Chapter 5

Jacob

Jacob stirred on the vampire’s bed. He’d fallen into a deep sleep moments after he had regained true awareness, his first day as a vampire spent regaining his strength. He’d been vaguely aware of movement, of a soft pillow beneath his cheek, and of warmth that he’d not felt in the other place.

It had been cold there, damp, underground for sure. Almost impossible in Louisiana so perhaps she’d taken him far away? He didn’t know but as he blinked slowly his gaze focused on her now familiar room. When he tried to move he found he was bound by invisible bonds. He could move on the bed but not off it.

“You’ll be free to move around soon enough. You’ll be hungry, but you cannot leave until you understand what I’ve done.” Her voice came from a corner by the fire and his head swiveled in that direction.

“Oh, I believe I understand perfectly. You want to use me as a weapon of mass destruction and destroyed me to do it.” His words came out as a snarl, he’d meant to approach this differently, to stick to the plan, but his rage boiled.

“Ah, so you’re not completely pliant then. I suppose that’s the shifter nature coming through.” She stood, moving her hair to behind her shoulders, her long dress a sapphire blue. “No matter, you’ll still be bound to do as I command. The sacrifice of one for the good of many will make your hate worth it.”

Sabrina moved to him, standing just out of his reach. She knew he couldn’t hurt her but still stayed far enough away to be safe, he noted. Probably a wise move. Perhaps his shifter blood would do more than give him a small amount of his own will. Perhaps he’d be able to kill her after all.

He watched her as one watches a bug crawling up a wall, contemplating whether to kill it or to put it outdoors. He knew what she had planned but had no idea what exactly any of it meant. Or how he was supposed to accomplish it. He didn’t particularly feel different, just not alive as he had once been. He could feel his heart beating slowly, to move the vampire blood around in his veins, he could feel a hunger building in his stomach, but he didn’t feel his lungs moving as they should. Only a shallow breath was needed every few minutes.

He knew he’d been changed; the memory of the pain he had endured was too recent for him to think otherwise, the changes in his body were screaming to him that he was different, but it wasn’t as bad as he had expected. Then he realized what she had just said.

“The sacrifice of one? You would rather sacrifice one when Cade didn’t plan on sacrificing any? That makes your plan better?” He spoke with contempt, his eyes blasting her for a moment before he looked away, some unknown force making him bow his head.

“Not so resistant after all, I see.” She chuckled and went to the fire once more. “No, Cade didn’t plan on sacrificing anyone but his way leads to the sacrifice of us all. The Mungons want all of our heads on a poke, vampire, shifter, anyone else standing in their way. We have to totally destroy them. That is the only way. And this way you get some form of life, even if it’s not the one you had planned on living.” She sat back down in her chair, feet going beneath her. He realized he still longed for her, his desire for her hadn’t changed.

Rather it seemed to have become more powerful, he realized, as his lower regions reacted to a glimpse of her cleavage. That still worked, he thought with relief. Thank fuck for that! But to her? With a weary sigh he fell back onto the pillows. Remember the plan, Jacob, stick to the plan.

“I have to leave you, find some blood for you, but don’t worry, this isn’t like the movies either, we have willing donors, you just can’t drink until you drain them. I will return shortly.”

Sabrina stood and left the room, leaving Jacob to wonder if he’d be able to drink a human being. He didn’t think he was ready for that yet.

He felt something as the minutes passed, an awareness of Sabrina. Whenever he thought about her he got a sense of where she was. A simple flash of an image, like a picture, would come into his mind, and he could hear some of her thoughts. She was worried she’d made a mistake, that taking Jacob might have been a step too far. But overriding her fear was the certainty that the Mungons were dangerous and needed to be dealt with. She’d lived for a long time, perhaps she knew better than Cade?

He pondered these new thoughts as he waited, his stance to her changing as the minutes passed. She hadn’t done it because she thought she knew better. She hadn’t risked a war between the magicals on a whim at all. She’d seen these kinds of enemies before, had fought in battle. Only there hadn’t been a dragon shifter to save them last time, and they’d spent decades under the heel of brutal masters. All of the magicals, not just the vampires.

