A Wicked Night (Creatures of Darkness 2): A Coraline Conwell Novel (33 page)

The noise from the helicopter’s boisterous blades pounded Cora’s ears, making conversation difficult. The restless children, situated between her and Bray didn’t help much either. After they’d gotten over their initial fear of the helicopter, having never ridden in one, they began to squirm impatiently and complain, until Trent fired a hard glare at them from the front passenger seat where he sat next to Osborne, the pilot.

Just after takeoff, she’d done her best to explain about Sadira and the curse she suspected had been placed on Mace. She warned Trent that she wouldn’t be able to go near the cottage without being possessed once more, and how she believed Sadira was still trapped there. So first they would need to procure a protective charm from Saraphine.

Trent had scoffed at Cora’s suggestion and informed her he’d take orders from her the day monkeys flew out of his ass. At that point, she stopped talking.

Trent had judged her story inconceivable, and he no doubt believed he was on his way to disprove her.

Cora wasn’t sure what they would find at the cottage, but it wouldn’t be an amicable Mace cozying up next to the fire, content to forget Cora entirely.

She scolded herself for having contemplated, even for a second, that Mace could so easily cast her aside. She’d swum through the depths of his affection, had been close to drowning in it, and could not deny its potency.

Bray did little to defend her to Trent. She was somewhat disgruntled by that, but knew she shouldn’t be. She couldn’t expect him to back her story when he was as much in the dark as Trent claimed to be. But he did offer support by taking her hand and giving it a tender squeeze.

She forced a small smile and then turned to look out the window, not really seeing.
I’m coming, Mace
.

Now that she was finally on her way, urgency took up residency in her every cell. It prickled over her nape, down her spine, and into her legs, making it feel wrong to be sitting so still. Already, the flight seemed endless, though they had probably only been in the air for half an hour at the most.

With no one to fight, no one to run from, and nothing to escape, unease gave birth to simmering dread. What if they were too late? What if the curse had run its course? What if they were unable to save Mace? Couldn’t this contraption go any faster?

Osborne gave a cry as the helicopter pitched forward. He pulled back on the controls to regain stability. The children squealed at the sudden loss in altitude.

“What the hell, Oz,” Trent growled.

“Sorry, everyone,” Osborne replied, unfazed. “Must have hit an air pocket.”

Cora ducked her head in contrition. Had that been her doing? She couldn’t be sure. Though it was evident her magic was becoming more accessible, it was still so unpredictable. Until she learned to properly wield it, to rein it in, she was a danger to everyone around her. She had to guard against her every desire.

Sensing her guilt, Bray placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder. “We’ll be there soon, angel.”

She covered his hand with hers and battled a gale of emotion. He was so sweet, so caring, but his concern only increased her guilt. He was offering himself as her rock, even while she pined for another man—and he knew it. She could see it in his eyes. Could sense it on the edge of his consciousness.

She had tried to convince herself that his feelings for her weren’t serious, but that was a delusion she couldn’t continue to nurture. To the very core of her marrow, she knew otherwise.

Down in that cave, Bray had seen her at her worst, her absolute weakest. He’d bared witness to her suffering—a stint of torture that shamed all others—and had lived it with her. Shared her pain. And in the thick of it, had somehow managed to keep her sane. That wasn’t something she could easily dismiss.

Mace had only seen her at her best. Glitz and glamour and pristine. A coarse stone polished to a glossy sheen. What would he say if she scrubbed away the pretty surface and revealed all the rough edges hidden beneath? What would he see then? A woman mangled and broken? Held together by fraying threads, unable to love him the way he desired? The way he deserved?

Would he find her lacking? Turn away from her?

Would it break her if he did?

And what if he didn’t…?

If he insisted on offering his love unblemished, untainted, could she accept it and do the same?

But then what of Bray?

She’d noticed that through the bond, he was more open to her than both Mace and Knox combined. Without a hint of uncertainty, he showed his trust and, dare she say, love by leaving himself exposed. His every emotion was hers to examine, to play off of, to respond to. Maybe he didn’t know how to block it, but she got the impression he wouldn’t even if he did.

Moreover, he seemed grateful for their connection. His satisfaction was evident in every touch, every stolen glance. Some part of her, a part she wasn’t fully ready to accept, understood he’d give all of himself to her and more if she would but ask.

However, that wasn’t something she could do. Not right now. Maybe not ever.

And yet, grudgingly, she had to admit her feelings for Bray were every bit as strong as they were for Mace. Hurting either of them would kill her.

“Haven’t you tried to call Knox?” Cora asked of Trent, more for an escape from her nagging thoughts than a desire for information.

“Knox rarely keeps a phone on him,” Trent replied, not bothering to glance back. “Even if he did, I wouldn’t know the number.”

“Why not?”

“That’s really none of your business.”

“It is when he’s keeping Mace captive.”

Trent’s tone remained neutral, but just barely. “You’re making blind accusations. We don’t know—”

Cora scoffed. “You’ve got to be kidding me! Of course that’s what’s going on. Knox has done it before—”

“I don’t jump to conclusions where either Knox or Mace is concerned.”

