Illusion (24 page)

“Is something wrong, Lukas?”  I asked as I watched his odd behavior.  He looked down at the floor and refused to meet my eyes.

“I hate to fly.”

Lukas’ behavior was peculiar, but I couldn’t put my finger on exactly what was different.  He’d been very quiet and detached.  He normally loved to be the center of attention, thriving on it.

“Ok, Josie.  Get your ass in here and sign this contract so you can be on your way.  Lucky bitch,” Anna called out from the kitchen, her voice breaking through my mental musings about Lukas.

Making my way into meet her, I took the pen from Anna and signed in the appropriate places.  I was handing Anna her pen back when her eyes widened and her mouth opened in a loud scream.  I felt something heavy hit the back of my head and everything went black.

Chapter 10 – Wrong Until You Make It Right

When the room started to come back into focus, the first thing I felt was the back of my head throbbing.  Attempting a groan, it was muffled, my mouth gagged, a cloth shoved between my lips.  And my hands and feet…they were numb from the tight cord that had them bound, tied behind my back and strapped to a chair in the kitchen.  The events leading up to this started to come back to me, flooding my brain in an overload of information.  The last thing I remembered was seeing Anna’s eyes widen in surprise and feeling the impact of the blow when everything went dark.

Anna and Lukas!  Where were they?!?  I instantly lost the last of the grogginess that was fogging my brain and forced myself to think.  Bringing down my shields, I concentrated on trying to sense her emotions.  Immediately I was bombarded with her overwhelming fear, her panic mixing with my own, amplifying and intensifying my own terror.  Attempting to free my hands from my restraints, I heard a deep, condescending laugh from behind me.  Struggling even harder, a male voice spoke, heavily accentuated with a Southern accent.

“You can’t get away and you’re wasting your time and energy.  Are you looking for this?”

Derek stepped into my line of vision, gripping Anna by the back of her neck.  Her hands were tied in front of her and as he thrust her ahead of him, I noticed that her face was streaked with tears and blood was running from one side of her nose, her cheek bruised and swollen.

“We meet again, Josephine.  I’ll remove your gag as long as your promise to remain quiet.  One shout, one scream, and your friend dies.  Got it?”

Glancing from Derek to Anna, a solitary tear escaped from my eye and ran down my face as I nodded to him.

Derek reached and yanked the rag from my mouth.  I wearily watched Derek as he stepped back, still holding on to Anna tightly.

“Good girl.”  He forcefully shoved Anna to the kitchen floor and she fell at my feet, her muffled cries of fear and pain renewing my efforts to get myself free.  I frantically twisted and turned my wrists until they burned and I could feel the wetness of my blood trickle down my wrists.

“Humans are so easy to fool.  Even half-breeds like you and your idiotic brother aren’t much better.”  Derek’s voice distracted me for a moment, my eyes scrutinizing him as he wandered around the the room, stopping to pick up random items.  As I observed him, the thought crossed my mind that if he wasn’t such an arrogant, evil psychopath he’d be handsome with his dark hair and gray eyes.

I closed my eyes for a moment and tried to push my shield out to see if I could wrap it around Derek.  Either I needed my hands to control it, or I was too frightened.  My numerous attempts to direct it seemed useless.  Sighing in defeat, I opened my eyes to resume watching him as he leisurely strolled around the kitchen.

Derek pulled another chair across the floor, the legs scraping loudly across the wood floor as he pushed it to sit directly in front of me.  He leaned back, his gray eyes cold as steel as they looked over me.  He then let his cold stare flicker to Anna, who was trying to hide behind my legs the best she could with her hands restrained.

“What exactly do you want, Derek?” I rasped.  My throat was parched and dry from the gag that had been shoved in my mouth.

“What do I want?  I’d enjoy this more if Stefan was here beside you.  Unfortunately for your friend, she happened to be in the right place at the wrong time.”

He laughed again, his head falling backwards against the chair, his grating cackle echoing throughout the villa.  He was still snickering as reached over and grabbed Anna by her hair and pulled her between his legs, his fangs at her neck.  Her eyes went wide with fear and her entire body trembled as he let his fangs drag across her skin.

