Chapter Twenty-Six
We approach the warehouse carefully, trying to be as quiet as possible. The building is old and decrepit, its walls crumbling and its windows boarded up. It looks abandoned, but we know better. Inside, Adrian and his followers are waiting for us. We don”t know how many there are, but we can only assume it”s a large number.
I look at my clanmates. They”re all wearing the same determined expression on their faces. They”re ready to fight, to the death if necessary, to stop him. We”ve all prepared ourselves for this moment, and we”re not going to back down now.
”Looks like they”re here,” Simon says, peering into the dark interior. ”We”ll need to be careful. There could be traps or guards inside.”
”Let”s go,” I say, motioning for the group to follow me. ”Stay close together. We don”t want to get separated.”
I lead the way into the warehouse, the others following closely behind. The building is dark and musty, and dust dances on the little bit of moonlight that fights its way in. There are rows of shelves lining the walls, and one sniff is all it takes for me to realize the boxes on top of them are filled with blood.
As we make our way deeper inside, we start to hear voices coming from somewhere up ahead. They”re faint but growing louder as we approach. We pause, listening intently.
”Do you hear that?” I ask the group in a whisper. ”It sounds like arguing.”
”Sounds like Adrian is having a little trouble keeping his followers in line,” Marlon remarks.
We creep closer, trying to be as quiet as possible. The voices are getting louder, and I can make out some of what”s being said now.
”I never agreed to hurt the girl. I thought we were just going to use her to get to the knife,” a man shouts. ”I want no part of this.”
”You don”t have a choice,” Adrian responds. ”You”re in this now, whether you like it or not. Now shut up and do as you”re told.”
”I won”t!” the man insists. ”I won”t kill an innocent girl.”
Adrian huffs and says, ”She”s not a girl. She”s a witch, and she”s the descendent of the woman who locked our one chance at victory away. Lola won”t help us willingly, so this is her doing, not mine. The one way to succeed is to sacrifice her. Period. The end.”
”You”re insane, Adrian. This isn”t right, and you know it.”
”This isn”t about right and wrong. It”s about what needs to be done. Now, do as you”re told or I”ll kill you, too.”
The man hesitates for a moment, then turns and storms off, disappearing into the darkness. When he steps aside, that”s when I see her. Lola, strapped to a chair and barely awake. Her hair is matted to her face, and her skin is as pale as death. She”s naked, save for her underwear, and there”s a pool of blood on the floor beneath her. My heart skips a beat, and I almost lose control at the sight of her.
Marlon places a firm hand on my shoulder to hold me in place. ”There are bound to be more in there,” he remarks. ”You go deal with him, and we”ll go find the others.”
”Marina,” I snap, ”you come with me. Untie her while I”m handlingAdrian.”
”With pleasure,” she replies, her tone deadly. ”And I”ll be right behind you once she”s free.”
I take a deep breath, steadying myself for what”s to come. Then, I step out into the open and into the room where Lola and Adrian are. Marina hangs back, ready to sneak her way in as soon as I”ve got Adrian thoroughly distracted.
Adrian looks at me with surprise, taking a step back. ”Well, well, well,” he drawls. ”Look who”s come to the party.”
”Let her go, Adrian,” I growl, my voice low and threatening.
He laughs. ”Why would I do that? She”s the key to my plan. Without her, all of this will be for nothing.”
I move closer, my body tense and ready for a fight. ”I said, let her go. Now.”
Adrian shakes his head, wearing a smug grin on his face. ”No, I don”t think so. You see, this is all your fault, Drake. If you hadn”t been so weak and pathetic, I wouldn”t have had to take matters into my own hands. But you left me no choice. You let the humans walk all over us. We can”t allow that, and if you won”t do something about it, then I will.”
I”m done listening to him talk. I”m done with his excuses and his lies. With a roar, I rush at him, determined to put an end to this once and for all. He may have taken Lola from me, but I won”t let him get away with it.
I crash into him, tackling him to the ground and raining down blows. He fights back, punching and clawing at me, but I don”t even feel it. All I can think about is Lola and how close I came to losing her forever. I pin him to the ground, straddling his waist as I punch him over and over again. He tries to push me off, but I don”t budge. I”m too strong and too determined to stop him.
”I should have killed you ages ago,” I snarl, my fist connecting with his face again and again. ”You”re a traitor, and you deserve to die.”
My anger is boiling over, threatening to consume me. I want to kill him. I want to tear him apart with my bare hands. But more than that, I want to see him suffer. I want him to feel the same pain and fear that Lola felt.
I”m so distracted by my rage that I don”t realize Adrian has pulled something from his pocket until it”s too late. A silver stake glints in the light, and before I can react, he drives it into my chest. The pain is excruciating, and I cry out, falling backward and clutching at the wound.
Adrian stands over me and sneers, ”What”s wrong, Drake? Can”t handle a little bit of pain?”
I struggle to my feet with the knife still embedded in my chest. I pull it out, tossing it to the side, and take a step toward Adrian.
”I”m not done yet,” I growl.
Adrian advances on me, throwing punches left and right. I block most of them, but he manages to get a few hits in. I back up into a table, and he pushes me onto it. Something clatters to the ground, and when I look at it, I realize it”s the ceremonial knife. I roll to the side and jump to my feet, making a move for it, but Adrian blocks my way. We grapple, both of us trying to gain the upper hand. He throws me to the floor, and I land hard, the air knocked from my lungs. The pain still doesn”t register, although in the distance somewhere I do hear shouting and screams. Adrian swings at me with a wild haymaker. I duck under it, using his momentum to throw him off balance. He stumbles forward, giving me an opening to strike.
