Bloodstone Heart (44 page)

"Hello, Sir.
 
This is the front desk and I was asked to inform you when your taxi had arrived."

"Thank you.
 
I'll be right down," he answered and then put down the receiver. He looked around the room one last time to see if there was anything he should grab, but nothing jumped out at him.
 

As he pulled opened the door of the hotel room he thought to the others, "Okay. I'm on my way," then shut the door behind him.
 

In the lobby he saw the taxi driver standing at the front desk.

"You Mr. Brenner?" the driver asked.

"Yes."

"Ready?"

He took a deep breath and answered, "Yes."

The taxi driver turned on his heels and Josh followed him to the yellow car at the curb. Josh got in on the passenger side in the back seat and before he knew it they were out in traffic headed for the docks.

"What are you doing at the docks today, Mr. Brenner?"

"I'm meeting someone there."

"Oh! Just wanted to make sure that if you were sightseeing that you knew the castle is closed for another week."

"Thanks. That's very nice of you."

The taxi driver drove the rest of the way in silence. He pulled up to the docks and stopped the car at the curb.
 
"Doesn't look like your friend is here yet. Would you like me to wait in case they don’t show?"

"No. I could use a little walk, but again, thank you."

"No problem."

Josh pulled his wallet out of his back pocket to pay the taxi driver as he got out of the car. "That's okay.
 
The bill has already been paid by a Mr. Larsen."

"Oh," Josh said surprised.
 
"Well here," he said and handed the taxi driver a five dollar bill. "Take this as a tip, then."

"Thank you, Mr. Brenner. Enjoy your walk." And with that, the taxi driver was on his way and Josh stood alone on the curb adjacent the docks.
 
He walked to the wooden railing and planted his elbows on it to support himself. He watched the boats in their slips bob up and down in the ripples of water around them.
 
He stood looking out at the water for a while when there was a tap on his shoulder. Startled, Josh turned quickly to find a man with eyes as black as night staring at him with the most devious smile he'd ever encountered.

Melanie lay in the dinghy still wrestling with her ropes.
 
The water in the boat was at least a good six to eight inches deep. She could still lay her head down in the boat but the water now came to her ears when she did so.
 
Not much more time left. An hour at most, probably less
, she thought.
Once the water is past my taped mouth and headed for my nose, it will be all over
.

If only she could scream or somehow cut the ropes on her hands, but there was no knife that she could see in the boat. Even if she could scream she didn't think there was anyone around to hear her cries for help. She tugged and pulled at the ropes, but instead of loosening, they only seemed to be getting tighter.

She thought about her old boyfriend, Jack, and how he must have felt when the car went off the bridge and into the water. Buckled into the car, much like she was tied to the boat, both unable to wiggle free from their bindings. Would her life end like this, gasping for air, unable to break her bonds?

She had tugged so much on her ropes during the past few days that her wrists were a bloody mess and her hands and arms hurt so badly she could hardly stand it, but still she tried to pick at the knot at her wrists with her numb and raw fingers. She also tried to move her body over the hole that was drilled but it was too far to one side and she could barely move as it was, let alone cover it. It seemed hopeless and she laid her head down again to rest for a moment staring at the distant ceiling and the enormous cobwebs that blanketed its beams and ropes like some kind of delicate ancient veil.

It took two taxis to get everyone to the dock. When they all got out, Darby grabbed the picnic basket and Sally got the big tartan wool blanket and they followed the rest down to the medium sized motorboat at the end of the dock. When the boat rental guy had all he needed and handed them the key, they all piled in and headed out of the harbor.
 

When they were well behind some brush and out of eyesight of the harbormaster and any other onlookers, the girls had Dean stop the boat and they started to chant.

We three invoke a magic veil

We’re hiding loved ones so please don’t fail.

Protect Dear Devon, for his future wife

Shield him from evil's strife.

Safeguard Rowan - strong and sweet,

Enshroud her with an invisible sheet.

Shelter Anton with his mending heart,

Camouflage his existence so he can play his part.

Harbor kind Blake, who's grown so much,

Conceal his height from evil and such.

Dominic - warm, handsome and wise,

Protect and hide him from spying eyes.

Disguise our friend whose name is Dean,

Werewolf in sheep's clothing, to others unseen.

When we land safely at our destiny,

Break this magic veil, so mote it be.

One by one those under the spell vanished and Mark took over steering the boat.
 
Sally told the veiled crew that they should try not to move, as it would cause a distortion around them.
 
For now it was fine for they were getting very far from the docks, but as they started to close in on Heart Island and the castle, the vampires would be looking them over and they did not want to raise any alarms.

In no time at all they were at the beautiful stone arch of the castle. Once they were out of the boat and concealed from prying eyes, the spell broke and Dean, Anton, Blake, and Devon reappeared.
 
