Deliverance Read online

  Closing the lid of his laptop, he met Rinwa’s piercing gaze across the table. “I need to go to sleep,” he announced as he stood.

  Rinwa’s bored expression turned back to her own computer. “Thanks for that profound announcement. Should I state the obvious by saying that I’m going to stay up a little longer?”

  His sister’s thoughts were one of many assailing his brain, so he couldn’t decipher exactly what she was thinking. But he knew her well enough by now to know that her sarcasm was used in place of affection. Reaching out, he patted her shoulder as he passed her to head to his room.

  He didn’t bother to brush his teeth or change clothes. Liam lifted the soft blanket and slid right into bed. It was difficult to relax when voices tried to besiege him. Closing his eyes, Liam breathed deeply, smelling the fabric softener of his sheets. He exhaled longer than he inhaled. His thoughts turned inward, to the gift he’d given Samantha all those weeks ago. He’d performed the ritual to the best of his knowledge, but no one trained him for something like that. He did it because he knew she needed to have a long life on this earth. After focusing on his breath for several minutes, the thoughts of hundreds of people turned into white noise and he fell asleep.

  Three sharp knocks on the front door yanked Liam back to consciousness. It didn’t feel like he’d slept very long, but at least he had more control over his telepathy. It was enough to hone in on the person at their front door.

  Jumping out of bed, not paying attention to his blanket fluttering into a heap on the floor, Liam rushed down the hallway. Rinwa got there first and she opened the door just as he arrived. When his sister saw the immortal standing on the threshold, the handgun whipped from behind her back to aim at the man.

  “How the hell did you find us?” Rinwa asked in a hard tone, but Liam could hear her thoughts. He could sense the emotion she battled with as she faced their guest. His name was Willem, and Rinwa had been in one of those on again, off again relationships with him for a few centuries. Liam sensed that she missed his warm body and unique sandalwood scent. Her thoughts were a jumbled mess of conflicting sentences, so that was all Liam could glean.

  Willem scanned Rinwa from her feet and up, his gaze barely hesitating over the weapon she held. “I didn’t bring the cavalry with me. I just want to talk.”

  “He’s telling the truth.” Liam gently placed his hand over his sister’s arm to lower the gun.

  Rinwa glanced at him, then back to Willem and narrowed her eyes. “You have five minutes.”

  Liam and Rinwa stepped back to allow Willem room to enter. Liam could feel the immortal’s gaze boring into his back as he walked into the main room.

  He must be the prophecy child. He has Leisha’s eyes. But he couldn’t be so old already, could he?

  Turning, he met the older man’s eyes. “Yes, I’m the prophecy child. And my hybrid genetics help me to grow at an accelerated rate.” Willem blinked, then sat heavily on the russet colored couch. Liam continued to answer the thoughts that flowed at a projected rate from the man. “Obviously, I do read minds. Yes, including immortals and vampires. Thank you. I’ve been speaking this articulately since I was six months old in human time. And, no, you haven’t ever heard my accent before. My original language is not from this world.”

  Rinwa pulled her chair from the computer and rolled it so it was facing Willem. “He’s the party trick we bring everywhere to show off,” Rinwa joked as she eased down onto the seat, the gun resting on her lap.

  Willem glanced back and forth between Liam and Rinwa before he took a breath. “Look, Rinwa, can I talk to you, just the two of us?”

  His sister shook her head. “If he went in the other room, he’d still hear everything, and I’m not stupid enough to let him go out in the hall, or anywhere else, alone.”

  The man’s lips thinned. “I told you, I’m here by myself.”

  “You also knew they were sending me on a bogus mission so you could stay behind and torture my mother. I don’t really put much stock in what you say these days.”

  Liam was impressed. The inner turmoil he heard within her didn’t show on her face or body language in any way. She’s more like Leisha than she’d ever acknowledge.

  Throwing his hands up as if to prevent a tantrum, Willem searched Rinwa’s gaze. “I came because I care about you. And I want to keep you safe.”

