The only reason they had failed was because the male had become so feeish and so engorged on human blood, he had been too strong for twelve of them to defeat. In the end it had come down to saving Larissa’s grandfather, Ezekiel, or going after his brother Isaiah. They had chosen to save a life rather than destroy one. Now, however, Eleazar was beginning to admit their mistake. Who knew how many lives had been lost in the past eighty years due to their carelessness.
This was not what he expected to come home to. He was prepared to deal with the Hostetlers and Silus, but not this. He wanted to enjoy his mate. See to her annulment and make her his wife. He knew he had been distracted and harsh with her when she did not deserve it. He knew he needed to apologize for his harsh words and neglectful manners. He would deal with her as soon as he found a moment of free time. He would not wait until the Hostetler business was dealt with. His mate’s emotions were the most important matter. He just needed to call a meeting with the council and then he would be able to apologize. That, and see who was locked in his cells.
As he lit a lantern and turned to see the identity of the prisoner, Eleazar shut his eyes and thought life could not get any more complicated. He pinched the bridge of his nose and took a moment to collect himself. Looking back at the prisoner, he said, “Tell me you are not here for the reason I suspect.”
Chapter 24
Jonas pulled his face from his palms and looked up when he heard the bishop’s voice.
“Tell me you are not here for the reason I suspect.”
Jonas stood from the bench he had been sitting on and looked the man directly in the eye. “I have come to beg for your mercy, Bishop King. I wish to be executed.”
The bishop threw his head back and groaned. Loudly. “I cannot kill you, Jonas.”
“It is my wish. You must.”
He looked through the bars at him and blew out a slow breath. The bishop was acting different. Finally he snapped, “Is it true? Are you being called?”
A little taken off guard that the bishop knew his situation, he took a moment to answer. How many others knew? “I will only ever have one mate, Bishop King.”
“For the love of God, Jonas, answer the bloody question.”
Jonas lowered his head. “Yes. It is true. But it makes no difference. I will not go to her.”
“And what do you suppose this is doing to Abilene? I assume she knows.”
“Yes. It is killing her.”
Bishop King dragged a hand through his hair and began to pace. “This is unbelievable,” he mumbled to himself. He turned back to the cell and asked, “How bad are your symptoms?”
“Bad enough that I had your man lock me in this cell.”
“Examples, Jonas, give me examples.”
He could not do more than whisper his shameful confession. “I…I attacked Abilene. I hurt her.” His throat constricted as pain and regret squeezed his heart.
“Is she all right?”
“She will heal…physically at least.”
The bishop held out his arms. “You need to go find your mate. I cannot kill you.”
“No.”
“No? Jonas, as your bishop I insist, for the safety of your family, that you do this. It is God’s will and your duty.”
“My duty is to my wife.”
“Your duty is to your children as well! What do you suspect this will do to them? Abilene loves you. If something were to happen to you, it would destroy her. How do you think that will affect your children?”
“My children are grown. Abilene is my only concern. She is all I can concern myself with at the moment.”
“You are being selfish.”
“I am doing right by my wife,” Jonas growled.
“According to who? Have you asked her what she wants? I highly doubt she wants to watch you die. I am sorry. I will not do it.”
“It is my right!” Jonas shouted, leaping at the bars. He felt his beast coming to the surface, his control slipping. He shook the bars viciously. If the bishop would not kill him voluntarily, Jonas would attack him and force him to do this deed out of self-defense. He would not see his wife hurt!
Suddenly there was a gasp. The bishop released a stream of foul curses and gave him a look that almost had Jonas believing he was going to get his wish. However, when Jonas turned to see who had come into the holding room, his daughter was the last person he expected to see.
“Father?” Her eyes were wide as her trembling fingers covered her mouth in shock.
“Larissa. What are you doing here? Does Silus know that your back? Your mother? Everyone has been worried. Where have you been?”
“What am I doing here? What are you doing here? And why are you in a cell? Eleazar, let him out this instant.”
