Pure Blood (Time Spirit Trilogy, #3) (22 page)

Opening the door a crack, he snuck inside and
crouched below the pool table. He listened for sounds again, but
felt he was alone. Scurrying around the furniture, he made a
beeline for the closet and threw himself inside.

He turned and looked at the keypad on the
training room door and prayed he could dredge up the number he saw
Gemma type in the one time she brought him here. He pictured her
digits on the buttons and tried to copy what he remembered.

The miracle he’d been praying for was
delivered as he heard the lock pop. The door inched open. He swung
it back and charged through, racing down the stairs two at a time.
Jumping the last few, he ran towards the weapons cases. He couldn’t
remember where Gemma had got the key. With the clock ticking, he
decided making a little noise would be worth the risk.

Grabbing a small dumbbell from the gym, he
wrapped a towel around it and approached the biggest cabinet. It
housed an impressive array of swords and daggers, amongst other
things.

Trying to be quiet, he slammed the padded
weight into the glass. Spider web cracks instantly appeared. He
looked up the stairs, holding his breath then smashed the glass
again. Huge chunks dropped to the floor. He pulled the other pieces
away and grabbed for weapons he’d seen used in movies, weighing
them in his hand.

They were bulky and heavy, but he shoved a
dagger into his belt, pulled out a short handled axe and shoved
that on the other side of him. Then for good measure, he reached
for the crossbow. His hands were shaking as he grabbed an arrow and
figured out how to load it properly. Pointing it at the opposite
wall, he held it steady with his left hand and pulled the trigger.
The arrow flew across the room and embedded itself in the far
wall.

“Holy crap.” Harrison let out a breath, his
eyes wide. He gulped down the contents of his stomach and reached
for another arrow. Carefully loading the weapon again, he made sure
he pointed it away from himself as he ran towards the stairs.

He didn’t know if he stood much of a chance,
but he had to try. Running up the stairs, he peeked his head out
the door and forced his heart to slow down with another long
breath.

“Okay, Gem,” he whispered. “Where are they
hiding you?”

Chapter
Thirty-Three

Ponte Vedra Becah, Florida – 2011AD

Gemma tried to wriggle her wrists free as she
watched Penelope enter the room with a metal tray in her hands. She
placed it on the trolley beside Gemma then extracted a pair of
white gloves from the box on the counter.

“You won’t get away with this.” Gemma tried
to sound strong, but couldn’t keep her voice from shaking. “You can
take as much blood as you want, but you won't get a chance to use
it. I am going to fight until I’m dead.”

Alistair and Penelope both sighed and shook
their heads as if Gemma had just come home to tell them she’d got a
week’s worth of detention.

“You know we had you. If it hadn’t been for
that Harrison boy warping your mind, we could have just asked you
for your blood rather than having to beat you... or strap you to a
chair.”

Gemma’s mouth fell open. “You
never
could have sold this idea to me. It’s ridiculous! You know Decimus
gave his life to make sure no one could open this box and you guys
are proof that he was right! You can’t experiment with people this
way!”

Penelope looked thoughtful for a moment and
turned to her husband.

“You know we could use some of Ruby and Dom’s
blood to boost it.” She picked up a clean needle packet and ripped
it open.

Gemma wanted to scream every profanity she
could think of.

“Or we could try injecting Harrison,”
Alistair suggested. “He survived the travel earlier this year,
which obviously means he has the right blood. A little serum might
activate him and we could work from there. Once he’s traveled a few
times, gained his strength, we could use his blood as well.”

“If he has siblings… they could be useful
too.”

“You stay away from them!” Gemma struggled
against her bonds.

Penelope clipped the needle into a plastic
casing with an exasperated sigh. Gemma looked at the long tube
connected to that and swallowed. Her blood was going to drain
through that tube and into the storage bag on the floor… and then
it was going to be used to kill somebody else.

“Gemma can’t you see what a gift this would
be for people.” Penelope checked that everything was connected
properly. “They could go back and fix their own problems rather
than relying on us to do it.”

