Married to the Vampire King (COMPLETED)

Chapter Fifty

I leaned forward in my seat to the passenger console and pressed down the cigarette lighter. Jacques arched an eyebrow at me and mouthed, 'What are you doing?'.

I mouthed an apology at him as my next move was to save Mia or get us killed.

"What are you doing?" Nico asked as I pulled out the heated cigarette lighter.

I reached into my pocket and pulled out the ring of thorns that protected me from the hungry demons. My heart beat thumped loudly in my chest as I pressed the wooden ring of protection against the burning metal of the cigarette lighter.

The flame took quickly, burning through the dried brambles in seconds until it was nothing more than a small pile of ashes in my palm.

Jacques' eyes widened in panic.

"Oh, shit," he muttered under his breath.

"What's wrong," Nico asked through the rearview mirror. His eyes flicked between the mirror and the road as he tried to understand what I had done.

"Drive. Fast. Now," Jacques yelled.

"Why?" Nico asked, slamming his foot down on the accelerator.

The SUV lunged forward as Nico overtook the first security car. We were on the main highway that circled the city. The Spit was far behind us, and we were heading towards the mountains, where the monsters were.

Jacques grabbed my wrist and examined the pile of ashes.

"What have you done?" he breathed.

"It's the only way to save Mia," I replied, feeling an icy sickness rising inside me.

Jacques undid his seatbelt and climbed into the trunk of the SUV. Two black plastic cases flew over the headrest onto the empty passenger seat.

"What are you doing with the weapons," Nico asked.

Jacques climbed back into his passenger seat and grabbed a case. Sweat beaded on his forehead as he unclipped the case and took out a revolver. He loaded a clip into the gun and passed it to Nico.

"I don't think bullets will work," I said flatly.

Nico placed the gun in his lap while Jacques opened the second case. His face fell when he pulled out a beat-up wooden stake. Nico read Jacques' expression and said, "That's my lucky stake."

Jacques held the sharpened bit of wood and groaned, "I don't think this will help either."

The air pressure in the car changed as we hit the hidden mountain tunnel that was the only way in and out of the vampire city.

Port Cressida was now behind us while the mountains were ahead. I closed my eyes and leaned my head back in my chair. There were ten miles of icy back country roads between us and the lodge. It was only a matter of time before a demon detected my presence and came looking for its meal.

"Is someone going to tell me what the hell is going on?" Nico yelled.

The end of the tunnel was approaching fast; beyond that was the checkpoint barrier. The guards usually stationed at the checkpoint were not at their posts.

I clicked the electric window button and lowered the car window. Icy air blasted into the car cabin. I breathed in and smelt a mixture of snow, exhaust fumes, pine and blood. A lot of blood.

"The guards are dead," I whispered, rolling up the window.

Jacques lowered his head and muttered, "How could they find us so soon?"

Nico finally lost it and took his eyes off the road. Then, with one hand on the wheel, he turned in his chair, looked directly at Jacques, and yelled, "What is wrong!"

Jacques' eyes widened in fear. His eyes were fixed dead ahead. I looked up and spotted a figure crouched in the middle of the road. At first, I thought it was one of the checkpoint guards, but on closer inspection, the figure did not appear to wear any clothes. In fact, the figure seemed to be missing its skin entirely.

My breath caught in my throat.

"Aw, shit," Jacques said. "You need to swerve, Nico. Eyes on the road!"

Nico turned his head forward just in time to see the SUV about to hit the skinless monster.

He sharply twisted the steering wheel to avoid the monster. The whole SUV spun out of control. Nico tried steering into the spin, but it was too late. The SUV hit the checkpoint barrier, and the entire vehicle flipped into the air. I felt my body lifting out of the chair and the seat belt across my shoulders tightening.

I saw Jacques' slamming into the roof of the cabin, as he wasn't wearing a seatbelt.

The car slammed back down on the road and flipped several times. Metal crumpled, glass shattered, and bones broke.

On a snowy embankment, the SUV eventually stopped rolling somewhere off the side of the road.

I hung upside down in my seat, unable to move. My legs were broken from the crash and would need a few minutes to heal. Jacques was less lucky. He lay crumpled and unconscious at the bottom of the car.

"Jacques," I called to him.

He didn't respond, but something else did.

I could hear someone or something outside circling the car.

I heard Nico whisper from the front of the car, "Don't move."

I kept perfectly still and listened to the footsteps of the skinless demon circling the car.

The footsteps stopped outside the SUV.

Then, to my horror, a skinless arm reached into the cabin. Its skinless clawed hand fumbled about the cabin roof. Finally, it found Jacques and released a slow hiss. I went for Jacques' hand, but it was too late. The demon gripped Jacques' leg and pulled him out into the snow.