Maxwell
"Slow down, Morgan, take deep steady breaths and tell me again from the beginning, what exactly did you see?" There was a slight rise in Charlie's emotions earlier, but nothing to cause this frenzy that Morgan is in right now.
Her voice is distorted by constant sobs and a steady thump can be heard in the background. I assume it's her palm drumming against the desktop. "I saw her pull in and park next to my car like she always does, but almost immediately after exiting the car her path was blocked by..."
"By who, Morgan?"
"You probably think I'm crazy acting like this just from Charlie talking with some girl and getting into her own car, but..." Her crying gets louder and further away. I realize she dropped the phone.
"Morgan...Morgan. Talk to me, Morgan," I yell into the phone, hoping she hears me.
"She told me she thinks the people after her are the two people James had with him. Daisy. She was the one who blocked her path, she was the one to shove Charlie in the car and drive away. I didn't know what to do, so I called you. Am I overreacting or is Charlie in trouble?"
I'm not sure if Morgan in the fragile state she is in will be able to handle the fact that Charlie is in more trouble than either of us can handle. Not to mention even if I do have a plan there's no way I can put it into action. The sun blocks my rescue. Just how they planned it. I'm forced to sit here and pray she'll survive until sundown.
"Morgan, we both know the answer to that question. What I need from you is to stay calm and keep things under control there. Conduct her meetings, plan parties as if Charlie is just away on vacation and keep this between just the two us...understand?"
"Okay," she agrees in a raspy voice.
"I'll get Charlie back, all I need is time. Keep your phone by you and wait for my call." I hang up, not wanting to hear her weeping anymore. My eyes jolt to the closest clock; I have about twelve hours before the sun starts to set.
Relying on the connection between us to let me know where she is and if she's in pain or not is all I have. Hours go by with her destination unknown and her angrier than ever. I can't help but to think I should have acted differently this morning, how I should have insisted that she stayed here...but I did nothing and let her walk right out the door.
I instantly regret my nice guy demeanor. I should've made her listen to me and made her hate me in the process. At least she'd have a better chance at staying alive.
Sitting on the couch hunched with my head in my hands for who knows how long, it hits me. Searing pain and the sound of Charlie's screams fill my head. It's all an illusion created by the bond and only lasts a few seconds, but it doesn't make it any less real. "It's begun," I say to myself.
I knew it would happen, I knew it would emotionally kill me when it would start, but this is worse than anything I could prepare myself for. I felt awful when James had me trapped here when Charlie was faced with who we now know was Daisy's first encounter, but this is different.
Never in my three hundred years have I endured this kind of pain and I never want to again. It lasts less than an hour before silence. I wouldn't call it peace as it's more so recovering in agony.
A fist pounds on the front door. The anxious bangs echo throughout the suite. Unwillingly, I make my way to the door and reluctantly open it to reveal the woman who made this all happen. "Daisy."
"Don't sound so happy to see me. Can I come in? Then again I'm sure you would love to know what I know." She pushes past me and doesn't stop until she's sitting on the couch. She continues to talk all the way there. "You see, I'm here to make sure you don't do anything rash like trying to save dear Charlie when the sun is blazing out. We don't want you dead before you can see your bride die."
"So you're here to babysit me." I refuse to sit in the living area with her, so I reply from the kitchen.
"Not babysit, more like taunt. Henry told me about how charming you can be. Why don't you show me some hospitality? How about a drink, Bloody Charlie, I mean Bloody Mary." The smile on her face is sickening.
It takes everything in me to not snap her neck. Just thinking about it causes my hands to ball into fists.
"Tsk tsk, Maxwell," she replies when she realizes I'm not going to respond to her. "You need me...well, not really, but let's say you do. I'm going to bring you to Charlie all in due time. Let's sit and talk until then, we do have hours to spare."
My top lip curls up in disgust. Her hand pats the couch cushion next to her, indicating that she wants me to sit beside her. I pull out one of the kitchen table's chairs and sit down without saying a word.
"Suit yourself. I was just—"
"I would prefer if you didn't speak."
If looks could kill, I would die from that evil glare she throws in my direction, but her voice is the last thing I want to hear right now. Wave two of Charlie's screams rings through my ears. More than anything I want to thrash out from the pain I'm forced to feel, the rage that continues to crawl under my skin. Daisy's mocking laughter taunts me from the living room. Through blurry eyes, I try to read the clock, a little past two in the afternoon.
Daisy abides by my wish of keeping quiet, although her laughter can always be heard when she sees me struggling to contain my composure. She took the will to turn on the TV to keep herself occupied during her stay here. With a glance at the clock, every time Charlie's pain floods through me, I realize that it occurs in intervals...every three hours.
At least he's being generous. Henry. A man I thought I would never see again. A man who I thought was my friend, but turned spiteful after Peru's death. Had I known he would take it this extreme I would've tried to reason with him long ago.
The clicking of Daisy's heels brings me back to my awful reality. I shrink in on myself as she opens the curtains that cover the large window, allowing the orange hue of the setting sun to stream into the rooms. "Sorry, but it's only a matter of an hour or so before we get to go. Are you excited? Because I am."
