Dance Until Dawn (26 page)

Luke opened the bedroom door for me, and I went in, turning to face him as he walked over to the far door. ‘Thank you Luke, I don’t know what I would have done without you tonight.’

‘We will find him Ellie, I promise. Rest well.’

He went out and closed the door behind him. I locked it.

The bed looked large and lonely, and I could feel tears threatening again. With a huge effort, I pulled myself together and got slowly undressed. It was so much more boring, undressing alone, especially as I’d grown used to Will’s roguish, lascivious comments as each item of clothing came off. In fact I usually had his help taking them off anyway, whether I needed it or not. His absence affected me far more than I could ever have imagined. I felt incomplete. Every slight creak or sound in the house made me feel more insecure than ever. As Will himself once said, I had become a part of him now. I even felt that I couldn’t be a ‘whole’ person again until he was back with me. Not exactly how a twenty-first-century woman should feel, I know. I’d spent most of my adult life avoiding being dependent on a man too.
Good job Ellie
.

I climbed into the large bed, and pulled the duvet up over my naked body. Not that vampires feel the cold, or the heat for that matter, it was just force of habit. Lying in bed waiting for the dawn, I found myself thinking of the girl’s murder in Waterlow Park, Grigori’s torture and Vincente’s murder. There was no doubt in my mind now – Khiara had been behind everything from the very beginning. Cold, scheming bitch. What kind of creature would torture her own people? She must have known both of them for decades, perhaps even centuries, and yet she’d done unspeakable things to both of them, or at least instructed someone else to. I somehow doubted she would stain her own fair hands with their blood.

I could feel dawn’s approach at last, and for once relief filled me. At least the pain and fear would be blotted out for a while.

Will my love, where are you?

I pictured his handsome face as my eyes closed for the day.

My last thoughts were of him.

I had always known that Khiara would return, and, sure enough, she was there, waiting for us, when we returned from the concert.

The two thugs in my garden were merely cannon fodder, young and inexperienced, and destroying them was hardly taxing. I opened the gates and my front door to Khiara, and then had to persuade Elinor to leave us to talk alone. I wanted to keep Khiara’s attention on myself, and not allow it to wander toward Elinor. I leant against the door frame, looking down at the woman I had once followed across continents. The fact she still looked breathtakingly beautiful was beyond any doubt, but her cold beauty had no effect on me. I understood her better than most. I knew her heart was as cold as her flesh, without a shred of compassion or the ability to love. She wanted merely to possess, manipulate and ultimately to kill.

I asked her what she wanted to happen now.

‘You must come back to Italy with me.’

I raised an eyebrow at her – that was not the answer I had been expecting. ‘Why the hell would I do that?’

‘I shall see your fledgling destroyed if you refuse. It is the only way you can keep your creature safe.’

‘I feel sure our Council will think differently.’ I reined in my temper with some difficulty.
Threaten Elinor and die, it really is quite simple.

‘The Council will believe she has turned rogue. Come with me now or she will suffer far worse tortures than those you inflicted on Katarina.’

‘Katarina drew first blood, as you are no doubt well aware. She is fortunate I allowed her to continue with her miserable existence at all.’

‘Your fledgling will never see another sunset, if you do not come with me now.’

At that moment Grigori came closer to me and I narrowed my eyes at him. ‘If your flunky comes any closer, I will destroy him. You know me, Khiara, so you know I mean what I say.’

Khiara made a gesture with her head and Grigori walked to the open gates and out to the Mercedes that waited in the road, its engine purring, nice and ready to drive us to hell.

Khiara no longer had the power over me she thought she had, but I realised in order to keep Elinor safe the best solution, at that moment, would be to accompany her. I needed to keep the stronger vampires away from Elinor – she was young, and not yet strong enough to be able to defend herself against the likes of Grigori. I knew she would be intelligent enough to alert Luke, and I also knew that Luke would protect her with his life if he had to.

The ring of Porphyry will keep Elinor safe from torture with holy items, but I remembered only too well what Khiara’s men did to Vincente. No vampire could survive decapitation.

I followed Khiara outside, leaving the front door wide open, hoping Elinor would realise something was wrong. The soft May breeze caused blossoms on the trees to swirl around us in a bitter parody of confetti. I almost laughed at the thought. Khiara slid gracefully into the back seat of the Mercedes, and God help me, I followed her. Again.

