Redemption of Fate (Fate Series Book 2) (32 page)

“Yes; but how long before they find out about us because of these attacks, or whatever else Lucias has planned? Do we really want him to control our inevitable introduction to the humans? If their path to knowledge is lined with death and blood, who can blame them for their intolerance? But if we give them the truth now, show them we are not the threat, they could be our allies in the fight against Lucias and his army of infected,” Jester added.

“Jester, take care how you speak to our lord and commander,” Claesson warned.

“It’s all right, Alek,” William said, raising his hand. “Perhaps the boy is right. If we were to—”

William’s words were cut off by the loud blaring of an alarm which sliced through the previously quiet air of the compound.

“What’s happening?” he asked; watching as Claesson sped across the room and picked up the phone.
 

“Jester, lock it down now!” Claesson ordered; ignoring the High Commander as he hit a button and put the phone to his ear.
 

Jester’s fingers skated over the keyboard efficiently, as he systematically engaged the emergency security protocols to secure the interior of the compound.

“Damn; no answer at the gate!” Claesson yelled over the screech of the alarm. “The compound has been breached!” he continued; turning to William.

He opened his mouth to yell something else right as Jester cut the alarm.
 

“All of the cameras in front are out,” Jester stated; inclining his head toward the wall of security monitors behind the other men. The three of them had been so engaged in their discussions about the attacks, and the resulting television news stories, that they hadn’t noticed when the security feeds had been cut.

“My lord, we must get to your family. The attacks must have been a distraction to weaken our protection here on the compound. Jester, you know what to do,” Commander Claesson said and sped off after William, who was already gone.

✧

Chloe took her hands down from over her ears, breathing a sigh of relief as the ear-piercing screech of the alarm fell silent.

She felt surprisingly calm, despite her knowledge of what was coming. Watching her mother pacing anxiously across the floor, she knew the source of her serenity. Her parents would finally be reunited, even if she couldn’t be there to see it.
 

Alexa looked toward Chloe and threw her hands up. “How can you act so calm?” she said; her voice cracking as she spoke.
 

Before she could respond, the sound of the door sliding open got their attention.

“We need to move,” William said, stepping inside.

“What happened?” Alexa asked, unable to pierce the strong shields of her father’s mind.

“Someone has breached the outer defenses of the compound. We have to move to the training room. According to Commander Claesson, it doubles as a sort of panic room in case of an attack,” he said; quickly signaling for both women to follow him.

The trio sped down the corridor, followed closely by William’s personal guards; including Captain Erikson, who had remained posted outside of Chloe and Alexa’s rooms since the start of the attacks in the city.
 

“What about everyone else?” Captain Erikson inquired when they arrived at the door to the training wing. With the compound on emergency lockdown, special security clearance was needed to move between the various wings.
 

“He went to the lab to collect Elijah and the others. They should be joining us shortly,” he replied; quickly entering the code and standing aside for Chloe and Alexa to pass.
 

When the group arrived outside the training room, they found Commander Claesson, along with the rest of Chloe and Alexa’s family, already waiting.
 

“My lord; once you are all inside, enter the code I gave you. It will engage the silver-plated security doors and panels. No one, not even I, will be able to gain access from the outside, and only the code will release the doors from the inside.”

“Alek; you are not staying with us?” William asked; his voice full with concern.
 

“I cannot abandon my men. The intruders have not yet breached the building; only the outer grounds. We will hold them until reinforcements arrive if we can; but even if they break through, this room is impenetrable. There are enough supplies for weeks and a satellite phone to contact the outside. Jester’s room is also secure; he will be able to run the entire compound from there and, when it’s clear, one of us will come for you. For now, you and your family will be safe here,” he said; placing a hand on William’s shoulder.

“Captain, take the rest of the men and go with the commander. You will help secure the building,” he ordered.

“But, my lord—,” Captain Erikson began; only to be cut off.

