“Is that why you killed him? Because you knew I cared for him?” Alexandria’s horror was deepening, even as her insides were burning from the tainted blood. She felt as if someone was taking a blowtorch to her internal organs, and her heart ached for dear, sweet Henry.
“I cannot allow remnants of your old life to divide your loyalties. You belong to me. Only me. I will not share you.”
Her heart pounded, and involuntarily she clutched Joshua closer. The vampire was going to kill her brother eventually. He had no intention of keeping the child in their lives. She had to find a way for Joshua to escape. She swayed again and would have fallen, but Yohenstria reached out and caught her arm.
“The light will not reach so far back into the cave that your skin will burn. Come, let us go within before the dawn arrives.”
“I can’t be in the sun?”
“You will burn easily. But you are not wholly changed as of yet.” Ruthlessly, uncaring that she was so weak, he dragged her, still clinging to Josh, inside the bleakness of the cave.
Alexandria fell several times, incoming waves splashing over her clothing. He continued walking, forcing her along, sometimes dragging her behind him. She held Joshua close, trying to impart some of her body heat into his shivering form. He was terribly still, a dead weight in her arms. She tried to think, but her brain was too slow, and she needed desperately to lie down.
A few yards into the cave, the vampire stopped and shoved her against the rock wall, where a thick chain and manacle was bolted. She noticed, as he tightened the cuff around her wrist, that the steel was stained with blood. Evidently he had brought more than one victim to this place to await his pleasure. The metal cut into her soft skin, and she slumped to the ground, uncaring that the water was pouring over her lap and then receding in its endless cycle. She rested her back against the cliff wall and reached to cradle her brother in her arms, all the while shivering, her teeth chattering.
The vampire laughed softly. “I will rest now. I am afraid it will soon become difficult for you to do the same.” He turned his back on her and strode away, his taunting laughter echoing behind him.
In her lap, Joshua suddenly stirred, sat up, and rubbed his eyes. The vampire having released him from his trance, he cried out and clutched Alexandria, clinging to her. “He killed Henry. I saw him, Alex. It was a monster!”
“I know, Josh, I know. I’m so sorry you saw such a terrible thing.” She rubbed her cheek over his curls. “I’m not going to lie to you. We’re in trouble here. I’m not certain I can get us out.” Her words were slurring together, her eyelids closing of their own volition. “The water is rising, Josh. I want you, while you can, to very carefully look around and see if there is a ledge you can climb on to be safe.”
“I don’t want to leave you. I’m afraid.”
“I know, little buddy. I am, too. But I need you to be very brave and do this for me. See what you can find.”
A wave rushed in, a gush of water that sprayed salt and sea up to her chin, then receded in a carpet of foam. Joshua screamed in fear and threw his arms around her neck. “I can’t do it, Alex. I really can’t.”
“Try going outside the cave and finding a place to wait where the water can’t get to you.”
He shook his head so adamantly, his blond curls bounced. “No, Alex, I won’t leave you. I have to stay with you.”
Alexandria didn’t have the energy to argue. She had to concentrate just to think. “Okay, Josh, don’t worry.” She braced herself against the wall and managed to get to her feet. Then the water was only up to her calves. “We can do this together. Let’s look around.”
It was nearly impossible to see anything in the gloomy interior of the cave, and the sound of the water crashing on the rocks was thunder in her ears. She was shivering uncontrollably, and her teeth were chattering so hard, she feared they might shatter. The salt caked on her skin and hair; the wound on her neck burned. She swallowed with difficulty and tried not to cry. The only niche that could possibly hold Joshua was too far above her head. Had she been taller, she might have been able to boost him up to it, but neither of them could possibly reach it.
The force of the next wave nearly lifted Joshua off his feet. He caught at Alexandria’s hips and hung on. She closed her eyes and leaned against the wall. “I’m going to have you stand for as long as you can, Josh, and then I’ll pick you up for as long as I can. After that, we’ll put you on my shoulders, okay? It won’t be so bad.” She did her best to sound encouraging.
Joshua looked scared, but he nodded trustingly. “Is that man going to come back and kill us, Alexandria?”
“He’ll come back, Josh, because he wants something from me. If I can hold out, that might buy us some time to figure out how to get out of this mess.”
He looked up at her solemnly. “When he bit you, Alex, I could hear him laughing in my mind. He said he was going to have you kill me personally. That once you were like him, you would want to kill me because I was in your way. He said you would take all the blood from my body.” He hugged her tighter. “I knew it wasn’t true.”
“Good boy. That’s part of his plan. To make us afraid of each other. But we’re a team, Josh. Never forget that. No matter what, you know I love you, right? No matter what happens.” She laid her head on his and let the waves wash around her legs. She was so tired and weak, she wasn’t certain she could make it through the day, let alone face the vampire again. She prayed silently over and over until the words ran together in her mind and it was impossible to think.
Light was streaming in through the cave entrance when Joshua’s frantic cries woke her as she slept standing up. Water was lapping at his chest, literally knocking him from his feet. He was digging into her leg, trying to keep from being washed away by the pounding surf.
“I’m awake, Josh. I’m sorry,” she whispered. She was exhausted and almost too weak to stand. The light hurt her eyes, and the salt water was chafing her skin. Taking a deep breath, she lifted Joshua into her arms in an attempt to protect him from the rising sea.
There was no way she could possibly hold him for long, but the feel of him next to her brought them both a measure of comfort. Something large bumped her leg, brought in on a wave. She shuddered and held her brother tighter.
“It’s so cold.” Joshua was shaking, every bit as drenched as she was.
“I know, little buddy. Try to go to sleep.”
“It hurts, doesn’t it?”
“What?” A wave slammed her backward into the wall, and she almost lost her grip on Joshua.
“Where he bit you. You were moaning while you were sleeping.”
“It hurts a little bit, Josh. I’m going to try to lift you to my shoulders. You might have to climb up by yourself, okay?”
“I can do it, Alex.”
She was so weak, the waves were bouncing her into the rock wall behind her, but somehow Joshua managed to make it onto her shoulders. His weight nearly sent her to her knees, and her hair, long since down from its chignon, was trapped under his legs, hurting her. But she didn’t protest. She just held on for dear life. The water was rising steadily, up to her waist now, a relentless assault. Her wrists burned from the salt water, the wound in her neck was raw, and her insides ached. She could feel things brushing against her legs, nibbling at her skin. It was all too horrifying, but Alexandria was determined to keep her will strong for her brother.
“We can do this, can’t we, Josh?” she said.
He leaned his weight against the wall and wrapped an arm through the thick chain to help steady them from the constant buffeting of the sea.
“Yes, we can, Alex. Don’t worry. I’ll save us.” He was very determined about it, very firm.
“I knew you would.” She closed her eyes again and tried to rest.