Chapter 29

Writer Notes: So let’s start to speed things along.

Warnings: panicked breathing, screaming, angry/worried Elf, and a time to make a stand

“Hello?” Vaiden asked sleepily into the receiver.  When no reply came immediately he asked who was calling him.  Then the breathing began.  Sharp and panicky.

Vaiden was quick to turn around and see Lewej still sleeping.  She was safe, he noted.

“Who is this?” he asked again, walking towards the bedroom door.  The panicky breath was heavy now and in-between each breath was a sob.

Vaiden opened the door to Tatiana’s room and shuddered at the squeal of pain from the caller.

Tatiana was safe.  Who the hell had called him?

“Vaiden,” the woman sobbed.  “Vaiden!”

“Zarah?”

“Vaiden, they killed Harvey.” she cried.  “They killed him!”  Vaiden took a step back out of Tatiana’s room.  Harvey, he then remembered, was Zarah’s husband.

“Zarah, where are you?” he asked calmly.  He needed her to settle down or she was going to pass out from shock.

Remembering the central identity locator on his computer, Vaiden quickly logged on.  “Zarah, keep talking to me.” he said.  “Everything’s going to be all right…just tell me where you are and I’ll come get you.”

“They’re going to get me, Vaiden.” she then said. 

“Who are they?” he asked.

“La’Belle.” she whispered.  It was quiet for a moment.  Vaiden took the opportunity to turn the locator on.  If he could keep Zarah on the phone for one more minute, he would have her location.  La’Belle…he knew the name.  He just couldn’t put his finger on it though.

He heard wrestling and a scream. “Zarah! Zarah!” he shouted into the receiver, but the reply was not from her.

“Who is this?” asked a voice of a different woman.

“What have you done to Zarah?!” he growled.

She made a snickering sound. “Now, now. You want her.  Come find her.” She laughed.  Then the only sound was the end of the line.

“Dammit.”  La’Belle, he remembered, was a terribly powerful master Vampire.  She had spent almost all of her life or death, whatever they wanted to call vampirism, destorying neighboring master Vampires.  She had come for Zarah.  She knew that Zarah was Vaiden’s contact and now she wanted him.

“Vaiden,” Lewej shut the door softly behind her.  “What’s going on? Who were you shouting at?”

As the sleepiness receted from her eyes, she saw how tense he was and the gun beside his hand.  Something was wrong.  Something bad, she knew.

“They captured Zarah.” he said in a low, yet angered voice.

“They?” Lewej questioned.

“The Vampires.” Vaiden sighed.  “They killed her husband.  Some way, they must have figured out that she gave me the information to rescue Tatiana.”

“But…” Lewej bit her lip.  “Then, what do we do?”

“I’m going to go get her.” he replied.

Without any hestitation, Lewej ran into Tatiana’s room shouting for her to get up.  It didn’t matter what those two girls conspired together, Vaiden was going.  He had the location.  He had to get there before they killed Zarah, even though he knew it was a trap.  They were wanting him to go that way all they had to do was kill him and follow his tracks back to his house to find Tatiana.  He’d be damn if he let all of this happen, but he couldn’t let Zarah…just die, not when he was able to rescue her.

***

Tatiana closed the door behind her and stepped lightly towards Vaiden.  She knew he had a special relationship with the Vampire Zarah, who had hired him to rescue her.  She was grateful that this Vampire had had enough compassion to not let Tatiana be murdered, but Tatiana still felt very conflicted.  Vaiden was becoming a tool.  He was sending himself into danger to rescue his friend, but the danger was greater this time than when he had saved Tatiana.  They knew he was coming and they would be prepared.

“There’s nothing I can say to stop you and let us plan this out, is there?” She asked.

“No.” he replied bluntly.

“Vaiden…” she shook her head. 

“You know it is pointless to say anything so just stand aside and let me go.”

But Tatiana didn’t.  When he tried for the side, she moved with him.  “Don’t do this.” she said.  “We can’t be rash. Let us plan it out and find a safer route…”

“There is no safer route when you’re going into the battlefield, Tatiana.” he said.  “Now move out of my way!”

“Someone had to try to stop you, Vaiden.  If I didn’t then I would feel guilty if you…”

“Everything’s going to fine.” he interrupted.

“Aren’t you going to promise me?” she asked.  Vaiden just looked down.

Before he could do anything more, Tatiana wrapped her arms around him in embrace.  “Come back to us, Vaiden.” she whispered.

“If I don’t,” he began.  “You grab Lewej and you run as far away from here as you can.”

The first sob escaped Tatiana. “I will.”

Before she could say anything else, Vaiden moved past her onto the livingroom where Lewej awaited him.  Tatiana felt her chest tighten.  She knew this could only go badly.

Lewej pleaded for Vaiden not to go, but he just shook his head and said something low in Elvin.  Tatiana couldn’t help, but know that all of this chaos was because the Vampires were looking for her.  They wanted her so they were going to kill Zarah and Vaiden and come find her.  Even as mighty and brave as Vaiden was, could he, beat the bad guys, rescue his friend, and come back to Lewej and Tatiana alive?

She could only hope so.

“Let me go, Lewej.” Vaiden said softly.  “I have to go.”

“Let me go.”

***

They watched him leave and stood for several more moments after he was surely gone.

Tatiana felt a black pit growing in her heart.  She knew it wasn’t safe here anymore.  She knew with Vaiden gone the liklihood of her and Lewej surviving as steadily declining.  Tatiana was tired of being scared, tired of running.  She didn’t want to live this way for the rest of her life.  It had to stop…some way…the nightmare had to end.

“Lewej, get dressed.” Tatiana said sternly.  “We can’t let him go by himself.”