by Aliya DalRae
Then there was the kiss.
Nox had been prepared to follow through with Father’s orders, his mind so clouded with whatever sorcery Fuhrmann had been using on him, nothing could have stopped him. Except for the kiss. He absently touched his fingers to his mouth, the sharp sting of her lips still burned on his.
Her voice in his mind had broken through Fuhrmann’s powerful spell, and for her, he had murdered the man he called Father.
Nox swiped at the unexpected wetness on his cheek, his hand coming away bloody as he watched the tender scene before him.
She was right, of course. Nox would never have the qualities required to be worthy of belonging to someone the way Raven obviously belonged to Jessica, and she to him. Nox was as he had always been, a noxious thing whose mere existence was a stain on the face of the race itself. He would never be loved. The best he could hope for was to reconnect with his brood, who had no doubt scattered by now, and move them as far away from Fallen Cross as possible. Before Fuhrmann had come along they had been his family, and he had been okay with that.
But now things were different. He had seen more, experienced more, and having had a taste of it, he wanted more. Sure he could mind fuck someone into thinking he was the love of her life, but it wouldn’t be real. Even he knew that was no way to live.
Jessica winced as Raven bit into her, taking control of his feeding, but the look on her face was one of sheer joy. And still, Nox could only watch, admire, yearn.
Noises above alerted him to the arrival of a large number of people preparing to enter the bunker. Looks like Jessica’s rescuers had arrived at last. Nox slipped away into a quiet corner and used his unique talents to hide himself when the Legion Soldiers and Warriors swarmed into the room. Their numbers seemed excessive, now that there was no one left to fight. Finding themselves foe-less, most of the Soldiers chose to examined the room, the altar, Fuhrmann’s remains, trying to puzzle out what had happened.
For the Warriors, however, Jessica and Raven were their prime concern. It took some doing, but they eventually were able to pry Raven’s teeth from Jessica. The giant rusty-haired Vampire picked her up and rushed her out the door, with Nox ghosting a train behind them.
The last he saw of her, Jessica was being loaded into an SUV and driven away from him. Out of his life, yes, but his heart?
Nox shook his head and melted into the shadows.
Chapter
One Hundred Eighteen
“W ell, they can’t keep him drugged forever.”
“Why not?” a familiar voice replied to the woman. “World would be better off, if you ask me.”
“Harrier, be serious,” the woman replied.
“I am being serious. Alright, not entirely, but we need to keep him out of our way, at least until she wakes. If he finds out we’ve used conventional medicine to heal her he’s going to go ballistic, and I don’t want to have to be the one to put him down. She’d never forgive me.”
“I know,” said the woman, “she just needs to heal. The doctor said she’s doing better, and her color is definitely back.”
“But why doesn’t she wake?” Harrier sounded worried. He never worried about anyone but himself.
“She will.” There were some shuffling noises and then, “Please, Harrier, sit down. Your pacing is driving me mad.”
There was a sound of shuffling feet, of someone sitting solidly in a cushioned chair. I tried to open my eyes, but they fought back, unwilling to budge. I decided that maybe I would let them be for a while.
“He will never understand why we didn’t give her our blood,” Harrier grumped.
“You know as well as I, that’s the last thing she needed. You’ve seen how Raven’s blood has affected her so far. There’s no precedent for what will happen if she keeps feeding like that.” Were they talking about me?
“If I had given her my blood and things progressed? That would have been another thing she would never forgive me for.”
Why would Harrier give me his blood? I was fine.
“Would it be so bad,” the woman asked “if things progressed for her?”
“You weren’t there,” Harrier said. “She was adamant. It’s the last thing she would want. Damn it, Rachel, she was so frightened. I won’t be the one to do that to her.”
“Does she really find us so repulsive?” The woman—Rachel?—sounded so sad.
“I don’t think it’s us, specifically. But can you imagine what an enormous change it would be for her? Her life has been turned upside down since the moment Raven invaded it. How would she feel if we were all she had? If there were no escape for her? I’m not sure she would survive that.”
