by D McEntire
She searched the room for something to use as a weapon. Her heart pounded and her mind raced for an idea of how to save Kern. An image of the fireplace poker suddenly popped into her head.
“Thanks, Grandmother.”
Marie knew she was not alone. Not this time. Her grandmother was here with her. The realization gave her at least a little courage.
As quietly as she could, Marie headed down the stairs to the basement, trying to adjust her eyes to the darkness. She focused hard to recall the exact location of the bookcase and the secret door.
The poker helped to guide her through the maze of boxes scattered about the floor. After reaching the bookcase, Marie raised the poker, stepped through the open door and into the tunnel. Using her free hand along the wall to guide her, she made her way to the end and to the door to the lab.
Kern stepped toward the door of the little room when he heard the click of the lock. He knew the doctor had something in store for him, but he didn’t care. He had long been waiting to get his hands on the man. Hatred roared through his head and shook his body. Seeing the man’s face again fanned white-hot flames of anger.
He pushed the door open slowly, then stepped around it. The doctor was not in the hallway. When he reached the lab, the man was waiting with a gun in his hands.
So this is what he has planned, Kern thought. Not taking his eyes off the doctor’s face, he stepped further into the lab, growling low in his throat when he saw the smirk of triumph on the man’s face.
“Well, vampire. It seems you and I have come to the end of our little show and tell. All of your kind must die. You know why? Because you are animals. My wife died at the hands of one of you, and I vowed to find and wipe out every one of you monsters.”
Waves of anger flowed from the doctor, filling the entire room. Kern could feel his own anger and hatred join, making the energy surrounding them thick and heavy. He focused on the doctor to keep the weight from bearing down on him.
Marie held her ear to the lab door, listening as the doctor spoke. He’s insane. She knew he intended to kill Kern, and no matter what Kern thought of her, she wouldn’t let it happen. He had endured so much at the hands of that bastard. He did not deserve to die because of what he was.
As the man continued to rant and rave, Marie returned her focus to listening. She prayed his tirade would distract him enough for her to get inside the lab.
“I hope you are still with me, Grandma.”
When the door slowly opened outward, Marie stayed close behind it, peering over the side to see into the lab. She needed to find exactly where both the man and Kern were standing.
“Are you ready to die? I am going to enjoy this. Your death will greatly benefit my research on how to kill your kind.”
Marie saw the man aim a gun at Kern and pull the trigger. The bullet hit Kern square in the chest and sent him backwards into the wall.
“No.” Marie screamed, no longer caring about stealth. Her anger catapulted her into attack mode. She ran at the man with the fireplace poker raised high like a baseball bat, swinging with all the strength she possessed. The poker hit the man on the side of the head and face. The gun flew out of his hands and slid to a halt a few feet away from Kern.
The man stumbled from the blow and staggered sideways, falling against one of the tables and knocking it over. Glass shattered, the shards peppering the floor.
Marie didn’t look twice at the man as both he and the table hit the floor. She grabbed the gun and went to Kern. A cry of alarm escaped her at seeing him slumped against the wall, blood pouring from his chest. He was conscious, but in complete agony. Marie laid the gun beside him, and pressed her hands to the bleeding wound.
Tears spilled from her eyes as she tried to comfort him, not knowing exactly what to do. From the way Kern’s muscles clenched and spasms rocked his body, Marie knew Kern had been shot with something other than a normal bullet.
Marie turned her head when the man stirred. He lay halfway across the overturned table. Groaning as he moved, he tried repeatedly to get his feet under him to stand.
“You son of a bitch. What have you done to him?” she spat through clenched teeth. “Damn you. Tell me what was in that bullet.”
The man let out a bone-chilling laugh.
“He’s going to die. They all should die.” His face was contorted with rage and pain as he yelled at her. “You can’t save him. I created a poison to kill them with so much pain they can’t wait to die.”
He laughed again, this time hysterically. He had finally gotten his feet under him and pulled himself off the table. Placing his hand to the side of his head, he pulled it away and stared at the blood on his fingers, then glared at her through psychotic eyes.
“I don’t know who you are or how you got in here, but you deserve to die with him,” he yelled as he staggered to the lab door.
Marie watched in horror as he disappeared into the tunnel. It didn’t even matter to her the man had pulled the door closed behind him. She knew she didn’t have time to do anything about him right now except pray he didn’t return.
“Kern, can you hear me?” Marie pushed the hair from his face. “Please tell me what to do to help you.”
Kern groaned loudly and tried to open his eyes.
“Go before he returns,” he said hoarsely. “There is nothing you can do.”
“No,” she cried. “I won’t leave you. There has to be something. You are not going to die on me, do you hear? You can’t let him win. Whoever he is, he is deranged and must be stopped. He has already taken eight months of your life. Don’t let him take the rest. You have got to fight this.”
Marie was tempted to shake Kern to try and get through to him. She glanced around the lab, holding the panic threatening to overcome her focus. There must be something here to stop the poison. “Grandma, I need you. Please. I can’t let him die.”
They ingest blood to survive.