Derek wanted me, not Anna.  She was a pawn in this sick game he was playing.  A desperate mixture of dread and terror settled over me as I fully realized the seriousness of the situation we were in.  “Anna, I’m so sorry.”

“Save your sorries.  I’ve been sent to do a job.  I was supposed to bring you back.  I’ve decided that I’m going to say I had no choice but to kill you both.”  He released Anna’s hair and she dropped back to the floor.  I repeatedly pulled at my restraints, wincing as the cord dug deeper into my wrists.

“Who sent you, Derek?  And where is Lukas?”  I asked, trying to keep him talking.  The longer I could keep him occupied with conversation, the more time it kept us breathing.

Derek picked up an old magazine from the table and flipped through the pages, not really focusing on any of the articles.  Without looking up, he snorted.  “Like I’m going to tell you anything.  You don’t know what my ability is, do you?  Lukas was never here, I simply took on his form.  I can shift into any vampire I choose.  It’s a handy talent to have since you both bought it.”

He puffed up his chest and smiled smugly
.  Prick
.  He hadn’t totally fooled me.  I thought back to how strange Lukas’ behavior was earlier.  It didn’t make sense then, although now it made my earlier suspicions seem justified.

“Derek, you know who my father is.  If he finds out what you’ve done you’ll meet your final death.  And if Kian doesn’t kill you, Stefan will finish you.  Let us go now and it’s over,” I whispered, hoping he’d buy my lie.

Stefan would never let this go.  He’d follow Derek into the depths of hell to have his revenge and Derek was smart enough to know it.  I was simply stalling, trying to keep him talking and his brain, regardless of how little, occupied.  I wondered how much time I could buy Anna and myself before Stefan realized I missing?  Would we still be alive?  Derek had been able to sneak around Stefan’s ability somehow too.  But how?

He closed the magazine, slapping his hand on the table with so much force that the wood splintered under the pressure.  Anna and I both jumped and she cowered against me, letting out another terrified sob.

“
You
.  You are nothing!  You use Kian’s name and your heritage when it suits you and you turn your back on your father any other time.”  His voice faded, raising an eyebrow as a thought occurred to him.  A cruel smile broke over his face.  “Stefan will be too preoccupied mourning your unfortunate demise to worry about killing me.  If I’m lucky, he’ll seek out his own death.  Pussy,”  Derek jeered, his words laced with hatred and resentment.

A new emotion surged through me.  Anger.  I struggled to remain calm, trying to concentrate on strategies to keep him talking, aware that it would be the only chance we stood to make it out of here alive.  Derek was hell bent on killing us, regardless of the consequence.

“Derek, let Anna go,” I begged.  “She has nothing to do with this.”

A terrifying, reptilian smile broke over his face, his grin so wide it nearly split his face.  “Why would I do that?  I don’t want her precious blood go to waste, silly girl.”  He clicked his tongue against his fangs.  “I’m going to make you watch me slowly drain your friend until she dies.  You can see her life fade away while you sit there, helpless.  I’m going to take my time with you, Josephine.  It’s a pity Stefan won’t be here to watch you die.”

I swallowed roughly and the room went out of focus as his words washed over me.  It wasn’t a matter of how I was going to die, it was when.  It was a waste of time trying to talk him into sparing Anna’s life, or my own.  He had no humanity left inside of him.  He was simply a cold blooded, sadistic killer.

Even though I knew it was pointless, I started to chant Stefan’s name over and over like a mantra in my mind, praying that somehow it would get him to me faster.  It helped me focus on staying present instead of letting panic totally overtake me when I needed to keep my mind focused.

Derek leaned forward with a sneer on his face.  “I know all about your meeting with Nigel and your brother about your whore of a mother,” Derek spat, crossing his legs at his ankles.  “Did Nigel tell you how he fucked her while she was still married to your father?  If Nigel wasn’t so important to the Council, he’d have met his final death as well.  Your mother was easy to dispose of.  Humans always are.”

Shrugging off his words, I struggled to keep my face neutral.  “Nigel told me everything.  And what Nigel didn’t tell me, Nikolaus showed me.”

