Revenge is Sweet Page 17

  Chapter Twenty-One

  My head ached from the unaccustomed weight of the bridle and my body felt wracked with pain, as though someone had been kicking it for weeks. The familiar stirring of the Thirst hadn’t surfaced as yet, and I felt grateful that my last feed had been a good one.

  Obviously Thomas intended to starve me, but hadn’t yet discovered I didn’t need to feed every night. I hoped he hadn’t heard about the Ring of Porphyry and its protective properties either, although if he resorted to torture with holy items, he’d find out soon enough. The ring was supposed to protect its wearer from holy items and possibly even daylight, although I’d never felt brave enough to try either.

  I tried to clear my pain-riddled head in order to contact Will. I didn’t know if it would work, but I had to warn him not to come for me. There was no way I wanted him falling into any kind of trap.

  Will – help me.

  I closed my eyes as I tried to concentrate on him. I pictured his handsome face, his glorious eyes and my own eyes filled with tears as I thought of him. Will …

  I couldn’t feel his presence at all at first, and I panicked, thinking we’d lost our special connection. I concentrated harder. Will. Where are you? Then his presence flooded my head in a warm tide of emotion.

  ‘Elinor, are you all right?’

  I fought back a sob at the sound of his voice, just as the bloody spikes of the bridle reminded me of their presence.

  ‘I’m chained to a wall.’

  There was complete silence for a full few minutes, and I thought our connection had somehow been severed. Then Will’s voice sounded in my head again.

  ‘How badly are you hurt?’

  ‘Not … too bad.’

  Another silence stretched between us, as no doubt Will decided whether to call me out on my untruthful reply, or to let it lie – so to speak. When I heard his voice again, it sounded careful and strained, even telepathically.

  ‘I am tracking you as we speak, we shall be with you very soon. Try to remain calm.’

  ‘It’s another trap, you mustn’t come for me.’

  ‘Nevertheless, we are coming.’

  I fought for control so the cursed bridle couldn’t torture me any more.

  ‘No Will – please don’t. I couldn’t bear it if you were hurt – or …’ I couldn’t finish the sentence, as if even thinking the words would make it happen.

  ‘Ssssh Elinor. Do not worry. Stay strong for me. Ti amo.’

  Then he was gone, and I felt his loss like a physical pain.

  Ti amo – I love you. Trust Will, as usual, to make the Italian words sound so damned sexy.

  Screwing my eyes tightly shut, I forced myself to keep my head perfectly still.

  Damn this bridle, and damn Thomas. Every bone in my body hurt, every muscle and tendon had been strained in awkward positions, and my head felt so very heavy. Even vampires can be hurt. Then I worried about the trap Thomas and Sarah must surely have rigged for Will. Knowing I would rather die – again – than have Will destroyed or hurt in any way filled me with despair. I couldn’t believe he intended to charge in like the bloody cavalry. He’d seen Thomas’s other traps first hand after all. We weren’t dealing with just any vampire, Thomas appeared to have first class knowledge of modern technology – and he seemed to be very adept at using it to his advantage.

  I heard a slight noise from somewhere behind me and knew without any doubt that Thomas had returned. I kept my eyes closed, not wanting to look at my captor.

  To my surprise, I felt him unlocking the bridle and I opened my eyes as he loosened the chain by my jaw.

  ‘Do not move if you wish to keep a tongue in your head,’ he said, and I froze at his words. He gripped the sides of the bridle and his cold eyes bored into mine. ‘Open your mouth.’

  I did as I was told and he pulled the infernal thing off my head and out of my mouth. I felt light-headed and weird without it, which didn’t last for long because he smashed his fist into my face and the darkness ate me up.

  When I came to my senses, I instinctively knew Thomas had moved me to a different location. Different smells for a start. This place smelled of aged stone, moss and rotting wood, plus the over-riding musty smell that only emanates from old bones. We were almost certainly back in the cemetery – or at least a cemetery. Once again, I was lying on a cold stone floor, although this time I could see worn stone steps in the far corner, leading upwards into the darkness.

