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CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT
ENDER
The second the gunshot sounds, panic tears through me. I’m aware I have an antidote, but with how young Mads is, it might not even work unless administered immediately. And it’s not going to work at all if Abel won’t let me get close to him. Mads didn’t give Finn one as he’s not a vampire and he only had a limited amount.
“Mads, no!” I shout as I dash toward him, but it’s already done. Nothing can reverse the shot he’s just made.
“What the fuck,” Abel yells as he throws Finn off Mads. I catch Finn before he slams into the ground and rush to Mads, but Abel shoves me back.
“Get the fuck away from him,” I snarl, but he and his men are surrounding Mads.
No, no, no, I need to get close. I need to get to him. I need to help him.
Abel spins and grabs me before slamming me against the wall. “This is your fucking fault. You were created for one purpose. I made you destroy the lives of everyone you loved to become the best you could be… and you just weren’t good enough.”
I lift a shorter blade he obviously didn’t see I had and draw it across his throat. It wouldn’t be enough to stab him in the heart with it, but I know that slicing his throat could make him weaken enough to pull out of the department. He falls back, but when I rush in, hoping to finish the job, he hears something that makes him decide the risk is too much. And suddenly, they’re all gone. I should chase him. I should try to end it even if I know it’ll likely end in my death.
Pain is radiating through my body, blood running from healing wounds, but right now, all I care about is Mads.
“What the fuck did you do that for?” I ask as I grab the antidote, terrified it’s too late.
“I already gave it to him,” Finn says, stopping me before I can stab the needle into him. “As soon as he warned me he was going to shoot himself, I gave it to him. I still thought it was a horribly risky idea, but it wasn’t like he was going to listen to me if I said so.”
Relief washes through me as I drop to my knees next to Mads while Marcus and the others move forward, having likely been the reason Abel pulled back. They go straight for Finn, but my attention is on Mads who still isn’t conscious yet.
“Mads, wake the fuck up,” I say as I shake him.
“Get him in a windowless room, now. Before someone realizes what we’ve done,” Marcus orders.
I pick him up and carry him into a room before someone shuts the door behind us, and I realize that Marcus is right. If Abel doesn’t realize that Mads is still alive, there’s a chance of getting him out of this unharmed. He will have to rethink his plans of taking over and he won’t be fixated on taking Mads from me.
“Mads, come on,” I say as I shake him again, not understanding why he’s not waking up if Finn gave him the antidote so quickly. Is it because of how young he is? I smack his face gently, wanting to startle him awake. What if my dream was a premonition of what’s to come? What if I could have protected him if I hadn’t chased after the vampires who’d fled? “Mads, come on. Wake the fuck up. Come on. You better not have coerced me into caring about you before going and dying on me.”
He groans as his eyes open. “You like me?”
“Fuck,” I hiss as my head drops down to his chest while relief floods through me. No part of what just happened was good, but having him here with me matters more than anything.
“It’s okay,” Mads assures me, like any part of any of this is okay.
I sit up to give him a look so he’s very clear how I feel about all of this. “What if Finn hadn’t had the antidote? I couldn’t have gotten to you in time. You would have died. You didn’t give it to him yesterday because you didn’t have enough to spare one for a human, so you couldn’t have guaranteed that he had it.”
“Very true, but I knew there’d be absolutely no way Marcus wouldn’t force him to carry it on his person,” he tries to assure me.
“If he hadn’t, you would have died.”
“I was like ninety-five percent positive he would have, though.”
“That means you still weren’t positive that you wouldn’t fucking die,” I growl. “FUCK.” I drop my head on his chest as all of these emotions I can’t seem to tackle hit me at once. I’m angry that he would risk his own life like that, I’m furious that Abel was going to take him from me, but more than anything, I’m so relieved that he’s still okay.
My fingers dig into his bloody shirt as he wraps his arms around me, and I don’t know if I’ve ever felt so much relief. How can simply two arms make me feel like this?
Mads’s fingers rub my back so softly, like he’s trying to rub away the pain I felt when I feared he’d die. “Hey, I’m okay. But I was afraid that if I didn’t do something soon, many of us wouldn’t be. We know he wants me and if he had no reason to take me, then we could possibly drive him off. So if I faked my own death, he might leave. I know it wasn’t ideal, but really, it did keep more people from getting hurt or dying. And I’m okay. I really am.”
I try to nod because I understand why he did it, but I’m still struggling to comprehend it myself. I just…
My fingers dig tighter. “I had a dream you died last night.”
“I’m sorry.”