“You’ve grown quite fond of her, haven’t you?” Rachel teased.
“Bite me,” was Harrier’s response. He might have said something else, but it was lost to my muzzy brain.
I must have made some sound, though, because I felt the sudden weight of a hand on mine. Based on the size and level of softness, I was going to guess it was the woman.
“Jessica?” she asked. “Are you awake, honey?”
“Yeah,” I croaked, and I heard two deep, relieved sighs.
I managed to crack one eye open and saw that the woman holding my hand was the same red haired lady who had been with Harrier. That was the night I’d sworn off Raven, Vampires and everything supernatural. She was smiling at me like one would a sick child, and Harrier stood slightly behind her wearing much the same expression.
“What happened?” I asked, my head full of fog.
“Nothing to worry about,” she promised, still holding my hand in one of hers and brushing my hair out of my eyes with her other. For some reason I thought of my mother, Maggie. This seemed like something she used to do. I shook my head to clear away the image and glanced around the room.
“Am I sick?” I asked, my voice clearing slightly as I struggled to remember. I was obviously in a Legion hospital room, and getting here felt like something I should recall.
“No dear, just a bit of blood loss is all. You’ve been transfused, and now that you’re awake things will be right as rain in no time.” Her voice had a Scottish lilt, like Harrier’s only more refined. She smiled at me then, with such familiarity—it was a bit off-putting from someone I’d never officially met. I pulled my hand from hers and struggled to sit up.
“Who are you again?” I asked her as politely as I could, given the circumstances.
“Oh, Jessica, I’m so sorry. My name is Rachel and I’m…Harrier’s half-sister. I do apologize, I should have introduced myself immediately.” She withdrew her hands into her lap, color rising in her cheeks. Great. Now I’d offended the nice lady.
Wait. Harrier had a sister?
“You didn’t tell me,” I shot Harrier an accusatory glare.
“Well, little one, what with you denouncing your relationships with all things preternatural, getting kidnapped, nearly dying, etcetera, etcetera, it was a little difficult to work in the introductions.” He reached around his sister and patted me on the head like a dog. “Glad to see your eyes open again, though,” he said before retreating to lean against the wall. I smiled to myself at his obvious lack of hospital etiquette. He was so out of his element. Begged to question what he was doing here in the first place.
Wait a minute. Kidnapped?
Flashbacks flooded my brain, of Nox and Fuhrmann, and of Raven. Oh, Raven! Had he really nearly died? I reached to pull the sheet off—I needed to find him, now—and discovered, almost too late, that I was wearing nothing but a hospital johnny. I quickly pulled the sheet back up to my neck and turned wide eyes to my guests.
“Where’s Raven?” I begged. “Is he okay?”
“Raven’s fine, dear,” Rachel assured me. “They have him down the hall in another room. His injuries were quite severe, but they were mostly structural, and we’ve been assured that most everything has nearly healed. You needn’t worry about him at all.”
“You’re sure?” I asked. All of that action
had me feeling woozy, and I fell backward into the bed. Someone had raised the head slightly so at least I wasn’t lying flat, but at this point I wasn’t sure I cared. When Rachel nodded the affirmative, Raven really was okay, I expelled a relieved sigh of my own and closed my eyes.
Chapter
One Hundred Nineteen
W hen I came to again, there was more talking. I managed to pry my eyes open on the first try, only to find a grandfatherly old man leaning over me, a stethoscope pressed to my chest. I say man, but probably should have said Vampire. It was hard to tell for sure, but he had that “I’ve been on this planet longer than dirt” feel to him, so I took a stab.
“Do you really need that?” I whispered, my throat was dry and gravelly from disuse. The old man jumped, probably at how loud my voice sounded through the instrument, and he chuckled.
“Awake are we?” he asked kindly, and I nodded. “And to answer your question, no, I suppose not.”
“So why are you using it?”
