Bound in Blood 1 Clandestine (26 page)

The linebacker got a good hit on Kyle sending him into the
wall about a foot from Emily. She immediately went to him
checking to see if he was okay. His arm was dangling at an
unnatural angle. There was blood streaming down his mouth and
the back of his head, where he had impacted the wall.
Before Emily could properly assess his injuries, she heard
Tyler cry out in pain. Without thinking, she shot up to find the
source. The stupid linebacker had his hands around his neck and
had him backed up against the banister. Tyler’s body was bowed
back so far that if the vampire let go, Tyler would fall over the
rail. Emily looked to the other slayers in the hall for help.
Unfortunately, Sebastian was in nowhere near the right
place to be of any assistance. All of his focus was on the vampire
he had managed to throw into a door. The wood had snapped and
broke off the hinges. She looked down at Kyle.
CRAP!
He was
definitely still out of commission. It was up to her. What was
she
going to do? That thing was ungodly huge in epic proportions.
To her advantage, his back was to her. She could get the
drop on him if she could just move fast enough. The knife she
had used against Mrs. Cleary lay discarded on the floor of the
hallway. For one ridiculously scary second Emily thought maybe
she hadn’t really killed her. Then she remembered that vampires
turned to dust once they were dead. That fate seemed oddly
fitting. They were unnatural creatures that deserved to turn into
dirt. Ignoring the thick blood that coated the blade, she picked up
her dagger. When the light caught the blood, it glistened. Her
stomach twisted.
Before she could give herself a chance to think about it, she
charged. As she neared the monsters, her abdomen felt as though
it would explode from the pulsating cramps that tore through her
insides. There wasn’t a choice, she had to keep going. Tyler was
in serious trouble, and that really pissed her off. Once she was in
closer proximity, Emily plunged the knife into the linebackers
back with all her strength. She felt the blade hesitate on his ribs
and she pushed harder still. When it was all the way to the hilt,
she twisted.
For a heart pounding second she thought she had done
something wrong. The vamp’s hands were still pressing down on
her friend. Time seemed to have stopped moving all together.
Finally, his arms relaxed and he pitched forward against Tyler.
The limp weight of his body would send them both over for
sure. Emily got a hold of Tyler’s arm and pulled with everything
she had. Tyler used his other hand to push against the dead
linebacker’s chest. He grunted with the strain but managed to
push him to the side. Now free, he fell into Emily toppling them
both to the floor. Emily looked up just in time to see the vampire
fall. His weight broke through the banister hurling him to his
final resting place.
Emily gasped. This was really happening. She had killed
another one. There really wasn’t time to examine the growing
number of notches on her belt. If the two of them stayed put,
they were like sitting ducks. Moving didn’t really seem like a
good option either. Emily’s muscles screamed and burned just
under her skin.
She and Tyler were both panting hard from all the exertion.
She willed her breath to steady and her heart to calm down to at
least two hundred beats a minute. If it kept up at the rate it was,
it would probably beat right out of her chest. She tried to inspect
Tyler’s injuries but he shrugged her off assuring her he would be
okay.
They were so engrossed in their own melodrama that it
wasn’t until just then that they both turned their attention toward
Sebastian was doing with his efforts. Not surprisingly, he had
made his kill and had just finished with the decapitation. Emily
winced. This might be her life now, but that didn’t mean she had
to like it. With a heavy sigh Sebastian turned to them.
When he saw them on the floor he hurried over. “Are you
alright?” His eyes were on Emily. “You’re not hurt are you?” He
reached out a hand, helping her up.
Emily brushed the hair out of her face that had escaped the
pony tail. “I’m fine. Tyler and Kyle got the brunt of it.” She
waved a hand toward Kyle indicating his form that still lay on
the floor against the wall.
“I’m fine Bass.” Kyle said hoarsely. “My shoulder’s out of
the socket though. It hurts,but I’ll live.”
Sebastian moved to his side and assisted him up. Without a
word he grabbed a hold of Kyle’s arm and reefed it back into
place. Kyle grimaced but otherwise had no visible reaction.
