Chapter Twenty Seven - Part One

Charlie

There used to be a time when the sun’s warm rays felt nice against my skin. The days when nightfall brought out death and sunshine held safety…not anymore. The note that Maxwell received still repeats itself in my head.

Tick tock, death awaits.

I’m surprised I make it to work on time today as he lectured me about watching my back all morning. I’ll admit it’s quite relieving to inhale fresh air since Maxwell refused to let me leave yesterday, best Sunday ever. He kept pacing the length of the suite as he went through plan after plan.

If Morgan wasn’t coming back today I’m pretty sure he wouldn’t have allowed me to leave. Again. Most of his plans consisted of me staying locked in his little room, waiting it out. He knows better than I do, it’s just a matter of time before they make their move. Before I left, he insisted I carry a weapon.

I didn’t want to carry a gun and I realize that pepper spray is pointless when it’s so easily out of reach. The weight of my handbag makes the image of the old knife Maxwell gave me overpower all other thoughts. The antique wooden handle with a sharpened silver blade is amongst other things shoved in the depths of my purse.

My heart skips several beats when I see Morgan waiting in the parking lot, leaning against her car. A pair of large black sunglasses shade her eyes, but by her stance I know she’s annoyed about something. Parking next to her, I get out and immediately strike up a conversation. “Something wrong?”

“Just hot, is all. I tried to get inside, but the spare key is gone.”

Now that she mentions it, I can see beads of sweat on her forehead. “Yeah, um, I had to get rid of the key, sorry. I thought I would be here before you.” We start walking to the front of the brick building as we talk.

“All is good. I got to work on my tan a little bit. You never know when that day comes when you wish you were tanner,” Morgan adds as I wave her inside the building.

All I can do is nod in acceptance to her comment. A tan is the last thing on my mind right now. “If you need anything, just come on in,” I tell her as I hurriedly walk away to the comfort of my office.

She stays away most of the day, but once it nears our time to leave, she comes in and sits down. I stare at her, eagerly waiting to hear what’s going to come out of her mouth. But she just stares at me wide-eyed, waiting for me to address her first. “Yes, Morgan?”

“You didn’t ask how my trip went. I know you have a lot on your plate right now, but I just thought you would want to know.” She’s nervous about something or still excited about what happened on this so-called trip with her vampire boyfriend.

Before, when she was gone, I grew jealous of her acceptance of James with or without knowing he’s a vampire. However, now looking at her jittery fingers and bobbing head, I can tell that Morgan and myself are two different people and we each have our own dreams on how life should be. “I would love to hear where you two went this past weekend,” I reply.

“We went to Austria. I might have been complaining about the heat earlier, but hell, it’s cold there,” she chimes back. Her words continue to flow out and she remains ignorant to my lack of attention toward anything she’s saying until a loud snap fills the room, causing her to jump.

The pencil I’m twirling in between my fingers as she speaks breaks in half under pressure at the word Austria. Austria…she went to Austria with James…James the vampire. Instantly, I search for her hands, needing to see if she has committed herself to him in more ways than one. Luckily, her hands rest on the desktop, inches away from mine in efforts to calm me down for some reason.

They’re completely smooth just like her neck. She makes no attempt to cover her neck or shoulders in this heat like I have been forced to do lately, but then I remember the other place a bite mark could be. She wore some shorts a while ago, but today she’s wearing capris that end past her knees. In all honesty, I have no way of knowing and I don’t dare ask.

“Austria you say?” I reply within a few seconds, but I know she sees the concern on my face at the mention of that place.

“Yeah, James has some relatives up there. It’s quite beautiful, but too cold for my liking. Have you been there before?”

“No.” I shake my head along with verbally replying, but the shake is more to snap myself out of this twilight zone moment I seem to be stuck in. I begin to wonder if she saw Grace, but then again I’m not sure if she even knows who Grace is.

“Well, I can see you’re preoccupied with stuff, so I’ll leave you to it.” With that said, she stands up and turns to exit my office. However, to my dismay, she makes one last stop before she fully walks away. Leaning against the doorframe drumming her thumbs, she refuses to look me in the eyes. “Did you ever find out who’s being so cruel to you?”

“Not officially, but I think it’s the people James brought with him that night he wanted to come here.”

“Holy crap,” she says as she puts pieces of this twisted puzzle together.

