Templar Vampires - Midnight Sun Part 23

At Randall Manor, Constantine stood in the doorway of the kitchen. Arms folding over his chest, feet braced apart, he already knew what Sage had to say.

Sebastian cursed as he slammed the phone down on the table. "She's not home."

Raphael ended the call to Tristan. "Luc isn't at Seacrest."

"b.l.o.o.d.y h.e.l.l." Sebastian's frustration was evident in his tone.

Allie and Lucian were gone and no matter how hard he tried, Constantine couldn't sense who took them or where they were. His G.o.dd.a.m.n brain hurt from the effort of reaching out with his mind to locate them.

All that came back to him was nothingness-never a good thing.

As soon as Constantine woke for the night, the overwhelming absence of Lucian hit him like a physical blow to the mind. He felt the loss of his brother as keenly as if a piece of his own body had been torn away.

He immediately woke Sebastian and Raphael. The moment they gained consciousness they too felt Lucian's absence.

None of them ever spent a night away from the safety of their sanctuary. Not in seven centuries. For Luc to have done so now didn't bode well for what might have gone down last night.

This was the first time since Constantine became a vampire that he couldn't feel the presence of one of his fellow Templars. Needless to say the feeling was on par with what it felt like for him to have his soul ripped out of his body. He may be a miserable son of a b.i.t.c.h on his best day, but after hundreds years of having those b.a.s.t.a.r.ds in his head, it was a h.e.l.l of a thing now to have one of his blood-brothers gone.

At first they a.s.sumed Lucian's sudden disappearance was the work of the Obyri, fellow cursed Templars who couldn't give a s.h.i.+t less about redemption. They rejected that idea almost as soon as they thought it. If those f.u.c.kers managed to get to Luc, Constantine would have known it immediately. He would have felt their presence the second they pa.s.sed into the area.

That left them to a.s.sume it was renegades who took Lucian and Allie. It forced their hand, pus.h.i.+ng them to declare open war on the inferior vampires. Once it was done, such an order couldn't-nor wouldn't-be undone. s.h.i.+t was going to go down badly and would bring too much attention to their existence. Tristan might even be forced to leave Damascus, something d.a.m.ned dangerous for all the Templars, since this was where the relic the Guardian protected needed to be.

"I want blood for this." Raphael's incensed declaration vibrated through Constantine. Rogue's fury caused his own to rise to a seriously dangerous level.

"You'll get your blood," Sebastian promised with ominous intent.

The only time Constantine ever saw the promise of death light Sebastian's eyes was right before they charged into battle, when Sage, always the logical one, transformed. The cool facade of civility was stripped away and in its place was the fierce warrior who lay beneath it.

Constantine also felt his fear.

The others might believe Sebastian had loved Selena, but Constantine knew the truth. Sebastian couldn't have loved her. How could he, when the woman was nothing more than shadows? Sage stayed by her, watching over her, protecting her, out of obligation. Not out of love. That he reserved solely for Allie.

She had his heart-what was left of it after Michael destroyed it.

Constantine stepped forward and, in a rare show of affection, put his hand on Sebastian's shoulder.

"We'll find them, Sage."

Sebastian gave him a nod, beyond words as his emotions ran so hot Constantine had to step away fromhim lest Sebastian's rage burn him. "Of that I have no doubt."

Sebastian had every intention of hunting down the b.a.s.t.a.r.ds who took Allie and Lucian. He would bring a reckoning to them that would rock h.e.l.l itself.

He turned to Constantine. "Go to Allie's and get Lexine. I want her at Seacrest where she'll be safe."

Then to Raphael, "I need you to go to The Gate and see if you can find anything that might tell us what happened with Lucian,"

"I'm already there, Sage." Raphael had his keys in hand and his body loaded with weapons. He tied his blond hair back in a queue before tugging on the long black trench coat that concealed the various blades strapped to his person. "I'll meet you both at Seacrest."

Sebastian nodded curtly. Even though vampires didn't age, right then he felt every one of his years pressing down on him. The weight was oppressive, nearly crus.h.i.+ng him as his worry for Allie and Lucian shook him to his core.

He felt so G.o.dd.a.m.n helpless.

He should have forced her not to go to that b.l.o.o.d.y meeting, should have gone with her if he couldn't talk her out of going. Lucian shouldn't have gone to The Gate alone...

