Refugee (The Captive Series Book 3) (14 page)

He was the only one that
could.

It was almost impossible to discern one
thing from another in the shifting sand and wind. She didn’t see
what had caused the shout, what had drawn the attention of the
group surrounding her. Idle talk and gossip broke off; the laughter
faded away, what had apparently been some sort of titillating
social event to them finally became something serious.

Then through the shifting sand and
blinding light, she saw movement. Braith stepped outside of the
building, the wind rippled across his hair, blowing it around his
face and causing it to stand on end. Sand trickled over him,
coating his clothing and broad shoulders.

He seemed oblivious to the hideous
weather conditions surrounding him as he studied the horizon.
Figures slipped through the sand, moving as swiftly as wraiths
through the hostile environment they knew so well. Braith made his
way back toward the house, he didn’t say anything as he gently
grabbed Aria’s arm. He pulled her back into the small side room,
gesturing for Ashby and William to follow them.

Pushing the door closed with his foot,
he turned to her. “I need you to stay here.” He held up a hand,
forestalling her protest. “I can’t have you out there Aria; there’s
enough to worry about without having to worry about you
too.”

“But your vision…”

“I’ll be close enough to you so that it
won’t be affected drastically. I’ll be fine, but you have got to
stay here.” Her eyebrows drew together; she folded her arms firmly
over her chest. She was a fighter, she belonged out there, and she
sure as hell didn’t want him out there alone. “Don’t fight me on
this, please.”

It was the please that was her undoing,
the please that melted the fight from her. The vulnerability that
radiated from him for that brief moment was almost more than she
could stand. Swallowing her pride and her need to be part of the
fight, she managed a small nod. Relief filled him; his hand wrapped
around the back of her neck as he pulled her against him and kissed
her forehead for a fervent moment. She hugged him, savoring the
moment.

“Come back to me,” she
whispered.

“Always.” He kissed her again and
reluctantly released her. “Stay with her,” he ordered
Ashby.

Ashby nodded, William glanced between
them but his unasked question was answered when Braith handed him
an extra quiver of arrows and gestured for him to follow him from
the room. Aria fought the urge to go after them, to race out the
door and follow them across the desert. She was shaking with the
impulse, struggling not to succumb to the urge. She could be of
help, she knew it, but she also knew she would be a huge
distraction for Braith. Her hands fisted in frustration as a
feeling of helplessness flooded her.

Ashby watched her with a wary
expression that alerted her to the fact he was well aware of what
she was thinking. “You know he’ll kill me if I end up having to tie
you up,” he warned her.

Aria couldn’t help but give him a
feeble smile as she shook her head. “He wouldn’t kill
you.”

“Like hell,” Ashby muttered.

Aria crooked an eyebrow at him but
refrained from arguing. “I’m going to watch.”

“I didn’t expect anything
less.”

Though Ashby said the words, he still
looked guarded as Aria popped the door back open. She was about to
stick her head out when Ashby grabbed her shoulder and pulled her
back. “Ashby…”

“Let me go first.”

She frowned at him in displeasure, but
relented as he pulled her away from the door. The chatter hit her
instantly; she could practically feel the excitement palpitating
through the room. Ashby took hold of her arm and turned her in the
opposite direction of the crush trying to work their way out the
door.

Ashby kept her behind him, using his
body to shield her from the stragglers drifting through the house.
He shouldered aside a questioning young man that eyed Aria with
interest. A low growl emanated from Ashby’s chest, the color
drained from the man’s face as he hurried on down the
stairs.

“Idiot,” Ashby mumbled under his
breath.

Aria craned her neck to watch the young
man. “Is he human Ashby?”

“He is.”

“Why is he so interested in
us?”

“Because he’s an idiot.” Aria turned
back around as Ashby placed a gentle hand in the small of her back,
urging her on before swiftly removing his touch. Aria forgot all
about the young man as she hurried up the last few steps, she
nearly bolted to the broken window at the end of the hall. She
placed her hands against the sill, leaning out to watch the group
spread out across the sand. She searched frantically for Braith,
but he was nowhere to be seen amongst the crowd and run-down
structures surrounding them.

Panic seized hold of her, her hands
curled around the ledge as she bent further out. It was bad enough
not being able to be with him, but not being able to see him was a
thousand times worse. Ashby grabbed hold of her shoulder, pulling
her back as he pried her hands from the sill.

She was stunned to see blood welling up
on her palms and fingers. There had still been glass in the frames,
but she hadn’t felt the bite of it against her flesh. “How did you
manage to stay alive this long?” Ashby inquired as he tore the
edges of his shirt and used the rags to wrap her damaged
hands.

“I didn’t feel it.”

“I know.”

She turned eagerly back to the window
as he released her hands. “Where is he?”

Ashby’s shoulder pressed against hers
as he peered out the window. “There.”

She followed his finger to a building
about four hundred feet away. She could just barely make out the
form of someone standing in the doorway of a small shack. He was
half hidden amongst the shifting sand, and blinding light. Though
it was difficult to discern the figure completely, she knew
instantly that Ashby was right, it was Braith.

Her fingers twitched, she pulled the
bow from her back and propped it on the floor before her. It would
be tricky to get a clear shot with so many below, but she was going
to do her best to take out as many as possible. Braith may not want
her down there, but he hadn’t said anything about her taking
position right here.

She watched as more figures crept
forward. Gideon had said that they were drawn by the presence of
anyone in the desert sands, they did not discriminate, they were
hungry and they didn’t care how many were awaiting them or how
powerful they were. The promise of blood was a strong motivator to
these lost, ravenous souls.

