BloodBorne Ch. 09

Lindsay returned to the room with a pained expression on his face. Quite obviously, the thought of shocking his brother did not appeal to him. "Are you sure that would even work?" Xan asked.

"The general idea is to 'reset' the electrical charges in his brain," Lindsay replied.

"But what does that have to with him being in a coma?"

"We have no idea," Lindsay replied, "But it's worth a shot." He walked to the bed and placed his hands on either side of Caleb's head. After taking a deep breath, he sent a shockwave through his brother. Caleb's body jumped in response before settling awkwardly. Lindsay shocked him again, using a higher voltage. The bed shook from the intensity of it, causing Lindsay to grunt warily. Still, nothing happened. "Fuck. Liam, I need you."

Xan watched as Liam walked toward his brothers. Through a gap between them, she saw the burn marks that came from Lindsay's contact on Caleb's head. She hissed in reaction to the deep red welts on his skin. It was a good thing he was in a coma.

Liam switched places with Lindsay and quickly set about healing his brother. He was worried, and while his initial reaction was to lash out in response, he could do nothing more than watch in shock as things collapsed around him. His consolation would have been the fact that Xan was safe, but at what price?

Xan sighed tiredly as she leaned against the doorframe. Fatigue was weighing her down, but no, she would not sleep. Not until everyone else did. She snapped to attention has Alexis stormed out of the room, his thumbs furiously pressing on the keys of his phone. Who was there left to text? Surely not another telepath.

"Xandra, I will not be ignored."

She blinked in surprise as she looked around. Roman had taken Alexis' spot in the corner while Draco sat on the edge of the bed. They seemed to be having some odd non-verbal conversation with each other. Lindsay and Liam hovered over Caleb, whispering feverishly to each other. How long had she dozed off? She readjusted herself against the doorframe, causing herself discomfort as her shoulder dug into the wood. Good; if she was uncomfortable, she wouldn't fall asleep.

"I will wait as long as it takes, Xandra."

"Don't call me that. And get out of my dreams."

"I want you to come to me."

"I already told you no. So get the fuck out."

Sherlaine's deep rumble of a laugh penetrated every corner of her mind, causing a wave of terror to run through her. "Why can't you just leave us alone?"

"Us? Dear Xandra, I want you, and you alone. I've already promised you the safety of the men you live with. But only if you come quietly."

"You know I won't do that. I won't choose between them and the innocent people you hurt."

Again, there was the rumbling laughter. "Who is innocent these days?"

She had a scathing comeback ready, but all thoughts of retaliation ended the second an image of Xion's limp body covered in blood. Sherlaine stood over her, smiling as he wiped blood from his mouth. The horror of the image made her stomach lurch. "You stay away from her!"

"I will do what I have to do to get what I want."

"She has nothing to do with this."

"She'll have everything to do with this if you do not come to me, Xan. I do not have to see her to take her from you."

Xan's heart seized at the threat. What the hell was she supposed to do? It was one thing when he threatened grown men who could take care of themselves, but a nine-year-old child? Indecision cramped her stomach as she weighed the ramifications of his threat. If she said no and walked away from his offer, the brothers as well as her sister were in danger of suffering Sherlaine's wrath. At the same time, if she gave in and willingly went to him, she was putting the world in danger. There was no telling the hell Zaide would unleash once he returned. Xan wondered if she could live with the guilt that came with the deaths of the innocent people caught in the crossfire. Sherlaine at least had the decency to take his anger out on those who stood in his way. Zaide was a completely different story.

"Make your decision, Xandra. Come willingly or force me to take everything from you."

The ultimatum steeled her resolve. No one backed her in a corner. No one. "Fuck off and die, cabron."

Sherlaine sighed as he took in her words. "My patience has ended and you have been warned. What happens next is on your head."

"Que te jod-" Xan jumped at the firm hand placed on her shoulder. She looked up into Liam's concerned face before silently looking around the room. Each of the brothers present stared at her expectantly, as if she was to make an important announcement.

"I've never met anyone who could fall asleep standing," Draco murmured. He cocked his head at her curiously before saying, "Do you always speak Spanish in your sleep?"

"She doesn't sleep talk period," Liam answered. He watched the way her eyes darkened just as her skin took on a light flush. "What's going on, Xan?"

She took a step away from him to collect herself before speaking. It wasn't easy being the center of attention, she realized, especially when she knew that the news she was going to relay wasn't good. "I wanted to wait until later to tell you..."

"Tell me what?" The nervous, fidgeting Xan standing in front of him was new to Liam. While he did enjoy seeing a completely different side to her, he did not like that he was learning of it now. "What is it?"

"When I was sleeping earlier, I had a dream. I don't really remember all of it, but there was a maze. And Sherlaine was there." Liam's grumbled curse made her wince. "He uh, he tried to make a deal with me."

"Come quietly or everyone you love dies," Roman supplied. "Typical bad guy ultimatum," he continued when she nodded.

"Yes, but it was really weird; we were fighting and something happened to me."

"Did he hurt you?" Liam asked.

"No, I hurt him." She looked at the confused faces of the brothers, pleased to see that no one was angry with her for remaining quiet as long as she did. "Some kind of energy went through my arm and my body. It's how I got away."

"Sounds to me like you tapped into your demon ancestry."

Xan blinked as Andrae shimmered into the room. She hadn't realized he wasn't in the room when they'd tried to heal Caleb. "But I'm human," she argued.

"Ninety-nine percent human, yes." Andrae agreed. He moved toward the bed to check on Caleb before saying, "But you're the descendant of a human-demon hybrid. I'm surprised you've never been able to do it before now."

"So you mean I have powers or something?"

"Something," Andrae answered, "Belial's are known for extreme strength. If I'm not careful, a simple pat on the back could result in a broken spine."

So something good did come out of that horrible dream. "So it's possible that I could take him down?"

"Don't get cocky, cousin. You only have the ability to hold your own against him, once you find your trigger, anyway."

Xan nodded as she turned to Liam. "When I fell asleep just now, he was back. He said that he was out of patience and what happened next was my fault."

"Nothing is your fault," Lindsay said.

She wished she could believe that. "I don't know anymore. I feel like maybe I should just-"

"Don't you fucking dare," Liam warned. "Don't you give up now."

"Why not?" She cried out. Retreating to the ornate hallway, she backed out slowly. "He's made it quite clear that he won't stop until he gets what he wants. He's already possessed me, put your brother in a coma, and now is making it impossible for me to get any sleep. How much longer before shit really hits the fan?"

"It already has."

Xan whirled around to find Alexis approaching from the far end of the hall. With him, a petite raven-haired woman walked slowly, occasionally raising a hand as if touching an invisible object that hovered in the air. The woman walked straight to Xan and sniffed the air around her. "What the hell are you doing?" She looked at Alexis and said, "What is she doing?"

"There is dark magick around this one," the woman declared. She walked a small circle around Xan before looking to Alexis. "It is good that you called me."

"Who is this?" Xan asked.

"I am Arianna."

"Arianna is the very powerful sorceress who put up the protection spells around the manor," Roman added. He smiled down at the small woman before moving out of her way as she continued to walk.

"So what is she doing here?" Xan asked. She watched as Arianna walked into Caleb's room and frowned when the door closed behind her. No one touched it. "You really think she'll bring him back?"

"She's the only shot we have," Alexis murmured. He cast an angry glare at Andrae before stalking down the hall.