A thought entered her mind on a whisper. Blood. It’s their sustenance, the basis of their existence, according to television and books. If she could somehow dilute the poisoned blood in his system, hopefully it would no longer be strong enough to kill him. He needed clean blood.
Gently, Marie laid Kern on the floor, almost sobbing out loud when he quickly curled into the fetal position on his side. She ran to the kitchen and yanked open the refrigerator door. Her heart sank to find only one pint of blood remained. She wasn’t sure if it was enough, but she had to try.
Marie hurried to Kern and sat beside him. Bracing against the wall, she strained to pull his upper body onto her lap. He emitted horrid moaning and grunting noises as the pain continued to wrack his body. With shaking hands, she twisted the cap off the bag of blood, then held it up to his mouth.
“Kern, you must listen to me. You have to drink this blood so it can work to dilute the poison spreading through your body.”
Marie used her free hand to grab his jaw and pry open his lips. She pinched his cheeks together so the blood would not spill out from his mouth. She wanted to get as much of the liquid inside him as she could. He needed every drop.
The blood flowed into his mouth slowly. She was careful not to let it gush out and cause him to choke. When the bag was empty, she tossed it aside and watched him intently.
Kern was still straining and bucking from the pain, although a little less than before. Marie was losing a grip on controlling her panic. One bag was not enough. He needed more.
A moment of clarity passed over her. Her grandmother had sent her on this mission for this very reason. She was nearing the end of the road—her life.
Marie gazed at Kern’s beautiful face. Brushing her fingers across his cheek and forehead, she spoke softly. “Kern, I’m going to give you more blood. What I gave you was too little to dilute enough of the poison.”
Using her foot, Marie dragged over a piece of glass from the table the man had overturned. When she managed to get the glass close enough, she reached for it and picked it up. Returning he
r gaze to Kern’s face, she bent and placed a soft kiss on his lips.
“You have to live, Kern. From my first dream of you, I had the feeling you are a very special person with an important purpose in life, and I believe there are people out there counting on you. People who need you. I hope you find a way to recover from what that man has done. You have to get your life together and try to live a happy one. Do it for me.”
She held the glass in one hand and used it to slice into the vein on her other wrist. Blood squirted, splashing her chest and sending droplets onto Kern’s face. She grunted at the pain, but tried her best to push it aside as she forced his mouth open and held her wrist firmly against it.
Chapter Eighteen
Kern could only writhe in pain from the poisonous bullet the doctor had shot into his chest. He had hit the wall hard, but as his legs gave out and the room waivered, he heard Marie call out. Through half-closed eyes he had seen her strike the doctor, sending the man crashing over a table and onto the floor.
He felt her press her hands on his chest to stop the bleeding, and he managed to tell her to leave him, but she didn’t listen. She yelled at him to hold on, but he was in too much pain. He no longer wanted to hold on. His mind and body wanted to let go, to make everything done to him disappear.
Kern had heard the doctor berate Marie for helping him, and through blurry eyes he saw the man stumble out of the lab. The doctor was alive. He had failed to kill him and was now dying himself. He silently prayed Marie would get out safely, but he couldn’t muster the energy to move or speak again.
Through the pain, he felt his body weakening until cold blood began to slide down his throat. Slowly, its energy seeped into every cell as it spread. The blood took some of the edge off the pain, but he could still feel the poison eating him up inside. He also felt gentle fingers on his face. Marie.
She was here with him. Kern wanted to yell at her, force her to leave, but a part of him was grateful she was here. He didn’t want to die alone, and Marie’s touch helped him to withstand the pain.
Kern was drifting, but continued to feel the soft stroke of fingers on his face. Lips pressed against his mouth, then the flow of sweet, warm blood rushed over his tongue. The white lights he had seen before danced behind his eyes with each swallow.
The slow, languid beats of his heart began to speed up until its rhythm returned to normal. His body slowly came alive, and he could feel the new blood flowing through him, attacking and pushing out the poison.
Vital organs began to swell with the energy of the clean blood rushing through his veins, making quick repairs as the poison was eliminated. He could feel the pores in his skin open as sweat oozed through them, carrying the poison from his body.
After several minutes, Kern became more alert. A soft body cushioned his, and his fingers were curled around a slender wrist pressed to his mouth.
The body bracing him felt rigid and leaned heavily against him. Feather-soft strands of hair touched his face as a head rested on his shoulder.
Kern opened his eyes and blinked to clear his vision. The room wavered slightly, but soon righted itself. He glanced at the wrist he held to his mouth, and his heart froze in mid-beat. Pulling the wrist away, far enough from his face to see it more clearly, he saw the jagged, raw wound from which he had been feeding.
When Kern turned his head, Marie’s face came into view. With eyes closed, her head rested on his shoulder. She looked as though she was sleeping, but Kern knew something was wrong.
He sat up abruptly, one hand grasping her shoulder so she did not topple forward. She was limp and unresponsive. Alarm swept though his mind. He lifted her off the floor and carried her to the cot in the room that had once been his prison cell.
Marie’s face was pale, and her lips had a tinge of blue. Kern felt her neck for a pulse and trembled when he found it laboring and beating slow. He realized what she had done.