“Do you think we can get on the roof?”
she inquired.

“Do you want to see me
dismembered?”

Aria chuckled as she shook her head. “I
don’t think he’s quite as volatile as you make him
sound.”

“No Aria, he is. The only thing that
might keep him sane if something were to happen to you is the fact
that you have not done everything necessary to completely form the
link. But don’t doubt for a minute that he is capable of far more
vicious and brutal acts than anything you’ve ever seen. I’ve come
to realize that he is capable of anything when it comes to you,
maybe even beating his father. I know what I would do if Melinda
were threatened.”

Aria swallowed heavily as she fought
the blush trying to work its way up her neck and through her face.
It didn’t sit well that he knew such an intimate detail of their
lives. “But your link with Melinda is complete.”

“Yes, and that does make some
difference, I think. How much of one I don’t know. No one
does.”

There was something about Ashby’s tone
of voice, something secretive and fevered about his bright green
eyes that caused a deep feeling of unease to form in her stomach. A
shout from outside drew her attention, her hand constricted around
the bow. The fresh cuts on her hands ached but they were not deep
or overly painful. She drew an arrow from its quiver, knocking it
against the bow without a sound.

The creatures were closer now, blending
with the environment. They moved as swiftly as the dust particles
dancing through the air. Her eyes found Braith, her heart beat
against her ribs with loud thumps she was certain everyone could
hear. William stood behind him, his hair far too noticeable for her
liking.

The attack was swifter than she had
expected it to be. She didn’t think the creatures had much use for
logic, at least not anymore, but she hadn’t expected this suicidal
rush into the town. It was as if they didn’t care, as if they
welcomed the thought of death as much as the promise of
blood.

Braith tried to coordinate the attack
but she wasn’t sure he could coordinate anything against these
mindless creatures. How could he plan against something that had
lost the ability to reason, something with no sense of
self-preservation? But somehow Braith did it as she watched the
vampires, along with some humans, split and flow in different
directions, effectively encircling and trapping the creatures
between the buildings. She was well aware that Braith was at the
center of the attack, even through the shifting conditions she
could see the blood that coated him, the speed with which he moved,
the deadly precision with which he carried out the death of these
things.

She knew he took no pleasure in the
killing, or at least she tried to tell herself that because at the
moment she wasn’t so certain. The ease with which it was done, the
brutality of it all was mind numbing. She was so focused upon
Braith that it took awhile for her to realize that though the group
had encircled the creatures, Braith was the only one
fighting.

“What are they doing?” She spun away
from the window, determined to get to him. Ashby stepped swiftly in
front of her. Gone was the good natured vampire she knew, instead
he was a massive hulk of annoyance as he effectively blocked her
way. “Move!”

“No.”

For a moment she was speechless, then
her mouth snapped shut and she glowered at him as her fingers
curled around her bow. “They’re not helping him!”

“I know.”

“I have to!”

“No.”

Aria’s nostrils flared, she was fuming
as she pushed against him. He was like an impenetrable wall and he
didn’t even have the decency to pretend her shove affected him. “So
help me Ashby if you don’t get out of my way I’ll shoot
you!”

“No.” If he said no to her one more
time she really was going to shoot him. “Braith suspected this
might happen.”

Her anger deflated instantly.
“What?”

“They have to see if he’s strong enough
to lead. This is a test and he needs to pass it.”

“There’s too many of them, he needs my
help!”

Ashby shook his head. “No, he needs to
concentrate and you will be nothing but a distraction to him right
now. He can do this Aria, you know it and I know it. You need to
stay here. Why do you think he left me in charge of you instead of
William? He knew your brother wouldn’t be able to stop you, please
don’t make me force you to stay.”

She didn’t know which feeling was
worse, the anger or the terror. Braith had suspected this, he’d set
her up, the three of them had plotted against her and unless she
really did injure Ashby, she wasn’t getting past him. Though she
would hurt him if Braith required help, and there was a definite
possibility she would shoot her brother when this was over. He had
it coming anyway; he’d been tormenting her since he could talk.
Rushing out there, being reckless and not trusting Braith could put
them all in even more danger. She could get them all
killed.

“Damn him!” she snapped as she spun
back to the fight. “And damn you!”

She thought she heard Ashby mutter,
“Too late,” but she became so focused on the fighting again that
she couldn’t be sure, and she wasn’t in the mood to push
it.

Her stomach twisted as the bow fell
limply back to her side. There was no need for it now. Her
interference would not be appreciated. Ever so slowly, she slipped
it onto her back and replaced the arrow. She couldn’t stand the
spectacle of the bloodbath anymore but she couldn’t turn away, not
until it was over and she was certain Braith was safe.

Death, those creatures welcomed death.
The realization left Aria hollow and shaken. These were not the
king’s soldiers; these were lost, starving souls. Souls, she
reminded herself, that had done something to warrant such a fate.
The reminder did little good. There was so much blood and rage that
she was frightened she might be sick.

She leaned forward as two of them
launched at Braith. Her breath was frozen in her chest as he fell
back, struggling beneath the weight of one of them. She barely had
time to blink before he grabbed hold of the back of its neck and
ripped it off of himself. No matter how much she yearned to turn
away, every ounce of her was focused upon Braith.

Ashby’s hand suddenly slid around her
mouth. She jumped; a startled cry escaped her as he pulled her
firmly against his chest. A finger appeared in front of her face,
held up before her as he pulled her back a few steps and maneuvered
her into a side room. Aria caught only a brief glimpse of pale
dirty feet appearing at the top of the steps before Ashby slid the
door silently closed.