Emily’s mouth dropped open brilliantly with a pop. She would
have been screaming like a banshee if she were him.
Apparently unfazed, Kyle continued. “Those two were the
only ones I found when I did the sweep on that end. We still
need to check the other side.” He took the bow from his back and
inspected it for damage. It must have been broken in some way,
because he cursed to himself and threw it to the floor. Reaching
to his belt, he pulled out a dagger, which matched Sebastian’s.
“Let’s get it done,” Sebastian replied firmly. He looked to
Emily and Tyler. “Watch yourselves. Andre’s been having fun
tonight and who knows how many more newborns we’re going
to find.” He started to turn to head down the hall, but Emily
stopped him.
“Where’s Ivy?”
Sebastian’s face went cold but his eyes were sad. “She’s
probably standing guard outside. Casey’s death got to her.” With
that he turned and started down the hall again. That subject was
not one of his priorities. He didn’t hide his true emotion on the
subject. Whether he wanted to admit it or not, he was worried
about Ivy.
The rest of the upper floor of the big house was clear. Emily
was surprised. She kept expecting boogie men to jump out of
every closet, or grab her ankle from under every bed. She
followed Sebastian and Tyler down the stairs. Sebastian
stationed Kyle at the rear of their group. He evidently didn’t
think Emily could handle it after what had happened with Mrs.
Cleary.
When they had first come in the house the lights downstairs
were all off. The first thing Emily noticed when they turned the
corner from the stairs was that the light from the office was now
on and the door was cracked. She could have sworn they left it
all the way open. Every fiberof Emily’s being told her to run.
She had enough of the fighting and of the supernatural for a life
time.
Tyler and Kyle posted themselves on either side of the door.
Kyle looked to Sebastian and nodded.
Taking the cue, Sebastian threw open the door and rushed in
like the swat team with Kyle and Tyler in tow. Emily not
wanting to be alone followed behind. She was not prepared for
what they were walking into.

Andre stood to the side of the room, as Tyler aimed a
crossbow at Andre's chest. Kyle and Sebastian were bent into a
defensive crouch, ready to spring at the first sign of danger.

Emily entered the room and recognized Andre, as the one
who had taken her hostage earlier. The second she entered the
room, she saw him. She could still feel the way his hand had felt
around her throat, as though it was still there. Part of her tried to
look threatening, but he intimidated the heck out of her.

The burn from the silver powder that Emily had inflicted
was not visible. Aside from a little redness, the wounds were
completely nonexistent. Even with the red, his skin looked like
marble. He stood as still as a statue.

When she had first come into the room, fear pounded
through her at the sight of Andre. He carried the air of an alpha
that demanded attention. Everything else in the space melted
away leaving nothing except Andre, Emily, and her own terror.
Thanks to that she hadn’t noticed that he wasn’t alone in the
room. There was a female with him and she didn’t look happy.

“So nice of you to finally join us.” Andre’s voice crooned.
“Miss Ivy and I were just having a little chat. We wondered how
long it would take you to find us.” He put a hand on Ivy’s
shoulder, probably to fake camaraderie. Ivy flinched but couldn’t
move away from his touch. His melodic voice took on a more
confidential tone. “Truth be told, the dear girl isn’t much of a
conversationalist.” He said it, as though Ivy were ignoring him,
which wasn’t the case. He had gagged her and must have
forgotten about that minor detail.

Emily couldn’t help herself. “Let her go!” She didn’t much
like Ivy but noperson deserved to be a vampire’s play thing.
Andre focused on her for the first time and smiled,
revealing way toomany teeth for comfort. “My sweet Emily,
you’ve returned to me. I was so hoping you would.”
Emily raised an eyebrow. “Yeah, not by choice. Let Ivy go
and we’ll be on our way.” Her inner core shook wildly, but she
couldn’t let this creep, see how much he got to her.
The vampire laughed, actually laughed. “Now, there is no
need to be hasty. We will get to Ivy soon enough. You and I
have much todiscuss first.” Even through the unnatural green of
his eyes, the glint of excitement that passed through them was
plain to see.
