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“Get him back inside,” Frances said, dragging him behind the gate.
The staff lifted him and carried him to the house, laying him on the dining room table. He wasn’t moving.
“You have to do something,” Mackenzie said. The housekeeper ushered her out the door.
“Let them help him,” she said.
They stood in the kitchen together. The housekeeper handed her a damp cloth. At first, she didn’t know why and then she looked down at her bloody hands. She scrubbed it off in a frenzy.
“Are you injured?” the housekeeper asked.
Mackenzie lifted her shirt to find shallow claw marks in her stomach, but they were barely bleeding.
“I’m fine. Do you think he’ll be okay?”
The housekeeper shrugged.
Thirty minutes later, a man came into the kitchen, wiping his hands on a black rubber apron. He was short, with thinning grey hair and round glasses.
“Is Taryn going to be okay?” What she meant was, is he alive?
“He has lost a lot of blood. He’s going to need a transfusion.”
“So give him one.”
“We’ve discovered something of a problem, with his blood.”
“Does he need a relative?”
“No, any demon blood can be used to transfuse another demon. They are universal donors.”
“Then what’s the problem.”
“It appears Taryn is not a full demon.”
“Of course he is, I’ve seen his family tree. Trust me it’s all demons.”
“There was always doubt over the boy’s mother. From what I can see she was human.”
“No, that’s not possible. It’s against the rules.”
“Rules can be broken, you’re living proof.”
“How did you know?” she sputtered.
“Your scent. It’s unmistakable,” he replied.
“You‘re wrong about Taryn,” Mackenzie said, shaking her head. The way Taryn spoke about her heritage, he couldn’t be half-human. Or he didn’t know he was.
“Believe it or don’t believe it but right now you are the only one compatible for the transfusion.”
“And if he doesn’t get one?”
The doctor looked at her as if she was stupid, “He’ll die.”
She could see Frances in the hallway. Her face was cold and emotionless. She knew what Taryn was now. Any family loyalty she felt before was gone. So if she were to walk out the door and leave him to die, no one would stop her. She could get out, forget all this. If Lucien came looking for the talisman he could have it. That was all he wanted anyway. If the roles were reversed, he would let her die too.
She looked in on him from the doorway. His skin was pale, his stomach covered in bandages. He was hooked up to a drip.
If he were standing here in her place, he wouldn’t care. That was the demon part of him she guessed. It was part of her too. But so was her mother’s blood.
She kneeled down beside him and whispered in his ear, “You owe me you bastard.”
The doctor began the transfusion.
Exhausted after giving blood, Mackenzie was dozing in a chair. All she wanted to do was sleep for a days but she knew it was too risky. Frances might do something crazy. She lurched out of the chair grabbing the table for support. Taryn was still out. She shook him by the shoulders.
“Taryn wake up,” she said. She slapped his cheek.
He swiped a hand at her then it dropped with a thud onto the table.
“Get up now,” she ordered. Taryn sat upright so fast she was sure he had torn his stitches.
“Can you walk?”
“I don’t know. What the hell happened?” he groaned.
“You were stabbed. You’ve had a transfusion. Demons heal fast though, right?”
“Yeah, they do,” he muttered. He was completely out of it.
“Taryn focus. We need to leave right now. It’s not safe.”
He swung his legs off the table trying to stand. He tipped forward into Mackenzie’s arms. She struggled to hold him up. His skin was sweaty and she couldn’t get a grip on him.
“Move your ass, Taryn,” she ordered.
The door to the dining room opened. Frances came in, flanked by two bodyguards.
“He’s not going anywhere. Neither of you are. Grab them,” she said.
One of the bodyguards pinned Mackenzie’s arms behind her back while the other threw Taryn over his shoulder. They were taken downstairs to the basement and locked in a cell.
“What are you going to do with us?” Mackenzie said, slamming her hands into the bars.
“With you? You’re expendable. But my nephew here is worth something to his father. You’ll stay here for now, half breed, until I decide what to do with you.”
When they left the basement, Mackenzie began searching for another exit. The cell they were in had been dug out of the earth. Steel bars surrounded it and beyond that were stonewalls. The door was locked with a key.
Taryn was unconscious, and of no use to her. She felt like giving up, just letting Frances do what she wanted; this was never going to end. She slid to the floor. She was just a half-breed. No matter what Taryn said, she had serious doubts that there was any demon in her.
But even though she felt like giving up, there was still a tiny stubborn part of her that wouldn’t let her. What was it that Taryn told her? Anger is the key?
She went to the door, trying to summon up whatever demon was in her. Bracing herself, she kicked the door as hard as she could. It didn’t even budge. She fell to the ground clutching her leg.
“Did that hurt?” Taryn said.
“I think I broke my ankle,” she moaned.
He laughed softly. Mackenzie propped herself up against the wall, massaging her ankle.
“Why are we down here?” he said. He seemed dazed.
“Your aunt isn’t exactly happy with us.”
“She never is. What did she say?” He wasn’t even surprised to be locked up.
“Something about speaking to your father. Maybe she’s going to hold you for ransom.”
Using the wall as leverage, he got up.
“We need to get out of here.”
“Duh. Any ideas?” she said.
“One. It probably won’t work and we could both die.”
“A lot of your plans are like that. But since we’re going to be murdered anyway, let’s go for it.”
“I’m going to try and transport us outside the compound,” he said.
“Why don’t you just transport us out the door?”
“Because I can’t. Not with the spells on the place. You can’t get in, but you can get out. The only problem is I have never traveled that far before and I’m still weak.”
Mackenzie sighed, “Let’s do it.”
“You’re sure?”
“What choice do we have?”
“Hold on to me,” Taryn said.
She wrapped her arms around his waist and held on tight. The red mist enveloped them, but when it cleared, they were still in the cell.
“I can’t do it,” he gasped. He was shaking from the exertion.
“Yes, you can,” she ordered.
She squeezed her eyes shut, praying it would work. The ground disappeared under her feet. When she opened her eyes, she was relieved to find that they were outside.
“You did it,” she said.
Taryn sputtered a mouthful of blood on her and passed out.