  A stab of ice-cold fear pierced my heart when I suddenly realised this was the same mausoleum where Will had left Nikki. Her place of execution. Obviously Thomas intended to do the same to me – and he’d leave my remains for Will to find. I would be his ultimate ‘gift.’ I wondered with some trepidation how long I had left before he came back to carry out my execution.

  To my surprise I hadn’t been chained this time, and I stood carefully, almost expecting to fall back down. My legs felt relatively normal – clearly one of the joys of being a vampire. But my tongue still throbbed from the lacerations caused by the bridle. Frantic thoughts screamed through my head at breakneck speed, and I attempted to make my mind go blank. I needed to contact Will – I had to warn him.

  Thomas knew Will would always come for me and had clearly decided to make the ‘search and find’ somewhat ironic. This might even be his warped idea of fun. How he must hate Will. Whatever had he done to cause this much hatred and vengeance?

  I closed my eyes and thought of Will, trying to picture his face. Will laughing, Will angry, Will sexy … His voice filled my head almost at once.

  ‘Elinor?’

  ‘I’m in the mausoleum where he killed Nikki.’ I fought back a sob. ‘Will, I think he’s going to do the same to me.’

  ‘We found the house empty, but do not worry, we will not fail again.’

  ‘Don’t come here please. It’s another trap.’

  ‘Is he in there with you?’

  ‘No … but he must be nearby … Will … don’t come here.’

  ‘Trust me …’

  Will abruptly broke the connection and the wrench caused me to tumble to the ground. Someone was coming. I could hear their voices above. Looking around at the coffins on the stone shelves, I suddenly had a bizarre idea. Hide. Yes it would be fairly obvious where I had hidden, but it might just buy me a bit of time. It would be preferable to sitting here waiting for something horrific to happen.

  I swung myself up on to the first shelf, and using the coffin as a step, I reached above to grab the edge of the shelf above. Sheer panic forced me to haul myself up, tearing off a few fingernails in the process. I pulled myself up to chest level with the shelf, and leant my upper body onto it. Pushing my arms forward, I used my elbows as leverage to help me squirm the rest of the way up and onto the cold stone, then I swung my legs up out of sight.

  The coffin on this shelf appeared really ancient; its lid had almost rotted away in places. It opened without much difficulty, although the rusted hinges groaned a protest.

  The occupant had mostly turned to dust long ago, leaving only the skull and a few random bones still to rot on the mouldering satin within. Taking a mental deep breath, vampires have no need to breathe after all, I wriggled inside, silently apologising to the owner of the coffin.

  Not before time either. I heard a key in a well-oiled lock, then the sound of the mausoleum door opening, and footsteps on the stone steps. It’s a good job my heart no longer needed to beat, because it would have been clearly audible in the sudden silence.

  I heard Thomas’s voice. ‘Let me know the moment the Elder arrives.’

  Sarah didn’t sound too happy. ‘I have no wish to meet him again.’

  Footsteps echoed again. ‘He will not harm you.’

  Well I wouldn’t count on that. Will had already broken her wrist, just to get a question answered. No wonder the stupid clothes-horse sounded worried.

  ‘At least allow me to have the UV gun up here.’

  UV gun?

  I cleared
my head and tried to contact Will. I could feel him close. I felt frantic. I hadn’t known such a thing as a UV gun even existed. Images of the rigged UV lights that killed Jez flitted through my head, and prevented me from contacting Will. Determined to warn him, I tried to clear my mind and concentrate on him. Just when I thought I’d failed, I felt his warm presence again.

  ‘Elinor?’

  ‘Will, they have a UV gun.’

  ‘A what?’

  ‘A gun with ultra violet rays. To simulate the sun’s rays. Sarah has it above ground.’

  ‘How interesting.’

  Then he was gone again. Forced back to my present situation, I could hear Thomas and Sarah still arguing. I tried to ignore the rotting stench, which assailed my nostrils. Heightened senses aren’t always a plus.

  Thomas sounded really angry now. ‘The Elder is unlikely to come alone.’

  ‘All the more reason for me to have the gun up here.’

  ‘We are wasting time. He is close.’

  I wondered how he could know that. I didn’t really think Will would have been stupid enough to bring Danny. At least I hoped not.