“I had a dream I killed you like I killed my brother. And don’t fucking say that you know I wouldn’t kill you. I knew Tomás for many years. I adored him. I would have done anything for him… but when I lose myself… you don’t understand how I lose all sense of control.”
“I’m so sorry that happened to you. I can’t imagine the pain that caused.”
“Abel destroyed my life to break me down. He killed them or hurt them or made me watch as he destroyed them just so he could break my mind until there was nothing left of me. He took everything that made me who I was. I feared that darkness so much until I realized that it was the only place I felt safe. It was the only place where I didn’t hurt or wasn’t forced to hurt others. Since I was a young vampire, I couldn’t control myself like I can now. He knew how to drive me to that state where I’d lose control and it took me so many years to learn how to control myself… how to get away. I feel like I’m only starting to reclaim the person I once was. You can’t fucking die on me.”
His fingers slide into my hair, his hold quite gentle, yet how can it feel so strong? “I’m sorry. I really am sorry. I know I was taking a risk, but I promise you that the risk was worth it. We’re going to stop him.”
“How? Do you not realize how many fucking vampires he has on his side? The council, which has complete control, is currently in his hands.”
“Then we simply take it back,” Mads says.
“Simply?” I laugh at this man’s ludicrous ideas because nothing is ever simple.
“I know nothing sounds easy… but please, have faith in me.” His fingers sink into my hair as his free hand gives me another squeeze.
I nod. “I do. Stay in here and play dead; I’m going to see what I can do to help.” I have to force myself away from him, which really shouldn’t be this hard to do.
“I will hide myself away appropriately,” he assures me.
I grab his head and pull him in for a quick kiss, knowing that I’ve already spent too much time in here when I need to be out there helping others. What if Abel only pulled back for a little while to gain more ground? But no… this was definitely a threat. He’s showing the VRC that he has control of it and that if they don’t begin doing what he wants, he’s going to wipe them out. He’s giving them one more chance to conform to his ways, and if they’re not careful, there will be no VRC left standing.
I shut the door behind me and look over to where Finn is trying to help someone. I’m glad to see that he has his arm back on and it doesn’t appear to be damaged. “What can I do?” I ask.
“Uh… fuck… I’m overwhelmed,” he says as I notice the blood on his shaky hands. He really should see a doctor himself, but I know he’s going to put others first. Hell, even after what I’ve done, he’s put me above himself again and again. But why? What makes him so good? What makes him so capable of caring for others no matter what they’ve done to him? “Um… Brooks is up and is going to be okay, we got here in time to save him with Mads’s antidote, but we only had five antidotes, and now we’re down to one because we used two others on vampires. One was too late, but the other seems to be recovering. Right now, we just need to stabilize the wounded. They’re sending more emergency vehicles. I just… I don’t know. Maybe get blood to those who have lost too much. Let’s start there?”
I nod and set to work. I can tell Marcus is enraged—I’m sure they all are that Abel just waltzed into their territory and tore it apart like this. He clearly wanted to attack while Marcus was away and when I’d seen them fleeing, I’d gone after them. I should have known it was a setup. I should have stopped myself from being so rash, but I’d thought that if I killed even one or two, it would be fewer vampires for us to contend with.
I bring blood to a vampire who is struggling to heal and see an unconscious human tucked under a desk. “Someone is here who needs medical attention,” I call, and as soon as someone heads our way, I hurry off to help anyone else that I can. It seems like the vampires who were hurt and able to heal are healing, but the rest were too far gone before we even arrived.
All too soon, we’re left standing amongst the destruction. All humans who’d been hurt have been rushed off to the hospital and the vampires who could heal have been helped.
Marcus slowly walks over to me and I meet his eyes.
“I’m sorry I led you off and put Finn at risk.”
“You didn’t lead me off. I would have gone anyway. It’s thanks to you noticing the ambush that we got back here in time,” he says.
“I should have known better. Abel has always excelled at manipulating people and knows just how to tear them apart. I’m afraid there might be someone in the VRC who’s one of his own. They likely told him that you and the other stronger vampires weren’t here yet, so he could strike and hurt us when he knew it’d be safest to do so.”
“I’m not surprised. We obviously were incapable of taking a stand against them. If the group of us had been here when they attacked, I believe the outcome would have turned out much differently… but then again, with the numbers he has on his side, it might have done nothing,” Marcus says.
“It was retaliation for yesterday, but if we do nothing, how the fuck are we expected to win a fight against him?” Finn asks, sounding quite desperate.
“I don’t know,” Marcus admits. “I would love to tell you that I’m confident that I could rush in and kill them all, but… I’m not sure I’ve ever been less confident in my life.”
