Captivated (An Affliction Novel) (28 page)

That was it, my hands no longer burned for hitting him. It was time to slice him up. I launched to the nearest knife. The knife was under a small pile of ash from the injured vampire. I could feel Darcel behind me. Without looking back, without any hesitation, I swung the knife behind me slicing a body part. I didn’t care what I sliced, as long as it inflicted pain on him. I got to my feet and whirled around to face him. He had his hand raised up to his face, three fingers were missing and sprouts of blood were in their place. Darcel yelled in pain and lunged at me. He was being messy with his fighting. I didn’t think he even had fighting skills. Just claws and strength. He didn’t know how to use them together in combat. He turned out to be a brute. Never the less, he still had a chance to beat me if he tried.

Markus came running down the stairs. “Mindy’s gone! I can’t find her anywhere. I think they took her in that car!”

“I told you to get the hell out of here!” I yelled savagely.

“Did you hear me? I said Mindy’s gone.” Markus retorted.

I clenched my knife and charged at Darcel. He fell back to the floor and I landed on him with my knife to his neck.

“Where is she?” I growled.

Darcel only laughed. I felt the sharp ends of his claws pressing against my ribs. “You can’t threaten me. I’ll pull your heart out before you can even blink.”

I pressed down harder against his neck. A trickle of blood began to form on the knife. “Your disgusting nails won’t hurt me enough to stop me. Now, where is she?” I gritted through my clenched teeth.

“It’s too late slayer.” He laughed.

“Leave her out of this! It’s me you want.” I fiercely ordered.

“You? What would I want with you?” Darcel replied. “I want Mindy.” He struggled to speak. The knife was pressing on his jugular.

“What are you talking about?” I snapped bitterly at him.

“Dean! We have to go now!” Markus cried out. “Tanya just called me. She said she saw Shane pulling her into The Space Cavern.”

I stared at Darcel and asked him to explain without it coming out of my mouth. I didn’t know what was going on. Everything was turning upside down.

“It’s too late slayer. She’ll be one of us soon.” Darcel managed to say.

he’ll be one of us
. Those words echoed in my head. My world began to spin as desperation crept up on me. I was too late.

“Dean! Let’s go!” shouted Markus.

I wanted to kill Darcel. I wanted to slice his head clean off, but he would take my life with him in the process. If there was a slight chance that I could save Lina, I had to live.

Markus stomped up to us. “There’s no time for this.”

He pulled out three orange darts and shot them at Darcel. Instantly, Darcel went limp. There was no time to kill him. I jumped up and grabbed Markus by the arm so that he would come with me. We ran up the stairs and burst through the refrigerator door. It was bright in the house. All the windows were broken letting in the sun that was able to get past the trees. It was bright enough to kill off any surviving vampires. Markus was more talented than I thought. We ran through the living room and blasted through the front door. My motorcycle was parked just outside the tree gate. We made our way through the trees and I jumped on my bike. Markus did not.

I studied him, he was out of breath and serious.            

    “Are you coming?” I asked him.

“No. Too much weight. I’ll just slow you down.” Markus breathed out. “I’ll catch up. It’s a small town.”

I turned the bike on and sped off. When I reached the building, the lot was deserted. The only thing parked there was a convertible Eclipse. Shane had way too much freedom for me to stomach. He had to die. A sign was nailed on the door reading, ‘CLOSED.’ The door was slightly cracked and I pushed it open with caution. I stepped lightly through the office and searched for the stairway that led down to the underground caves. When I found it, there was caution tape hanging off the sides of the entrance. It looked like someone had burst through them, ripping them in half in the process. I didn’t see any light switches, but there were already lights on down there. It wasn’t bright, there was just enough light to be able to see after my eyes adjusted. It was silent. Only the sound of small and steady water drops were in the distance. I approached a fork. The two cave tunnels looked exactly the same. I closed my eyes and controlled my breathing, focusing on every single sound that played in my ears. And that’s when I heard a gasp. Lina.

