Arielle Immortal Resolve (The Immortal Rapture Series Book 8) (5 page)

Large metal shackles protruded from the concrete wall, restraining Sebastian’s arms and legs. His body was slumped forward, the metal cuffs cutting off his circulation. Troy’s lips twisted with rage as he gazed at the agony and excruciating pain filling Sebastian’s face.

His eyes were closed but Troy was sure that Sebastian had focused all of his energy in resisting the pain. His torso had been sliced in three different places with a large blade leaving deep gashes across his bare chest. Thick globs of dried blood covered the wounds while his shirt and what used to be a suit were on the floor ripped to shreds and blood-drenched. The smell of blood was so thick in that room that they could actually taste the nauseating, rusty stench.

It wasn’t surprising that he was still unconscious and looking extremely weak, as a fair amount of blood pooled the floor around him. Sebastian’s naked body convinced the guys that something very strange had taken place in this room. They were sure that his body would heal fast, however he wasn't going to regain his energy without Salve after losing all that blood.

Moving fast, Giani and Gerard broke the shackles and lowered Sebastian’s body to the floor.

“It sounds like Annabel will be returning shortly,” Troy said with anxiety in his voice and clenched teeth.

“Sebastian's already healing, but he'll remain weak until we get some Salve into his veins,” Antonius said tightly.

“I think the best thing to do will be to take Sebastian outside and make sure he’s safe,” Troy said voice firm, face hard.

“I agree.” Antonius nodded at Troy’s suggestion.

“If we can get out of here without a fight it’ll be great, but if they try to prevent our escape it’ll make things a little more difficult. Let’s take Sebastian out so he doesn’t become a victim while unable to defend himself.”

“Giani, go ahead and take him outside,” Troy insisted.

“But…I should stay in case something goes wrong. There are seven thugs in there, not to mention the girl, and if Annabel returns that'll make it eight against five,” Giani argued. “Not very good odds.”

“True, but our priority is to make sure Sebastian is safe.” Troy remained persistent.

“He’s right, Giani. We need to protect Sebastian, so get going,” Antonius said in a firm voice.

Giani shrugged, and lugging Sebastian over his shoulder in a fireman’s carry, opened the door and darted like a tiger toward the staircase, scaling the steps two at a time. When he reached the top of the landing he pressed the lever on the wall and opened the secret passage. He never looked back; he dashed across the room and out the front door in a matter of seconds.

Troy picked up Sebastian’s shredded clothes from the floor and dashed out the door like a cat after prey, Gerard, Arturo, and Antonius right on his heels. They reached the spiral staircase that was now illuminated by light that was spilling down from the front room through the passage opening.

They were getting ready to mount the steps when a door swung open with a loud noise and a bottle shattered on the stone floor. They spun around and their eyes locked on the man who stepped out into the corridor, clutching something in his hand. Shock crossed his face at the sight of the four men; he tilted his head in disbelief and backed off toward the door, staring at them in horror. His harsh voice made them brace for the unexpected.

“Hey! Who are you? What are you doing here?” he roared, alerting the rest of the thugs to their presence. They hadn't time to mute his scream. For a moment it looked as if they would have to defend themselves right then and there but Troy made a decision to take the fight upstairs. They spun around and started climbing the steps, while a powerful voice bellowed, “STOP!” But they didn’t stop until they crossed the wall and into the front room. They could hear the heavy footsteps of their pursuers climbing the metal staircase. Troy motioned for the other guys to step to either side of the opening to get out of their enemy’s immediate line of sight. That would give them the element of surprise. They didn’t have to wait long and six guys stormed out of the passage with the girl right behind them.

Giani heard a large commotion inside the house but he didn’t stop. He lowered Sebastian’s weak body to the ground and made sure he was safe behind the hedges. He immediately turned and headed back inside.