“You heard the commander; this room is impenetrable. Your skills will be better utilized helping the soldiers hold the perimeter until help arrives.”

The captain briefly glanced at Commander Claesson with disdain before nodding his understanding.
 

“Sir, let me come with you,” Cami chimed in as the commander turned to leave.

Jared’s jaw clenched as she dropped his hand and moved towards the door; but he remained silent, knowing with certainty that Claesson would deny her request and understanding why she had to make it.

“Your place is here with your family,” Claesson replied; offering his hand with eyes full of sadness.

Cami looked at it for a brief moment, and then hurled herself at the large vampire; wrapping her arms around him in a tight hug, saying goodbye for what they both understood would be the last time. Though he didn’t know it, she’d overheard the call he’d made to his wife and daughter from his office only minutes before, when he’d sent her and Jared to retrieve her parents from the lab. She’d told Jared to go ahead and had stayed long enough to know exactly how her fearless leader expected the night to end.

Reluctantly releasing him, Cami stepped back into the training room as the door slid closed between them. She stood there, watching Commander Claesson and the members of the High Commander’s guard until the security panels dropped down, blocking the small window with the only view to the outside.

Cami closed her eyes as Jared pulled her against his chest, wrapping her in his strong arms as they stood in silent anticipation.

✧

It seemed like hours had passed as Chloe sat on the floor leaning her head against her mother’s shoulder; though, in reality, it had only been a few minutes.

Barely a word had been spoken among the group, as they all tried to cope with the uncertainty of what was occurring beyond the safety of the walls surrounding them.

Chloe looked around the room at her family, her mouth turning up into a sad smile as she grabbed her mother’s hand and pulled it up to her face. Pressing Alexa’s knuckles to her lips, Chloe inhaled deeply and closed her eyes.
 

He will be here soon. You must renew your blood bond; it is the only way to save him. I love you,
Chloe sent telepathically.

“Chloe, what’s—” Alexa began; but before she could finish, Chloe pushed the rest of her vision, the parts which she’d carefully shielded, into her mother’s mind. Alexa’s tensed, realizing her daughter’s intentions, but before she could fully process what she’d seen, everything went black.

Chloe flashed to the door and entered the code she’d pulled from William’s mind. She paused for the briefest of seconds to look back at her family, each of them lying unconscious on the floor around the training room as a result of the mind blast she’d sent out to incapacitate them. While she wished there was another way, she knew none of the people with her in that room would have ever allowed her to leave, no matter what visions she shared with them. They would all die to keep her safe; and if she stayed, that was exactly what would happen.
 

Uncertain as to how long she had before her family revived, Chloe reentered the code and sped across the threshold before the security panel fell back into place; moving with every ounce of her speed towards the front of the compound before it was too late.
 

Entering the elevator, Chloe reached out for Commander Claesson’s mind and breathed a sigh of relief at finding that he and the other soldiers were still inside the mansion above; but the feeling was short lived. Through his eyes, she watched the wave of infected soldiers flying over the fence before he looked to the detonator in his hand.
 

Commander, please don’t,
she sent, trying to buy some time; knowing that if those land mines exploded, everything she cared about would be lost.

“What the—” he whispered in confusion, turning just as the elevator doors opened. “Chloe, you can’t be here; go back to—”

The pulse of energy rattled the walls as it flew out from Chloe’s body, knocking the commander and every soldier in the room to the ground. Before her fear could set in, she moved to the front door and pulled it open, stepping out into the flood of the security lights which lit the porch of the mansion.
 

No sooner than she came into view, three infected soldiers swooped in only to be sent flying back by the force of her mind. Realizing she was running out of time, Chloe sifted through the dozens of minds; searching for the one she needed.

I am the one you seek,
she sent, standing up a little straighter as the rest of the infected vampires cautiously surrounded her.