“Precisely. I should get back to work.” My head drops toward the desktop as I pretend to read the paper laid out before me. However, all the letters are blurry, making me unable to read them and cause me head to ache.

“Everything will be okay. I’m sure of it.”

“Here.” I dig into my purse and pull out my key to the office. “I want you to have this considering you seem to be here earlier than me. You shouldn’t have to sit out in this heat because I can’t make it here on time.”

She takes it with a large smile on her face. “Thanks. I’ll let you get back to your stuff.”

The sound of her retreating footsteps leaves me with my thoughts and my thoughts haven’t been the greatest lately. I can’t seem to get Morgan and James’s relationship out of my head. It’s further than I expected, but then again it really is none of my business. If she doesn’t want to tell me, fine…I’m kind of used to not being told important information.

I try to keep my mind on work until the sun starts to set. It’s only when Maxwell knocks on my open door that I realize Morgan must be gone already.

“You look like you just found out someone died,” he jokes.

“Not funny, but someone may be about to die and it isn’t me, it’s Morgan. Do you know James took her to Austria…to Austria, Maxwell.”

“Charlie, calm down.”

“You think I’m overreacting.” Maybe I am. “I mean she doesn’t really have a choice in the matter, so why am I overreacting?”

“Charlie, you know that isn’t true. She has a choice just like you have a choice.”

Laughter bursts out of my mouth at his words. “A choice, you say I have a choice? You think that choosing to die a week from now or in a couple months is a choice. Let’s face the facts; I haven’t had a choice since you showed up on my doorstep.”

“Is it so bad? Am I that terrible?”

“That’s not what I meant.” I instantly regret saying the words. “All I’m saying is this isn’t the life I had planned out and it’s extremely hard to turn my back on what I worked for to live something completely opposite.”

“I know that, Charlie. I’ve heard it multiple times, but I thought we were past this.”

Where was this coming from? Deep down I know exactly where it’s coming from, though. Seeing Morgan all happy brings out the worst in me. “I guess I’m taking on the stress and fear for both myself and Morgan seeing she’s completely oblivious to the impending outcome that’s lurking.”

“Morgan is a big girl and she can take care of herself. Everyone is different, Charlie. Some people expect very little out of life or welcome everything that happens with open arms and some…well, don’t. I wouldn’t want you any other way, even though it would be easier for both of us, but your stubbornness is what makes you so much more attractive.” His sly smile makes my heart skip and my breathing hitch, but it doesn’t get rid of the dread that hides in my mind.

“Very funny.”

“Come on, let’s go,” he says as he extends his arm. I place myself underneath it so it lies perfectly across my shoulders when he finally lowers it.

We make our way back to his little hotel room without another word said on the topic. In fact, the rest of the night goes in the same direction. I go to sleep after I can’t take looking at him sitting at the kitchen table any longer. His head rests upon his hand while he stares at several pieces of paper, not bothering to blink.

Papers I have looked at several times. The letters we received are lost in the mix, multiple pages that consist of plans of action all resulting with various endings, and The Travers Bloodline book. Currently he’s reading it for the fifth time in search of some clue he was oblivious to in his life at some point. Who knows and who cares. He knows better than I do that we can’t stop this from happening no matter how much preparation we have.

Morning arrives faster than I would like, but it allows me to get away from the despondent Maxwell. “I’m going to work,” I holler into the living room toward a frozen Maxwell. He came to bed very late last night and left very early in the morning. When he doesn’t respond to me, I just decide to leave. With the door open, I turn back and whisper to his non-attentive ears, “I love you Maxwell.”

The whoosh of my hair stops me before I cross the threshold. “I’m sincerely sorry for ignoring you; I just have a lot on my mind right now. I love you too and be careful. Please call me when you get inside your office.” He gives me a gentle kiss before he takes the weight of the door off my hand, allowing me to leave. I feel his eyes on me all the way to my car. The further away I get,the colder I feel.

“Late again,” I mumble to myself as I pull into the semi full parking lot. As usual I park next to Morgan’s car. Grabbing my heavy purse, I make my way inside to start my day. My hand blocks the harsh sun’s rays that blind me.

Barely getting a few steps away from my car, I bump into a slender frame. Being forced to look at the concrete from the sun, all I can see is skinny legs and black high heeled shoes. “I’m so sorry. It’s just so bright out here. I forgot my sunglasses at home.” I apologize to the stranger.