It was more than a little likely, that Andre had no intentions
of talking to Emily. It was more feasible that he wanted revenge
for the burns she had inflicted on him. He probably had plans to
tear out her throat and eat it for a snack. Ugh, she thought utterly
disgusted and threw up in her mind, just a bit.
Sebastianmoved forward. “Andre this is over. We’ve
already killed four of your people. One, I might add was one of
your valued henchmen. I know you’ve been busy tonight. Tell us
where the other newborns are.”
Andre’s eyes turned shocked at the sound of his henchmen
being killed. Despite the moment he was taken off guard, his
expression and posture didn’t waiver. “I’m not surprised about
the three newborns but you’ve destroyed Charles?”
A cocky grin stretched across Sebastian’s face. “I did. It
wasn’t difficult.” He took another slow but purposeful step
toward Andre. “I took g
reat pleasure in making it as painful as
possible too.”
“No matter. My second in command can be replaced.”
Andre crossed his arms casually just for show. He tried to act
like Sebastian’s closeness was no threat at all. “I gather you
intend to destroy me aswell.” It wasn’t a question. He spoke
casually about his own death, the way others might discuss the
weather.
“That’s the plan,” Sebastian answered dryly.
“I can respect that boy, but there are matters we need to
discuss first. Then you may be free to unleash your attack.” He
turned to Emily. His eyes bore into hers, searching for
something.
“Unless you’re picking how you want to die we have
nothing to talk about.” Tyler retorted sarcastically. He was
gripping the crossbow so tightly it should have snapped under
the pressure. The expression on his face and the way he held his
position was so determined and completely focused. The boy
who was afraid to behead a vampire back in the alley was gone.
In his place, stood a gallant warrior, itching for the chance to
take down the enemy.
It had to be said, Andre wasn’t ignorant that was for sure.
He was always careful not to fully expose his chest to Tyler.
Thanks to the vampire’s age and speed, they couldn’t just jump
him. He'd dish out a counterassault, faster than they could blink.
“Oh,but we do young man. You’re a cute puppy, seriously
adorable. Unfortunately, you really don’t have enough bite for
my taste.” although his words were for Tyler, his eyes never left
Emily’s. “Besides, I’m sure dear Emily will want the
information I wish to bare.”
“Sebastian.” Kyle’s voice was hard. “Don’t let him play this
game. Just take him.”
Something in Andre’s words must have peaked Sebastian’s
curiosity because he stayed put. Ignoring Kyle he spoke to
Andre. “What do you want with Emily? She burned you, get
over it. You’re old it won't take you long to totally heal from
that.”
Andre gave an exasperated sigh and uncrossed his arms.
“I’m growing tired of this.” His eyes narrowed as he stared at
Kyle and Tyler with great intensity.
Emily felt a wave of agonizing pressure in her mind. She
pressed fingers to her temples, trying to stop it and saw that
Sebastian was doing the same.
Kyle and Tyler dropped to the floor. Whatever Andre was
doing, caused them to pass out. At least, Emily prayed they had
just passed out. Lord knew what Andre was capable of. Their
current position on the floor could be the result of something
more drastic. Ivy strained against the ropes that bound her to no
avail. The pulsing power became too much for her and her head
lolled until she too was unconscious.
Andre clapped his hands once with finality. “There now,
that’s better.” The pressure in the room receded,but didn’t
completelydissolve. “Now that the children are asleep, we adults
can get down to business.” Power surged again seeming to
bounce off all of the walls. Two chairs slid across the room
behind Sebastian and Emily. “Have a seat my friends.” When
they didn’t move his eyes narrowed again. “I said sit down.”
A strong pulse of power pushed them both into the chairs
and pinned them there. Emily tried to move her arms away from
her sides and found her efforts were useless. If Andre had this
sort of power why did he have to use rope on Ivy? Sebastian
looked as though he wanted to speak but couldn’t.
