Rogue (Relentless Book 3) (43 page)

We went through the door and down a hallway before we came to a set of stairs. Ava took my arm and the male vampire walked ahead of us as we ascended the stairs. When we came out into a large kitchen, I had to put a hand over my eyes to shield them from the brightness after my day in the dimly lit cell.

Sara?

I almost cried out when Nikolas’s voice spoke in my mind. It was faint, but real, and I turned automatically toward it.
I’m here, Nikolas. I’m coming to you.

No, you have to run
, he said weakly as the vampires led me through the large house. I was so focused on him I barely noticed my surroundings.
The Master...
His voice faded away and I felt real fear for the first time since the vampires had come to get me.

Nikolas?

Silence.

Nikolas!

We approached a set of open French doors. Beyond them I could see a large room with a lot of windows. Cold spread through my chest. There were vampires in that room, a lot of them. And Nikolas was in there with them.

I tore my arm away from Ava, and she let me go. I ran through the doorway and searched the room frantically. Vampires sat on chairs and couches or stood in small groups talking, all looking like they were assembled for a social gathering. When I entered the room, they stared at me with an air of excitement.

“Nikolas!” I pushed past vampires to get to the man shackled and chained on his knees in the center of the room. His shirt was gone and his head hung forward so I couldn’t see his face. I fell to my knees in front of him and lifted his head. His eyelids flickered and he mumbled incoherently.

“I’m here.” I kissed his lips and pulled him into my arms without a thought for the vampires surrounding us.
I love you, Nikolas. Stay with me.

“Sara,” he murmured weakly.

I pulled away to look at his face. His eyes opened and a sob caught in my throat at the agony in them. Something sticky touched my hand, and I looked down in horror at the two weeping puncture wounds in his throat.
What have they done to you?

“How very touching,” drawled a male voice.

I looked behind me at a vampire with black hair and a small goatee, sitting in a high backed chair that resembled a throne. His hair was tied back in a ponytail and he wore an expensive suit. In his hand was a crystal glass of deep red liquid, and I shuddered at the thought of what it was. His dark eyes moved over me appreciatively, making me feel like I’d never be clean again.

I let go of Nikolas and stood to face the vampire who had caused me so much grief and pain. I met his cold gaze unflinchingly, and I was struck suddenly by how unremarkable he was. There was no air of power that I’d expect from a Master, and without his expensive clothes, he’d look like any other vampire in the room.

“Sebastian, how many times have I asked you not to sit in my chair?”

A hush fell over the room. The vampire stood and bowed his head in deference. I turned slowly, recognition and disbelief clawing at my chest. Chains rattled and Nikolas’s cold hand grasped mine as I came around to face my true nemesis.

“We meet at last, Sara Grey,” said the voice of the girl I had comforted from my cell only hours ago.
Anna?

Straight blond hair framed a heart-shaped face, and the blue eyes that watched me were cold and alien, yet achingly familiar at the same time. She smiled, showing perfect white teeth and two dainty fangs.

“Or maybe I should say,
niece
.”

“Elena, please,” Nikolas
pleaded hoarsely. I wrapped both of my hands around his, needing his strength as much as giving him mine.

“Please what, Nikolas?” asked the vampire who used to be the girl he’d loved as a sister. She circled us to sit in the throne chair that dwarfed her delicate frame. “I’ve waited a long time to hear you beg, so make it good.”

“This is between you and me. Let her go and I’ll do whatever you want.”

“No!” I tightened my grip on his hand.

Elena scoffed. “She’s such a loyal little thing, isn’t she? How loyal do you think she’ll be when she hears how you abandoned me and left me in the hands of a monster?”

“He didn’t abandon you,” I shot back. “He and Tristan looked everywhere for you. They thought you died.”

“They didn’t look hard enough!” she snarled, her blue eyes turning dark. “For weeks I prayed you would come for me, Nikolas, but you never did. Week after week, month after month, the Master used me, tortured me, and drank from me until I was almost dry. He was a sadistic animal, and for two years he kept me chained in his chambers, two years of living hell while my loving brother and friend lived their happy little lives.”

I felt my face blanch at the images her words conjured. My stomach rolled and bile rose in my throat.

“One day the Master got bored and decided I’d be a more fun plaything if I was a vampire. Only I already had a demon inside of me.” Elena’s hands gripped the arms of her chair, and I watched her nails turn into claws. “Do you know what it feels like to have two demons fighting to the death inside your body? Do you know how agonizing it is when your Mori dies, Nikolas?”

“Elena...” Nikolas’s voice was raw with pain.

She moved faster than anything I’d ever seen. Her small hands wrapped around Nikolas’s throat as she lifted him like he weighed nothing. “You talk when I say you can talk.”

“Stop! You’re killing him.” My outburst earned me a numbing backhand to my cheek that sent me sprawling across the floor. Black spots swam before my eyes, and all I could do was lie there for precious seconds as she strangled the person I loved more than my own life.

