Chapter 24: Finally

I finally managed to reach out to Adan. I never expected that thoughts could be communicated that way, Adan always seemed to be on his blackberry. But I think now I knew why.  I felt slightly disassociated from the room, and it gave me a slight headache.

Communicating with the mind was tiring--much more tiring than using a phone. It had side effects.

At least now he knew where I was. Somewhat. My body didn't seem to be mine anymore, the weakness and lack of blood made me detached from it.

The man only visited me for two reasons: to feed me blood, I didn't know the source of it but I started to not care after all that pain, or to feed from me. My life revolved around that red substance now. I existed to feed, in both sense of the word. And I hated this lifestyle.

He had come again. I lifted my eyelids slowly, and the blurry sight of his feet came into view. What time was it? He either fed from me or fed me at different times. Although it never mattered--I didn't have a way to find out the time anyway. Still, knowing what would happen to me next seemed nice.

The man opened the gate. "It's lunch time."

Whose lunch?

I could visualize the smirk on his face. "It's time for me to feed."

My kidnapper held me by my elbow and dragged me out of the cage. He was never gentle about it. But then again, were kidnappers ever gentle with their victims? My arm had bruises all over it. Another one failed to make much of a difference.

I let myself get pulled around like a rag doll. He dragged me out of the enclosure through my wrist. I used to care, but not any longer.

He bent down and placed his face beside my neck. "Have I ever told you how good you taste?" The man lapped at my skin. This wasn't the first time, but I never got used to it. It always sent a sick feeling down my stomach.

He stroked my cheek. "Invigorating. Its no surprise why everyone wants it. I want to keep you alive down here forever. I've never felt stronger. I feel like I can even kill Adan now."

No, I thought, he can't. I trust Adan.

My kidnapper threw his head back and let out a loud laugh that bounced off the walls. "Trust has nothing to do with this, love. It is just about who is stronger. And right now, I am."

I didn't know if I was audible, but I used all my strength to utter a sentence. "I believe Adan... is stronger."

He chuckled and moved his hand toward my chin, stroking it softly. "As I said, it is not a matter of beliefs."  His mouth moved closer to my skin and blew against it. "Now keep quiet and let me feed."

His fangs slowly pierced into the nape of my neck. He fed like this on purpose. It prolonged the pain. Instead of a sharp immediate pain, the agony came in crawling seconds. I counted, hoping that his meal time would quickly pass.

I counted to no avail. The piercing pain came anyway. I thought that my voice had run out, and that my vocal chords no longer had the energy to let out any sound. But my back arched as I tried to come with the burning in my neck, and my mouth opened wide as I let out a shrieking noise.

I wanted my senses to numb. They didn't.

It felt like centuries before the man finished his torture on me. He pried his fangs out of my neck and licked it with his tongue. I became useless to him after each meal--after all, he received what he came for. The man let me drop onto the ground like some piece of trash.

"Thanks for the meal," he said, before kicking me back into the cage. Hard. This time he got my ribcage, like many other times. It hurt, but it was nothing compared to how it felt like when his fangs were buried in me.

I let out a soft whimper, as if that would make my situation any better. In my semi-conscious state, I lifted my eyelids and saw the man's face. It was covered in blood. My blood. His eyes were fiery and power hungry, like the sinister smile that spread across his face.

I hated him with all my heart.

Adan would come for me. He had to.

Just then, I heard a loud commotion upstairs. The screams of the men there echoed so loudly that I could hear them.

My kidnapper smirked. The fire in his eyes glowed even greater, if that was even possible. "He's here."

Who was here? Adan? Was he finally here?

The man spun himself around and hastily exited the room. He looked so eager, and animalistic, like a crazed being that wanted nothing more than a fight.

I was about to sink into a deep sleep--I always did right after each meal. But I couldn't this time. Not when the loud noise upstairs signaled the arrival of my mate. He promised that we would come for me.

A minute passed before I realized that I should have allowed myself to fall asleep. A sudden pressure weighed down on me. It was no ordinary pressure. The gravity that pulled against my body was so strong that I felt as if the moon was lying on top of my body. It made my bones feel as if they were crushing and falling apart.

The pressure felt familiar--it manifested when Jason and Adan were about to fight with each other. But I was healthier and stronger then, not like now, when my being was in an extremely weakened state.

I couldn't take it.

The weight pressed on my chest so hard that I needed to cough. And I did. I coughed up blood. It mixed together with the blood that my kidnapper had left all over me. I knew that the time for my last breath had come.

Everything was a blur when it happened. My eyelids repeatedly fluttered down and then back up again. I saw two figures burst into the room. They were grappling against each other. One was obviously winning, with the other figure bending down and losing to body that towered over him.

Adan had to be the towering figure. There was no other possible scenario. Or so I hoped.

They stumbled toward me. They both fell onto the ground; one man had managed to pin the other below him.

It was at that moment when Adan stared straight into my face. My kidnapper had him pinned down.

My heart almost fell out of my chest.

Adan was in... danger? Because of me?

"No," I said, or tried to. I only managed the slow movement of my lips.

Adan's face contorted with worry. "Evelyn? Is that you?" It was almost as if looking at me gave him new found resolve. He struggled against the man, hitting against his face using his elbows. The man's chin flew backwards.

My mate used that opportunity to switch positions, flipping the man over and holding him down with his weight. He kept his hand on his throat, keeping him in position.

The man tried to escape from Adan's grasp, but it was useless. "I'm... stronger than you." His words came out from gritted teeth.

"I can kill you now," Adan said, his eyes filled with resolve.

"You can't."

My mate dug his whole hand into my kidnapper's chest, forcing out an uncomfortable groan from him. "Yes I can. It's dawn." I would have shrieked a few months ago, but now, I've seen much worse and I was too beat up to care about the man. I wanted him dead.

The man never knew when to stop. He still had a cocky grin on his face. "It is dawn, but you care too much." His words came out so hard that it triggered a cough from him. "You care too much because you created me."

"Yes I did. And it's the biggest regret of my life." Adan shoved his hand deeper into the man's chest. I heard a squelching noise. "I should have killed you long ago, Kaine."

Kaine. I had seen him before. Back when I was still in Adan's castle. Adan had... created him?

Kaine chuckled. "But you won't. And you can't."

I assumed that Adan had done something to Kaine's heart, because Kaine yelled out in pain. It was only then did a look of shock registered on his face. "You're serious about this aren't you?"

Adan growled. "Yes I am." I could only imagine what Adan was doing to the insides of Kaine's body. He let out another yell.

"I promise. I promise that if you let me go I'll never come close to Evelyn again," Kaine said, his words a bit too rushed.

Adan narrowed his eyes. "You promises do not mean anymore, spawn." I had never seen Adan so serious.

"I will give you everything."

"That means little to me."

I had always believed in Adan. He clearly had the upper hand now. For a short instance, I noticed him sliding a side glance to me. His expression softened for a brief moment. It's okay, you don't have to worry anymore.

His reassurance allowed me to let unconsciousness take its hold over me. Passing out was starting to become a bad habit of mine, because at that crucial moment, I let my body sink into a deep sleep.