“Larissa!” Jonas hissed at the same time the bishop said her name in warning.
“What is going on? Let him out!”
“Larissa, calm down,” Bishop King warned. The man appeared to be aging right before Jonas’s eyes.
“I will not calm down!” She yelled at the bishop and went to the bars of the cell. Rattling them frantically, she shouted, “Let my father out of here this instant.”
“Larissa, you do not understand what is happening here. I suggest you settle down until you have all the facts straight,” Bishop King advised, losing his patience.
Right before Jonas’s eyes, he watched his daughter turn harshly toward the bishop and growl, “I understand. I understand that you are not the male I thought you were. You tricked me so that I would return with you. You are just the same bitter old man you have always been.”
“Larissa!” Jonas hissed, appalled by his daughter’s blatant disrespect. “You were not raised to speak to your elders that way. Especially not our bishop. Apologize this instant!”
His daughter turned to him, tears filling her eyes to the brim. “You are right, Father. You raised me to do as my elders say and say nothing in return. I was a fool to ever believe things could be different.” Her tears fell from her eyes unchecked and she blindly swiped at them with the back of her hand. She turned to the bishop and said, “My apologies, Bishop King. I will not interfere in your business again.”
“Larissa,” the bishop reasoned, but she simply turned away and began walking toward the main house. The bishop groaned angrily as he squeezed his eyes shut. He took a few deep breaths then turned and swung his arm at a wooden chair sitting outside the cell. The chair flew through the air and crashed into the wall, splintering into nothing more than kindling.
Cautiously, Jonas said, “I apologize for my daughter’s—”
“Shut. Up.” The bishop growled and Jonas did exactly as he commanded. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a key then proceeded to unlock Jonas’s cell. The bars swung open and, in a deceivingly low voice, Bishop King said, “Get out of my home. Leave this farm before nightfall and do not return until you have answered your call and bonded with your true mate. So help me God, Jonas, if you do not do this thing and I have to hurt her because you are too selfish to do what is your duty…I will make sure your life is nothing but misery. And it will be a long life suffered right here in these cells. I. Will. Not. Kill. You. Do you understand? Get any notions that that is a possibility out of your head right now.”
Jonas could not understand why the bishop was so set on denying him this. He knew he should leave with the little dignity he had left, but he could not. He bowed his head and pleaded. “Is it not the right of every immortal to leave this life when he chooses? Please, I beg you. I will go peacefully. Just end this. Abilene—”
“Ganook! You do not listen! Do you think I will put your wife above my own mate?”
Mate? “I do not understand?”
Jonas suddenly found himself being gripped by his shirt and lifted off the floor. The bishop growled in his face. “Larissa is my mate!” He then tossed Jonas to the floor and turned to face the wall. “Now get out. Do not return until you have done exactly as I said.”
Jonas left the
cell and walked in a daze to the front door. Larissa was mated to the bishop? No, that could not be right. She was married to Silus. He did not see his daughter on his way out of the house. There was no hope left. He had tried to fight it. He had tried to go against God’s will. He was dying inside, but that changed nothing. His mind was slipping. He could barely stand anymore without stumbling. His equilibrium was practically obliterated. He had not eaten food in days, perhaps over a week. He had attacked his beloved wife like a vicious beast. He simply wanted it to end. He wanted it to all be over.
As he stepped off of the porch, he hissed. The sun burned through his flesh as if he had just walked into the seventh circle of hell. He cried out in agony and stumbled down the steps. He could not see. He could barely walk. Crawling into the shade, he began to weep. He was a disgrace. When he stumbled into a spot of shade, he waited.
The burn did not stop nor did his vision return. He waited there until nightfall, knowing he was already disobeying the bishop.
As the air cooled and the sun set, Jonas’s vision finally began to heal. Although he was still somewhat blind, he could see shapes and the outline of trees and buildings. He staggered through the darkness until he found his home. He could sense her there.
