Tegan's Return (The Ultimate Power Series #2) (22 page)

 Just as I'm about to head back out, a powerful pull seizes my entire body. Propelling me up the narrow stairs. The pull tells me that something familiar awaits me at the top of them, I just don't know what it is. I want to go get the branch but I can't help myself, the pull is too much to take. I need to go with it, wherever it wants to take me. I put one foot onto the first step and it makes a small creaking sound. Then I hurry up, desperate to discover what is on the other side of that door.

A Real Hero

I place my palm on the door handle and turn, expecting it to be locked. But it isn't, the handle turns easily and I open the door into a large attic room that has some light streaming from a small lamp shade. There are stacks of old boxes in one corner and in the other is a narrow single bed with pale sheets.

 On the bed lies a little body, curled in on itself sleeping. The body belongs to a young girl with bright blond hair that obscures her face. Rebecca. Once I spot her I fall to my knees and my body hums in recognition. My blood sings in my veins. This girl is like me. She is my kindred. She has
die Äußerste Macht
blood. Oh my goodness.

 This is why Pamphrock had thought I'd reminded him of Rebecca. We have the same blood curse. Does her father know about this? Do the vampires? Hell, I don't even understand how I know it, but I can feel it with every fibre of my being. A sudden burst of joy hits me, because I'm no longer the only one of my kind. The magic inside of me had been urging me to find her all along. That's why I'd felt a pull to go up those stairs and find whatever lay beyond them.

 Rebecca's mother must have been a human with the same blood as mine, the same blood that my mother was killed for. I had just assumed she was a dhamphir like Pamphrock, but she can't have been. Only humans carry the Ultimate Power gene, at least as far as I know. Although if my mother truly was the daughter of Filipp Petrovsky as Noreen would have me believe, then perhaps witches can be born with it also. I glance behind me, suddenly remembering the unconscious vampire I've left downstairs. We need to get out of here before he wakes up.

 I rush over to the bed and place my hand on Rebecca's shoulder, giving it a slight shake to wake her up. Her eyes blink a few times and then they open fully.

 She gazes at me for a moment, then asks, “Are you the angel?”

 “What angel?” I reply in confusion.

 “I dreamt that an angel would come and save me from the monsters. She looked just like you.”

 I've never considered myself to look particularly angelic, but I suppose in the cream lacy dress I might just about pass for one.

 “I'm not an angel, but I am here to save you,” I tell her. “Come on, we need to go.” I urge her up from her sleeping position. She's wearing yellow pyjamas. She gets up and slides her feet into a pair of slippers. I take her hand and we make our way over to the door. I glance down at Rebecca, making sure she's okay, but when I lift my eyes back to the door there's a figure standing there. Eliza. I let out an involuntary gasp and step backward instinctively.

 Eliza has her arms crossed over her silky purple chest, a grin on her face like the cat that got the cream. “I fucking knew it,” she declares, beaming from ear to ear. “I knew there was something off about you. You've been working for Pamphrock haven't you? We thought he had something up his sleeve since things had been so quiet this last week or two, but nobody guessed that Ethan would fall for a honey trap.”

 I wince, because although I'd like to argue that I do have real feelings for Ethan, I have still deceived him. I try to ignore the pain in my heart that this knowledge instils in me.

 “You stole a little girl.” My voice is jittery, and my eyes are watering because now that Eliza knows what I've been up to she'll be only too happy to tell Ethan all about it. “I don't need to justify my means for helping return her to her father.”

 Eliza gives me a dirty look. “Her father has dedicated his life to the killing of my species. I have no sympathy for that man.”

 “Your father intends to do the exact same thing to the dhamphirs and the magic users. That was quite obviously the message of the little speech he gave downstairs.” Saying this, it suddenly occurs to me that both sides of the city are more alike than they think. They both aim for the extinction of the other.

 Eliza ignores what I've said and instead pulls a phone out of her pocket. She dials a number and talks into it rapidly. “Ethan, there's been an infiltration. Yes, I need you to come to the attic, and bring my father with you.
Now
.” She hangs up, and looks back at me.

