosts,” James replied.
“There’s more than spirits out there.” I spoke without thinking, and everyone turned to me. A blush hit my cheeks.
“Oh?” Phoe asked, her gaze sharpening on me. “Out in the world or here specifically?”
I guessed what she was asking. Did I know more about what was happening here than I let on? My mouth opened to speak and then shut again. What did I say? Usually, I was able to think quickly, but this whole scenario had thrown me off balance.
“Sabine watches paranormal shows,” Daniel said, coming to my rescue. “She loves that one with Callie Dixon, Ghost Seekers Inc. Have you seen it? They tackle some real threats on there.”
“Oh, I’m well aware of who Callie Dixon is,” Phoe said, swapping a glance with Clio.
Clio smirked in response. “Yeah, we know who she is.”
“Are you going to elaborate or stand there smugly?” Emmaline asked.
Thank you, Emmaline! She just drew the unwelcome attention away from me.
“Callie’s my sister,” Clio admitted, and Maggie squealed.
“You’re one of the quints!” she exclaimed.
“Yup, that’s me. My claim to fame is Callie and Polly,” Clio said dryly.
Phoe’s stare remained on me, and I guessed she wasn’t satisfied with Daniel’s explanation. I refrained from squirming, as that would offer a sign of guilt. Phoe finally looked away as I’d held her gaze steadily for a few moments.
“Callie needs to come and investigate this place,” Maggie suggested, and I knew she was doing her best to distract everyone.
“Possibly,” Clio replied, and her stomach growled. “Oh, sorry, I’m starving.”
“When they return, we’ll eat that stew,” Maggie said. “Actually, I need to go check it again. Will someone come with me?”
“We should stick together,” James stated.
“But dinner will burn, and we’ll all go hungry.”
“Emmaline and I will go with Maggie. We all need another drink,” Vladimir said.
Daniel looked hesitant but finally nodded. “Be quick. Lucian will kill me if anything happens to you!”
“Daniel, I’m well aware!” Maggie retorted with a smirk and followed Vladmir and Emmaline out of the room. I wondered if I should accompany her, but Daniel shook his head. He wanted me where he could see me. I belatedly realised that Daniel and I could have taken Maggie, but it was too late now.
Twenty minutes later, we all heard a squeaking noise and sat up straighter. The conversation had been quiet between us; things had almost felt normal.
Daniel restocked the fire, keeping the room warm as he paced around, and then he and Inglorious once more tried the shutters, but they remained glued shut.
The creaking grew louder, and we turned our heads.
James pulled a gun from his pocket, startling me as Daniel and Inglorious both stood in a stance by the door.
Inglorious had his own weapon out, and fear gripped me.
Daniel didn’t have anything but a fire poker.
Although in Daniel’s hands, that was a dangerous weapon.
The door opened, and Maggie peered in. “Hold the door,” she said to Daniel upon seeing him. Inglorious moved away, and he and James hid their guns again.
Maggie pushed a hostess trolley in, and I smiled.
Trust her to find one. On it were the pair of stew pots, and on the shelf below were the loaves of bread with butter.
Emmaline followed, pushing another one with the two vats, which I assumed contained tea and coffee. She had milk and sugar too, and mugs.
Vladimir appeared behind with a third, which had bowls, plates and cutlery. “We found a dining room, but believe me, nobody would want to dine there,” he stated. “There’s not enough space for everyone to eat in the kitchen either, and James should rest.”
“That’s considerate of you,” I said, and Vladimir raised an eyebrow.
“Thank you,” he replied, and I realised I might have sounded condescending. I began babbling, rushing to explain I meant no offence, but Vladimir waved my apology off.
“Don’t apologise. I haven’t exactly been the warmest person tonight. Emmaline and I are the odd two out; you’ve got friends amongst yourselves. My worry is my wife,” he explained.
“Naturally,” Inglorious said.
“Here.” Emmaline handed Maggie a rolled-up mat, and I realised it was a heat protector. Maggie headed to the sideboard and unrolled the heat mat. I got up to help her, and together we set up the coffee and food.
“There’s plenty to eat,” I said, turning to Clio and picking a bowl up to pass to her. “Come on.”
Clio looked a little surprised as I handed her a bowl, and I realised it was because of my title. “Before I became a marchioness, I was simply plain Sabine.”
“Somehow I doubt you were ever plain old anything,” Clio retorted.
Maggie produced a ladle, and I filled bowls for people. Then Maggie took over cutting the fresh, crusty bread, and soon we were all eating.
“I might have gone overboard,” Maggie said, looking at the stew pots. Only half of one had disappeared.
“Oh, I’ll have seconds,” James replied with a grin.
“And me, this is fantastic. The dumplings are amazing,” Phoe added.
“Maggie knows how to cook!” I said, proud of my friend, who blushed. Silence filled the air as we ate until the door opened and the men returned. Lucian gazed around the room at our expectant faces before he shook his head.
“We’re locked in. There’s no sign of an escape route anywhere,” Chance declared, and my stomach dropped. We were prisoners.