“Oh, its okay Charlie, it’s me, Daisy. I thought I would stop by to talk.”

Of course, my day is starting off just great. “How nice to see you again, Daisy.”

“Looks like you’re still healing.” Her hand grabs my injured arm and gently squeezes it. “I did quite a number on that one, didn’t I?”

Wait? What? Did she just? My heart viciously pounds against my rib cage as I play her words, slowly in my head.

“How about we go for a ride? I have the perfect place in mind.”

“I think you should go.”

Unwillingly, she forces me up against my car. “Oh, playing brave, are we? He’s waiting for you, so I’m not going anywhere unless you’re with me unfortunately. Now get in the car and be a good little girl.” She fidgets with the hem of her shirt and that’s when I see it, the butt of a knife that’s shoved in the waistband of her too tight jeans. “Now! In the car. Don’t make me use it, Charlie. The love of my life will be very disappointed in me if I do, seeing he wants to be the only one to spill your blood.”

She opens the back car door, but the door doesn’t open, causing her fingers to slip off, followed by the handle snapping. “Keys,” she demands.

I go to dig in my purse, seeing this as a perfect moment to draw my own weapon, but as if she can see right through me, she rips my purse from my hands. It doesn’t take her long to find my keys along with the knife.

“Tricky tricky,” she says in a nasty tone as she opens the door and shoves me inside.

Once in the confines of the car that shields her actions from speculating eyes that could be watching, she pulls out several zip ties and binds my wrists together. “Don’t think about trying anything.” In a rush, she slips the knife out of her waistband and throws it on the passenger seat along with my purse and knife. Within seconds, she squeals out of the parking space, driving away.

Only a few minutes go by before she strikes up a conversation. “You know, he’s very mad. Maxwell took something of his a very long time ago and he wants payback. And it wasn’t until he found me that he saw his revenge withing in sight.”

I refuse to say anything in response to a single thing she says. If she wants me to cry and start begging for my life or the complete opposite and show aggression, she’s greatly mistaken.

“Not in talkative mood, Charlie? Fine, be that way. We have a bit of a drive, so relax and sit tight.” Almost immediately after she says it she turns the radio up. The bass rattles my chest and my ears ring from the loudness, but I close my eyes, breathing deeply, silently wishing for Maxwell to find me…as if he could possibly help. The sun shines brighter as the minutes tick by. I have a feeling that once the real trouble goes down the sun will be at its highest.

A sharp sting radiates on my cheek, followed by a pinch. “Wake up, sleeping beauty,” Daisy demands.

Impatiently, she grabs a fistful of my hair, yanking me out of the car when it takes me longer than she approves of to exit the vehicle on my own. Barely standing upright, she shoves me forward. Dust from the loose gravel that covers the ground fills the air from my skidding feet.

Once again trying to block out the sun’s rays, I try to get some sort of glance at the building she’s leading me into. Aside from being out in the middle of nowhere, all I gather is that it’s some abandoned warehouse of sorts. Crows line a metal fence encompassing the large building, giving the impression of death awaiting.

I think about running, because it’s just her that I have to overpower. I already did it once…well, kind of and my ego tries to tell me I can do it again. However, when my feet veer off from the straight line I’m walking, a razor-sharp point jabs in between my shoulder blades.

“I wouldn’t,” Daisy says, pressing the point of a blade harder against my skin.

I can feel a small spot begin to warm from her drawing blood.

“Ooops.” The phony sympathy in her voice just draws anger out of me.

I know I should be scared, but I’m more irritated by the chain of events. I regret not listening to Maxwell and now look where I am. Rubble and garbage line the warehouse floors, along with graffiti that covers the crumbling concrete walls. The lower we go the harder it gets to see. Flickering lights are placed along the walls at intervals, creating shadows that play with my vision, causing me to stumble over my feet.

If I could breathe a sigh of relief I would, but once we enter a concrete room that resembles a cell my breathing is anything but relieving. A man with short brown hair standing by a rickety old table waits for us. Even though I can only see his back, I know exactly who it is.

“Baby, I got her for you.” The seductiveness in Daisy’s voice makes me gag.

Instantly, Mr. Green Eyes turns around with what is supposed to be perceived as a pleasant smile, but I see through his façade…I see the monster lurking within gradually coming to the surface to play. “Daisy, love, thank you. Now, you know what to do.” He gives her a sloppy kiss, taking the knife out of her hands, the same one she stole out of my purse.

