Blood Rebel [COMPLETED]

Chapter Thirty Three - Run

There was a chill in the air, and Selene shivered and rubbed her arms to keep them warm. It had been hot in London for so long now that she had forgotten what the cold felt like; the seasons had begun to change without her noticing. Dark clouds rumbled over the sky, and Selene could make out the first star in the sky; a pinpoint of light.

Harland was walking up and down, instructing the men, escorting them to their positions. He had them hidden in the trees or behind thick trunks, so that they would form an unseen semi-circle behind him when he walked out into the clearing.

"We don't have much time now. As soon as the sun sets, Hector will be here. Stand up and put your hands behind your back."

Selene jumped to her feet, not keen on receiving another beating from Harland. He pulled her wrists over one another and secured them with coarse rope that began to rub her skin immediately. Then he pressed his gun into her back, a sharp nozzle between her shoulder blades, and forced her to walk out into the clearing.

As she stepped out from behind the cover of the trees, she heard the sound of guns being clicked into place: they were ready to shoot. She hoped they had a good aim, because she and Harland were right in the line of fire.

The grass was long and the breeze tickled it, making it whisper against her legs as she walked. She watched the long blonde strands, bleached by the sun, wave first in one direction, then the next. It was beautiful up here, watching the city begin to come alive in the distance as light after light was switched on. Selene tried to imagine the Vampire orgy taking place amongst the grasses that licked her feet, but she couldn't do it: the whole place seemed to beat with a purity that could only have been granted by nature herself.

Harland put his hand on her shoulder and forced her to her knees as soon as they reached the centre of the clearing. Excitement and fear wrestled within her like animals fighting for their lives, tearing at one another's throats. Her hands shook behind her back, which only served to make the rope cut harder into her wrists.

"Just wait. It's nearly dark," hissed Harland.

Selene looked at the sun and watched its slow descent as it trickled over the edge of the world. It burned with a fire that lit up the sky like a pool of oil that had set alight, and the dark clouds looked like plumes of smoke that would choke a man to death in a breath. It was beautiful, and Selene felt a pang deep within her for someone who wasn't there, someone to share it with; a sharing that could never be.

As the sun slipped away and night swept its dark cloak over the city, Selene held her breath until she saw a figure creep out of the forest on the other side of the clearing. She squinted in the half-light, her heart thrumming with an unparalleled violence.

"I see him," said Harland, and Selene nodded. She knew it was him. But his strides were long and powerful, and he had a body slung over his shoulder. He walked, holding the body in place with one curled arm, as though he barely felt its weight.

Selene's heart leapt: he was healed. And as she watched him, the moonlight caught his face and it was whole. It was as handsome as the night they had left Cadogan Place for the ceremonial dance. A dark cloud puffed in front of the moon and hid its light, and Selene felt raindrops, small and gentle, hit her skin.

Harland shifted his weight from foot to foot and muttered under his breath. Selene pursed her lips and suppressed a smile: Harland was disconcerted by Hector's physical perfection. She knew then that he had expected Hector to be burnt and weak, flaking and disintegrating. And now Harland was nervous because Hector looked as strong as any Vampire had ever looked.

"At least he has come alone," he whispered. Selene nodded.

Of course he came alone. He's a man of his word.