Lowe was about to turn.
Should I scream? Who would hear me? Would Luca? I swallowed. Lowe seemed to be battling with what was happening to him. He even leaned on me for support, putting the full weight of his body on me. I nearly collapsed then, but I saw a c.h.i.n.k of hope. I stood back, and Lowe staggered forward, the jacket on his back tearing, an angry growl coming from him as he bent in pain.
Seizing my chance, I ran. Faster than I had ever run before, slipping through the gates and out into the acres of black night in front of the palace. My heart was beating so fast I thought it would explode, and I needed to think fast. I had to go where Lowe wouldn"t find me. But not knowing the layout of the palace grounds, I was stabbing in the dark.
The piercing roar coming from the courtyard hardened my resolve, and sharpened my wits.
And adrenaline sent me running for my life.
CHAPTER FORTY-FOUR.
Raphael was thwarted on his way to the cellars by the sight of a lone wolf roaming the courtyard. He shrunk back a little, unused to this animal display, but the wolf appeared to be gazing at him, imploringly, and he frowned, waving the beast away, horrified.
With a final look at him, the wolf roared, pawing at the hard ground, before moving stealthily out of the courtyard to Raphael"s relief.
"How in heaven did he get in?" he muttered, though he couldn"t pause to think about that now. Seeing the wolf bounding out into the darkness, he turned to continue on to the cellars. Cursing, he saw the outside door wide open. As he clattered down the stone steps, he was met with silence.
The door to Soren"s cell was wide open. The cell was empty.
Raphael shut his eyes, his lip curling. In his hand he clutched a crossbow. Violently he kicked at the door.
Glancing down at the floor he saw something. A white feather. He frowned, picking it up curiously, turning it over in his hand. A memory came back to him. His parents, Gabriel and Dorcas laughing. Dorcas had dressed him as a fictional angel with white feather wings ... He had only been about five. He remembered the look on his father"s face. Amused, loving. He remembered his own enjoyment. He swallowed. Memories such as this he had pushed away for so long. His heart had become so hard, so cynical. All innocence lost.
One of his headaches was coming on, pulsing at the back of his head. He sat down on the hard wooden bench inside the cell, leaning back against the wall, too defeated to move from the time being. Alone in the cold bas.e.m.e.nt, he saw suddenly the pointlessness of going after his half-brother. And he had a sudden and lucid epiphany.
Had he not engineered this whole situation himself? Planted the right evidence to bring all this to a head? He had not expected to hear that Gabriel had fathered a child outside of his marriage to his mother, Dorcas. But it made more sense that Dorcas had run away, unable to face the Celestial family. Now that he was adapting to the information, a tiny part of him felt intrigued that he had a half-brother. In his heart Raphael knew that, for all his outrage at the dishonesty his great-parents had shown, they had done it to protect him from the truth. And who was he to stand on such moral highground, when he would deny his flesh and blood the same chances that he had had?
He no longer cared if his position was threatened here at the palace. The only thing he cared about was being reunited with the man who had been dealt the harshest sentence of all.
His father, Gabriel.
CHAPTER FORTY-FIVE.
I felt my way through the bushes, sharp thorns p.r.i.c.king at my hands. Out of nowhere, it had started to rain hard. Rubbing at the drops on my cheeks, I knew my only hope of getting home was to find Dalya, but it was so late and I had run straight into the woods behind the palace the opposite direction to where she and Luca lived. And then I had run out of steam, just stopped and slid to my knees where I hoped I would be hidden, undiscovered, until daylight ... But after an hour or so the sounds of people had me up and on the move again.
"Soren!" I heard someone shout a throaty female voice. "Don"t waste your time. She is long gone by now."
Vanya and Soren? Where was Luca? Had they done something to him?
I shut my eyes in the darkness, and my breath came thick and heavy. But the voice was fading. Opening my eyes again, I peered through some leaves and saw Vanya"s white cape as she disappeared in pursuit of Soren.
I had thought Vanya was on my side. I had actually thought she and Soren were my friends. But they were keeping things from me. All these lies.
As I started walking again, I felt a sharp pain in my ankle. I must have knocked it and not felt it. All that adrenaline masking the pain. I winced as an agonising twinge hit me again, and tried to take the weight off one foot, limping a little, slowly this time, and then there above me, a small patch of sky through the trees.
As I pushed forward, I heard voices far away, and shouting but there all the same. Who knew who they belonged to? Raphael and his crew? Lowe?
Panicking, I turned as quickly as I could in the other direction, lamely kicking away the raspy thorns, before something, flying through the trees ahead, stopped me in my tracks.
A crossbow quivered in the trunk of the tree to my left, and then my breath seemed to stop. Putting my hand to my mouth, I stared wide-eyed at the weapon, swallowing back fear.
"There"s someone there."
A voice, familiar somehow, came through the dark. I shut my eyes trying to place it.
"Over there somewhere."
The voice was closer now. I stepped back, drawing some foliage in front of my face. I was shaking.
As I watched, two figures moved into my line of vision. One I didn"t recognise walked over to the arrow in the tree and plucked it. He turned to his companion, whose back was to me now.
"No need to waste a good piece of weaponry." The boy with the arrow spoke.
"Indeed not." His companion, taller, dark-haired, took the weapon from him, sticking it in a holder on his back. In one hand I saw he carried a crossbow. But my attention was drawn to something else now.
Lowe?
I pushed myself back and met with a tree. I sank to my knees as noiselessly as possible. The beating of my heart seemed impossibly loud to me.
"She is somewhere out here."
Lowe"s voice was crisp now, imperious. Dangerous.
Wrapping my arms about my body, I crouched hidden, listening.
