Authors: Jade M. Phillips
I closed the cell bars and, taking a few steps down the
hall, threw my back against the wall. I held the rosary tight to my chest,
thinking what a stubborn asshole Guy Stone was. Yet, I couldn’t help but love
that stubborn ass with all of my heart. I shook my head.
His words had cut me deep, like a razor’s sharp edge, but I
knew they were out of fear and he was just protecting me. I saw in his eyes, knowing
it hurt him as much as it did me, but I wasn’t going to let him push me away
that easily.
I glanced down the long hall, still alone. Orie would be at
the front of the Courthouse until sunrise, unless —God forbid— any unforeseeable
trouble happened. I still had time. I still had time to convince Guy his life
was worth fighting for.
I pulled the rosary he’d given me what felt centuries ago
over my head and let it lie flat on my chest. I then disrobed, piece by piece,
until all I wore was a thin white undergarment.
I sighed heavily, knowing this was my last chance, and
walked back to the bars and slid them open again. Guy lie facing the wall, the flickering
torch light catching glints of his chocolate brown hair in their wake. His
muscled back shone through large tears and gaps in his shirt and I couldn’t
help think he was utterly beautiful. Despite our grim circumstance, my pull of
desire for him was overwhelming.
I dropped my clothes on the ground in a pile and slid the
door closed, locking myself inside yet again. I edged around the pieces of
broken plate and spilled food he’d thrown in his rage, hoping I could get
through to him and convince him we could make this work and escape together.
Though he knew I was there, he didn’t as much as flinch when
I neared. I knelt down and unlocked the chains from his feet, gently casting them
to the side, wincing when I saw the bloodied chafing on his ankles from the
cuffs. I climbed over him and slid myself onto the bench in front of him,
tucking my body into his. I pulled the blanket over us and edged myself as
close as possible into his chest, feeling it expand and retract against my back,
his warm breath in my hair.
“Hold me,” I whispered.
After a long silence, and when I was almost certain he would
ignore me, Guy snaked his arm around my waist and pulled me in tight. His
warmth enveloped me like I was sliding into a hot spring, his manly scent
swirling into my senses. For the first time in a long time, I felt safe again,
like returning home.
He brought up his fingers and slowly traced the chain of my
rosary from the side of my neck down to between my breasts, sliding off to
graze the skin of my chest. At his touch, my skin pebbled and I shuddered
inside with warmth. I flipped over to face him, his storm-cloud eyes taking me
in, his face streaked with tears. I knew it killed him to talk to me the way he
had, but I also knew he didn’t mean it.
He stroked my hair and I kissed away his tears, thinking I
never wanted to be away from him again. His lips found mine and he devoured my
breath as I did his, our bodies shaking together. We shook of fear and anger,
but also of love and desire. Guy ran his hands up my back beneath my night gown
and I felt a pull of attraction in that moment I’d never felt before, my body
heating like the embers of a fire. I pulled away, becoming suddenly shy, my
cheeks flushing hot. Guy paused, considering me.
I’d never been with a man in that way, and had never had any
reason to tell Guy before now. I was embarrassed, thinking I might have to do
so in that moment. But I was spared an explanation when Guy’s eyes softened
with understanding, as if he already knew. He pushed a stray hair from my face
and kissed me deeply, before wrapping his arms around me tight. I nuzzled into
his chest and listened to his heart beat. I knew when the time came and I was
ready to take that next step, Guy was the one I wanted to share my first time
with, but this was neither the time nor the place. Our focus needed to stay on
escaping and, furthermore, surviving.
The hours we spent together that night more so validated my feelings
that I couldn’t allow him to perish away in the prison cell. I couldn’t stand
for him to be taken from me. And the fact that we were so different, human and
vampire, didn’t concern me. We could work that out. What concerned me was our
escaping this place together, and doing so alive.
I breathed deeply as Guy held me after our night together,
sadness and pleasure combined. He traced the lines of my face with his finger
tips and placed a kiss on my collarbone.
“You are everything to me, Faith,” he breathed against my
skin, breaking the beautiful silence. He pulled away from me as we lay on our
sides, gazing into each other’s eyes. “I care for you more than I could ever
express in words,” he continued. “But that is why this can never work. Even if
we escaped this place, the only thing you’d ever know is fear and danger. I
cannot be the one who puts you in that position.”
