The Chosen Ones (34 page)

“Why would you put us through
that?” I demanded, the outrage coming to the forefront. Unable to help myself,
I tore my hands from Will and rushed toward Thane. Before he could realize my
intent, I punched him in the shoulder. He didn’t even cringe and I was pretty
sure I’d hurt my knuckles more than I’d hurt him. The others around us had
grown quiet, watchful. I didn’t care, my focus remained on Thane.

“Why?”

“You both wear your feelings on
your faces. They would have known,” he explained with no remorse, no guilt. “Besides,
they are good at sensing things. Even if the truth hadn’t been obvious on your
face, they would have felt your ease.”

Perhaps he was right, but it
didn’t make me feel any better. The pain I’d felt had been crushing, almost
unbearable. Did he have any idea what he had done to me? I shifted, my wet,
stocking-clad feet growing numb from cold. “You put me in the room on purpose
so I could jump?”

“I did.”

Will moved to the group, taking
over where Thane had left off. Although they were close, it still felt as if
only Thane and I stood there. I crossed my arms, trying to keep warm, and
glared up at him. “And what if I hadn’t jumped?”
 

“I knew you would.”

For one long moment we merely
stood there, staring at each other. Maybe he knew me better than I knew myself.
Or maybe he just didn’t care if I’d made it or not. If I had been caught, or drowned,
would he have mourned my death?

“We need to get going,” Will
said, interrupting our silent battle.

“Going where?” I turned my back
to Thane.

I couldn’t deal with the dhampir
right now. Will might have been able to forgive him, and maybe Thane was right,
but I was still angry and I didn’t trust myself. Not when it was obvious so
many others were on Thane’s side. We had more important things to worry about
than my hurt feelings.
 

“We’re attacking the castle.”

“I’m sorry,” I stumbled over my
words, confused. “What did you just say? Surely I misheard.”

“You didn’t.”

I jerked my attention to that
huge, stone castle glowing in the distance. It looked impenetrable. How would
we ever get in? I returned my gaze to the group who was awaiting their next
order. From what I could see, most were chosen ones. Some I’d seen in passing
during our travels; the majority I didn’t know. But it was when I looked closer
that I noticed the glowing eyes dispersed throughout the darkness.

Dhampir.

“So, I guess that was another
lie.” I glanced at Thane. “They were willing to work with you after all.”

“No,” Thane replied quite calmly.
“Their decision to join us was a recent event.”

I lowered my voice to a whisper.
“And you know we can trust them?”

But it didn’t matter how low I
spoke, they still heard me and I swore their eyes grew brighter, a few growls
peppering the air. I’d offended them.

Thane leaned toward me, his lips
brushing my ear and startling me. “As much as you can trust me.”

I flushed, annoyed with his
teasing response.

“Let’s go,” Will said. “While
they’re celebrating.”

“You know,” Bacchus’ voice
carried through the woods. “I really thought more highly of you, Thane. I believed
you were smarter than this.”

I spun around. Everywhere I
turned, we were surrounded. Vampire after vampire. Their dark forms stepped
from the woods, their eyes glowing bright and deadly. The fear that had eased
returned full-force.

“That’s where you’re wrong, Bacchus.
I was thinking,” Thane said, quite calmly. “That it would be easier to fight
you outside the walls.”

So this, too, had been a set up.
Thane had wanted them to follow me, to find us. Was anything he did honest?
 

“Attack!” Bacchus cried out. “Kill
them all. I don’t want one left living!”

The vampires surged forward, a
blur of bodies, a wall of death. At the same time Thane shoved me back. I fell
some feet away, landing on my bottom while the chosen ones, dhampir and blood
drinkers crashed together with a roar. Only feet from me a vampire hit a chosen
one, taking the man down. Within seconds the chosen one was dead and the
vampire had moved on.

His death jerked me from my
stupor. This was my chance to live. I crawled to the broken, deceased chosen
one and grabbed his sword. He had no use for the weapon. Before I could even
stand, from the corner of my eye I saw the shadow leap toward me. I didn’t
think, merely swung the sword wide, hitting the vampire. The blade sliced
through his side, pausing at bone.