“That’s insane! Do you have any idea what
would happen if it got into the wrong hands. People would abuse
their power. They could go back and change anything! You can’t do
this!” Gemma bucked in the chair then tried to pull her hands
free.

“Oh Gem.” Alistair’s expression was pained as
he dug his thumb into her shoulder. She whimpered and went
still.

“Are you honestly willing to turn your back
on everything we taught you? You’re our child.”

“No, I’m not.” Gemma’s voice dropped to a
soft whisper. “I’m the daughter of Gabriel and Lena Hunter.”

She watched both their faces pinch white and
their eyes narrow.

“He found you?”

“Wow, that’s almost impressive.” Alistair
shook his head with a hard smile. “So he was the one who taught you
how to travel. He always was strong… that’s why we waited until he
went out of town.”

“Before you took me and murdered my
mother?”

“We did what needed to be done.” Penelope
shook her perfect head.

“Your talents were completely wasted with
those two. They were going to raise you as a normal child.”
Alistair looked incredulous. “We wanted to secure a future for our
children and we were happy to accept you as one of them in order to
do that.”

“Can’t you understand? We grew to love you
too.” Penelope’s eyes glistened with a soft smile.

Gemma gave her a stony glare. “After
everything you’ve done, that means nothing to me.”

Penelope’s expression darkened before giving
her daughter a sharp slap across the face. Clearing her throat, she
straightened her shirt and went back to business. Pushing Gemma’s
shirt sleeve up, she wrapped a tourniquet around Gemma’s upper arm,
tapping the inside elbow to look for the vein.

Gemma sniffed and blinked at the tears
threatening to surface.

“Bet you wish you hadn’t come back, huh?”

She ignored her mother’s mocking tone and
kept her eyes straight ahead.

“How did you get here? I didn’t hear your
bike coming up the drive.”

Gemma bit the inside of her cheek.

Penelope paused, the sterile wipe poised in
her fingers.

“Did Gabe bring you?”

Gemma looked down.

“No. He wouldn’t let you come back here.”
Penelope tipped her head then gasped. “Wait! You’ve got to be
joking,” she laughed. “Harrison brought you here? He’s waiting
outside for you, isn’t he?”

Gemma tried not to let her fear show, but
couldn’t keep her jaw from clenching.

“Oh, Alistair, this is too perfect. Go and
get him.”

“With pleasure.”

She wanted to scream a no, beg him to come
back and leave her boyfriend alone, but she knew it was pointless.
Instead she kept her eyes on the wall as her mother wiped her arm,
pulled her skin tight and inserted the needle.

Chapter
Thirty-Four

Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida – 2011AD

Harrison gripped the crossbow by his side as
he shuffled through the house. He decided a systematic check would
be best and had so far ruled out most of the downstairs. Doubting
they would be in the garage, he turned to try upstairs when a door
clicked behind him. Diving around the corner, he held his breath as
another door opened and shut.

Checking all was clear, he moved back to
where he’d been and noticed the laundry room. He hadn’t thought to
check there. Holding the crossbow in front of him, he slowly crept
forward. Every muscle in his body was tense as he listened for
sounds. Nothing was immediately obvious, but then he heard it, a
faint tink of metal on metal.

Walking past the washing machine, he
approached what looked like a linen closet and tested the handle.
The door came free.

“Just bring him in, Alistair, we’ll get-”

Penelope sucked back the rest of her sentence
and raised her hands.

Harrison’s eyes darted to Gemma, her limbs
strapped tightly to the chair, a needle protruding from her left
arm. A red welt was forming on her jaw line. She looked pale and
the usual confidence she exuded in crisis situations was lacking.
Angry breaths spurted through his nostrils.

“Let. Her. Go.”

Penelope’s eyebrow shot up, her eyes filling
with a dark smile. “Forget it. I need her.” She chuckled. “Besides,
little boy, you don’t have what it takes. You probably don’t even
know how to fire that thing.” She reached forward. “Now give me the
crossbow.”

His finger twitched on the trigger before he
could stop it. With wide-eyed horror he watched the arrow fly into
Penelope’s shoulder and throw her back across the room. She landed
like a rag doll, her head smashing against the wall. She let out a
dazed groan.

