Renegade (The Captive Series Book 2) (16 page)

“What town is this?” she asked
softly.

Braith shook his head, his hard gaze
darting over the decrepit buildings. “I don’t know.”

He led her down another street, this
one containing stores. There were a few people moving about in this
area, hurrying from one place to another without stopping to talk
to each other. They seemed terrified, beaten, broken by whatever
events life had thrown at them. They were the saddest, most heart
wrenching people she had ever seen.

“Braith…” His hand tightened upon hers,
he pulled her closer against him as his stride quickened a little
more. “These people…”

“Broken.”

Aria shuddered at the word, but it was
the most appropriate way to describe the lost souls wandering down
the streets. They turned another corner, hurrying forward as they
slipped past houses that were even more worn down by time and
poverty. There was a lump of anguish in Aria’s throat. The towns
closer to the palace fared much better than this forgotten
wasteland. Here they seemed to have nothing. There, though they
were poor, there were more opportunities for employment, and more
money was tossed around by the wealthy residents within the palace
towns.

She fought back tears as a young boy
darted out of an alleyway. His clothes were no more than rags,
cloth was wrapped around his feet for shoes, and he was so dirty
that she could not discern the true color of his hair. Braith
tugged her back as she took a step toward the child, feeling as if
she had to do something, but having no idea exactly what it was she
was supposed to do. The boy stopped to stare at her, his eyes wide
with surprise as he took her in.

“Keep moving Arianna,” Braith said
softly.

“There has to be something…”

“They are not human.”

Aria’s mouth dropped as she spun toward
him, her eyes wide in shock and horror. “What?” she
whispered.

“They are vampires.”

Terror spurted through her as she took
a step closer to him, pressing against his hard body. Her heart
hammered, her breath became labored as she glanced wildly around
the decrepit streets. She hadn’t known that there were vampires
that lived like this, hadn’t known that there were vampires that
had as little as she did within the forest. She had thought that
they were all wealthy, that they all enjoyed the luxurious life
that the palace had presented. But these vampires had so very
little, and they were starving.

And she appeared to be the only morsel
of food in this hell hole.

“Are they going to come after
us?”

“Not if they want to live.”

A chill crept down Aria’s spine as he
growled the words. He pulled her against him, wrapping his arm
around her waist as he held her tightly. They turned another
corner; the houses became sparser as the woods began to creep in on
them again. Aria glanced over her shoulder, dismayed, and not at
all surprised to see that they had attracted a small following.
“They’re following us,” she breathed in horror.

“I know.” She swallowed nervously,
trying hard to keep her panic under control as her heart thumped
and pounded with renewed intensity. It was her that they were
coming for, but they would kill Braith to get at her. She was
shaking with fear now. “It’s why William could not come with us. I
could not protect you both.” She managed a small nod as she bit
nervously on her bottom lip. “They won’t get anywhere near you
Arianna.”

“And you?” she whispered.

He shot her a small, arrogant grin that
did not quite reach his eyes. “Impossible.”

Aria wished that she could take solace
in his answer, but there were even more of them back there now. She
was grateful for the reassuring weight of her arrows on her back,
but she wasn’t sure that she had enough in her quiver to make a
dent in the growing population behind them. “Keep your eyes
forward,” Braith said softly.

She turned back around, her fingers
twitching to grasp hold of her bow. She wanted the extra security
of its weight in her hands. “Where are we going?”

They rounded another corner, the woods
pressed closer to them. “You know that tree thing you can do?” Aria
nodded at him. “Why don’t you scurry on up there now.”

“I’m not leaving you down here alone!”
she hissed.

“I’ll be fine, Arianna. You need to get
up there.”

“Braith…”

“Go Arianna, now!” It was the harshest
he had spoken to her in a long time, and it left her stunned. Her
heart leapt, her mouth went dry with terror as she glanced back at
the growing crowd again. Braith was strong, but there were so many
of them back there. “Go,” he urged, his voice a little
softer.

Aria swallowed heavily, but she did not
refuse him as he nudged her gently forward. “I’ll be fine Arianna,
go.”

She scurried forward, grasping hold of
the first lower branch she came across. She threw her arms around
the limb, swung her legs over, and maneuvered swiftly up the large
oak. She glanced back down at Braith; his head was tilted back as
he watched her. She hesitated for a moment, loathe to leave him,
but she needed a better spot, and a better angle, if she was going
to have any hope of taking any of the creatures out with her
arrows.

She climbed higher, searching for the
branch she could use to reach the next tree. Finding the right one,
she ran across the limb. She leapt into the air, feeling a brief
moment of elation and delight as the air rushed up around her. Her
legs kicked briefly, she seized hold of the other limb. Her arms
locked around it as she swung easily back into the leafy
branches.

Braith moved swiftly across the ground
beneath her, keeping his eyes straight as he walked. Aria glanced
back as the crowd of fifteen hit the edge of the forest. She had to
get the shaking of her hands under control if she was going to
continue to make her way through the trees, and not get killed. She
darted swiftly across another limb, leaping easily into another
tree, and then another.

Braith kept pace with her, but the
others were gaining on them, and she needed to get a little further
ahead. She moved easily, running and leaping until she found a
notch in a tree that would be a good place to set up. She pulled an
arrow free, placing it easily into her bow. She loved the trembling
feel of power that vibrated up the bow and into her hands. Braith
studied her for a moment, shaking his head as he watched
her.

She didn’t have time to fire the arrow
as Braith suddenly launched forward, blurring with speed as he
raced at their stalkers. Aria’s mouth dropped, her eyes widened as
he grasped hold of the first one and slammed him into the ground.
She was stunned, momentarily dazed by his display of speed and
overwhelming power. A soft squeal escaped his victim, but it was
short lived as the victim’s throat was crushed beneath the strength
of his hand. Aria watched in horror as three others launched at
Braith.