Before he reached the porch, he heard the front door swing open and her step out onto the porch. He looked at her, but could not see her face. How badly he needed to look at her just one more time.
“Stay back, Jonas. Do not come any further.”
He stilled. She had never commanded him in all of their time together. “Are you all right, Abilene? I am so sorry I hurt you.”
“I will survive. For now.”
“I need you.”
“No.” He stumbled and felt the bark of a tree scrape along his arm. She had never told him no. “This is over, Jonas. I cannot take any more. You are not welcome in this house.”
“Abilene—”
“Your time to talk is over. I want you to go. Find your mate and end this.”
“I will die first.”
“Then so be it. But know this, Jonas. If you die, I will die with you. For every night you lie awake, I, too, will not sleep. I will starve every hour that you do. And if you choose to face the dawn, I will weaken myself to the point that I will burn beside you. Your death is mine. If that is what you choose, then so be it.”
Furious, he growled, “I will not allow it.”
“You have no say in it. It is God’s will. Now go. You will always have my heart. Let that be enough.” He heard her steps retreat back into the house. She had turned away from him forever.
He fell to his knees and bellowed, “Abilene! I will not do this thing! I will not do it!” His sobs wracked his body as he beat his fists into the cold earth and cursed his God. “I love you, Abilene,” he cried. “I love you.”
Chapter 25
After Jonas had left, Eleazar went to his den and poured himself a stiff drink. What a nightmare. Clearly, Larissa had been gone so long she was not aware of her father’s condition. Eleazar had always been a fairly prepared man. However, he was sorely unprepared for the days ahead. A feeling he did not relish.
Not only did he have to deal with his mate’s divorce, he had to resolve the situation with her great-uncle. He was fairly certain Larissa would not be directly affected by her great-uncle’s demise, as he had disappeared before she was even born, but the Isaiah situation would affect her older relatives, which in turn would affect her. On top of everything else, Jonas was being called away from her mother.
Eleazar carried his brandy to a high-backed chair and sat down. Was there something in the Hartzler well water? It was only this summer past that not only Adam, the eldest Hartzler twin, but Cain was called to the woman, Annalise. In less than a few months, Larissa was called to him. Now Jonas. It was unheard of.
The last calling was the French-Canadian woman named Rachel who was now mated to Samuel Rocke. That was over twenty years ago that she had been bonded. Since that time there had been nothing but peace among the farm. So why was there suddenly not one calling, but several? He wondered if young Grace would be next. Was there a reason for so many blessings in one bloodline? Although, if Eleazar were being honest, half of the recent calls were more of a curse than a blessing.
While Adam Hartzler was expecting his first child and enjoying the joys of being recently bonded, his twin had been basically sentenced to an eternal purgatory without a mate. It was well known that an immortal only received one call in a lifetime. A true mate was a gift. If a mate dies or is never found, that is it. He knew this for a fact. He had watched some of the elders lose their mates on the voyage to America. They were never called again.
And now Jonas. Eleazar pressed his fingers firmly into his temples and tried to massage away some of the tension there. He sympathized with the male, he truly did. There was no doubt in Eleazar’s mind that Jonas loved his wife very much. This was why it was always a risky gamble to marry a female that was not one’s true called mate.
Eleazar considered the cases where non-called immortals had married. His mind immediately went to Larissa. It filled his stomach with acid to imagine another man touching her. She was his and he had blindly handed her off to another male to use and mistreat for almost a year. He mourned her virtue that should have been his to take, hers to give. He knew he could blame no one but himself for her marriage. She was right when she said only he had the power to veto the council’s vote.
Yet he had stood by and watched her go to another male. How was he to know she was intended to be his mate? The path of his thoughts had him wanting to find her in his home and mark her with all the tact of a territorial dog. She was his!
