Guardian: Volume 5 (6 page)

Cornelius
rushed over to us. “He’s been shot. No doubt silver bullets.”

“What
do I do?” I asked panicked. I had no clue what to do. This was all new to me.
Drake was dying in my arms and I couldn’t even think straight enough to do
anything.

“I
need to get them out, then you can give him your blood. It is a long shot, but
it might work,” he said sounding grim.

“What
do you need?” I asked trying not to panic.

“A
small paring knife, and alcohol. Hurry,” he said glancing at me.

I
ran to the kitchen and found a knife that would work. I grabbed several bottles
of vodka off the bar. I brought it to Cornelius. Cornelius cleaned the wounds.
There were five holes in his chest and abdomen. I was trying to remain calm,
but my anger was just below the surface. I had a feeling I knew who did this. I
held Drake’s hand and watched as Cornelius removed each of the bullets.

When
he had the last one removed he looked at me. “Get him to take your blood. I
will go find bandages.”

I
nodded and bit my wrist. I pressed my wrist to his mouth. My blood trickled
down his throat. I massaged his throat to get him to swallow. He groaned and
barely opened his eyes. “Drake,” I whispered relieved. He watched me. He kept
trying to speak, but I couldn’t hear what he was saying. “Don’t try to speak.
You will be ok,” I whispered trying to sound confident. He closed his eyes and
his body went limp. His chest was still moving so I knew he passed out.

Cornelius
came back and started bandaging Drake’s wounds. When Cornelius was done
bandaging Drake, he carried him up to my bedroom. I stood leaning against the
wall watching Drake. I was afraid if I left he would die. Cornelius watched me,
but he didn’t speak.

The
door suddenly burst open and Tommy stood there. He looked from me to the bed.
“No,” he whispered in a strained voice. He ran to his father’s side. “This is
all my fault,” he whispered in a strained voice.

I
felt my anger flare. I thought Tommy was up to something, but I didn’t know
what. I ripped him away from Drake and pinned him to the wall. “What did you
do?” I snarled. I was ready to kill him, and I was pretty sure he knew it. He
looked at me fearfully, but he didn’t speak. “Tell me!” I yelled making him
jump.

“Lillian,
you don’t know what happened,” Cornelius said touching me.

“He
did something! I know he did!” I yelled slamming him into the wall again.

Cornelius
pulled me away from Tommy. He stood between us and looked at Tommy. “It is very
important that you tell us exactly what you know,” Cornelius said smoothly as
he watched Tommy.

“I
was supposed to kill her,” he said quietly nodding to me. “I was going to this
evening in the living room, but I couldn’t go through with it. They did this
because I didn’t follow through,” Tommy said in barely a whisper.

I
advanced on Tommy, but Cornelius held me back. “Killing Tommy will solve
nothing. I doubt Drake would approve of you killing his son,” Cornelius said
quickly. He was trying to talk sense into me. I wanted to blame anyone. I just
wanted someone to pay for the pain and fear I felt.

“Who
gave you the order to kill me?” I asked angrily.

“I…I…I
don’t know,” Tommy stammered. I believed him, he wasn’t stupid enough to lie to
me now.

“You
better give a better answer then that,” Cornelius warned.

“It
was just a guy in a hood. He said you were ruining everything, and if I killed
you everything would go back to the way it should. He warned me against backing
out once I agreed. He had to be the one that did this,” Tommy said panicked.

I
attempted to get at Tommy again, but Cornelius wouldn’t let me get by him.
“Tommy leave,” Cornelius ordered.

Tommy
didn’t hesitate. He ran from the room, and Cornelius held me. He was keeping me
from going after him. “I am not a child. I should be allowed to punish him as I
see fit!” I said angrily.

“You
are being irrational. You are hurt and angry. This isn’t the time to punish
anyone. You will only regret what you do. I know, I have been through this,” he
whispered holding me tighter.

“If
Drake dies, it will be all my fault,” I whispered. Tears rolled down my cheeks.
I wanted to wipe them away, but Cornelius had my arms pinned to my sides.

