STEP (The Senses) (34 page)

“Nooooo! No, Abb. I won’t let you go.”

He rocked her lifeless body in his arms, his lips in her hair, his grip refusing to let go as if his own life would seep into her and bring her back to him.

He failed. He failed her. He failed himself.

“No, Abb. I can’t let you go. I just can’t.” He was not going to carry her death on his shoulders for the rest of his life. That he wouldn’t survive.

A tear ran down the outer corner of his right eye and disappeared into her hair. Her words repeated over and over in his head. A promise he’d refused to give her, and this was why.

He gently laid her back on the bed, sweeping her hair back away from her face, then reached into his boot and pulled out the blade. With one swift arc of his hand, he ran it across his wrist and watched the blood flow to the surface. He never hesitated before, but this once he thought about what the consequences of his actions would be. Abb
y would live, but as something different, something he hunted and killed.

The blood dripped to the bedspread and soaked into the material. His eyes watched as Abb’s lips turned blue and her eyes remained open, lifeless and . . .

“I’m sorry, Abb, but I won’t let you go,” Damien said closing his eyes as held his wrist over her mouth. A drop of blood slid down his skin, inches from her mouth.

A sudden blast of power came into him with such force that it knocked him off the bed and into the nightstand. The glass of water went flying
, and the cheap lamp fell to the floor and shattered. He grunted as the drywall caved under his weight as he crashed into it.

“Just in time, I see,” Waleron said, his sold form emerging from mis
t. “Stay away from her, Damien. It is too late to save her and she must not become one of them.”

Damien crawled to his feet
, ignoring the pain in his shoulder. “She’s too young. She can’t die. I can’t let her die.”

“So you will make her something she would hate you for?” Waleron nodded towards Abb
y. “She turned twenty-five yesterday. With her birthday comes the ability to turn water into blood. A vampire with such ability is a detriment to all. Liam must have known this.”

Damien glanced over at the cold lifeless body he’d spent every second of every day for months with. Maybe that was why she
’d refused to drink the water over the past few days. She knew what would happen if she drank water after her birthday.

If she had drunk the water, she’d have Turned
, and he’d never have known until it was too late. No chains would keep a vamp immobile. She must have known and protected him by rejecting the water.

“So we just let her die?” Damien said.

“She is dead, Damien. There is nothing we can do.”

The words were too real, sinking into his bones like a lead weight, car
rying him under until he could barely breathe. White-hot fury enveloped his body, madness claiming his thoughts as the knowledge of Abby being dead became reality. Scorching rods of steel were jabbing his insides. Pain. Anguish. The undeniable sickness of loss claiming his mind, until he felt the bile rise in his throat.

Never to see her smile, feel her touch, hear her laughter. No. No, she couldn’t be gone.

Damien inched closer to the bed, needing to feel her, needing to hear her voice, feel her hand resting on his chest. Once more. That was all he needed. Just one more time.

Waleron grabbed his arm before he had the chance to get near enough and jerked him back. “No
, Damien. Leave here. I will take her back to the coven.”

Damien pulled hard enough on his arm to dislodge Waleron’s steel grip. He glared at his Taldeburu and felt his Scar tingling against his shoulder. It was itching for release, needing vengeance, needing freedom. It had always been an issue, his Scar having a mind of its own
, and him not always being able to control it.

Waleron knew it too by the way his eyes began to swirl with power. “Unleash it and I will retaliate with its demise.”

“Then give me this. Give me time to say goodbye.”

“No. I feel your emotions. You will do anything to see her live. I cannot risk it. Walk away
, Damien,” Waleron warned.

Damien made a deep frustrated growl from within his chest. His eyes blazed with fury and his Scar began to creep down his back. Everything in him said to fight for her, but everything sane said to walk away and live another day.

A sudden intake of breath had both men turning to Abby with surprise.

“Abby?” Damien murmured as he fell to his knees beside the bed, his hand instantly taking hers. “Sweet Jesus, Abb, I thought I’d—”

“Get away from her!” Waleron shouted. He nodded to the empty glass of water that had been on the nightstand and now lay empty next to her on the bed. Abby’s face was covered in water. “She has Turned.”

Rayne tied back her hair, plugged her feet into her shoes
, which were a size too big, and took one last look at the crumpled bed sheets. It was nearly enough to make her forget the whole idea. But for once, she could do something instead of being a victim.

Kilter had gone to find answers. When she’d mentioned
the idea of calling Roarke, he’d gone deadly quiet, a mask of fury on his face, jealousy and wrath simmering beneath the surface. That was when he spun on his heel and left with one word—
stay.

If he returned and she was gone, he’d be angry. She’d felt his rage, knew how mad he could get, but she also trusted that Kilter would und
erstand why. Well, eventually.

Roarke knew something about this woman from the compound. He’d warned her a
bout the woman. If Kilter would’ve only trusted her that Roarke was trying to help. But Kilter didn’t trust anyone, did he? God, he’d stormed out of here like a missile. But he couldn’t do it alone. Whether he wanted to admit it or not, he needed help, and maybe this was her time to pay him back for saving her life.

The thought of Kilter’s life at risk sent a shiver from her head to her toes. They’d had a single day together, and yet she’d known him for almost a year. He was in her thoughts, her skin. Despite being in Rest, Kilter had always been a part of her thoughts. He’d never really left her.

Her biggest dilemma was getting out of the mansion without being detected. Not so simple with Keir being a Sounder and his brother Galen a Taster. She felt both of their presences in the house, Galen up in the attic, fingers typing on a keyboard. Keir and Anstice together in a room on the third floor talking. Their words were mumbled, as her hearing wasn’t as good as an actual Sounder, but when she concentrated, she could home in on the other Senses.

Jedrik and Delara she suspected went after Kilter as she heard the door slam moments after Kilter left.

