Illusion: Volume 3 (3 page)

I
woke up slowly. I shifted and winced. My arms were tied behind me. They weren’t
just cuffed, but my shoulders were pulled back because my arms were tied so
tightly. It was so dimly lit I had to blink a couple times. My legs were bound
as well. I was basically hogtied I was just sitting up. The room I was in was
windowless and barren. It had to be a dungeon or basement of some kind. I tried
to wiggle out of my bindings, but it was pointless.

“You
aren’t going to get out of them,” Justin said from beside me.

I
hadn’t noticed him before, but he was sitting next to me. He was restrained
next to me. He was beaten and bloody again. Obviously they had caught up with
him. “Why are you here?” I asked feeling a little out of it.

He
looked at me then looked away. “Betraying my position, what do you think,” he
growled.

“I’m
sorry,” I said softly. I couldn’t help but feel a little responsible.

He
scoffed. “You have your own problems. Word on the street is your uncle turned
you over to the council,” he said amused.

I
sighed as the memory of what happened in my uncle’s office came back to me.
“Where are we?” I asked quietly.

He
coughed and winced like he was in pain. “The council’s headquarters.”

I
looked over at him. He had a silver steak sticking through his chest. It
wouldn’t kill him, but it would sicken him and make him weak. I shifted and
scooted toward him. “What are you doing?” he asked quietly.

“I
am going to get the stake out. Maybe you can regain your strength and get
free,” I said quietly.

He
smiled. “How are you going to manage that when you are tied like that?”

“I
will figure it out,” I said as I wiggled closer to him. He made a noise when I
moved up onto his lap. I moved a little more and he groaned. “You know if the
circumstances were different I might ask you out,” he said amused.

I
smiled and shook my head. “You are ridiculous. I suggest you get ready for
this.”

“Ready,”
he said through gritted teeth.

I
wrapped my hands around the stake and threw myself forward. He groaned in pain
as the stake came free. I cussed as I fell forward off him. I landed on my face,
then rolled so I was looking up at the ceiling. I was trying to catch my
breath.

“This
doesn’t really feel much better. I am just bleeding out,” he muttered.

I
looked over at him. I didn’t really want to offer, but I needed him to get his
strength back. He was the only chance I had to get away. “Bite me,” I said
quietly.

He
opened his eyes and looked at me. He looked like he wanted to take my offer,
but he hesitated. “I don’t have very much control. I might like it too much.”

“I
don’t care, this is our only chance unless you are ok with dying here,” I said
softly.

He
smiled. “Just admit you are into me, and I might consider giving you what you
want,” he said amused.

I
rolled my eyes and sighed. He was going to make things difficult. “Whatever; I
was just trying to help,” I muttered

He
pushed himself forward and rolled so he was on his stomach over me. I looked at
him. He was inches from my face. “You smell really good,” he said playfully.

I
rolled my eyes. “Stop making this difficult. Just get it over with so we can
get out of here,” I said as I looked away exposing my neck.

 He
didn’t speak, he just buried his face in my neck. I gritted my teeth as he sank
his fangs into my neck. He groaned as my blood filled his mouth. Time seemed to
slow down and I felt my mind start to cloud. I was getting weak. He was taking
a lot of blood. He finally rolled away from me. He laid still with his eyes
closed.

“Hey
you are supposed to be better,” I said trying to get used to the room spinning.

He
looked at me and gave me a lazy smile. I could see him flex his muscles and the
robes binding him broke. He got his legs free and came to me. He untied the ropes
binding me. I stretched my arms while he untied my legs. He knelt next to me
and smiled. “Can you walk?” he asked as he brushed my hair aside.

His
touch was a little too intimate for me. “I’m fine,” I muttered as I quickly sat
up then climbed to my feet. I used the wall to steady myself when the room
began to spin again.

He
placed his hands on my hips to steady me. “Here take my blood,” he said
quietly. He bit his wrist and offered it to me.