She had returned, risking her life to save him. She had even tried to stop the doctor, who seemed not to know who she was or what she was doing here. She had ultimately given her life to him by using her blood to save him. She had done this even after the pain he had inflicted on her. After all he had put her through.
Kern gritted his teeth, teetering between anger at himself and anguish over Marie’s physical state. He had let his rage and hatred take over so completely he had failed to see her for who she truly was. He had failed to see her light.
Marie had told him repeatedly she had nothing to do with the doctor or the lab, but he was too consumed with his want of vengeance to believe or listen to what she told him, even though a part of him wanted to believe. He had failed to listen to that too.
Kern lifted Marie’s limp body, then sat on the cot and cradled her in his arms. Her skin felt cold to his touch. He tried rubbing her arms and legs to help keep the circulation going as he gently rocked her like a child.
For so long he had been alone, never feeling the warmth of someone caring about him. He had his brother Watchers, but it was not the same. Most of them, especially those without mates, were loners, like him.
Without a mate. He was losing his mate.
Kern could not ignore the feeling which shot through him at the thought. Could it be possible? Was she his mate? She was a human, but they had dreamed about one another. Marie had said she had been guided here by her dead grandmother, but why?
From the first time he had seen her in his room, he had felt drawn to her. Even after he had attacked her in a blind rage. The taste of her blood had him soaring inside, sent flashes of white light behind his eyes. Never had he had such a sensation. Marie had to be his. There was no other explanation. But now, she was slipping away from this world, slipping away from him.
An image shimmered into view in front of where he sat cradling Marie in his arms. A woman’s body, then her face, solidified before his eyes. Kern knew immediately who the visitor was—Marie’s grandmother.
“She did all this for me, didn’t she?”
The elderly woman smiled and nodded. “Her future is up to you, as yours was up to her to take this journey and see it through.”
Before he could ask for her help, her image faded, and Kern began to panic. He needed to do something to save Marie as she had saved him. Her heartbeat had slowed even more and threatened to stop at any moment.
Kern needed Marie’s love and light in his life. He was broken inside from his eight months of torture, and he needed her to make him whole again. She was truly an angel and the only thing which mattered.
Marie’s grandmother’s words went through his mind like a broken record, and after a few rounds, he understood. Kern hoped the poison was completely gone from his system for what he was about to do. He prayed she would not hate him for it.
Extending his fangs, he sank them into his wrist, then placed the dripping wound over Marie’s open mouth while cradling her head with his other hand.
Kern shivered when cool, soft lips touched his flesh. He bent close to Marie’s ear and whispered to her to drink.
As the blood flowed from his wrist into her mouth, Kern laid her head back slightly, resting against his upper chest and shoulder so he could gently massage her throat, coaxing her to swallow. The coloring slowly returned to her face, and her lips pinked. Her skin began to warm beneath his touch. She was coming around, and his heart beat faster with hope. He longed for Marie to open her eyes so he could look into those gray irises and know she was going to be okay.
When Kern started to feel his body weakening, he knew he had to stop. He couldn’t afford to give Marie any more of his blood. If he was going to get them out of here, he was going to need enough strength for them both. He hoped he had given Marie enough to save her.
Marie lay quietly on the cot, unconscious. Kern paced the room and watched her intently, not sure what was to happen next.
A moan caught his attention, and he rushed to Marie’s side. Her face was flushed. Kern touched her forehead and found she was burning with feve
r.
The conversion process had started, and Marie’s human body was desperately fighting the change. She shuddered, then convulsed as the fever soared higher, trying to burn out the invading vampire blood and its alien chemical composition.
Kern felt a surge of panic as he ran for a bowl of cold water and a dishrag. He returned to her side and continuously bathed her face, then placed a cold rag on the back of her neck.
Several minutes passed, then became an hour, which turned into two hours with no change in her condition. She was burning with fever, and he was afraid it would kill her.
Marie needed help. She needed someone who knew what they were doing in this situation. Frustration ate at him for not knowing these things. He grit his teeth thinking this should be something taught to all vampires, even though converting humans was taboo as far as the Council at Headquarters was concerned. Having a civilian vampire pull such a stunt was one thing, but having a Watcher do it was serious business. Kern knew he would have to answer for this, but right now, he didn’t care. He would do it again in a heartbeat.
Kern ran a hand through his hair in aggravation. What if he was on patrol and came across a human in this condition? What was he supposed to do?
“Damned Council,” he muttered on a low growl, anger and fear causing him to lash out at anyone who came to mind.
Kneeling beside the cot, Kern kissed her softly and spoke, praying she could hear him. “Marie, sweetheart, I’m going to get help. I am sorry to put you through this, but I can’t lose you. You refused to let me die, and now I refuse to let you leave me. I need you.”
He stood, grabbed another blanket, and tucked it tightly around her body. “I’ll return as soon as I can. You’re going to get through this. Okay?” After one last kiss, Kern ran out of the lab and found his way outside.
Chapter Nineteen
Dr. Pearson’s head throbbed and his vision wavered as he stumbled through the tunnel, making his way to the hospital’s basement. He was going to end this and make sure the vampire died. The woman deserved to die too, for helping him. Surely, she knew what the monster truly was.