Born of Silence (Immortal Guardians) (7 page)

He wanted her to go to the window.

It took all the strength she had, but she pushed herself up with her hands and weakly slid over to the glass. She was so tired that she could fall asleep sitting up. But at the same time she feared sleep because of what she might
dream
. The globe lowered again, traveling more slowly down her face and neck, then over both her arms, and finally over her legs. Her eyes flicked back and forth between what the light illuminated on her skin versus the expression on Garrick’s face. His eyes finally met hers, and she saw a fierceness in them that would have
scared her
had it actually been directed at her. As it was, it was directed toward Pyro. Or Ekhart, maybe.

He raised hi
s right hand to the glass, his palm
faced toward
her
.
Danielle placed her hand against the pane, lining it up as closely to his as she could even though hers was much tinier than his. The glass
between their hands illuminated in swirls of different colors: blues, greens, purples, oranges, and yellows, and even every once in a while, red.

Lifting his left hand to his mouth, he placed one finger to his lips in an unmistakable gest
ure to remain quiet. S
he felt something travel through her hand and up her arm.
She jumped instinctively before realizing it w
as
a strange and wonderful feeling
,
both hot and cold at the same time, as though her body couldn’t tell the difference. Once the sensation reached her chest, it bloomed throughout her entire body, and she arched in response, her head lolling backward. But still, she held on. The pain of her wounds lessened and her body actually felt good for once.

The feeling spread to the center of her being and she moaned at the tingling between her legs. If she hadn’t known better, she’d think that Garrick was in her cell with he
r, caressing her with his
fingers. Yes, it felt as though he was touching her where her body started to ache. And yet, the aching felt so good. A sigh escaped her as the sensation grew more intense. Her hips rocked forward and back, as though she could make it enter her. But no, it just licked at the junction of her legs, teasing her into a fever pitch.

She felt incredible. No more pain radiated throughout her body. Only ecstasy. She was so close to going over the edge. An edge she’d never gone over before. And she needed. . .

Her eyes
snapped
open and she met the blazing heat of Garrick’s gaze. She pulled her hand from the glass in an instant, scrambling away from the pane that separated them. What had just happened? Had he done that? Breath sawed in and out of her, and the excitement she’d just felt slowly ebbed into a
throbbing ache
that rested between her thighs.

She looked at the man, with his smoldering eyes and expression that betrayed just how affected he was as well. Something
had certainly just
happened betwee
n them
. If it had been Garrick that caused it, why had he? Was it meant out of kindness, or out of his own selfish need?

And had he meant to take it that far?

****

Garrick stared at Dani
, dumbfounded
as she scrambled as far away from him as she could get.

He couldn’t explain what had just
occurred
. He’d seen her fresh injuries and used what power he could to strengthen her body, allowing her to heal. But somehow the connection between t
hem had grown fervent
, and had taken things in a completely new direction. He’d been stunned himself. Still was, in fact.

But what he was feeling was nothing compared to what she was. He’d felt those ple
asures before—c
ountless times, though it had never happened th
e same way it had with Dani—and
he realized right away that she had never felt that way before. Garrick had caught sight of her face just after she pulled away. Her expression was one of betrayal, and he wanted more than anything to explain. Of course, explaining
tended to be
quite
difficult when he didn’t know what the hell
had
happened himself, and the fact a bloody soundproofed wall
separated them
didn’t help matters at all.

Dani looked away then, her face now hidden in the shadows
of her darkened room
. Garrick pounded on the glass to grab her attention, but whether or not she could hear it or if she was just ignoring it was a big question mark. Giving up, he rolled onto his back, letting his eyes close as he attempted to ignore the swelling between his legs.

He rested there for a while
with only silence to greet him. T
hat silence was beginning to grate on him. He was an outgoing person. Always had been. This complete lack of communication was too much for him to handle, and the one person he could talk to was that gods damned Dr. Shorman
—a
nd that bastard was intent on making his life a living hell.

Hours went by and Garrick had started to wonder when the guards would appear to haul him off to the lab. Just as he’d started to think that they wouldn’t, a bright light turned on
in Dani’s room. He sat up just as t
wo guards—one being that blond bastard that alw
ays came in for her—grabbed her
. He held her as the other whacked her over the head with a short club, and her head lolled to the side
as her body fell slack
.

Garrick was on his feet in a second, prowling the glass window, watching every move they made. Throwing her over his shoulder, her main guard turned to him with a sadistic s
mile and waved as he removed Dani
from her cell.

“Where’s Ferox?” Demetrius demanded as he stalked the library of the Guardians’ mansion.

“No one knows,” Draven replied. He was sitting on the arm of the couch, watching
him
pace back and forth.
“
Mom left a couple nights ago, and nobody’s seen dad since before that even.”

Demetrius pegged the vampire with a glare. “Raine left? Where did she go?”

“She wen
t to stay with her sisters.” Demetrius
raised
a single
eyebrow,
and Draven
continued. “Valkyrie. They came for her, but again, we don’t know why.”

“We’ve heard from her though,” Ethan offered. He’d apparently heard their conversation from outside the library and decided to poke his head a
round the corner. “She’s fine
, just needed a break.”

