Forget Me When the Sun Goes Down (Forged Bloodlines Book 11) (5 page)

The house was ginormous.  I got excited when we found the entrance to the wine cellar, but there were no secret doors or panels leading to an escape tunnel like I’d been hoping.  Somehow we ended up in a bunk room with four beds built into the walls.  No luck with the windows in there either, they were shuttered and spelled, like all the others. 

Two of the beds showed signs of use, and I was pretty sure the matching luggage I rifled through belonged to Aubrey.  He seemed like the type to pack all of his clothes by color coordinated outfit, rather than grouping all the shirts together, the pants, etc.  He didn’t have anything of interest, except for a wad of pound notes I found tucked into a side pocket.  I put them right back where I found them, it wasn’t anybody’s business but his that he carried a small fortune in cash. 

I looked up to see Rob stuffing something in his pocket.  He wasn’t looting the other bed, was he?  “Any luck on your side?  What do you have there?”

“Something I picked up back in our bedroom.”  Rob drew it out again without any trace of guilt, and I felt bad for having suspected him.  “Don’t need battery power for this.”  He showed me an old fashioned, silver pocket watch, popping the cover to reveal my picture tucked inside.

“Aw... just like Captain America has,” I grinned up at him in delight. 

“Beg pardon?”

“You know, like in the first movie.  Steve’s got a picture of Peggy in his watch.  I might not know who I am, but I know I’m a big Cap fan.”  My t-shirt proved that. 

“Ah, right,” he nodded, making the connection.  “So long as it’s me who’s your hero now,” he added with a half smile.

“I don’t know, have you done anything heroic today?” I teased, sliding my hand under the neat stacks of clothes, just to be thorough.  “Mother of pearl...” I cried as my fingers encountered something sharp and pointy.  “What the heck does he have in there?”  Carefully peeling back the clothes, I found a dagger tucked in among the socks.  “Who keeps an unsheathed knife in their luggage?” I grumbled, looking for something to put over my finger, which had a nasty cut along one side. 

“Someone who wants to discourage light fingers,” Rob replied, pulling a handkerchief out of his pocket and reaching for my hand.  “Let’s have a look there,” he said in a soothing voice, his fingers curling around mine. 

“It’s not that bad, it just kind of stings,” I said, expecting him to press the cloth to it, but instead he brought it to his lips. 

“Nothing but a paper cut.  I’ll kiss it and make it better, shall I?” 

His lips closed over the tip of my finger, tongue rasping against the pad as he held my gaze with his.  The breath left my body in a soft rush, completely taken by surprise at the action.  His tongue darted out to swirl over the tip again, and my lips parted, a strange longing sweeping over me, for what – I wasn’t sure.  He sucked lightly, and I braced myself for the sting, but there was no pain.  None at all. 

“Hey, let me see...”  I pulled my finger back, stunned to see the cut had vanished completely.  Not even a trace that it’d been there before.  “Did you see that?  It’s gone!” I gasped, utterly astonished.  “Either I have super healing powers or you have magic saliva!”

“Don’t be silly.  There’s no such thing,” he frowned, turning away, but I wasn’t about to let it go. 

“No, really.  The cut is completely gone, look.”  I held my finger as close to the candlelight as I could without singeing it.  My skin was smooth and unbroken.  “I wonder if I should try cutting myself again?”

“No,” Rob said with enough emphasis to make me take a step back.

“Jeez, I wasn’t about to open a vein, I’m talking about a scratch.  We have to see if it’s you or me that has the ability.”  Without waiting for a response, I reached for the dagger, wincing as I sliced the tip of my finger again.

“Anja...” Rob scowled, taking the knife away and setting it on a small table with a clatter.  “What’d you have to go and do that for?”

“Because it’s important.  Check it out!”  Before our eyes, the cut knit together and then faded as if it’d never been there, leaving only a faint smear of blood.  “Do you know what this means?  I’m like Wolverine!” I squealed with glee. 

Rob caught hold of my hand, his voice lowering.  “Keep it down.  Best not to invite trouble, enough of it will find us.”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean, it’s best not to advertise the advantage.  We still don’t know what we’re dealing with here.”

