Page 82 of Cursed Lifeline

Out of the corner of my eye, I notice the shadow move closer. Hovering just far enough away that I can’t make it out completely, I urge Caelum, with a nudge of my knee, to take notice of our new company.

“Me, Alfred, Silas,” he mumbles.

Turning, he glances in the direction of the figure. A wicked immoral grin spreads across his face that instantly turns my blood cold.

“Silas?” I ask, but Caelum rises from his spot on the bench next to me and starts to walk off into the train yard.

I watch his back for a moment in disbelief as he stalks toward the figure with malicious intent. Rising, I raise on my tiptoes to try and get a better look at who it might be. When Caelum doesn’t stop, and the figure stays put and doesn’t venture any closer, I yell out, “Caelum, who’s Silas?”

“You’d be smart to run right now,” a male voice says behind me.

I whirl around to see a man emerge through a low-lying mist and the shadows of the train station with a lady at his side. A young woman who looks to be about my age. She looks me up and down like I’m a disappointment. It puts me on edge. Makes me angry. Jealous even. My hand instinctively closes over Felix’s dagger.

“Excuse me?” I ask.

The man releases a heavy sigh. He glances at the woman, who looks up at him as if she’s waiting for instruction.

“Let me.” The girl begs. “Please.”

But the man doesn’t answer and his stare swings back my way.

“It’s been a long time,” he smiles. “And while I wish we’d met again on better circumstances, duty calls.”

Flustered, I take a step back and mumble, “What?”

“Celeste,” he grins. The woman looks up expectantly as he nods towards the train yard.

“Finally,” the girl squeals with excitement as she rushes past me, jumps the platform, and rushes quickly after Caelum.

What the hell?

Taking off after her, I pull Felix’s dagger into one hand and reach up under my skirt, quickly arming myself with the stake. Celeste stealthy does a cartwheel, then a backflip, before she somersaults into the safety of an empty train car. In awe, I follow quietly behind and shield myself from the view of Caelum and the dark figure in the distance. Hiding against the same car she just entered, I peer around the side and watch Caelum approach the shadowed form. His steps are calm and calculated. Finally, the figure drawing him closer comes into the light and grins. His black eyes and long canines tell me all I need to know. Breathing rapidly, I grip Felix’s dagger and raise the stake just before I start to take a step around the car.

“Pst,” quietly sounds behind me. Swinging around, the woman from earlier pokes her head out of the car and gestures for me to join her. When I hesitate, she rolls her eyes. “Two slayers are better than one. With any luck, if we work together, we stand a better chance of helping your friend.”

Confused, alarmed, but slightly less worried, I quietly walk her way and ease myself into the car. She nods to the right, and I follow her as we make our way over straw, freight boxes, and crates. Coming to the back of the car, we look through the slats and witness Caelum standing toe-to-toe with another vampire.

“Who...” I begin to ask.

“Sh,” she hisses as they start to talk.

She takes a stake from a bag slung across her side and presses her head against the wood to listen. Taking the hint, I do the same. When all I make out is mumbling, my mind starts to race, wondering how we’re going to save Caelum before it’s too late.

“Temperance knows better than not to finish her meal,” the vampire hisses loud enough for me to finally hear.

“And I suppose you came to indulge,” Caelum snaps back. The intruder cocks his head and stares at Caelum blankly. Curiously. “Well, before you do. I’d like to at least know the name of the man who’s feasting on my last link to a somewhat normal existence. I’d say life, but my life’s been nothing close to normal in over a hundred years.”

“It’s a mystery you’ve been able to avoid being hunted that long,” the assailant smiles. “After all, with the fae blood in your veins, it makes you all that more appealing to our kind.”

I watch them with bated breath through the cracks as the undead takes a step forward.

Caelum shivers. Oddly, the vampire stays quiet.

Eventually, Caelum’s nerves get the better of him, and he starts to ramble, “Well, it’s not been easy. Either that or I’m not as appealing as your kind may think. Or, perhaps it took the right woman to sweep me off my feet and...”

It's good to know Caelum’s sense of humor is still intact, even when he’s staring death in the eye. I shake my head just as Caelum’s words get lost when another voice enters my mind.

Trap door.

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