  Rinwa’s eyebrows went up. “Keep me safe from whom? The immortals?” She crossed her arms. “Are you going to kidnap me and then tell the immortals where to find Liam?”

  Though Willem’s face remained impassive, Liam heard the truth. “It’s not exactly what he had planned, but it’s close enough. He wants to take me to the immortals but wants to keep you out of it so you won’t get punished.”

  Rinwa didn’t take her eyes off of their guest while Liam explained. Her nostrils flared, but she didn’t say anything. She just watched Willem, as if waiting for confirmation from him.

  “Look, Rinwa, we go way back. I’ve cared about you for hundreds of years.” He got up and knelt in front of her, taking her hands in his. “There’s too much between us to throw it away. I’m not going to let anything get between what we have.” Not even your brother.

  Liam forced his jaw to stay relaxed. It wasn’t the first time he’d heard someone think unflattering thoughts about him. He felt the urge to attack and get rid of this threat, but didn’t want to do anything that would make Rinwa hate him. Despite her harsh personality, or maybe because of it, he wanted to please her.

  “We haven’t exactly been bosom buddies lately.” Rinwa pulled her fingers from his grip and pulled her sunglasses from her hair, placing them over her eyes. “And then there’s the problem of you keeping me in the dark so you can take sadistic pleasure in torturing my mother behind my back.”

  Sitting back on his heels, Willem looked far from repentant. “Come on, Rinwa. If she’d been anyone but your mother, you’d have done the same thing. You’re the one who taught me some of the best torture techniques to use to question vamps!”

  Those were good times, Rinwa thought softly. However, out loud, she said, “But how can I trust you? You lied to me.”

  Willem drew in a deep breath. “Rinwa, you know all too well about immortals that get emotionally involved. Remember Sean? You punished him yourself.”

  “Because he wasn’t thinking logically anymore!” Rinwa stood and paced the small space between Liam and Willem. “You’re right; he was too emotionally involved. And that’s what got him killed when he confronted Leisha. The idiot didn’t tell any of us that he’d found her. Just went by himself to get revenge.”

  Walking over and placing his hand on her shoulder, Willem spoke gently. “And can you honestly say that you’re not too involved in this? That your emotions aren’t ruling your actions right now?”

  Rinwa stared at the wall over his shoulder. “No, I can’t say that. We both know the truth.”

  Willem wrapped his arms around her and pulled her into his embrace. Rinwa didn’t fight him.

  Liam could hear in her thoughts how much she enjoyed snuggling with him, not that she’d ever admit it.

  “You know what we have to do, don’t you?” Willem asked as his hands stroked her back.

  Stiffening, the immortal placed her hands on his chest. He’s going to take Liam to the immortals.

  Liam could feel the tense emotions as if they were his own. Rinwa knew what she had to do to protect her brother, but it meant that she would have to kill Willem. It’s going to kill a part of myself right along with you, Willem, but I have to do it. It’s the only way.

  The boy knew that Willem thought he’d won, and had convinced Rinwa of what they had to do together. The immortal had no clue that Rinwa was trying to prepare herself to kill him.

  All the conflicting thoughts and emotions overwhelmed Liam until he felt like he’d explode. Closing his eyes, he steeled h
imself for what he knew he had to do. He just hoped Rinwa knew that he was doing it to protect her.

  His claws and fangs pierced his skin as they grew. The pain sharpened his senses, his gums stinging intensely. Using as much speed as he could, he rushed over, grabbed a fistful of the immortal’s shirt, and pulled Willem away from his sister.

  The man grunted in surprise and fought for balance to keep standing. Liam jumped on his back and wrapped his legs around Willem to stay up high enough to get the right angle and plunged his fangs deep into Willem’s jugular.

  Rinwa screamed and covered her mouth but did not move to stop him.

