“Are you sure?” she asked, knowing like he did that she may never wake again. Even if she did it was highly unlikely that Antoinette would thank him for saving her.
He covered Antoinette’s nakedness. “I want to be here alone.”
“All right, but I’ll just be down the hall if you need me.” She paused a moment longer, then left him alone.
28
On the Run
Antoinette opened her eyes in the too-bright room, and quickly closed them again. Her head buzzed and her body prickled all over as if tiny razorblades flowed through her bloodstream, cutting her from the inside. Thirst, she was so thirsty. Dry attempts to swallow produced only a rasp in her parched throat, and she had a metallic aftertaste in her mouth. Then she remembered. Dante…
She flinched away from a loud scraping from beside her head and she sat up, shielding her eyes from the glare. There must be something wrong with the light, it shone far too brightly to be a regular bulb.
“It’s okay—” Christian’s voice flowed through her, thick as honey and twice as sweet. “You’re safe.”
She let out a sob of relief and wrapped her arms around him, holding him as tight as she could. “You stopped him?”
“Yes—for now.” The disappointment in his voice very clear.
“He’s still free?”
“Yes.”
She tried to remember what had happened after Dante chased her down the alley, but it all seemed blank. Antoinette heard the tap dripping deafeningly in the bathroom. Street noises and voices seemed far too piercing, and she wondered where she was. Everything seemed intense. Blood—she could smell blood and it smelt…good. Her gums tingled and she investigated with her tongue and snagged it on the sharp point of a tooth. A fang?
“What did he do to me?” she asked, clinging to Christian’s safe warmth.
“He nearly killed you.” His hands slid up to cup her face and stare deep into her soul. “If I’d delayed a few more seconds—”
She shoved him away and leapt from the bed. Oh God, no.
“Tell me you didn’t, Christian.”
He looked down at his hands—hands so clear she could make out each individual fine hair on the back of them. She could hear his heart beating slowly, much slower than hers—but no, not any more.
“Christian?” she repeated, her head beginning to spin with the implications.
“It was the only way to save you,” he whispered.
“NO,” she shook her head, not wanting to believe it.
“Antoinette, please listen to me—you were dying—there wasn’t time for anything else.” He held out his hands.
She slapped them away and pressed backward against the wall, needing to be as far away from him as possible. “Then you should’ve let me die.”
He raised his eyes to hers. “I couldn’t do that.”
“I’d rather be dead than…this.” She wiped her palms down her thighs like they were dirty and realized for the first time she was naked. She snatched up a sheet from the bed and held it in front of her.
“I thought now you knew our kind better, you might not find this such a burden.”
“I’m hum…was human. Now I’m…” She couldn’t make sense of the jumbled thoughts zipping around her head. But one word was clear and it terrified her. Necrodrenia.
He reached out but she shrank away.
“Don’t,” she hissed. “Don’t touch me.”
Hurt erupted in his eyes as he drew back his hands as if burnt by fire. Antoinette turned away to pull on a clean T-shirt and a pair of panties from the dresser drawer.
A shrill noise filled the room and she covered her ears to block it out. Christian pulled a cell phone from his pocket and flipped it open and listened, then, without speaking, he snapped it shut again. “I have to go.”
“Where?” she asked, troubled by his blank expression.
“I’ll tell you when I get back,” Christian said and strode quickly from the room.
“That’s what you think,” she said to an empty room. “Because I won’t be here.”
Antoinette jumped across the bed, the buzzing lessening in her ears. Where could she go?
Home! Maybe Lucian could help her get there.
She stopped. Lucian…
Something flashed in her mind.
A concrete wall, severed blonde heads ringing the room with glass eyes and shiny lacquered skin.
And…
Photos—lots of photos of her and Lucian.
Dante was after Lucian…
She picked up the phone and dialed. A servant answered on the second ring and the silence seemed to drag on forever while he went to fetch his employer.
“Antoinette?” Lucian’s voice finally crackled through the phone receiver.
Relief flooded through her. “Thank God, you’re okay. Can I come and see you?”
“Why?” His tone warm and concerned. “What’s wrong?”
“I’ll explain when I get there,” she said.
“Okay—I’ll send someone to pick you up. How soon?”
“As soon as you can arrange it.”
Antoinette hung up the phone and pulled her backpack from beneath the bed. She went to the drawer and stuffed her things in without folding, then pulled on a pair of jeans.
“Where are you going?” Lilijana asked from the doorway.
Antoinette didn’t even stop to look at her. “Away.”
“You should stay—we can help you get through this.”
Antoinette snorted. “I don’t want your help. I need to be…” She would take care of this herself. “Away from here.”
Lilijana sighed. “What are you afraid of?”
Antoinette paused. For the first time she realized just how terrified she was—of herself. She turned to Christian’s mother. “Do you know how many embraced become dreniacs?”
“Is it Necrodrenia or my son you’re more afraid of?”
Antoinette returned to her packing. That was something she didn’t want to answer, not even to herself.
“It may help to know something of the history of our people.”
