Chapter 25
Bash
Starting at one end of the French Quarter, I walk every single street and check every single alley. I touch and smell every surface. I find nothing.
Fuck.
FUCK!
I lash out and strike the crumbling brick wall surrounding someone’s home. It tips sideways and lands in a pile of rubble, leaving a hole in their perimeter. The fresh blood of life is feeding me and I am stronger than usual.
Entering my apartment right before sunrise, I find Minnie and Gia sitting in the living room with Ethan. This meeting seems to have gone better than the one with Jack. They are discussing Sarah and Elina when I walk in.
“Bash!” They come and give me a quick hug. “We were worried you wouldn’t make it home in time. We were only here for like 10 minutes or whatever, but we have to get to our rest. Listen, a few minutes ago in the Bywater, on Chartres St., where the tracks meet the docks, we smelled something.”
“Was it Elina?” I ask, hope infusing my voice.
“It smelled like her, a little diluted, I guess? I’ve never smelled her separate from you,” Gia replies.
“Wait,” I run into my room and grab something from the laundry. I hand it to Gia. “Like this?”
“Yeah, that was definitely it. It was her—her smell, at least. It wasn’t fresh, like it had been a few hours, but it was definitely her. There were a few different vamps with her and I think I smelled Talia,” Gia says after smelling the shirt.
“We can’t be sure, there were quite a few different people, but I think it was her. It was the same, a few hours old.” Minnie adds.
That scheming traitor. She is a member of this court and one of my oldest friends. Well, not friend.
“I’m going to kill her.” My voice is deadly lethal. Even my cousins, who I wouldn’t ever consider harming, take a few steps back. The look on my face must be absolutely feral.
“Listen, we have to go, the sun is rising, but tomorrow night, we will find her.” They leave as soon as they finish talking.
Reluctantly, I go to rest. This morning, I am angry and resentful that the sun is forcing me to my bed. I need to find her. Iwillfind her. The time for sadness is past. We have a clue and I will extinguish anyone that gets between me and her. I will burn this city to the ground and pull her from the ashes before I allow us to be kept apart any longer.
When I rise on Sunday night, it is with a renewed determination. I refuse to allow her to be separated from me any longer. However, before I can even begin formulating a plan, Ihave to get to Sarah. Her first evening rise will be difficult and confusing. Stepping out of my bedroom, I approach the guest room and listen at the door. I don’t want to startle her but there is the off chance that she will not immediately recognize Ethan and think he is a threat. Her instincts will be wild at first.
I hear rustling around that I assume is Ethan and I knock lightly on the door.
“Ethan? It’s Bash. I need to come in for Sarah.”
“Come in.” It’s Sarah. That is unexpected. But I am pleased to hear her. It means she rose and is cognizant.
“Good night, Sarah. How are you feeling?” I ask her, standing in the doorway. As her sire, the chances of her attacking me are virtually zero, but I don’t know where her thoughts are as far as her transformation and Ethan are concerned.
She sits up in bed and watches me carefully. She smells the air in the room, no doubt trying to glean any information about my intentions from it. I take a few steps closer and she hisses, her instincts taking over before she figures out who I am.
“Bash.” She says it matter of factly, stating a piece of information into the world.
I smile at her, sheathing my fangs so I don’t appear threatening. “Can you feel me in your head?” I give a little push down our sire bond. When I do, she looks immediately startled by it.
Before I get to ask her anymore questions, she asks me one of her own. “Elina?” I do not yet have an answer for her, but maybe I have a plan.
“While you rested, we got some news about her potential whereabouts. Her scent was found in the Bywater district. Talia’s district. Before we can do anything though, we have to take you to be presented to Marcus, register you, and feed you.Your transformation won’t be complete until you have fed for the first time”
Walking in tandem with her, we cut through thecattedrale, directly to Mother’s office.
Pushing her door open, we realize she is meeting with some of her own sirelings, hopefully with news. “Good evening, Mother. I have news, but first, I need to present Sarah to Marcus.” I gesture to her.
Mother regards me with interest before looking Sarah over appraisingly. “On Friday, you were to present your ‘everything’ to Marcus, and 2 days later you appear in my office with another woman you wish to present?” I can’t tell if she is making a joke or honestly believes that I would move on from Elina in only a few days of her being missing.