I sprang to the tunnel on the right and gripped onto my knife. Running with the full force of my powers got me there in a matter of seconds. But I was too late. My legs brought me to a beautifully motionless body. Shane was nowhere to be seen. I dropped to my knees beside Lina. I examined her body. Her red silk locks were disheveled on the ground and on her shoulders. Some strands wondered on her sun kissed face. She was so beautiful, I was almost afraid to touch this sleeping angel. I wanted to wipe away the black marks that trailed from her eyes down to her chin. She was crying earlier. Just imagining tears coming out of her precious eyes made me want to crumple to the floor.

I didn’t want to, but I had to see it for myself. I inched my hand to her neck. Long red locks were lying across it. I gently moved them to the side exposing her delicate neck. My body paralyzed at the site of the puncture wounds. Her blood was tracing down, dripping to the floor. I felt a cold grip tighten on my heart. The pain hit me at the sight of the bite. It really was too late. I lost her.

I reached to her small hand and grasped it against mine. She made a slight movement and her eyes fluttered open. She stared up frightened at me, as if she had woken up from a dream and was out of place by the sight of me.

“Is it really you?” Lina blinked hard. “Dean?”

“Yes Lina. It’s me.” I clenched her hand a little harder. “I’m here.”

Tears began to fill in her eyes. Her frown quickly formed into a beautiful smile. She was amazing. Even when she was covered with filth and blood, she was gorgeous. My Lina was truly an angel. She still lay motionless. Her hand didn’t even hold mine, it just rested in my hand. I knew she was almost paralyzed from the venom. I knew she was slipping away from me. I clenched hard and forced my face not to contort with my emotions. She couldn’t know how I felt. Not now. I leaned in and kissed her cold forehead. When my lips touched her skin, a bolt of electricity shot through me. It was the same one I’d always felt when I touched her. But this time, it hurt. I’d been stabbed, beaten, and crushed to broken bones. This hurt more than anything I’d ever been through. I gave her a forced half smile.

“How are you feeling?” I asked as I moved the hair out of her face so I could see it better.

“I’m not sure.” Lina’s eyebrows arched up as if she were trying with all her might to pick up something heavy. “I can’t move Dean.”

“Does it hurt?” I asked, not sure if I could handle the answer.

“Does what hurt?” Lina asked.

“Anything.” I said.

“No. I actually feel really good. Well…there’s no pain. But I feel something else.” Lina said, never looking away from me. I wish she would. At least for a second. “They told me what you were. Or are.” she smiled.

“And what is that?” I asked trying to keep the conversation going on a topic that didn’t involve her condition.

“A slayer. I can’t believe I thought you were a vampire.” Lina threw a weak laugh. “I didn’t think it was possible.” She gazed up at me and her eyes grew in admiration. “You’re even better then I imagined. You’re a slayer.”

Time was running out. I had to apologize. “I’m sorry for what I’ve put you through. I never wanted to hurt you. I-” I couldn’t finish that sentence. The pain was twisting inside me.

“Why did you break up with me? I thought you hated me.” Lina sadly said without removing her smile.

“I had to.” I held back a whimper. “To keep you safe Lina. I had to keep my Lina safe.”

“I’m so tired.” she softly said as she yawned.

“Don’t close your eyes. Please don’t close your eyes.” I pleaded.

She didn’t take her eyes off me. The happiness in her eyes was stabbing me in the chest. But now I wanted her to keep them on my face because I couldn’t let her see my wounds.

“What happened to your neck?” She asked with concern.

Damn. I had forgot about the bite on my neck. “Nothing I can’t handle.” I said.

“What’s happening to me? I’ve never felt like this.” Lina said weakly.

I looked away. I swallowed the pain to prepare myself for her next question. With Lina, there was always another question.

“Am I dying?” She whimpered.

“Yes.” I softly said, praying to God that she didn’t hear me.

Lina’s breathing quickened. She was whimpering and tears started to poor down. I stroked her hair and kissed her tears. Tears of my own started forming in my eyes. But I refused to let them fall.

“Shhhh…baby…shhh.” I whispered in her ear. “Everything’s going to be okay.” I assured her.

“My mom. Dean! I can’t leave her.” She whimpered out. “I love her so much.”

“I know baby.” I wiped her tears; the flow of them was slowing down.