Devoid of any common sense, I rush over to her, slamming her against a nearby wall, far enough away from the window, so any thought of ripping the curtains open wider are impossible. The feel of her neck underneath my hand as I squeeze without a care, her squirming body and whipping hands that bat at me along with the sound of her raspy breathing excites me. That manic animal I've repressed for so long inches closer.
As I debate whether I should kill her now, her body goes limp. "What a shame," I say aloud to myself, releasing my grip on her. Her body falls to the floor in a mangled heap. She's not dead though. I can still hear her heartbeat, weak but still beating. Pity.
With a firm grip on her wrist, I drag her lifeless body to the linen closet. Maybe I'll let Charlie kill her. The thought quirks the corner of my mouth up in a pleasing smile. I harshly throw her inside and lock the door for safekeeping. No need to tape her mouth or tie her hands, because being as demented as she is she would most likely get out of them anyways.
It doesn't take long for the orangey sky to turn dark gray. Daisy said she was going to take me to Charlie, but I don't need her, I can find Charlie just fine on my own. When I leave the suite, the ungrateful girl is still unconscious in the closet. I run as fast as I can, remaining out of sight from people who still occupy the roads and sidewalks. Even if they were to spot me, I would appear as nothing more than a blur.
I have no idea how long my journey of reaching Charlie is, but when the filled city streets turn into deserted ones, I know I'm close. Finally, when a rundown manufacturing building comes into view relief washes over me and I waste no time in entering. On my whole way here not once pain was inflicted on Charlie, but now her screams echo throughout the empty halls. The ache and thoughts of her screams are nothing compared to hearing them now, in person.
The dim crumbling halls only adds worry to my already existent anxiety. A shallow breath is all I can manage before I storm through the metal door that Charlie resides behind. What I see horrifies me, but deep down I expected it. The harsh lighting in the room makes her once tan skin look pale. The stark contrast of bright red that stains her entire body just makes her complexion look whiter. Blood flows freely from several slashes that mark her body.
She dangles from some kind of hook on the wall. The zip ties that bind her wrists are barely visible due from her limp legs being unable to hold her body up, causing the plastic to dig into her skin, allowing blood to camouflage them. Wasting no time, my legs automatically step forward toward her. The slamming of the metal door behind me forces my legs to come to a halt.
"Not so fast, Maxwell," Henry spits out from behind me with his hand still extended, touching the door.
The venomous sound of his voice only makes the anger I have begin to boil, making it barely containable. "Henry," I state as I turn around to face him, intentionally taking a step backward so I'm closer to Charlie. Before I look up to meet his gaze, he sprints in my direction and slams me to the ground. Power flows from him as he clenches my neck. He made sure he was well fed before today. However, his strength is no match for my fury.
Inches away from my face, he barks at me. "Where is Daisy?"
"Locked up as she should be. I could of killed, but I had places to be than bother with her. Let's face it, this is between you and me...friend." My palms shove against his chest, sending him flying off me. Smashing into the concrete wall, he lands in a semi-squat only to stand up within a few seconds. He shakes crumbs of the wall that broke off from the impact out of his hair and off of his shoulders.
Moans that resemble my name croak out of Charlie's dry mouth. Henry uses my lack of focus to his advantage. In the blink of one's eyes we start to scuffle, except this time I'm ready. At arm's length, with each of our hands on the other's shoulders, we push and shove each other around. Chunks of the ceiling rain down on us from the constant impact of our bodies against the unstable walls.
Not to my surprise, Henry gets the upper hand and grabs the back of my neck, forcing me to look at Charlie. From when I first entered the room to now she looks worse. A sheen of sweat lines her face as she tries to hang on the little sliver of life she has left.
Henry heaves me forward. "Look at her," he yells, inches away from my ear. "Watch her die." His intense strength pushing me down makes me struggle to stay on my feet, but I lose my footing on blood that blots the floor. Before I know it, my face is inches away from the red liquid and in a quick second, my cheek touches the cold stickiness only to be pulled back away from it, throwing me to the opposite side of the room. "What a waste, isn't it? Let's be honest with each other, she's going to die, just like you let Prue die."
"Prue hated you. The sooner you come to terms with that the better it will be on all of us. Take it out on me and leave Charlie out of this." I try to make my voice sound strong, but just lying beneath the surface begging can be heard.
"A bride for a bride, Maxwell, and that's me taking it out on you. You will live in pity for eternity knowing she died because of you. Don't worry, though, I'm proof that another is out there for you. If Prue lived then I would have never met Daisy and if you hurt her—" he retorts.
"Oh, you better believe I hurt that bitch. Tell me one thing, Henry, how did you find me?" A vampire can't track another vampire in any special way other than what the average human would have to result to in finding another human. He had to have some connection in a high place.
"Curious, are we? I only needed to find one person, one person I knew would be by your side. It's quite sad that she still follows you wherever you go. I don't have anybody like her. The only person I have now because of you is Daisy."
