Crimson Queen

Traitor

Needles stabbed into my eyes behind my eyelids. My head felt like it was going to explode. A low groan escaped my lips. I opened my eyes. Everything was dark. It was cold and musty. My face felt like I had slammed into a wall.

I tried moving but found my hand bound behind my back. At a closer inspection, I was leaning against a wall and my ankles were bound together as well. The memories seemed to flood back to me in an instance. I had arrived at my house; there had been a knock at the door; I opened it, saw the Sheriff and . . .

"He knocked me out," I whispered to myself.

Straining my eyes, I tried peering into the darkness but there were no distinct objects that I could make out.

Where am I? A faint noise caught my attention. Footsteps, maybe. They echoed in the darkness.

"You're awake," said a very familiar voice.

The footsteps walked closer and closed. I squinted and squinted but I still couldn't see him. There was movement then a lamp flared to life. I tore my eyes away. Tears streamed down my face and it irritated me that I couldn't wipe them away.

"I didn't expect you to be involved," I said, turning back toward the light.

The Sheriff stood beside the flaring lamp. His paleness was brought out by the extreme darkness around him.

"You win some, you lose some," he said with a shrug.

"How long?" I asked through gritted teeth. "How long have you been lying to us?"

"Who do you think set your house on fire?" he asked.

I felt the breath get knocked out of my body. My chest was heavy and my heart squeezed.

"You bastard," I yelled lunging myself at him.

My chin smacked into the wooden floor. I felt my teeth clatter in my skull. The Sheriff laughed and all I could do was watch.

"I'm going to strangle you," I spat.

I struggled against the ropes but I couldn't get free. The ropes bite into my skin but I was beyond caring.

"Bastard, let me go," I growled.

"Not yet," he said unaffected by my words.

I glared up at him. I'm going to cut his throat and watch him choke on his blood, I thought. My father had trusted him. I couldn't fathom the reason why he would betray him and the people of Kanya. If I made it out of here alive, I was going to kill him.

"Why'd you do it?" I asked. "Why would you help those blood sucking monsters?"

The Sheriff tsked at me. "That's no way for a lady to speak, Lucinda," he said. "None of this would have happened if your father hadn't been snooping around. We had to get rid of him."

"Do you mean the vampires?" I asked. "What could they possibly give you?"

My heart was raging in my chest. My wrists ached and my right hand was starting to go numb. My fingertips brushed the knot of the ropes. I dig my fingernails in desperate to loosen them up.

"They promised not to kill my family as long as they could have bodies," he said. "Why do you think we have no prisoners?"

I tugged at the ropes but to no avail. I had to stall until I could get free.

"What about Kate?" I asked. "She was behind the missing children and the disappearances without involving any prisoners."

"Orphans and the homeless," the Sheriff said indifferently. "They were just in the way."

"It was you, wasn't it?" I asked. "You saw Kate and I fight. You panicked thinking I was on to you. That's why you arrested me. How did you manage to convince Father David and lie to Michael?"

My stomach did a flip when I pronounced the Knight's name. Call me delusional but I expected him to find me at any moment. I hated to admit it but he had probably figured out my plan to sneak around trying to look for clues.

"Unexpected arrivals, I'll tell you that," he said. "The Priest was easy to fool. I just had to make him believe you were involved with the disappearances. After all, an unmarried woman is more likely to be suspicious."

"No wonder you were so angry at Michael," I said with a smirk. "He didn't believe you after he saw the vampires."

The Sheriff's face turned into a scowl. "He wasn't supposed to come until the end of the week," he said. Then he shrugged. "No matter. It's all taken care of."

I felt my stomach drop. "What do you mean taken care of?" I asked. "You can't send vampires to kill him. He sliced those three vamps in mere seconds of one another."

This time the Sheriff smiled and my heart squeezed. "I'm sure your Papa told you all about the rankings of vampires," he said.

"Yes," I said feeling dread settle on my shoulders.

"He's never lost to a Knight before," the Sheriff said smugly. "Your Knight is as good as dead."

"We shall see," I forced out.

My fingertips were pulsing. The ropes hadn't loosened a bit. What exactly was he waiting for? He had me tied. Why wasn't he killing me? Sure, I didn't want to die but he was just rambling on. He had to have a motive for kidnapping me. What was it?

"Why . . . did you kidnap me?" I finally asked. "You could have killed me at any time and yet you didn't."

The Sheriff smiled. "He told me to wait," he said. "After all, you killed her son and that simply won't do."

"I-I didn't kill any vampire," I stammered out.

"Details," he said. "Besides, she believes me right?"

He cocked his head to one side listening. I strained my ears but I was unable to hear a thing.

"She's here," the Sheriff said.

I jumped breaking into cold sweat. The blood was drained from my face. I could hear them. The whispers of her footsteps came closer and closer. The Sheriff grinned at me.

"You won't live to see the sun rise."