Anything For Rachel – Episode 48

#Episode_48

 

❇❇❇❇❇❇❇ ❇❇❇❇❇❇❇

 

 

Calvin stretched his arm out in front of me protectively and glared at Lexton.

 

 

“What are you doing here?” He snapped. “How did you escape?”

 

Lexton stayed about a yard away from us, her hands down at her sides and she kept her expression even. “The same way you all did.” She said simply. “I’ve been to the garden plenty of times, and with everything the way it was, I didn’t want to risk staying there anymore.” She took a tentative step forward, but I pushed out from behind Calvin and stood in front of him.

 

 

“How do we know you aren’t infected, Lexton?” I demanded.

 

“You need to stay back.”

 

 

She stepped back and held up her hands. “I’m not.” She assured me, but I still didn’t want her anywhere near Calvin. “I came after you because I needed to tell you both something.” She said softly, then looked around. “But can we do it somewhere a little less private? The sun is about to rise too.” She said nervously looking up at the dark grey sky, the light snow slowly turning into an icy drizzle.

 

 

I narrowed my eyes at her. “Why less private?” I asked her.

 

 

“Because I’m afraid he’ll kill me.” She whispered, looking at Calvin. “I want to be in front of other people…humans, before I tell you.”

 

 

A new chill covered my skin that had nothing to do with the coldness. I glanced at Calvin and he nodded to me as we turned to walk inside the hotel lobby. “This is as public as it is going to get.” Calvin said harshly as he pointed over to the little older man standing behind the check-in desk trying to keep his heavily wrinkled eyes open. “Now tell me.”

 

 

“I think I know one of the men against you.” She said softly, pulling her slightly damp hair to one side and keeping her eyes cast down. “About a year ago, there was a man…His name was Demetri, and he was visiting Castrum de Petra for a month or so.” She whispered. “In his time, we became…intimate.”

 

 

“He was a vampire?” I asked and she nodded. “Why do you think he’s one of the rebels?”

 

 

Lexton shook her head at herself. “He was…not a nice man.” She chose her words carefully. “He was kind to me, but in hindsight it was probably just to see what I might have known about you.” She told Calvin. “He hated you.”

 

 

“Calvin?” I asked her. “Why would anyone hate Calvin?”

 

 

“I don’t know.” She answered, looking up at Calvin. “But he was never quiet about his distaste for you.” She shrugged. “He said you’d wronged him and he wanted you to pay.”

 

 

“Wronged him how?” Calvin asked, putting his hand to his chin.

 

“He never said, but you have to understand, at the time, I was very angry with you. Hated you even. I was also forthcoming of my feelings towards you, and he’d ask me questions about you.

 

 

It always seemed innocent, just little things here and there, but…one night, we were in bed and we had been drinking and he asked me about the night that Rachel had supposedly died.”

 

Calvin started shaking his head. “Lexton, tell me you didn’t.”

 

 

Her face crumpled and she sat down in the little chair behind her. “I’m sorry, I don’t know what I was thinking, and I thought I could trust him…I know I was wrong, but in the moment, when he asked, I told him my

 

 

doubts.” She admitted. “I told him about how you saved me and then went to rescue Rachel. I told him that I never believed that you’d been killed.”

 

 

“Dammit, Lexton.” He snapped angrily, and then lowered his voice when the little hotel clerk looked up and over towards us.

 

 

“I can’t believe you did this.”

 

 

She looked ashamed, and her eyes filled with tears as she looked up. “There’s more.”

 

 

My heart began to pound, and I had to cover my mouth with my hand

 

 

“More?” Calvin snarled under his breath, his eyes already darkening.

 

 

She sniffled, but held our gaze. “I told him that a few months after Rachel’s death that you left Castrum for a few weeks and that when you returned that you seemed to be different.” She said. “When he had asked me where I thought you went, I told him…I told him my suspicions that you’d been pregnant.” She cried quietly. “I think I’m the reason they figured it out.” Calvin lurched forward, but I held out my arms, stopping him from causing a scene. Lexton leaned back in her chair, fear in her eyes, but also true guilt and sadness.

 

 

“What did he say when you told him that?” I asked her.

 

 

She wiped her eyes. “He didn’t say anything about it.” She said. “He was always very careful not to ask too much or push for too much information at a time.” She told me. “But after that, I didn’t see him anymore.” She said shaking her head again. “He left the next night.”

 

 

“What did he look like?” Calvin snapped, still having a hard time keeping his rage down.

 

 

She closed her eyes for a moment. “He was medium height, sandy hair, blue green eyes…”

 

 

“Think harder, Lexton.”

 

 

She sighed and fidgeted with her hands in her lap. “He was kind of plain.” She said. “He spoke German, his nose kind of looked like it might have been broken before…I don’t know.” She sighed.

 

 

“Wait, he had a birthmark on the back of his neck.”

 

 

“A birthmark?” Calvin asked, his face falling slightly. “And he spoke German?”

 

 

“He said that’s where he was from.” She nodded.