“Are you comfortable Emily?” Andre asked drawing her
attention back to him. “Can I get you anything?”
He tried to take on the role of a good host but Emily wasn’t
buying. “You’ve got us here just get on with it. This doesn’t
need to be a production. If you’re going to kill me just do it.”
She stared at him defiantly. Of course,she didn’t have a death
wish, but there was no point in any pretense of survival. This
was where she was going to die. Andre was going to drain the
life out of her. She didn’t see much point in delaying the
inevitable.
The head vampire laughed again. “So feisty aren’t you? I
don’t plan to kill you my dear girl. I owe you a life debt after
all.”
“What are you talking about?” Emily asked.
He ignored her question and continued. “You see, this isn’t
the first time I’ve visited this little town. I passed through about
five years ago. My clan was heading a few states over to be with
friends. We were only supposed to be here for a night but there
were… unfortunate complications.” He moved to Emily’s side
and brushed a hand on her cheek.
She tried to turn her head and couldn’t. The power still
lingered around her body, not allowing her to move. “Don’t
touch me!” Emily snapped. “What does any of this have to do
with me?”
Out of the corner of her eye, she could see Sebastian. He
was watching her and Andre’s exchange with open fury. His
eyes burned with it. The power that shackled Sebastian didn’t
allow him to free himself, despite his vigorous attempts. Sweat
dripped from his forehead, displaying the amount of strain he
was exerting.
Andre removed his cold fingers from her cheek. He clasped
his hands behind his back and began pacing. He weaved around
all of the imprisoned slayers as though they weren’t even there.
“It appeared that we were being tracked by a slayer. It was tragic
what happened. I was going through a violent faze back then you
see.” He stopped and faced her. “Cruelty isn’t usually in my
nature.”
Sebastian snorted and rolled his eyes.
The narrow eyed glare Andre shot him was full of venom
and barely contained hostility. When he turned his attention to
Emily, the hardness had dissolved. “As I was saying, before I
was so rudely interrupted, I am not normally cruel. I just
couldn’t allow her to go back to her people and tell them we
were in the area. I made her suffer that night.” He stopped pacing
and gazed at her, as though willing her to understand.
Emily glared back. “I still don’t see-“
He put a hand up silencing her. “Back then I had this theory.
I thought it would be marvelous to utilizea slayer’s strength and
abilities by turning them to my side. Obviously no slayer would
willingly cross over so when I captured this particular slayer it
was the perfect opportunity to test the theory. I still think it
would have worked if it wasn’t for that blasted creature she was
blood bonded to getting in the way.” He waved a hand
dismissing the thought. “It is said that a slayer who is given the
blood of my kind can’t take it.” He smiled at Emily. “I think if
given the proper nurturing care, they could tolerate the change.”
He sighed,regretfully. “No matter, he spoiled it.”
This was ridiculous. Was he planning to turn her? He said
that he owed her a blood debt. Her mind raced as it tried to put it
all together. Nothing made sense. He moved closer to her again
breaking through her thoughts.
He bent so that he was about three inches from her face. He
smiled wistfully at her for a moment before shattering the world
as she knew it. “You know? You have her eyes exactly. The
same beautiful shade of blue. You have the same bone structure
too. The resemblance really is uncanny.”
Emily’s breath caught in her throat. “What… are… you…
saying.” She put emphasis on each word, speaking slow and
clear, as to not be misunderstood. Annoyance was rolling off
Emily. The fear that had taken her over at the first sight of Andre
was dissipating to make room for the irritation.
Andre put a finger to his lips considering. “Is it possible you
didn’t know? That you still don’t know? Hmm…” Abruptly, he
dropped his finger and peered at her. “Emily, do you know of
whom I’m speaking?” He didn’t even give her a chance to
respond. “Now I know you know her. Her name was Melissa.”
Emily’s heart fell to the floor. In a single instant, this
monster had turned her world even more upside down than it
already was. “No,” she whispered. Her mother couldn’t have
been the one he tried to turn. Her mother was not a vampire
slayer. She was a mom who liked to garage sale and bake
cookies.