I
didn’t really want to take his blood, but I needed my strength. It was going to
be one hell of a fight to get free. I pressed his wrist to my mouth and drank
slowly. When I felt my strength return I released his arm. “Where are we
exactly?” I asked as I walked toward the door.

“My
guess is the dungeon below the council’s headquarters. We are actually not far from
where you live,” he said as he came to stand next to me.

“Well
we might as well see how far we can get. I don’t see any guards,” I said softly
as I slowly opened the door.

“They
were so arrogant they didn’t consider we might work together,” Justin said as
he followed me out the door and up a flight of stairs.

“That’s
good for us I suppose,” I said as I put my hand on the next door handle.

He
touched my hand to stop me. He pressed his finger to his lips. I remained in
place and waited. He started moving again. He opened the door, and we stepped
into a hallway. He took the lead and I followed him. He was moving quickly, but
at the same time he was being quiet and cautious. The sound of voices around
the corner made Justin freeze. He pushed me into a nearby closet then followed
me in. He closed the door behind us. The closet was so small our bodies were
pressed together. I was extremely uncomfortable, but he looked amused.

“This
isn’t funny,” I whispered.

“It
is actually quite amusing,” he said grinning.

I
rolled my eyes and attempted to look away, but it was difficult because I was
so close to him. I could hear the voices just outside the door. I was trying to
focus on them, but I was still a little disoriented and Justin’s presence was
distracting.

“What
does he plan to do with them?” a male voice said from the other side.

“He
is going to turn the hunter, and kill Justin. Justin killed another marshal.
There are rumors he is attempting to lead the marshals against the council,” a
female voice responded.

The
man scoffed. “You cannot turn a hunter. All Cornelius is going to do is start
more of a war. He will give the hunters more reason to fight.”

“It
has been done before. Hopefully she will just die, and it will be over with,”
the woman snapped and walked away. I could hear her high heels on the stone
floor as she retreated. The male obviously followed.

Justin
opened the door and peeked out. When it was clear he stepped out. I followed
and we made our way down the hall again.

“Going
somewhere?” a male voice said from behind us.

Justin
spun around and quickly stepped in front of me. “We are leaving. We don’t want
any problems,” Justin said firmly.

The
vampire smiled. He didn’t seem to be threatened at all. Justin let out a cry of
agony and collapsed to his knees. He was holding his head in his hands. The
vampire was hurting him somehow. “Stop!” I yelled as I ran at the vampire.

He
moved with a blur of speed and pinned me to the wall by my throat. Justin quit
screaming, but he was still on the ground. The vampire looked me over, then met
my angry gaze. “I have to say you are everything you were made out to be,” he
said smiling.

“Who
the hell are you?” I managed to choke out from under his iron grip. He was an
incredibly gorgeous man. His turquoise eyes reminded me of Aubrey. He looked
eerily similar to Aubrey. His hair was a little darker, but not much.

“My
name is Cornelius, and you have been killing my marshals,” he growled.

I
looked at him confused as I attempted to loosen his grip. “Are you the head of
the council?”

His
smile widened. “I am the council my dear, and you, like your father are
standing in my way.”

“In
the way of what?” I growled as I tried to struggle against him. I notice Justin
was slowly getting to his feet. I had to keep this guy distracted. It would
give Justin time to attack.

“In
the way of my rule. You are giving the hunters, werewolves, and vampire’s
ideas. Ideas that will cause them to revolt against me. I do not take kindly to
this,” he hissed as he shoved me back again jarring me.

Justin
moved to attack, but Cornelius was faster. He looked at Justin and Justin went
flying back into the wall. He collapsed unconscious. I was on my own now. I
recoiled and caught Cornelius with a punch to the jaw. He stumbled back. He
looked genuinely startled that I even attempted to hit him. He lunged at me and
I dodged him.

He
rushed me again, and I caught him in the stomach with a kick. He doubled over
then lunged at me again. He was too quick for me this time. He pinned me to the
wall. He went for my throat and I was helpless.