“But...”  I could see the wisdom in his suggestion, but it was hard not to shout it from the rafters.  “Don’t you want to see if you can do it too?”

“By cutting myself open?  Ta muchly, but I’ll pass,” he snorted. 

“How are you going to know if you have special abilities if you don’t try?”

“I’ve other things to worry about for now.  Come on, we’d best get on with our search.  And Anja... keep that fact to yourself.  I mean it.”

“Oh, alright,” I agreed, following him out of the room.  “What’s left down here?  I think Bishop and Carys are checking out the second floor.”

“I saw another door at the other end of the house before.  Let’s check there.”  Rob led the way to a small library or study, almost tripping over another unconscious body.  She was tall and muscular for a woman, with wheaten blonde hair styled in a blunt, chin-length cut.  A slow trickle of blood came from her nose, and dried against her cheek.

“She’s not...”  How many dead bodies were in this house?

“She’s breathing, but it don’t look good,” Rob frowned, carefully picking her up to bring her back to the great room.  It took him a few moments to try to decide where to put her, before deciding on a loveseat that wouldn’t fit her tall form, but was better than the cold, hard floor. 

Aubrey perked up as soon as we came into the room.  “What’s this then?  You found another one?  Is she bleeding?”

“Yes, how can you tell?” I wondered aloud.  He’d only gotten a glimpse of her in passing. 

“I... smelled it,” Aubrey replied, looking just as disturbed by the idea as I was.  Even Rob stared at Aubrey with a frown on his face. 

“At least this one’s alive,” I remarked, checking on the other guy who was still passed out.  Apart from his temperature feeling cooler, he was just as unresponsive, drooling onto the couch. “Has anyone noticed that we’re all blonde except for Bishop and Rob?” 

“What of it?” Aubrey replied, disinterested. 

“Don’t you think that’s strange?”

“Not if we’re all related in some way.” 

“Related?”  I hadn’t particularly thought about it, except for noting a similarity between me and Carys and the dead girl.  Was the naked guy on the couch my brother?  I was pretty sure I wasn’t related to Aubrey, or we had a lot of explaining to do at the next family reunion after playing seven minutes in heaven.  “I’m not so sure about that.  Rob, what do you think?”  He didn’t acknowledge me, he stood staring down at the girl on the loveseat.  “Rob?”

“What?”

“Do you think that’s strange?”

“Yeah, I suppose,” he replied, and I wondered if he even knew what we were talking about.  “What’s the matter? Is she worse or something?”

“Nah, I was thinking she needs a bit of something to clean up that blooded nose.”

I still had his handkerchief, but before I could offer it, Bishop came bounding into the room. 

“I have mutant super powers!” he declared with the enthusiasm of a five year old on Christmas morning.

* * *

“I do too!” Anja declared, her face lit up with astonishment and glee that matched his own.

“Anja!” Rob scolded, but she wouldn’t listen.

“What?  He said he has powers too.  What can you do?”

Bishop wasn’t sure what exactly was going on between them, but he got over his own surprise at her admission to explain.  “I’ve got super strength and fast healing.”

“Me too!” Anja cheered, her hand coming up in the air for a high five, and Bishop smacked his palm against hers with a satisfying crack.  “Well, the healing part, I don’t know about the strength part.  Maybe we should arm wrestle or something?”

It was hard not to grin over her enthusiasm, and truth be told, he got a charge out of sharing it with another person.  “Well, that might not be a good idea.  I don’t want to risk breaking your arm.  You should’ve seen what I did to a chair.”

“You’d better not lay a hand on her, mate,” Rob growled, coming in between them, as if Bishop hadn’t just said it wasn’t the best idea. 

“Relax, pal, I’m not laying anything on her,” Bishop bit back, refusing to back down as the shorter man got up in his face. 

“Hey, we’re all friends here,” Anja interjected, grabbing hold of Rob’s arm to tug him away.  “I can test it out on something else.”

“How about these chains, sweets?” Aubrey called out, and Anja seemed to like that idea. 

