ROTTEN LOVE - Chapter 24: Chapter 24

Subtle voices around me are heard but I cannot distinguish the words. There is a harsh stern voice and a lighter one going back and forward.
My vision is blank. Nothing is in sight. Am I dead?
No.
The voices I hear are confirmation. However, I can't seem to see anything. I keep breathing.
"This is your fault," the lighter voice yells.
"I have no idea what that message is supposed to mean," the harsh one responds.
Silence.
A laugh.
"We will see what Helena has to say about it," the lighter voice speaks.
I recognize the condescending tone; the voice that usually cuts into anyone that gets in their way. Marisa.
I remember. I was at Zain's and then blood.
Marisa is in danger. Then, again, she sounds well.
Good. Zain was able to find her.
That means I am ok. My body is probably trying to get better and catch up. It will take longer for me.
If I could cipher a little, then maybe I can expedite the process but how do I let them know without speaking?
I attempt to open my eyes. It does not work.
I focus on my surroundings. I am on a hard surface. I feel the rough plank at my back.
I focus on my hand, willing it to move but that fails too.
"You will say nothing to her," the harsh voice commands. The increase speed in my chest indicates it as Zain.
What are they arguing about?
Marisa and I are injured. This does not seem like the appropriate time.
I want to tell them to stop but my throat feels dry.
"Scare, are we? Probably because you know she isn't an idiot. She will see right through your bullshit."
"No, but she will not be able to handle the news of her coven," Zain replies. There is something I detect in his voice, uncertainty.
Wait. He said my coven.
I can't hear any more voices.
Where is my coven? How did Marisa leave the ward I left around the cabin?
My witches would have never gone against my orders. Well, maybe, if Marisa ordered it but she knew she had to stay put.
I started to become more desperate. I have to move. My eyes flash open and the sudden exposure to light burns. I shut them. Then I open them. I lick my lips.
Marisa says, "when I said to not mention them, I didn't only mean my vamps. Do not have her coven in your mouth either. You soil their memory."
She is sitting next to me, perched on top of the table, I recognize. Her hands held mine.
I can cipher but I study her. She is unwell. Paler than usual which should not be possible. I shouldn't cipher her.
But I want to move and communicate. Marisa is so focused on arguing with Zain that she does not notice I am awake.
I take another moment to gather my strength and look at her.
Her grey eyes intently gazed at Zain. Both her delicate hands grab one of mine, shielding them.
I can feel my chest become lighter.
She is fine. She is okay. I repeat to myself.
I thought for a moment that she was lost. Relief consumes me.
If she is here, then everything is okay. I feel the side of my face become slightly cold. A tear escapes my eyes. The emotion is great.
The motion finally grabs Marisa's attention.
"Oh, Helena, your awake," she cleans my face from the unconscious water works.
"Shh, relax, I am here. Calm down," she tries to comfort me.
I want to ask so many things but I am still unable to speak or move. From my peripheral, I see a large body rush toward me. Then, Marisa snarls.
It's Zain. He stops. Her eyes threatened him, a red hue wanting to surface.
"Don't." She warns.
I want to roll my eyes because this hardly seems the time to be territorial. To my surprise, he listened and stayed a few feet from the table.
That's odd.
Marisa looks back at me. "Do you need anything?"
I can't reply. She looks at me confused but with such fondness. I wiggle my fingers from the hand she is not grasping.
If she sees my hand out, she will know. I can't quite tell if it worked but her gaze shifts.
She gives a small sigh of relief. "Of course, take all you need. You don't need permission."
I rethink it through. She should not let me cipher her in this state. She is confused as to why I had not started.
I shift my gaze to Zain. He notices and comes closer. Another menacing snarl from her.
"Helena I am here. You don't need him." She says with distaste. Her eyes scrunch. I know that look. She is hurt I don't want to use her.
I continue to look at Zain and he gets close. He is on my other side.
His eyes contain a storm of distress then slightly lighten as our eyes connect; the sky reuniting with it's earth. He breathes deeply. It is so loudly heard that I think it's the first real breath he has taken since my accident.
I wiggle my fingers again looking at him. It's him I need.
He receives the message and his warm hand instantly encompasses mine. My body immediately loosens at his touch. I would commence but Marisa possessibly holds my other.
She can't be touching me while I cipher Zain. It would take from her too. I give her a pointed look.
Zain is the one who speaks. "Let go. She does not want you at the moment."
"You are no better than me." She defensively answers.
"She can see your state. She is still protecting you," he growls, with disdain as he says the last words.
She gives me a quizzical look and I plead with my eyes. She sighs before gently placing my hand down. She scoots herself about a centimeter.
She was not going to leave my side. Then crosses her arms as she stares Zain down to continue. I turn my gaze back at Zain. My breath almost hitches.
His eyes rake my body. There is such intense tenderness but also a raw negative emotion I feel coming out of him. Something is wrong. I close my eyes and focus on his contact, his magical essence.
Like his hand, his essence envelops me and enters as I call it forward toward me. I picture it going from my feet to my legs, abdomen, arms, and shoulder until I can feel nothing but him.
My entire body finally feels connected to my mind. Opening my eyes, I feel both of them starting at me.
I lick my lips before saying, "Water."
Marisa gasps and in a flash, her hands cradle my head as she brings the cup of water to my lips. I make an effort to sit up but grunt as the pain in my abdomen starts to become present.
"Slow," Zain orders me.
I keep drinking until I finish the cup dry. Marisa supports my shoulders and I put light pressure on my wound to sit up.
I observe her again. Her bright grey eyes are dulled. She smiles. It's fake. Her eyes don't lie. Not to me at least.
After a breath, I ask, "What happened to you? Are you okay?"