“I thought it would be less objectionable should you wake to a doctor listening to your heart via this contraption rather than to one with his ear to your chest.” He smiled and I couldn’t resist a giggle of my own. I liked him instantly.
“How is she, doc?” Harrier was back, and when I looked, there was Rachel, right beside him. Were they half siblings or conjoined twins?
The doctor shined a light into my eyes, felt my forehead and checked the IV bag.
“I do believe the patient is going to live,” he pronounced and everyone smiled. Rachel even clapped her hands together.
“Thanks doc,” I said studying him. “I don’t remember seeing you around here. Where in the world did they find you?”
“Where in the world, indeed,” he muttered, giving Harrier an odd look.
To me he said, “I’ve only just arrived. My name is Allon, and as for where they found me? Deep in the forest of Northern Italy. I would still be there if this fine young gentleman hadn’t shown up at my door and pulled me away from my tea. He was quite insistent.”
“Your errand?” I asked Harrier and he nodded.
“I’m sorry you were inconvenienced,” I said to the doc, “but I’m very glad you’re here.”
“Yes, well, it seems my foster son was in a bit of a jam. Since all of this is my fault in one way or another, it was the least I could do.”
“Foster son?” I asked. “You mean Raven?”
Allon rested a hand on the bed rail beside me, steadying himself. “Yes, child, I took Raven in when he was a boy, and I’m afraid I didn’t do a very good job in raising him.”
“Oh, I don’t know,” I said placing my hand on top of his. “I think that everything good in Raven must have come from you.”
“That’s sweet of you to say,” he smiled, “but there is so much you don’t know.”
“And that’s for another day,” Rachel interrupted, escorting Allon to the door.
“Before you go,” I said quickly, “Are you treating Raven as well?”
“Yes, I am,” Allon said. “And you needn’t worry. He is alive and healing, and I hear that is in large part thanks to you.”
“I gave him my blood,” I said, recalling the daggers, Raven’s blood. Nox.
“Yes, and Raven is alive today because you did.” With that, Allon gave a slight bow and backed out the door. Rachel closed it quietly behind him.
Chapter
One Hundred Twenty
R aven woke feeling drugged, and not “I got shot with a magical Sorcerer dart” kind of drugged. No, this was different. He couldn’t put his finger on why, it was just something he knew, from the strange feeling in his limbs to the nasty taste in his mouth.
He heard a door and someone entering the room, so he cranked his eyes open to see who his current captor was.
Allon. Okay, this was something medical.
He tried to think, but his brain wasn’t firing on all cylinders, and he couldn’t seem to land on one particular thought or memory. Based on the pain in his ankles and wrists, some bad shit had gone down, but he’d be damned if he could remember.
Allon crossed the room to a medicine cabinet, withdrew a small vial of something, probably narcotic, and a syringe which he proceeded to fill. He pushed the plunger until a bit of liquid squirted out, and headed back to the bed where Raven lay.
When the doc reached his bedside, Raven said, “If you try to stick that thing in me, I promise you it will be the last thing you do.”
Allon jumped, but maintained his hold on that syringe. “Raven! My goodness, you gave me a fright. I’m sorry, I’ve returned so late for your medicine. I was detained with another patient.” He took a step toward Raven, but a deep growl had him halting a few paces from Raven’s reach.
“Why are you trying to poison me?” Raven asked, reaching for the blanket covering him only to find his arms restrained. An ambiguous flashback had him kicking out his feet, and he relaxed a bit when found them free of bindings. Still…
“What the hell is this?” he demanded, and Allon had the good graces to look embarrassed.
“I’m sorry, son…”
“Don’t call me ‘son’.”
Allon frowned. “I’m sorry, Raven, but the Warlord insisted I add the arm restraints to ensure you didn’t harm yourself while under sedation.”
“Mason ordered me sedated and restrained? Why?” Raven shouted as he struggled to break the leather straps holding him down. He’d had just about all of his Warlord’s interference he was willing to take. They were beyond overdue for a bit of sit down and convo. He’d gone too far this time.