They looked up and down the pillars, feeling around for some kind of mechanism that would trigger the door to open to the tunnel below.
 

Devon found a small stone with a heart carved into it.
 
He called everyone over to him and then felt around the stone for something that might move.
 
He then pushed on the stone and about a foot away, a stone door opened into the pillar revealing stairs down to the tunnel.

Blake said, "Good one, Devon. Okay, Mark, girls? You saw how Devon did that, right? Just push on the stone with the heart on it.
 
We will send you a mental message when we need you to come to the altar room." With that, Blake, Devon, and Dean kissed their girls saying their temporary goodbyes and telling each other to be careful, and they headed down the stairs, closing the stone door behind them.
 
Mark and the girls went on with their charade and picked out a place on the lawn in the beautifully landscaped grounds of the castle and proceeded to have their mock-picnic.

"Josh, I presume?" Dimitri said.

"Yes. Dimitri?" Josh replied.

"Yes. Follow me."

As Josh followed Dimitri down the dock to some smaller boats, he could feel Dimitri trying to penetrate the wall in his mind. He probed and probed, but Josh was a step ahead of him the whole while and Dimitri never made any headway.
 
As he was dodging Dimitri's probing he sent out a message to those linked to him that it looked like Dimitri was taking him to the island for the trade, which is what they figured he would do.
 
So far things seemed to be going as planned.

As they both got seated in the boat, Josh ventured to ask, "Where are we going?"

Dimitri started the motor and headed away from the dock, his black hair and olive skin shining in the sun; he smiled at Josh in such a sinister way it made Josh's skin crawl then he calmly said, "Where we can make our trade away from prying eyes."

"How do I know you won't just take the stone and kill Lanie and me?"

With an air of arrogance and a most malicious laugh, he said, "You don't!"

As they continued their ride to the southwest side of the island where the dock met the tunnel entrance, Dimitri asked viciously, "So tell me, Josh. What kind of man sends a woman out on a journey to lure a dangerous vampire away from him?"

Josh whipped his head around to Dimitri. Hate oozed from his body like sweat, but he knew he was no match for Dimitri and he looked down and tried to control his anger. He would be no use to Lanie if he was dead so close to the end of this nightmare.
 

Dimitri, titillated by Josh’s reaction, seemed very pleased with himself. Devon, Blake, and Anton were all in Josh's head telling him not to be baited by Dimitri's taunts. Not yet. Not until they could be there to help. It was killing Josh.
 
He wanted to rip this laughing man's head off.
 
All the torture he’d inflicted upon Lanie, these weeks of worrying about getting her back and wondering where she was, all because of him. The pompous jerk threw his head back in a full out belly laugh, while Josh's stomach lurched with stress and the distaste of it all.

Dimitri continued with his taunts. "Seems not much of a man at all. A scared little boy who sits at home alone on his computer and shops at night when no one is around - a recluse – no, a hermit - who sends fragile little women out to fight his battles.”

Josh was about to explode as they pulled up to the dock and Dimitri turned off the motor.
 

"Sad really - doesn't say much for your father." He tied the boat up to the dock and continued, "Oh, that's right! I forgot! You don't really have a father. You were adopted. I believe your slutty mother didn't even list your father's name on your birth certificate. I suppose she wasn't sure who your father was?"

Blake and Devon were fighting ferociously in Josh’s head to calm him. Josh was fuming.
 
If he were a bull this would be about the time he'd be digging at the dirt with his front hoof, lowering his head and snorting. He was trying to listen to Blake and Devon's arguments against giving in and he knew they were right, but Dimitri was pushing his buttons and it was tearing him away from the logical arguments of the other voices in his head.
 
When they were both on the dock, Josh's logic went out the window. Josh threw a strong punch at Dimitri.

Dimitri was expecting it and dodged it as if Josh had punched him in slow motion. The next thing Josh knew, he was being held by his neck against the door of the tunnel at least two inches off the ground. Dimitri's black eyes stared him down as he laughed in Josh's face, "Stupid child - you think you are any match for me? I will say though, that it is about time you acted somewhat like a man and took a swing at me. I wasn't sure you had it in you."
 

He released Josh, dropping him to the ground. Josh's hands went to his throat as he coughed. Dimitri said, "Come. You are wasting my time." He took off down the tunnel. Josh quickly got to his feet and followed him.

The tunnel seemed to exactly match the map Dominic had provided them.
 
A tunnel to the left that went to the powerhouse, a long curve to the right, a ninety degree turn to the right, another to the left and yet another to the right, where they came upon the three large vats Anton had mentioned. Dimitri was taking him to the altar room. As Dimitri opened the front of the cask, three men came up behind them, presumably part of Dimitri's vampire army.