22
My brain had shut down. My ability to speak was gone, my ability to feel had been disabled and all that I was left with was a numb sensation. I don’t remember the car trip away from where I was being held captive. I had no recollection of its location, the curves of the road, trees, buildings, landmarks. The only thing I remembered was the swish of the wiper blades as they brushed the raindrops away from the windscreen.
Vaughan lifted me out of the car and carried me to the elevator, then into his apartment. He set me down on my feet in the bathroom. I caught sight of my reflection in the mirror and realised something was not right. Vaughan was standing next to me, I could feel his presence beside me but he was not reflected, my mind could not comprehend why. My left eye had swollen almost closed and started to turn dark and shiny. My lip was larger on one side and my clothes were dark red and glistened as they stuck to my body. Running my hand over the material, it felt wet. My arms and legs were also wet and shiny. Why? I was cold and my body shook violently. Vaughan’s arm was around me, my neck and face were speckled with red dots and my hair was clumped together into dried tangled masses. A vision flashed in my memory, replaying itself like a movie. There was an empty room; a man was coming toward me. He was moving in slow motion, he appeared angry; my hands were gripped around something sharp. I could feel tiny prickles of pain in my palm as energy surged through me, encouraging me to thrust my arms forward. He had been moving closer, closer, closing the distance between us. His hands clutched to his chest. That’s when I felt the wet heat spraying onto my clothes, my stomach, chest, arms, face and neck. Then he was lying at my feet. I looked down again at myself and realised what I had done. My body shook uncontrollably; sobs choked my throat as I gasped for breath and I crumpled onto the floor. Vaughan stood in the middle of the room, torment on his beautiful porcelain features. He turned to leave and I reached out to him “No! Please don’t leave me alone” I begged.
He turned and moved very slowly towards me, kneeling to the ground he lay by my side, his actions were cautious and deliberate. I reached out for him and pulled him closer to me and buried my head in his chest and continued to cry. “Can I get you some clean clothes?” he whispered, his voice hollow.
“Don’t leave me” I sobbed desperately clutching at his shirt, determined to narrow the space between us, and he held me closer to him. He let me cry until I had nothing left, being strong and silent. I could see he was in agony. I pulled myself up into a sitting position on the bathroom floor; dried reddish brown smears of Dante’s drying blood covered the white tiles. Vaughan mirrored my moves. We were now sitting side by side on the bathroom floor. I looked around myself as though I was seeing everything for the first time and the shock hit me. I was covered in someone else’s blood. I stood and turned on the shower and stepped in, watching the blood run from me and pool in the bottom before swirling down the drain. My hair was stuck to the side of my face as I peeled the wet clothes off. Vaughan stood to leave. “Don’t go!” I shouted my heart pounding, panic in my voice. “Please don’t leave me alone Vaughan, please don’t leave me alone” I repeated over and over, the tears and feeling of desperation returning. Vaughan opened the door to the shower and stepped inside, holding me and I clutched him tightly. Once I was certain he wouldn’t leave me, I released my grip on him. Continuing to take my blood stained clothes off and wash myself. My right hand stung, then I remembered the splinter in my palm, the one Vaughan had removed. He had watched the blood run onto my hand. My finger ran along the wound, which had now stopped bleeding, His deep black eyes were laden with sorrow “You pulled the splinter out of my hand. How could you stand the blood?”
“It was with great difficulty” his voice was deep and mournful.
“I’m sorry” was the only answer I could give.
He looked at me, anger in his eyes “Sorry! For bleeding? You’re human Nicola. You were kidnapped and almost killed tonight, all because of me and my world and you’re the one apologising” his voice was outraged.
I edged toward the corner of the shower and whispered “Sorry.”
“Don’t be sorry! Be angry damn it! Yell at me, hit me, tell me to leave, that you never want to see me again, that I’m not good for you” he was pounding his fists on his chest. “Tell me all the things that I’m not strong enough to do.”