Torture

I can still remember, so many centuries later, my first night as a vampire. The hideous night I followed Khiara from the cemetery like a good little puppy. We left in a horse-drawn carriage then of course. Myself to experience, for the first time, many decades of bloodshed and horror. Grim encounters I have since tried to erase from my memory. Unfortunately, I felt sure the end to Trials would also be steeped in bloodshed, and very many bodies, if Khiara had anything to do with it.

The car drove smoothly away, taking me to whatever joys she had in store for me. We continued the journey in silence, neither of us being great fans of small talk.

We stopped outside one of my own houses in Hampstead – what a delicious irony. It was the house I had, in fact, allotted to Grigori initially, and presumably the same one that had also housed Katarina and Josephine. Interesting. Somehow, I had not expected Khiara to stay anywhere connected to me. Surely she must have realised that Luke would easily find me there. But perhaps that was the point? Perhaps she intended to take out the top people in London, leaving only the weaker and more malleable vampires.

I got out of the car and stood with my thumbs hooked in the belt of my jeans, as Khiara extricated herself elegantly from the back seat. She swept past me and, without a word, I followed her into the house. The moment I stepped over the threshold something smashed into the back of my head, and the world went away.

When I regained consciousness, I found I had been taken to the damp basement and chained to a wall. Without opening my eyes, I tried to reach Elinor with my mind, but the blow to my head prevented any clear thoughts for the moment. I remained still, instinctively feeling both Katarina and Khiara in the room. I kept my eyes firmly closed.

‘Is he dead?’ Katarina’s voice.

I heard Khiara make a disapproving noise. ‘Ridiculous child. A blow to the head will not kill an ordinary vampire, far less an Elder such as he.’

‘Then I want to make him pay for what he did to my face.’

‘I have no interest in your wishes.’ Khiara’s cold voice chilled the very atmosphere. ‘You will not touch any part of him, and you will certainly never touch his face.’

They were conversing in Italian, which I followed with some difficulty through the mists of pain permeating my skull. Mercifully, we vampires heal rapidly, unless we are attacked with anything holy or silver, and I doubted they had used either. The throbbing had already begun to lessen, although I remained motionless on the floor.

I heard light footsteps approaching, and knew it was Khiara. I felt her grab a handful of my hair, and she suddenly wrenched my head back viciously. ‘I know you are conscious William, do not play games with me.’

I opened my eyes and stared insolently at that perfect face so close to mine. ‘I thought you liked games.’

‘You would do well to respect me as your maker.’

‘What is it you actually want Khiara?’

‘Your humility will do for a start. Then your compliance and your allegiance.’

I gave a short, bitter laugh. ‘Like that is going to happen.’

‘It is the only way you get to survive.’

She stood with a swift, graceful move and, turning towards the door, snapped her fingers.

Two large men came in whom I did not recognise, although I did recognise the implements of torture they held, and I somehow knew we were not all going to be friends. They walked to stand behind Khiara, putting their hands behind their backs like good guard vamps. She looked down at me, her blue eyes cold, yet they gleamed with a manic light. I realised then that she had become deranged over the centuries, or should I say,
more
deranged.

‘Stand.’ She waved an imperious hand at me. Seeing no point in aggravating her at that point, I complied. ‘My men will torture you until you beg for mercy, and then they will continue simply because I allow it. It pleases me to make you suffer.’

I did not bother to reply.
Twisted bitch. Torture and I were no strangers to each other. Let them do their worst.

I knew Luke would find me eventually, and if that was what it took to keep Elinor safe, then so be it.

Khiara made an imperious gesture, and the taller of the two men turned me to face the wall and shortened the chains to hold me still. I felt him rip my t-shirt almost in half.
Bugger. One hundred and eighty pounds down the drain.
‘That was a Paul Smith, and is most certainly going to cost you.’

There was a sharp cracking sound and a searing pain exploded across my back, making me stagger. I knew the tips of the cat o’ nine tails were made from solid silver, in order to cause the maximum amount of excruciating pain to a vampire. I barely had time to regain my balance when a second crack heralded another bout of pain, then another and another. The pain accelerated with each stroke, the nine thongs with their deadly silver tips burrowing their insidious way through my flesh. I could feel the blood trickling down my back as the bastards opened the wounds more with each lashing. I wound the chains around my wrists and hung on, determined not to fall to the floor, as they continued to shred the flesh from my back. I had seen these particular toys used on vampires before. Somehow I never thought they would be used on me.

In my city.

In one of my own houses.

I forced my mind to go blank, and took the beating without a murmur. There was no way I would give the Wicked Witch of the West the satisfaction of knowing she had caused me insurmountable pain.