"She is not our target ..." the other boy was saying. "Raphael said-"
"Raphael is taking care of the vampire," growled Lowe. "I want the girl."
Even through the bushes I saw the other boy frown.
"The girl? What crime has the girl committed? She is no one."
"She is poison. She flaunted herself here with Soren. She was just using him. And while she"s still here, she will have her sights on Luca. To take him from his wife, from his family. You saw her-"
"Lowe!" The boy"s voice was steady, humouring. "This is madness. What harm can the mortal girl do? Luca is perfectly safe and happily engaged. Why would he go to her?"
Lowe was silent, kicking at the undergrowth with his boot.
I was aware of exhaustion taking me over, but I couldn"t afford to give in to it.
Nonetheless I pushed one leg, which threatened to cramp, out from underneath me, rustling the leaves as I did so.
The boys" heads both jerked in my direction.
"Who"s there?"
Lowe stepped roughly, closer to where I was. He couldn"t yet see me. I held my breath, a light sweat covering my body.
"It is no one." The boy took hold of Lowe"s arm, gently pulling him back. "Just the wind."
From my position I could see Lowe glowering straight at me. But he couldn"t see me. His eyes didn"t find mine.
"Come," said the boy, still holding on to him, his eyes wary. "You are weary, Lowe. Let me take you back to the palace."
"Don"t patronise me." Lowe hissed. "I meant what I said, you know."
"I know." The boy"s voice was soft, coaxing ... He stopped, and all three of us saw another body approaching through the trees. As the moon moved to become visible above us, the newcomer"s inky-black hair was unmistakeable.
Soren. I hated him, but I couldn"t deny the relief I felt seeing him.
"Well, well." He stopped, putting his hands in his pockets.
Lowe"s face twisted with hostility.
"You?" he said icily. "You are not a werewolf. I have never heard of you. n.o.body has. Lila doesn"t know who you are either whatever fantasies you have fed her."
He drew an arrow from its case on his back and stepped boldly in front of Soren, who looked utterly unfazed.
Soren ignored the crossbow. "But since you are so desperate to know ..."
Both boys straightened defensively.
"I ... I am whoever I want to be." Soren went on just loudly enough for me to hear.
Lowe was gripping his crossbow, his body was rigid, tense. He glanced quickly at his companion. From where I was positioned I could see he was afraid.
"I don"t understand."
"It doesn"t matter whose blood runs through me," Soren went on. "Unlike you, I don"t allow my ancestry to dictate who I am." He paused, watching their incomprehension. "And neither does Raphael. Somebody you admire, I think?"
"What are you talking about? You"re insane!" Lowe snorted. His friend, however, looked shocked as he stared hard at Soren.
"No need to be afraid," Soren continued calmly. "Raphael may have grown tired of the angelic philosophy, but he seems to quite like you."
"Don"t speak of him. You are nothing. A fool. A fantasist."
Soren smiled broadly in answer, infuriating Lowe even further.
"Jane used you." Lowe lifted his chin defiantly. "To get to my brother."
"Is that so?" asked Soren.
"She just can"t take no for an answer. Hanging around here, trying to make him jealous and regret his decision."
The smile stayed fixed on Soren"s face. It was starting to bug me, G.o.d knew what effect it was having on Lowe.
"She"s the only person on Nissilum whose agenda is pure," Soren said. He couldn"t see me, didn"t know I was hiding ... I held my breath. Had I misjudged him?
"But what"s your game?" Lowe insisted. "Lila has never met you before in her life."
"Don"t speak of her again," Soren told him icily. "Lila deserves better than to have you as part of her family. I would not have believed what a poisonous little fool you were until I witnessed your malice with my own eyes. But now that I have seen it, I know for sure she is better off with me."
"Nonsense! She and my brother are in love," snarled Lowe.
"Oh, grow up!" Soren finally snapped. "Stop meddling in the happiness of others. It is not Lila that Luca loves. There is nothing you can do about that."
Lowe was silenced, but I saw his hand tighten on his crossbow.
Slowly I eased myself up on to my feet. My breath was coming more evenly now. There was a good chance Lowe would aim his weapon at me if he saw me, but Soren"s presence emboldened me. When I was upright, I leaned carefully up against the tree behind me.
"I will do what it takes to protect my family." Lowe said weakly, anxious to have the last word.
Soren sighed, and I watched as his eyes roamed about him, until finally he settled on me.
"Jane?"
I moved forward, keeping my eyes on the crossbow still in Lowe"s hand. His face was set angrily. "Lucky for you that your little lapdog is here to protect you," he said nastily.
"I don"t need protection," I said. "And I am trying to get home." I glared at him. "So, you will get what you want ... Please, stop your whining about it!"
Lowe"s eyes widened.
"And finally we see the real girl," he said smoothly. "Not so nice, are you?" He shook his head. "If my brother could see you now!"
The snap of a twig startled us all.
"I can see her perfectly well," came a voice behind Soren and I felt my heart crash to the ground. Luca, soaking wet from the rain, walked past Soren and towards his brother. "It"s you who disgusts me right now."
"Me?" Lowe snarled. "All the games she has played, and it is I who disgusts you?"
"You have always been impetuous," Luca said, his eyes flickering briefly over to me as he spoke. "But you have grown malicious. Clumsy ..." His voice trailed off. I knew it pained him to talk that way. About his own flesh and blood.
Watching his tall, almost too skinny body, his hair a little wild from the rain, I wanted to walk up to him and put my arms around him. I wanted to look into his sad green eyes, the eyes that had looked at me with love, only months before.
But he turned away from me, refusing to catch my eye. He now faced Soren.