“And I suppose you’ll defend Knox when we discover what he’s done with Mace,” she snapped.

Trent bristled. “I’ll defend whoever damn well needs it. And before you go any further, a warning: check the attitude or I’ll toss you out of this fucking chopper and be done with you.”

She gulped. “You wouldn’t dare.”

He turned to her then with a questionable gaze. “You’ve certainly changed a great deal since we last met. What happened to the meek little human?”

Cora shrugged. She was rather marveled herself that she was verbally challenging a vampire, looking him straight in the eye, without showing a hint of trepidation…and she wasn’t backing down. And not just any vampire—their freaking leader!

Though to Cora it felt like years, it wasn’t too long ago that she would have cowered in this situation. “Maybe I’ve seen what true evil looks like, and you’re not so scary in comparison.”

The smile he gave her was menacing enough. “Then you don’t know me very well.”

“Indeed,” she replied.

Bray appeared to be observing as if from a distance, like he needed time to adjust to a dynamic he wasn’t used to. For the first time, he seemed unsure of what to do or say.

At Trent’s threat, Cora had gleaned a spike of irritation from Bray, but nothing more. Did that mean he thought it was more of an idle threat? Or was Bray reverting to a previously conditioned sire/subordinate role, submitting to his maker’s authority? Would he move to stop Trent if he tried anything?

Rather than find out, Cora sat back and locked her eyes on the clear sky that was deceptively dark against the protective UV-blocking tint that delivered Bray from the harsh sun, which was now completely uninhibited by cloud cover. They’d long since passed the snowy hilltops and flurries and were probably well within the naturally warmer climate of Utah or Nevada.

After time, Trent began interrogating Bray about his captors, the time he spent in the dungeon, and anything else that might help “bring these bastards down.” He was intrigued by the doctor and his
studies
, and was curious as to why, after Cora’s arrival, they decided to force a bond between the two of them.

Cora zoned out, not wanting to relive the ordeal so soon. She spoke when asked a question, mostly to corroborate Bray’s account, but other than that, she kept out of the conversation.

Until she realized Bray had yet to mention Nikolai.

“What about the vampire?” she asked him when he’d finished his story.

He canted his head at her. “Do you mean the other captives? I never saw them. They were kept in separate cells.”

“No. I mean the vampire
in charge
. The one they called master.”

Aside from the copter’s thwumping, everything went silent.

Trent turned to study her. “You think a
vampire
is behind all this?”

There was danger in the question. She realized she’d have to tread carefully if she were to charge one of their own with kidnapping and the torture of other vampires for horrendous purposes.

To Bray, she asked, “You saw him, didn’t you?”

He responded with a bewildered look.

“Black hair. Dark eyes…” She
had
been pretty drugged up, but there was no doubt in her mind. “He came to check on me before...”—she gestured between her and Bray—“after the doctor’s extensive
testing
. He spoke to the doctor about my progress, then commanded I be taken to
number seven
. That’s what they called you.” She looked up at Bray. “You must have seen him at some point.”

“I’m sorry, angel.” He shook his head.

Cora turned almost desperate. “I know I saw him. They called him Nikolai. He said I was special, like he had a plan for me. Then the doctor brought me to you and forced us to bond.”

Trent was giving her an incredulous arched brow as though he thought she was making all this up. At this very moment he could be speculating that she was behind it all so that
she
could bond other vampires.

She needed them to believe her.

“They made us…made me drink so much…over and over. I don’t remember how many times. If I’d have had a choice, I…I didn’t want to…I couldn’t stop them. I never wanted any of this…” Her voice began to quiver as the scarring memories surfaced.

A bout of despondency slammed down her spine—it came from Bray.

She turned, realizing he might take her words as a rejection. “I mean I didn’t want the bond then…but now...?” But now what?

She didn’t know how to continue.

He frowned, replying almost robotically, “I understand. Neither of us had the opportunity to opt out.”

Even at a time like this, he still didn’t close himself off, letting her feel the full force of his dejection, and yet, at the same time, his genuine understanding. She was grateful for that at least. Even if she wasn’t sure how she felt about everything else.

This time it was she who reached out to grip his hand, but what she wanted to convey, she wasn’t sure.

He gave her a frail smile and then shifted his attention toward the landscape, avoiding further eye contact.

The rest of the flight was traveled in silence. After a while, the children succumbed to boredom, claiming Cora and Bray’s laps as headrests.

When the helicopter finally began to descend, Cora was slumped, half asleep in her chair. She jerked upright. They were here! Her eagerness to find Mace was rekindled.

She scanned their surroundings, but all she could see through the window was the vast forest and hilltops. The tall trees with their changing autumn leaves camouflaged anything that resided underneath.

“This is the closest open area where I can land,” Osborne announced, setting the craft down in a small field. “The cottage should be about a half-mile north.”

“We’ll have to walk from here,” Trent added, eyeing the children as though contemplating their burden.

Cora grabbed Preston’s hand, visually expression she would not leave them behind.

A brief gamut of irritation fluttered over Trent’s face before his expression returned to its customary stern state.

Outside, the group trudged into the forest. Within the first few yards, Preston demanded Bray carry him over the uneven terrain.