Bloodmark (34 page)

I wasn’t sure if I were relieved to see Adomnan or not. Watching male wolves fight was like watching the dance of devils. Adomnan crouched down, as ready to attack the stranger as Eamon was. They both arched their bodies at him, ready for the kill. There was no question in my mind that Adomnan intended to kill the wolf without a single spoken word between them.

Panic rippled through me, and I cringed away from them. I just wanted to be home on the cliffs with Mother or back in my bed at Baran’s house with Grey’s warmth surrounding me. I wanted to be away from this violence. I covered my ears with my hands, desperately trying to block out their growls.

The lights above started to pop and explode, raining shards of glass down on us like glitter. The entire city was dark in a matter of moments. I felt a hand touch my arm lightly as the stranger leaned in close to my ear and whispered, “They cannot take what is not rightfully given.” Was he trying to protect me?

And with that, he was gone into the darkened streets, leaving the three of us lost in the dark. I shivered from anxiety. Reserve lighting kicked in, spotlighting every one hundred yards. I quickly stood over the blade the stranger had thrown into the dirt, hiding it in the fabric of my gown. I didn’t know what the stranger truly wanted, but I didn’t want Adomnan to find the dagger, either. A lot could be told about someone by his things, and I strangely felt the need to protect everyone from Adomnan. Even though I couldn’t protect myself.

“Quickly,” Adomnan said. “We have lingered here with her too long. We have not gone unnoticed.”

Eamon looked back at me, and I followed them to the ladder. As I put my foot on the lowest rung, I glanced back at the dagger. The stranger was now crouched by it, his hand gripping it tightly as he pulled it from the earth. He dashed off and ran between the houses.

Bento met us outside, and he looked twitchy. Something had spooked him and Adomnan, though I didn’t think it was only the presence of the greasy man. Something was coming. I could feel it on the unnatural wind. My hair stood on end, a warning. Something was coming—or someone.

22

Darkness

“Take her to the airport
. I will meet you on the plane,” Adomnan said, looking back to the south as the wind whipped us.

My arms were bare to the rough wind, though I didn’t feel the cold. Without a word, Eamon held my hand, and he started running inland with Bento flanking him. Miraculously, I was able to run in my dress, though I was certain Eamon kept a slower pace for my sake. He was much kinder than Adomnan, but really, that wasn’t saying much.

Eamon’s hands were noticeably softer than Grey’s. A life of royalty verses that of real men like Grey. Grey had been rugged. Eamon was refined and proper and respectful. He was still Adomnan’s brother, but I did feel safer with Eamon than any of my other options, so I just followed along and tried to keep up. And what chance did I have as a mortal? The effects of the silver from Robert’s blade wouldn’t wear off for a couple of days, and I wouldn’t be able to shift until then. If I couldn’t shift to heal my wounds, it would be harder to survive.

Did Grey’s heart still beat? Did mine? Were we even able to live and breathe without the other? Or did I die in the woods? If this were all just a nightmare, why could I not wake? A pain that couldn’t heal deep in my chest reminded me I still breathed. I was completely and forever bound to Grey, even after death. Nothing changed the fact that I was still his. His father’s body was cold and dead, strewn about in the snow where my body should have been; but I died in that moment too.

We arrived at the edge of the Natashquan airport, and a small aircraft waited on the runway. We approached the pilot slowly, and Eamon didn’t release my hand, though we both knew I wouldn’t bother running. The pilot eyed us for a moment before speaking to Bento.

“Are we still waiting for one more?” he said in a thick French-Canadian accent.

Bento nodded.

“I’d like to get the lady out of the elements,” Eamon said.

“Yeah, sure,” the pilot said, backing away.

Eamon led the way onto the empty plane. He chose the farthest-back seats, sitting me next to the window.

“Keep an eye out,” he said to Bento and sat down next to me. Eamon leaned over and whispered in my ear, “You can’t hide from your destiny.”

Why did everyone talk in riddles? No wonder nothing ever got done—no one knew what anyone else was talking about. None of them made any bloody sense. My destiny was for my only love to leave the earth ahead of me and for me to be taken against my will. That was
my
destiny. I was tired of being pushed around all the time.