Out of the corner of my eye, I see Marina untying the ropes that bind Lola. I need to buy her some time to get Lola free. I turn my attention back to Adrian and launch a flurry of punches at his face, trying to keep him distracted. He”s starting to slow down, and I know I have him on the ropes.
But I”m not prepared when he kicks me off, and I go flying across the room. I crash into one of the shelves, knocking it over and causing the boxes of blood to tumble down on top of me. A box hits me in the head, and I see stars. It takes everything in me to get to my feet through the haze, and by the time I do, Adrian is on top of me.
He punches me in the face, knocking me down again. I scramble to my feet, but he”s faster. He grabs me by the throat and slams me against the wall. My vision goes blurry as he starts to squeeze.
”You thought you could stop me,” he growls, his face inches from mine. ”But you”re wrong. I”m going to win. I”m going to make you watch as I kill your precious witch and take over this city.”
I claw at his hands, trying to pry them off, but he”s too strong. My lungs burn as he continues to cut off my air supply. I can feel myself slipping away, the darkness closing in. This can”t be it, I think. I can”t let him win. Not like this.
Suddenly, I hear a scream. It”s Lola. I look over Adrian”s shoulder and see her standing there with the hilt of the ceremonial knife in her hands, and blood dripping down her arm. Adrian is frozen in place, his eyes wide as he makes gurgling noises. I don”t understand what”s happening until I look down and see the tip of the knife poking out of his chest.
Adrian drops me, and I fall to the floor, gasping for breath. He staggers back, clutching at the wound. When Lola pulls it back, there”s no silver blade. Somehow, it”s turned to wood, which means she”s sealed Adrian”s fate. He tries to say something, but only a spray of blood comes out. Then he falls to his knees, his body going limp.
Lola rushes to my side, throwing her arms around me and crying into my chest. I hold her close, breathing in her scent and feeling my strength return. She”s alive, and that”s all that matters. I look down at Adrian”s lifeless body, feeling a sense of satisfaction. He won”t hurt anyone ever again.
I stand up, cradling Lola in my arms. As if drawn to them, my lips find hers, and I kiss her deeply. I can feel her pain and anguish, but I can also feel her relief. It”s over. It”s finally over.
When I finally pull away, I”m at a loss for words.
”I don”t really know,” she admits. ”I grabbed the knife when it fell and imagined it turning to wood. I remembered what Marina said about a wooden stake killing a vampire, and I just... did it. It was instinctual, I think.”
I smile. ”You were amazing. I”m so proud of you.”
Marlon and Simon approach, looking worse for wear. They”re covered in blood and dirt, but they seem to be okay.
”That was some fight, huh?” Marlon says, grinning. ”I haven”t had this much fun in years.”
”Is everyone okay?” Lola asks, her voice full of concern.
”We”re fine,” Simon assures her. ”A few cuts and bruises, but nothing serious. We let the guy who was fighting with Adrian earlier live. He didn”t seem to want any part of it, and I thought he might be useful if we need information about what Adrian has going on here.”
”Good call,” I say. I look at the knife in Lola”s hand, which has turned back to silver, and then at Adrian”s body. He”s dead. Finally, after all these years, he”s gone. The weight of everything that”s happened suddenly hits me, and I feel overwhelmed with emotion. I pull Lola into my arms and hold her close, tears streaming down my face.
”It”s over,” I whisper, stroking her hair. ”It”s finally over.”
”What do we do now?” Marina asks.
I look at the destruction around us and sigh. ”We clean up this mess.”
Marlon groans. ”I was afraid you”d say that.”
Simon chuckles. ”Come on, old man. Let”s get to work.”
As they start gathering bodies and moving them into a pile, I lead Lola over to a chair and have her sit down as I inspect her for damage. Her wrists are raw from where they were bound, and the sensitive skin around her mouth is so red, it looks like she was slapped. ”Oh, Lola,” I whisper, gently touching her face. ”I”m so sorry.”
She winces slightly but then shakes her head. ”It”s not your fault,” she insists. ”None of this is your fault. You saved me. Again.”
I smile, but I can”t hide the pain in my eyes. ”You were amazing. I”m so proud of you.”
She blushes. ”Thank you. What about you? He stabbed you.”
”I heal quickly. It”s already healing.”
She shakes her head in amazement. ”You guys are so lucky,” she murmurs.
I chuckle. ”Sometimes. Other times, it”s just part of the curse.”
She looks around at the mess and sighs. ”So, what”s next? We go back to your place and get the vial from the crypt?”
”That”s the plan,” I say. ”But first, we need to get you cleaned up and have Sage take a look at you. Make sure you”re all right.”
”They injected me with something. It made me so tired. I don”t know what it was or how I managed to push past it, but when I saw him choking you...”
My chest tightens with anger. ”We”ll find out what it is and make sure there won”t be any side effects,” I say, trying to keep my voice even despite wanting to bring Adrian back to life just so I can kill him again myself. ”We”ll get it out of your system.”
She nods, looking relieved. ”Thank you.”
I stand up and extend my hand to her, helping her up. I pull her close, kissing the top of her head. ”Come on,” I say softly. ”Let”s go home.”