Dropping the weapon, Harrison raced towards
Gemma to assess the needle.

“Oh my- you just shot…” Gemma stared at the
floor, gaping at the sight of her strong mother now a crumpled
mess.

“How do I get this thing out of you?” He
grabbed the end of the needle.

“Wait.” Gemma pointed to the tray. “Put a
cotton ball on it first. Downward pressure,” she explained as he
placed it on her arm, “and slide the needle out.”

Penelope began to groan and writhe on the
floor. “Alistair,” she mumbled.

Harrison dropped the needle.

“Quick, untie me.” Gemma wriggled her
fingers. “He’ll be back any second.”

His fingers felt like they were made of
sausages as he struggled with the buckles. Swearing, he gave up the
cause and grabbed the dagger from his belt. He hacked at the thick
leather. Gemma’s left arm came free and she began working on her
right hand buckle while he dropped down to her ankles.

“Still think it was a good idea to come?” He
grunted as he sawed at the foot straps.

“So, I misjudged their humanity. Do you
really want to talk about it now?!”

He shot her a dark glance, noticing the blood
oozing down her arm. He stopped what he was doing and reached for
more cotton.

“You need to put pressure back on your-”

His sentence was cut short as he was lifted
from his spot and thrown across the room. Alistair stood like a
raging bull ready to pummel his face off. The large man turned and
took in the image of his writhing wife. His black gaze was
petrifying as it bore down on Harrison.

Feeling small and pathetic, Harrison
scrambled to his feet and grabbed the axe. He held it in his shaky
hand and prepared for battle. Alistair looked bemused as he pushed
up his sleeves and bunched his fist.

Slashing out with a grunt, he deterred
Alistair’s first attack, but only for a second. The guy moved like
lightening and Harrison was soon hedged into a corner. He could
hear Gemma fiddling with buckles, but knew she’d never get free in
time. He swung the axe again and it was ripped from his hands. He
looked down at his empty palms with wide eyes. This was it. He was
about to die.

“Drop it.” Gemma’s voice shook, but the hand
that held the blade to Alistair’s throat was steady. The man’s eyes
narrowed as if trying to decide whether he could take her on, but a
sharp poke of the dagger made him drop the weapon.

Blood trickled down his neck, staining the
edge of his shirt.

“Get into the chair.”

Gemma guided him to the seat, the blade
touching his skin at all times. She looked around her. “Harrison,
grab that tubing. Tie his wrists.

Harrison yanked the tube carrying Gemma’s
blood from the syringe to the bag. Blood sprayed across the floor,
but he ignored it, stepping over the mess to tie Alistair down. He
was worried the strong hands might jump from the chair and wrap
around his throat as he approached, but Gemma made sure the blade
remained a menacing threat.

A groan from the floor stole his attention as
Penelope grabbed her shoulder and tried to rise.

“Stay where you are!” Gemma dug the knife in
so far Alistair let out a shout. Regret flashed over her features,
but she managed to hold the knife steady.

“Don’t move. I mean it.”

Penelope froze on the spot, her malignant
stare boring into Gemma. Harrison tied as fast as he could, making
sure the bonds were tight. Stepping back, he took Gemma’s hand and
pulled her towards the door. Alistair had already started
struggling, pulling the cords free with his brute strength.

They walked backwards out the door then
slammed it behind them.

Gemma leaned against the door, preparing for
it be thrown open. “We have to lock this.”

Harrison scanned the room then ran towards
the washing machine, quickly unscrewing the pipes.

He hauled the weighty machine in front of the
door. Gemma countered the first attack, slamming her body back
against the door to keep it closed. Penelope yelped in protest. She
stepped out of the way so Harrison could slide the machine in
place. She helped him shuffle it firmly against the door.

It would take Alistair a while to push the
door ajar, but he would get it open eventually… and when he did he
was going to hunt them down.

The idea sent a panicked sizzle through
Harrison’s system. He grabbed Gemma’s hand and ran for the
door.

Chapter
Thirty-Five

Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida – 2011AD