  Willem gasped and raised his arms to defend himself. Being a mind reader had its benefits. Liam stabbed his claws into both of Willem’s forearms before the immortal could reach his target.

  “Ah!” Willem pulled his hands away. The man’s mind became frantic with a panic that was unusual to him. The immortal tried to swing his head to the floor in order to try and dislodge Liam, but Liam dug his claws into his victim’s chest while squeezing his legs together tightly.

  Breath wheezing from the constriction on his lungs, the immortal reached up to dig his thumbs into Liam’s eyes.

  The boy turned his head without releasing his bite, making the skin and blood fly all over the floor.

  “Ugh.” Rinwa’s soft exclamation was drowned out by the tearing of flesh and Willem’s choked moans, but Liam heard it distinctly. He glanced up and saw the horror on her face. Her mind was saying to turn away and not watch, but his sister forced herself to stand rigid and see every gory detail.

  Willem’s death came quickly, and Liam was relieved to no longer hear the immortal’s incoherent thoughts. As his body fell to the floor, Liam jumped off and let his fangs and claws recede. He panted at the deliverance from pain and looked over at Rinwa.

  She was on her knees, tears streaming down her cheeks. Her sunglasses had fallen to the carpet at some point and he could see that her watery gaze was glued to the corpse at his feet.

  He could feel her agony . . . and her relief.

  Rinwa slowly stood and looked at Liam. “Go to bed. I’ll clean this up.” And say a proper goodbye.

  “Should we be worried about the other immortals finding us?”

  She shook her head. “He wouldn’t have told anyone until he was sure he could sway me to his way of thinking.” The fool.

  Liam hesitated, knowing the fragile state she was in, but also knowing that most people in this world cherished their privacy. He was coming to appreciate the luxury himself.

  Rinwa picked up her sunglasses and walked into the kitchen. He could hear her pulling out several large garbage sacks.

  “Go on to bed,” she said softly.

  Standing, Liam walked to the hall with the intention of taking a shower. Rinwa stopped him just before he entered the bathroom, her arms filled with the plastic. “And Liam? We’re not going to tell anyone about this. Ever.”

  Chapter 20

  “I’m not Death,” Samantha murmured as she woke. She gasped for much-needed air and was able to calm her racing heart after a few minutes. Her nightmares were getting worse. Doctor Peterson had visited two more times, and both of the visions she’d induced in Samantha had been similar to the first ones. What’s worse, since she wasn’t getting enough food and the drugs stayed in her system for longer and longer intervals, her dreams were being sorely affected.

  During her regulated bathroom trips, she could see her reflection in the bathroom mirror and saw the circles under her eyes grow darker each day.

  Goosebumps prickled along her arms and Samantha felt as if she could almost see her breath puffing out in front of her face. She knew what would come next. To her right, in her peripheral vision was a dark figure. She could feel the malice pouring off it and was almost certain the smell of decaying flesh filled her small room. With trembling lips, she turned her head toward it. Nothing. It wasn’t there anymore. She was never able to see them directly. Some days, it felt as if they were there to judge her. Other times, it seemed the corpses were there to simply keep her company.

  Samantha found she looked forward to the visits from Doctor Peterson, just because she knew the people in the room with her at that time were real.

  “I’m not Death,” she said again, this time louder. “I don’t kill!” Even as she said it, Samantha knew it was a lie. She had killed before, though only in self-defense. And she had also been party to Leisha and Liam’s hunting expeditions. That made her guilty of murder.

  Maybe these visions are just about the guilt I’ve been pushing down about that. It was the first rational thought Samantha had had in a while. She clung to this idea, hoping it meant she just needed to work through her guilt to feel sane again.

  A scream echoed faintly. At first, Samantha figured it was only in her mind, but then she heard another cry. It was closer. Then another scream, this one sounding male, unlike the other ones.