“Cornelius
wait.” Aubrey’s voice rang out from behind us.

Cornelius
quickly turned releasing me. I slid to the floor trying to catch my breath.
“Brother, there you are,” Cornelius said smiling as he walked toward Aubrey.

“It
has been a long time,” Aubrey said softly remaining a gentleman.

I
sat still watching their interaction. I wasn’t really too sure what I should
do. Aubrey glanced at me, and it was enough to catch Cornelius’s interest.
Cornelius’s expression darkened and he was back on me in an instant. He pinned
me to the wall by my throat and glared at Aubrey. “This is the reason you are
here? A hunter!” he yelled as he glared at Aubrey.

I
couldn’t breathe and I looked at Aubrey terrified. “Don’t hurt her,” Aubrey
pleaded as he stepped forward.

“I
should break her neck,” Cornelius growled as he pressed against my throat. It
felt like he was going to crush my delicate bones.

“What
is it you want?” Aubrey asked as he hesitated obviously fearing Cornelius would
follow through.

Cornelius
smiled. “I want you to prove that you are faithful to me. Kill him.” Cornelius said
as he nodded toward Justin.

I
protested and struggled, and Cornelius tightened his grip. “She can only go
without oxygen for so long. The clock is ticking.”

I
looked at Aubrey terrified. I didn’t want him to kill Justin, and I didn’t want
to die either. “This is between you and me, Cornelius. Leave the others out of
this,” Aubrey snapped.

Cornelius
thought about it for a minute then he released me. I gasped as I slid to the
floor coughing. “Fine whoever wins gets the hunter,” Cornelius said amused.

Aubrey
looked at me unsure then looked back at Cornelius and nodded. “Agreed. If I
lose you get to do what you want with her. I won’t question it.”

“I
am not yours to give away,” I said angrily as I climbed to my feet. I couldn’t
believe he was agreeing to something like that. Either he had a grand plan or
he was sure he couldn’t lose.

“Hush
darling. You have a slight chance of making it out alive with my dear brother.
A very slight chance,” Cornelius said amused. Before Aubrey could speak
Cornelius attacked. Cornelius was fast, but Aubrey was able to gain his footing
and fend him off. Someone grabbed my arm startling me a little.

“We
need to go,” Justin said sounding like he was still in a slight amount of pain.

“We
can’t leave. He is going to hurt Aubrey,” I said as I looked back at the fight
raging not far from us.

“Look
we don’t want to be a part of this. Cornelius is fast and mean. He will kill
Aubrey, then you. We need to leave now,” he growled impatiently.

I
pulled my arm out of his grasp. “If you want to run I won’t fault you, but I am
going to stay with Aubrey,” I said softly.

He
looked like he wanted to protests then he made and annoyed noise and hurried
down the hallway. I looked back at Cornelius and Aubrey fighting. I had to do
something, I just wasn’t sure what. Cornelius suddenly pinned Aubrey. He
produced a silver dagger out of nowhere. My heart went to my throat when I saw
Cornelius raise his arm to strike. Without thinking I ran at him. I hit
Cornelius full force from behind. We went rolling across the floor into the
opposite wall. The dagger slid across the stone floor. Cornelius was
momentarily dazed. I took the opportunity and lunged for the dagger. As my
fingers grasped the handle he was on my back. I groaned in pain when he sank
his fangs into my shoulder. He wasn’t being nice about it either. It felt like
an animal bite. I shoved my elbow backwards into his stomach and knocked him
off me. I moved so I was over him and I tightened my grip on the dagger. His
eyes widened as I brought it down on him. I was suddenly knocked sideways. The
dagger left my grasp and my side ached where someone kicked me.

I
looked up from where I laid. Aubrey was standing over Cornelius, but he didn’t
have a weapon. He was the one that knocked me off Cornelius. I felt the anger
hit me as I watched him just stand there.