He stopped as soon as he crossed the threshold and assessed the situation. Seven thugs were in the middle of the room with their backs to him, facing his four friends who were standing on either side of the opening with their backs to the wall. Giani scanned the faces of his friends and saw their determination to get this over quickly. They paused for moment and then jumped into action and the fight started.

The man who called himself Raffaele was the first to jump on Antonius and with a tight fist he aimed for Antonius’ face. Antonius jerked back avoiding the hit and with lips drawn back, hurtled on Raffaele, knocking him flat to the ground. Raffaele sprang up with supernatural speed and jumped at Antonius attempting to slug him again right between the eyes. Antonius ducked, avoiding the hit and caught Raffaele by the throat, twisting hard, separating Raffaele’s head from his body with an awful sound.

There were hard hits and painful moans coming from each direction.

Troy grabbed one of Annabel’s thugs by the throat and with a swift kick sent him flying across the room to land against the wall with a loud impact. He growled in agony as his body collapsed to the floor. Troy didn’t give him time to recover as he launched toward the goon and, bending, pulled him up, grabbed his head between his hands like a clamp and twisted hard, severing it from his body in a matter of seconds.

He immediately turned to avoid the girl who was sprinting toward him screaming in anger. She flung her full weight on him. Making contact with him was like hitting a concrete wall; Troy moved slightly but never budged. He stared as she spun around, a dagger gleaming in her hand. She sank the knife deep into Troy’s chest. He collapsed to the floor and she was on him like a wild animal. Antonius was right behind her. He leaned down, and putting his arms around her throat, lifted her completely off of Troy and threw her across the room into Arturo’s strong headlock. She let out a stifled cry and it was over within milliseconds. Antonius reached over Troy and grabbing the hilt of the dagger yanked it out of his chest. Troy was alert and they both knew that he would heal fast.

Antonius turned to face Raffaele, who was much taller and quite husky. Raffaele’s face was dark and his eyes narrowed to slits watching Antonius carefully. He gave Antonius a cold smile that said he would crash Antonius to dust. He obviously didn’t know Antonius’ reputation among immortals as an accomplished warrior who enjoyed a good fight.

Raffaele threw the first blow, hitting Antonius in the middle of his chest, sending him back a few feet. Antonius stumbled but kept his balance. He launched across the room and caught Raffaele with his open fist right in the middle of the face. Blood sputtered from the guy’s nose and mouth, hitting Antonius in the face, but that didn’t stop him.

His next blow caught Raffaele again in the middle of his face, blinding him. Raffaele shook his head and put his hands up, trying to brush the blood away from his eyes, but it was too late. Antonius flung himself with amazing speed, landing simultaneously one fist into the middle of Raffaele’s face and the other into his throat.

Raffaele sank to his knees, choking and moaning with rage, grasping his chest, trying frantically to take a breath.

Antonius didn’t give him any time to recover. He reached down and, lifting this huge man, slammed his fist repeatedly into his face and chest with enormous force. Raffaele groaned with every blow and finally he crumpled to the ground coughing mouthfuls of blood, unable to breathe. Antonius finally had enough; he pulled Raffaele into a tight grip and finished him off.

Giani and Gerard stood back-to-back taking on two thugs, teamwork and technique allowing them to immobilize and finish their opponents. They stood and assessed the damage; five guys and the girl all dead.

Arturo was fighting the one remaining thug, but it didn’t look like he needed any help. He decked the guy right between the eyes, sending him flying across the floor, stunned. The thug moaned in pain when his body crashed against the wall. Since he landed by Gerard’s feet, Gerard bent down and finished him off.

The guys looked around the room; it looked like a war zone. Troy was already healed. He pulled himself upright and rubbed his temples, mumbling to himself.

Antonius walked over and put his hand on Troy’s shoulder. “What is it Troy?”

“What happened to Annabel? She was to meet with these thugs.” Rage flickered through Troy’s eyes.