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  I lay silently in the coffin not daring to contact Will again for fear of distracting him. He was very close now. Every single nerve in my body could feel him. I pressed my torn fingernails into the palms of my hand. Please be safe, Will.

  Footsteps sounded on the stone steps again, descending to my prison. I tensed, ready to fight for the existence I’d abhorred until only a few months ago.

  The footsteps came to a halt somewhere just below me. Could I throw myself on top of him? I somehow doubted I would be heavy enough to knock the bastard over, but the element of surprise might just give me enough time to make a run for it. Although my ultimate survival would still depend on who had the gun.

  Thomas’s cold, quiet voice floated up to me. ‘It is ridiculous to hide, fledgling. I can find you very easily and will then inflict pain such as you could never imagine, before I finally destroy you.’

  Nice. That really will get me to come out with my hands up.

  ‘Fledgling!’ Thomas sounded incandescent with rage now.

  I heard him wrench the lid off the coffin below me. So he’d lied, he didn’t know which coffin I was in. The realisation that Thomas couldn’t find me instantly, made me feel better. But there was only a choice of four coffins and he’d looked in one already.

  I heard a crash of splintering wood, accompanied by Thomas’s angry curses.

  ‘Are you hearing me fledgling?’ He snarled. ‘I intend to rip your limbs from your body, then tear them into pieces, bit by agonising bit, and I shall enjoy every second until your final destruction.’

  Charming imagery. I was definitely staying put.

  Sarah screamed from somewhere above ground and Thomas stopped his rant at me to curse again. Then came a muffled thud followed by silence. I dared not open the coffin lid because I felt sure Thomas was still there, just waiting to grab me the moment I emerged.

  Footsteps pounded down the steps … Will.

  ‘Elinor!’

  A split second later, the lid of my coffin was wrenched off, and thrown unceremoniously to the floor below.

  ‘What the hell are you doing in there?’

  ‘Hiding.’

  Strong arms reached in and pulled me up to a sitting position. I swung my legs over the side and Will grasped me around the waist and lifted me down to the shelf where he stood. Then he jumped nimbly to the floor, taking me with him.

  He instantly enveloped me in a rib-cracking squeeze, raining kisses on my forehead, nose, cheeks and lips, muttering endearments and apologies in a mixture of English and Italian. When he finally drew back to inspect me, his beautiful eyes shone with unshed tears.

  ‘I thought I had lost you.’ He held me at arms’ length. ‘Show me where you are hurt.’

  Obediently, I showed him my wrists where I’d been shackled and the burn marks round my neck where the silver chains had been. His eyes narrowed to green slits in anger.

  ‘I believe you were forced to wear a Scold’s Bridle?’

  Now how the hell did he know that? I nodded, and he reached out to touch my face with gentle fingers. He turned me first one way, then the other, and then made a gesture for me to open my mouth. He peered in and made an exclamation of disgust.

  ‘I am going to enjoy killing that bastard.’ He wrapped his arms around me again, and held me as if he’d never let me go. I breathed a sigh of relief against the solid firmness of his chest.

  Footsteps sounded on the steps again and I started violently. Will made soothing noises. ‘It is only Luke.’

  Luke’s familiar frame appeared in the doorway, his face concerned.

  ‘OK Ellie?’

  I nodded against Will’s chest.

  ‘There’s no sign of him,’ he said to Will.

  I frowned. ‘He was in here until a few minutes ago.’

  Will’s sharp eyes scoured the room. ‘There has to be another door.’

  Luke walked to the far wall and ran his hands over the stone. ‘Here.’

  We walked over to join him, and I could just make out an outline of a door.

  ‘That’s how he escaped after killing Nikki,’ I said.

  Will’s face looked grim and he nodded. ‘If I had been too slow … again … he would have taken you … again.’ His grip on me tightened. I had to make noises in protest to make him loosen his death grip a little. Good job I wasn’t human, I’d have had broken ribs and a punctured lung by now, just from his ‘loving’ embrace.

  ‘I want to go home.’ I sounded more than a little pathetic and hated myself for it.

