Forbidden (29 page)

Gabriel frowned.
 
“Of course I did.”

“And yet you’re still alive,” Sorin muttered, sitting back, stroking his goatee.
 
“Interesting.”

“Not really,” Gabriel countered, sounding bored.
 
“Not if she isn’t what you accuse her to be.”

No one anticipated Sorin’s booming laugh.
 
Everyone jumped at the sound, unsettled by how loudly it echoed into the recesses of the room. “You’re feisty, I’ll give you that,” he smiled.
 
It wasn’t a nice smile.
 
It was dark and sinister.
 
“But you’re the biggest idiot I’ve ever met.”

Gabriel’s jaw clamped down hard, his fingers wrapped painfully around his knee caps as he bit his tongue against the abuse he wanted to sling back.
 
But he was painfully aware of all of the weaponry scattered around the room and knew he’d be useless against this war hardened man.
 
Strength or not, Sorin Funar was obviously a skilled killer.

“Now that I’ve got your attention,” Sorin’s voice rumbled as he stood to his feet.
 
“I’d like to show you a bit of our history to convince the half whit about his poor Roseline.”

Sadie sat forward, aching to hear more, even if it did come from some menacing old fart.
 
William looked sick, slinking further down into his chair while Nicolae remained rigid by the door.
 

“Have you ever heard of The Black Church?” Sorin asked, pointing to a picture on the wall.
 
The stone building strangely looked tarnished, as if by soot or dirt.
 

“Of course not,” Sadie spat. “Why should we care about your stupid country?”

William hissed at her to be quiet but Sorin simply smiled.
 
“Because my dear, your friend Roseline was born in that church.”

Sadie glanced at the picture again, confused.
 
“In a church?”

Sorin returned to his seat, his fingers forming a steeple.
 
“Not as a baby.
 
As a seventeen year old girl.”

“You mean that’s where she was raised from the dead,” Gabriel said, rolling his eyes.
 
Sorin’s indifferent shrug angered Gabriel.
 
Why was Sorin so focused on Roseline?
 
It wasn’t like they could prove she was the one that’d murdered Nicolae’s parents.

“The girl you know as Rose was born Roseline Dragomir, an English name given after her mother’s side of the family I believe.
 
Her father, a man whose lust for wealth and prestige drove his lovely daughter into the arms of Vladimir Enescue.
 
Poor Roseline knew the man was vile, but she had no idea he was a Vampire.”
 
Sorin’s eyes gleamed with a fervor that scared Gabriel.
 
He was obsessed.

“So then what happened?” Sadie asked, drawn into the story.
 

“
Vladimir
killed all of the wedding guests.”
 
His voice was monotone, as if he were uninterested with the gruesome details.
 
Of course he probably was.
 
A tale like that had become legend in
Romania
, passed down from parent to child as a warning against speaking to strangers or breaking night time curfews.

Sadie scrunched up her nose.
 
“How awful”

Sorin’s grin turned into a leer.
 
“You haven’t heard the best part.”
 
He motioned to a picture of a young girl with snowy skin and pale pink lips.
 
Her white blond hair was a startling contrast with her sparkling baby blue eyes.
 
“This is a likeness of Roseline’s younger sister, Adela Dragomir.
 
She was the last to die.”

Gabriel stared at the portrait, drawn in by the doe eyes that held him captive.
 
Although her coloring greatly differed from Roseline, she had the same warmth radiating out of her.
 
There was no doubting her connection to the girl he loved.

“I’m sure you’re telling us this for a reason,” Gabriel pressed, his heart thudding in his chest.
 
“Get on with it.”

Sorin nodded, returning his gaze to the three friends seated precariously on his leather couch.
 
“Adela’s blood was the tool used to damn her sister.”
 
Gabriel snorted with disgust.
 
Sorin’s bushy eye brow rose.
 
“You don’t believe me?”

“Why should I?
 
You have no proof!
 
And apart from a picture hanging in some art gallery, Nicolae doesn’t have any real proof either.
 
How do you even know she’s the same girl?
 
Rose could be a descendant,” Gabriel roared, his chest heaving with exertion.
 
He was getting annoyed.
 
All he wanted to do was speak to Rose.
 
She would clear this up.

Nicolae flinched, unsure of how his uncle would react to Gabriel’s blatant disregard.
 
His rigid stance nearly faltered completely when Sorin settled back into his chair instead of smacking the smirk from Gabriel’s face.
 

“Did you happen to notice the soot on the church?”
 
Gabriel’s eyes flickered to the picture over Sorin’s head.
 
“This church dates all the way back to 1477 but its name, The Black Church, wasn’t chosen until after a fire in 1689 that left the church blackened from smoke.”

“Great history lesson,” Sadie grumbled.
 
“But what’s this got to do with our friend?”

“The fire occurred on the night of dear Roseline’s wedding…and her rebirth.”
 
Sorin fixed his eyes on Gabriel, weighing out his reaction.

“Wait a second,” William gasped, speaking for the first time since he’d entered the gloomy room.
 
“You’re saying Rose is…322 years old?”

Sorin nodded.
 