I glared at him. As he looked into my eyes, I got the feeling he saw far more than other wolves—that he might be a soul reader, that he could read my past. I felt as if all my secrets were open to him. I pulled my knees up to my chest, hugging them tightly, and I turned away from him. Whatever he was looking for, he wasn’t going to get it. This freak show was closed.

I stared blankly out the window at the desolate wasteland. The winter’s cold bite made everything look bland and lifeless. It mirrored how I felt—left behind to die. I heard Adomnan and the pilot get on the plane as they exchanged pleasantries that weren’t pleasant at all, but I didn’t bother to listen. It didn’t matter anymore. Whatever happened to my body was no longer a concern of mine. I had nothing left to fight for. As the plane took off, I watched the trees disappear below us. Everything I had grown to know and love was gone. I couldn’t feel Grey’s heart anymore. I couldn’t sense his emotions. Every sign of him had been torn from my soul, and it left it naked.

Adomnan came out of the cockpit and approached us. I was suddenly happy Eamon didn’t take the hint and move seats. His body next to me meant Adomnan couldn’t get any closer to me, and for that I was thankful. I hid my face under my hood, hoping it would conceal my fear from his watchful eye. I held my breath until he finally sat down several rows ahead of us. The air whooshed out of my lungs in a rush, and I shuddered.

The flight went by slowly as fear consumed my heart. We were getting farther and farther away from my family, and I didn’t want to realize this nightmare. I didn’t want the plane to land. Landing meant it was over and I was lost. No one would come for me. I finally knew what it felt like to be truly alone.

Hours later, the plane landed in the cold landscape of Iceland. I resigned myself to my fate and continued to follow them blindly. We walked away from the plane into the surrounding forest, disappearing into the darkness and fog. Adomnan was no longer in a hurry; it was obvious that whatever we ran from in Canada no longer trailed us here.

“We are nearly home, princess,” Adomnan said, smiling. His words made my skin crawl.

The trees here were reminiscent of those back home in Ireland, but there were far more of them towering above us here, like a shield from the heavens guiding our path to their hell. Not a single other creature left its footprints in the new snow, an unnatural warning. As white as the snow was, the darkness and shadows still loomed all around. Ice and fresh snow coated the branches of every tree, creating a harsh reality.

I followed them for miles and miles in my bare feet, but I didn’t feel the cold. We finally broke through the trees to a clearing where a white stone palace stood at the center of the snow-covered wilderness. The fog rolled around us, giving the already frightening baroque palace an even eerier appearance. A frozen moat surrounded it, keeping it safe in the summers; in the winters, the water froze everything still in time. We walked across the frozen water as it cracked and gurgled in disapproval under my feet. I watched the ice splinter its web as I saw faces frozen still in terror under the ice. My breath caught in my throat as I stared at their open eyes. I felt their fear, and it crushed what little confidence I had left. This was a land without hope.

We slowly ascended the frozen steps up to the black palace doors. All the windows stood dark. Not a soul seemed to live here. Adomnan pushed the doors open with a thunderous crack. The palace was a reminder that they were once a society of immense wealth and power, but now were only rebels. They were the night kings of this dungeon. Bento shut the doors behind us, securing them with a side bar, shutting us away from the outside world. Eamon lit the wicks, illuminating the darkened space with dramatic shadows.

Adomnan led the way down the dark corridor into the center of the palace. The baroque architecture seemed to be built in the 1800s—which was rather new for werewolves—though parts of it seemed to be much older. The walls were covered in paintings of their family. Their unnatural eyes seemed to follow our every step. Did King Crob himself still live here in this empty castle? Were they bringing me to cower at his feet? I was filled with dread, and my skin prickled. I didn’t want to meet my father’s oldest enemy.

We turned down a dark, damp passage. Looking around, I realized it was surrounded on both sides by barred cages, and to my horror, they were filled with humans. They huddled together in their tombs, watching Adomnan walk by. Men, women, and children all stared up at me, their eyes blank and deadened from all the pain and fear they had endured. Their clothes were nothing more than rags, but they were well fed. No doubt, they were stored for eating.

I was disgusted by it all. Everything here was surrounded by death. I was nauseated just thinking about all the lives they had stolen.