“I’ll go fetch him. Be back at sundown.” She pouts her lips, trying to look sexy, but once again I see things differently. As she turns around, her fancy nailed hand grabs ahold of my face. My chin is clenched in her palm and the squeezing of my cheeks force my lips to pucker open. Giving my head an abrupt shake, she addresses me. “Don’t have too much fun with my man.” Then out of nowhere, she heaves me away as if I’m poisonous.

The familiar man who refuses to greet me promptly grabs my zip tied hands. My feet are dragged forward by his harshness. A wall in front of me is the only thing I see. It’s completely bare except for a shiny latch that rests a little less than halfway down from the ceiling. Fiercely, I yank my hands out of his grasp and make an effort to bolt out of the room. Fear overrides common sense and when he stands in front of me, blocking the door, I know all I have done is make things worse.

Air rushes out of my lungs as his hand wraps around my throat. The heels of my feet drag along the floor, unable to gain my footing. A flash of black stains my vision from the impact of the wall, which he carelessly slams me into. In my moment of weakness he hauls my arms above my head, securing them in the latch.

“I’ve been waiting a really long time for this, Charlie,” he says as he paces in front of me. “I was going to let you sit and think about the situation you find yourself in, but I’m just too eager to see you bleed.” He twirls the knife he got from Daisy in his well-trained hand. He takes slow, cautious steps toward me in efforts to draw the fear out. He doesn’t stop until he’s a few inches away from my face. “Such a pretty face,” he breathily says, bringing the tip of the knife to my cheek.

A scratch is left behind as he drags the blade down the length of my face. I keep my calm composure, not letting him get any satisfaction in my pain, but inside I’m screaming for help. For this to stop even though I know it hasn’t even started yet. I would be considered ignorant if I truly believed he would allow this torture session to go by without any screams. I flinch when the knife drops off my chin and digs into my neck. The smile on his face grows wider and more malicious. Chuckles can be heard from deep within his chest.

Without any warning he aggressively slides the knife over my collarbone. It doesn’t stop until it reaches the top of my breasts. No matter how calm I want to be, nothing prepares me for the pain that rips through my body. Squinting my eyes closed, I will tears not to come as a high pitched scream breaks free from my mouth.

“The most pleasurable sound in the world, your screams.”

I refuse to look at the monster who stands in front of me, so I bring my eyes to the floor. Placed perfectly beneath me is a drain. For some reason I know I was placed here for that very hole in the ground. My eyes catch glimpses of my blood stained shirt as I look down. I can’t see the wound, but from the amount of blood that has covered my shirt already it can’t look good.

“Oh, you noticed the drain, huh. Well, gradually you’ll end up bleeding out and once my dear friend Maxwell comes to see you he won’t be able to lick up the puddles. Besides, by the time he comes here all it will take is one killing blow for you to die. He won’t be able to save you by the time I’m done with you.”

“You’re sick,” I retort. If only he was closer, I would kick him.

“We have hours before dear Maxwell is going to show up. I have lots to accomplish with you before then. Now, are you going to cry for me, Charlie?”

It all happens so fast. The glint of the blade reflects the light in the room before it comes down on me again, this time across my thigh, leaving a deep gash. Blood pours out, streaming down the length of my leg. Don’t cry, don’t cry, I chant to myself.

“You see, Charlie, I don’t have a quarrel with you, my problem is with Maxwell. Any other woman in the world could be in your situation right now and I would be doing this to them, but since you happen to be my best friend’s donor and he chose you to be his bride…here we are.” He continues to pace back and forth, flailing his arms around. I catch glimpses of the blood covered knife. Every so often, I see a drop fall to the ground.

He continues, gradually taking several steps in my direction. My hunched body and severely rugged breathing doesn’t faze him and his speech. “I feel bad that I have to kill you. From what I was told by Daisy, you’re a witty highly motivated individual and from what I can see you seem to be one tough cookie to crack. I could drink you dry, take you on as my own, but there’s no fun in that.”

“Aren’t you going to introduce yourself properly first? Henry.” My words are strained. Hisses come out in between each word as I work through my pain.

His words are slightly difficult to understand due to him laughing. “She’s smart too. So you figured out who I am. What gave me away?”