“Yes, that’s exactly what I’m saying.”
 
He stood and moved towards the far wall.
 
Placing his hand on one of the dark wooden panels, a hidden chamber appeared.
 
He motioned for them to follow him.
 
“Come…if you seek further proof.”

Gabriel hung back with William and Sadie as Nicolae followed directly behind Sorin.
 
“I’ve got a bad feeling about this,” he muttered under his breath.
 
Nicolae darted a glance over his shoulder but said nothing.
 
Gabriel would have bet his brand new Range Rover on the fact that Nicolae looked worried.
 

“Stick close to me,” Nicolae whispered as he ducked inside the hidden passage.
 

Sadie wedged herself between Gabriel and William as they descended a drafty spiral staircase.
 
They walked on and on, burrowing deeper into the heart of Sorin’s lair.
 
Flickering torch light struggled to illuminate the narrow space.

“How much further?” Gabriel asked Nicolae.
 
But there was no response.
 
This worried Gabriel even more.
 
Surely they were miles underground by now.
 
If things went bad for them, their screams would never be heard.

“Ah.
 
Here we are,” Sorin’s voice wafted up past Nicolae.
 
By the stiffness of Nicolae’s shoulders, Gabriel prepared for the worst.
 

When his foot finally reached solid ground, Gabriel wasn’t the least bit surprised to find himself standing in a medieval torture chamber.
 
Somehow it felt very cliché.
 
Sadie’s gasp wrenched at his heart as he reached back, clenching her hand tightly in his.
 
“Why have you brought us here?”

Sorin whirled around, his black cloak billowing around him.
 
“Why to give you the proof you need of course.”
 

Gabriel’s skin crawled.
 
His terror was mounting but he held it in check for Sadie’s sake.

“Put the other two in the cell,” Sorin ordered, not even looking in Nicolae’s direction.
 
His nephew’s hesitation didn’t go unnoticed.
 
“Now!” he roared, furious with Nicolae’s incompetence.

“I don’t think so,” Gabriel roared, charging Sorin.
 
Despite appearing to be well into his fifties, Sorin moved as gracefully as a cat, easily side stepping Gabriel’s charge.
 
With the flick of his wrist, a small dagger appeared, slicing cleanly through Gabriel’s upper arm.
 

Gabriel gasped, clenching his hand over the stinging wound.
 
“Don’t make this any harder than it has to be boy.
 
I don’t want to hurt you,” Sorin said as he flipped the dagger over into his right hand.
 

“Somehow I don’t believe you,” Gabriel snarled, charging again.
 
His newfound strength and agility were little help against Sorin.
 
Gabriel saw the glint of metal a second before pain slashed through his chest.
 

“Stop!” Sadie cried.
 
“We’ll go.”
 
She pulled William along behind her, following Nicolae.

“Good girl,” Sorin grinned.
 
“At least she’s smart enough to know that it will be safer locked behind bars than it will be for you, foolish boy.”

Nicolae grimaced.
 
Guilt gnawed freely deep in his gut.
 
“I’m sorry,” he whispered as he led Sadie and William to a cell.
 
The thick iron bars looked aged but in decent condition.
 
Gabriel hoped they would be safe locked away, but if what Sorin said really was true, would the bars be strong enough to keep a vampire out?

“What do you want with me?” Gabriel asked, turning back towards Sorin after the cell lock fell into place.
 

“You’re simply a means to an end.
 
You want proof that Roseline is a vampire and I want her dead.
 
It’s a win-win situation.”

As Gabriel dove, the dagger pierced his skin, leaving a deep gash down his arm.
 
Blood dripped onto the floor as he whirled around.
 
His mind was beginning to feel a little fuzzy.
 
The blood loss was starting to get to him.
 
Already his shirt was beginning to soak through.
 

Gabriel growled as Sorin suddenly appeared behind him, the knife tip pressing dangerously close to his artery.
 
“Tie him up.”

Nicole obeyed, dragging Gabriel up onto the platform in the middle of the room.
 
A wooden table lay horizontally.
 
Well worn straps hung lifelessly over the edge, dried blood stains marring the leather.
 
Gabriel’s eyes widened with fear as he struggled against Nicolae.
 
His strength was waning.
  

“How could you do this to us,” he shouted, spitting in Nicolae’s face.
 
“Traitor!”

“Now, now Gabriel.
 
According to you there’s nothing to fear…unless I’m right,” Sorin grinned wickedly, turning to head back up the stairs.
 
“Make sure you leave his scent.
 
I don’t want to take any chances tonight!”
 
The small dagger flew through the air.
 
Nicolae’s hand caught the bloody weapon.
 

Gabriel howled as Sorin disappeared into the darkness.
 
He bucked against the straps Nicolae fastened across his chest, clamping his arms down.
 
“I’m really sorry about this,” Nicolae whispered, lowering the sharp blade.

Sadie burrowed her head into William’s chest, desperate to block out Gabriel’s screams.
 
They went on and on.
 
But one sound, more horrifying than Gabriel’s screams, filled the air when he finally passed out from the pain…dripping.