"Grace, you tracked down Grace?" My eyebrow perks up in thought. "Who told you where Grace was...Benjamin?"
"Benjamin is under his own scrutiny. If I were to show up asking him about Grace or yourself, he would read my intentions like one of his very many books, not to mention lots of other spying eyes...such as Eugene. That man would run to you instantly if he knew I was in search of you. He's a very smart and loyal man and sadly one day it'll get him killed. I went on a much more secluded path."
I rack my brain for some kind of connection that Henry had made over the years to any council members, then it comes to me. "Duke."
"Ding ding. Duke being the kind menacing man he is helped me after Prue killed herself. He told me he would help me get my revenge when I was ready. He told me where Grace was and that wherever she was you would be."
If I made it through this The High Council will punish one of their own and Duke will no longer hold eternal life seeing as I won't stop until he sees the sun again.
Henry takes two small steps that are separating him from Charlie as he laughs in my face at how sly he thinks he is. Having not the slightest bit of concern at my presence, he unhooks Charlie's hands from the hardware on the wall that's holding her upright and watches her collapse to the ground. Kneeling next to her, he grasps a fistful of her blood-matted hair jerking her hanging head upward to look at me.
Her eyes are barely open. Fresh and dry blood trail down her face as well as her neck. She wets her chapped lips with her tongue and faint whimpers seep out of her mouth. Focusing on her floppy body, I don't see Henry draw a knife. It's not until it rests at the nape of her neck that I see the shiny metal in its entirety. He holds the knife I gave Charlie to protect herself with in his steady hand.
Instantly, I hold my empty hands out to him. "Henry...we used to be friends, best friends. We used to do everything together. You helped me when I was in a dark place and I abandoned you when you were in a dark place. Let Charlie go. Take it out on me." I try to talk some reason into him, but I know whatever I say doesn't faze him.
I remember that silly thing that Grace sent me. She told me not to play with as if it was dangerous. It still rattles around in my pocket, so as he flouces the knife around I slide my hand into my pocket, clenching it in my closed fist. For the first time examining it without using my eyes I feel that one end is textured like a screw.
Slowly, without drawing attention I try to unscrew it and to my amazement it gets loose. Trying not to potentially injure myself in the process I probe at the open end with my fingers. A sharp point, like a needle of some sort. Who better to test it on than Henry.
I take slow, cautious steps forward even though I know the gesture will provoke him. If only I can get within reach. As I get closer I withdraw my hand with the whatever-the-hell it is in my fist.
Henry's snarl leers up at me. "What's done is done." With that said, he raises the blade high in the air before he plunges it into Charlie's chest.
Charlie's eyes go wide with shock and a deep breath is sucked into her dying lungs. A faint groan sounds from her instead of an ear-piercing scream, because she has nothing left in her to give from being so brutally tortured the previous hours. My fangs extend and finally the monster within comes to the surface.
While Henry is gloating from his glory, I rush toward and plunge the open end of the device like object into his neck.
At first he laughs at my feeble attempt, but then his expression goes blank. Seconds later his eyes go wide, his mouth drops open as he gasps for breath. His hands grope at his throat as he's unable to get a breath, which is off since we don't have to breath. Seconds later his legs give out, leaving him motionless on the ground. Slowly, his skin turns black, like a living parasite black viens creep out from the injection point, slowly killing him from the inside out.
Rushing to Charlie, I yank the knife out only to see blood pour out at a faster rate. "Charlie. It's going to be okay. You're going to be okay. You are not dying on me. Drink." I bite into my own wrist and press it to her mouth.
She tries to wiggle out from under me, but her feeble attempts to push me away don't move me the slightest bit. I know she doesn't want this, but I refuse to let her die, I refuse to let her die like this. I press my bleeding wrist harder against her mouth, making sure she ingests enough of my tainted blood. Like a magician doing his infamous magic trick, the blood that flows out of her multiple wounds starts to slow before it stops altogether. Gradually, all of the slices, especially the one in her chest begin to heal, leaving her stained in her own blood for no noticeable reason.
Her eyes flicker closed I only remove my wrist when I know she's had enough. I carry her unconscious body to her car and speed away, leaving everything behind us. Thoughts of a feisty and vindictive Daisy pop into my head on the way back to home, but I feel like I can take on anything and anyone with the knowledge that Charlie is going to survive and she'll finally be my vampire bride.
I cautiously push open my door with Charlie's limp body in my arms. Shards of wood are scattered across the floor from the closet door being kicked out from the inside. A breeze makes the dark curtains float off the ground. She's gone. There's only one way that she would have been able to get out of that closet like that. Henry had already started the process of turning her as if he knew of my temper couldn't be maintained and I would kill her. And if she had enough vampire blood in her system at the time it would save her.
But I didn't kill her as to alert Henry and potentially kill Charlie before my arrival. They had everything planned out perfectly. Every detail, every possible outcome to be in their favor. One way or another, one problem is gone, but another is definitely on the rise.