She released him, and he fell backward, coughing. I crawled over to him and pulled his head into my lap, wishing I could shield him from Elena’s wrath. Nikolas had always been the strong one, and seeing him so vulnerable was almost more than I could bear.

Elena began walking around us in slow circles, her pale blue dress swirling around her knees. “The Master was so pleased with himself because he was able to change a Mohiri into a vampire. I was his favorite pet and his prized possession, and he showed me off every chance he got. He liked to dress me up in pretty clothes and pamper me. I was a life-sized doll he could take out and play with whenever he wanted. He loved how small and weak I was, and he told me every day that I belonged to him forever.”

She stopped and crouched in front of us so she and I were at eye level. “But he was wrong. I was a lot stronger than I let him see, and I was biding my time, waiting years for the perfect moment. That arrogant bastard was so sure of his superiority that he got complacent. One night he didn’t bother to lock me up after he’d finished playing with me, and that was the opportunity I’d been waiting for. I killed him while he slept and drank him dry. Did you know that is the only way to become a Master? His children, his wealth, and power all became mine. After years of being a slave I was free and powerful, and it felt incredible. My old family had deserted me, so I began to create a new one.”

She moved forward until she was close enough to pick up a lock of my hair and curl it around her finger. I recoiled inwardly but kept very still. Deep inside me, I felt my power react to being in such close proximity to a Master vampire as it strained against the invisible barrier holding it back.

“I spent months searching for the perfect human to become my first born. Eli was special.” She leaned in to speak softly in my ear. “You will pay for his death a thousand times over.”

Her smile when she pulled away was almost angelic, but I was close enough to see the madness in her blue eyes. I hugged Nikolas closer to me and his hand came up to cover mine.

Be brave, moy malen’kiy voin.

She’s insane, Nikolas. I’m scared.

No matter what happens, I’m here with you.
A wave of calming energy flowed through our bond into me, and I could almost feel his strong arms around me. It gave me the strength to ask the questions I’d been seeking answers to my whole life.

“Why did you send Eli to kill my father? He was nothing to you.”

For a brief moment I saw fear in her eyes. “Your father
was
nothing to me, but he meant something to my dear niece, Madeline.”

Anger burned through me, but I kept it in check. “You killed him to get to Madeline?”

Elena stood and went back to her chair. “I killed him, not because she loved him, but because of the child she could have with him. It wasn’t until ten years later that I learned I had been too late and a child already existed.”

“But why?” My need for answers outweighed my fear of her. “Why did you care so much if they had a child?” There was no way Elena could have known my parents would have a half Fae, half Mohiri child. My dad had been human, as had generations of his ancestors. And even the faeries had admitted they had no idea what kind of powers I would have.

Elena studied her pink fingernails as if she was deciding whether or not to tell me. But I saw past her smooth veneer now, and I could see she was dying to share that little tidbit. That way she could gloat over the fact that she’d won.

“I was having a party and Madeline was my guest of honor. You should have seen her face when she realized who I was. Priceless. Of course, I compelled her to forget me before I let her go.” She giggled. “I even made her think I was a male.”

I stared at her. “You let her go?”

“Nothing like a little hunt to spice up a party.” She made a pouty face. “Madeline proved to be more evasive than I gave her credit for.”

“One of my guests was a warlock named Azar who was known for his gift of sight. Azar stupidly waited until after Madeline had gone to tell me he’d had a vision when he saw her. He told me that Madeline’s half-blood daughter would destroy me.”

I sucked in a sharp breath, and I felt Nikolas’s start of surprise. All of this because a warlock had seen something in a vision?

“Needless to say, I was quite upset Azar hadn’t shared that piece of information
before
I released Madeline. I discovered aged warlock is a very fine drink.” She let out a girlish laugh and some of the other vampires joined in. “We managed to pick up Madeline’s trail and followed her to Portland, which is how we found her human husband. Oddly, Eli saw no sign of a child even though he went to the house you lived in. It wasn’t until Eli found you in Portland last fall that we learned what you really were. I had no idea someone like you could even exist. But here you are.”

She stood again and smoothed down the front of her dress. “I am bored with this chatter. I think it’s time we get the festivities underway. Ava?”

The red-haired vampire hurried to her side.

“Has everything been prepared as I asked?”

“Yes, Master.”

“Wonderful.” Elena smiled sweetly down at Nikolas and me. “Today is a very special day for me, and it wouldn’t be possible without the two of you.”

Nikolas,
I said fearfully.

Be strong.
He struggled to sit up and I moved to help him. “What are you planning, Elena?” he asked, sounding a lot braver than I felt.

She walked over and leaned down to run a finger across his jaw. My nostrils flared and my hands clenched at my sides. I had to fight not to jump at her.

“Why, today is my wedding day. All I needed was my groom.”