“I do—it’s the first thing we’re taught at the Academy.” The constant buzzing ceased in Antoinette’s ears and the prickling in her blood stopped as she zipped the bag up and rubbed her arms.
“That’s the sun going down you’re feeling right now.” Lilijana sat on the end of her bed.
“What?” She finally turned to the Aeternus woman.
“That prickly feeling—the buzzing—it subsides as the sun sets. Soon it’ll be night and your strength will be at its fullest—what little a fledgling Aeternus has at this stage anyway.”
“You feel the sun?”
“Yes, but you know that—you learned it at the Academy. Right?” Lilijana’s voice dripped with sarcasm, and then she softened. “Look—you’re going to need all the help you can get, especially now. He only did it to save you.”
Antoinette sighed and sat on the edge of the bed. “I know, but—” She frowned and tilted her head to one side. “Why are you helping me anyway?”
“Because I was once in the same position you’re in, when Christian’s father embraced me.”
“You were embraced?” Antoinette had always thought Lilijana had looked down on her for being human.
“Yes, so I know what you’re going through. Now I will tell you what Christian’s father told me shortly after I was embraced.” Lilijana paced the room—she seemed to be trying to find the right words to begin. Finally she stopped and dropped her hands to her side. “Thousands of years ago, when the humans had barely descended from the trees and were still hiding in cold dark caves, an alien ship crash-landed on this planet. The ship contained a race from a distant galaxy, running from an unknown evil.
“With their technology destroyed in the collision, they had no other choice but to assimilate to the environment in which they were trapped. There were many clans among the survivors and they all went in different directions
to try and maximize the success of the assimilation.” Lilijana held out her arms. “We, the Aeternus, are the closest form of our alien forbears, the Glarachni. They were able to manipulate their alien DNA to develop a symbiotic existence with humans and become what we are today. We survive by ingesting what we need from human hemoglobin—just as they did back then.
“But the Animalians took a different course. Adding the DNA of certain animals to their own, they were able to tolerate a wider range of food, but they took on the characteristics of the animals they crossed with as well. Then there are the magic-wielders, the Mer-people, and the many other deviations. The alien race is long gone, but we, their children, live on thanks to the humans who were our saviors.”
“What does this have to do with me?”
“There is another reason I am helping you. You have always had the Aeternus blood running through your veins. Up until the time Christian triggered the change, you were a Latent.” Lilijana took a step closer, reaching out.
“No,” Antoinette shook her head, backing away. “You’re lying.”
Lilijana raised an eyebrow. “Really? Ever wonder why you were so good with animals? That dog should’ve laid down and died when he lost Viktor. But he didn’t because of you. He even knew how to find you.”
For the first time she thought of Cerberus. “Where is he?”
“The dog? He lives, but is badly injured. He has many broken bones. The vet tried to convince Christian to have the dog put down, but he refused.”
Antoinette stood. “Will he be okay?”
“Yes, he is being well looked after. The best money can buy.”
“Good. Then I can leave here knowing he’ll be okay.”
“You know you have more chance of succumbing to Necrodrenia if you leave.” Lilijana grabbed her arm. “Christian needs you.”
Tears pricked behind her eyes—she swallowed hard and turned back to her bags. “I can’t.”
Susan came to the door. “There’s a man here. He says he’s here to take you to the airport.”
“Oh, Susan, what happened to your face?” Antoinette asked.
The maid looked at her feet. “It was an accident.”
“Oh my God, I did this to you, didn’t I?” Antoinette’s gut wrenched at Susan’s crusted split lip and the large purple and black bruise that covered the right half of her face. “I can see how good it looks for me—I nearly killed the one person in this house I really trusted.”
“You weren’t yourself,” Susan cried.
“I’m sorry.” Antoinette wiped away the tears and grabbed her things. “Tell the driver I’ll be right down.”
“Where will you go?” Lilijana asked.
“It’s better you don’t know.”
Antoinette descended the stairs, walked out the door, and didn’t look back. She had no intentions of ever returning to Christian’s house.
Lucian met Antoinette at the door when the car pulled up in front of the large estate house. He looked better than she’d expected, almost younger, even with his right arm still in a sling. The country air obviously agreed with him. However he winced as she returned his warm hug.
“Sorry,” she said. “I didn’t mean to squeeze too tight.”
“It’s…still a little tender,” he said, standing back and looking her up and down as he held her arm out. “Something’s different.”
Antoinette nodded slowly. “Can we go inside to talk?”
“Sure, Hector will get your bags,” Lucian said, waving his hand to the large manservant who waited by the door. He took her into his study and sat her down on a settee.
“I don’t know where to start,” she said. “A lot has changed since I last saw you. I have changed…”
“You’ve been embraced, haven’t you?”
She brought her eyes to his, expecting to see horror and disgust, but instead she found compassion and warmth.
“So this is why you needed to get away. Did Christian do it?”
She nodded. She still couldn’t bring herself to talk about it. “But it’s not the only reason I came. You’re in danger.”
He waved off her comment and smiled. “I don’t think so; I have plenty of security here. I put on extra when Oberon DuPrie told me Dante Rubins was alive and might be on his way here.”
