Broken Illusions Read online

  I wave the guys back away, and saunter down the corridor, wondering if this is a good idea. It's probably not, but I have three vampires to back me up if it goes wrong.

  "The Commander sent me to take over," I announce loudly, gaining both of their attentions.

  I flick my hair over my shoulder and try to infuse myself with a confidence I really don't feel. But I have no choice. If they fall for this, then we're out of the guild without too much of a problem. And at this point, I have a feeling that's the best we can hope for.

  "And you are?" the one on the left asks.

  "Josie," I answer, recalling one of the names I'd used undercover a couple of times. I'm hoping they don't have a description of me on hand, but given how slowly they're reacting, I suspect not.

  "Thanks, I was starting to get hungry," the other one answered.

  I flash him a weak smile, hoping my nerves aren't showing too much. I'm not sure I can take them both on while trying not to hurt them. At least I have the guys who can help with that if things take a turn for the worst.

  "No problem. Nadia will be along shortly to help me anyway," I add, crossing my fingers and hoping they weren't aware of the whereabouts of the other female hunter.

  "Good, wouldn't want you on your own with so many vamps about, you know what they're like," the first hunter says, laughing as he finishes.

  "Yes," I respond, faking a smile again, all while thinking that I do know what vamps are like, and they're nothing like anything I was ever told or could possibly imagine.

  "See you later, Josie," the other one said, waving and walking off down the corridor.

  I listen as their footsteps recede, taking them that little bit further away from me. My breath catches in my throat, and my heart pounds That was too smooth, and I'm not sure I like it.

  A couple more steps, and then a sudden stop.

  Shit.

  They're on to me.

  I'm not sure quite how I know, but I can sense it.

  I slip my hands down, and palm the handles of my sai, removing them from their holsters in a slick movement born from years of practice.

  But I don't do anything else. I'm not going to make the first move. That would show my hand, but would also make me kind of a bitch. Though, given recent events, I may be one anyway. But that's not the point.

  Starting to live from the mantra of not harming anyone unless they're trying to harm me, sounds better and better by the minute. Something for me to strive for once we were done with the guild then.

  A girl can dream. I don't even know what I want to do when we're all sorted.

  The hunters are good. I can barely hear them running back towards me. But barely is all I need to be prepared. The moment the two of them are almost level with me, I spin around, and throw out my arms, both sai flying. I need to be careful though. I don't want to get too carried away and accidentally hurt them. A few bumps or bruises, but that's all.

  Or that's all I intend to give them. .

  "How did you figure it out?" I ask, realising I'm a parody of just about every bad fight movie there is out there right now. I used to wonder how the bad guys manage to talk while they're fighting, but now I have my answer. They're obviously just highly trained vampires.

  "Nadia's on assignment," the second hunter replies, swinging his leg out to try and trip me. I jump over it. It'll take a bit more than that to catch me off guard.

  Stupid of me to assume I could use a real hunter's name though. It may have been better if I'd used a generic name they wouldn't have been able to trace back to someone. Oh well, a lesson for next time. Though hopefully, there won't be a next time. I just want this to be done already.

  A grunt from the other end of the corridor almost draws my attention away from what I'm doing. And a brief glance reveals what's happening, but doesn't stop me from blocking hunter one's attack from my left.

  Turns out, this may have been a trap.

  Shit.

  I'm not sure how many hunters the others are dealing with. There's about fifty in total, that I know about, but it's night, some of them will surely be out on assignment. The others are apparently in this very specific part of the building.

  I don't think I've given the Commander enough credit on his intelligence. He's obviously planned for us needing an escape route. Which makes me wonder if this trap is for Bram and I, or if it's for Dimitri and Eric. And if it was for the latter...could they have actually escaped?

  My thoughts end as hunter two ducks under my arm and manages to throw me to the floor. The impact hurts a lot, and I gasp in pain.

  Even so, I push through it, and scramble to my feet. I'm not sure why the two hunters let me do it. If I were them, I'd have attacked while I was down.

  Lack of planning on their part I guess?

  My sai remain on the ground, and I curse myself inwardly. Not helpful. But it's a good job I have spares on me already, takes the pressure off being weaponless.

  But I need to figure out a way to get the two hunters unconscious, then they can't get hurt, nor can they do any more damage.

  They both come at me at once. Big mistake on their part. We were even taught at the guild how to deal with this kind of situation. I duck, and the two men crash into each other. Hunter one, whose name I really wish I knew, clutches his head and wails a little. Good, that's one out of commission for the moment.

  Hunter two is quicker to recover though. I think his name might be Derek. That feels right and familiar. I think these two must have been sent on different missions to me, I don't recall having much to do with them at any point.

  Derek, and I'm more certain with each moment that's the right name, comes at me again, waving a knife in my direction. I raise my sai, and block the attack, using my cross guard to hook his knife and send it skidding across the floor. He stares in horror.

  "I'm sorry," I say, before hitting him over the head with the butt of my sai. I hope I didn't hit too hard, but worry I did as he crumples to the floor.

