Burning Souls (F.T Sequel)

Twenty-Four

"Wakey, wakey..." 

When I open my heavy eyes, Gabriel's face is perched in front of me, and he's dangling something from side to side with a huge smile on his face. I blink twice, and when my eyes finally catch onto the item, they recognise the golden glint of the heart-shaped pendant, hanging from its delicate chain. I immediately feel the absence of its comforting place under my collarbone, now leaving my skin feeling cold and empty. 

Gabriel straightens with a satisfied smile on his face, and crosses his arms, leaning against his office desk. The room is still candle-lit and dim, giving the illusion of home and comfort when really, all it is is a cold, heartless place. I look down with a throbbing head and groggy movements, only to realise that I'm firmly bound to that too-plushy, vintage armchair, wrists cuffed onto the armrests. I rattle at the cuffs, but they don't budge. I look back up at Gabriel, who's been watching my struggles with unconcealed amusement. "Enjoying yourself?" I ask glumly, and to my utter annoyance, his smile widens. 

"Even half knocked-out and you've still got some of that fire in you," he remarks joyfully, tilting his head. "That's going to be useful." 

I straighten at his words and lean as far forward as the bonds will allow, which turns out isn't that much. "You never did explain fully what your deviant plan was," I state. His eyes suddenly narrow and he presses away from the desk, avoiding my intense stare with calculated control. 

"And I won't be until we can figure out how your little group of friends so valiantly discovered your location. Speaking of them, if you do happen to speak to them again through whatever that is," he waves a hand towards my head, "would you tell them that I've got snipers and hunters lined up at every entrance and several miles into the forest encircling this place. They'll be decapitated in a second if they so much as take a step into the boundaries." 

I stiffen at the unhidden menace in his words, and before I realise what I'm doing I close my eyes, frantically searching for that linking pathway that has brought me to Hunter's mind those times before. All I get is a blank wall, separating me from any human minds, or those from the outside world. I open my eyes again, and when I see the fire burning in Gabriel's cold eyes, realisation dawns on me like a painfully icy bucket of water pouring down my back. "I knew it," he hisses, taking a step towards me. "You can do more with that pretty, little head of yours that we thought. You did manage to communicate with - what was his name again - Hunter, didn't you?" 

I keep my lips firmly pressed together and ignore the sizzle of shock that courses through me when he lights up in rage and punches the desktop violently. "ANSWER ME!" 

"Yes," I gulp, regretting that simple word the moment it leaves my mouth. His whole body tenses up and his eyes stay fixated on the table. "I-" I begin with a shaky voice, "My mind's been linked to his since I first penetrated it through his scar two years ago. It's never faded after that." 

"You have actually managed to link your mind to another vampire's during all of this time?" His voice sounds curious now, surprise coating it smoothly. He'd never considered this. "And why does no one else know about this?" 

"I haven't told anyone."

"Why?" 

"Because after Jay's phantom death I was pretty much in stuck in the pit of a black hole. Adding my mystery mind-link to his Maker on top of it all wasn't going to help me much, now was it?" I bite snappily, jerking my wrists against the cuffs with annoyance. Gabriel still doesn't look at me, instead choosing to stay in his own little world with a contemplative look on his face. Then, the back door is flung open, and in struts Jay, wearing that impassive, blank-faced mask.