Refugee (The Captive Series Book 3) (15 page)

CHAPTER 8

Ashby released her as he strode swiftly
across the room. Broken pieces of furniture were stacked in the
corner, buried beneath years of dust and sand. Dismay filled her as
her gaze drifted slowly down. Their shoes left footprints in the
sand; no matter how silent they were there was no
hiding.

“Ashby.” He turned to her, placing a
finger against his lips as his eyes narrowed into a glare.
Impatience filled her as she pointed angrily at their feet and then
the trail of prints they had left behind. Apparently being banished
to a tree house for the past hundred years had dulled Ashby’s
senses as it took him a few seconds to understand what she was
trying to convey. His mouth dropped at the same time the knob began
to rattle.

Aria lurched forward, thrusting her
weight against the door as it started to creak open. It slammed
back closed. There was a hushed moment of silence and then excited
grunts and squeals began to issue from the other side. Ashby was
instantly beside her, his body weight shoved against the door as
the creatures began to push and pound eagerly upon it. Between the
two of them one was easy to take care of, Ashby could do it
himself, but judging by the sounds, and the force with which they
pushed against the door, there were at least three out
there.

Her fingers itched for her bow as a
crack appeared at the top of the door. It was old, it would not
hold against the force of these creatures. Aria’s gaze fell to the
pile in the corner, but even if they stacked it against the door it
would do little good. Then, she spotted the window.

“Stay here.”

“What!?” he gasped, struggling to keep
the door closed when she released it suddenly. “Aria!
Arianna!”

She didn’t hesitate as she raced across
the room, grasped hold of the windowsill and plunged onto the porch
roof. It creaked beneath her weight, and for a moment she
hesitated, uncertain if the old wood would support her. It wouldn’t
do either of them any good if the thing collapsed beneath her. It
groaned again but held steady beneath her weight. Using her arms,
she was able to maintain her balance on the steep pitch of the roof
as she hurried to the back of the house.

She heard something beneath her and
looked down to find two more creatures following her movements,
eagerly jumping up and down as they waited for her to
fall.

Reaching the backside of the house she
plunged into another broken window. She was in another room which
had a broken shower. She gave little thought to her favorite
contraption as she pulled the bow from her back. Knocking two
arrows against it, she used the tip of one to nudge the door open.
She was able to stick her head out enough to see that there were
four of them down the hall, beating on the door, pushing and
shoving and grunting eagerly as they jumped on top of each other in
an attempt to be the first one in. They would turn on each other if
given the chance.

She turned the bow sideways, she had no
clear shot at any of their hearts, and with two arrows she was
unlikely to hit the heart anyway. But at least she would impair two
of them, and perhaps the scent of blood would help them turn on
each other. Aria used her elbow to open the door the rest of the
way. Four heads snapped toward her as she stepped into the hall,
took aim and fired.

A squeal erupted from one of the
creatures as it stumbled back, an arrow imbedded firmly in its
throat. Another one was brought to its knees by the arrow in its
shin. Blood spurted forth but the other two did not go after their
fallen brethren like she’d hoped. Instead, they focused more
intently upon her; their eager eyes were like glistening rubies,
their fangs hung over their lower lips as one of them shoved aside
the creature she’d shot in the neck.

Aria swiftly pulled two more arrows and
fired them rapidly. One was caught in the upper arm, it didn’t slow
him even a little, the other arrow slammed uselessly into the wall.
It quivered there for a moment, a trembling reminder of her error.
Aria took a step back, needing to put more distance between them if
she was going to get off another round. They raced at her as she
fired. This time she hit them both, one was a deathblow that sent
the creature scrambling back, howling in pain as it thrashed upon
the floor. The other one was nicked in the ear, it didn’t even
recoil as it launched at her with clawed fingers and an eager
hiss.