  One down. I can check he's okay once all the hunters attacking us are dealt with. I'll check every single person if I have to. Just to make sure no one needs urgent medical attention. I'm not what I'll do if that's the case, we can't linger here too long. But no way am I leaving anyone in danger of serious injury.

  "What do you even want here?" Hunter one demands, as he faces me. Why is he talking? If I were him, I'd be slinking away and hoping I wasn't next. Then again, I'm pretty sure I was this stupid while I was hunting too.

  I'm walking, talking, proof of my own stupidity.

  "Just to go home," I answer despite myself. While it's stupid to talk while having a fight, even if I did the same thing earlier, it would also be rude of me to ignore his question.

  He ignores me, and attacks again, trying to hook my arm with his. Only problem is that this time, he doesn't have Derek to distract me, and I dodge easily enough.

  It takes mere seconds for me to have caught him, and knocked him out. I do catch him though, and lay him down gently next to Derek.

  I glance at my friends, or my more-than-friends, that bit still confuses me, and see that they're doing perfectly fine without me. And by that, I mean they also have a line of unconscious hunters next to them, with Eric moving between them and checking they were okay.

  I smile to myself. They've actually listened. I know they did back in the empty room, but it was another thing seeing them doing it in the heat of a fight.

  Checking the two downed hunters, I assure myself they're still breathing perfectly fine.

  Grabbing my sai from where they fell, I sheath all my weapons, and walk back over to the guys. Dimitri is just knocking out the last hunter as I get to them, and we all exchange relieved glances.

  "Shall we?" Bram asks.

  I nod. "Yes, please get me out of here."

  If it's up to me, I don't think I'll ever come back here. Though I know that's wishful thinking. Realistically, we have a lot of unfinished business with the hunters.

 
Chapter 9

  All that goes through my head as we're travelling back to the den was how much still needs to be done. Escaping was half the battle. But now we need to win a war.

  Sounds a little bit ominous if anyone asks me. But they haven't. Mostly cause we're not talking about it. Or anything.

  The van is filled with complete silence. Dimitri himself is driving, apparently he can put up with the tiny bit of sun coming through the tinted windows because he's older.

  Which has left me sandwiched between Eric and Bram. Both of them have hands clasped around mine. I'd find it weird, but really, it's offering a strange amount of comfort for me. There's something about having such strong bodies on either side of me, and knowing they're there for me, that just sets me a little bit more at ease about the whole thing.

  "How bad is this going to get?" I ask once we've been travelling for a fair while. From what Dimitri said earlier, we should be about three quarters of the way home by now. Home. Huh, how did that happen?

  "It depends. I think we'll try and keep it small and contained," Bram says eventually.

  "So we're not getting everyone else involved?" I ask, relief coursing through me. As much as the extra help would be welcome, I don't want to drag anyone that doesn't have to be involved into this. It's not fair to them.

  And that's where the guild will probably go wrong. They'll rely on too many people in this fight, and people that are used to working solo, or in small groups. They're not going to listen to complex instructions and strategy from someone at the top. They're going to go off on their own and do what they please.

  "I highly doubt it. I imagine it'll be the four of us in a room figuring out where we go from here," Bram says, looking at Eric for confirmation.

  "We might bring Remus in too."

  I can hear Eric's dislike to the doctor in his voice, but I'm not going to stand for that. If Bram and I can get on with each other, then Eric and Remus can.

  "All you have to do is admit your secret to him," I point out. Remus hates the fact he thinks Eric is a false prophet. Though to be fair to him, Eric is a false prophet. Most people just weren't aware of it.

  "He knows," Eric says sadly.

  "Alright then, you can explain the situation to him. he's a reasonable guy, he's not going to be a dick about it."

  "Why are we so team Remus, Ashryn?" Bram asks, amusement dancing through his eyes as I blush.

  "I...er...I..."

  "Interesting," he muses. "Why don't you say that again so we can appreciate the eloquence."

  I glare at him, but he can tell I'm not being serious, so effectively ignores me. Good to know the only place I have complete control is when we're trying to escape places. A useful skill, but not one I can actually use.

  "It's okay, I know why Remus. We talked about it, remember?"

  I nod. Of course I do, he correctly guessed my feelings towards the other man are complicated. To be fair, my feelings towards them all are complicated. Though, when I think about it, I'm not sure they are. There's definitely a certain level of affection for them all. That could be because they've saved me from a life of servitude. Or maybe because they've finally given me somewhere to belong.

  "Do I get to know?" Eric jokes. But I ignore him. Possibly a little unfair, but there's nothing to be done about that. There's too much going on in my head if I'm honest.

  Three bangs on the separator between us and Dimitri tells us we're pulling into the den's garage. Thankfully, it's an indoor one, so we can get from here to the house without seeing any sun.

  I slump back into the seat, exhaustion washing over me. It's been a really long day. Or night, or however long it's actually been since we left. It's hard to tell when I spent some of it involuntarily unconscious.

  "Just five more minutes, Ashryn," Eric says, and let's go of my hand. I just about manage to stop the whine that comes from me at the loss of contact. But I'm glad I do. I'm not ready for him to know exactly the effect his beautiful face is having on me.