She brings a strand of hair that has loosened from my braids behind my ear carefully. "It's not the time for that yet. First, you must get better."
"And are you better?"
She hesitantly answers, "Yes. The wound has not healed but my blood loss...um, it's restored. I have no pain. I expect it's the surge of the blood. I'll probably feel it later on. Sort of like you."
I smirk slightly, "Nope. The pain is very much present."
She nods. "I meant we will be healing apparently at the same rate. We are wound buddies." She lifts her shirt to show her bandaged abdomen.
I quickly grab her hands, bringing them down. I looked everywhere, in a routine way, to ensure no one saw her.
I smile at her indiscretion. I look down now at me and notice the enlarged shirt. The musk forest scent gives me certainty it's Zain's.
I don't have to lift my shirt to see what's under it. I feel the pain radiating all across my body.
I give Zain a look, "thank you for saving her."
He simply nods. No answer. Marisa scoffs bringing my attention toward her.
She eyes Zain with such malice. It's more than a simple hatred. She shouldn't be that against him. She was indifferent towards him. Now, there is something in her stare, an eternal grudge. I can sense it.
"Helena, we must leave," Marisa informs me.
I scrunch my eyebrows in confusion. We can't. Whatever happened to her, it was due to a breach. I must reorganize our group. Find the fault in my wards. Then, I'll remain here to get Jason.
"Sure, tell me first how you got hurt. How did you leave the cabin? Call Maddox and Adena. I can fix whatever happened with the entrapment."
The plan is formulated. There are tons to do but if I ignore these tasks then I'll lose more than my brother.
I wait for Maddox to enter or my right-hand witch, Adena. No one comes inside. I start to look at our surroundings and notice only Marisa and Zain are present.
Actually, Max is also in the corner by the wall with... Adam?
He is slouched against a chair. I raise my eyebrows in surprise and instinctively try to help him.
I move quicker than my body allows me and hop off the table. The weight and the pain are too great. I crumble under the pressure. The impact is felt on my knees.
"Shit," Marisa swears as she tries to bring me up.
Another hand is felt around my bicep. Zain lifts me quicker to my feet. Both don't let go.
"Relax, babe, you can't help him any more than you can help yourself right now. Adam is fine. He is drained but will regain once he replenishes the lost." Zain tells me.
I turn to look at Marisa who is finally staring at Adam. The news seems to break her but gives her some relief.
Did she do that? Adam probably offered her blood during her weakened state and didn't tell her when it was too much. He does that when it comes to her. He does not know his limits.
Something does not feel right. It's more than Adam. More than Marisa being wounded or Zain helping her.
Maddox isn't here. My coven isn't here. The rest of the vamps are missing too.
My heart quivers with an intense sense of dread. I am imagining things.
"Where is everyone?" I ask, terrified of the answer because even though no one has told me anything, I know something is a miss.
They would never leave Marisa alone. Maddox would have been here, especially in Zain's territory.
"You should sit down." Marisa attempts to guide me to sit on a chair.
I shove them off. "Where is Maddox? He would never leave me alone in this state."
I see Zain's fist his hands.
I quickly corrected myself. "He would never leave us in our state."
"He isn't here." Marisa carefully says.
"Then where is he? Is he investigating the situation?"
I study their eyes.
No.
"Is he on parol here?"
Their eyes divert me again.
That's another no.
"Where is Maddox? Where is everyone?!"
My pitch gets higher and angrier. I grab a hold of Marisa by her shoulders. "Do not lie to me. Together we can fix whatever is wrong but I need to know the facts first. Everything is rectifiable."
Marisa's eyes tremble. She grabs my hands from her shoulders and simply holds them in hers. She eyes me. The loss is so clear. Her eyes are sad. Her lashes are coded with moisture.
She is trying hard to keep it together. My adrenaline shoots out. She wants to cry but can't. She is stopping herself because of Zain. I would usually respect her wishes and willfulness but not now.
I push some more. I encourage, "Marisa it's not over. Whoever we lost we can go get them?"
I formulate because I know. We lost someone.
I pry, "Whoever attacked you, they took Maddox didn't they?"
She nods her head yes. I shake at the confession. Okay. We can handle this. We will find them. It's probably the same people who took Jason.
We have to search the cabins. Hopefully, they were more sloppy, and more clues were left. I steady my worried heart.
"Got it. Okay, we can do this. Let's go to the area. Call everyone in." I start giving orders and begin moving toward the door painfully slow. I stop when no one follows.
"I can't," Marisa says looking back at me.
"How many are missing," I begin to understand.
"Everyone," she says with lament.
That is not possible. How were they able to subdue everyone at once?
"Everyone?! Of course. Explains the room. Zain we need your help," I walk toward him. I grab his arm.
His lips are in a tight line. His jaw tense. Is he refusing to help us in our time of need?
"You won't," I ask, clearly not happy.
"I can't," he answers.
"You mean you refuse."
"I can't, babe."
I let go of him and grab Marisa's hand, infuriated. "We have no time to lose. Are you strong enough to carry Adam? We have to go. Every second counts."
I drag her toward Adam's slumped body. She stops us before getting to him.
I look at her like she has a third eye. What the hell is she doing? Everything has gone to shit. Maddox is missing. Scratch that everyone is gone and she is quivering like a dumb child.
We can fix this. I can fix this.
"Snap out of it Marisa. Let's go." I shake her.
"We can't."
"Why can't we?! I know how things seem but we will find everyone. Just move your ass." I yell at her. There is something dark in the pit of my stomach.
She savagely pulls her hand away from mine. "There is nothing to find. They are dead."
I stumble back. The sensation that encompasses me is even greater than the physical pain I am trying to ignore.