Antonius shrugged his shoulders and cursed aloud. “There has to be another secret passage,” he said. “I’ve a feeling the bitch saw what was going on. The odds were against her, so she chose to disappear.”

Troy shook his head in disappointment and thanked Antonius for saving his life.

“I think we better get to Sebastian,” he said. Giani ran out the front door and through the hedges, motioning the others to follow.

Sebastian was sitting up, leaning against the wall. He seemed to be completely healed but extremely sluggish and disoriented. The lacerations were almost closed and a few, faint lines remained across his chest. His whole body was a bloody mess, but they knew those wounds would disappear as well.

Sebastian’s eyelids blinked as he struggled to clear his vision. His eyes were filled with confusion as he scanned around him with intensity trying to adjust to his surroundings, still very weak, moving in and out of consciousness. His gaze fell on the guys and he smiled as he recognized his friends.

“What happened?” he muttered.

Troy kneeled next to him. “Let’s get you back to normal and then we can talk.”

“Troy,” Arturo called out. “I’m going down to the cellar to get the Salve out of the fridge.”

Without waiting for a reply he turned and sprinted back into the house.

“Wait…wait…I’m coming with you,” Giani called, darting after Arturo. They were gone but a few seconds, when they returned with two large containers of Salve.

Antonius put his arm around Sebastian’s shoulders and held him up, while Troy forced the Salve down Sebastian’s throat slowly, making sure he ingested a large amount.

They stood in silence, waiting patiently for the Salve to surge through Sebastian’s veins and revitalize him.

Chapter 3

THE AIR WAS COOL.
Sebastian took a deep breath and with extra effort drew himself upright. Scorching pain blasted through the back of his head and his face twisted in anguish. His hand moved fast to touch the back of his head. He leaned against the wall, pursing his lips while an excruciating look crossed his eyes. He looked at Troy incredulously and his face hardened.

Troy reached out and put his hand on Sebastian’s shoulder. “What is it?”

“All I can remember is a hard blow on the back of my head sending me to the floor,” Sebastian replied, through clenched teeth. Hesitating, he stared out somewhere in the dark, and finally gazed down at his body in utter disbelief.

“What in bloody hell happened to me?” he asked in shock. “Where are my clothes?”

“It looks like someone cut you really bad,” Antonius grinned ruefully.

Troy gazed at Sebastian with a smile, motioned toward his naked body. “I think you better manifested a pair of jeans for yourself,” he said. “We don’t want to have to look at your ugly naked self for much longer,” he added, chuckling.

Sebastian gave a faint smile and soon enough he was standing there in a new pair of jeans. He took his last sip of Salve in gloomy silence, his mind in turmoil. He drifted away again, trying to recall the details of his awful experience. Suddenly his body went rigid, his mind overwhelmed by the icy grip of realism. He rubbed his wrists forcefully, agonizing over the uncertainty of what took place in that room. Sebastian took a deep breath and stared at Troy, perplexed and alarmed.

“What is it?” Troy asked.

“I remember being alone with Annabel in that awful room,” Sebastian murmured. He shook his head in frustration, voice strained, lips quivering. “I can’t remember what happened, but I have this strange feeling that my life changed utterly and irreversibly,” he murmured.

His face reflected the emptiness, as awareness swept over him recalling the torture chamber. He cursed aloud and pursed his lips again, visualizing the failure of his attempt to get rid of Annabel. He gazed down at his partly naked body now and swallowed hard, face shuddered by mixed emotions.

“How did you end up in that room? Do you remember?” Troy asked.

“It was a trap, Annabel had it all planned out. I walked right into her trap like a two-year-old. I saw the men in the next room, but didn’t bother with them. I wanted to find Annabel, deal with her quickly and get out before her thugs were alerted. It turned out to be a trap. She was waiting for me, how stupid could I be?” he pursed his lips and cursed. “God! I hate that bitch so much! She makes my skin crawl…” his frustration showed and he took a few steps away from the wall.