2023-02-12 08:38:47
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INDIGO (RISE OF CRIMSON) CHAPTER 66
Gabriel gestured to the dusty stairs. “You might want to sit down first.”“No, thank you. I think I’m okay where I am.”“All right.” He set the candle on the floor, thenleaned casually back against the wooden crates, his expressionthoughtful. “I wonder if you’ve ever met Marcus’s brother,Miles?”Marcus had only spoken of his brother on a handfulof occasions, and always with pity and regret. They’d technicallygone to school together, but he’d been a year or two younger andshe couldn’t remember having ever interacted with him. “No.”“Miles is the younger of the brothers, and not the smarter. He was too inquisitive for his own good and discovered thesecret of someone... someone very powerful.” He grimaced and then relented, as though being completely vague would be too hard. “Someone very powerful who i once knew, His name was Ellish. Miles confronted him and, needless to say, it wasn’t well received. In order to guarantee that Mi
INDIGO (RISE OF CRIMSON) CHAPTER 67
Gabriel went on, “Even if I did release you, whatwould Ellish do with you?”“He’ll come for me,” the demon hissed, a malevolent smile on his face, his thin lips pulled back from fangs.“We shall see.” Gabriel looked over his shoulder ather. “Have you seen enough?”She nodded, unable to speak. The thought of abrightly lit gas station full of reality seemed very far away.They stepped out into the hallway and Gabriel pulledthe door after them. “I apologize for the shocking introduction,but it seemed the best way to make you believe me.” He stoppedsuddenly, his body rigid, as if he was listening.Natalie strained, but she couldn’t hear anythingexcept Miles’s sudden coarse laughter.“I told you they’d come for me!”“God damn it,” Gabriel cursed. “Shut up, you foulcreature!” He pulled Natalie close enough to hiss into her ear,“There is someone here. It may be nothing, but it could
INDIGO (RISE OF CRIMSON) CHAPTER 68
When her laughter had subsided, Natalie stoodwearily and touched her burning shoulder. She pulled her hand backin surprise and eyed the scarlet on her palm. She was bleeding.“Shit.”After everything that had happened, she knew she waslucky to be alive, unlike her poor phone. Still, it was sarcasm,not gratitude that bubbled out, “So, let me guess, Ellish is avampire too?”Gabriel kicked the bloody sword into a stand of weedygrass. Without asking permission, he placed his hand on her neckand tilted her to one side to examine her wound. “Yes, he is. They all were, except Marcus, of course.”“It’s too dark out here to see anything,” she objected quietly, preferring to ignore what he’d said.“I can see well enough to say that you’ve gottenquite a bite.” He sounded calm – too calm – like this was anordinary thing.“Bite? You’ve got to be kidding...” her voicefaded as she recalled the vampire mov
INDIGO (RISE OF CRIMSON) CHAPTER 69
Natalie woke the following day to filtered sunlightsplashed across her face. Faint impressions of a dream lingered,like half formed fingerprints in warm clay. Yes, it had been a warmdream – very, very warm. He’d been beautiful and smooth with darkeyes and strong hands. It was the kind of dream she wanted to stayin.But, she couldn’t, so she slowly opened her eyes,feeling disoriented and sore. Her head ached and her throat feltthick and raw. Her mind was mushy as it tried vainly to process whyshe felt so bad, and finally concluded that she must have ahangover.She rolled over and found herself staring at a setof heavy orange drapes. A single thought drifted though herconsciousness: Orange? Who in the hell has orangedrapes?Her muscles complained as she sat up too quickly andher eyes darted around the shabby motel room. She scrabbled througha tumble of memories, but the replay stuttered to a stop when asharp pain erupted in her shoul
INDIGO (RISE OF CRIMSON) CHAPTER 70
Natalie followed Gabriel across the motel parking lot to the sidewalk. Under the odd colored streetlights, her skin glowed pasty white and the sidewalk seethed in a thick boilingblack; a surreal scene after so much confusion.The pair didn’t speak as they headed towards the gas station. Only the eerie sound of the rustling cornfield broke the silence.The convenience store was a typical concretebuilding, decorated with a grinning turtle. Taped to the largeglass windows was an assortment of signs advertising hay rides,houses for lease, and a two for one sale on cigarettes. It was thearrangement beyond that caught her attention, though. There was arack of maps and sunglasses, a stand of motor oil and anti–freeze,and an array of junk food in appealing multi-colored packaging.The door chimed as they walked in, and the clerk behind the counter, a boy who might have been eighteen, gave theman alarmed look.Gabriel went to the drink
INDIGO (RISE OF CRIMSON) CHAPTER 71
When they reached the motel, Gabriel unlocked the door and hurriedly stuffed her into the room. He promised he’d be back soon and took off, leaving her alone.She flopped onto the bed and flipped through the TVchannels. She ran the gamut of the basic cable’s offerings without finding anything to hold her interest. In desperation, she settled on the local news. She was just ready to change the channel again,when a report came on about an abandoned farmhouse that had burned to the ground. Authorities weren’t certain yet what had happened,but there were human remains among the wreckage and they suspected that they’d been having a party when calamity struck.Natalie’s mouth dropped open like a cartoon character. It was Gabriel’s house – or the house he’d been in. Theblonde anchorwoman, shiny nailed hands folded on the desk in front of her, said that they were still trying to contact the owner andID the bodies at this time. So far they had no idea wh