 

 

Calvin’s eyes widened as he turned to me. “The light hair and broken nose, which sounds like the guy that Octavia couldn’t find today, likely he’s with Rose.” He said as his face seemed to lose all color. “But, Rachel…” His voice was ghostly.

 

 

“What’s wrong, Calvin?” I asked as I reached for his hand.

 

 

“Daniel.” He muttered. “Daniel had a brother back in Germany…a brother named Demetri and everyone in that family has a purplish birthmark on their necks that looks like a sideways B.”

 

 

“That’s it.” Lexton nodded and Calvin covered his face with his hands.

 

“I should have known it was all connected.” He mumbled into his hands.

 

 

I had to rack my brain for a moment to even remember who Daniel was, but once I remembered, I realized why it was bad.

 

 

“Daniel?” I asked. “As in the Daniel that you accidentally killed…and the one whose father came to Castrum to try to kill me…but you killed him first?”

 

 

Calvin nodded slowly and then pulled down his hands. “This means that the family who wants nothing more than to get revenge on me is the one who is guarding my daughter.”

 

 

It felt like a punch in the gut. “No.” I muttered, but I knew it was true. Of course it was. This is the sort of thing that always happens to me and the ones I love.

 

 

Lexton stood up slowly, tears on her hollow cheeks. “Please let me help.” She begged. “In any way that I can.” She said. “I feel so awful, and I never intended to harm you or your daughter. I know I’m the one responsible for getting her into this danger, and I want to help you both. Then you can kill me, or throw me in the dungeons, whatever you want. Please use me however you can to get her back.”

 

 

I looked between her and Calvin and then I thought of a plan.

 

 

“Calvin, you said we needed something…some way to one up them, right?” I asked and he looked down at me. “We need to know what it’s like in the old settlement where they are keeping Rose, and we already know how many men they have.” I said.

 

 

“This guy, Demetri, he might trust Lexton.” I told him, hoping I was right. “He believes that she hates you, and she’s just been publicly hurt by you

 

 

again and attacked and turned for being near you, so they might truly believe that she wants in on the plan, and I mean, she is the one who gave them the information in the first place.”

 

 

Lexton nodded her head. “I’ll do whatever you want.” She said and Calvin looked between us, his face strained.

 

 

“I don’t know.” He sighed. “You don’t think we should just call in reinforcements?”

 

 

“You shouldn’t.” Lexton chimed in. “The people are not happy.” She told him. “You both should actually be careful not to be seen by any others.”

 

 

“What are you talking about?” I asked her, confused.

 

 

She pulled her brows together as if she wasn’t sure if I really didn’t know why or not. “They’re not happy that you both abandoned them.” She said as if it were obvious. “The word is literally everywhere.”

 

 

Calvin stepped forward, his face tense. “What the hell do you mean?” He asked. “No one was supposed to know that we had left.” He told her. “Patrick had prerecorded messages to show to the people to make them believe that we were still there until we could make it back.”

 

 

Lexton slowly shook her head. “Patrick’s dead.” She said gently. “I didn’t know you hadn’t heard.”

 

 

“Dead?” I gasped, my heart sinking when I thought of sweet Patrick, but even more when I thought of Pedro.

 

 

She nodded once. “They filmed his death.”

 

“They who?” Calvin demanded, his face twisted. “And how?”

 

Lexton shrugged slightly. “I don’t really know.” She admitted. “I left right after you all did, but all of my friends called me to tell me about it.” She explained. “The lockdown in still in place, although the disease seems like it might have died out now, but some people found him in some building off sight and the filmed it as they ripped him apart. They said it’s been broadcast multiple times a day.” She said softly as she realized how much the news was paining us. “They said that the king and queen had run away to save themselves and that they left that cook behind to try to cover their tracks. Everyone believes it.”

 

 

Calvin turned away from us and laughed of all things. “How can they possibly be so calculated?” He asked himself. “It’s like they know every move we’ll make before we even make it and they’re just waiting to use every move we make against us and to tear down my rule.” He said angrily. “They’re making sure that the entirety of my people hate the both of us so that when they bring in news of Rose, everyone will be accepting of her new rule, especially when she comes with a handful of brainwashers who will likely turn her into the most ruthless and dangerous ruler this world has ever seen.”

 

 

I grabbed Calvin by the shoulders and forced him to look down at me. “We will not let that happen.” I told him firmly. “They’ve seen everything coming so far, but we have Lexton now.” I reminded him. “They’d never expect her to be working with us.”

 

 

“Please, I want to help you.” She agreed. “I’ll do it, whatever you need.”

 

 

Calvin stomped towards her and she coward back slightly. “You will help.” He snapped. “And if I find out that you’ve lied to me about anything, or if you give us away when I send you in there, I swear to god I will be the one to rip out your heart.”

 

 

 

She nodded. “Fine.” She whispered. “And I am so sorry to both of you.” She told us. “I never meant for any of this to happen. I thought I was just venting my frustrations, I never knew that anything like this was going to happen.”

 

 

I put my hand on her shoulder and she looked down at it carefully. “Thank you for coming to help us, Lexton.”

 

 

 

 

Story_Continues

 

ANYTHING FOR RACHEL