“He has strength in numbers… but I have a feeling I know the very guy who can dwindle those numbers down for us,” I say as I look toward the door Mads is behind.
After we make sure everyone is okay, I find myself wandering back to the room Mads is in. Instead of recovering like I assumed he’d be, he’s busy scribbling away on a piece of paper as he sits on the floor. I walk over to him and simply sit beside him.
“Are you planning vampire eradication?” I ask.
“That sounds so… evil. Let’s say vampire ‘poof be gone.’”
“Does that sound better?” I ask. “It sounds like something Rylee would make up.”
Mads laughs, but my attention shifts when the door opens and Marcus, Finn, Alexei, and Claude enter the room.
“Briar is getting transport set up for you. Brooks and Bentley are figuring out what to do with the remaining VRC personnel. And we came in here to talk,” Finn says. “Mads… please tell me you have an idea.”
Mads looks up from his paper that he’d been dutifully filling. “I do… but it requires us figuring out who in the council we can trust. But first… I need a lab and a whole lot more materials. Can you get me that?”
“Can you give Claude a list?” Marcus asks. “Claude, you could send it with Beatrice. I know she’s trustworthy and she’ll be knowledgeable about where to acquire this stuff.”
“I already have one. I put an assortment of things on there. Some things on the list aren’t even required, but if someone ends up seeing it, they won’t be able to figure out what is used to make the drug or the antidote,” Mads explains as he tears it out of the notebook and hands it to Claude.
“I’ll be back as soon as I can,” Claude says as he zips out of the room, leaving Alexei behind.
The door barely closes before DeGray, Brooks, and Briar slip in.
“Got you the most fashionable of escape routes,” Briar says with a grimace as she lays down a body bag. “So, uhhh, slide on in.”
“Oh fun. Can you hold on to this?” Mads asks as he hands me his notebook. I feel like this is a lot of pressure, but when I look at it, I don’t understand the language or anything else on it. DeGray unzips the bag and Mads slides in.
“Are we heading to the university?”
“Brooks mentioned that we’ll be taking you to a different lab. The university is too open and we wouldn’t be able to discreetly take you inside, so we found you a different lab,” DeGray explains.
“The VRC is at risk, I understand, but I want all of you involved in transporting Mads,” Brooks says. “Right now, the lives of thousands of vampires are in his hands.”
“Oh joy,” Mads says, looking more than a little concerned.
Brooks continues, “The VRC will step back, and I believe that should get Abel to leave us alone. We need more antidote. Just because we have Mads doesn’t mean Abel can’t find someone who’ll figure out how to create an antidote. I’m sure he has people working on identifying the materials that go into the ammunition, just as Wren’s group has been. I’ve requested help from Wren’s crew, but Wren has informed me that his higher-ups are refusing to send them out. I’m… concerned that means Abel has control of some of the higher-ups. It’s only a matter of time before someone figures out what we have, whether it’s on their side or ours. But what I do know is that we have to be able to protect ourselves.”
“Got it,” Marcus says as Claude returns and gives us a thumbs-up.
“I really fucked up,” Mads mutters, seeming anxious.
Brooks lets out a laugh, not because what Mads said was funny but sounding more defeated than anything. “Mads, three people were shot with the drug, but did you see how many were wounded or dead? Far more than three. It doesn’t matter whether you created the drug or not. Abel has the manpower and the ability to tear us down even without the ammunition. We need to stop him… but the problem is… can we?”
“I… have an idea, but so much of it depends on who in the council we can trust. We don’t want unnecessary deaths,” Mads explains.
Brooks nods. “Let’s move you out while we’re still safe. Once we’re done clearing out the whole VRC, I’ll meet you at the lab and we’ll discuss everything in a location where we’re positive no one is listening in.”
Briar zips Mads up, and we carry him out the door, stepping in line with the other medical personnel. When we reach the exit, there’s a transport vehicle waiting. Carefully, we carry him inside before getting into it ourselves. A man I don’t know gets into the driver’s seat, but it’s evident the others trust him as we’re closed into the back and the vehicle starts moving.
We’re quiet for a bit before I notice Marcus looking at me.
“Thanks for making it back to Finn in time,” he says.
“I’m… not quite sure I accomplished much.”
“Yes, but you’re a better fighter than me. I’ve known that for years. Since the very first time you tried to kill me.”
I think back. “When was that?”
Marcus looks at me in shock. “What do you mean ‘when was that?’ You literally… and just… ask when?”
I watch him for a while, wondering if I killed someone he cared about that I don’t quite recall.
Marcus gives me a look of disbelief. “The village I was staying in, you slaughtered them all.”
Ah. Right. “Yes, and you were the only one I couldn’t kill,” I say.
