“
Traith, you must explain—”
“
You want me to explain to her?” he asked in frustration. “That I honestly didn’t remember killing my parents in front of her, and that I wish I’d known, because if I had—” The raising of his voice stopped abruptly, and he swallowed before speaking again. “I would never have asked for her forgiveness,” he finished, his words as quiet as the breeze.
They both heard a sharp intake of breath, and then sobbing behind them.
“
Ana,” he murmured, shaking his head slightly.
Rein watched Traith’s face. He refused to turn around and look at his sister; his eyes were focused on Rein; he was tense. Rein tried to push his torment out of her mind. When he finally forced himself to turn around, Rein backed away. Ana’s face was bleak as death itself. Rein stood straighter, ready for a meeting that would change everything between the two.
Ana stood silently, staring deeply into her brother’s red eyes. She had heard what he’d said. Rein felt Traith’s heart wrenching; she knew his sister was alone. But her hope of their reunion was shattered when Traith suddenly disappeared, leaving the women alone.
“
He cannot face you, Ana,” Rein said softly. “What are you doing here?”
Rein realized with terror that she had to fight harder than she ever had before to keep a clear head and not read thoughts. She
was
becoming more powerful as time passed, but for Traith’s sake, and everyone else’s, she had to maintain control. She could still hear his thoughts, but they grew quieter and quieter until they stopped.
He was so unsure of what to do.
And Ana’s mind was screaming to her, too. Ana was beside herself.
“
I need to talk to him,” Ana cried. “They’re going to find me and kill me, and I need him. Oh, please, trust me! I don’t know what else to do.”
Rein stood still, her head cocked in wonder. She knew Ana was sincere.
“
They’ll kill you?”
“
I’m sorry—I trust you, I…I just need to speak with Traith. Please get him,” she cried hysterically. “He would want to know…”
Rein could not hear Ana’s last words. It began again, the same way it had moments before. So much was streaming through her mind that it shut the world out. Rein closed her eyes, fighting pain. She opened them again, praying she had blocked Ana’s mind from her own.
“
I did not know,
” she heard Ana’s voice in her head. “
I had not known that Traith lost his memory. Saria…
”
Ana knew something else.
“
Saria?” Rein asked, her vision blurring, tears running down her face.
Ana stared at her with a frightened gaze. “How did you—?”
Alive?
A cold, familiar wind tingled Rein’s neck. The smell of icy smoke burned her lungs.
Her mind quieted.
Then there was relief, but anxiety.
“
God, they’re here,” Ana cried in panic.
They
did
want to kill Ana. She was in as much danger as Rein or Traith. No, she was in more danger.
A flash of light hit the stone in front of Rein, startling her out of the snare of her developing psyche. The terrace cracked to pieces under her feet. Rein regained her balance. Helena was the next person she saw, then an army of warriors behind her.
But it was the person standing next to the army. The person who was obviously many people merged into one. Obviously someone she knew; she felt. Even though the person didn’t look a thing like her, Rein realized with terror in her heart that it was her deceased, dearest friend, Saria, standing aggressively. Waiting to fight her.
Chapter 75
“
Damn,” Traith whispered to himself quietly when he realized where he had brought himself. “The middle of the dance floor? Of all places…”
Turning to get off the dance floor, he found himself face to face with Mistress.
“
I feel it,” she said to him.
“
What?”
She frowned at the look on his face. “You may want to go back to your lover. Something is wrong.”
“
My sister is here. Wait,” he said. “Rein?”
“
It was not Ana who brought the Mardinial Council, Traith.”
“
What are you talking about?” he asked. “You think she’s alone?”
“
Do you not trust her?” Mistress said with a smile.
“
Trust her? Are you mad? I used to, but she tried to kill me, more than once!”
“
Can you see no sincerity in her now?” answered the old woman. “She yearns for you without words.”
“
Yearns for me? What?”
They were interrupted by the cracking and smashing of stone above them. Rain began to fall, and it chilled him.
The organ stopped playing, and the dancing ceased. Revelers gasped as the castle walls and roof collapsed inward and a militia of creatures poured through them.
Traith staggered backward. “Rein was right,” he muttered.
“
Council
!” Mistress cried in authority. “Attack! Hold nothing back!”
The castle ballroom was suddenly transformed into a battlefield, council against council. Traith ran behind Mistress and found himself on the rainy balcony by Rein. He heard his sister’s scream.
This was the perfect place of attack—a time when the entire council was together. They were massively outnumbered by Helena’s army.
Helena gripped Ana and lifted her into the air by her neck. “Ah, Traith,” she growled. “Do you see this? Do you see this traitor? She is not mine any longer! I knew where you would go tonight and that she would follow, and now I have the pleasure of killing the two of you together!”
He was so confused. Could it really be that Ana was asking his forgiveness, begging for his protection?
“
Was it not she who led you here?” he questioned.
“
No you fool!”
Helena threw a small bottle toward him, and it ignited in his face. A gas quickly formed, causing him to cough and grab his face.
He was too late.
Everything went grey. Then black.
He couldn’t see.
Poisonous gas? His eyes were burning.
He smelled garlic. The chemicals in the gas must have somehow been combined with garlic, and it made his head throb. It scalded his hands when he held his face.
“
Dear God!” he shouted, falling to his knees. “My eyes! What the hell did you do to my eyes? I can’t see…”
He heard Rein scream for him, and someone—no, it was Rein—touched him. He wouldn’t move his hands from his eyes. Her hands were trembling on his jaw. She was trying to heal him.