He cried out, stumbling back. Injured
but not dead. I pulled the blade free and in one fell swoop, swung it toward
his neck. Even if I’d wanted to celebrate, I didn’t have time. As his head fell
from his body and blood spurted into a silver arch, another vampire hit me. We
fell to the ground and the sword slipped from my fingers.

“No!” I reached for the dagger
at my leg, but it wasn’t there. Bacchus had taken it when he’d captured me.

The vampire shoved his hands
into my shoulders, pinning me to the ground. His smirk showed those long,
pointed canines. I tucked my knees to my chest, keeping them between us in an
attempt to prevent the blood drinker from feeding on me. But it didn’t work.
While they fought around me, he gripped my ankles and jerked my legs down. His
lips lifted, a low growl vibrating in his throat.

I hadn’t come this far to die
now.

“Jane!” Suddenly Will was there,
always there, sword in hand. The vampire’s head went one way and his body
another. Will reached down, grabbed my hand and yanked me to my feet. I
swerved, the world around me spinning as my body and mind tried to reconnect
with the fact that I still lived.

“You okay?”

I nodded, scooping up my sword.
Around us, vampires fought chosen ones and dhampir, people crying out and
swearing, swords clanging and blood arching against the moonlight. I tried to
figure out who was winning, but it was difficult to tell in the darkness.

“Keep safe,” Will said.
 

Unwillingly, my gaze went to
Thane as Will raced off to fight a vampire. Thane was locked in battle with two.
As far as I knew he hadn’t fed in days; would he last long? Frantic, I searched
for Bacchus. He stood in the background, merely watching everything unfold
exactly as he thought it would. His soldiers were winning.
 

As much as I wished I could
drive my sword through his heart, I knew I couldn’t get to him. His soldiers
would never allow it. Will was fighting a vampire, Thane was still holding his
own with the two but I could tell he was weakening. Despite the fact that he’d
put me in danger and kept me in the dark, I knew I would still put my life on
the line to help him. Sword in hand, I raced up behind them and swung, hitting
the closest vampire in the neck. Blood spurted across the sky, hitting my shirt.
I didn’t wait for, nor did I expect, Thane’s gratitude. He’d saved me, I’d
saved him. It was a partnership.

Knowing there were more who
needed help, I spun around and suddenly found myself face to face with a dhampir.
Frozen in place, I wasn’t sure if he was friend or enemy. His lips lifted into
a hiss. When he raised his arm I knew. I dropped to the ground and lifted my
sword up at the same time. The point went straight into his chest. With a
growl, he jerked back, taking my sword with him.

“Damn,” I whispered.

He tore the sword from his
chest, holding the weapon in his tight grip. “Prepare to die.”

He lifted the sword. A soft
swoosh whispered overhead, barely audible over the clash of fighting. The arrow
pierced him directly in his right eye. The dhampir dropped the sword with a cry
of outrage. I rolled out of the way just as the dhampir collapsed. Thane swept
past me, crossbow in hand. He didn’t ask if I was okay, but lifted the bow and
shot the next vampire coming at us.

I grabbed my sword and scrambled
to my feet, following him. “How do I know who is working for us and who isn’t?”

Thane thrust his arm forward,
stabbing a vampire, who was fighting a chosen one, in the back. “The enemy are
the ones trying to kill you.”

“That helps,” I snapped, lifting
my sword and swiping it across the neck of a vampire about to bite into a
chosen one. The blade got stuck again. As the vampire cried out in surprise, I
jerked my weapon free.

“We’re outnumbered, Thane.”

He lifted his crossbow and
pointed it at a vampire fighting Will. “You worry too much.”
 

I released a harsh laugh. “Yeah,
I wonder why that is.”

He released the arrow and the
vampire fell. Will quickly cut off its head. “Just wait.”

He paused there in the middle of
the clearing. I waited next to him, watching the fight around us and wondering
why we weren’t helping. “Look.” Thane nodded toward the right.

I followed his gaze and watched
as a vampire knelt beside the body of a dying chosen one. He sank his teeth
into the man’s throat. My stomach lurched. “We need to help him.”

“It’s too late, the man’s dying.
But keep watching.”

“I don’t want to keep—” The
vampire pulled back, gagging like a cat with a hairball. Realization washed
over me. “The serum?”

“Yes. We had enough to give it
to the men and women fighting today.”

