Initiation (28 page)

Dropping the necklace to the floor in a concealed hand, Addison’s nervous eyes opened wide, her crossed eyes staring at his closed lids. His need to have her had clouded his judgment, giving her the upper hand.

Addison grabbed his shoulders and guided him into a position under her. He quickly pulled her shirt over her head and tossed it aside. She leaned close to his ear, breathing into it heavily as she felt around under the pillows for a pair of handcuffs she had hidden there. She had threaded them through the metal rod on the brass bed earlier that morning.

She removed his shirt and flung it away. Zak went for her bra, but Addison quickly avoided the action. Instead, she grabbed his wrists, slowly pulling them over his head as she kissed him for a distraction. In a swift motion, she snapped on the shackles and jumped off him when she felt him move.

"Damn it, Addison!" Zak yanked on his restraints, his great strength making the bed rise from the floor slightly before slamming back down again. "Untie me right now!"

"No." Addison quickly slipped on her pants, which were still lying on the floor from the night before. A huge grin split her face. "You deserved it."

"This isn’t funny. Take these off!"

"No." She was hiding her fangs with her tongue, making sure he didn’t see them. "You’re a naughty boy. Keeping handcuffs in your dresser drawer. What do you do with those anyway?"

Zak closed his eyes as he cursed under his breath, "
Aww
fuck!"

"You shouldn’t have pulled a knife on me." Addison giggled as she put on her shirt. "A girl has to protect herself, you know." She held his phone in the air, playfully shaking it back and forth. "And I’m taking this because you stole mine." She reached down and grabbed his necklace, smiling as she gazed at the pendant hanging on the end of it. She then stuck it securely in her front jean pocket.

"Get back here right now!" Zak’s face was twisted in anger as she turned on the stereo so it would cover up his shouts. "You bloodsucking bitch!"

"Hey." Putting her hands on her hips, she gave him a dirty look. "Calling me names isn’t going to get you anywhere. I was going to stay with you, but you had to go and pull that knife on me. You’re just like the vampires. I can’t trust you."

"Ah!" Screaming as loud as he could, Zak’s face was bright red as he pulled at the handcuffs, which didn’t budge. "Let me go right now! You can trust me. I promise—just let me loose."

"You’re lying. If I let you go right now, you’d kill me."

Huffing in anger, Zak glared at her, "I’m not lying. I’ll help you. Just untie me. Come on, Addison! Let me go now!"

"No." Addison shook her head, "You don’t want to help me. I shouldn’t have trusted you. Bye Zak." Addison left the room, leaving Zak tied to the bed.

She looked at herself in the mirror before going outside, sticking in her false teeth. She was quite proud of the innocent girl image that she had portrayed to him.

She left Zak’s apartment, walking quickly down the hallway. Some of the guys chuckled as she walked by, assuming by her disheveled appearance that she had spent the night with Zak. It was easier than she thought to escape the hunter’s compound, and she giggled in delight as she walked out onto the street.

She quickly dialed Christian’s number, waiting for him to pick up. Holding her hand up, she hailed a taxi that was passing by. She told the driver to take her to the mall, wanting to go to a busy place she knew Zak and the others would have a hard time chasing her.

She called Christian several more times, but he didn’t answer. Rolling her eyes, she exited the taxi when they reached the shopping center. She walked inside and went straight to a bathroom near the pizza shop, trying to call Darien instead. His was the only other phone number she had memorized.

Biting one of her fingernails, Addison tapped her foot nervously as she waited for him to pick up. It rang several times before going to voicemail. Before she had time to try again, a call came in to Zak’s phone. Addison ignored it and waited until it stopped ringing before trying to call Darien again.

Getting scared when she heard a knock at the bathroom door, Addison looked toward it. It was a single stall, and someone was pounding to get in. She jumped when she heard the thumping get louder, the use of excessive force making it sound like a man. After several rings, Darien’s voicemail clicked on, a generic message playing.