She barely had time to toss her bow
aside and grab hold of her stake before it was upon her. She fell
back, bouncing across the sand as they skidded into a wall. The
breath was knocked from her, stars burst before her eyes as her
head crashed against the wall. Struggling to remain conscious, she
managed to get her hands up between them as the thing lurched
forward. It snapped at her, just inches from her face. It was
strong, far stronger than her, and she could already feel the
weakening in her arms as it lunged at her again.

Her fingers scrambled over the stake as
she tried to twist it into an angle that would be beneficial for
her. It was nearly impossible as the thing clawed eagerly in its
excitement and bloodlust. Adrenaline surged forth; her survival
instinct took hold of her, giving her a strength that enabled her
to get the stake fully twisted around. The creature’s lurching
momentum drove it into the sharp weapon.

Its scream pierced her eardrums,
blowing her hair back as it wailed in agony. She turned away,
horror filling her as it began to convulse before finally falling
away from her. She couldn’t move, her back was pressed against the
wall as her fingers curled into the thick sand.

As it went still, behind the revulsion
and terror a strange sense of exhilaration surged through her. She
had just beaten a vampire in hand to hand combat. Granted it had
been an emaciated, weakened vampire but she had still defeated it,
and she was alive.

She pushed herself up on the wall as
Ashby yanked the arrow from the throat of the other one she had
shot and drove it into the creature’s chest. He shoved the thing
away and Aria was able to see that he had already dispatched the
other one. Ashby’s gaze came slowly to her, his eyes were red, and
blood marred his right cheek.

“You ok?”

Aria managed a small nod.
“Yeah.”

He wiped the blood from his face,
shaking his head as he surveyed the damage around him. “Impressive,
but let’s not tell Braith about this.”

A low laugh escaped her; she sat up
straighter against the wall. She was about to agree when a growl
from her left froze the words in her throat. “Too late.”

The color drained from Ashby’s face as
he took a step back. The hair rose on the nape of her neck as she
slowly turned toward the stairs. She could practically feel the
fury radiating off of him as her eyes latched onto Braith’s. He was
imposing; his broad shoulders took up most of the stairwell. He was
coated in blood. It stained his shirt and pants, streaked through
his hair and was splattered across his face.

Aria was immobile, terrified by what
she sensed inside of him. She knew he was wild and hot-tempered,
but now he seemed utterly savage. His glasses were in place, but
even behind the dark lenses she could see the shadowed hue of his
crimson colored eyes. Xavier stood just behind him staring at her
in wonder. Behind Xavier she could see William and then Gideon as
he fought to shove his way past her brother.

It was the alarm on Gideon’s features
that drove her to her feet. Unfortunately, she forgot about the
blow to her head and became somewhat dizzy as she rose. She took a
staggering step before falling against the wall. Ashby retreated
further as Braith came out of the stairwell. She didn’t blame
Ashby, she’d never been afraid of Braith before, was certain he
would never harm her, but in this moment he was terrifying in his
anger. That fury was not directed at her, but it was explosive and
it was looking for a release.

Aria pushed herself off of the wall as
Gideon reached Xavier. Gideon’s eyes found hers as he rested his
hand against Xavier’s shoulder. Xavier wasn’t moving though, he was
too focused on the events unfolding in front of him.

“I’m fine Braith.” His jaw clenched and
unclenched, the red of his eyes deepened. Aria gulped as she held
her hands up before her. “See, I’m fine.”

“You’re bleeding.” The words were
grated behind his clenched teeth.

She’d forgotten about the broken glass.
“It’s from the windows Braith. I didn’t realize there was glass
still in them.”

It didn’t seem to matter though as his
head twisted slowly toward Ashby. He was like a wolf stalking its
prey as his nostrils flared. Ashby took another step back as Braith
came further into the hall. He was only two feet away from her now,
but the distance seemed far more immense and she was scared she
wouldn’t be able to cross it in order to reach him in
time.

What was wrong with him?