He wasn’t the only vampire who
was gagging on human blood. “Even if it prevents a few from feeding, they can
still kill us.”

“True, but at least it’s a start.”
He snatched the sword from my hand and swung it wide before I even had time to
realize a vampire was coming straight at us. The blade hit the blood sucker in
the neck and he went down. Thane handed the sword back to me. “Thanks.”

“Sure.” Just like that he was
gone, scooping up the sword of some fallen man and heading into the fray.

With no choice, I followed him,
protecting his back when he didn’t seem in the least bit concerned. But before
I could get to Thane, I tripped, tumbling toward a fighting couple. I stumbled
out of the way just as a sword swooshed by me. Off balance, I fell to my knees.
Around me the fury of war raged on, but the battle cries faded as I stared into
the eyes of a decapitated head. A chosen one. An innocent woman with short,
curly hair that reminded me of Kelly.

Gasping, I jumped to my feet.
The need to get away from the death and destruction overwhelmed me. I spun
around to find someone I knew, needing the grounding familiarity, and that was
when I saw Bacchus sweeping across the field. Hell, he was headed straight
toward Thane.

“Thane!” I cried out, but he either
didn’t hear me or was too busy fighting to care.

Will caught my gaze, saw Bacchus
and we both started running. Although Will was fast, I was much closer.

Bacchus scooped up a dagger from
a fallen vampire. Thane was battling in the midst of a group: vampire, dhampir
and humans entangled in a fight for survival. Bacchus was close. So close.
 

I leapt over a fallen man and
lifted my sword just as Bacchus turned toward me. The blade hit him in the neck
as he raised his hand, his dagger sinking into my side. I wasn’t sure who was
more surprised.

I stumbled as I landed on my
feet. Bacchus gripped his neck, the blood pouring down around his fingers in
silver ribbons that glimmered under the moonlight.

“Jane!” Will called out.

Trembling from fear, or perhaps
shock, I fumbled to grab my sword as the blood trailed down my side. Bacchus
stumbled toward me. Vaguely I was aware of Thane turning our way. I lifted my
sword and swung again. It hit Bacchus in the side, sinking into his waist.
Injured, he fell to his knees.

I hadn’t killed him, but I had
injured him enough for Will or Thane to finish the job. Panting, I merely stood
there, my hand pressed to my wounded side as I stared at Bacchus who glared up
at me from the ground where he lay bleeding…hopefully dying.

“You saved me?” Thane asked.
There was no surprise or even gratitude in his voice, mere curiosity.

I took in a deep, trembling
breath and met Thane’s gaze. Now that the shock was fading, pain replaced the
numbness, beating in time with my heart. “Despite what you’ve done, I couldn’t
let you die.”

It was over. Somehow we had won.
Around us, the chosen ones were thriving with help from the dhampir. I could
finally rest. Will had grabbed Bacchus’ arms and was holding him to the ground.
I wondered why he didn’t just kill him but was too exhausted to care.

“Is she okay?” Will asked Thane.

The sword fell from my fingers as
the world around me spun. It was over but I definitely wasn’t okay. My knees
buckled. I felt myself sinking toward the ground. Suddenly, Thane’s scent
swirled around me, his arms holding me tight.

I didn’t want him to touch me
and tried to push away. But he wouldn’t relent and my strength waned. Unable to
help myself, I gave into temptation and let the darkness come.

Chapter
19

“You’re seriously going to let
him live?” I seethed, trying to keep my temper in check, attempting to
understand Will’s insane decision. “After all he’s done?”

Bacchus sat against an oak tree
only about twenty feet away. The smirk on his face made me ill. We talked
quietly, but I knew he could hear. His hands were chained behind his back, his
ankles bonded as well. But with his strength, and with blood coursing through
his body, he could easily break the bonds. Thank God Will wasn’t allowing him
to feed, which meant he would only grow weaker. One small consolation. How long
would he last without blood? The sooner he died, the better.

“He’s an asset,” Will explained
as the camp around us awoke to their early morning routine. We’d been traveling
for a week and my side was slowly, if painfully, mending. Will had managed to
stitch the wound and Thane was keeping tabs to make sure there was no
infection. Although it hurt, it could have been much, much worse.