Speaking quickly after she heard the beep, Addison’s stress was very apparent in her voice. "This is Addison. Call me back as soon as you can. I’m in a lot of trouble and need—" She let out a small yelp when she heard something hard hit against the bottom of the door, the metal banging as someone dented it. "Help me."

Addison quickly hung up and looked around the room. There were no windows, but there was a small door that led to a stockroom. Her cell vibrated, and Addison glanced down at it, quickly answering when she saw Darien’s number.

"Darien!" Addison recoiled when she heard something slam against the door again. "Ah!"

"Addison!" Christian’s voice was on the other line, Addison crying when she heard it. "Where are you?"

"I’m in the mall…" She panted in fear when she heard someone jiggle the handle furiously. "Bathroom. The one by Jones Pizza. Christian, I’m scared. I want to go home."

"It’ll be okay, Addison, I’ll come for you right now." Christian’s voice was calm and cool, the familiar tone making her a little less afraid.

"But Christian—" Addison began to cry, "You can’t. I stole Zak’s medallion, and if you come near me, you’ll get hurt. I—" Addison jumped when she heard the lock click, her eyes widening when she watched the thick bolt snap to the other side. "Oh shit."

Running toward the storage room, Addison opened the door and went inside. Cupping her hand around her mouth and the receiver, Addison whispered as she peered nervously at the bathroom door through a small crack. "They just unlocked the bathroom door and I’m hiding in the storage closet. What do I do now?"

"Just stay quiet." Anger was seeping into Christian’s calm voice. "Where’s the medallion?" Giving an annoyed sigh, he let out a giant huff of air, "Don’t let it anywhere near your skin, it—"

The door to the storage room flung open, Addison belting out a loud yell as she gazed at the figure standing in front of her in horror. He was holding an axe, an evil grin on his face as he stared her down. She wasn’t sure who or what he was, so she assumed he was just a hunter.

"Ah!" Addison screamed into the phone, wrapping her fingers around it tightly. She shoved open the door behind her that led to the men’s bathroom and ran inside.

There was a man in there sitting on the toilet, who cried out when he saw her run past him and out the other door. His voice was quickly silenced by the sight of the group that followed her out from the storage room.

* * * *

"Christian I’m scared." Addison’s hand shook as she nervously scanned the mall. She had lost the hunters in the crowd, but her scared eyes glanced around quickly to see if they were going to jump out at her.

"It’ll be okay. Just listen to me and do exactly what I say."

"Okay." Sniffling, Addison walked quickly onto the bus, taking a seat toward the middle. Her whole body was quivering, her fear making it feel like jelly.

"Go to the church and put holy water on the medallion. That will destroy it."

"I’m scared, Christian." Addison held the phone tightly to her ear, her teeth chattering. "I need you."

"Don’t be afraid. I’ll meet you at St. Martins after you destroy the medallion. Can you be brave for me until then, my love?"

"Yes." Addison nodded her head, pulling a piece of hair away from her face that had stuck to her lips.

"Forget about the hunters for now and focus on getting to St. Martin’s Cathedral. I’ll see you soon."

Addison hung up the phone and exited at the next bus stop. St. Martin’s was only a few blocks away, and she could walk there. She scaled the stairs leading to the giant church, her feet moving quickly.

Racing inside, the large doors slammed behind her and Addison was startled by the loud noise. It was silent and dark in the cathedral, the only light coming in through the stained glass windows and from some large chandeliers above her head.

"Father?" There was a figure standing up on the altar near a basin of holy water. She ran up to him, smiling because she finally had found someone to help her.

"Come here, my child." Father James held his arms out to her. "We must hurry before the hunters come. Give me the medallion."

Addison jogged up the aisle and stood next to him. She quickly removed Zak's necklace from her pocket, making sure not to touch the medallion that hung on its end.

He took it from her and quickly tossed it into the holy water. The water bubbled and hissed as it slowly began to eat away at the metal. He let out a sigh of relief, putting a hand to his chest as he looked down at the now silent, clear water. "It is finally done." He turned to her and placed a calm hand on her shoulder, "Thank you, my child."