He thought about how upset she became earlier when they arrived. She was distraught over his preoccupation with other matters. It was not his intention to put her second. In truth, he was preoccupied because he was trying to consider how to best save her grief in an ugly situation. It did not matter now. She was upset with him regardless, and then she had disobeyed him and followed him into the holding area, furious at the discovery of her father waiting there.
She simply did not have all the facts. She also would have never found cause to be upset if she had done as he told her and stayed put. He should paddle her behind for disobeying him where Order business was concerned, but he could not see past her upset when she had spotted her father.
She had accused him of being no better than Silus. Accused him of tricking her. Eleazar had done no such thing. He was only trying to protect her, but for some reason she fought him tooth and nail at every attempt he made to shield her from pain. It was as if she were determined to make him the villain in all of this. Well, he simply would not tolerate being labeled as such by a woman who was too stubborn to even listen to reason.
He needed to set her straight. She could not place demands on him. She was sorely mistaken if she assumed that simply because he was not Silus Hostetler that she would rule the roost. He was the bishop for goodness’ sake. He deserved a little respect! He deserved an obedient wife who, when instructed to stay put, listened.
Eleazar had worked himself into a fury. He would not begin their eternity under misconceptions. He needed to set her straight about the way of things under his roof. He had no issue with having rational, intelligent discussions with his mate, but the moment she began acting like an emotional, irrational female, that liberty was off the table. If she wanted his respect and the respect of the others on the farm, she would have to wise up and show that she was deserving of such esteem. She was to be his wife. There were just certain ways a bishop’s wife should behave and that was that.
He had tried to shield her from being emotionally affected by the politics of his position, but she had forced her way directly into the middle the moment she disobeyed him. She was either going to let him act as head of the household in most things or she was going to find herself displeased in greater ways. There was no room for debate where Order business was concerned. She w
as a female. She simply could not interfere. It was simply not the way things were done. The moment she overstepped, she wound up getting herself hurt. What was done was done. He was better off to explain such things to her now before she wound up getting wounded again.
Having reached some conclusion of how to proceed with his mate, Eleazar placed his empty glass on the table and stood to find her. He blew out the lanterns and took the stairs slowly. He ran his hand over the worn banister, feeling a bit nostalgic and glad to be home. He hoped Larissa would like living here. When he reached his bedroom, the door was closed. He took a deep breath, not eager for the battle that was sure to ensue, but there was nothing for it. She was his mate and as such there were certain expectations she would have to come to terms with.
He knew she would likely spit and hiss like the fierce, little kitten she was, but he needed to be stern. She was probably just waiting for him to walk through that door so that she could bombard him with a litany of uninformed accusations. Yes, he needed to set her straight. He just hoped she accepted the way of things and they could move on accordingly.
He turned the knob and was surprised when he stepped into darkness. His eyes adjusted and he looked to the bed. Still made. He turned and found the only chair in his room empty. Where the hell was she?
“Larissa?”
She did not answer. Eleazar left the room and checked the water closet. Empty. He called her again and heard no reply. He began checking behind every door in the various guest rooms, but saw no sign of her. Surely she knew his bedroom was the one at the top of the stairs. It was the only one adorned and dressed for sleeping. Of course there were other furnished rooms, but the linens were put away and the carpets in need of freshening. When he reached the last door of the hall and found the room empty, he began to panic.
“Larissa!” he called again, but heard nothing in return.
This was exactly what he had been concerned of. The girl simply did not listen. Perhaps his assumptions that she was dutiful and naturally submissive were wrong. The longer he searched for her, the angrier he became. He thought about all of the ways she had flouted tradition. She had abandoned her marital duties and fled the farm without permission. She had found employment as a dancer. She had privately entertained a strange man who was not of her relation. She had disrespected her bishop and he even recalled her giving her blood to Cain at one point, a forbidden act among The Order. So long as she was his mate, she would not share her blood with anyone but him or his children, Eleazar vowed.
Calling for a Miracle [The Order of Vampyres 2] (Siren Publishing Classic) Page 25