Andre wiped the tears from her face that she didn’t even
know were there. “Did you even know she was a slayer?” He
shook his head regretfully.“I’m amazed your father never told
you.” He senta look at Sebastian. “Or that the other hunter
slayers never did, especially that one. You my dear are an
important part of the underworld now. If I were you, I would be
demanding answers.” He attempted to show compassion.
Genuine sensitivity wasn’t his actual goal. It was clear he was
amusedby it all. “You’ve missed out on years of critical
training. That’s a shame.”
Speaking wasn’t an option at that point. Emily swallowed
hard, fighting back the heaving sobs that wanted to break
through the surface. This could not be happening. She kept her
eyes on the floor. Breathing deep she tried to push down the
emotional flood that threatened to overtake her.
Andre didn’t speak anymore. Pleased with himself he went
to a vacant chair and sat with his hands on his knees observing
the unraveling of his dirty work in action. Satisfaction crossed
his features and he smiled slightly as he watched her. It didn’t
even seem to matter to him that he had totally shattered
someone’s world.
The misery that had enveloped her was being quickly
replaced by rage. Emily could feel it coursing through her veins
making her blood run hot to boiling with every passing second.
Her heart still hammered but no longer with fear. She wanted to
fly out of the stupid chair and rip that abomination, that murderer
to shreds.
Emily envisioned the window near Andre shattering,
blowing shards of glass pouring over him. She pictured her
invisible bindings crumbling to dust and falling to the floor.
Most of all she pictured what it would feel like to kill Andre with
her own bare hands. Normally, she couldn’t really imagine
herself as a slayer. Right now, she wanted nothing more than to
claim that heritage and use its power to take out Andre for good.
The fact that she had been lied to her entire life wasn’t lost on
her either,but she didn’t have time to think about that now.
Revenge took precedence and she could almost taste the beauty
of it. She wanted it. She wanted him.
There was an instantaneous shift of power in the room that
was palpable. Andre felt it too. His eyebrows rose slightly in
response but he showed no other visible reaction. Emily knew
the change was hers. She could feel the pent up power flowing
through her. She pushed it out as hard as she could, picturing
what she wanted, harnessing her fury into a tangible weapon.
Andre’s power that bound her to the chair dissolved. The
window at the far side of the room near Andre crashed inward
sending a spray of shattered glass raining down at the end of the
room. The door to the den made a splintering sound and came
off its hinges crashing against the opposite wall of books.
Without any further hesitation Emily reached for her knife
and leapt off the chair at Andre. She had the element of surprise
on her side. He never had a chance to move against her. Her
force knocked the chair backwards to the floor. The two of them
grappled both trying to gain the upper hand. Emily found an
opening and buried her knife to the hilt into Andre’s shoulder.
The wound wouldn’t kill him but it would hopefully slow him
down at least. He clawed at her arm and the marks burned.
She didn’t cry out though. She refused to give him the
satisfaction. She yanked the knife from his shoulder and struck
again. She aimed for his heart, he moved just in time making the
blade hit near the shoulder again. Blood poured from the wound
profusely.
With a grunt he pushed her off of him and she scrambled to
her feet before he could pin her. In the blink of an eye Andre was
on his feet preparing to spring. He was losing a lot of blood. At
the moment,that wasn’t a deterrent from his attack. He lunged
for Emily but she dodged and spun around.
This put her at his back. Using this to her advantage, she
plunged the knife into his back close to where the heart should
be. Andre fell to the floor. Emily breathed hard as she waited for
his next move. The breath burned in her lungs, they felt as
though they were on fire. It astonished her that she was doing as
well as she was. The fatigue was beginning to weaken her,
though she refused to quit. He wasn’t getting up this time one
way or another.
Was he dead? As impressed as she was with her new found
fighting skills she doubted she hit the heart. Reaching down, she
pulled the knife out and hesitated. This was always the part in a
scary movie where the supposed dead guy came back for one last
attack. That wasn’t happening. Using what little strength she had
left she hurled Andre’s body over so he was facing her.