We entered a long throne room, and the ceilings were adorned with paintings of their family history. Each one told a gruesome tale of their conquests and death inlaid in gold. There was no mercy here. At the end of the room stood an enormous throne carved from human bone. The fierce head of a wolf was carved at the top, protruding out, teeth bared. It was meant to strike fear into all those who dared to enter this place. Adomnan touched the face of the creature with respect, bowing his head to it.

“Leave us,” he said. Bento bowed immediately and walked out a side door. Eamon looked nervous, but he bowed and left, leaving me standing before Adomnan, whose back was still to me. Slowly he sat down in the throne, looking far older than I had seen him before—instantly aged by the chair he took. His eyes were cold and judging as he looked down on me.

“We are finally alone, my princess. It has taken much time to get you all to myself.”

My hood still hid my eyes from his inspection, but my quivering lip was exposed. I would’ve given anything to have died in the forest instead of standing before this creature.

“How do you like my throne?” he asked.

“Do you dare disgrace your father’s rightful throne?” I said. This was Crob’s palace, and he wouldn’t take lightly to his son playing king in his absence. It was forbidden.

He slammed his fist down on the armrest. His face twisted with indescribable hate. He bared his teeth to me as he slipped leather gloves over his hands and eliminated the space between us in an instant. He wrapped his long fingers into my hair. I felt his breath on my face as he spoke.

“I drank his blood as he died in my bare hands.”

I turned my face away from him, repulsed. He had killed his own father and desecrated his body. I felt limp in his arms as he violently shook my tiny frame like a rag doll.

“What do you think of that, little princess? You are now in the presence of a real king.” I didn’t look at him. There was no greater sin than that of taking one’s father’s blood. He was inexorably evil and I was at his mercy.

“You
will
submit to me!” he screamed as his spit spattered on my face. He dragged me from the throne room by my hair. I grasped my fingers at his wrist, trying desperately to stop the pain. My legs writhed to right myself as he pulled my body up several flights of stairs into an empty marble room.

He pulled my battered body up to his as he tried to crush my lips with his. I gagged at the thought as I scratched at his face, my nails tearing into his flesh and releasing a trickle of blood from his cheek. “You little bitch!” he screamed in my face.

He yanked me farther into the room, locking silver shackles around my wrists, dangling me from chains. The instant the silver touched my skin, my mind began to swim with the poison. It had finally come to this. I would die here. The cold finality of the metal around my wrists devastated me. I could never shift here . . . not with the sliver poisoning my blood.

“I told Redmund I would train you, my love.” He lightly ran his fingers over my breasts as I wrenched my body away from his touch, but the chains just swung me back into his grasp. “Such beautiful skin,” he said, running his finger between my breasts up to my lips. I bit his finger, digging my teeth into his flesh.

He yanked his hand from my mouth and backhanded my face with a strength that vibrated through my bones. I hung lifelessly from the ceiling. “You are nothing without me,” he said and walked out, slamming the door behind him.

I wiped the blood and tears from my face with my shoulders as I looked around the room. I knew this room. I had been here many times in my dreams. Other than the black, ornately carved ceiling, a claw-foot bathtub, and an enormous chandelier, the room was empty. The chandelier contrasted against the blackness of the room with its carved-bone wolves covered in cobwebs. The light from the windows cast the dark room in an ominous glow.

The hours passed slowly as my body ached. My toes barely touched the floor—just enough to keep the pressure off my wrists. The agony made me want to die. I just wanted it to be over. Exhaustion must have lulled me to sleep because I awoke to Adomnan’s loud voice echoing.

“Have you come to your senses?” he sneered.

I looked up into his horrible face, at the bloody scabs on his cheek. “I will never submit to you,” I said, spitting on him.

To my horror, he smiled in return. “I was hoping you’d say that,” he said. A leather whip uncoiled from his hands like a snake. “I do love to punish you.” He dragged it behind him as he circled me. I tried to turn to see him, but the chains wouldn’t allow it. The first crack of the whip sliced into my back, releasing the most unholy sound from my lips. The gown protected only some of my skin, but the exposed pieces of flesh opened with each blow. I hated him. With every crack, I cried out again until I had no more tears to shed and my body had gone numb.