The Chalice (Luna Vampire Series) (21 page)

             
A couple more turns and we finally came to the tunnel with the security cameras.  Grasping Amelia's arm to stabilize her, Lucien increased our pace, rushing us toward a red metal door and the promise of freedom. 
A mere fifty yards to the keypad.
 
Thirty.  Twenty.  Ten.

             
Amelia's fingers sped over the keys.  "I'm going to get it right the first time," she promised, giggling nervously a second or two ahead of yielding us a beautiful green light.

             
"Good, now climb on," Lucien instructed, hunkering down for her.  "We'll want to run with all our strength when I open the door, since I can't predict the number of guards awaiting us."  Doing as he said, she positioned herself in a way reminiscent of little sister getting a piggyback ride from big brother.  My pervasive feelings of anxiety notwithstanding, watching the two of them warmed my heart.

             
Once outdoors, we were fortunate to find no guards in our immediate vicinity, enabling us to run unhindered across what appeared to be a cement drive.  Cool wind stung my face while I struggled to keep up with Lucien, the scenery blurring as though we sprinted faster than people usually drove in cars. 
Man, that boy could move!

             
And, in spite of the night's pitch blackness, the star speckled sky helped me survey the area.  We were surrounded by average, run-of-the-mill farmland.  There wasn't a single building above ground and, considering the door had been half-buried, I could barely make out where we'd come from.  Sadly, there also weren't any vehicles in sight and a ten foot tall chain-link fence encircled us, blocking our path. 

             
And, let me tell you, this wasn't a plain old fence. 
It had loops of scary looking barbed wire adorning its top, reminding me of the type of stuff they utilized when securing prisons.  Moreover, it sported a matching barbed wire gate that was conveniently guarded by four of Tsedaka's lackeys.  And, of course, they were a mirror image of the old man's other puppets. 
Well, apart from their leather coats and vicious swords, that is.  Jeesh.

             
Upon seeing the group, our momentum slowed to a screeching halt, with Lucien freeing himself of Amelia prior to their approach.   "Stay behind me," he warned, morphing into a fighting stance protectively in front of us.

             
"You may go no further!" one of the guards boomed.  "If you surrender now, you will not be harmed."

             
"I'm the princess," I yelled in an authoritarian voice.  "I command you to open this gate."  Granted, I had serious reservations about whether or not my commands would actually work. 
But, I still needed to give it the ol' college try.

             
"The king's orders are to keep you on the property," another guard grunted, instants before the drones fanned out around us.  So far, I'd remained partially optimistic.  However, when they synchronously drew the swords from their hip-holsters, reality set in and I knew we were screwed.

             
"Oh my," Amelia quavered, gaping at the display in apparent horror.

             
Refusing to give up, Lucien discharged a fiercely guttural growl. 
Not a smart move.
The guards returned his outburst with loud snarls and inched toward him, similar to a wolf pack readying for their kill.  Quick on the trigger, my protector dodged the first vamp, planting a roundhouse kick straight into the guy's stomach.  Then he surprisingly got a few punches in on a second one which was pretty impressive, if you ask me. 
I mean, I'd only seen people fight like that on martial arts shows. 
Regardless, his skills weren't hardly enough.

             
A guard at Lucien's back swung a sword directly at his neck, while another one attempted to stab him through the chest.
  He can't evade both attacks!
They're gonna fucking kill him!
  "Stop," I shrieked, simultaneously tackling both Lucien and Amelia to the ground.  "I give up!  I'd rather us live than escape!" 

             
Promptly standing and raising my hands in surrender, I noticed something bizarre.  The world surrounding us was frozen. 
Well, more precisely, everything except Lucien, Amelia, and me.
  The guards' sneers and grimaces were absolutely unmoving, freakishly resembling characters in a movie on pause. 
What in the hell?  Speechless.  Confused.
 

             
In a state of shock, I watched as Lucien righted himself and helped Amelia up in the process.  After which, he examined our new frozen reality and gave me a deep bow.  "I apologize, I know you hate formal recognition.  It's just that if there ever was a moment deserving of it, it'd be this one," he chuckled, squeezing me into a tight bear hug.  "Thank you for saving me."

             
"You mean, I did this?  I froze time or whatever?" I was completely taken aback.  I truly believed I wouldn't develop powers for several months.  Beyond that, nobody ever uttered a word about freezing people in place.

             
"You're a time walker," he replied, pointing to my left forearm where my birthmark rested beneath my coat.  "You can manipulate the causal flow.  Although, no moon-born has possessed the ability to suspend it
entirely
for generations."

             
I couldn't even begin to process the effect this might have on my life.  At first glance, the
new power stuff
sounded kinda fun.  Nevertheless, I knew that I was a baby swimming in the deep end when it came to understanding how to utilize it. 
Would I be able to switch it on at will?  Or only in stressful situations?  Could I hurt people accidently if I misused it?  God, I felt a migraine coming already.

             
"We should go," Amelia cautioned, turning to Lucien.  "We don't know how long she can hold it for."

             
"You're correct," he agreed as he slid open the gate.  "Climb on, let's move."

Chapter
15

             
Following rigorously on Lucien's heels, I sprinted down the gravel road that led away from
dear old daddy's
high court.  It'd only been a couple minutes since we'd made it past the gate.  Nevertheless, we both were completely out of breath. 

