I sighed. There was only one way I could find him now. “Could you take me home?”
“We could look some more if you’d like, drive around, see if I pick up anything.”
I shook my head. “I think I’m going to go home and see if I can locate him in my dreams.”
“You didn’t tell me you were still doing that. I’m not sure how safe that is.”
“I appreciate the concern, but I’ll be okay. Would you mind taking me home? And please stay close to your phone. I may need you in the middle of night.”
“I get that a lot.”
I smiled. “I don’t doubt it.”
He blushed. “Oh, come on. It’s been years since a woman has looked at me like that. I got extremely lucky finding my wife, some might even call it magic.” He winked.
I laughed. It was good to see Charlie more relaxed. Maybe Henry sending Charlie here wasn’t really for the other people, but more for himself. I liked this side of him a lot.
Too many hours later, when I was back at my home, sleep finally came, and I was transported to Lucien. The sight of him made me sick. He was alone inside a narrow room with concrete floors; above him, a florescent light flickered sporadically. Glass was shattered across the floor along with shards of wood from a nearby broken table. There had been a struggle, and Lucien obviously had lost. His body hung upright in the center of the room, unconscious, with his hands tied together, hanging high above his head.
At first glance I thought he was still wearing the red shirt from earlier, but as I drew closer, I saw that his arms had been slit from shoulder to wrist, bathing his body in blood.
Chapter 44
I frantically looked around for a way to help Lucian, my legs weak even in this dream-like state. Lying in the corner was his crumpled up jacket. Unable to physically touch anything, I mentally used magic to make the jacket rise into the air. I ripped it in two and then wrapped the halves around each arm to slow the bleeding. I then focused on the ropes tied around his wrists, but they were tied too tight. I need to physically be here. I gritted my teeth and moaned in frustration. Where was I?
The only door to the room was closed, and when I tried to open it with my mind, I discovered it was locked. And I was not mentally strong enough to force it open. Surveying the room, I found it to be some kind of shed encased with concrete. I crossed the room to the broken table lying on top of scattered papers and searched for anything that might help.
And then I found it—letterhead that read: Oakridge Storage Units. I willed myself back home and woke up. While I dressed, I telephoned Charlie.
He answered after the seventh ring. “I found him, Charlie.”
He yawned. “Found who?”
“Lucien, and he’s hurt.”
“But he’s alive, right?”
“Barely.” I threw on my shoes.
“He’s a vampire, so if we just wait until morning, then he’ll have healed himself. Can you call me back in a few hours?”
“No! There’s something wrong with the way he’s been hurt. He’s not healing.”
There was several seconds of silence. Finally, Charlie said, “Fine. I’ll pick you up in ten minutes.”
I hung up the phone and went outside to wait for him.
***
Following directions on my cell phone, I guided Charlie to the storage units. Once he parked, I jumped out of his car and climbed the gate that blocked the entrance into the units.
“Which one is he in?” Charlie asked after he removed a messenger bag from behind the driver’s seat. He skillfully scaled the fence and landed next to me on the other side, the strap of the bag across this chest.
“I’m not sure. Can you find out?”
I followed him as he briskly walked up and down the long gravel driveways between the cinderblock storage units. When he reached the end of the second aisle, he stopped in front of a black door. “In here!”
He made an attempt to throw his shoulder into the heavy door, but I stopped him. “Allow me.”
I focused my gaze on the lock built into the bulky door. It took little effort for me to break it open.
“My power pales compared to yours,” Charlie mumbled.
I rushed inside and worked quickly to untie Lucien’s hands. I tried to catch him as he fell, but his weight was too much for me, and he collapsed to the concrete floor.
“Nice catch,” Charlie said.
I scowled. “Maybe you should help me.”
Charlie bent down and inspected Lucien’s wounds. “Those are some nasty cuts. He must’ve been cut by a Saranton knife.”
“What’s that?”
Charlie poked at Lucien’s eye as if seeing if he was really unconscious. “It’s a magical knife created for the sole purpose of paralyzing a vampire. It won’t kill him, but if those wounds don’t heal, then he’ll never wake up.”
“How can I fix it?”
“Fight magic with magic,” he said.
“What does that mean?”