‘Enough,’ came Khiara’s voice after a while.

I never thought I would be glad to hear her voice again.

I allowed myself to slide to the floor then, my arms still held above my head because of the shortened chains. I turned to look up at Khiara. ‘Well, if this is what you call love, remind me never to piss you off.’

Khiara stared impassively back at me. ‘Always the funny man, William.’

She left the room followed by her cohorts. I could see it was definitely going to be a fun-filled night.

After the door closed behind them, I rotated my shoulders carefully, feeling the cool blood trickling down between my shoulder blades as the many lacerations throbbed. I knew the actual wounds would heal, but I also knew they would heal slowly because of the silver tips on the whips’ tails. I was in for a painful time.

Knowing Khiara, I felt sure she would also resort to using holy items fairly soon.

We all know they leave scars.

I opened my mind to Elinor again. I needed to open the channel between us, which I knew would be there. It was early in our relationship for such a connection, but I hoped the ring she wore would assist us both. I called to her, mind to mind, hoping the prophecy had been right about the ring … and about her.
Elinor
 …

Decisions

‘
Elinor.
’

It was Will’s voice.

I couldn’t see him, but I could hear him. I knew this was a dream, of course I did, but his voice sounded so real – so very close.

‘
Elinor
.’

The voice sounded louder, in my head.

‘Will? Where are you?’

‘
Listen to me
,’ his voice came again. ‘
Tell Luke I am in the third house. You must not come with him Elinor. I want you safe.
’

‘What good is
safe
if it’s not with you?’ I shouted. ‘I don’t care about me.’

I was crying again., Huge, heartfelt sobs. ‘Will—’

‘
Luke will keep you safe. Trust no one else, Elinor. No one
.’

The voice was fainter and I could hear someone else calling me now.

The other voice was nearer. I opened my eyes with a start and felt my body shudder awake.

I sat up in bed. So it had been real. I was alone.

There was a soft tap at the door and Luke’s voice called, ‘Ellie, are you awake?’

‘Yes. I’ll open the door,’ I said, getting out of bed.

I struggled into my robe, a beautiful, green robe that Will had bought for me. I pulled it around my body fiercely, and went to unlock the door.

Luke stood there, a plastic bag of blood in his hand. He handed it to me. ‘Breakfast.’

‘What about you?’

‘I’ve fed. Have you heard from Will yet?’

‘How did you know?’

Luke shrugged. ‘I would have been surprised if he had not been able to communicate with you telepathically.’

‘Luke, he told me to trust no one but you.’

He frowned. ‘That’s odd, I wonder why. Did he say where they are holding him?’

‘The third house. He said you’d know.’

‘Hampstead, that’s also odd. I’d have thought Khiara would have taken him out of London.’

‘We can’t take the others with us.’

‘We may have no choice, those who know of this will insist on coming with us.’

I shook my head violently. ‘He was adamant, Luke. He—he doesn’t even want me to go with you.’

I pushed my hair out of my eyes with hands that trembled, and looked up at the tall blond vampire standing before me.

‘But you’re going to come anyway,’ he said with a slight smile.

‘Of course,’ I agreed. ‘Nothing would ever stop me coming, not even Will.’

‘Good for you. The phone’s ringing.’

His hearing had to be even more acute than mine. I hadn’t heard the phone at all. Clutching the bag of blood, I hurried up the stairs and into the drawing room. I plucked the phone from its hub. ‘Yes?’

‘Fledgling,’ came a cold, bitchy voice I hadn’t wanted to hear again this side of Hell.

Katarina.

Wonderful.
My night was already perfect.

‘Yes.’

‘You really should have destroyed me when you had the chance. Silly little girl.’

‘Not a mistake I’m likely to make again.’

‘We’re torturing your master, although he has yet to call your name as he suffers.’

‘Why should he?’ I tried to stay calm and not allow the despair I felt sound in my voice.

Luke moved nearer, in order to listen to Katarina’s side of the conversation.

‘It is customary on these occasions for the tortured one to call for their most beloved when the pain is at its greatest. Maybe you are
not
his most beloved.’ Katarina’s smug tones continued to grate down the line, and I resisted the urge to scream at her.

I dug my nails into the palms of my hands to enable me to gain some control over my emotions, but looked up when Luke touched my arm gently. His blue eyes were warning me about something. But what? I waited a heartbeat before I replied in a relatively calm voice.

‘Should I be concerned?’

Luke nodded, and then I understood. I shouldn’t rise to any bait the poisonous gnome might throw down the phone at me.

