Bait

Chapter Twenty-Six

Tane dragged me through the front doors into a large open foyer. The place oozed of history with old paintings and tapestries covering the walls. A huge chandelier hung above us, not illuminated by modern bulbs but by candles. Crystals decorated the piece and they sparkled with the soft light. He didn’t hesitate to admire anything, just continued to pull me up a wide marble staircase, and made a right down a hallway. A set of double wooden doors stood open and we entered the dark wood paneled room where he escorted me to a delicate Victorian chair.

A large black granite fireplace stained with age and use sat across from me. It was full of kindling but no fire.

“I’ll make you a drink.” Tane’s offer rang strange.

Yet, I found myself saying, “Thank you.” My thirst grew as I watched him pour orange juice in a glass at the bar. He stirred in a small vial of blue liquid into the drink. It reminded me of the one I found in Rurik’s trunk but how would Tane have gotten it?

Ever since we walked into the house a veil of calm enveloped me. Everything would be fine as long as I followed my instincts, a little voice told me. This mantra repeated itself. My personal demon squatted in front of me to hand over the drink. “This will quench your thirst.”

How did he know I was parched? I sipped it, the taste pleasant.

“Finish it, Rabbit.” He watched as I emptied the glass. When did he become kind? “The windows in these rooms are huge almost the size of doors. They must let in a good quantity of sunlight during the day.”

I twisted in my seat to see them. They were thin and tall. Only a foot of wall under and over them. “Maybe you should stay and find out, Tane.”

“We were being so civil to each other until now.” He ruffled my curls with his hand as he rose. “But I would have been disappointed if you remained polite.” Before exiting the room he glanced at me and stated, “Windows.” Then he closed the doors and the lock tumbled into place.

That word stuck in my mind. What about them? So they were big, whoopee shit. I set the empty glass down and crossed the room to one. Why didn’t Tane tie me up? Did he think I wouldn’t try to escape? Maybe that’s what he wanted me to do. He said something about Dragos liking his prey to be feisty. A midnight hunt for the runaway rabbit? I could be reading too much into things. If I stayed I was dead, if I ran it would take a miracle for me to escape but at least I had a chance.

In my hand the window knob turned and the panel swung inward. A stone ledge ran the length of the house. Like an idiot, I looked at the ground. I changed my mind, this idea sucked. I’d try to pick the lock on the door first.

The boat dock was visible from here. Tane’s boat floated by it while another smaller one pulled up behind.

I almost closed the window completely when I remembered who was on his way home from the city anticipating a rabbit dinner when he returned. Dragos.

The window rattled in my haste to open it again. I took my first tentative step onto the ledge. This ranked as the second stupidest things I’d ever done. Letting Johnny Turner convince me to give him my virginity in the seventh grade still took first place.

A breeze blew around my legs as I hugged the building. Even with the cool spring weather, sweat trickled down my back and made my palms slick. Inch by terrifying inch I groped away from Dragos ’ study. My plan only went as far as to escape the room. The overcast night sky hid the moon so the darkness surrounding me seemed endless. We only climbed one set of stairs to get to the study, which meant I should be on the second floor. The ground looked far, then I remembered the house sat on a hill and the land must slope away.

A decorative stone protrusion blocked my path. Every ten feet one marked the ledge. Their width gave me pause. Five inches sounded small until you hung from the side of a building like Spiderman. Except when I fell I wouldn’t swing away safe. I’d go splat.

I wiped my sweaty hands on my jeans before reaching around the obstacle to search for a handhold. An outcrop of what felt like mortar met my fingertips after searching forever. I grabbed it and hugged the pillar with my knees.

My heart drummed against my chest as my palms got moist again. I glanced down. Even though I could barely see the ground the muscles in my legs registered danger and froze.

I clung to my perch like a love-struck loon, closed my eyes and tried not to be sick. A lightheaded swirl took me all of a sudden. Heights made me nervous but they never made me dizzy. I leaned my head against the structure, I couldn’t stay here all night yet my limbs refused to listen.

The cold stone on my face cooled some of the hot flush of my fear and the sound of my panting filled the night.

Left foot already around the obstacle, only the right one needed to get to the other side, I concentrated on shuffling with my eyes closed and body glued to the wall. Muffled male voices floated from the dock, followed by laughter.

My fear of Tane’s master slapped me on the ass. It made me deal with my spinning head and rebellious limbs quick.

I swung my right leg around the pillar and shuffled along the ledge. At the corner of the building I ran into a thorny rose bush. The sharp pricks on my skin, like fangs, startled me and I choked on a scream. By the scent of the soft flowers, which grew on it, and upon a closer inspection of the plant in the dark, I concluded it to be a rose vine intertwined on a trellis that grew to the roof. In other words, a makeshift ladder.

Hand and foot holds were easy to find, I tested my weight on both trellis and ancient vine by bouncing. Nothing snapped or groaned. I leaned back and watched the upper sections by the roof and it appeared to stay attached to the building.

The window above me had thick iron bars over them. It struck me as odd for the third floor, unless they were trying to keep something in the room instead of out.

A strong curiosity washed over me, almost a compulsion, to look inside. Determined, I climbed the trellis to the next level instead of to the ground.

Thorns hooked to my clothes and skin, slowing me. I tried my best not to make a racket. At times I didn’t know if I stepped on the trellis or the vine.

I transferred to the third floor ledge and ignored the little voice screaming about the heights.

What I saw through the barred window should have rocked my world but something inside me said I already expected this.

Rurik.