"At least they're still alive, Sebastian," Constantine said to him. "Remember that and try to hold it together. We can't have you losing your s.h.i.+t and going off."

Sebastian ran a hand over his shorn head. "I know." His tone held all the pent up emotions he was fighting back. "I can't loose her, C."

Even he heard the note of desperation in his voice. "f.u.c.k all, what if they have Luc in a cage..."

He couldn't go on, couldn't even entertain the idea of Allie and Lucian being held like animals. If his thoughts went there, his mind would snap and he'd be no better than a mindless beast out for blood.

Constantine gave him a curt nod to acknowledge the unspoken understanding.

The worst thing you could do to a Templar was to cage them. After three years in that French prison, the last place any of them wanted to be was at the mercy of a captor. Not even an eternity in h.e.l.l was as much of a threat to their sanity as one moment of captivity was.

They'd all been through that and had the scars to prove it-both inside and out.

The need for blood raged in Sebastian as he went to his room and grabbed his baldric. The weapon felt good in his hands, calming him somewhat and taking the edge off his fury. As long as he had his sword he'd never be helpless.

At least she's alive.

He ran his hand over the cross pattee in the pommel of his sword as Constantine's words came back to him.

Alive. Yes. Allie was life, and so much a part of him he no longer knew where he ended and she began.

When he was a boy he never knew love, never knew it to miss it. As a man he gave his life to the sword and to G.o.d, having no desire to know a love other than for the thrill of battle. Once dead, he believed himself beyond something to be loved or who could love in return. Yet Allie burst into his existence and became the soul he lost.

Allie's love for him held the power to chase away lifetimes of loneliness and cold. For that alone he would make d.a.m.n sure the ground ran red with the blood of those who dared to take her from him.

He pulled on his baldric and his duster before grabbing his keys off the dresser. He stomped down the stairs, past Constantine who was strapping an a.r.s.enal of weapons to his body, and out to his car.

His only thought was of finding Allie and Lucian. He fully intended on bringing h.e.l.l down upon the renegades who had them. The need to spill their blood consumed him as he slammed the Charger into drive and hauled a.s.s toThe Specter's office.

The renegades, who dared to take from them, were going to learn exactly why the Templars were the most feared creatures this side of h.e.l.l.

Chapter Twenty-Three.

Slapping the palms of his hands to his temples, Constantine doubled over as a blinding pain pierced his skull. Robbing him of sight and reason, all he could do was drag air into his dead lungs as blades picked away at his brain.

And the screaming-Jesus Christ, the screaming of his name over and over inside his mind...

Too much for his senses to take, he felt like his G.o.dd.a.m.n head was going to explode.

"f.u.c.k it all," he hissed out between gritted teeth. He dropped to his knees with a tortured groan, wished for the millionth time Fate hadn't forced these visions on him.

The agony of the visions nearly unbearable, he wondered if he was ever going to know an existence free of pain.

Having gone to Allie's to get Lex, they were only now returning to Seacrest.

As soon as the vision hit him, bringing with it the pain, Lex fell to her knees beside him. Sebastian, already back fromThe Specter's office, came running over when she reached out her hand to touch him.

"No!" he yelled, causing her to pull back her arm and jump away. "If you touch him you'll only make it worse."

Constantine, infinitely grateful Sage stopped her, knew if he felt her gentle touch on him he'd shatter into a thousand pieces.

Grinding out a groan between clenched teeth, Constantine held his head in his hands and rocked back and forth as agony stabbed at his brain. "What's happening to him?"

Constantine heard the fear in Lex's tone. Fearfor him, notof him. Out of the corner of his eye he saw she still knelt beside him, her hands hovering over him.

"He has telepathy," Tristan explained to her. "If the connection is too strong, thoughts, images, sounds, all come at him in furious a.s.sault to him senses."

Her fingers brushed through his hair and he nearly died. Again.

"But he'll be okay, right?" Her concerned whisper pushed him over the edge.

Seeing a scene playing out in his head through Allie's eyes, he saw two renegades take her, though what he saw was blurry at best. Allie's riotous thoughts came at him too fast and loud to distinguish one from another. The one clear vision was of Allie being hit. The punch to her face turned her world black.

Too much of an a.s.sault to his senses, Constantine's body began to shake violently as agony tore through him with the force of a freight train. He opened his mouth to speak but words were lost to him. All he could do was grab at Sebastian and pull him down to his level. He brought Sage's face a mere inch from his and growled. His fangs were bared in a vicious snarl as struggled against the waves of pain was.h.i.+ng through him.