Pushing aside leaves with the tip of
her arrow, she took aim at one of the creatures clawing at Braith’s
back. The arrow released with a soft twang, it flew straight
through the air, striking its intended target in the
back.

The vampire fell off of Braith,
squealing as it clawed at its back and squirmed and withered upon
the ground in agony. Five pairs of red eyes swung her way as she
drew their attention to her location within the tree. She had no
fear that they would be able to get her out of the tree; they would
have to catch her first in order to do so. Her main concern
remained centered upon Braith. Aria quickly drew another arrow,
notching it in the bow as she took aim at the next creature that
had zeroed in on Braith.

She fired again, this time her arrow
flew straight into the creature’s heart. It wheeled back, howling
as it fell upon the ground, withering in its death throes. Four of
the vampire’s ran off, fleeing back toward town. Three others
became aroused by the scent of blood. Aria recoiled, horror and
nausea twisting through her as they fell upon the one she had
killed with delight and maliciousness.

Braith used their distraction to
destroy two more of them, tearing their heads from their bodies,
before turning his attention to the three now feasting upon their
friend. She didn’t know what to do as he stalked toward them, fury
evident in the stiff set of his shoulders. Aria turned away, unable
to watch as he attacked the creatures. Their cries of fear and pain
echoed through the air. She wanted to cry, she wanted to block her
ears and flee through the trees, she wanted to escape this horror
she found herself trapped in.

She did none of those things as she
remained frozen within the tree, shaking with the shock that clung
to her. A sharp tug on her foot caught her off guard, nearly
ripping her from the tree. She scrambled for purchase; her fingers
sought some grip upon the hard tree. Her arm hooked over the
branch, saving her from plummeting out of the tree. She was gasping
for breath and terrified, but she managed to gather her wits enough
to look down at what had nearly caused her freefall.

A vampire stared back at her, its fangs
extended, its eyes red with hunger and murderous intent. Aria’s
eyes widened in surprise, she had been so upset by the death before
her that she had missed this approaching danger. It was foolish,
stupid, and she was paying for it now as his hand wrapped tightly
around her boot.

Aria turned away from him, swinging her
other arm up as she attempted to get into a better position in the
tree. It jerked down hard on her again, knocking her newly acquired
grasp off of the limb. A small gasp of pain escaped her as her
hooked arm took the brunt of the violent jerk. She kicked out,
trying to knock the creatures grip upon her free, but it refused to
relinquish her as its hand slithered up to her ankle. It was
surprisingly strong, even in its emaciated state. Or maybe it was
the hunger that drove it to such levels of strength.

Her arm was aching, her armpit was
rubbed raw. Her shoulder felt as if it were going to tear as pain
began to spread rapidly through it. She was barely clinging on,
barely remaining within the branches of the tree. She kicked out
again, trying to knock the creature free as it ripped hard on her
again. A tortured cry escaped from her, a wrenching agony tore
through her shoulder as a loud pop filled the air. She no longer
felt her arm as it released its hold upon the limb she had been
barely clinging to.

The creature was still holding onto her
ankle as she free fell into the air for a few feet. Its grasp kept
her in the tree, but it did not keep her from slamming off of
another branch. Her back screamed in anguish, the wind was knocked
from her. She barely managed to get her good arm up in order to
protect her head from the impact of the tree trunk. She was able to
twist around, shoving herself off the limb as the vampire scrambled
to get a better hold on her by moving up her calf. She kicked out,
catching the thing beneath its chin, snapping its head back as it
hissed and lunged at her. She kicked out again, knocking it back
further. Anger filled her, frustration at her situation surged to
the forefront as she swung out with the full force of her rage.
Bone splintered, blood splattered over her as its nose shattered
with a loud crack.

The creature howled in pain. It
instinctively released her as it grasped hold of its twisted nose.
A soft cry escaped her as she freefell into nothing. She tried hard
to reclaim some hold upon the tree, but it was too late. She tried
to keep herself straight, hoping to avoid as many of the branches
as possible as she fell, but they slapped and tore painfully at
her.

She heard Braith shout her name, but
she couldn’t respond to him as she was batted and bounced rapidly
back and forth. The branches mercifully gave way, propelling her
toward the ground. Arms wrapped tightly around her, sheltering her
from hitting the ground as Braith took the impact of her body upon
himself. A cry of pain escaped her as he cradled her wounded body
gently against his chest.

His hands were upon her face, pushing
her tangled hair back from her. His hand was upon her cheek.
“Arianna,” he whispered frantically. “Arianna?”

She took a deep breath, wincing as her
bruised body protested the movement. She took a moment to assess
the damage that had been done to her. She was satisfied that though
she was in pain, she would heal eventually. “I’m ok,” she told him,
clenching her teeth as even that small movement caused pain to
flare through her chest.

“Look at me.”

She inhaled a small breath as she
forced her eyes open. She blinked in surprise, uncertain about the
emotions that surged through her. His much loved eyes were intense,
terrified, and a vibrant angry shade of red. His much loved face
was smeared with the blood of his victims. She had never seen his
eyes this color, but then, most of the time they were covered by
the dark glasses. She didn’t know what to make of this stark
reminder of what he was, what he was capable of, even if it was all
because of her. His gaze searched her face, running rapidly over
her, trying to reassure himself that she was, in fact,
alright.

Then, his gaze rose to the tree, and
the amount of fury that radiated out of him shook her to the marrow
of her bones. She did not look back up at the creature in the tree.
He may still be alive right now, but he was as good as dead.
Braith’s gaze came slowly back to hers, warming slightly. He placed
her gently down, his eyes firing with anger as she winced
involuntarily.