Always the logical one and stubborn as a bull. I ran my
fingers over a patch of his bare shoulder. “But that is what I choose. I choose
you. I choose
danger
if it means we can be together. We can figure it
out. We can find somewhere safe, where neither one of us will ever be found. We
can live happily together.”
Guy smiled, but it was a sad one. “I’m a human, Faith. You
will watch me grow old as you stay young. That will not be much of a life for
you.”
“Details,” I said, waving a dismissive hand as though debating
the color of the sky. Guy chuckled and I laughed with him.
I wanted more than anything to suggest he become a vampire
like myself, knowing we would be stronger that way, but just as the thought
entered my mind, so did the cold fingers of guilt, telling me how selfish it
was. I could never do that to him.
I then wondered if there would ever be a cure for what I
was, for vampirism. If by some chance a cure did exist, I was determined to
find it once we were free. But for now, all our efforts needed to be focused on
escape, and I needed to convince him of that.
“Seriously,” I continued, my lips curling into a small
smile. “I don’t care as long as we’re together. I want you and you only. I
don’t want to be a part of this community if I can’t have you with me. I don’t
care about being a vampire, I don’t care about their rules and their ways. It’s
nothing without you. My life is nothing…” I dropped my gaze, “without you.”
Guy considered me, soaking in what I said. “Are you sure
about this?”
I glanced back up. “I’ve never been so sure of anything in my
entire life.”
He studied me again for one long moment and then nodded. “All
I want is for your happiness, and if leaving this place is your wish, then so
be it.”
A beaming smile formed on my face and I kissed him gently, elation
warming my heart. When our lips parted, I giggled, watching the way Guy looked
at me with such depth, as though he could feel my happiness inside of him. And
then something suddenly occurred to me. I’d never revealed to him that I knew
of his bond to me. I cleared my throat, figuring there would be no better time,
and shifted my attention between both of his grey eyes.
“I know you’re bonded to me,” I said in a small voice, gauging
what his reaction might be.
Guy’s joyous expression faltered, and he fell silent for a
long while, studying my face. After what felt like forever, he finally spoke,
his voice husky and raw. “How did you find out?”
I looked down at my lap, and played with the hem of my nightgown.
“I heard you and Wilson talking about it back at the ranch house, but it was obvious
you didn’t want me to know, so I never said anything.”
Guy shook his head and opened his mouth to say something,
but then closed it again as if unsure. He sighed deeply and tried again. “It
was better that way.”
I offered him a sympathetic smile, understanding why he
never told me. At the time and, as far as we were both concerned, we would go
our separate ways, never seeing each other again. But now that the tides had
changed, bringing us back together, we needed to be honest with each other. We
both fell silent again for a few moments, pondering his connection to me.
“I want you to know that’s not the reason I care about you,”
Guy finally interjected, causing me to glance back up at him. “Though it was
hard for me to admit, I started having feelings for you the minute I laid eyes
on you at the battle.” His eyes then traveled my body, his fingers tracing the
satin neck of my nightgown. “I’d never seen anyone so beautiful in my entire
life.”
I felt my cheeks color at his words, thinking about what
he’d said. Though I didn’t want to admit it, either, I had pondered the same
thing on occasion, wondering if the only reason he had a connection to me was
because of that night long ago at the mission. But his admission just now
verified what I truly knew in my heart; he really cared for me, and not just
because of some silly blood bond. That led me to also ponder what Wilson had
said about unrequited bonds and how painful they could be. I glanced up into
Guy’s gaze, now seeing it soft and vulnerable.
“Does it hurt?” I asked, and he cocked a brow. “The bond, I
mean. Wilson said it was unpleasant to be bonded to someone when they are not
in turn bonded to you.”
Guy stared out into the darkness as though digging through
his own memories, the flame of the torchlight dancing in his eyes. He paused
for a second, his lips then peeling into a gentle smile. He glanced back down
at me, and brought a thumb beneath my chin, raising my head to his. He leaned
in, the closer he became, the more his scent wrapped around me— wet leather and
dry leaves.
“No. It was a comfort having you near me, if not in body, in
mind. The only thing that hurt was that I could not feel your lips against
mine.”
At first, he touched his mouth gently to mine, causing my
flesh to tingle with pleasure. But after a moment, he placed a hand behind my
head and deepened the kiss. It must’ve lasted forever, for we were both lost in
time with each other. But as I winked my eyes open, I could feel the presence
of the morning like an unexplainable heat. I pulled away, breathless.
