Crave (15 page)

We made our way through a sliver of Georgia, uneventfully as the sun set. We pulled off of the highway to fill up on gas and get a bite to eat. Silas checked the fluids in the car as I chatted up Aster and ate my premade turkey sandwich from the store.

“How long you guys been together?” I asked with a mouthful of food.

“Just a few months, but it was love at first sight,” Aster replied and nibbled at her food. I took another bite and glanced over at the car seat.

“You look great for just having a baby,” I said as I unscrewed the lid to my coke and took a swig.

“Oh, we don’t have any kids,” She replied. I glanced toward the front and back at the seat.

“Oh… I just assumed because of the seat,” I explained, confused. Silas hopped back in and turned on the van.

“You ladies ready to go?” he asked with a grin, peering into the rearview mirror.

“Actually, I have to use the ladies room if you don’t mind.” Something wasn’t adding up about the couple. Aster grabbed Silas’s arm and shot him a warning glare. He sighed heavily and got back out of the van and slid my door open.

“I didn’t want to have to do this, Eva. You seem like a real nice lady,” he said as raised his hand and struck me on the head. I threw my hands up protectively as he struck again, this time with a hard object. My head spun as I lay over and the world faded to black.

The van was in motion again and the radio blared in the background as we made our way up the highway. I struggled to move, but my mind was helpless, trapped in my unresponsive body. I gave in and drifted off into dreamland.

***

When I awoke, I was surrounded by the darkness of night. I blinked several times trying to fight off the pounding of an excruciating headache. I lay motionless and attempted to focus on the conversation Aster and Silas were having in the front seat. The music was too loud and I could only pick out fragments.

“They will pay us when they-,” Silas said in an angry tone.

“What if you killed her? She-” Aster shot back. I closed my eyes tightly and tried to steady myself. I felt nauseous. Everything was spinning and I couldn’t contain it any longer. I heaved violently on the seat and floor. Silas slammed on the breaks and cursed as he whipped off of the road onto the shoulder. I heaved again as his hands looped around my arm and yanked me from the vehicle and I slammed onto the gravel road below. Aster was quickly at my side and brushing my hair from my face as I vomited helplessly, expelling the morning eggs and shitty turkey sandwich.

“What if she has a concussion?” She asked as she patted my back soothingly.

“Not our problem,” he answered as he paced back and forth nervously, running his hands through his hair.

“It is our problem if Reid finds out what you did,” she shot back angrily.

“He wanted her! What else was I supposed to do? She was gonna get away!” I could hear the fear in his voice and people do stupid things when they are scared. He may decide it is better to kill me and say I escaped then to take me to Reid injured.

“I'm all right,” I shouted between labored breaths. “I just need a drink of water.” I looked back and forth between the two of them. Silas stared at me for a long moment then went to the back of the van to get me a drink from their cooler. He returned quickly with a bottle and twisted the cap off and handed it to me. I drank slowly trying to buy myself some time to think. “I need to use the bathroom.”

“It can wait. We are almost there.” Silas replied, grabbing me by my arm and lifting me to my feet.

“How? It’s still dark out,” I asked as he shoved me into my seat and pulled a zip tie from his pocket, fastening my hands behind my back.

“You been asleep for a long time,” Aster answered as Silas slid the door shut between us.

“Shit.” The van started back down the road. I stared out of the side window at the street sign that read Church and Main. My mind was racing and throbbing at the same time. This was what I had wanted, granted my plan never went past getting to Grayson’s side. I let my eyes fall closed and tried to clear my thoughts.

We weaved through the hollow and the van slowed as we approached the old farmhouse. I said a silent prayer as we made our way up the driveway. I wasn’t a religious person by any means, but I was willing to try anything at this point. We slammed to a stop with a bang. I caught my breath in my throat and searched into the darkness. Marcus stood in front of the van, illuminated by the headlights.

“Get out of the car Eva,” he growled between clenched teeth. I froze for a moment, as scared of him as my kidnappers. “Get out,” he growled louder and I scrambled to open the door. I was thankful he was on my side. I ran to him, his eyes never leaving the occupants of the van.

“Just leave them. We don’t have time for this,” I pleaded.

He grabbed the plastic tie that held my hands and ripped it from my wrists effortlessly.

Grabbing him by his arm, I struggled to pull him away. He didn’t budge until he was ready. When he finally broke his stance, I nearly fell backward. Marcus wrapped his fingers around my forearm swiftly, holding me in midair.