“No,
it will not be. Tommy is young and stupid. He did not mean for any of this to happen.
The fact that he didn’t go through with killing you speaks volumes about him.
Let me go talk to Aubrey. We will all come up with a plan together. We don’t
even know who did this; so playing the blame game will not be a good idea,”
Cornelius said softly.

“I
was supposed to protect him,” I whispered sadly. I felt my chest tighten again
as I looked over at him. He was so pale and lifeless. The only sign that he was
alive was the slight rise and fall of his chest.

“Then
protect him. Stay here, let him know you are here. I will post guards
everywhere. Warn your other packs about what happened, and I will go see the
renegades,” he said firmly.

I
nodded and he hesitantly released me. I walked over to the bed. I climbed on
the bed and snuggled up next to Drake. I put my arm over him and held him.
Cornelius disappeared, and I was alone with Drake. My thoughts were running
wild. Deep down I knew this had something to do with my uncle.

I
warned Adam and Eric about the attack. It was difficult for me to figure out
how to, but eventually I figured it out. They agreed to stay on the lookout and
warn their people. I was restless lying next to Drake so I got up. I walked to
the library. It was my favorite room in the house. Cornelius hadn’t come back
yet, and I was getting antsier by the minute. I walked to the window and looked
out. The sun was starting to rise.

The
door opened and closed. I stiffened when I caught Tommy’s scent. He was either
really brave, or really stupid for coming here when Cornelius wasn’t her to
protect him. “I suggest you leave,” I said in barely a whisper.

“I
am not going anywhere,” he said firmly. He didn’t sound very confident.

I
spun around and glared at him. “I should kill you” I yelled as I approached
him.

He
looked hesitant, but he stood his ground. He looked down like he was submitting
to me. “I made a mistake. I want to do whatever I can to fix it. I know my
father fed you. I want to take his place until he is better.”

I
looked at him and my anger flared. I smacked him across the face. He fell to
the floor on his hands and knees. “I am watching you. One wrong move, and no
one will be able to protect you.”

“I
will do whatever you say. I won’t question anything,” he said in a shaky
whisper.

I
looked at him for a minute then I walked back to the window. He remained on the
floor watching me. I wasn’t going to tell him to leave, and it was obvious he
wasn’t going to leave without my permission. I was hungry because I was angry,
but I wasn’t sure I wanted to feed from him.

After
a few minutes the library door opened. Cornelius came in. He looked from Tommy,
who was still sitting on the floor, to me. “Everyone is downstairs. They have
agreed to a meeting. We have to figure out what our next move should be,”
Cornelius said softly.

“I
will be down in a few minutes. I believe Adam and Eric are on their way,” I
said quietly.

“I
will see you down there then,” he said quietly then left.

I
turned back toward the window. I wasn’t sure what I was going to say to them. I
didn’t even know who the enemy really was. I was just guessing. Tommy was too
much of an idiot to find out who he was working for. It had to be someone that
had something to gain like my uncle. I had no doubt Julian would be the one to
carry out the plan. I didn’t want to have another meeting. I wanted to kill
Julian, and my uncle before they could hurt anyone else. They went too far when
they went after Drake. Drake gave me purpose when I was ready to end it all.
Without him giving me his pack I wasn’t sure what I would have become.

“Come
here,” I ordered as I looked at Tommy.

He
scrambled to his feet and hurried over to me. I went to him and sank my fangs
into his neck. He stifled a cry. I wasn’t going to make it easy on him. I
needed blood. I had to have all my energy in order to face Julian and my uncle.
If I wasn’t careful they could easily kill me. Tommy went limp in my arms after
a few minutes. I laid him across the couch. He passed out from the blood loss,
but I knew he wouldn’t die. I didn’t need him going to the others before I was
able to carry out my plan.

I
walked to the desk drawer and retrieved my guns. I smiled a little at the
irony. The last time I used these I was a hunter going after a vampire; now I
was a vampire going after a hunter.

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