“I won’t” I threw my arms around his neck and clung to him “I won’t leave you.”
“You should have put that stake through my heart tonight.”
“Don’t say that” I shouted “Vaughan, I can’t live without you. You’re everything to me. The only thing that kept me alive tonight was knowing you would come for me.”
“It was because of me you were there.”
“I knew you would come” I repeated, convincing myself it was ok, as I turned the water off and stepped out of the shower. I wrapped a towel around myself and turned to Vaughan. Water dripped from his clothes as he stood in the shower fully clothed, staring at me, his expression unreadable. “When will you realise that I’m not good for you?” he whispered.
“When will you realise you’re wrong?”
He shook his head as he stepped out of the shower, water pooling onto the floor.
A knock on the balcony door made me jump. Vaughan quickly rushed to answer it. Throwing back the heavy curtains and sliding open the glass door. Anna stood on the balcony, she too was covered in blood that was not her own. Vaughan stepped aside for her to enter. She looked at Vaughan and the pool of water around his feet, and then to me; a low hiss escaped her lips as she looked my face over. Instinctively my body recoiled at the sound.
Anna gave us a few moments to change before filling in the details. “The others?” Vaughan asked, as he went to the kitchen cupboard and took out three scotch glasses and poured three drinks. Anna shot it down instantly; Vaughan passed me the second glass as he was topping up Anna’s drink.
“Everyone is fine, we lost no numbers.”
Vaughan sighed in relief “And Heidi?” he asked with a stiff voice as he lifted his glass to his lips. Eyes downcast, not meeting Anna’s.
“I killed her” she seemed to stand taller when she said this. She wore it as a badge of honour. “They are all dead. All except Ulrich, we don’t know where he is. He changed into a crow, Ivan watched him fly into the bush to the West.”
“So Ivan was right. Ulrich is an old one” He seemed to say this with esteem.
My hand touched my forehead; the spot where the two pink lines still marked my face. “You knew?” I accused, my face getting hot with rage.
“We weren’t sure” Vaughan answered, sounding ashamed.
“So you let Erin die, for nothing?”
Anna looked at Vaughan confused “Who is Erin?”
I shot back the answer “Erin O’Keefe is the woman who was left for dead outside of Ivory that night. She was someone’s daughter. Someone’s best friend. And she died for no reason.”
“Nicola” Vaughan started as he put his hand on my shoulder, consoling.
“Don’t!” I shrugged back from his touch.
Anna looked at me “Ulrich is a very old and very powerful vampire. His abilities have strengthened and evolved over the centuries, he can transfigure. We don’t know what other abilities he has.”
“If he is so strong, how could his entire coven be wiped out?”
Anna nodded in understanding “Our coven is larger. His were changelings; barely a decade old. He chose them because they were disposable. They could do his bidding, then dispose of them when he was done. He would not be saddened by the fact that they are all dead. He will rebuild somewhere else.”
Anna drank her second drink in a single mouthful and turned to me taking a tentative step closer, I did not move. Her face seemed to soften, almost looking compassionate. “I do not understand your relationship with Vaughan” she said shaking her head slowly “I find it inappropriate and disturbing. But I saw through Vaughan’s mind what you did tonight, to Dan
te” his name made me recoil “You helped us, you are a just cause. For that, I am eternally grateful to you. I know that this does not make up for what you are feeling, but I hope it is a start.”
“Thank you” I whispered as I stared into my glass, embarrassed and still slightly intimidated by Anna.
She set her glass down on the bench “I will go. Vaughan I will see you tomorrow” she turned and left through the same door she came, leaping over the balcony. I ran outside and looked over the rail, but she was gone.
Vaughan stood in front of me, sorrow on his face. “Are you ok?”
With my arms still folded, head down and not meeting his face I let out a long sigh “How should I be feeling right now?”
“I don’t know.”
“I’m numb. I don’t know how to feel” Leaning forward I rested my head against Vaughan’s chest, his arm encircling me.