“Thanks,” I said nervously. He nodded his head and loosened his grip, but still holding on firmly.

“Let’s go,” he whispered as he pulled me around the back of the building. I followed as quietly as I could, cursing my noisy flip flops in my head. “In here,” he whispered in a barely audible tone as he inclined his head toward a barn on the backside of the property. I nodded in understanding and slid off my flip flops, holding them in my free hand. We made our way across the field in the darkness without as much as a field mouse noticing our intrusion. Marcus motioned for me to stand back as he twisted the knob on the side of the building.

The door sprang open with no resistance. He gestured for me to enter and I smiled at our luck as I slid past him into the darkness. I made my way across the seemingly empty floor as the tiny sliver of moonlight that shown through the crack of the door disappeared. Marcus pulled the door tightly closed and twisted the lock.

“Marcus?” I whispered into the darkness as I stretched my arms out in front of me. My fingers collided with the cold chest of another person and I jumped and let out a small shriek. “Damn it, Marcus! You gave me a heart attack,” I scolded him, hitting him playfully.

The room suddenly flooded with harsh light. My eyes struggled to adjust and I rubbed them feverishly trying to help along the process. A deep sadistic chuckle resonated from in front of me and I felt my blood run cold. My body was instantly coated in sweat, my heart raced at an unnatural speed. I slowly peered through my fingers at what was ahead of me. I was face to face with my worst nightmare.

“We wouldn’t want that now would we?” Reid asked sarcastically with his hand placed over his heart.

“Marcus,” I screamed out like a helpless child into the cavernous room. A group of vampires brought Marcus into view, holding him by his limbs as he struggled against them. “Let him go,” I screamed and lurched toward them. Reid grabbed my throat with one swift movement. His fingers slowly squeezed as I struggled for breath.

“That is enough of that,” he said in a calm, disturbing tone. From the other side of the room, another group of thugs carried out someone else. When they stepped into the light, I realized it was a battered Grayson.

“No,” I struggled to yell as Reid’s fingers began to retighten on my throat. Marcus went into a frenzy and began to break free from the grips of his captures. “Please,” I struggled to say, trying to noticeably calm myself down. Reid loosened his grip slightly. “Please let him go,” I sobbed and my vision became blurred with tears. I stopped struggling against Reid as I began to lose all hope.

“Now, now…  No more of that, Eva. You are here to witness something spectacular.” Reid replied with what appeared as sympathy. He rubbed my head and brushed the hair from my face.            

“I have found a way to strengthen a compound in human blood to make it virtually irresistible. Once that is given to one of my loyal subjects,” he explained, glancing towards Marcus. “They will not stop until they have killed the donor. It really is magnificent.”

My head was spinning with this new information. I stared off at Marcus, who looked as if he was in agony. He wasn’t trying to break free to save me. He wanted to get to Grayson so he could kill him. Reid smiled as he saw everything began to click inside of my head.

“The vials of my blood,” I whispered. His grin spread larger and his fangs glistened in the light. “Grayson,” I mumbled.

“He is my test subject,” Reid explained. My heart sank and my knees gave out from under me. Reid grabbed me by my arms, forcing me to stand. “You are not going to want to miss this, Love,” he said with enthusiasm. He puffed out his chest as he prepared for the show. “Prepare the feast,” He yelled into the giant space. The vampires steadied Grayson and Marcus feet from each other, directly in front of us. I sobbed uncontrollably.

“Please, Marcus! No,” I begged in between moans of sadness. I was losing all hope. Reid looked like a kid in a candy store. His eyes beamed as Marcus fought with all of his inhuman strength to get to Grayson. With his cold fingers gripping my arms tightly to my sides, I could only watch in horror as the fight prepared.

“Release the victim,” Reid bellowed. I watched in shock as the vampires let go of Grayson and he scrambled to escape. He was severely beaten and barely able to stand on his own. He limped as quickly as he could away from the others as they laughed. “Release my killer,” Reid yelled proudly. As the words left his mouth, Marcus was gone in a flash, unable to be seen with my human eyes. I heard a shriek of pain coming from the back of the barn near the hay bales. I screamed and fought against Reid’s death grip, crying. “I’m anxious to see who won, too. Shall we take a look?” He asked with a sickening joy.

He dragged me to the back of the barn. I could not make my feet cooperate with me. I stumbled as he pulled me along. When we turned the corner to look at the bales, everything was painted red. Blood soaked everything in sight, including someone hunched over with their back towards us.

