Twilight Embrace (Completed)

Chapter 71

 After walking for what seemed an eternity in the dark tunnel, guided only by their senses and acute eyesight in the dark they soon came to a wide platform. Wolfe approached it cautiously as the glow of light seemed to radiate from the walls. As far as he could see there was no actual lighting, the walls just seemed to glow with a strange iridescent light. Apart from the three long benches along the platform, there was nothing else. 

Vampuric took off his jacket and placed it on the bench to act as pillow underneath Annjelica’s head. He stared at her eyes but there was no sign of her waking, even after he called her name. 

Wolfe saw the concern in his friend’s face. “Vamp, once we have her back at the castle I’m sure between your family and mine we will find a cure for whatever Diago’s evil mind has done to her.” 

“If he has touched her in any way, I will rip his heart out while he is still breathing and stuff it down his throat. He may have been a member of our family once but he now deserves to die and I don’t care what the Council Elders have to say. If he has hurt her in the slightest, I will hunt him down and won’t give up till I find him and kill him.” Vampuric stroked her cheek. Annjelica was as much a part of him as she was of Alexandria and Wolfe. His blood ran through her veins too and he loved her as if she was his daughter too. 

Wolfe put his hand on Vampuric’s shoulder. “We will deal with Diago together when the time comes. “

Vampuric nodded. “Wolfe, she is cold, so very cold. Look at her lips how blue they have turned. How long she has been without her mix of potion I make up for her… I’m scared to think what her body is going through. Unless Diago found a supplement.”

“Vamp, you said she’d taken several tubes from your place without you knowing. We can only hope she had enough to keep her going. Maybe Diago took them from her, when he kidnapped her and replicated the mixture.”

“Let’s hope he did it right. Whatever he’s done to her she is unconscious to the point her heartbeat and pulse would not be noticed by any human. I can barely feel them myself.” Vampuric said as he lifted her wrist to find her pulse. “So where do we go from here?”

Wolfe silenced him, putting his hand over his mouth. Vampuric’s eyes widened. Had Diago found them? He brushed Wolfe’s hand away and stood ready to confront Diago and kill him.

“Shhh, listen.” Wolfe hissed. “A train is coming.”

***

Arianna’s eyes flew open. Slowly limb by limb her body unfurled from its freeze. Alexandria’s appearance had brought a new meaning to survival and Arianna’s internal healing moved rapidly through her body eliminating every trace of the potion Diago’s evil injections had filtered into her blood stream.

Irritated by the lifeless body of Arianna, Diago had stormed out of her chamber leaving the door open on his way to Moraine’s chamber. Distracted by the appearance of Alexandria he had forgotten about Arianna.

Arianna stood shakily trying to get her balance and thoughts to process quickly. She knew time was of the essence and she had to move quickly. She walked slowly towards the door fearing the evil Warlock would return before she had time to gather her strength to make her escape. She stopped by the open door and looked around before stepping out. Her strength was coming back in bursts which made her unsteady. She needed time to gain the full volume of her strength and powers, but she realized she might not be given this chance if she should come face to face with him now. Standing at the open door she pondered the reason he had left it open and wondered if this was a trap for her. Gingerly she stepped out putting one foot in front of the other slowly, testing the floor beneath her feet.

With her back against the wall she moved steadily down the passage. She picked up the tail end of the conversation between Alexandria and DaggerDarkStar and knew the woman had not been able to escape or find her daughter. Even though she had not fully recovered from her freeze she knew she would have to help. She continued hugging the wall and walking as if she were treading on broken glass. Everything depended on perfect timing. The passage she was walking down was nearly as dark as her chamber and the only light was a flicker in the distance. As she neared the light she saw the shadows of two people and knew instinctively it was Alexandria and DaggerDarkStar.

Arianna’s breath caught in her throat when she saw him lift Alexandria into his arms. She watched and waited till it was safe to follow. She saw him kick the door open and walk inside and while his back was to the door she slid into the room without a sound and hid behind the heavy velvet curtains.

Arianna closed her eyes and held her breath waiting from him to leave. She concentrated on slowing her heartbeat, praying he would not feel her presence in the room. She heard him get off the bed and walk towards the door. He stopped right beside the curtain she was hiding behind and she bit her tongue to stop herself from making a sound. She stilled her thoughts too, so he could not feel the slightest vibrations from her. Her ears felt as if they would burst listening to his breathing so close to her. Did he know she was there? Could he sense her? What was he doing? Why didn’t he leave? If he knew she was there, why didn’t he just open the curtain and get it over with? She had no idea if her powers would even work now so soon after her freeze.

After what seemed like an eternity he left the room.

Arianna waited for a few minutes before moving the curtain a fraction. She peered out and couldn’t see him anywhere. Alexandria lay motionless on the bed. Cautiously she crept out from behind the curtain. She scanned the room and seeing no sign of DaggerDarkStar she ran over to the bed. Although Alexandria did not move a muscle and never responded to her touch, Arianna felt that somewhere in Alexandria’s subconscious she was aware that Arianna was there to help her.

Arianna pressed her forehead against Alexandria’s, just as she remembered her doing when she was frozen in her chamber. ‘I’m going to take you out of here.’ Arianna called on all her strength and powers and lifted Alexandria off the bed and was surprised to find how light she was. She was a petite five foot tall. She never stood a chance against the evil Warlock. Arianna was six foot two, tall for a girl and just four inches shorter than DaggerDarkStar. She could almost look him in the eye and she knew he felt threatened by that as he liked his woman to be short and petite so he could feel overbearing and powerful. Arianna was anything but petite. Apart from being tall she was solid muscle and had always worked hard at keeping her body in shape. If she wasn’t still recovering from her freeze, carrying Alexandria wouldn’t have been a problem at all.

Arianna knew she had to move fast. It wouldn’t be long before DaggerDarkStar discovered she was missing and start a search for her. If he discovered Alexandria was missing too. It would make matters worse. She had to get Alexandria to safety before challenging him.

Racing down the passages as fast as she could, carrying Alexandria, she was unaware of where she was going but some hidden force was guiding her footsteps. As she navigated the dark tunnels she soon found herself standing in front of a heavy wooden door. She was about to lay Alexandria down on the floor to find a way of opening the door when it swung open towards her. She backed up out of the way and was surprised and rather confused to see a train waiting on the edge of the narrow platform just outside the door. As she approached it the doors to the train opened. She hesitated for a moment and an almighty roar echoed behind her. She knew without a doubt that DaggerDarkStar had discovered her missing and probably saw that Alexandria was gone too. As the train started up, the door she’d just come through slammed shut. She stepped on board the train and before the doors snapped closed she cast a spell to cover the wooden door with heavy thick vines, hoping it would give her time to get Alexandria to safety before he discovered their exit route.