In order to make it out without detection she was going to need one thing—her Scar. And the last time she called on Serafina she had slept like the dead. But she’d been already calling to her for an hour and nothing.

Could she really be dead? No, Serafina would never leave her.

“Serafina, rise from inner sleep.” She called for the five hundredth time. “Sleep no more. Rest no longer.” Rayne traced her finger along the scar on her inner thigh, slow and steady with her eyes closed and her mind focused on Serafina’s form. “Serafina, please.” She closed her eyes and tried something different. “Serafina, the game has begun and it is your move. You don’t want to lose, do you?” Nothing. Not a tickle, a slither, a hint of pain. “Serafina.” She dug her nail into the center of the Scar. “Checkmate.”

She crumpled to her knees as a searing hot pain shot through her thigh, down her leg and back up again. She’d forgotten how much pain it caused to call on her. No wonder she’d stopped playing chess as a child.

She gasped as a brilliant red-hot stabbing sensation went across her abdomen. “Damn it, Serafina,” she moaned. “Be nice.”

“I am,” the feather
light voice replied.

Rayne lifted her eyes from the floor to see her friend standing in a brilliant white light, her eyes beaming a turquoise hue from their narrow dark-lined sockets. Hair hung in a black
-and-lavender blanket down her back to the floor, with tiny pearls interwoven within the strands. Face pale, lips thin, and nose matching her features, slender and narrow. Regal, sexy and childish all in the same woman.

The link between them remained, a thin string of light connecting them together
, and yet Serafina could and did walk on her own. Often when she was a child, Serafina would drag her along like a puppy dog and refuse to go back to sleep when told. They’d been the best of friends. Rayne’s only friend.

“Damn you
, Rayne-drop,” Serafina shouted in her whispering voice, which sounded rather raspy and odd when she attempted to raise her voice. “Leaving me locked up for so many years. I nearly died a few times, thanks to you.”

“Serafina, I’m sorry. It was too dangerous at first and then
Anton had a—”

“Oh
, fart on you. Look at me.” She gestured to her thin five-foot-nine form. “I’m a disgusting skinny piece of brittle wood because of you. Run your body into the ground again, and next time you need me, I’ll be dead.” Serafina took a step forward then smiled revealing her white teeth that held two sharp fangs. “My beautiful little Rayne-drop. How are you? You feel better, look stronger.” She wrapped her arms around her and squeezed. Tight. “I’ve missed you Rayne-drop. I’ve missed our games and adventures. Did you have a game in mind right now? Oh pretty please. I’ve been sleeping so long I need a good brain stimulant.”

Rayne smiled. She’d missed Serafina. She hadn’t realized until this moment how much. “We don’t have time, Serafina. I need your help getting out of this place without being detected. There are—”

Serafina’s nose tilted to the air. “Senses, like you. Interesting. You’ve been busy. Three of them. Finally, others I can meet and play with.” She grabbed her hand. “Come, let’s go play some dodge ball or hide and seek.”

Rayne pulled back. “No
, Serafina.” She softened her voice when she saw her Scar’s disappointment. “I need to get out of here without them knowing. I need you to Mask us, like we used to do.”

Serafina scrunched her nose as a child would when she didn’t get her own way. “Pooh, I’m finally released and I have to hide again. Blimey.”

The only way to work with Serafina was bribery cause Serafina had a weakness—chess. “I swear to you that we will play a game of chess as soon as we’re able.”

“How do I know you
r telling truth?” Serafina threw herself down on the bed spread-eagle and immersed herself in the silk sheets. “Oh this is nice and smells like . . .” She gasped and then started laughing. “A man. You were with a man, Rayne-drop. You’ve grown up since I last saw you.” She flickered her brows. “Was he well endowed? Spirited? Did he make you come over and over again?”

Rayne blushed bright red and groaned. Serafina had changed since she’d last seen her. She was still childlike yet she spoke with adult words, which she never used to do. “Will you Mask us or not?”

Serafina rolled over onto her stomach and tucked the pillow under her head. “Chess and I get to meet your man.”

Rayne sighed rolling her eyes with frustration. “No to meeting the man. Yes to chess, but no funny stuff. We aren’t children anymore Serafina.”

“Blah, blah, blah.” Serafina threw the pillow on the ground and rolled off the bed, shifting easily to her feet. “Better get moving, geek on the computer in the attic is getting hungry. He’ll be coming downstairs to the kitchen soon.” Serafina raised both her arms out to the side. “Come.”

Rayne came into her arms and felt the heat from her body sink into her flesh. It was refreshing and soothing, like a blanket that had just come out of the dryer.

“Scent and sound are Masked. But remember I cannot hide us from vision,” Serafina said.

Rayne felt like she was floating with Serafina’s form guiding them from the room in a hovering light. She had learned never to fight the guidance of Serafina when Masked, it could be broken easily if they were separated.

Serafina’s voice echoed in her mind, telling her they had to hurry as Galen was stretching and getting up from his chair in front of his computer. They picked up the pace, walking through the upstairs kitchen and living room and into the foyer.

Rayne’s mind came unfocused as she heard footsteps. She struggled to move faster and it caused Serafina to stumble, unlinking the Mask for seconds. Their misstep echoed in the house and Serafina cursed.

“He is speaking too Keir telepathically. Rayne-drop, hurry. He has Tasted us.”

Rayne reached the front door and flung it open. The night air sifted into the house and Galen would surely
Taste the sudden change in atmosphere. “Hurry, Serafina. We must run.” She quickly shut the door behind them then they dropped the Mask and started running across the grass towards the gates. It was too far. They’d never make it.

“The wall is closer, Rayne-drop. I’ll throw you over.”

It felt so familiar. Exactly the same as when she was twelve.