Memories: Volume 9 (The Lillian Rayne Series) (7 page)

The
sudden feeling of being transported took over. I tried not to lose focus. I
didn’t want to give Aubrey a chance to take my gun from me. As soon as the room
came into focus, I pushed away from Aubrey and kept my gun on him. We were back
in Lyle’s foyer.

“You
are here; you can put that damn gun away, unless you want to just get it over
with and shoot me,” he said angrily.

“I
don’t want to shoot you,” I said watching him.

“Lillian,”
Lyle said relieved as he and the others filed out of the living room.

“Move,”
I ordered Aubrey as I nodded in the direction of Lyle.

Aubrey
raised his eyebrows in amusement and moved over to where Lyle and the others
were standing. I trained my gun on all of them. As far as I was concerned they
were all standing in my way.

“What
the hell is going on?” Drake growled as he glared at me.

“Apparently
we are all standing in her way, and she doesn’t like it,” Aubrey said amused.

“I’m
leaving. I am going after Cornelius, and none of you are going to stop me,” I
said firmly.

“You
are being irrational Lily. The old you would have thought this through,” Lyle
said firmly.

“Actually
the old her would have just shot us all instead of warning us,” Tanner said in
a matter of fact tone. They all looked at him, and he blushed slightly. “What?
It is true,” he muttered; then focused on an invisible piece of lint on his
shirt.

“I
don’t want to shoot anyone, but that doesn’t mean I won’t,” I said firmly.

“You
only have one gun; there are four of us,” Drake countered. I quickly drew the
second gun and pulled back the hammer. Drake’s expression only got more
annoyed. He looked like he was going to challenge me.

“I
never thought I would regret giving her those guns,” Colin said absently.

“Tanner,
give me your keys,” I ordered. I was tired of playing games. I didn’t have any
more time for games. I needed to find out where Cornelius was before Eleanor
hurt him.

“Don’t
give her your keys Tanner,” Lyle ordered.

 I
glared at him. “You won’t stop me, so I suggest you just cooperate.”

“I
won’t let you just leave either, so I suppose we are at an impasse,” he said
firmly. He didn’t look like he was going to back down. By the looks of it, he
was just as stubborn as I was.

“Lyle,
please,” I pleaded. I didn’t want to shoot any of them. I thought they would
back down, so I didn’t have to shoot them, but by the looks of it they were
going to be stubborn.

“I
am just as stubborn as you are Lillian. I will not back down on this,” he said
angrily.

We
stood staring at each other. Neither side was making a move. I was getting
nowhere, and it was infuriating. Before I could make up my mind, Drake lunged
at me. He knocked me backwards. I let the guns go because as annoying as they
were, I didn’t want to accidentally shoot one of them.

Drake
pinned me to the wall. “You aren’t going anywhere,” he growled.

A
tingling sensation suddenly rushed over me. Drake’s eyes widened. He was
suddenly thrown backwards into the others. I suddenly understood why the witch
wouldn’t touch me, maybe this was my power coming out because there was no one
else around that could throw him off me. I took their distraction as an
opportunity. I darted out the door, and down the steps. I had nowhere to go,
but into the woods. I wasn’t really excited about running blindly into the
woods, but it was my only choice. I was sure the others would be on my heels in
no time. I had a feeling it would be Drake or Colin that I would have to outrun.

I
ran headlong into the woods. I was attempting to run in the direction of the
main road Tanner turned off of when we first arrived. When I didn’t come to the
road, I decided to stop and see if I could figure out where I was going. I
looked around trying to get my bearings. I had no clue where I was, and I knew
every second I was standing still was a second more that Drake and the others
gained on me. I turned to run in the direction I decided would be best.
Something hit me hard in the center of my chest; knocking me backwards. I was
pretty sure whatever hit me was invisible, but I didn’t have much time to
contemplate it. As soon as I landed, I felt my head hit something and
everything went black.

I
opened my eyes, but it was still dark. I realized I had a blindfold on. I
attempted to move my limbs. My arms were bound behind my back, and my legs were
tied together. I wiggled trying to get out of the ropes holding me. I worked
until I got my arms around my legs, so they were in front of me. As soon as I
could maneuver I pulled the blindfold off. I looked around the room trying to
figure out where I was. I highly doubted that if I was still at Lyle’s, I would
be bound and blindfolded. I couldn’t see them doing that to me. The room I was
in was like a jail cell. There were no windows. The door had a small opening
with bars. I fought to get my hands free; then I freed my legs.