“They were good people.”
“They were?” I ask, unsure if we’re thinking about the same thing. “What made you think they were good?”
Marcus hesitates. “Are you just going to make me guess or explain yourself? I’m not a lover of games.”
“Were you really not working with them?”
“Working with them to do what, exactly?”
I cock my head, confused how this man could have been involved without even realizing it. Was he not protecting them? Joining in on it? Abel had said the village had a vampire assisting them, and when I’d gotten free of him and gone to destroy their lives like they’d destroyed mine, it was easy to see that the only vampire there was Marcus.
Did he really not know?
“They struck a pact with Abel. He would protect them in exchange for humans for Abel to feed on or torture or do whatever the fuck he wanted. It was like they were an ancient civilization sending sacrifices to a god they worshiped.
“My brother and I were only two years apart and he loved jewelry, but he didn’t have the money to get a business started. So even though I was too young, I posed as him and became a soldier to get some money for us to thrive. For years, I sent money home in the hope that when his business took off, I could withdraw from the army and be given a chance to live for myself.
“Because of my skills as a fighter, I was treated quite well and quickly moved up the ranks, but at the time the land was at peace, so I was given luxuries many didn’t get. When I was allowed home, I would help my brother with his business, mostly by transporting his products for him. I would often take his products to local markets and sell them. Because they were small, I was able to take handfuls with me while I traveled as a soldier and any money they made, I’d send back to him. His business began to flourish. He found a wife and had a beautiful daughter, but I was still stuck in the army. By making a name for myself, I’d made it hard to get away. There was always a reason they thought it best for me to stay.”


CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
ENDER
Past
I bring the stallion I’m riding to a stop in front of my brother’s shop. He lives on the upper floor but works down below, something he’s been quite happy to be able to do.
“Moving up in the world, little brother,” Tomás says.
“How so? I have nothing to my name. No home, nothing.” I don’t mean it to sound so sharp, but sometimes seeing the family he’s built makes me jealous that I’ve become stuck where I am. I send everything I acquire to him so at least he can live his dream, and someday, I hope that means I can get away from the life of a soldier and live peacefully near them.
Tomás’s smile flickers. “You have a home with us. You know that, right? You need to quit if you’re not happy.”
“I will… they keep telling me just a little longer and they’ll let me go. I’m just… wondering when that ‘little longer’ will end,” I say. “Trust me, it’s not you. I’m just frustrated with them. But hopefully soon.”
“I apologize if I said something wrong. I only meant that in your uniform atop a warhorse… you look quite formidable.”
“The horse might look formidable, but he left his smarts at home,” I say. “On the way here, he spooked over a rabbit and nearly tripped over his own legs to get away.”
“It was a terrifying rabbit,” Tomás jokes.
“Quite terrifying indeed,” I agree as I hear a squeal a moment before my niece rushes out. I drop down and hold my arms out just in time for her to slam her little body into me as she lets out a gleeful noise. “Hello, my dear Edith,” I say. After my brother and I had moved from Spain to find a home here, he’d fallen in love with a local farmer’s daughter who had Edith not long after they’d gotten married. Questionably not long if one were to count the months.
She is now four, and even if I’m away for months, she still acts like I’m the best thing around every time I get back. I scoop her up and sit her on the back of the warhorse.
“You just told me it fled at the sight of a rabbit! Get her down,” Tomás says in alarm, but Edith is giggling as the horse bends his neck around to play with her shoe.
“I’m holding her. Stop fussing so much. I’m not going to let her fall.”
“Are you two already bickering?” Eleanor teases as she comes out.
“Ma, look.”
“I’m looking. Darling, I know you’re excited to see your brother, but don’t forget you were supposed to get the jewels delivered to Herefort… and it’s already starting to turn dark.”
“Right.” Tomás walks over and gives me a hug. “It’s delightful to see you and I really hope you’re staying a while this time. I’ve missed you. I’ll be back tomorrow.”
I look at him in surprise. “Tomorrow? How lame is that horse you’re riding?”
Tomás laughs. “He’s not lame at all. He’s a fantastic carriage horse, but the moment I put him under saddle, his top speed is slow.”
“I’ll take it. I’ll be back before you put the little one to bed,” I say.
“Can I go?” Edith asks, sounding quite thrilled by the idea.
“Not if I’m going to get back any faster than that lazy horse of yours would.” I pull her off my horse’s back and pass her to her mother.
“Are you sure?” Tomás asks.
“Yes. We’ve barely traveled today. We had a break yesterday and he’s used to going all day every day when we train. We’re good. Let me change out of this stuffy uniform they make me wear when traveling and I’ll be ready.”