             
"Concentrate on holding time at a standstill," Lucien barked, his exhalations visible in the air.

             
"Seeing that I've got absolutely no freaking clue how I froze stuff in the first place," I wheezed, flashing him a sideways glance.  "Sure, I'll get right on it." 

             
"The trick to vamp powers is manifesting your will into reality.  Earlier, you stopped time by forcing your desire upon the world.  Just keep doing it."

             
Yeah, okay.  But this is me we're talking about, not some preternatural indigo child. 
"Look, can we slow down?" I huffed, cold air burning my lungs.  "I don't know how much longer I can take this."

             
"No, we have to exploit our advantage and acquire as large of a head start as possible.  Once they reanimate, Tsedaka's guards will hunt us with a vengeance."  He shifted Amelia's weight on his back.  "This conversation is merely wasting energy and distracting you.  Please, girlie, center your mind on controlling time."

             
"Whatever," I grunted, rolling my eyes.  Lucien had a point, although, in my opinion, slowing to a jog would've been acceptable.
  I mean, yesterday I could barely stand on my own.

             
"Quit complaining and focus," he snorted, pushing us faster.  "I realize your energy won't last, that's why we must travel as far as we can.  My strength is waning too."

             
And so, we ran for
what felt like eons
yet was probably only around ten or fifteen more minutes before finally laying our eyes on a small farmhouse, dimly lit by a yellow porch light.  Luckily, an old work truck was parked in the driveway, ready for the taking, and we rushed toward it. 
Transportation, thank god!

             
Upon arrival, Lucien toppled Amelia to the ground and subsequently doubled over to catch his breath.  "You guys stay here," he panted.  "I'll go retrieve the keys.  Beyond everything, girlie, keep time suspended.  I don't want to get caught in there."

             
"I can't make any promises," I gasped, suddenly woozy as my legs buckled beneath me, causing a graceless fall onto the crunchy winter grass. 

             
Unfazed by my condition, Lucien wiped the sweat from his face and climbed the creaky wooden steps of the house's wraparound porch.  Seconds later, when he opened the conveniently unlocked door with ease, I was oddly stunned. 
I guess country folk weren't too worried about security.
 
Even so, tomorrow they'd be greeted by their missing truck and learn a bit of a lesson.

             
Under normal circumstances I would've felt guilty for our dirty deed.  However, we were in dire straits.  Plus, they'd get their vehicle back some day, right?  It's not like we were gonna drop it off at a chop shop or anything.  They'd report the truck stolen and the cops would find it.  No harm done or,
hopefully
, very little.

             
"You okay, Luna?" Amelia asked, crawling to my side once Lucien had disappeared.  "You're really pale."

             
"I'm tired, that's all," I puffed, meeting her scared eyes with the understanding that she wasn't in tiptop shape either.  "Some rest and I'll be raring to go."

             
A delicate smile spread across her wind-bitten cheeks.  "Good, just checking.  So, can you believe we
actually
made it?  I figured we were finished when they caught us at the gate."

             
"Yeah, so did I.  This whole time freezing thing has totally taken me by surprise..."

             
"Get in the truck," Lucien ordered, abruptly interrupting us as he strode out jingling the keys.  "We're leaving."

             
"Well, that was fast," I grumbled, secretly yearning for a few more moments of recuperation.

             
"They were hanging on a peg right inside the entryway," he explained, already opening the driver's door with a metal on metal screech.  "Come on, you slow pokes, kick it in gear."

             
With an exhausted sigh, I clambered to my feet, happily discovering Amelia's willingness to sit on the bench seat in the middle.  Scooting in beside her, I waited for the engine's roar before peering through the dusty interior at my companions.  Like me, Lucien continued to heave in raspy breaths.  Amelia, on the other hand, visibly shivered from the cold, teeth clacking together noisily.

             
"Are you sure about driving?" I asked, squinting at Lucien.  The last thing we needed was a car accident.  Who knows if he'd ever even operated a vehicle, considering he'd been raised on
the compound
.

             
Shaking his head in disbelief, he muffled a laugh.  "No worries, I can drive perfectly fine.  It was a part of my training."  Pausing, he swiftly positioned the dial on the truck's archaic heater to full blast and backed us out.  "A little warm air should make you feel better.  And try to relax, girlie, I've got this under control."

             
Reluctantly deciding to acquiesce, I watched the drab fall scenery as we traveled along the gravel road, a trail of dust lingering at our rear.  All the while, we remained silent, simply allowing the miles to separate us from Tsedaka's facility and the warm air to thaw our weary bones. 

             
Ultimately, Amelia fell asleep, using Lucien's shoulder as her makeshift pillow. 
And me, well, I wasn't that fortunate.
 
Surprise, surprise.
  Instead of much deserved rest, each mile brought with it a stronger throb in my temples and worse queasiness in my stomach. 

             
"Lucien, um, I'm not feeling so hot," I eventually mumbled. 
More like death frozen over and reheated in the microwave
.  Nonetheless, pride kept me from complaining that much verbally
.  Crap, he'd probably heard me anyway
. 
Damn telepathy
.

             
He chuckled softly.  "You're undergoing the effects of power strain.  And, seeing that we're fifty miles away, we've gained a fairly decent advantage.  Therefore, I think it'd be safe for the flow of time to carry on."