  Chewing her dry lips, she slowly rose and walked to the door. She processed more sounds when she pressed the side of her face against the cold metal. It was hard to decipher everything that was going on, but it sounded like fighting. There was flesh against flesh, guns firing loudly, and a variety of grunts and yells. The screaming she heard seemed to be a combination of sheer terror and angry battle cries. She even thought she could smell hot gunpowder and blood, but the door was too thick to be certain.

  Samantha was about to pound on the door to get someone to release her, but hesitated. If the vampires were escaping, she wanted to get out, too. But they would either kill her or take her with them and then she’d be right back to getting questioned and tortured.

  But if she stayed silent, they might forget about her and she would be stuck taking those horrid drugs that gave her crazy visions. She wasn’t sure which option was worse at this point.

  Finally deciding that there was more hope escaping the vampires during this chaos than staying locked up in the little cell, she brought up her palms again and pounded against the unyielding metal.

  “Hey!” she screamed. “I’m in here. Nik! Nik, can you hear me?”

  Nothing changed. She could still hear the sounds of battle right outside her room, but there were no beeps to indicate her door opening. Samantha took a breath and continued her banging and yelling.

  It lasted for what felt like an hour before she leaned her back against the door and slid to the floor. Her body shook from weakness and exertion. Even if she did get out, she wouldn’t have the energy to fight off soldiers or vampires, let alone run off on her own.

  “I hope you got out, Nik,” she said to the empty room. “I hope they didn’t hurt you too much.”

  Samantha wasn’t sure how long she’d been sitting there when her door suddenly pushed inward, scooting her with it. There hadn’t been any beeps to warn her.

  With a yelp of surprise, she scrambled up and faced the intruder.

  What stood before her was a vision of perfection, even though carnage encompassed him. She instantly recognized Nik’s hazel eyes. They were gazing at her with such intensity she couldn’t interpret it.

  “Nik!” She slowly approached him, forcing down her impulse to hug him tightly.

  There wasn’t a part of him that wasn’t covered in blood. The vampire was only in a pair of sweats with his torso bare, and everywhere she could see was covered in the sticky red fluid. Samantha could tell that not all of it was pulsing from his wounds. He must have slaughtered many people to escape and find his way to her. But there were gouges along his arms, face, and chest that were still pumping out blood.

  “Are you all right?” she asked.

  A rare smile appeared. His teeth gleamed white against the dark red. “I was going to ask you the same thing.”

  “What’s going on out there?” Samantha could still hear gunfire, louder now that her door was open.

 
“As far as I can figure, Annette and Ellery used their telepathy to coordinate an attack and let out the vampires. It took time for me to find your scent and locate you.” His intense gaze traveled over her body in thorough inspection. “You’re practically a skeleton,” he commented, his voice low. Shaking himself, he once again met her eyes. “But at least it doesn’t look like they tortured you.”

  Shaking her head, she explained. “They were giving me drugs to see if they could use my visions for themselves.”

  “Did it work?”

  Samantha shuddered at the memories but didn’t answer. Instead, she looked past him. “How are we going to get past all that fighting out there?”

  Allowing the change of subject, Nik glanced behind his shoulder. “I’ll take care of it. Just stay with me and we’ll be out of here shortly.”

  “Do you know if it’s day or night outside?” Samantha could still remember how scorched the vampire had been a few years back when he’d been caught out in the sun trying to save Liam’s life.

  “Night. Come on.” He grabbed her hand in a firm grip and pulled her along behind him.

  The chaos was overwhelming. Samantha couldn’t process everything around her. There were too many people around. Vampires were moving at blurring speeds in the wide hallway. Her mind knew the smells, much stronger now that she was out of her room. Blood and sweaty fear were strongest, but the smoke and gunpowder also assaulted her nostrils. The screams and battle cries were almost deafening. When a gun discharged next to her, her eardrums pulsed and she felt as if she’d lose her hearing.

  It was hard to keep hold of Nik’s hand since it was wet with blood and her own were beginning to sweat. She clung to Nik and forced her feet to move as quickly as his.