“Raven, please don’t be angry. Much has happened since your rescue, and it truly was best for all concerned that you be able to rest and heal. Your injuries are quite extensive, and we all simply wanted your healing to progress before you beat a path to my patient down the hall.”
“Jessica,” Raven whispered, restraints forgotten. “My gods, what have I done?” Memories stampeded back, the torture he endured at the hands of that sadistic bastard, Fuhrmann, the ghost of the Sorceress Sylva taunting him, Jessica restrained and Nox—what? Rescuing them? No, the drugs were messing with his synapses. His twin was about to assault Jessica when Raven’s head exploded.
After that, it was all a blur. He remembered nothing until waking in Jessica’s arms, his fangs in her wrist, and Mason—again with Mason—trying to pull him off of her. Someone had whisked her away, and Raven had passed out with her blood still dancing on his tongue.
Struggling for a calm he didn’t feel, Raven turned to Allon and looked him dead in the eye. “I have to see her,” he said, and Allon nodded.
“I know, Raven, but before you do there are things we need to discuss. I assure you, your paramour is doing quite well, nothing a little blood couldn’t cure, and you have caused her no lasting damage. You on the other hand…”
Raven didn’t like Allon’s tone. Confusion tangoed with the concern on the old male’s face. Christ, what now?
“Tell me,” Raven said flatly.
“I am sorry, Raven. Even with the blood you took from Miss Sweet, and that which was given upon your return here, not everything is healing as it should.”
Raven glanced at his arms. Whoever had tied him down had taken care to avoid the holes in his wrists, and they seemed to be healing well enough. He wasn’t sure how long he’d been here, but there was only a scant thin line and a little redness to show for the daggers’ abuse.
“Your limbs are fine,” Allon continued. “You will be sore for a while, as that kind of damage tends to linger. But I’m afraid it’s your other injuries that are giving us trouble.”
Other injuries? Raven couldn’t…wait. The carving Fuhrmann had done on his chest? Those were flesh wounds. With Jessica’s blood in him, they should have healed before he reached the Compound.
Raven nodded to Allon, who approached him and slowly pulled the sheet down to expose Raven’s bare chest. Bandages were covering the greater part of hi
s pecs.
“Show me,” he demanded, and Allon gently pulled the gauze away, revealing five fire red wounds, oozing with infection. This couldn’t be. “I can’t see,” Raven said, struggling with the restraints.
Allon placed a calming hand on his shoulder, and reached for the restraint on Raven’s nearest wrist, unbuckled it. One arm free, Raven quickly removed the other restraint, jumped out of the bed and went to stand before the mirror above the sink.
What he saw made his knees buckle.
“No,” he whispered. He reached a trembling hand to trace the inflamed wounds, one by one. It seemed Fuhrmann was not without a sense of irony, for he had carved five letters in Raven’s chest, and it would appear had cursed them so they would not heal. Raven looked long and hard at those letters, one word that at best would scar him for the rest of his life. At worst? He didn’t want to think about.
Steadying himself with a hand on the sink, Raven read the word aloud.
“Sylva.”
Chapter
One Hundred Twenty-One
R achel left Harrier to baby sit me, and returned in short order with a bacon cheeseburger and fries from Mable’s.
Harrier had been his usual, sullen self, and I was relieved to see his sister return, if only for a break in the silence. The cheeseburger didn’t hurt either.
I tore open the wrapper and took the first glorious bite. Mmmm, rare, just how I liked it.
Harrier was pacing again and Rachel was looking around like a long-tailed cat in a room full of rocking chairs. If they kept this up they were going to ruin my appetite, and I was entirely too hungry to let that happen. So I returned the burger to its wrapper on that slidey hospital tray thingy and picked up my napkin to wipe the grease from my fingers. With one last, longing look at my dinner, I turned my attention to my guests.
“Out with it,” I said, and they turned to me like two deer in the headlights. “There’s obviously something you’re not telling me, so why don’t you say whatever it is that’s bothering you? Then it will be over, and I can eat the rest of my burger.”