INDIGO (RISE OF CRIMSON) CHAPTER 72
The car waiting outside for them was large and blue:a relic of an era when people were more interested in size than gas mileage.Natalie found herself quickly bundled into the backseat. Gabriel slipped back into the motel room to return with the ugly orange bedspread. He wrapped it tightly around her, soaked clothes, murmuring encouraging phrases to wipe away the horror that shone in her eyes. Her head bobbed in time to his words and she agreed to the nonsense he was saying. She wanted to believe that it was all okay. And then a strange calm feeling descended on her. She let herself go with it, floating away on the tide of safety it offered.She relaxed back into the seat and Gabriel saidsoftly, “I’ll be right back,” before he disappeared into the hotel room again.With Gabriel gone, she suddenly became aware of the driver's presence. He had broad shoulders and long tawny hair that hung in a ponytail down his back. He didn’t bothe
INDIGO (RISE OF CRIMSON) CHAPTER 73
With the danger past, a strange sense of safety settled over her. Boredom and the rhythm of the highway eventually pulled Natalie into the uneasy sleep of a passenger. She woke in the backseat, a scream trapped in her throat, her head swimming with dreams of blood and fanged vampires ripping her to shreds. Sherubbed her head and then checked her watch to find that it was one-thirty in the morning.She blinked the sleep from her eyes and glanced into the front seat. The pair of men were wrapped in silence, both staring through the windshield. The blonde’s hands gripped the steering wheel tightly, his knuckles white with the effort. Palpable disagreement hung in the air, but she couldn’t identify the cause.Gabriel seemed to sense her gaze and turned to look at her. His warm, rich voice rolled back to her through the darkness, “How are you feeling?”“I’m... okay,” she lied. Truthfully she didn’t know how she felt. She didn’t think she was okay
Latest Chapter
CHAPTER 95
Natalie shuddered with fear as the dark demoness stepped forward. “Aren’t you happy to see me?” Latoya asked in mock innocence.Gabriel glanced over his shoulder at Aiden and Latoya, and gently laid Natalie on the floor. He pulled his long black coat off and carefully wrapped her in it before he scooped her up.Natalie tried to ignore her throbbing body as he stood and shifted her in his arms. The pain from everything Ellish had done to her was still fresh, though not as sharp as it should have been. Her shoulder screamed when she was jostled, was the “inner” pain that hurt most. All of her blood vessels shook, and the underside of her skin trembled from the seizure-like state and the burning sensation that had coursed through her. Her mind still reeled from Ellish’ invasion, and she was so weak.Somehow what he’d done to her body paled in comparison to the rest of it. She remembered him laughing at her “primitive fears” and saying that he could do something much more terrible to her.
CHAPTER 94
He shook her violently so that her teeth clacked together. “What do you have to say to that? Do you still want to insist on your innocence? Where is that device?” He clawed at her body with his free hand.“I don’t have any ... device!” she cried. Tears Stabbed her swollen eyes and the room swam. She didn’t understand why he was doing this again.“Liar!” He threw her to the floor. Her elbows locked painfully, but she saved her face from slamming into the concrete.She tried to roll away, but he knelt down quickly and grabbed a handful of her hair in his fist. He used it to pull her head back and force her to look at him. “Where is it?”“There isn’t one! I don’t know what you’re talking about!”Cain stood behind them, his arms crossed over his chest and a sneer on his face. “Then how did he find us?”He? Could they mean…? A white hot spark of hope filmed inside her. “He’s here?” she asked, unable to stop he
CHAPTER 93
The vampire who’d spoken a moment ago asked, “How doyou know she was ever at his den? Surely Aiden is smart enough to keep her in a less incriminating place?”“Now you’re suggesting Miles lied?”Ellish asked lightly. “Or do you suggest his brother lied to him?Do you think he made up a false location, intending to go andretrieve her himself and return her for his freedom? Are youimplying he intended to let his brother die for his sins?”The vampire looked exasperated. “I don’t know whatI’m implying. I wasn’t here when you interrogated Miles.”“You’d be sorry you missed it,” Cain commented,snickering. “He screamed and begged– ”“Enough.” Ellish motioned him to silence. “Miles Informed me that the plan was Aiden’s from the beginning, as part of our little war. He and Marcus were brought into it, so to speak.”Natalie tensed at the mention of Marcus’s name,but she tried hard not to make her interest obvious. Did this h
CHAPTER 92
The room was a large one, like an open basement complete with cement floor. A glowing chandelier hung above her andin front of her sat a large wicker chair. Draped lazily in it was ayoung man who might have been sixteen. He had blonde hair, coldgreen eyes and a face made for boredom, snobbery, and cruelty. Hewas flanked by two large men. A host of others were visible outsidethe ring of light, all moving closer and gazing curiously at thenew prisoner.“Who is she?” the boy in the chair drawled. Hisvoice was bored and peevish.Cain answered from behind Natalie’s prone body,“It’s Marcus’s human, the one Gabriel’s claiming now.” He snickeredand prodded her in the side with the toe of his boot.“Interesting.” The blonde stood from the chair andwalked towards her languidly. “What’s so special about her that twomen would go to such effort?” He walked around her in anever-tightening circle and finally bent down to examine her faceclosely.
