BloodRose

11. Nemesis: Part 2

*Five Days Ago*

Kyle cracked the door and spotted Alias in a chair near the fireplace. His teacher's grey eyes were unfocused and if he were found by a human, they might assume he was dead. He had no heartbeat and Kyle could see he also wasn't breathing. He'd never seen him like this. Sad maybe, frustrated, angry, but never this hollow, this distraught. It made Kyle ache just looking at the empty expression on his face.

Shutting the door on Alias's misery, he tramped down the stairs and out the front door to where the car was already running. He almost jumped when he saw Alias leaning against the hood. The pain was wiped from his face and he seemed a whole different person.

"Where do you think you're going?" he asked. The question took Kyle off guard. He knew how Alias would respond when he told him and he didn't feel like the older vampire should go out in this condition. Then again, Alias would just be able to tell if he was lying.

He let out a heavy breath. "I'm going after Cal. They probably have her and-"

"And you want me to lose the only student I have left?" Alias snapped back, cutting Kyle off. Kyle knew about the last time a student had been lost. Jayden had been killed by hunters after running away. Alias had never forgiven himself for it.

Kyle knew all of this, but he still had to risk himself to get Cal back. In the little time he'd known her, he had been able to see how influential she'd been. She was currently the light in Alias's life and if he lost her, he might never again be able to see the good in the world. It would be like losing Hannah all over again.

"I'm going. Are you coming with me or are you going to stay here and get your head on straight?" Kyle asked. He didn't know which he would have preferred. If Alias stayed, he might be able to get out of this slump, but there was no one Kyle would rather have watching his back. His teacher made the choice for him.

"I'm coming. Of course I'm coming," he hesitated and then sighed and looked at Kyle, "I'm sorry. I jus-"

Before he could finish Kyle stopped him. "I know," he said.

The speed limit was low, but there was no one on the road so Kyle opened the car up. 120 miles an hour seemed too slow to get down the 17 miles of farm road to the edge of town. On the side of not getting pulled over by the police and wasting time, they slowed to 50 on the city streets. The weather was bad enough that not many people were out. The extra speed didn't make much of a difference to the few cars and pedestrians they did pass.

Alias took them to where he'd once known Ambrogio to be, but the building didn't even have furniture, let alone hundreds of vampires and their slaves. Next they checked in and around the building where they'd found Margaret, but still found nothing.

They drove around for another hour and then decided that they were never going to find her if they didn't get into all the smaller spaces like alleys and side streets. They parked the car near the middle of the city, checked the batteries on their cell phones and headed in opposite directions. They searched in circles, scanning for any clues that could lead them to Cal.

At around 3 in the afternoon, Kyle gave Alias's phone a double ring to let him know he hadn't found anything and was moving on to the next street. When Alias didn't answer back, he gave another double ring just in case his first signal had been missed. His phone was still silent and his stomach twisted into a knot. Alias had answered every time before now. Something was wrong.

Before he could think anything else, he heard something whistling through the air toward his head. He narrowed his eyes, dropping to the ground and sweeping one leg out behind him at the same time. His calf caught someone's ankles and they fell to the ground. Before he could fully take stock of the situation, a rope wrapped around his throat and yanked him backward.

The jerk to his neck, combined with the weight crushing his chest effectively silenced him, but it didn't stop him from fighting back. He listened as well as he could over his own struggling and heard no heartbeat. Still, there was quite a bit of movement so he couldn't be sure. Soon, each of his limbs were pinned to the ground. The post pounder raised above his head made him want to throw up, but it was brought down and he barely had time to register the excruciating pain that told him his skull had cracked before everything went dark.

The cell he woke up in was damp and he could register only the slightest trace of light out of the corner of his eye. He started to move forward, only to feel and curse the manacles holding his wrists to the wall. He should have been able to break free of them, but he couldn't. He registered Alias somewhere to his right along the wall and tried to call out to his teacher, but his voice was not cooperating. He tried again and then felt skin on his neck move oddly as he attempted to speak. Slowly, the gash where his vocal cords should have been took shape in his mind and the damage was far worse than he would have wanted.

A guard came in every hour for that first day to give them a drop of blood each. Not enough to truly satisfy their thirst, just enough to keep them conscious. The shutting of the door each time held a certain finality, like the light was never going to reach them again. They would be stuck down here forever, Kyle was sure of it. But the guard came back every time.

Alias and Kyle made a joint vow of silence. If they did manage to make a sound, there was a high probability that their throats would just be slashed again and they'd have to start the healing process all over.

When the guard didn't come back after the eighth hour, Kyle felt his hope slipping away. Cal was down here somewhere, but they couldn't get to her. He pounded his foot against the wall to alleviate some of his frustration. Alias looked at him. The sorrow had found its way back into his eyes and Kyle felt his spirit fall further. If Alias was out of ideas, Kyle didn't know what he could do. He let his eyes drift shut and fell asleep.

*Present*

Kyle barely has the strength to break his fall when his hands are unchained. Alias doesn't even try. They're both hoisted up from the ground and forced to march at what seems like a sprint after their days of confinement. Alias croaks out a "where are we going" and is immediately silenced with a knee to his gut. Kyle wants to try out his newly healed vocal cords, but doesn't want to get the same reprimand.

When they turn a corner, Alias stands up a little straighter and actually tries to set his feet. Kyle looks up as the guards struggle with his companion and reads the name on the imposing wooden door. THE AUGUR. In the back of his mind, is a vague nudge at a memory, something Alias told him, but before he can recall it fully, the two prisoners are shoved through the door and forced to kneel. A man in a black and silver cloak sits before them. Alias is shaking with something like fear or rage. Kyle figures it's the latter.

Moments later the door is reopened and they both turn to see what this new threat or horror may be. Instead of a fear or sickness in his gut, Kyle can only feel a seed of dread. He can see his emotions mirrored on Alias's face.

Her brown hair is tangled and dirty, her green eyes broken somehow. He'd never thought she could look so defeated. But now they have her.

They have Cal.