“Hold on, that might not be the best...”  Before Bishop, or anyone else could stop her, she grabbed hold of the chain leading from the cuff to the ring and pulled with all of her might, landing on her ass when the chain snapped in two.

“Fuck me, she did it,” Aubrey gasped, cradling his arm to his body.

“I did it!” Anja’s fists pumped into the air as she whooped for joy.  “I am the champion of the world!”

“Well, you’re in the top two,” Bishop grinned, offering her a hand up, but Rob slapped it away.

“She don’t need your help,” he muttered, pulling her up to her feet.  “And who’s to say you two are the only ones, eh?”

Bishop was ready to challenge Rob to a wrestling match, the guy seemed to be spoiling for a fight, but Carys distracted them all by smashing a heavy wooden chair against the wall, reducing it to rubble.  “See how strong I am,
cariad
?” she beamed with pride.  “I am one of your heroes as well!  Cut me now...”  She started toward him with her arm outstretched, but Bishop merely gathered her into his arms.

“You don’t have to do that.  I think it’s safe to say you’re as special as we are.”

Quick to try it himself, Aubrey grabbed the nearest lamp, easily bending the metal in half, but still couldn’t manage the cuff due to the angle.  “Can someone help me get this bloody cuff off then?”

“Fine,” Rob bit out, taking hold of the cuff and snapping it apart.  “There, you’re free.  Now would you stop whinging and shut up?”

“Did you know you could do that all along?” Anja gasped at Rob’s display of strength.

“No, not all along, but I remembered something when I saw your cut heal.”

“Why didn’t you say anything?”

“I told you, I thought it best to keep it under my hat for the right time and place.  Which is apparently now,” he muttered. 

“I wonder what else we can do?” Bishop speculated aloud, his eyes drifting to the rafters high above, and Carys clutched his arm fearfully.  “Don’t you dare try anything reckless.”

“How reckless can it be when I heal instantly?” he shrugged. 

“I absolutely forbid it,” Carys insisted, and from the iron grip on his arm, Bishop started to question if she wasn’t even stronger than he was. 

“This is so bizarre,” Anja murmured, looking at each of them in turn.  “What are the odds we all have powers?  Maybe that has something to do with why we’re trapped in here?  Maybe we’re all a team of superheroes like the X-men?”

“I think if we’re anything, we’re the Avengers,” Bishop joked, and Anja’s face lit up with laughter, triggering a flash of memory for him. 

They lay in bed, fully clothed, but intimately pressed together. 

“No more hunks.” 

“Hunks?” Anja blinked, a lopsided smile stretching her lips.

“They don’t say that anymore, do they?” he winced.

“No,” she snickered, a full throated laugh soon following.  “No more hunks, I promise.” Anja dissolved into a fit of uncontrollable giggles.

“I’ll give you something to laugh about,” Bishop growled, rolling her beneath him, fingers brushing against the tender flesh at her side.  Her hands immediately clapped over his, eyes widening as she sputtered to get out the words to make him stop.  Bishop easily held Anja’s arms over her head with one hand, pinning her body with his.

“I’m sorry, I’ll be good, I promise,” she squeaked, wriggling beneath him, driving him mad with want from the feel of her body against his.

Unable to resist, Bishop covered her mouth with his in a long, deep kiss.  Anja instantly calmed, giving up the struggle to entwine her legs with his as the kiss turned carnal.  Her mouth was another world, promising dark delights to be had, and Bishop let go of her hands, desperate to feel them on his skin.  This time when his hand dipped to her side, it was not to tease but to tempt as he slipped under her shirt to stroke her petal soft skin. 

Bishop stared at Anja’s good natured smile, shocked to find his body reacting to the memory of her beneath him.  They’d been in bed together, clothed, but not for much longer if he’d read her reactions correctly.  When had that happened?  And did Carys know about it?  His eyes darted to his fiancée guiltily, relieved to find her bending the lamp Aubrey had mangled back into shape.  But Rob, the expression on his face was anything but friendly, and Bishop looked away, suddenly guilty as hell for no reason.