“Guy, the sun.”
His hooded eyes became more alert and he looked around as if
he could see through the walls to the outside. But there were no windows. We
then looked at each other, knowing we needed to settle on a plan, and quickly.
“You said you’ve made friends here?” he asked, and I nodded.
“And you’re positive you can trust them?”
“Yes,” I answered with confidence.
He shifted on the bench, rubbing the scruff on his chin.
“Then we don’t have much time,” he mused. “We must act quickly.
And it must be tonight after I’m visited by Horus. I am to be a human sacrifice
and I gather it will be very soon.”
My pulse quickened at his words of being a sacrifice. I remembered
seeing the woman on the theatre’s stage that night at The Birdcage Theatre. The
night they drained her of her life’s blood. I shivered. Guy, sensing my
discomfort placed a soothing hand on my arm.
“I’m assuming one of your friends must be the guard on duty
tonight.”
Again I nodded, and he exhaled loudly but said nothing. He gazed
unseeing at the walls.
“What can I do to help?” I asked, urging him on. My keen
vision sensed weak light beams filtering through the building from the front
doors of the courthouse. I had to hurry. Daylight was not far away and I
couldn’t risk getting caught. Not now when we were so close to leaving this
place. Guy searched the cell as if he would find an answer within its walls.
“I have an idea,” he said to my relief. “But it is going to
be tricky.”
Guy quickly went over the details of his plan as well as
asking me a torrent of questions about things around town. He was especially
interested in Orie’s security position. I gave him the general layout of
Tombstone along with certain details I thought would be helpful. I also told
him about Orie and Cloe and their wish to leave this place as well. Together we
came up with a plan I prayed would somehow work.
But before leaving, I removed my rosary and tucked it into
Guy’s palm. He raised his brows at me.
I leaned over and kissed him lightly on the cheek. “Until I
see you again.”
Guy looked about to protest but thought better of it. He
reluctantly let me stand and gather the pieces of plate he’d earlier broken. He
flashed me a smile as I slid open the cell door.
“Now don’t you go running off on me,” I said, glancing at
him from over my shoulder.
Guy’s lips curled into a boyish smile. “I’m not going
anywhere.”
I left the cell that dark morning with a newfound hope and
my lips still tingling from Guy’s kisses. But instead of going home to hide
away from the sun, I convinced Orie to meet me at the Crystal Palace so we
could go see Cloe together. He agreed and, not long after his shift change, met
me at the Saloon. We rushed to the infirmary and crept inside.
I was nervous to tell the young werewolf of our plan but
Cloe took matters into her own hands. To my relief Orie was on board, if not a
little nervous, but I knew in my heart I could trust him.
So instead of sleeping during the daytime hours like the
rest of the town’s inhabitants, the three of us stayed in the infirmary
discussing our strategy. Luckily, Morin went home for the day leaving only one
witch on call and she was too busy with the other patients to notice our
whereabouts. Consequently, we hid in the tiny room, running through our strategy
over and over until satisfied it would work.
It was official. We had all the pieces to our plan in place,
except for one small detail that grated on my mind.
“You want to free the blood slaves as well?” Orie yelped at
my suggestion. “Are you kidding me?” He sat next to Cloe on the edge of her
bed, a hand on her thigh. But I shrugged nonchalantly, as though freeing the
humans would be a piece of cake, though my confidence was anything but certain.
“I can’t leave them here,” I said. “It’s just not right.”
Orie scoffed, raking his hands back over his smooth hair.
“It’s going to be tricky enough to free your prisoner and all of us escape
unnoticed. But to free a large group of weakened humans as well?” He shook his
head. “Impossible.”
“Nothing’s impossible,” I rebutted, hoping my statement held
valid.
Orie let out an exasperated breath and glanced to his side
at Cloe, as if awaiting her to side with him. But she shrugged and smiled,
shifting her bright eyes back and forth between us. “I think we can do it.”
I smiled and clapped my hands together, delighted at my
friend’s vote of confidence. Yet again, my hope was restored, but poor Orie
looked anything but hopeful.
“How do you propose we do that, Cloe?” he asked in shock that
she would even consider supporting my crazy idea. “How do you propose we free
two dozen humans from the likes of Tombstone?”
A devious smile peeled its way across the vampire’s face.
“Easy. We just walk them right out of the gates.”