I
got to my feet and crept to the door. I peeked out the small opening. I couldn’t
see anything. I sighed in annoyance. I didn’t know what my next move would be.
I had a feeling I was where I wanted to get; I just wasn’t planning on getting
here as a prisoner. I attempted to pull on the door, but it wouldn’t budge. I
pressed my hands to the door hoping some sort of magic would come to me. I tried
not to get too excited when I felt a tingling sensation rush through me. I
focused on the feeling. The sensations began to increase. I could feel the
power building. I wasn’t sure if I should continue to push it or not. I decided
it couldn’t hurt to see what happened.

The
door suddenly blew apart startling me. It wasn’t the most inconspicuous way of
getting out, but I was free. I crept down the hall quickly. I knew it wouldn’t
be long before someone came after me. The explosion was so loud there was no
way someone didn’t hear it.

I
turned to run up a set of stairs. Two big men blocked the entrance. They were
on their way down to investigate the explosion. I cursed and turned to run back
the way I came. I had to come up with a plan.

“Hey!”
one of them yelled as they chased me.

I
dodged into a small space between the walls hoping they would just run past me.
They ran past me, and I turned and ran back the way they had come. I hurried up
the stairs and slammed the door shut; then I locked it. I could hear them
running back up the stairs. They already realized I had fooled them. I didn’t waste
time waiting to see if they could break the door down or not.

I
hurried down an empty hallway. The place I was in looked similar to my mother’s
coven. The walls were somehow different. It was like the carvings were all off.
It had to be another coven. I froze when a woman followed by an entourage of
people turned the corner.

She
saw me immediately as if she was expecting to run into me. “Lillian, so nice to
see you again,” she said happily. “I didn’t think that cell would hold you
long.” The woman had a commanding presence. Her long dark red hair made her
stand out because it was so unusual. I had a feeling this was Eleanor.

“You’re
Eleanor right?” I asked cautiously.

She
giggled like I said something amusing. “Very good, although I was hoping you
would have no clue who I was. It would make things so much more fun.”

“Look,
I don’t want to fight with you. I just want Cornelius back,” I said quietly.

Her
smile widened. “You’re still dedicated to the vampire even after you lost your
memory, how sweet,” she cooed.

To
be honest, I wanted to hurt her. Something about the way she acted made me want
to react without thinking. I took a breath trying to calm my urges. “That is
none of your business. Is he here?”

“Of
course, but he doesn’t want to see you,” she said happily.

I
looked at her confused. Somehow I didn’t believe that. She had to be lying. “Prove
it, let me see him,” I said refusing to fall for her tricks.

“You
really aren’t as smart as everyone would make you out to be. He has been spying
on you since he magically awoke from his curse. He knew exactly what would
happen to you if he killed you again. Who do you think gave him the order to
convince you to let him turn you into a vampire?” She was taking a good deal of
pleasure in hurting me. I didn’t remember much of what she was saying, but I
trusted Cornelius; I didn’t believe what she was saying.

“You’re
lying,” I said in barely a whisper.

Her
expression darkened. “I don’t lie. Cornelius is mine now. You should learn to
let go, not that it really matters though. You will be dead for good soon,” she
said brightening a little.

I
disregarded her last statement. I figured she would throw in the fact that I
would be dead soon. I didn’t care about that. I cared about Cornelius; I wanted
to see him. “Let me see him. I have to hear it from him. I don’t believe a word
you say.”

She
watched me for a minute. “Fine, Cornelius,” she chimed calling him.

Cornelius
appeared next to her. He wouldn’t even look at me. “Yes mistress,” he said
quietly.

I
couldn’t believe he was acting like she owned him. “Tell Lillian about you and
me,” she chimed happily as she ran her fingers over his chest.

Cornelius
looked at me, and I could tell by the expression in his face, everything
Eleanor said was true. Jealousy, anger, and fear hit me all at once. My
emotions were all mixed together. I wasn’t sure what to say or do next.

 
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