Sebastian nodded his understanding. Constantine let him go and sagged with relief. "Help me, Tris." He heard Sebastian say. "He's a heavy f.u.c.ker."

Next thing he knew, Sebastian and Tristan lifted him off the floor and carried him to the sofa. Lex came racing around, keeping herself as close to him as possible without getting in the way. Why she gave a s.h.i.+t, he didn't know, but he was d.a.m.n glad she did. Her being near seemed to make the pain ease a bit.

When her hand went to her mouth and her eyes filled with tears, he wanted to tell her not to cry, to save her tears for someone who was worthy of them. But again, words were beyond him.

"Is it Lucian?" Sebastian asked him.

"No,"

That came out in a harsh hiss laced with all the pain that wracked his body.

"Allie?" The note of desperation in Sage's voice pushed through the fog of pain.

Gritting his teeth, he nodded. "Renegades," he rasped out as voices and visions invaded his brain at a lighting speed. So fast they made his eyes feel as if they were going to pop right out of their sockets.

"She's alive."

Though it d.a.m.n near killed him to push those words out, he had to give Sebastian that one small a.s.surance. Sage was good to him and he loved Allie. Constantine had to give him hope his mate was alive.

At least for now.

Alive.

Allie was alive. He hadn't lost her. Somewhere behind him, Sebastian heard Lex whisper, "Thank G.o.d."

She said what he was thinking.

"Thank you, G.o.d. Thank you..."

Still, knowing Allie was alive did nothing to quiet the violent fury shooting through him. It demanded vengeance. It called for renegade blood. He knew the rage wouldn't quiet until that need was meet.

Until Allie was back with him where she belonged.

His hand went to the pocket of his jeans, resting over Allie's keys. He found them in front ofThe Specter's office. As soon as he touched them he felt Allie's fear. It lingered on the air, choking him with its intensity.

He wanted to go off half-c.o.c.ked and hunt down the b.a.s.t.a.r.ds who put that fear into his woman. But his reason overcame his emotions and he returned to Seacrest to wait for Constantine and Raphael. A life spent in battle taught him not to charge blindly in without the Templars at his back. Especially not with Allie and Lucian's lives on the line.

Why renegades would target Allie and Lucian made no sense. It was also suicide. Renegades, knowing they were inferior vampires, liked their immortality too much to give it up in a losing battle with Templars.

The only equals the Templars had in the nocturnal hierarchy were the Order of the Rose, a sisterhood of vampires who were the daughters of a Druid priestess. And you didnot f.u.c.k with them. Ever.

Since four members of the Order made their home here in Damascus, Templars would occasionally brush past one of them. That's where their contact began and ended. Seemed only Raphael was able to cozy up with the Order, and even he gave those women wide berth.

If Lucian was right, and renegades were gunning for him, it still wouldn't explain why they would take Allie too. She didn't know anything about the Daystar. If she did, the Templars would have the thing in their possession by now.

s.h.i.+t wasn't adding up. A piece of the puzzle was missing and Sebastian was determined to find it.

Tristan came to stand behind the sofa as Lex dropped to her knees before Constantine, who looked as he had back in Chinon the night they broke him.

Lex was silently weeping with worry for Dragon.

"Don't worry, Constantine, I won't touch you," she said softly, wringing her hands.

A long while pa.s.sed, the only sounds in the hall the hissing of the fire dancing in the hearth and Constantine's ragged breathing. One of his hands gripped the edge of the cus.h.i.+ons. The other held tight to the back of the sofa. Every muscle in his body strained under his pallid flesh. His mouth was set in ahard line as he fought back his pain.

"How are you doing?" Tristan asked when Constantine finally looked as if his body was starting to relax.

"Great. You?" Dragon ground out sarcastically. He slammed his eyes shut. Sebastian knew he was a.s.sailed with another barrage of visions.

He wanted to demand Constantine tell him what he saw. He needed to know what Allie was showing him. But he held his tongue. He wouldn't add to his suffering by making Constantine tell him the things he ached to know.

Constantine opened his eyes and ran a hand through his mess of hair. A muscle ticked in his jaw.

"Dark," he ground out roughly. His upper lip drew back in a nasty snarl. He continued to gasp for air.

"Tied up."