Demetrius nodded. A lot of shit had been going down lately, and it was about time to get things under wraps. “Where are the others?”

“They’re around,” Ethan replied. “Raider, Nitro, Ash, and Blaze decided to take their night off to search for Garrick. Draven and I were getting ready to go out on rounds.”

“
Thrash really isn’t on the schedule anymore, but he is at my place,” Draven added.

And Riley was still in a coma. Fucking great.

Demetrius sighed as he rolodexed through the small catalog of Guardians. Gods, they still needed to find Garrick. Demetrius had searched for the Fairy for days, but somehow there was no sign of him. “Anyone been keeping an eye on the news lately?”

Both of the brothers shook their heads.

“Not since the other night with the Dracs,” Draven said.

Demetrius nodded, having been filled in on that situation when he’d found out that they nearly lost
both
Raider
and his new mate, Nitro
. “There were cops that were attacked when they went in, right?”

“Yeah,” Ethan replied.

He knew there had been. He’d spent a good deal of time researching what had gone down that night, and had listened in to newscasts. The female on the television had explained that some cops stepped inside and were attacked, and that those officers were then hauled off to another hospital.

Draven’s eyebrows lowered. “What’s up, Demi?”

“I’m just wondering what the hell happened to those officers. If they were attacked by Dracs, and everyone else who’s been attacked has turned, then where in the hell are they and why aren’t we hearing any
more news on it?”

The three stared at each other silently,
and he knew the vampires were
running through all possible scenarios.

“Could Ekhart’s men be stationed somewhere nearby?” Draven asked.

“It’s already been wiped out,” Demetrius said. “That’s where the infected children came from.”

Ethan folded his arms as he sat back against the couch. Demetrius eyed the vampire prince, coming to the same conclusion as he said, “Unless there’s another one.”

****

Danielle came awake suddenly as smelling salts were thrust under her nose. She immediately tried to sit up, but found that her hands and ankles were bound to a metal bed.
Glancing
down, she realized she was naked, completely bared to the doctors who stood over her now—doctors she’d seen numerous times over the past few years.

“We must be careful this time,” a voice said from behind the wall of men and women in white lab coats. The voice was familiar
,
o
ne she’d heard a few times during her stay.
The man responsible for anything and everything that went on here.
Ekhart. “This step seems to b
e the most fatal,” he finished.

Danielle blinked at his choice of wording.
Fatal
rang out in her ears.
Even more panic spread throughout
her
, and she tried to pull against her restraints. Dr. Shorman gave Ekhart a quick nod over his shoulder and turned toward Danielle with a large syringe. She knew what was in it. Or rather, she knew what it did to her. It made her heart pump wildly, made her feel angry and violent
, as though every blood cell in her body was given an overdose of caffeine
. Each time they’d given it to her they’d follow it up with another shot. One that k
nocked her out. She always had
those violent dreams after that dual cocktail, and this time there was about double the liquid based on the over-sized syringe.

She
closed her eyes and
waited for the sting of the needle as it slid into her neck. It always hurt unbearably, and she cried each time they did it, her neck sore from each previous stick. Only, Dr. Shorman didn’t bring the syringe to her neck.
She opened one eye, peeking upward, and barely had time to scream as she saw the doctor’s hands raised above her. He brought it down quickly, plunging the needle
into Danielle’s chest, piercing her heart.
She screamed
as
the needle slid into her chest
. He pressed the plunger down and the sting of the drug spread, feeling as though her heart was seizing in constraint.
With its seizing, her breath emptied out of her, quieting her on a slow wheeze.
Once the drug was emptied, Dr. Shorman set the syringe down on his table. Then all of their heads huddled around Danielle, looking down at her as though they were waiting for something.

Her heart lurched and sped up instantly, the sting spreading on the super highway that was her veins. She cried out and the pain increased. Faster and faster her heart beat, and she could feel the violent anger building inside her. Everyone ooh’d and ahh’d as she
lay in bed shaking horrifically, none of them giving a damn about the agony she was in.

Normally this
wa
s when they’d give her
the other shot.
But they didn’t this time.

Instead, Ekhart stepped forward. His head appeared upside down as he leaned over her. His eyes searched hers and then traveled down her face and neck, and then to her arms. Danielle looked down as best as she could, catching only glimpses of her skin as she shook. Her arms and chest weren’t pale as they usually were. Her skin was changing color, turning dar
ker and darker. She screamed
again as a fresh wave of pain coursed through her. The sensation hit in both her hands, feeling as though every one of her fingernails was being pulled out or bent backwards. The other pain was in her back, like knives were slashing through her skin.

“It’s happening,” Dr. Shorman yelled over her screams and cries.

“Stand her up,” Ekhart demanded.

One of the nurses must have hit a button because Danielle’s view of the ceiling slowly disappeared as the bed moved into a vertical position. S
he was still strapped to it
, but could now see every one of the doctors and nurses in the lab with her. Her mouth throbbed as much as her back and hands. The tearing sensation hit her again and her back arc
hed in response, though not of
her own volition. Something was now behind her back,
trying to push
her away from the bed. Her stomach lurched when she felt flutters in the muscles of her back.