Page 69 of Redeemed
They couldn’t just leave a pile of wood lying around for anyone to find. There must be wards in place to keep people away. I don’t sense any magic, though. It’s weird. It’s…wrong.
Trajan materializes. “The cave is down past those rocks,” he says, pointing to a mass of darkness jutting out into the water. Why would a vampire know his way around a beach? I decide I don’t want to know.
A pinpoint of light marks a lifeguard tower. “Maybe whoever they’ve left guarding the place is in the cave with the Princess.”
“We’ll find out soon enough,” Abby says. She’s light on her feet, alert, and her presence soothes something I didn’t know was raw. Marcus, too, bolsters me, despite the hurt between us. He’s ten or fifteen feet ahead. He’s not tall but he’s always been broader than me. Now he’s lanky, bony even. We haven’t talked much since he’d shown up in the court room, but eventually we’ll have to. Assuming I can forgive him.
Haven’t decided yet. Trajan and Connor are my world, but family gives me something more. The fact that Dad let him live must mean something. I’m just not sure I want to know what.
With Trajan in the lead, we bypass the pyre, heading for the rocks. “The cave should be close.”
Marcus and Cliffe stay on the beach. Trajan moves swiftly, navigating the uneven surface with more grace than I’m capable of. The rocks are rough, tide pools opening up between one step and the next. We reach a small patch of sand and Trajan points in the direction of a patch of darker darkness than the rest of the dark around us.
I take the lead here because the entrance to the cave is so low. I crouch, scooting along the sandy floor, until I’m able to straighten. Abby turns on the flashlight on her phone, a brave circle of brightness that gets swallowed by the dark too soon. I turn my flashlight on, too, and we head for the back of the cave.
Trajan passes us, but then he can probably see better than we can with our flashlights. “Here,” he says, and I pick up my pace.
He’s standing next to a regulation medical gurney. There are bits of seaweed stuck on the wheels and legs, as if the tide’s been washing them a couple times a day, and there’s a body on the bed. The body is wrapped in blankets, but even without seeing her face, I make an educated guess.
“It’s her,” Trajan says. “It has to be.”
“How do we get her out of here?” Abby asks.
Trajan surveys the area. “Lifting her might trigger some kind of alarm, but I can’t see us dragging this contraption across the rocks.”
“Head out, and Abby and I will get her through the mouth of the cave.”
“Not till we’re sure lifting her doesn’t trigger flying knives or something.” Trajan lifts one of the blankets, revealing a trio of belts. One is buckled across her shoulders, one at her waist, and the other across her thighs.
“All right, Jacques,” he murmurs. “How would you rig this?”
He unbuckles the belt at her legs and flinches. Nothing else happens. Abby gives a heavy exhale. She and I are standing out of the way, I hope.
Trajan unbuckles the other two belts, each time waiting for things to explode. Nothing happens. He gives her body an experimental lift, and nothing blows up.
“I can’t decide if he’s arrogant or just stupid,” he says, catching my gaze. “I’ll see you outside.”
“Outside?”
“The tunnel’s too small for both me and Tatiana. I’ll go through and you bring her to me.”
His idea makes as much sense as anything else, so we trade places and I slide my arms under the Princess’s body. She’s dead weight and not much warmer than the stone surrounding us. Abby leads the way with the lights from both our phones. When we reach the entrance, I get down on my knees and sidle out with the Princess still in my arms.
Trajan takes her from me, and we climb over the rocks to where we’ve left Cliffe and Marcus. The moon is brighter than my flashlight, so I shut it off and pocket my phone. We reach the beach. Marcus and Cliffe are in the shadows behind the pyre, waving frantically.
“Company,” he hisses.
I pivot, damning my own stupidity. A row of figures stands between us and the beach access road. There’s at least ten of them and there’s not a friendly face in the bunch. “Fuck.”
I knew it had been too easy.
“Take off,” I say. I can’t look at Trajan, but it’s obvious what he has to do. “Get the Princess out of here.”
Trajan goes very still, as if he’s caught in some internal debate.
“Go now before they get any closer.”
He shoots me a glance, one that says more than words. “Don’t let any of them follow me, and don’t get hurt.”