“What?” I started to get up but Nikolas held me back. Fury seethed in my chest and my power clawed to get out.

“I have been waiting for you for a long time, Nikolas. For months, my children have tried to bring you to me. I had to find Sara because of Azar’s pesky prediction. But
you
are my real prize.” Elena’s fingers moved intimately through Nikolas’s hair, but he didn’t react to her touch. I, on the other hand, was boiling with bloodlust.

“You are a magnificent warrior,” she crooned softly. “And you will make an even more magnificent vampire and a fitting mate for me.”

“No!” I lunged at Elena, only to find myself restrained by two vampires. “You can’t have him,” I shouted at her as Nikolas sent more calming energy through the bond.

She smiled, unperturbed by my outburst. “Sara, what you don’t understand is that Nikolas and I were always destined to be together. He loved me, and we would have been mated if I hadn’t been taken from him. Is that right, my love?”

Nikolas met her gaze sadly. “I loved you, Elena, but as a sister. I grieved your death as a brother grieves his sibling.”

Her face hardened. “That’s not true. We were perfect together. If we’d had more time together, the bond would have grown.” He didn’t respond, and she kept talking as if she hadn’t noticed. “That’s all in the past. Today we’ll start over and create a new bond.”

I twisted in the vampires’ iron grip. “Nikolas will never bond with you. He’s mine.”

Elena’s eyes glittered like chips of ice when she turned toward me. “Just because he is your protector, does not mean he belongs to you, you silly child.”

“He’s not my protector. He’s my mate.”

“No!” Elena stood and stomped her foot. “You’re mine, Nikolas, not this half breed’s. When you become a vampire your Mori will die and the bond with her will be severed. Then we will be together forever.” She walked over to look down at me. “My wedding gift to you will be her. You will be very thirsty after the change. Her blood will be our wedding drink.”

I saw the horror in Nikolas’s eyes.
Sara, you need to get out of here. Use your power,
he said desperately.

I can’t. They drugged me again.
I would never leave him even if my power was intact.

Elena flicked her hand at me. “Take her out of my sight until the ceremony. Everyone leave us. I wish to be alone with my groom.”

“Nikolas,” I cried as they dragged me away from him.

Fight, Sara. Try to use your power. You’re stronger than they are.

I screamed and fought all the way back to my cell. The vampires threw me inside and left without a backward glance. Alone in my stone prison, thoughts of what Elena was doing to Nikolas tortured me more than any physical pain. I couldn’t hear him down here, and the sudden loss of his calming presence in my mind added to my torment.

His parting words to me rang in my mind.
Fight, Sara.
I would fight for him until there was nothing left in this body to fight with. I beat against the wall between me and my power, and I felt my power trying to reach me from the other side. A few threads escaped, and I hugged them to me, gaining strength from their familiar warmth. Hours passed. I pummeled the barrier relentlessly and felt it weaken around the edges.

The door opened and two vampires appeared. “No,” I almost cried. I needed more time.

I didn’t struggle as they led me up to the main floor. When we entered the kitchen, Ava Bryant was waiting to take me from them. She led me down a hallway and up another flight of stairs to a guest room. Laid out on the bed were an emerald green dress and a pair of matching shoes.

“The Master wants you to look nice for the ceremony.”

The laugh that burst from me was almost hysterical. “You want me to dress up?”

Ignoring my question, she pointed to the attached bathroom. “Clean up in there. You smell.”

I stared at her incredulously and she shoved me hard. “Do it or I will do it for you.”

My movements were robotic as I stripped out of my clothes. I showered and dried my hair in a daze. This couldn’t be real. I wasn’t getting dressed up for my own death. I felt numb as I donned the soft dress that fell in flowing waves to my knees. The shoes were a size too big, but I was too out of it to care.

“You’ll do.” Ava opened the door and shoved me out into the hallway where I almost ran into Grigor. The demon stared at me with his big orange eyes until Ava barked at him. “Grigor, what are you doing up here? Get back to the lab.”

Instead of leaving, he bowed his head to me. “
Talael esledur.”

I gasped and stared at the demon as Ava yelled at him for disobeying her. Movement caught my eye, and I looked down at his hands where he flashed a glass vial filled with yellowish-brown liquid.

A myriad of emotions assailed me as I realized what he was showing me and why. In the next instant the vial was gone, and he raised his eyes to mine again. “
Talael esledur,”
he said again then turned and walked away.

“Idiot demon,” Ava spat as she shoved me toward the stairs.

My head spun from the magnitude of Grigor’s revelation, and I barely saw where I was going as we descended the stairs. Had he known that I’d recognize troll bile or was he sending me another message? He was a chemist so he had to know the potency of troll bile, that it could counteract any poison. Was he trying to tell me he’d mixed troll bile with the drug they had given me last night? Was that why the barrier blocking my power was weakening?