I leaned back against the wall. Roarke was right. I needed my Ink.
“Serafina, wake,” I whispered. “Sleep no more. Rest no longer.” I placed my palm on my right shoulder where my tattoo was and closed my eyes. My mind focused on Serafina’s form. Then I repeated the words over and over again. “Damn it, Serafina, it’s your move. You don’t want to lose, do you?” Nothing. Not a tickle, a slither, or a hint of heat. “Serafina.” I dug my nails through my shirt into the tattoo. “Checkmate.”
I gasped as a hot stabbing sensation went up my arm to my shoulder. “Damn it, Serafina,” I moaned. “Be nice.”
“I am being nice,” the featherlight voice replied.
My eyes flew open to see the stunning woman standing in a brilliant white light, her eyes beaming a turquoise hue from their thin, dark-lined rims. Hair hung in a black-and-lavender blanket down her back to the floor, with tiny pearls interwoven within the strands. Face pale, lips thin, and nose matching her features, slender and narrow. Regal, sexy, and yet my Ink had a childlike attitude.
The link between us remained, a thin string of light connecting us together, and yet Serafina could and did walk on her own. Often when I was a child, Serafina would drag me along like a puppy dog and refuse to go back to sleep when told.
We’d been best friends. My only friend and I had missed her so damn much. A tear trailed down my cheek as I stared at her in front of me.
“Damn you, Rayne-drop,” Serafina said in a whispered voice, which sounded raspy. “Leaving me locked up for so many years. I nearly died a few times, thanks to you.”
“Serafina, I’m sorry. It was too dangerous at first, and then Anton had put a—”
“Oh, fart on you. Look at me.” She gestured to her thin five-foot-nine form. “I’m a disgusting skinny piece of brittle wood because of you. Run your body into the ground again, and next time you need me, I’ll be dead.” Serafina took a step forward then smiled, revealing her white teeth that held two sharp fangs. “My beautiful little Rayne-drop. How are you? You feel better, look stronger.” She held out her hand and I took it. Then she yanked me to my feet and wrapped her arms around me and squeezed—tight. “I’ve missed you. I’ve missed our games and adventures. Can we play chess? Oh, pretty please. I’ve been sleeping so long my brain needs stimulation.”
“We don’t have time. I need your help. There are people after me, Serafina. I need to get out of here. They are—”
Serafina’s nose twitched. “Scars, like you. Interesting. You’ve been busy. Finally, others I can meet and play with. Let’s go play dodge ball or oh, oh, I’m good at hide and seek.”
I grabbed her hand when she went around the side of the house “No.” I softened my voice when I saw her disappointment. “There are others inside who want to hurt me. The Scars are fighting them. We have to leave and I need you to protect me.”
Serafina scrunched her nose. “Pooh, I’m finally released from prison and no playing. I want to play, Rayne-drop.”
The only way to work with Serafina was bribery, ‘cause she had a weakness—chess. “I swear we will play a game of chess as soon as we’re able.”
“How do I know you’re telling the truth?” Serafina gasped and her eyes widened. Then she moved closer to me and sniffed. “You smell like…” She giggled with her hand over her mouth. “A man. You were with a man, Rayne-drop. You’ve grown up since I last saw you. What was he like? Is his cock big?”
I groaned. Serafina had changed since I’d last seen her, too. She was still childlike, yet she spoke with adult words, which she never used to do. “Serafina! Please.”
Serafina sighed. “Okay, Rayne-drop. Chess. And I get to meet your man.”
“Deal. We can’t go out the main gate. They will see us.”
“No, they won’t.” Serafina peeked around the side of the house. “They are stupid vampires.”
I gasped. Vampires. Shit.
She raised both arms out to the side. “Come. I can mask us for thirty seconds. They won’t see or hear us. Don’t know if vampires can smell us, Rayne-drop. We go another way to be safe.”
I went into her arms and the heat from her body sank into me. It was refreshing and soothing, like a blanket that had just come out of the dryer.
“We go this way,” Serafina ordered. She held me to her as we walked across the lawn with no cover.
I was terrified the vampires would see us, but the Mask held and there were no shouts as we reached the edge of the property.
Serafina stopped. “I’ll throw you over the wall. But when I let you go, the Mask will drop. So be quick, quick. Okay?”
I nodded.
I stared up at the wall. It felt so familiar. Exactly the same as when I was twelve and trying to escape the compound, except I hadn’t had Serafina.