Chapter 31: Escape and Evade

Kashina and Zayn appeared just outside Soren's chambers; the guards from earlier stood guarding the room.

Zayn nodded his head, and the guards stepped aside, making way for Zayn and Kashina to go in.

When they both stepped into the room, the nurse, who Zayn had sent for, stood by Soren's side, confused about what to do. She had tried all she could, but to no avail. Seeing Zayn and Kashina together, she stepped to the side with her head bowed.

Zayn stared at his father in utter dismay; Soren's condition had worsened; black veins traveled up Soren's head. Kashina quickly went up to Soren to observe his condition.

"What is the problem? What kind of ailment is this?" Zayn questioned, worried about his father’s health. Kashina raised Soren’s eyelid and was terrified when she saw how red they shone, even while he was unconscious.

"I can't tell for now, but he is dying, Zayn. And quickly," Kashina replied.

"So how do we stop it? What’s the cure?" Zayn asked, losing his composure. Even if he acted like he despised his father most times, he still had a soft spot for him.

"Without knowing the problem, I can’t provide a sure cure. The good thing is it doesn’t seem to be communicable," Kashina explained. Zayn stared at his father in disbelief; he was healthy hours ago and even seemed to be happy about a certain progress in his goal. What could have possibly happened?

"I do have a temporary solution," Kashina suggested.

"A temporary solution? What good is that?" Zayn snapped.

"It seems to me your father was poisoned, and the poison seemed to be traveling very fast. I could slow down time for his body, which would also slow down the poison. I believe that would buy us enough time to find a solution."

Zayn stood silent as he thought. 'How long is enough time? What if the cause of the poison is not found?'

"I can tell you're worried, but I assure you, I’ll do everything to help your father," Kashina assured Zayn. "Now, if you could just give me details of what your father has been up to for the past 24 hours, we could start from there."

Zayn stared at Kashina, lost. He always avoided his father; there was no way he could know what his father was doing for that long. "I have no idea. I was only with him for dinner," Zayn said as he facepalmed himself before pinching the skin on his forehead.

"Oh, then let’s start from his last meal; hopefully, we’ll figure something out," Kashina suggested, glancing at the almost lifeless vampire lord. She placed her hand on his torso and chanted some spells. Soon, a clear glass-like orb enveloped Soren as he lay on the bed. Kashina did this to slow down time around Soren and reduce the speed of the poison that would eventually kill him if nothing was done, soon.

****

Sage was running really fast through the woods; the moon was the only source of light that illuminated her path. She didn’t stop running except for the time when she had to carry Clara on her back. At that time, she had sighted smoke from the house; she didn’t want to think Ericka set the house ablaze while she was still inside.

She had gotten tired of running and decided to stop by a large tree. Sage panted heavily; her legs were aching, and her arms were numb from carrying Jane. When Clara stepped down from Sage’s back, she went down on her knees and threw up by the tree; everything she had witnessed was too much for her, and Sage had carried her through the woods running like lightning.

Sage placed Jane down carefully; her eyes were open, but her breathing was shallow as she winced from the pain in her abdomen. By their side, Carla groaned.

"Oh, all my life I have lived with witches, the snake, the dark room. What if I’m a witch? Oh no," Clara cried. "No boy would want to hang out with me anymore. Wait, Jane, Tasha, she’s going to the house. What if Mum captures her and uses her for rituals?"

"Would you just shut the hell up!" Sage finally snapped; she hadn't been in a good mood since last night. She had been trying to compose herself, with all the strange things going on in her life recently. And here Clara was complaining about issues that should not be a problem. Clara flinched when Sage spoke; it was unusual for her to see Sage react with anger. She had never even witnessed Sage react in such a way.

"Your mum probably just died protecting us. And all you could think of was how she could possibly be a witch. And you’re here whining about your dumbass friend. Your sister is here bleeding; she could die in the next hour if she doesn’t get help," Sage sniffed. "And here you are worried about a girl that doesn’t give a damn about you. You know what? I wish it was you who was bleeding and not Jane, 'cause Jane doesn’t deserve this. She would be worried sick if it was you in her shoes right now." Sage continued. "I feel like hitting you in the face right now, but I’m trying so hard not to. So you better shut the hell up before you make me whack you in the face."

When Sage was done speaking to Clara, she turned and picked up Jane; they had to keep moving before that lady would catch up to them. Just when Sage thought all hope was lost, Sage walked up onto a road. She wasn’t checking what direction she was running at, so she didn’t know which way was leading up to her house or away. However, she looked to her side, ahead of them. Parked there was the old rickety car that she had abandoned when Xavier drove her home.

"Where do we go now?" Clara asked. "We should go to Tasha’s house."

Sage ignored Clara and walked up to the car; she pulled the back door open and laid Jane there, while Clara got in through the other side.

"Take off your jacket and apply pressure on Jane’s wound," Sage demanded. Clara gave her a questioning look; she only had a vest on under the jacket, and the air was cold due to the rain. However, she didn’t complain when she noticed Sage’s stern gaze.

"Jane, no matter what, don’t fall asleep; we’ll get help soon."

None of the girls knew the severity of Jane's wound, not even Jane herself. If they could get help soon, they would be able to save her. Sage got in the driver’s seat. She cursed under her breath when she remembered that she wasn’t with the key. She had left it in her backpack the day Xavier took her home. However, she stayed composed. She had some knowledge of how to bypass a car’s ignition system. Clark had said something about it one of those days when he learned something interesting. Sage was glad she paid attention to his summary that day. Sage found a way to expose the wire.

"Please work, please work," Sage hoped. After a few minutes of tinkering, the car’s engine roared to life. Sage sighed, happy that they would be able to move away from here. She proceeded to drive forward.

As Sage drove on the road leading to her house, she thought, ‘They’ll be looking for anything going away from the house direction.’ If she headed toward the house, their car would be suspicious. With this in mind, she turned off the interior light of the car and also the light outside of the car.

As Sage drove, she spotted three figures standing beside the road, just ahead of the path leading to her house. "Clara, I need you to keep your head down, now," Sage whispered urgently, and Jane quickly complied.

Looking up ahead, Sage saw thick smoke rising from a building that had recently burned. She drove quietly past the people by the road, doing her best to avoid drawing attention to herself and her passengers.

Venzy stood beside the road with two other vampires she had called for assistance. "The kids would still be in the woods. There’s no way they would have gone far, but we still need to find them as soon as possible," Venzy stated as she issued a warning to the two other vampires who had joined her.

Just as they were about to spread out in search of the hybrid, an old rickety car drove past them slowly. Venzy eyed the car; she could see only one figure in the driver’s seat. She considered going after the car, but she thought it would be a waste of time chasing after a car that smelled so bad. If the girls were in it, she would have at least perceived the smell of blood from the girl she wounded earlier.

The old rickety car had saved the girls from Venzy's sharp sense of smell. Fortunately for them, the smell from it had overshadowed the smell of blood.