She didn’t know the answer to that but
it seemed as if he was directing everything at Ashby. “You had one
job, one thing to do.” Ashby took another step back as Braith honed
in on him. Panic filled her as she realized he was going to attack
Ashby. It didn’t matter that she was fine, that they had succeeded
in killing four of them. “All you had to do was make sure she
stayed safe.”

Aria shoved off the wall. If Braith
rushed Ashby, there would be no stopping him. Xavier had taken a
step into the hall to watch what was about to unfold. Gideon tried
to get past him but Xavier thrust out his arm, blocking his
approach. “I want to see what happens,” he murmured.

Aria was confused by the vampire’s
words. Gideon looked as if he was going to protest but remained
silent as he took a step away. William was ashen, he too tried to
get past them but Xavier and Gideon blocked his attempt. Weren’t
they going to help her? At least help Ashby?

She didn’t have time to contemplate the
answer as Braith continued to prowl toward Ashby. Melinda! She
barely knew Braith’s younger sister, but she’d felt a bond with the
proud, beautiful woman. If Ashby was destroyed, then Melinda would
be also. Plus, she’d kind of grown attached to the cocky vampire
who was currently backed into the corner at the end of the
hall.

Scrambling forward, Aria threw herself
in front of Braith, flinging her arms wide as she strained to get
air into her suddenly constricted and panicked chest. “I’m fine!”
she wheezed. “Look at me Braith. Look at me!” It seemed like
forever before those red eyes shifted toward her. There was no
softening in them though, no acknowledgement of her words. Without
thinking, she ripped the bandages from her hands to reveal the
shallow cuts that had only slightly bled. His eyes flared even
brighter as they latched onto the drops of blood glistening on her
skin. Was he hungry? Was that the problem? No, this was something
more. He was caught up in something, and for the first time ever
she wasn’t sure that she would be enough for him.

“Braith.” It was a low plea, a
desperate whisper. He grabbed hold of her arms as she reached for
him. His body was rigid, his muscles locked but his grip was
surprisingly gentle. She hoped for a moment that he had come to his
senses, but then he was moving her out of the way.

“Braith, wait.”

Aria strained in his grasp trying to
get him to snap out of whatever had him ensnared. Her fingers
shoved aside the sleeves of his shirt, she needed to feel his skin;
she hoped the contact would bring him back to her but it didn’t
seem to be helping.

“Here,” she breathed fervently.
Grabbing hold of his hand she pressed it against her chest, over
the spot where her heart beat. She had no idea what she was doing.
“Here Braith, feel, I’m fine.”

Recognition seemed to shimmer through
him, there was a wavering, a softening that sparked some hope
inside of her. His fingers splayed against her, they twitched
faintly and then curled into her shirt, into her flesh. Pulling her
against him, his forehead fell to hers. Relief flowed through her;
she clutched his hand as air rushed into her empty
lungs.

“Alive,” he breathed.

“Yes, of course.”

Then, before she knew what he was
doing, he wrapped his hand around the back of her neck and pulled
her close. His mouth was in the hollow of her throat, his lips
pressed against his marks on her skin. Aria went completely still,
she would give him whatever he needed, but she sensed more behind
this. She sensed something dark and desperate as his lips pulled
back. A shiver worked through her as his fangs skimmed over her
flesh, pressing against her. His arm latched around her waist,
dragging her against him, pressing her body flush to
his.

Her heart leapt wildly as she waited
for his bite. She yearned for this so badly, perhaps even more so
than him. Her fingers curled into his back, she forgot about the
others within the hall, she didn’t care about them anymore. She was
too swept up in him, too caught up in the teasing pressure of his
fangs.

And then, just when she thought she
might scream from the longing building within her, he finally bit
deep. A gasp, more of pleasure than pain escaped her. Her fingers
curled into his hair, she held him tighter against her as she felt
the tantalizing pull of her blood in deep, slow waves. Her head
fell against him, she clung to him as beyond the concern for her
safety, the pleasure her blood gave him ensnared them
both.