The Beauty in Pain | Book One of In Pain Trilogy *EDITING*

47. Wake Up Call

They were inside the castle now. Madeline couldn't help the surge of familiarity when she passed those massive doors, even though hordes of enemies followed close behind them. They won't be giving up, she realized. They would follow them until their lives have been taken, that was for sure.

The sound of battle was horrible to the ears. Madeline wanted so much to hide away from it all; tear off this wretched armour, don a beautiful dress and hide away in her bedchambers. Had it not been for the fallen lycan lying just ahead of her, she probably would have. Madeline hurried over to the wounded lycan, not bothering to spare another glance at her surroundings. She knew she was being protected, even if her protectors now numbered three. She couldn't think about her safety at the moment. Right now, her mind should be thoroughly trained on helping this man.

Madeline sat her cloth of medical tools and herbs beside him. "How are you feeling?" she asked him, even though she knew his answer.

A pain filled groan was his reply. He was clutching his side and when Madeline removed his armour and pulled his under clothing aside, she saw the result of a sword in his abdomen. She tried not to grimace lest it frighten the man. It was fixable, he may survive, but the sight was still nasty.

"This is going to hurt, okay?" The man nodded, biting his lip to hold back another cry of pain. His tangled blond hair was dripping with the scent of blood and sweat.

Madeline picked up a tiny vial. Inside was a mixture she learnt how to make in Arcadia, something used to numb the skin so that patchwork was made easier. She uncorked it and made sure to only tip just a little. The man's scream joined the sound of dying persons all around her. She held him down as best as she could, but he was a man and a lycan. She could do very little.

Around her, her vampire protectors were never at ease. Even when the man settled down and the wound grew numb, they were hard at work ridding the area of enemies, giving her the space she needed to do her work. It was only until Madeline had pulled the final string on the wound, ready to wrap it up, did she notice that their presence was gone.

"This is not good," she whispered, pulling out the long white cloth for bandaging. She never faltered in her movements, but her heart pounded fearfully at being so exposed. The vampires were either dead or brought off course. Either way, she was in the open and she wasn't done with that she was doing.

They were coming after her. She saw them, watched them make their approach. She was still bandaging and her sword still hung untouched at her hips. They were coming for her and Madeline was painfully aware of the fact that, in a matter of seconds, she might die.

But she would go down trying. "Madeline!" she heard someone call for her. It was Saenar, in the distance. Madeline didn't look at him. She set the man down gently, then rose to her feet, pulling her sword out in the process. Her hands shook in terror.

When the first was upon her, she didn't have any time to prepare for it. Saenar's advice sounded in the back of her head. They won't wait until you are ready. Be ready. She had to be ready. She parried his attack, never thinking twice before she counterattacked and pulled a bloody sword from his heart.

Madeline stopped and stared at the dead man. She killed him. Her first death. She could hardly believe it. In the back of her mind, she knew more was coming but she was stunned by her actions. She killed the man, and she would have to kill others.

A sword came at her. It was close, very close, but suddenly it was blocked off and the wielder was dead. Madeline looked up in shock to see Barron before her like her knight in shining armour.

"Barron!" she exclaimed.

"Do you intend to stand there and let them kill you?" he asked her, slicing through another man. His hair was held up but a few wisps fell from its hold. He was sweating hard and he wore the same armour as the men they fought. A frown of concentration fell onto his face but when he looked back at her, it smoothed away and he winked.