Runaway Girl - The Secrets of Avelina Chronicles 1

Chapter 16

Tyler had no idea what was going to happen to him, but when the master's second in command, Filipe, took him down into the basement, he knew something bad was going to happen. If he had turned someone who was forbidden to vampires, then he knew he would be punished, even though he was unaware of breaking such a law at the time. But when their descent through the mansion led them through the basement to the stairs at the other side, he suddenly realized that there was another level to the mansion that he was unaware of. And he didn't particularly want to go there.

Unfortunately, he had no choice in the matter. Suddenly, he was gagged, his hands tied together and his feet shackled. Then he was taken to the foundation of the mansion below the basement. The entire place looked like a dungeon of the days of old. There was exposed stone on every wall and the floor. The only modern covered surface was the ceiling, protecting the basement floor above it. There was very little light in the room, the windows were high up the twelve foot walls and small candles were scattered around the floor. He almost wanted to beg Filipe not to leave him. The place was damp and smelled a little of burnt flesh. Little trickles of water fell over the stonework, evidence of the rain that poured outside.

It wasn't easy to protest against his new incarceration. He couldn't move his feet other than to shuffle and he couldn't use his hands, as the ties around them were linked by a chain to the shackles on his ankles. All he could do was comply with his punishment. Filipe linked his shackles to the metal loop protruding from the concrete floor. Once it was secured, a sharp push on his shoulder sent him to the floor with a thud. Tyler sighed and watched in frustration as Filipe unlocked the ties from his ankle shackles and attached them to similar loops in the concrete walls. He didn't even have the luxury of a retracting chain. He was simply stuck in one place until his captors decided otherwise.

"Thank you Filipe," the master said, suddenly appearing at the top of the stairs, catching Tyler's attention.

When Tyler tried to speak, his words were muffled by the gag in his mouth. Cezar, signaled to Filipe to take it off. "You won't stop her from loving me. She'll never love anyone else," Tyler protested, hoping that Cezar would see reason and free him to be with Emily. It was his rightful place as one who loved her and his lawful right as the one who turned her.

Sires were never taken from their companions after turning. The bond was so great that no one knew what effect it would have on the companion if the sire was removed from his or her life completely. It was dangerous and unnecessary, but as the master of their clan, Cezar felt that there was no other option.

"That may be so, but at least she'll be safe," he replied, ignoring him. His punishment was decided and his prison secured for him. How Emily reacted to his punishment was inconsequential. It was done and he was not a man to change his mind once a decision had been made. He left Tyler to his fate to get back to the matter of Emily.

"What are you going to do with Emily?" Filipe asked.

The reminder that she was one of them and that there was no way of changing it wasn't pleasant, but it made Cezar think about everything that could happen to her in the future. "I have a job for her and, whether she loves this boy or not, she'll do it ... or else she'll face the consequences later," he explained, leaving Filipe to think about the sticky situation they were now in thanks to one boy's stupidity.

But Cezar didn't dwell on the problem. He would rather go along with it and see what it brought. So he headed back up to the room where Emily waited, while Tyler was left to his prison. He nodded to the guard outside the door, who stood at attention the minute he saw him. "Is the room secure?" Cezar asked.

"Yes, Sire, all but this door, but more locks will arrive tomorrow," he explained.

"No one will be admitted to this room at any time," Cezar ordered, then went inside and shut the door behind him. There were two beds in the room, a large double bed in the center and a small single bed at the opposite end of the room, hugging the wall. He wasn't surprised to see that Emily had chosen the double bed as her own, so he retired to the single bed, content with the sight of her sleeping peacefully.