GAME ON - GoM 2

4

Thanks to Tom's keen senses, they made their way from the road down the cliff and into the woods swiftly. He led Claire straight to the clearing and stopped her a few yards before the last trees. They hid in the thicket to watch the ongoing scene.

The usual dozen of runts stood around the bonfire, and they were all looking at Blake. He sat in his armchair across the bonfire, his smug smirk pursing his lips. His two demon bodyguards stood behind him. And kneeling by the armchair was Alex. She wore Alice's black dress for the special occasions with Markus and her hands were still shackled. Blake's hand rested on her head, caressing her hair distractedly while she kept oddly still, blank eyes down on the grass.

Thames was only a couple of steps away from Tom and Claire, facing Blake. He stood by a tree where an unconscious man was tied to. Markus stood at the other side of the tree, sacrificial knife in hand, and George right behind him, holding a jeweled golden goblet.

"How is she?" Tom whispered, his eyes on Alex.

"She's not," Claire muttered. "I mean, there's no feelings left, no emotions, nothing..." She trailed off and clenched her teeth to finish. "It's like she's dead, Tom. Dead inside."

And he knew the girl was right. A deep black pain welled in his chest, seeing the woman he loved like that. Especially because he was aware of at least one of the tortures she'd been put through over the last day. And knowing his imagination would never be able to even fathom the rest of it. Yet he wasn't furious as he'd expected. He felt like a damned iceberg inside, and his head had never been clearer in the hell of a week that had followed Diane's death.

He heard Claire growl under her breath. The girl wasn't breaking in tears, nor mumbling or shaking. She was plain mad, mustering a murderous rage and waiting for the slightest chance to unleash it. So when Blake addressed them mockingly, "Niece, dog, come join us," Claire wielded her blades and strode out of the bushes and straight toward him. Only Thames' arm stretched out stopped her. Tom followed to stand by Thames' other side, bow ready and eyes scanning the men around them.

Thames waited a moment, to make sure Claire wouldn't go any further, and lowered his arm.

Blake smiled wider. "Can we carry on now, Greg?" He nodded to George. "My new runt is growing impatient."

Thames flashed a mild smile. "Of course. Now comes the initiation by drinking blood, right?"

Blake met Markus' eyes. He turned to the man hanging from the tree.

Thames only needed to say a single word: "Claire."

So fast nobody was able to react, the girl took a step toward the tree and spun on her heels, her blades a sparkling blur of motion. With a single blow she chopped off Markus' hand holding the sacrificial knife. And when he bent over with a loud cry, she sank her other blade in his throat. George dropped the goblet to run to his friend. Claire yanked her blade off, letting Markus crumble down to his knees, his blood gush all over George.

"There you have your blood, you son of a bitch," she said to him.

The runts let out angry growls and closed in around them. Tom stepped up and shot two down before they reached the bonfire. And when they hesitated, Thames stretched his arm out again, the palm of his hand toward them. And all the runts fell back as if knocked over by a mighty blow.

Claire picked the sacrificial knife up and turned to Blake. "I think this is yours," she said with her sweetest smile. And threw it at him. The carved blade sank in the armchair back, not an inch away from Blake's head.

Blake didn't even flinch. Instead, he smiled back at Claire, like congratulating her. But the demons growled, outraged, their eyes burning red. Thames raised his other hand and they were brutally shoved against the trees behind the armchair. And they stayed stuck there, like pinned to the trunks, their feet not touching the ground and blood dripping from their mouths.

Blake clapped softly. "Bravo. Quite a show."

"Now let her go," Thames said. He tried to sound calm, but his voice let show the effort he was doing to keep the runts and the demons down.

"Why don't you make me, Greg?"

"Let Alex go, demon. Now." He moved his hands and the runts and the demons howled in pain.

Blake raised his eyebrows. "Are you challenging me, Greg? Never thought you had it in you."

Thames didn't answer. He only glowered at him. Blake smiled again and leaned toward Alex, who hadn't even blinked.

"Do you want to go with the priest, Alexandra?"

"No, my Duke," she replied.