CHAPTER 91
Natalie sought a nonexistent escape and tried to figure out what she was going to do. Despite LaToya’s concern,she doubted Gabriel would return in time to save her. He’d alwayscome before, just when she had no hope left, but somehow she couldfeel that he wasn’t going to this time. And when he didn’t whatwould happen? Would they really take her to Ellish? Would he kill her? Was this really how her life was going to end, to die in a pool of blood and terror?LaToya stood over her looking thoughtful, then suggested casually, “She has enough blood on her to look like a battle, but you should rough her up a little to make it more convincing.”Cain nodded in the affirmative and grinned. “Don’tworry. I’m sure she’ll be plenty roughed up by the time we getthere.” He turned his head and called over his shoulder, “Won’t sheboys?” Two voices agreed with him from the obstructed depths of themotel room.Natalie’s stomach dropped at the sound of
CHAPTER 90
Natalie woke. She blinked in the dimness, her eyesdrawn to the open bathroom door. Light flooded out of it and gaveshape and depth to the small motel room.Gabriel was still next to her on his back, his arms under her head. His dark lashes lay on his pale cheeks and hisraven hair pooled against the crisp white pillowcase. He wascovered from the waist down in the ugly bedspread and the bathroomlight gleamed on the smooth expanse of his chest.She looked away from him to the water stainedceiling. She closed her eyes tightly to blot out the world andasked herself the requisite “what have I done?” morning-afterquestion, only she truthfully felt no regret. It was simply a gameshe played out of habit, a society imposed guilt complex thatfailed to actually make her feel guilty. No, she knew what she’ddone and she wasn’t even slightly sorry, only vaguely excited atthe warm memories.She rolled towards him and tentatively brushed hisnaked f
CHAPTER 89
After the strange silence in the warehouse, the car seemed too loud. Gabriel’s anger was palpable; the air seemed to pulse with it. Natalie didn’t know what to say to make it better.She stuttered a question, “Aiden wouldn’t really…” but couldn't bring herself to finish it. Would Aiden really kill her because his wife had been killed? As if it was all Gabriel’s fault.“No,” Gabriel said with force. “He wouldn't dare.”She nodded but found no more words for fear of enraging him more. She wasn’t afraid that he’d hurt her, or even be mean to her. In truth she wasn’t sure what she was afraid of, but she didn’t want to make him any angrier. They pulled into the motel and, after parking the car, walked around behind the building to their windowless room.Once they were inside, Gabriel shut the door and clicked all of the locks into place. He absently ran his fingers through his long,dark hair before he threw himself on
CHAPTER 88
The silence was so thick she felt she would choke on it. Her ears strained for every tiny sound: a rat scampering across the floor, the breeze whistling softly through the broken windows,the flap of a sheet of plastic that hung against the wall. Her eyes searched the gloom and she tried not to jump at every shadow.Really, she didn’t understand why Gabriel’s business couldn’t have been in a nice restaurant, or at least somewhere with electricity!She was so busy eyeing a pile of mysterious refuse that she didn’t notice Gabriel stop suddenly and ended up bumping into him. He held his body rigid, so completely still that Natalieswore his heart had even stopped beating.Her search for the gloom revealed nothing, but her clutch on his sleeve grew tighter. She opened her mouth to ask what was going on when he broke the silence with a single word,“Latoya.”The woman seemed to appear from nothing. Her dark skin gleamed in the pale light, a
CHAPTER 87
Gabriel joined her. “Here,” he said as he handed her one of the motel keys. “Go on in. I have something to attend to but then I’ll be alone.”She opened her mouth to ask him what pressing errand waited for him elsewhere, but thought better of it. She didn’t see anyone in the gloomy shadows, but how did she know that some creature of the night wasn’t camouflaged in the darkness? Ifvampires were real, then what other monsters from the nightmares of humanity were lurking and listening to them?He walked down the sidewalk and she watched him until he turned sharply, and disappeared around the far side of the building. Her curiosity piqued, she thought about following him,but resisted the urge. The memories of the vampire manor were still too fresh in her mind.The key didn’t want to fit into the scarred lock,but finally it surrendered with a groaning click, and she opened the door and was met by the smell of stale cigarette smoke. Shewished she