“All I had to do was connect the dots. Maxwell has been obsessed with reading his journal, so I took another look at it. There was this entry I scanned over the first time reading it. You know, for a minute I thought all the transcribers were men, but this entry…the handwriting was too curvy and perfect. It was a woman and she wrote page after page of how attractive Maxwell was. About his friend, Henry, who had gorgeous green eyes. Dots connected. Luckily for you, I just read that little bit before going to sleep last night. Tell me, is Daisy a fine replacement?” It hurts to talk, but I don’t have an option.

“Prue will never be replaced.” He rushes to me, closing the small gap between us, pointing his finger in my face from his rage. With one deep unnecessary breath, he relaxes. “Daisy knows that. This isn’t about me flaunting my newfound glory in Maxwell’s face, although it’s quite rewarding to know that I have a bride willing to do anything for me while Maxwell has…well, you, stubborn uncooperative Charlie. This is about getting revenge, a bride for a bride. He convinced her to kill herself. He’s the reason she’s dead and he’s the reason you’ll be dead soon too.”

I shake my head with a smile on my face at his words. Impending death aside, I can’t help but to laugh. His lack of common sense and human emotions brings a smile to my face.

“What’s so funny, Charlie? You think laughter will make the pain go away?” Henry spits out.

Honestly, laughing does make the pain go away, but there’s no way I’m admitting that. However, that’s until he lunges at me, fangs fully exposed. His mouth doesn’t quite fall upon my neck as more so the top of my shoulder as his teeth sink into me. A scream rips through my pursed lips.

It seems like eternity before he gets off of me. Once he does, he looks at me dead on and wipes his mouth with his forearm. “You will have no satisfaction in this. Understood?”

I ignore his threats. “Maxwell didn’t convince her to kill herself. I haven’t known you for very long, but I know for a fact that he’s nothing like you.”

“We’re both vampires. What makes you so sure lover boy is as innocent as you think he is? You said it yourself, you read the book. He’s a killer, Charlie. Back in the day, he wasn’t so gentle and caring as he has grown to be now, which just makes my job of breaking him easier.”

“You can’t convince someone to kill themselves unless they already want to die,” I spit out. “Her situation had to be so awful that she wanted to get away from her miserable situation and you, dear Henry, you were her situation. Is it that hard to see how heartless and cruel she thought you were…still are. She’s no Daisy, that’s for sure. Prue actually had a brain.”

“Shut your mouth.”

“You think she loves you, but then again you honestly don’t know what love is since you loved a person who loathed you. Your precious Daisy just wants to become a monster such as yourself for the eternal youth and beauty. You change her and, mark my words, she’ll leave you in a heartbeat, no pun intended.”

“Not scared to die, are we, Charlie. Running your mouth will only make it hurt more, it won’t make it end faster.”

“I guess that’s another thing your little Daisy forgot to mention, I talk back. Not used to that, are we, Henry? You’re so accustomed to people beckoning your every call. Sorry, not going to happen.” I know I’m pushing him further than I should, but I just can’t sit back and let him get the best of me. I have to get as many jabs in before he drives the knife home.

“No wonder Maxwell is having such a hard time with you. You need to be broken, is all,” he barks at me bitterly.

This time I see it coming. The rise of the blade and the path the strike follows. I bite my lip to hold back a shriek, but it’s no use. As the now familiar sear of the blade touches me, my screams fills the room. Unwillingly a tear falls from the corner of my eye. I try to examine my fresh wound, but my blurry vision ruins any chance of seeing any detail in the slash that now scars my stomach.

He wipes the tear that escapes my eyes away with his thumb. “Now there’s the girl I’m looking for.” Waving the knife in my face, he retreats as he begins to lecture me. “I see what you’re doing, Charlie. You want to die before Maxwell gets here, because if there’s any chance he can save you it means you’ll turn into what you despise. Trust me, love, by the time he gets here there will be no saving you. Now I’m going to freshen up and I’ll be back a little later. You hang tight and bleed it out.” He looks down in disgust at his T-shirt that’s speckled with blood. A quick flash of his smile and he disappears behind the metal door, slamming it shut. The bang it creates echoes through the room.

“Fuck!” How the hell am I going to get out of this? I grumble to myself. I yank and twist my arms, trying to jiggle the latch loose, but all I manage to do is make the zip ties bury themselves deeper into my wrists. The feel of warm stickiness trailing down my arms forces me to stop my struggling efforts. I’m stuck until nightfall and then death follows. One way or another.