This seemed to intrigue him and his eyes flashed to me.  “What do you mean he ‘showed you’?”

I let out a hoarse laugh.  “Kian doesn’t know what Nikolaus can do, Derek.  He can read Kian’s tiny mind like a book.  I know everything…and I mean
everything
.  So does Stefan…and Lukas.  And you know how Lukas is.  He likes to talk. 
A lot
.”

Derek’s smug expression faded.  A look of disbelief took its place.  “What are you talking about?”

“Do I have to spell it out for you?  Nikolaus can read human and vampire minds, Derek.  He can also transfer the thoughts, at least to me.  He showed me everything my father has done.  Even the things I didn’t ever want to see.”  I leaned forward as far as I could, waggling my eyebrows and lowering my already hoarse voice to a whisper.  “You know,
private things
.”

“You know nothing!” His eyes narrowed and he glanced between Anna and myself, as if he was engaging some sort of internal battle.  Derek blurred to Anna and sunk his fangs into her neck, swallowing deep mouthfuls of her blood.  Anna tried futilely to get away, straining against him.

“No!  She’s innocent!”  I cried out, pulling against my restraints.  The chair wobbled in my futile effort to try to free myself and get to Anna.

She sagged against him as her strength started to wane and Derek let her fall from his arms.  He ripped his teeth from her neck, leaving gaping holes in her throat, her blood running down her neck to drip slowly on the floor by my shoes.

Watching her blood drip from her neck, I did the only thing I could do for her.  I needed to distract Derek, keep him occupied in talking.  If he chose to drink from Anna again, he’d kill her.  Playing my final card, I revealed the secret I knew would bother Derek the most.

“I know my mother may have cheated on Kian, but he was no better.  He flaunted women in front of her and…oh, never mind.”  My voice faltered and I looked away.

Derek was at my side before I could blink.  He yanked my head backwards so I was forced to look at him.  “Start talking.  What do you know?”

“I just didn’t realize you swung that way, Derek.  I have to admit, it was a shock to find out you were Kian’s little play thing until I saw it all play out in my brother’s mind.  Nikolaus has a vivid memory and pays attention to details.  Like the juicy little tidbit about you and my father.  You slept with Kian while my mother was still alive.  Numerous times.”  I smiled brazenly, bracing myself for his wrath,  aware that it would more than likely involve pain.  “Was it just about the power, or do you love actually love him?  Kian doesn’t give a shit about you.  You know that, right?  You’re a piece of ass to him.  So tell me Derek, who’s the whore now?”

He backhanded me, the force tipping the chair backwards.  My head slammed against the side of the table, my cheek stinging from the impact of his hand.  I saw double, the room spinning as I struggled to stay conscious.  Stefan’s face flashed in my mind and I focused on his image, willing myself to keep fighting.  I promised Stefan I wouldn’t let anyone separate us.  I was going to do everything in my power to keep myself alive as long as I could.

Derek grabbed my hair and pulled me upright by the hair.  Biting the inside of my lip to stifle my cry, I refused to let him know the amount of pain I was in.  He leaned close to whisper in my ear, his voice a condescending song.  “Look Josephine, your friend is almost dead.  Soon you’ll get to join her.”

Cringing under the weight of his body and fangs against my neck, the door to the villa flew open, startling Derek.  Stefan momentarily darkened the doorway, becoming a streak of blond as he blurred through the room, his powerful body colliding with Derek’s as he was yanked from me, the momentum of Stefan’s speed crushing him against the wall.

Stefan had him by the neck, his large hand wrapped around the smaller vampire’s throat.  His blue eyes were dark as he glanced away from Derek to focus on me.  “Josephine, did he harm you?”

Tears filled my eyes as I struggled to find my voice.  “I’m fine.  Stefan...”

“Lukas, take care of her while I finish this.”  Stefan focused back on Derek, his deep voice missing its normal inflection.  The Enforcer had surfaced and Stefan had taken a backseat to his other side, the dark part of himself I’d never seen.  I felt his mind close off from mine, severing the link between us.