Ember Ch. 04

I am a prisoner of my own design. Wake now, and come to me. I will answer your questions.

Ember woke, and sat up. It was dark, and the house was quiet. Stryx and his men had left without her. After Stryx... he had taken her blood and made her sleep so he could leave her behind! Fury woke her the rest of the way, and she got to her feet. She staggered slightly. He had taken a lot of her blood.

"Selene?"

"Here," Selene said, and a picture of the stairs leading down appeared in Ember's mind.

Ember left the room, and went to the stairs. A picture of a door appeared in her mind. She went down the stairs and found the door. The lock clicked, and the door opened. Another door appeared in her mind. She found it, the lock clicked, and the door opened.

The air felt different, like something she had to push through, but she did it. The next image was a winding staircase. She found it, and this one went up, and spiraled around and around like she was in a tower or a lighthouse. She was panting when she made it to the top of the stairs and found another door. She knocked, and a voice said "Ember. Come in."

Torn between whether to feel relieved she wasn't crazy, or terrified she wasn't crazy, Ember turned the knob and opened the door. It opened onto a large bedroom. An woman was laying in the bed. She looked weak and frail, but she held a hand out to Ember.

"I saw this room before," Ember said. "I thought it was a dream."

"Come sit with me, Ember. It's been so long since I have had female company."

Ember crossed the room and sat on the bed, taking Selene's hand. "I can see why if Stryx is his usual charming self. I ran out of here myself this afternoon."

Selene laughed. "So, the boy has still not figured out how to speak to a woman?"

"You knew him when he was a boy?"

"He will always be a boy to me."

"When was he a boy?" Ember asked, curious in spite of herself.

"Has he told you nothing?" Selene asked.

"He told me I belonged to him. That my place was under him and available to spread my legs whenever he wanted me to. And that he would reward my obedience."

Selene gasped, and her eyes flashed silver. "He spoke to you in those words?"

"Those are his exact words. That's why I tried to leave. I only came back because he said he was going to find my sister. I wanted to go, but the bastard fed on me and put me to sleep, so they left without me." Ember stopped. "I'm sorry. You seem to like him, but I can't stand him. As soon as he returns with my sister I'm taking her and we're leaving. We can take you with us."

Selene shook her head. "No, I must stay here. I am tied to this place."

"This is the prison of your own making?" Ember asked. "But if you made it, can't you leave it?"

"I could," Selene said. "But it would mean...well, I choose not to."

Ember looked around. "Well, I suppose as prisons go, it's not all bad. You have a lovely view from here."

Selene smiled. "It's the only view I care about anymore."

"Selene, why did you call me here? How could you speak to me in my mind?"

"It is the same answer to both questions— because you are Dragă, like me."

"Dragă? What is that? Stryx called me that a lot."

"Humans call it a soul mate," Selene said. "A vampire's Dragă is the only person in the world he can love and bond with."

"Stryx is bonded with me? What does that mean?" Ember fumed.

"It is a two part bond," Selene said. "He has not finished it. I would be able to tell. He has given you venom, yes?"

"Yes." Ember flushed.

"No need for embarrassment my dear," Selene's eyes sparkled. "I was young once, too. I know how vampires like to give venom to their Dragă."

"He can call me his ex-Dragă now."

"There are no ex-Dragăs," Selene said. "He will only ever have one. The bond is eternal."

"You said the bond was two part, and venom was one," Ember said. "What's the other part?"

"Blood," Selene said. "He must give you his blood."

"Well good," Ember said. "Because I'm not taking it. He can bond to some other woman, who's into all his caveman crap."

"There will only be you for him, even if you leave him," Selene said. "I don't blame you for being angry with him. He has treated you badly, said cruel things, and not explained anything. He has mishandled the entire situation."

"That's an understatement," Ember muttered. "But how can I be like you? I know the mages kidnapped me because they thought I was a witch, but I've never done anything magic. At least, I hadn't until I somehow summoned a demon into my dreamworld."

Selene smiled. "The demon being Stryx? Dragă can do many things, including summon their vampires. And their vampires can track their Dragă once they've had their blood."

"He's not my anything," Ember protested. "I'm leaving as soon as I can. I have a life. A show. Self-esteem."

"Just be prepared. He will not give you up easily, now that he has found you," Selene said. "He will be able to find you, unless you become fully bonded. You may be able to hide from him then."

"So you're telling me, in order for me to be rid of him, and not be stalked and tracked like an animal, I have to finish the bond with him?"

