Redemption (Page 69)
He didn’t have it in him to get angry, not as his heart gave its last lumbering beats, but if he made it through this he was going to throttle her.
CHAPTER 24
Jack skidded to a halt behind Aria as she sat back from her brother. William’s blood stained her clothes; it was streaked across her face and matted in her hair. The blood continued to seep from his mutilated body, it had discolored the ground beneath him a rust color but Jack was acutely aware of the lack of William’s heartbeat. A sharp pang stabbed through his heart, he took a step closer to the still body of his friend as sorrow built within his chest, but he didn’t have the time to mourn him right now. There would be plenty of time to mourn after he found Hannah.
"Aria…" Braith started as he knelt and rested his hand on her shoulder.
"I gave him my blood," she murmured miserably. Jack felt as if he’d been punched in the gut. Braith recoiled, his lips pulled back in a snarl to reveal the fangs that instinctively sprang forth at the knowledge that his bloodlink had shared her blood with another. "Braith…"
Braith’s eyes faded back to their natural gray blue color as he regained control of himself. "We have to get him out of here."
He nudged her gently out of the way and slid his arms under William. William’s head fell back; his eyes were still open as he stared unseeingly at the sky. "He can hear you," Aria said.
Braith glanced at her as she hovered nervously at her brother’s side with Daniel. "He’ll get through this," Jack assured her. "I know he will. I have to find Hannah."
"Calvin has her," Aria whispered and pointed through the crowd. Jack’s hands clenched as a ferocious growl tore from him. Braith nudged her back with his shoulder as he eyed Jack. He regained enough control of himself to take a step away from Aria before Braith went after him. The last thing he needed was to start fighting with his brother when there was someone else he was much more eager to destroy. "He took her that way."
Jack focused on Hannah’s blood, allowing it to lead him to her as he pushed his way through the battle waging around him. He dodged an arrow as he mercilessly shoved a vampire out of his way. She was close, he could feel it, his body thrummed with the need to see her, to feel her. He was going to rip Calvin limb from limb when he got his hands on him and he was never going to let Hannah go again.
Grabbing hold of one of Calvin’s men, he jerked the vampire toward him and ripped the stake from his hand before driving it into the man’s heart. Bloodlust ripped through him; he could feel the press of his fangs against the inside of his mouth as he tossed aside the dead body. Daniel appeared at his side, blood and soot stained his strained face as he lifted a spear and drove it into another vampire’s chest. He’d never seen the calm, artistic boy look so enraged as his blue eyes shone with wrath.
Daniel shoved a human out of his way before stepping alongside Jack. "Where are they?" he demanded in a hoarse voice.
Jack jerked his head to the side. He seized hold of another vampire’s neck as the man ran at him. Without any hesitation, he ripped forcefully back and tore the vampire’s throat out. Through the fighting, he spotted Calvin’s large frame ahead of him as he tried to force Hannah onto a horse. Amazement and wariness flickered through him at the sunlight filtering over her exposed skin. She wasn’t burning though, and she wasn’t crying out in distress as she fought against the hold Calvin had on her. Aria had given Braith his vision back and his blood seemed to have given Hannah the ability to move about in the sunlight without it singing and scorching her body. If he had anything to say about it, he was going to make sure she got many more hours and days within its warm rays.
Like a raging bull, he lowered his shoulder and plunged through the mob gathered around him with a loud roar. He shoved the last of the stragglers out of his way and raced across the ground toward them. Calvin must have heard him coming as he released the horse and spun to face him. Though fury drove him, Jack was still coherent enough to realize that he couldn’t launch himself at them and destroy the bastard when he saw what Calvin was holding in his hand.
He slid to a stop as Calvin pressed the stake even more firmly into Hannah’s chest. A small gasp escaped her, she tried to wiggle away from the stake but Calvin held her firmly against him as he kept his hand entangled in her hair. "Don’t!" Jack spat as Calvin pressed the stake forcefully enough against her flesh to draw blood.
"Don’t what? Do this?" Calvin taunted as he turned her head toward him. Hannah’s struggles only pressed the stake deeper into her flesh as Calvin forced his mouth against hers. Red exploded across Jack’s vision, the sound that ripped from him was one that would have made even the largest lion cower. A strangled cry escaped her, the scent of her blood caused Jack to lurch two more steps forward as Calvin bit into her bottom lip. He jerked to a halt as Calvin pressed the stake in hard enough to draw more blood from her.
"Stop!" Jack shouted as terror clawed at his chest.
Calvin smiled at him as he moved his mouth away from hers. Calvin was still too close to her; he would destroy her before Jack could make it to them. Pain twisted Hannah’s features, she tried to fight against Calvin but her exertion only succeeded in drawing more blood from where the stake pressed against her chest. Her eyes shimmered like rubies as her fingers tore into Calvin’s hand. Calvin didn’t seem to notice it though, he was grinning as he pulled her back a few more feet. Jack stalked them but he didn’t dare get too close as Calvin angled her toward the massive black stallion that had danced a few feet away from them.
"I can catch a horse," he said in a quiet, lethal tone.