 I feel Rebecca tugging on my arm, so I glance down at her. “Don't fight with that lady,” she whispers. “She's a bad person.”

 “I know that, honey,” I reply, stroking her hair away from her face, hoping it will soothe her fear, even though I'm only just holding it together myself.

 Eliza snorts over by the doorway. “You're going to regret the day you ever stepped foot back in Crimson,” she says, her voice dripping with malice. “I'm really going to relish your torture, and your death. Father might even allow me to kill you myself. My face will be the last you ever see.”

 I roll my eyes and make a fake retching noise. “
Please
, don't make it worse. Having to look at you at all makes my skin crawl Eliza.”

 “And that's what will make it even more wonderful when I drain the life from your body. I'll
force
you to look at me while I do it.”

 She's trying to break me down, but I'm determined not to let her. “Sounds kinky, are you sure you haven't got some secret Sapphic tendencies?”

 “You can try to insult me all you want. You will be dead before the night is out.” Eliza answers, but she does sound slightly irritated and I feel a sense of triumph at this. So what can I say, I plough on.

 “Yeah well, saying you want me to look into your eyes while you sink your fangs into me, sounds kind of gay if you ask me.” I make a nonchalant shrug to really rile her up. I might as well get a few last shots in. I'm as good as dead now anyway.

 Anger consumes Eliza's features and Rebecca whimpers at my side when the vampire dives for me. I let go of Rebecca's hand and push her away, just as Eliza's hands grip onto my neck. My face goes red as I struggle for air, but she's holding on too tightly, suffocating me.

 “What do you think you're doing?” I hear Ethan's voice demand, and Eliza's hold loosens as I fall to the floor. I cough to catch my breath.

 “Your human whore has been playing you this whole time,” Eliza sneers, turning to face Ethan.

 Ethan gazes at her in confusion, and it's only now that I notice Whitfield standing in the doorway too. “What in the world is going on here?” he asks shrewdly.

 “Father!” Eliza exclaims. “I caught her trying to take the girl. She's been working for Pamphrock.” 

 “
Pardon me
?” questions Whitfield. I have never before heard those two words uttered with such cold, reserved rage.

 Ethan's incredulous dark eyes lock on mine, disbelief colours his expression. “Tegan?” he says. My name passes his lips like a question. My heart is falling apart with guilt for what I'm doing to him, and also with fear for what Whitfield will do to me now.

 “I'm sorry,” I whisper, as a solitary tear runs down my cheek. My apology confirms it's the truth and Ethan's face inexplicably hardens. I have never seen him look at me this way before, not even when he'd been really angry with me. Another irreparable crack forms in my heart. Everything we had together is ruined now. There's no going back to that place, the place where he might have loved me.

 “Did you know about this?” Whitfield snaps, focusing on Ethan, who just about manages to tear his eyes away from me.

 “Of course I didn't Jeremy, don't be so ridiculous.”

 “I don't know,” says Whitfield. “I have always held my doubts about you Ethan. You are a strong and fierce warrior, yet you coddle that abomination of a sister of yours as though she were truly one of us.”

 Oh no. Poor Delilah. Whitfield really does plan on getting rid of her, just like the rest of the dhamphirs on the North side.

 “What has Delilah got to do with any of this?” Ethan asks in exasperation.

 “Everything.” Whitfield replies. “She is a sign of your weakness. She represents the fact that you do not share my vision for the future.” Ugh. Here we go again, Jeremy Adolf Hitler Whitfield.

 “I have fought by your side for more than a century Jeremy. I have saved your life countless times and you mine. How can you accuse me of plotting against you?”

 Whitfield leans back against the wall now, observing Ethan. “Show me that you are loyal then.” His eyes flick briefly to me. “Kill the girl. She betrayed you. Punish her.”

 Eliza rubs her hands together in glee. I really want to slap her. Ethan's inner struggle doesn't reveal itself on his face, but I know he must be having one because he stands glued to the spot, gaping at Whitfield.

 “Is there something wrong Ethan? She's a blood donor who went behind your back. Kill her, I'll get you another one just like her.”