"Your blood scent will fade with time and distance, but only fade," Selene said. "He will never forget it."

Ember closed her eyes. "I just want my life back. With no mages or caveman vampires."

"You mentioned a show, what kind?" Selene changed the subject. "An act?"

"No," Ember replied. "I'm a photographer. I have a show coming up soon that will showcase some of my work. It's a cooperative effort with a painter, whose work is just about as opposite of mine as you can get. We've been planning it for a while now."

"What do you photograph?" Selene asked.

"Sunrises and sunsets," Ember replied.

Selene gave a sad smile. "I would very much like to see your work. I've not seen a sunrise or a sunset in...well, a long time."

"You should come to my show," Ember said. "All my best work will be on display."

"I would, if I could," Selene said. "But I cannot leave this place."

"Well, if you can promise me I won't be chained up in a dungeon as a sex slave or fed on against my will again if I come back here, I could bring some of my work for you to see," Ember said, only half joking.

Selene's eyes sparkled. "That would be lovely. I promise, if necessary, I will have Stryx chained in a dungeon. You should always feel safe here." Her face changed from smiling to frowning. "Something is wrong."

"What's wrong? Should I get someone for you?"

"I am fine, something is wrong somewhere else," Selene said. "You must go downstairs."

"Are they back? Did they bring my sister? Is she all right?"

"They have not returned yet," Selene said. "You should go, now."

"All right." Ember rose, puzzled by the sudden change. "I'll come back to show you some sunrises and sunsets another time."

"Thank you, Soră," Selene said.

Sister! The word translated itself in her mind.

Ember made her way back through the house, and found the conference room. Karov's computer was still running on the table. Ember hurried across the room and looked at the screen. Karov was logged into some sort of messaging system. It was full of messages between people talking about magic and the best way to force a bond. It must be the mages. Ember scrolled back, and saw some messages that made the blood freeze in her veins. She continued to scroll back until she found messages from the mage that had her sister and scrolled forward again. She froze as she read messages exchanged between him and another mage that hadn't been successful in forcing a bond with his chosen witch negotiating a trade.

The messages about the trade had come in after Stryx and his men had already left, and the trade was supposed to happen in two hours. Her sister wouldn't be where the vampires thought. Hastily, she scrawled the address of the trade on a napkin, and closed out the website. She would get her sister back on her own and be done with these vampires. They could hide until her show was over in a few days, and then they would leave this place, never to return.

She hadn't seen any cars parked in the driveway or in front of the house when she'd been outside, so there had to be a garage in this place. Vampires or not, with this many men she'd bet they owned a lot more cars than they needed. She hoped the keys would be kept nearby the cars. She found the elevator, and pushed the button for the bottom floor. Sure enough, there was a surplus of cars and motorcycles. Grinning, Ember checked out one of the black motorcycles with silver trim.

"If you're going to ride that, you should have these," Ciaran said, holding out a pair of combat boots and a leather jacket. They looked like they'd fit her.

"I'm not even going to ask where those came from. You're not going to try to stop me?" Ember asked. "Force me to stay here for the high lord and master?"

Ciaran gave her a small, sad smile. "No, what Stryx did was not acceptable. Selene told me they didn't find your sister, and I was to help you however I can." He held out the boots and jacket to her.

"Just set them down on the floor, please," Ember said. "I'm not feeling all that trusting. Although, I suppose if you wanted to grab me, you could."

Ciaran looked miserable as he set the boots down on the floor and backed away from them. He gestured to a box hanging on the wall. "You'll find all the keys in there. Take whatever you want. You'll have a head start until they get back here and Stryx realizes you're gone. All of these cars and bikes can be tracked."

Ember snorted. "Apparently, so can I, since Stryx helped himself to so much of my blood."

Ciaran winced. "Yes, that is true, but it's not so easy to track a blood scent as it is a GPS tracker. And he's the only one that can do it, so he can't send multiple teams after you if you don't have the car. And I'm not apologizing for Stryx, but I am sorry that he did that to you. I hope you find your sister." He pushed a button, and the garage door went up.

"Thank you, Ciaran," Ember said, gathering up the boots slipping them on. They were a little big, but she tied the laces tightly, and the fit was okay. She slid into the jacket, and looked around at her options. She plucked the keys out of the box on the wall. "You are nothing like him." She straddled the motorcycle and started it."Don't ever change that." She pulled on the helmet and raced out of the garage.