✧

Kaleb, like the rest of the vampires moving across the lawn of The Elite’s compound, was surprised that, instead of a swarm of Elite soldiers, they were met by an unarmed, and breathtakingly beautiful, woman. Even more surprising was his father’s command to halt their attack.

His eyes darted all around, to the roof, the windows; yet he saw no evidence of The Elite. While his father’s plan had been to draw as many of them out of the compound as possible with the public attacks around the city, they never expected to find the facility so poorly guarded.
 

Using Layla to pass through the witches’ protective spells, a small team of their men had easily taken out the guards and opened the gates for the rest of them to pass through.
 

“I will give you what you desire. I will go with you now, but only if you agree to my terms,” Chloe said aloud, trying desperately to mask the tremble in her voice.

Kaleb felt his heart begin to pound when the delicate sound of her voice cut through the cool night air, and was suddenly overcome with a need unlike anything he’d ever felt before. When Lucias flashed across the distance and appeared only inches away from her, Kaleb struggled; using every ounce of his willpower to remain where he was, his fists clenched tightly at his sides as he watched Lucias caress a stray lock of her long hair.

“How very bold you are, though it would appear you have good cause to be so,” Lucias said; glancing to the three unconscious men laying on the steps before he let his eyes drift hungrily up Chloe’s body. “Tell me; how did you speak to me as you did before?” he asked; slowly circling her. “I am no telepath, yet I heard you in my mind as surely as if you spoke aloud.”

“I can share my thoughts with others as I see fit. As I told you, I am the one you came here for,” she replied; choking down the bile she felt rising in her throat as Lucias’s perverse thoughts entered her mind. She battled the instinct to push up her mental shields; knowing that she needed the advantage reading his mind gave her.

“How remarkable; I expected a child and instead I find you, very much a woman. I must admit I am pleasantly surprised,” he said in his best attempt to be charming, as he stopped in front of her and inclined his head. “I am Lucias,”

“I know who you are,” she replied quickly. “I have only two requests; grant them and I will go with you without protest.”

“Do tell,” he responded; raising his eyebrows with curiosity.

“My father and the soldier, Layla; allow them to remain here and we, you and I, and all of your men can leave immediately,” she said; cautiously taking his hand as she glanced at Ethan, whose eyes had remained locked on her since the moment she’d stepped through the door.
 

The instant he saw her he’d felt as if the earth was shifting beneath his feet and, for the briefest of moments, believed she was a ghost there to torment him for all his failures. With Chloe looking so much like Alexa, it wasn’t until she spoke that he realized she wasn’t what he’d thought.
 

Shocked by the voluntary contact, Lucias stared down at their joined hands as Chloe tentatively stroked his knuckles with her thumb. “You give yourself to me freely then? What of The Elite; why have they not come to fight for you?” he asked; placing his fingertips beneath her chin, feeling a sense of power the likes of which he had never known.
 

Knowing that her family and The Elite could wake at any moment and that the demonstration of her power would please Lucias, she showed him a brief glimpse of her memory from the minutes before she’d emerged from the mansion.

“You surprise me, Chloe. It is not a feeling I am accustomed to,” he said; looking to Ethan and Layla as he considered her proposal. As she’d expected, he was reluctant to relinquish the soldier who’d served as his key to the compound along with a vampire as powerful as her father; but like she’d hoped, he believed turning them over to The Elite could be used to his advantage. A slight smile turned up the corners of his mouth as he considered the possibilities of placing two of his infected within the walls of his enemy’s home, like his own personal Trojan horse.

“There isn’t much time. Do you agree to leave them, in exchange for my cooperation?” she asked; glancing again at her father. Though her eyes were filled with sadness at knowing that it could be the last time she would ever see him, she smiled and pushed into his mind.

Ethan’s body tensed imperceptibly as the images of her memory flashed before his eyes. Suddenly he was back in his father’s clinic, looking down into the greenish-gray eyes of his beautiful daughter for the first time, as she placed her tiny hand on his cheek and said one little word which would change him forever.
Dadda.