Jacob felt the hard edge of his rage melting as the day wore on. He knew her fears now, he knew why she has taken this chance, a chance that could bring more war to the magical world. He’s the best weapon they have.

By taking him she’d joined the shifter and the vampire clans better than any marriage could have. A war between the two would be pointless, one shifter wasn’t worth them all. And if what she said was true, he’d become the alpha of all of the vampires, not just of her clan. He’d be the most powerful being on earth, even above the pair sitting on the throne in the heart of the sanctuary. The enormity of it all sunk in and Jacob felt a slow panic begin. He’d been too angry to realize it before, too distraught at the change she’d forced upon him, but now he knew the fate of the world was in his rather unsteady hands.

No, he didn’t have time for revenge right now, justified or not. He had to actually listen to her, hear her out, and plan. To save his brothers, his clan, and the world, he’d have to forgive for now, to let it go, and work with Sabrina. Until this was all over at least and he stood as the one true king of them all. Every last one of them.

* * *

Jadrian

Jadrian wandered the halls, Annie by his side, wondering where to look next. He’d searched everywhere he’d been allowed and that was every room in the sanctuary. He was tired, worried, and dreading heading back to Cade without any news. No one had seen Jacob since the day before. He’d just vanished off the face of the earth somehow!

“Well, Annie, any suggestions girl?” Jadrian looked down at the intuitive dog and followed her when she gave one of her patented head-waves.

Jadrian wasn’t surprised to find she led him to the dining hall where Damesha and Kane were eating, their baby girl in a basket between them.

“There you are! I wondered where you’d been!” Damesha cried out as Annie went under the table to stand between Damesha’s knees. “You’ve been helping Jadrian, I see. Good girl, Annie, good girl!”

Damesha obviously loved her dog and the feeling was quite mutual, Jadrian could tell, as Annie’s tail started circling enough that he thought he saw her back paws come off the ground. It was the one thing that had made him smile today. Well, Allana had made him smile but that was different.

“No luck, huh?” Damesha looked guilty as she went back to eating.

“No, and don’t feel guilty just because you didn’t see this coming.” Jadrian wagged a finger at her and took a plate from a passing waiter. He picked at the food, his hunger disappearing as he thought of Jacob. “We all know your skill doesn’t work that way and none of us blame you.”

She looked relieved at his words but he could see a shadow in her eyes. He knew what she was thinking, what good was the skill of having a second sight if she couldn’t use it all the time? She’d been training with a professional but she’d only had a few lessons before they’d all had to come to Louisiana. It wasn’t her fault but he knew she’d carry around a guilt for all of her life if something happened to Jacob. They all would.

He pushed the plate away and looked over at the couple.

“Nothing on your end either? I think I’ve talked with everyone.” Jadrian looked over at Kane, who’d been studying him in a way that reminded him of the look he’d got from Cade earlier. “What’s up, why does everybody keep staring at me like that?”

Maybe it was the vampire blood, maybe they all knew? Maybe he was too, something, anything, that would give him away?

“Something’s just different about you but I can’t say what.” Kane, the younger version of Cade, scrunched down his right eyebrow and studied Jadrian further.

Damnit, Jadrian thought to himself. He had to stop using so much of it! “It’s probably just this weird light in here.”

Jadrian tried to dismiss it but Kane kept staring at him. He didn’t know what could be so different, he’d been using the vampire blood for ages now. Nobody had noticed before, why now?

With more on his mind than his own appearance, Jadrian finally stood, dismissing it all. He would worry about that later, when he’d found Jacob.

“I’m going back to hunt for him, see if I can find Cade, perhaps he’s heard something.” He leaned over to peck Damesha on her dark cheek, then shook his brother’s hand, clasping it to his chest for a moment. “We’ll find him.”

They had to, they couldn’t give up. Jacob was a part of their unit, they couldn’t have lost him. Not now when they were all needed the most!