Bloodshed

Chapter Twenty-Seven: Torn to Pieces (Lucius' POV)

Air scraped my throat as I took a rough inhale, finally coming back to life, or as close to life as my kind could get. I bolted upright, greeted by nothing but cold and darkness. Confused, I rubbed at aching part at the back of my neck, and slowly got to my feet. What happened? How had I ended up with a broken neck? And where was Audrey?

As I struggled to remember, a white blur flashed in my periphery, and stopped to stand in front of me. 

"Lucius?" Gabriel sounded as confused as I was, but after a moment he moved in for a hug. I flinched involuntarily, and instantly felt shame. 

"Don't," I rasped, voice harsh from thirst and unshed tears. "Please,"

Heat radiated from Gabriel then. I turned away from him, to hide my shame and fear, but it was useless. Gabriel was my oldest friend, my sire; I could never hide anything him despite my greatest efforts. 

"He hurt you again." Gabriel said it, not as a question, but as a fact. 

I gave him a brief nod, keeping my back to him and my eyes to the ground. 

"That bastard!" He hissed, the sound of flames crackling sounding behind me. "He will pay for this, Lucius, I swear it." 

"He has Audrey." I said, holding myself in a pitiful effort to stave off falling apart. "She angered him, struck him. And he broke my neck in retaliation." 

I could feel the air around Gabriel still. "She struck him?"

"Repeatedly," I turned to face him, forcing my eyes to meet his. "It took every ounce of my strength to pull her off him. Gabriel, he is bringing something out of her. Something vicious and brutal. I fear that if we do not get her away from him soon, she may completely lose her humanity." 

Gabriel studied me, the flames on his arms dying out. Finally, he gave me a brief nod, and reached inside the breast pocket of his blazer. 

"Here, take this." He said while handing over a blood bag. "Build your strength up and return to the island. Nero and Vanessa should be there by now."

I did a double take. "Vanessa? As in, Audrey's mother Vanessa?"

Gabriel smirked, though it did not reach his eyes. "There is a lot you have missed, old friend. Go home and exchange intel with the others." 

"And what shall you do in the meantime?" I already knew, of course. Gabriel was too predictable, too eager to right his wrongs and redeem himself in Audrey's eyes. 

This time the smirk did in fact twinkle in his bright blue eyes as he replied, "do you really have to ask?"

I smirked a little, as well, and shook my head. "No, I suppose I do not." Then, I tore into the blood bag Gabriel had given me and drained it dry within seconds. 

"Well, aren't you two just precious?" Simone's voice came from behind, surprising both me and Gabriel.

"Simone, what happened to you?" Gabriel asked, approaching her. "Where have you been?"

Gabriel couldn't see the slight change in her demeanor, couldn't detect the altered state of her mind, but being her sire, I could feel the differences in my bones. I snatched him by the collar and hauled him back away from her just as she pulled out a silver stake and swung. 

"What the bloody hell?" Gabriel growled, trying to pull away from me. 

"You cannot harm her!" I shouted, trying to put some distance between the two. "Gabriel, please! She's been Influenced!" 

He started to argue, when a sizzling sound cut him off. It was the sound of the silver stake burning Simone's palm, smoke wafting up from her hand as she gripped the weapon tight.