‘Are you not
concerned
that your master is so hurt and badly disfigured, you will never want to look upon him again?’ Katarina had warmed up to her subject now. ‘No one will be able to look at him again without feeling disgust.’

‘What possible gratification could you gain from that?’ My thoughts thrashed around my head in turmoil. Just how badly hurt was he?

There was a short silence, possibly while Katarina looked up ‘gratification’ in an English dictionary.

‘I shall be
gratified
when your happiness is in shreds.’ she spat at last.

I didn’t reply, just looked at Luke who shrugged and stayed silent.

I heard an exchange of voices in the background, and then Khiara’s cold, clear voice came on the line. ‘You have until dawn to find and claim your master, fledgling. Should you fail, you will lose him forever.’

‘You yourself said these Trials were not about me, so why are you involving me?’

‘Breaking you is the surest way to break him. I am adept at breaking fledglings, and he will soon be on his knees, begging my forgiveness.’

The line went dead.

I looked at Luke. ‘Breaking me? What the hell does that mean?’

Luke took the phone from me and put it back. ‘Khiara believes your failure is a certainty and you cannot survive without Will.’

‘But she must know you’ll help me?’

I was having a few problems following the Machiavellian thoughts of a master vampire’s complex mind.

‘She thinks Honyauti will work against you and try to turn others against you,’ said Luke. ‘She is very well aware of the jealousies and anger your arrival has caused.’

‘That’s more than I am,’ I admitted. ‘Poor Will, he tried so hard to keep me from finding any of this out and now it’s working against him.’ My voice broke and I pressed my hand to my mouth to stop from breaking down again.

‘Hey, Ellie,’ said Luke, gripping my arms. ‘You’re stronger than this.’

I stared up into his blue eyes, and felt a steely determination flow through me.

‘I can’t bear being without him, but there is nothing and no one on this earth that will ever stop me from finding him. If Khiara thinks otherwise then she really has no idea who she’s dealing with.’

Luke smiled then, and his eyes filled with admiration. ‘Will’s right, you are brave for one so young. His judgement, as always, is impeccable.’

Flustered by the praise, I went and sat on the sofa. Luke sat opposite me in the armchair, as he had the previous night. I knew that I needed to tell him more about Will’s voice in my dreams.

When I’d gone through everything, he looked astounded. ‘It’s so early for all this to be possible, telepathy is one thing, but you are actually conversing. Tell me, Ellie, do you wear the Ring of Porphyry even as you rest?’

I looked at the ring sparkling on my finger and touched the glittering emerald reverently. ‘I have never taken it off from the moment Will gave it to me.’

‘Then it is true.’

‘Aimee-Li said the ring has magical properties, but she didn’t say what they were.’

‘If the wearer of the ring is truly loved by the donor of the ring, and it is a reciprocal love, then the magical properties know no bounds. Or at least so it has always been believed amongst us,’ said Luke as he continued to stare at the ring. ‘If the love is true for you both, then the ring makes it possible for communication such as you have already experienced. It also enables you to find Will, or he, in turn, to find you, should you ever be separated.’

‘That explains the communication through dreams.’

‘It is a combination of Will’s own powers and the powers of the ring. Also there is the fact that he’s your sire, which, of course, means you already have a bond.’

‘Which Khiara wants to destroy?’

‘More than anything.’

‘But she’s Will’s sire, don’t they have a bond too?’ This was all very confusing.

‘Will was able to break free, he has been apart from her now for two centuries,’ said Luke. ‘I suspect she wants to try and re-establish her power over him by terminating you.’

Great. Now I feel a hundred percent better about this whole mess. Not.

‘How can any of this work if Will doesn’t love her?’

Luke gave a bitter laugh. ‘Khiara cares nothing for love. She likes to own – to
possess
.’

I remembered Khiara greeting Luke. ‘Did she ever possess you?’

‘She possessed most of us who are now with Will,’ said Luke. ‘We who are now free stay with Will through choice.’

I took that information on board, and it certainly explained many things.

‘So, what
aren’t
you telling me?’

Luke didn’t answer that. ‘We need to go to the third house.’

‘Surely Khiara will be expecting us? Can’t she read his mind?’

‘Not anymore,’ replied Luke. ‘He has no love for her and they have been apart for a very long time. He is able to block her from entering his mind.’

‘Bet she loves that.’

Bizarre thoughts flitted manically around inside my head again, as I absent-mindedly opened the container of blood and sucked at it. A first for me, not drinking from a cup.

‘Luke, do you think she’ll kill him?’