"You're welcome." She nodded and attempted to smile, but her fear wouldn't let her share his happiness. She was concerned about the hunters finding her before Christian.

As she walked away from him, Addison quickly dialed Darien’s number. She paced back and forth as she waited for him to answer. She was so caught up in her phone call that she didn’t notice Father James had disappeared.

Then, Addison’s gaze turned toward a hunter running down the aisle toward her. Her shaky hands grabbed a large candlestick near her. Swinging it swiftly, she hit him in the chest, making him fall to the ground.

She tried to hit him again when he stood up, but he was stronger than her. He ripped the candlestick from her hand and tossed it to the ground, the makeshift weapon hitting the tile floor with a loud bang that echoed throughout the large room.

He grabbed her shoulders and was about to stab her, but someone grabbed him from behind. Addison jumped away from him quickly, her body slamming up against the altar as she watched Christian kill the hunter.

He grabbed another one that appeared behind Addison, thrusting the knife in his hand into the hunter’s chest and forcefully turning it around inside him. The hunter fell to the ground at Christian’s feet. Blood dripped from Christian’s fingers as he stretched his hand out and tried to make a grab for her. He wasn’t quick enough, though, and another hunter grabbed her from behind, dragging her away

From the arms of the hunter, Addison screamed out to Christian, but he couldn’t get to her. A few more hunters had shown up and blocked his way, leaving him no other choice but to fight them before he could go after her.

Addison was pulled into a back room and slammed against the wall as the hunter stared her down. "I’m going to kill you, you little bitch."

"Let me go!"

This angered him, and he quickly thrust forward the knife in his hand, stabbing her in the stomach. Shutting her eyes tightly, she screamed out in pain, her hands frantically trying to grab the handle.

"Don’t hurt her!" Swinging his axe around in a quick circle, Zak glared at his hunter, a look of intense anger on his face. "Let her go!"

"Sorry about that, Monroe." The hunter withdrew his knife, Addison falling to her knees as he stepped away from her. "I didn’t know this one was yours."

"It’s fine—I’ll just have to fix her up a little when I get home." Zak quickly placed his hands under her armpits and lifted her to her feet. "Come on." He dragged her toward the door that led outside to a courtyard. "You know, if you would’ve stayed with me, I wouldn’t have had to go hunt you down." He gave her a nasty glare as he pulled her along, Addison looking like she was going to pass out. "I said I was going to help you. Why didn’t you just listen to me?"

"You’re not going to kill me?" A large pout appeared on her lips, her eyes glistening with forming tears. She was ready to lay it on thick because she knew she was in big trouble with Zak, and she was afraid he would kill her if she didn’t try to remedy things. "I thought you would—"

"Of course, I’m
fucking
mad at you. You destroyed my medallion, and now Master
Vallore’s
killing my hunters." Zak stopped walking and shook her shoulders, his eyes falling on her as she shook under the weight of his hands. "You’re lucky you’re not a vampire anymore, and I have a soft spot for you, sweetheart."

"I—" Addison’s eyes rolled back in her head and her body slumped forward. Zak caught her as she fell, shaking his head as he let out an annoyed sigh. He quickly slung her over his shoulder and carried her away.

* * * *

Christian, who hadn’t seen them leave, ran into the room where he had seen the hunter take Addison. He stared down at the floor, a small pool of blood on the ground.

"Addison!" Christian scanned the room, "Addison!" He tried all the doors, but the only one that was unlocked was the one that led outside. "Addison!" He ran outside and searched there too but couldn’t find her anywhere. "Addison!"

There was a small puddle outside where her blood had dripped from the wound on her stomach. He feared that a hunter had carried her off because the blood trail had stopped there. "Damn it!" Christian’s hand tightened into a balled fist, cursing under his breath as he looked around him in a quick circle, "Addison! Where are you?"