With the box tucked away in a saddlebag and clothes changed, I slip my foot into the stirrup and swing on. “I’ll be back soon.”
“Hopefully for good one of these days.”
“Soon,” I promise. “By the end of the year, they’ve assured me.”
“Good.”
I turn the stallion, and with a squeeze of my legs he moves away from the town and toward the village not horribly far from here. I arrive in plenty of time and head over to the jeweler who’d purchased the jewelry my brother made. There’s a hitching post that I tie my horse to before walking inside.
The man looks up and smiles. “What can I do for you?”
“I’m dropping some stuff off for my brother Tomás.”
He looks surprised. “Tomás didn’t come with you?”
“No, did you need to speak with him? I can take a letter back.”
He opens the box and checks the items. “Hold for a moment,” he says before slipping out the door. While he does, I wander as I look at the jewelry he has on display. None of it is near the craftmanship my brother is capable of.
The wait extends until I begin to get impatient. Of course I told Tomás I didn’t mind dropping the box off, but I’m also tired and prepared to have a drink and fall asleep.
The door opens, and when a group of men enters, I find myself rather confused.
The first man who greets me is a large man with a hand on his sword. Clearly… something is going on here. “I’m the guard of this village and we need to take you in to ask you a few questions. It’s nothing you’ve done. We’ve just had some issues in these parts.”
“If you’ve had issues, I can assure you I had no part in them.”
“Just come with us and we’ll speak about them.”
“I’d rather not. To my understanding, I am owed some money for my brother’s sale, and then I will leave.”
“Not so fast,” the guard says. “We don’t know you. You could have stolen the jewelry from the maker for all we know.”
“You think there are more than two Spaniards around? I assure you, my brother Tomás sent me here. If you have a problem with it, I will simply take it back with me.”
I stretch my hand toward the box, but the jeweler slides it away, and just as he does that, I hear something behind me. The guard’s sheathed sword slams into the side of my head, nearly knocking me off balance. I reach for my sword before realizing I’d left it on the damn horse since I never imagined I would get attacked.
“What in the hell was that for? I am a member of the army. My credentials are on my horse, and I will gladly have my higher-ups deal with this,” I snarl as blood drips from my head.
“You didn’t mention he was in the fucking army!” the guard grumbles.
“It doesn’t fucking matter. He’s never going to tell anyone,” another man says as I decide that whatever I’ve walked into isn’t good at all.
I slam my elbow into the man blocking the door and make a run for it when another tries hitting me with some kind of wooden weapon. I slide back, but the shop is small and with ten or so of them, I’m boxed in.
I knock one back before grabbing the box my brother had sent me with and slamming it into a man’s head, driving him down to his knees. Trying to make a break for the door, I see one of the guards draw a sword. I throw my arm up to block the hit as the weapon bites into me. The fight is fast, and though I manage to take down five of the men, more just fill their places. I’m left bleeding, and when someone cracks something against my skull, I hit the floor on my knees. Before I can recover, I’m dragged out of the building and into the street, past the villagers watching the show, and toward the area my horse stands. Is there some way I can reach him? Grab my sword and flee? He’s a very fast horse. If I could just get on his back, could I escape?
“Can we even hand him over like this? Should we just kill him? I bet his brother will come looking for him. We can hand that one over,” a man says.
I’m dropped to the ground as their words tear into my mind. How dare they think they could go for Tomás? I will protect my brother… I will…
They all grow quiet and back away from me.
“Y-You… will not… touch… my brother,” I snarl as I try to crawl toward my horse. If I could just get my sword…
“What happened here?” a man asks, and there’s something about his voice that tells me I need to get away. “This is what you offer up to me? A dying man? Do you think I’m worth so little?”
“We will get you a new one, I promise. He… he wouldn’t come willingly. He killed two of the guards and knocked down three others. But if he goes missing, his brother will come looking for him and we’ll take his brother.”
The newcomer reaches for me just as I lunge for the horse. I draw my sword free and drive it into his stomach before he can even react. He seems startled, but he doesn’t cry out or fall away as I’d hoped. He slowly looks down at the blade that I pull free before tearing it from my hand with impossible strength. The man knocks me down to the ground and presses a foot against my chest with so much pressure, I can feel the broken ribs shattering beneath the weight of him.
He casually looks down at his shirt and plucks it. “I really liked this shirt, and now it’s quite filthy.”
I realize the villagers are just standing there and watching like it’s a show put on for them.
Then the man grins. “I like this one.”
And with that, he grabs my foot and begins to drag me over to a carriage that waits nearby. I try to get free, but consciousness leaves me before I can.