 The only outward sign of Ethan's fury is how he clenches his fists at his sides. Something brushes my hand softly, it's Rebecca. She takes my fingers into hers, perhaps to comfort me. Wait a minute, my hands, the sparks. Maybe I can get us out of here.

 Ethan speaks then. “Jeremy, you don't understand...”

 “What don't I understand?” Whitfield hisses. “She might have taken the girl if Eliza hadn't caught her. You know how important the girl is.” The emphasis he puts on that last sentence makes me tense. Whitfield
knows
. He knows what Rebecca is because she didn't have a witch mother who could cast a concealment spell on her like mine could. I hold tighter onto her hand now.

 This news hardens my resolve to save the both of us. I'm not going to allow anyone to hurt this girl because of her blood. She is just like me and for some reason it causes my protective instincts to kick in. Instantly, I feel the tingles in the palms of my hands. I let go of my hold on Rebecca so that I don't unintentionally hurt her.

 “Oh for God's sake,” Eliza moans. “If Ethan won't kill the bitch, then I will.” She advances on me, I let her get up real close before I open my palm and then slam it into her face. The sparks fly right out with the contact and sizzle into her skin. She wails and leaps away from me. The side of her perfect face melting.

 “Witch!” she screams hysterically.

 Both Ethan and Whitfield stare at me in horror, trying to comprehend what's just happened.  

 Finally Whitfield speaks, “She can't be a witch.” He pauses to shake his head. “We would have smelled it. She smells abnormally desirable, but still, in essence her scent is human.”

 I motion for Rebecca to stand close to me now, and she does so while smiling up at me. “You're a super hero,” she whispers, and despite everything, it makes me smile. I suppose it would seem that way to a little girl, seeing sparks fly out of my hand.

 I turn to the vampires. “Stand back away from the door,” I demand, one hand still raised in front of me. “Or I swear I'll do a lot worse than what you just saw.”

 Ethan seems fascinated and furious all at the same time. Whitfield simply appears monumentally pissed off. Still, the both of them do as I say and stand away from the door. “Further back,” I tell them, and they move further into the room.

 I walk hurriedly with Rebecca over to the door. “Don't follow us. If you do you'll regret it,” I say and flick several sparks in their direction as a final warning before I disappear from sight.

 Sweat trickles down my forehead as I take Rebecca's hand and lead her to the stairwell I'd come up. We rush down the steps. The sounds of our feet slapping against the floor can be heard echoing all around us. I silently pray that Whitfield doesn't decide to take his chances and come after us.

 And what about Ethan? He is so difficult to read. I can't tell whether or not he's relieved I managed to get away. He was definitely shocked to see me throw sparks from the palm of my hand.

 As we rush down the stairs, I ask Rebecca, “Did any of them ever bite you?”

 She shakes her head. “No, but the scary man back there, he said he was going to.”

 I nod and we continue our flight. I relax slightly in the knowledge that none of the vampires have drank from her yet. But why haven't they? In no time at all we reach the ground floor, but when we get to the end of the corridor just before the ballroom we are stopped in our tracks. Delilah is just leaving the bathroom. She clocks us and glances back and forth between myself and Rebecca as though we both have two heads.

 She gestures to Rebecca, and whispers, “Is that who I think it is?”

 All I can do is gulp and nod. Delilah's bright green eyes widen substantially.

 “Okay,” she says, and she seems to be making some sort of internal decision. A moment that seems like an eternity passes, then she just steps out of the way to let us pass. I thank her with my eyes and hurry forward. We only get a few steps ahead when Delilah cries out, “Wait!”

 I stop and turn around, staring at her questioningly.

 Delilah visibly swallows, then pleads, “Take me with you.”

 I don't have too much time to think about what she's asking of me. All I know is that with Whitfield in power, Delilah getting away from the vampires is probably a good idea.

 “Okay,” I answer, and she sags with relief before joining us as we scurry to get out of the building. Unfortunately, getting out isn't going to be as easy as that, because when we reach the foyer we come to a screeching halt. A massacre is taking place before our eyes. Slayers and vampires are battling it out in Whitfield's cold, sterile entrance room. It strikes a fierce contrast with the empty, museum like space it had been when I'd first entered the house.