Luke shook his head. ‘She wants him too much.’

‘But they are torturing him aren’t they?’

‘Possibly. Ellie we will be in time, please don’t worry.’ Luke gave me a sympathetic smile. ‘Jake is bringing the others and when they arrive we’ll leave.’

‘Can’t we go now?’ I insisted. ‘They can catch us up. We might be too late—please Luke, please let’s go now.’

I stood up suddenly and realised I was wearing nothing but a satin robe. ‘But I probably should get dressed first.’

‘Not on Will’s account I’m sure.’

‘I’m not wandering around London like this, even for him,’ I said. ‘Give me a few minutes.’

Luke inclined his head and I hurried downstairs to the bedroom.

I pulled on jeans and a sweatshirt, then hurriedly tugged on my trainers. Not exactly the epitome of elegance, but very practical.

When I went back upstairs, I found the drawing room full of vampires. Honyauti, Jake and Aimee-Li had joined Luke. They had been fast.

Luke stood up as I entered the room. ‘Ready?’

I nodded. ‘As ready as I can be. Do we need weapons?’

Honyauti snorted. ‘You may well need weapons.’

For once I was in complete agreement with him. I merely nodded. It tends to take the wind out of people’s sails when you agree with them, and I did so enjoy deflating Honyauti. Everyone needs a hobby.

They all filed out into the hall, and once they were out of sight I opened the chest and took out the phial of holy water. It looked slightly depleted since the Katarina incident, but it might just have made the difference between undead life and absolute death.

I came across the box with the silver cross in it, and pocketed that along with the holy water. I hoped the stopper on the holy water stayed stopped, otherwise my legs were going to sizzle.

‘Ellie?’ Luke called from the front door.

I went out into the hall. ‘I haven’t got any keys.’ I wondered how we would make the house secure and, more importantly, how I would get back in later. If I needed to.

‘I have keys.’

Of course.
I remembered Will telling me that Luke had copies of all of his keys.

Two gleaming cars waited in the road on the other side of the gates. Luke’s I recognised, and I presumed the other belonged to Jake. Honyauti and Aimee-Li got into Jake’s car, whilst Luke motioned me to get into his. So there I was, ready for battle, backed up by four very powerful vampires, two of them extremely ancient and scary. I just hoped it would be enough. I wondered why Will had insisted I shouldn’t trust any of the others. It worried me. Luke and I fell silent in the car, each lost in our own thoughts. Jake drove off in the direction of Hampstead and we followed.

‘What’s the plan?’ I asked eventually. ‘
Is
there a plan?’

‘I told Jake to park in the road parallel to the street where the house is, and once we’ve parked, I suggest you see whether you can contact Will.’ Luke deftly negotiated his car down the narrow road. Some parked cars on both sides of the street had already lost their wing mirrors, but he managed to avoid hitting any of them.

I had never wanted to drive in London, although I’d passed my driving test at eighteen. I certainly could never have afforded to run a car anyway. It felt really ironic I’d been almost killed by one.

All too soon, Jake turned into a leafy, residential road in Hampstead and parked his car. Luke pulled in smoothly behind him, and we sat in silence for a while.

I remembered Will’s warning again.
Trust no one but Luke
.

Surely he must have meant at least one of the others was not on our side.

I touched Luke’s arm. ‘I need to talk to you alone.’

He turned to face me. ‘What is it?’

‘Remember Will said to trust no one but you,’ I said. ‘There has to be someone with us he doesn’t trust.’

Luke looked grave. ‘I fear that is so. Try to contact Will now. Clear your mind and think only of him. I will watch over you.’

I nodded. Getting out of the car, I went to sit on a low garden wall.

I cleared my mind, closed my eyes and thought of Will. I pictured his face and tried to call him with my mind.
Will
. I felt rather ridiculous sitting on a wall with my eyes closed.
Will!
At first nothing happened at all, and a cold dread filled me.

Supposing they’d killed him anyway? Vampires aren’t exactly renowned for fair play after all, that much I had learnt.

Will
 …
can you hear me? Where are you? Please answer me.

After what seemed like an eternity, I felt Will’s presence inside my head like a touch of soft velvet, and relief flooded through me.

‘
I am in the basement
.’

Are you hurt?

‘
Hungry
.’

I had to smile. Even in such a predicament, he still made feeble jokes.

How many are guarding the house?

‘
Who is with you
?’

I told him who was with me, and there was no answer for so long that I felt sure something terrible had happened. At last, his warm voice spoke again.