“Marcus, what have you done?” I asked sadly as he slowly turned around to face me. With the blood soaking his face, it took me a moment to realize who I was staring at. “Grayson!” I screamed in horror as his blue eyes peered at me from behind the blood.

“Eva, I’m so sorry,” he huffed behind labored breaths.
This is why Elijah wasn’t going to bring me back here. He must have found out.

“Beautiful,” Reid cheered and clapped his hands. “I love a good plot twist, don’t you? Now you know what you have coming if you ever run from me again,” he hissed as he grabbed a handful of my hair at the nape of my neck and yanked harshly toward him. A tear streaked down my face and a squeal escaped my lips. Grayson’s lips curled up in disapproval. “Seize him,” Reid commanded nonchalantly to his cohorts.

The others surrounded Grayson, grabbing and clawing at him to keep him from escaping their clutches. Reid circled in front of me, turning his back to the crowd. His mouth turned upward into a smile that repulsed me.

“Why?” I choked out as I glanced past him to Grayson, who was seething with anger, unable to escape the others. Reid glanced over his shoulder and paused for a moment in thought.

“I thought it added a sense of drama,” he replied, letting his fangs protrude. “It’s really not so bad. I can give you the nine lives every pet dreams of,” he explained as he brushed my hair from my face and stroked it with mock tenderness. “Just look. I’ve given you Grayson as a show of good faith. You can share your eternal life,” he continued as he motioned toward a bloodied Grayson then back to me. “From there you can choose whoever you want to join you, Eva.” His eyes locked onto mine as he got lost in his own twisted dream.

“Why me?” I cried, cupping my hand over my mouth as I tried to keep some sense of composure. Reid looked amused by my question.

“Elijah needs to pay his debt. Killing him would be too easy and leave me another hand short. It’s just business.” He nodded his head and two others were at my side in the blink of an eye, gripping my arms so tightly I couldn’t feel my hands. “Now are you going to cooperate or do I have to convince you further?” he asked, turning toward Grayson, who continued to struggle.

“Fuck you,” I snapped through clenched teeth. Reid laughed deeply before digging his fingers into Grayson’s throat. His body writhed in pain. He slid one of the vials of my blood from his pocket and let the dark murky liquid pour down Grayson’s throat. He sputtered and growled but reluctantly gave in and swallowed the crimson cocktail. “I will kill you if it is the last thing I do,” I hissed, the anger heating my body from head to toe. With unparalleled speed, he spun around and backhanded me across my cheek. My skin burned and my jaw felt as if it had been broken. The metallic taste of my blood filled my mouth. My head spun as I struggled to regain composure. I pushed my eyes closed tightly as I sucked on my lip trying to mask the smell of my blood around my captures. I could hear Grayson growl as he struggled to reach me, this time, to kill me.

“Good luck,” Reid retorted with a snicker.

“She doesn’t need luck. She has me,” a familiar voice called from behind. I blinked my eyes and Elijah was in front of me. His hand traced my sore jaw. I winced at the pain that shot through my face. His eyes were filled with sadness. I blinked and my body crashed to the floor below. I kept my head down and crawled to the nearest wall as bodies clashed together around me in a violent brawl. Blood sprayed the room as Elijah struggled to save me.

Hands suddenly latched onto my shoulders as my eyes locked onto Grayson’s. His filled with sadness and hunger. His fangs gleamed next to his bloodied face. I clenched my eyes tightly, preparing for the violent end. His hands ripped free from my shoulders as I was hoisted up into Elijah’s arms. The world flew by in a flash of night time scenery. I sighed, but was anything but relieved. I knew Grayson would not be able to stop until he found me if it is the last thing he did. I also knew that Elijah would die trying to stop him.

My head swam as Elijah kissed my sore bloodied lips tenderly and stroked my bruised face.

“You knew, didn’t you? That’s why you weren’t going to bring me back. You knew about Grayson,” I rambled as I searched Elijah’s eyes for the truth. He leaned his forehead against mine and inhaled deeply as he closed his eyes, letting a moment pass before responding.

“I will do
anything
it takes to protect you, Eva. No matter what it takes.” He finally whispered. This time, I believed him. I nodded and pushed my mouth back against his, kissing him hungrily as he resisted the taste of my blood. He must have fed and I was glad because he would need his strength. War had begun and it was Elijah and me against the world.