She should have known, but if Dante was headed this way, she would be here to finally kill the bastard.
Lucian turned to the butler who stood expectantly in the doorway holding her things. “See Miss Petrescu’s bags get to her room.”
“Thank you,” she said to the silent butler.
Lucian waved her comments away. “Hector can’t talk and he’s not too bright either, but he’s dependable.” Lucian sat on the settee next to her, taking her hand and rubbing her knuckles with the pad of his thumb. “Now, tell me what happened.”
She did. Finally everything came pouring out in a mad rush of words she couldn’t control. She told him what Dante had done to her and how Christian had embraced her. And when she’d finished, Lucian leaned back, stunned.
He shook his head. “How ironic—if your father wasn’t gone then he’d be a free man now.”
The fact her father was still alive, at least until a few weeks ago, was the one thing she’d left out. She hadn’t meant to, she just had.
His face came closer to hers. “There’s something you haven’t told me.” He put his finger under her chin and turned her face to look at him. “Antoinette, you can trust me.”
“My father didn’t die,” she said. “His death was just a setup. He’s been working undercover with Viktor Dushic in Europe for the last few years, but now he’s really disappeared.”
“Do they have any idea what happened to him?”
She shook her head and looked down at her lap. “Apart from Dante there are no other leads. So I have to find Dante and find out what happened to my father.”
“I’m so glad you came to me.” He pulled her gently against his uninjured side in a comforting hug, patting her shoulder. “Have you told your family yet what has happened?”
“No.” She pulled away quickly, panic sending butterflies stomping through her stomach. “I haven’t had time, but I don’t think I’m ready yet either. You’re the only one. Besides, you can watch for any signs of me succumbing to…”
“Necrodrenia,” he finished for her.
Oh God…please don’t let that happen. “Yes.”
He patted her hand. “I don’t think that’ll be necessary. You’re a strong young woman.”
She sighed. “You’re not the first to tell me that, but I fear losing control—I fear it more than anything else.”
“And that is why I think you’ll overcome it.”
“Maybe—but knowing that you’re watching over me makes me feel better.”
“Wouldn’t an Aeternus be more equipped to help you through this? Christian maybe?”
Antoinette shook her head. “There are…other issues.”
“I see.”
She looked him in the eye. “Besides—you’re the world-renowned expert on parahuman races, so who better to do it?”
“It would be a unique opportunity. Very well, I’ll help in any way I can.” He stood. “Speaking of which, can I offer you anything? Are you hungry?”
Her stomach churned at the thought and she shook her head.
“I had some blood stocked up in case I needed a transfusion or an operation while I was here. So I have a little on hand, but I’ll get some more ordered in.” He held out his hand and walked her to the door. “Come, let’s get you settled in.”
Lucian’s estate was exquisite, full of earthy colors and old-world charm, like a Tuscan villa. The walls showcased landscapes of the Italian countryside, marble statuettes stood on wrought iron, and wood furniture and terracotta pots filled with leafy plants decorated corners. Her heels tapped across the tiled floor.
As they walked past a hall Lucian pointed to the plastic sheeting hanging across the doorway. “I’m in
the process of having some redecorating done in there. It’s quite a mess, so it might be better to avoid that area.”
The presence of scaffolding and drop sheets just beyond the plastic brought home how inconvenient it must be to have her turn up on Lucian’s doorstep like this. “I’ll try and stay out of the way.”
“Hey, it’s all right,” he said, his brow furrowing. “That area is just so filthy, and as usual the work seems to be going much slower than the decorator led me to believe.”
“Look, I’m sorry to just turn up like this. I didn’t think…”
“Antoinette”—Lucian placed his hand on her shoulder and turned her face to look at him—“To be honest, I could really do with the company. If you’re up to spending time with this poor old invalid, that is.” Lucian shrugged his uninjured shoulder and smiled.
Antoinette couldn’t help but smile back. “You’re hardly old, Lucian.”
“Thank you, my dear,” he said. “But ever since the shooting, I’ve been feeling that way.”
They continued down the hall until he stopped outside a door. “This’ll be your room for as long as you stay.” He took her hand in his good one. “If you need anything, Hector will help you.”
The large butler materialized out of the shadows. He was very quiet for a big man and he eyed Antoinette in a way that didn’t exactly make her feel welcome. Lucian waved him away and the manservant disappeared down the hall the way they’d just come.
“Now,” Lucian said. “I must say good night. It’s getting late and I need a lot more rest than I used to.” He gently touched his wounded shoulder.
“Of course,” she said. “And thanks for everything—I didn’t know where else to turn.”
“Hush.” He leaned forward and kissed her forehead. “You don’t have to explain to me. We’ll talk some more tomorrow, in the evening. You’re healing too and need your rest.”
“Yes, I’ll see you tomorrow. Good night.”
He left her alone. The room was as lovely as the rest of the house. A large four-poster feather bed dominated the center, full of pillows and cushions. More Tuscan-style paintings of grapes, wineries, and peasants working in the fields adorned the walls. The adjoining bathroom had an old clawfoot bathtub and a rustic charm she’d only seen in magazines.
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