I grabbed onto a bar and touched the window as if I could reach him.

They had him chained to a black free-standing stone pillar with thick, heavy metal bindings. He wore only a pair of briefs so his multiple wounds were exposed for my view. My stomach churned at the pool of blood under his feet. It trickled from the multiple large cuts at key arterial areas. He hung limp like a corpse.

A strange man came into the room. With a sharp knife he sliced at my lover and refreshed the cuts.

Rurik cried out. He strained against the chains and snapped his teeth at the man, who yelped in surprise, slipped in the blood, and fell to the floor.

The metal from the window’s bar cut into my palm as I squeezed it tight. I guess to keep a vampire weak you would need to drain him of his source of power, blood, but he healed so damn fast his captors needed to keep reopening the wounds.

I had to rescue him. I didn’t know how but I had to.

Two sills over a window stood ajar. I shimmied over to it and listened for movement inside the room but heard nothing. The window sill sat only a foot from the floor and I stepped into the building. My earlier lightheadedness returned with a vengeance, I grabbed onto something cold and metallic to steady myself. As my vision cleared I saw that I held an arm. With a small gasp I released it and jumped back. Suits of armor stood at attention along the wall.

I entered a medieval armory. The only weapons I recognized were the swords, all the other toys of mayhem remained nameless, except a nice Connie-sized hammer dangling from a belt. A weapon could be handy, so I pushed my sleeves to my elbows before taking hold of it. Wrapped around my wrist was a delicate silver bracelet holding a key. Where did I get that? My memories weren’t adding up, Swiss cheese had fewer holes. The chain bent and curved in an intricate pattern. Very pretty and antique, maybe Rurik gave it to me?

I slipped the hammer out of the belt loop. It weighed more than I hoped but with a two handed grip I could dent heads. A simple and insane plan formed.

The hallway appeared empty. I knocked on the door to the room where Rurik remained captive and prepared the hammer, like a baseball bat, over my shoulder. My arms shook with the restrained effort. I shifted my weight to my back leg. Grandma taught me to play baseball. Her voice flashed in my mind, “Keep your eye on the target, put your back into it, and follow through!”

The door opened and I swung the hammer with all my strength. It was a home run.

The man who had cut Rurik sprawled back onto the floor after my hammer connected with his chest. He never had a chance to make a noise.

I prepared for retaliation but he didn’t move. Was he playing possum? His feet blocked the doorway. I would have to step over them to get in. I kicked his shoe and scooted back. Damn, I’d been expecting more of a fight from a vampire.

A weak groan came from inside the room. It drove me to jump over the man’s legs. As I landed I spun with the hammer in hand to face the body on the floor, afraid of a surprise attack.

No wonder my plan worked. He was human. A bite mark on his neck declared it. His chest rose and fell in a shallow, irregular rhythm. Guilt, satisfaction, shame, and joy jumbled inside of me. I’d never hurt a fellow human being before.

“Connie?”

The whisper of my name reminded me of my objective. I turned at the sound of his voice.

Rurik stared at me with wide astonished eyes. His skin, the palest of whites, made the sharp angles of his face more apparent. Dark strands hair framed his face as he stared at me from dark wells. The predator in his soul closer to the surface than I’d ever witnessed.

“My Rabbit, what are you doing here?”

I rushed to hug him. To convince myself this was real. He felt frigid. “I thought you were dead.”

“Get out. He’s here-”

I kissed him. Foolish, carefree, and happy to have my Rurik back. Once more my head spun and I found myself hanging on to him instead of hugging him.

“Sorry, I’m a little dizzy.”

“Look at me, baby”

I gazed into his ice blue eyes and poured all my love and affection for him into it.

“Something’s wrong with you. Are you drunk?”

Rurik’s soft caress brushed my thoughts. It triggered a reflex to strengthen my mental shields but nothing happened. I stepped back and concentrated on my defenses. As much as I tried, they were gone.

“What have you done?” The panic in Rurik’s voice frightened me more than my stroll on the ledge. “Connie.” He snapped. “Check the guard for keys. You have to free me.” His arms jerked the chains with renewed vigor.

A set of keys, why did those words bring on a sense of déjà vu?

“Quick, Connie. Move.” Rurik strained from the stone pillar. “Dragos is trying to find you. I’m shielding you but I can’t keep it up for long. They’ve bled me and I’m too weak. How the fuck did you get my drug in your system?”

Drug? That would explain the dizzy spells. I lifted my left hand and showed Rurik the key on my new pretty bracelet. “Did you give this to me? I like it.”

His eyes widened. They shone with tears. “No, sweetheart. It must be from someone who’s trying to help us. Can you use it to unlock the manacles?”

“Sure.” The world became disjointed as if I watched myself from afar. I removed the bracelet and inserted the key into the lock.

Rabbit... A whisper trailed through the air or in my thoughts. I wasn’t sure anymore. Why are you doing that, Rabbit? It displeases me. Dragos ’ presence in my head shut everything out.

“No.” Rurik shook his head. “Listen to me, Connie. Unlock it, twist the key.”

Come to me. Leave Rurik there to greet the dawn.

I pivoted to see the curtainless windows that faced the east. The black stains on the pillar must have come from earlier victims of this type of punishment. Rurik would burn and join their ashes.

Come. One simple elegant command. Why did I ever doubt Dragos? His power, strength, and intelligence spanned millennia. Only the unwise would oppose him.

I left the room. Rurik screamed my name over and over but Connie no longer existed, only Rabbit.

Dragos ’ Rabbit.