  Especially when Bram and Dimitri are already well aware of how I respond to them. I'd say it's unfair, but I'm pretty sure they've been showing their own feelings in return.

  I can live with that.

  The van grinds to a halt with a slight screech. Apparently I'm not the only one who is anxious to get into my own bed. Another weird thought there. I've been here for less time than I lived at the guild, and yet this is where I feel I fit.

  It's not anything to do with the vampires themselves, or with these specific men, I don't think, anyway Something tells me it's more to do with the way it makes me feel. Free.

  I feel free.

  For the first time in my life, I can truly be who I want to be. Apparently extreme exhaustion leads to these kinds of realisations. I'd try it more often, but it sounds a little unhealthy.

  "Come on, you," Bram teases, nudging me to get my attention.

  I didn't even realise I've zoned out until he does that.

  "Sorry," I murmur.

  "No need to be sorry, but I don't want to have to carry you to bed."

  "Are you sure?" I ask, fluttering my eyelashes at him.

  Bram's eyes darken with something like desire, sending a dark thrill through me. But realistically, I'm too tired for any bed fun. And I think I should wait. This time won't be like the others. I can tell. The next time I'm in bed with a man, is going to be the start of something more.

  Eric helps me from the van, and let's me lean on him until we're stood in the garage.

  "I need to go do something," he mutters, letting go of me before I can reply with any kind of words.

  He flits off towards the door, leaving me standing alone with Bram. I'm not even sure where Dimitri has gone, but he's probably doing important things. Spending as much of today stuck in the guild as he did probably wasn't part of his plan for the day.

  "Come on, let's get you to your room," Bram says, wrapping one of his arms around me and letting me lean on him.

  I'm surprised by how much I need the support, but I'm weary.

  "Why do I feel it so bad?" I ask, my words slurring together. "You guys seem fine," I add. Pretty uselessly. I'm sure all three of them have noticed my floppiness.

  "You're a new vampire, Ashryn. We can go longer without blood than you can. And your body is still recovering from the change, never mind everything we went through back there."

  "And the burns," I add without thinking.

  Bram chuckles. "Yes, and the burns. You've really put yourself through the wars, Ashryn."

  I like it when he says my name. There's something about the inflection in it that calls to me. It makes me feel special and wanted.

  I've never know what it's like to be wanted before.

  We take another couple of steps. Well, Bram takes another couple of steps, I take a bit of a stumble, almost dragging us down to the floor without meaning to.

  "Sorry."

  "It's okay." His voice is soft. So different from when we set off on this mission.

  Before I quite know what's happening, he's scooped me up into his arms, and is carrying me into the building.

  "You don't have to carry me," I protest.

  "I know. But the alternative is it taking us hours to reach your room, and we need to get you some blood."

  "There's blood in my room?" I perk up a little.

  "Yes, I'm sure Dimitri already had some sent up. But if not, I'll personally go fetch you some," he replies.

  "Not your blood?"

  "Not this time. You need human blood."

  I nod, remembering what he said about human versus vampire blood. My body is weak. Meaning he's right, I really do need human blood to make me stronger again. It doesn't repulse me as much as I thought it would before. Nothing about being a vampire does.

  If I'm not careful, this is going to start sounding a lot like acceptance.

  We lapse into comfortable silence, the sway of his body as he walks almost rocking me to sleep. Great, now I'm acting like a giant bab
y. I lean my head against his shoulder, and close my eyes. Sleep is close, I know it is.

  My eyes only flutter back open as Bram lays me down on my bed, and I make a sleepy noise.

  He leans forward, and brushes a strand of hair behind my ear. This time, my noise is a contented one.

  "Is she going to be alright?" Bram's voice is steady, but there's definitely a hint of concern in there. Or maybe it's just my sleepy imagination hearing what I want to.

  "Yes," Remus' deep voice replies. "She just needs to drink some blood."

  "Okay."

  They're both silent for a moment.

  "I should get going," Bram says.

  "I'll send someone for you if she takes a turn for the worse."

  "Thank you, Remus," he says softly.

  "You're welcome."

  I listen as Bram leaves the room, the door closing behind him with a soft click.

  A rustle, followed by a gentle hand at my temple, is all I need to know Remus has sat down on the bed just next to my prone form.

  "Hey," I murmur.

  "Hi," he replies. "I can't say I expected you and Bram to come back quite like you did," he says, laughing slightly.

  "He's a good man," I protest.

  "I know he is, Ashryn. There's never been much doubt in my mind about that. But he's always been such an angry man, that I was almost convinced he'd never change."

  "He was angry," I acknowledge.

  "What exactly happened while you were out?" He's certainly amused, I'll give him that.

  "We ran. We were caught. We snuggled in a bunker. We ran. We got trapped. We fought. We ran." I check off the list on my fingers, and through my cracked eyes, I can see Remus' amusement.

  "Sounds eventful. I'm sure you'll fill me in properly tomorrow. Before the meeting Dimitri's called, I hope."

  I nod away. I certainly intend to tell him. He's as much a part of this as any of them. Or at least, he is in how much I trust him.

  Another foreign concept to me. And yet, another one I'm also strangely comfortable with. My life has changed a lot, and definitely for the better.