Then he felt nothing. A grunt.
“
Rein?” he asked.
There was no answer.
He clutched his head tight. He could barely think until a slight numbing took the place of the fiery pain. But he didn’t like the anesthetizing feeling.
Helena cackled viciously. “Oh, I am terribly sorry. By the way, I think you should know that Ana did come here to seek your forgiveness. She thought you knew about what you did to your family. She thought you were a
vampire
.”
Then he was hit; it was Ana’s body, smashing him. He slammed against the wall, but held her in front of him. His senses were so dulled. Numb.
The next thing he felt were shackles behind his back; he was in some place as cold and damp as him…
Rein’s mouth was released. She forced her way out of Saria’s immensely strong grasp. Helena had done something to her, something cruel. But at that moment, Traith, as well as Ana and Helena, disappeared.
Rein’s mind was silent. It seemed as though anytime something bad happened, her psyche would leave her alone, to think her own thoughts. Or was she finally controlling her mind?
Creatures had, in the meantime, poured in through the cracks of the castle and through the walls. She killed a few of them. Transformed them into dust. Others, she fought brutally for a few moments until they dropped. They were not strong, but each one had a different tactic or power, which made things complicated. There were so many more of them than there were in her council.
But then she was grabbed again, with a might greater than that of any of the creatures she had been fighting. She turned.
“
Saria,” Rein said, sobbing. Her best friend, stuck within a body that was not her own. “Is it really you?” Rein asked pleadingly. “Why are you acting like that? What has happened to you? What did they do?”
Rein looked at her arm. Saria’s grip was loosening. Then she let go. Rein backed up and saw how intently Saria stared at her. Her stare was irregular. It was programmed.
They had programmed her like they had done to Traith.
Rein saw her fighting it, and it crushed her.
Rein tried to speak but was stifled. Invisible fingers suddenly gripped her neck, and she began to feel light-headed. Saria wasn’t touching her, but her arm was out and her hand looked as though it was gripping something. The squeezing, painful grip that lifted Rein off the ground…that was Saria.
“
Rein,” she said with her familiar voice. “I know what you did to my beloved Carden, and I will kill you myself for that. I know what happened to you. I can
see
it! Your eyes, skin…everything has changed! You’re a sinful beast!”
Rein could barely reply. It wasn’t that she couldn’t breathe; it was the force on her throat; it was crushing. “What are you talking about?” she rasped.
She could not break free. She was stunned at the force acting on her, squeezing her through to her bone. The aching became stinging.
“
Carden—disappeared!” she made herself scream. But then she stopped trying to speak. “You of all people should believe me, Saria,” Rein spoke to her without words. “Know that I would never do something like that. No one knows what happened to Carden.”
Saria loosened again. She had heard Rein. In a moment of relief, Rein broke free and attempted to regain her friend’s trust. “Saria, believe me. I promise you I have not changed—”
“
Rein, I…” she paused, and Rein felt that force constrict her throat again. “Liar!”
Saria threw her off the balcony into a tree, not losing her mental grip. Rein whimpered in agony as she crashed down through bare branches.
Rein suddenly changed into her old self as best as she could without a moment to think. Saria followed quickly. Shaking her head, she knelt down toward Rein, trying to speak to her.
Rein was astounded. Saria seemed to be pleading for forgiveness.
“
Rein!” she gasped, grabbing Rein’s hand. “Lord, do you know what they did? Do you know what they did to me? Can you see me? With your eyes…My lover, you…he’s dead! Did you kill him? Rein, did you do it with your terrible—?”
“
No! No, stop talking like that; I’m not what you think.” Rein had to keep swallowing to relax the muscles in her throat. “Carden vanished; because you were dead, Saria, he vanished. He couldn’t live without you. I…I was killed, like you; I just…”
Rein paused, and Saria’s eyes widened in pain. “You stayed a vampire, didn’t you? With Traith Harker…no!”
Saria grabbed a rock and bashed it into Rein. Her head was ringing; she yelped and kicked Saria off, holding her throbbing face.
“
You’re not yourself,” Rein cried toward her. “Try, Saria! Please! Maybe I don’t have to lose you again! But—”
Something thwacked into her cheek, and she fell.
“
I’ll have to kill you,” Rein whispered, crying.
Rein was hit again; this time, close to her eye. It took a second to regain her senses, and in a quick movement, she felt under her for the large stick she had landed on. She got to her knees, and when Saria was about to hit her again, Rein yanked her close and drove the branch through her stomach.
Saria screamed.
After a moment, Saria swallowed hard. Rein still held her, the branch still in her hand. Saria pulled out the branch slowly. She dropped the branch and began to fall, scraping her nails down Rein’s neck. Rein cried, falling to the ground with her friend.
“
Why did you make me
do
this?” Rein screamed hoarsely to her.
Saria looked human. “I…a girl told me…” Her body convulsed violently, making it hard for her to speak. “I know…you didn’t kill him…I was put into a canister of liquid…with little wires on my…”
Rein’s tear hit Saria’s cheek. She didn’t speak. She knew she didn’t have time. They must’ve brainwashed Saria—just as they had Traith and perhaps Ana—but it must have not been long or hard enough. Not enough, because her true self was trying to break through, although it hadn’t prevailed. Perhaps it was because she was dying.
“
I know…” Saria kept pushing, “the winged woman’s…w-weakness.”