  Will immediately looked contrite. ‘What am I thinking?’ He made as if to pick me up, but I waved him away.

  ‘I need to walk.’

  He didn’t look too impressed by my bravado but gave an elegant shrug in defeat.

  We followed Luke up the steps and out of that vile place. My only concession to abject terror was to hang onto Will’s hand as though it were a lifeline. His grip on mine showed the depth of his own feelings.

  I drank in the warm night air and revelled at being outside again … being with Will again. I’d lost count of how many days I’d been incarcerated – it could only have been a matter of two, maybe three days at most – yet I felt really disoriented. Will squeezed my hand and I looked up at him.

  ‘He will never get another chance to get anywhere near you – that I promise.’

  ‘How did you find me?’

  ‘I will always find you, Elinor.’

  I nodded. The old sire-fledgling bond thing, plus the Ring of Porphyry.

  There were several other people standing around, presumably waiting for us. The huge, bald-headed vampire who’d executed the girl in Dusk, stood guard over the comatose body of Sarah. He had some kind of gun tucked into his belt. Jake leaned against a handy tomb, looking like a rock star waiting for a photo call, and an extremely surly Danny sat perched on top of the tomb, scowling down at everyone.

  ‘He knew you were close,’ I said to Will. ‘I wondered how, but it must have been because Danny was with you.’

  He gave me a grim smile. ‘I told him to stay at the house for that exact reason, but I was unsuccessful as you see, because the stupid boy followed us.’

  I caught Danny’s eye and he had the grace to look a little embarrassed.

  ‘You nearly gave the game away Danny,’ I said.

  He sprang down from his perch and came over to me. ‘I couldn’t stay at the house Elles,’ he said. ‘I’d have gone mad.’

  ‘It’s OK,’ I said.

  ‘Actually it is very much not OK,’ said Will. ‘If you ever disobey me again boy, and put Elinor, or anyone else, in danger – you will be history. Are we clear?’

  ‘Yes.’ Danny looked mutinous.

  ‘How did he get out of the house … again?’ I asked.

  Will looked at Danny and raised an eyebrow. ‘I be
lieve the boy memorised the entry codes for the doors and then climbed over the wall. Am I correct?’ Danny nodded, and Will continued, his voice icy with barely controlled anger. ‘You do know – do you not – that as a master vampire, I can erase absolutely everything in your mind with consummate ease?’

  Danny looked horrified. ‘Everything?’

  Will’s eyes glinted. ‘I can even make you believe going out in the sunshine would be a fun thing to do.’

  ‘Will …’ I pulled at his hand. ‘Let’s just get out of here.’

  Anything to stop a fight Danny would definitely regret.

  Will sighed and started away from the mausoleum. ‘Isaac, would you be good enough to bring our guest?’ He called over his shoulder. I looked back and saw the bald-headed man pick Sarah up as though she weighed nothing, and sling her over his shoulder.

  I couldn’t shake the feeling that Thomas crouched somewhere watching us, like some giant, malevolent spider. I found it hard to believe he would merely watch as we carried Sarah off –unless that’s exactly what he wanted us to do.

  Will’s Journal, 8th June

  To have my beloved Elinor back again filled me with so much joy that I very nearly forgot to remonstrate with the boy. He has sorely tried my patience this night, and his actions could even have thwarted our efforts to rescue her. I cannot even contemplate what I would have done if that had been the outcome. It will be safer for him if I do not reflect for too long on the possibilities.

  Elinor was clearly relieved to be back in the house and I am trying very hard not to suffocate her with my own fears. It will be hard enough for us both during the forthcoming nights.

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  Sarah had been contained in the second wine cellar, even though I’d pleaded for her to be put in another house – in fact, anywhere but under our roof. Now I knew that Thomas could control both her and Danny and potentially use them both against us, my paranoia and fear of the man had grown to astronomic proportions. He might look nondescript, but he was extraordinarily clever and technologically brilliant. If his brain had become unhinged over the decades, it hadn’t become apparent to me during the time he’d held me captive. He seemed to know exactly what he was doing, and he absolutely terrified me. Not even anything Will said or did could calm my fears at the moment.