“I won’t see you again?” Lina asked with no sign of knowing the answer. She was so innocent.

“I don’t know.” My words were getting caught in my throat. I couldn’t show her my pain. I would explode here in front of her to pieces if I did.

“I don’t want to leave you Dean. I don’t want to die…” Lina’s voice trailed off. She was getting closer to slipping away from me. I saw her eyes getting heavy. “I want you to do something for me.”

“Anything.” I agreed.

“I want you to live. I want you to go out and have fun. Markus will help you with that.” Lina continued, “Most importantly…I want you to smile.”

I didn’t respond.

“Promise me Dean.” Lina’s fragile voice demanded.

“I promise.” I forced myself to say in order to make her happy. Then her eyes began to close. “No. Don’t close your eyes. Please.” I begged her while still trying to act like everything was okay.

I gently scooped her up and laid her across my lap. I held her against me despite the pain of touching her. “Please fight it. I’m not. I.” I clenched my teeth and tried again. “I’m not ready Lina.”

Lina’s innocent eyes looked up at me and they smiled. Her face brightened up and her lips smiled along with her face.

“I love you so much. I love-” Lina trailed off and almost closed her eyes completely when I frantically shook her.

She half opened them, but it was forced. I only had seconds left with her. I leaned my face into hers. She looked deep into my eyes as she always had. Even though she was dying, they were still full of life. They were trying to read me as usual, trying to figure out what I was thinking and feeling. I kissed her rosy lips. I didn’t want to pull away from her softness, but I had to. I had to tell her. My lips pulled away from hers just an inch. I could feel her faint breathing against my lips. I touched my forehead with hers and stared into her eyes.

“I love you.” I whimpered.

“Promise?” She faintly asked as her eyes drooped.

She didn’t wait for an answer and puckered her lips against mine and closed her eyes. I felt the remainder of her life flow through my lips. She was gone. My Lina was gone. The tears immediately poured down. Knowing she could no longer feel anything, I squeezed her body against my own. I rubbed my hands along her arms and through her hair. My Lina was lifeless. The immense pain of a thousand tortured souls surged through me. I had died on that last kiss. Along with her.

I softly set her down on the floor. Knowing it would be the last time I touched her made me weak. I tried lifting myself up even though my legs were wobbly. My body was trying to recover so it could function. After finally standing, I looked down at her. The bite mark was no longer there. I turned to head out the tunnel I came through. Trying to walk straight, I dragged my feet along the dirt floor. My walk, which seemed like an eternity, ended at the entrance to the tunnel. I was trying to fight it. I was telling myself not to look back. For God’s sake!
DON’T LOOK BACK!

My body didn’t listen. My breathing quickened. The beating in my chest accelerated. I’d never known fear. Was this really it? This sensation was dreadful. At the same time, I appraised it because other than love, Lina gave me fear. I cherish anything that came from her and because of her. This fear made me want to run and never stop, so I wouldn’t see what I knew in my heart I would see.

To get it over with, I jerked my body around. And I saw her. My Lina was picking herself up off the ground. Her head was still down. Her red satin strands of hair elegantly dangled down, almost reaching the floor. She straightened herself up and brushed her hands through her hair. She was more beautiful than ever before. Her skin almost glistened from its purity. When she straightened herself completely, she looked straight at me. Her eyes were cold and empty. They weren’t the same ones I was gazing into earlier. The eyes she had now weren’t full of life.

There was one question I knew I shouldn’t have been asking myself. It was bouncing in my mind. I knew it didn’t matter. I knew it wouldn’t change things. But I still asked myself…
did she remember me?
I couldn’t move. I wanted to run. I needed to run far away from her.

A pale figure came in from the darkness behind her. A white hand reached around her waist and held on. That was the same waist I used to wrap my arms around. The pain in my chest where my heart should be was pounding. She didn’t move. She accepted the embrace without hesitation. Then Shane’s face came into the light beside her, pulling her closer to him. She tilted her head to the side, resting it against his shoulder. Lina bared her teeth. Her smile was sexy, but deadly. She ran her tongue over her fangs as her eyes looked me up and down. They both gave me a wicked smile.