“He will never forget you. Can you forget about him?” he asks me.
I pause to consider his question. “If I am not around him, then yes, in time. I thought when he released me from his bond that I would be able to love him less, but I have to be physically away from him to disconnect emotionally. I’m sorry, but that is the truth.”
“I have something to tell you. I do not know how you will react, but I bought our home back in England. Well, not really our home anymore, but the land and the house that is on it. They will be moved out in a couple of months. If you do not like to live there, then I will understand.”
I turn to look at him. “I do not wish to fight with you when everything else is going on. I wanted to spend today in your arms and not at each other’s throats. Your gift is thoughtful but you are right to assume that you do not know how I would feel. I do not know myself. We can go visit together and decide from there.”
“Will you drink my blood now?” he asks.
“When I am ready,” I say. I walk into the closet and dress.
“Where are you going? You need to rest.”
“I will be back soon. I need to talk to Jessica,” I say. He does not try to stop me from leaving. We still have much to talk about. Hopefully he will get some rest, but I do not think I will be gone for long.
When I approach Jessica’s room, her door is slightly ajar. I push to make the opening wider. There stands Jessica with Malachi behind her. Her shirt is pushed down off her shoulders and his hands are holding her arms. He is drinking her blood. I feel like I just walked in on them having sex. I turn to leave so not to interrupt but Malachi looks up and catches my eyes. I try to wave him off to never mind my presence, but he stops drinking and lifts his mouth off of her neck. A drop of crimson runs down her throat. I lick my lip involuntarily. I realize just how much I need to drink.
“What’s wrong?” Malachi asks.
“Nothing,” I say. “The door was open. I shouldn’t have come in. Please don’t let me stop what you were doing.” I leave and hear Jessica calling after Malachi. He is following me. I am turned around by his hand on my arm.
“Don’t tell me that nothing is wrong. I know otherwise.”
“Jacob and I had a fight,” I admit.
“So you come running to me. It is not my concern,” he says.
“I didn’t come looking for you. I wanted to talk to Jessica. You are just as much to blame for our fight as I am. He saw your mark on me and knows that you drank my blood.”
“I thought you would heal before he undressed you, but I guess he just couldn’t wait.”
“He shouldn’t have to wait. It should never have happened and it never will again.”
“I can’t promise you that I can keep from touching you. You are too important to me to just give up. One day you will come to me again.”
“No, you are wrong. Jacob and I are leaving for England after the fight is finished. I need to distance myself from you. You will learn to love Jessica. She is a good fit for you. You both have lost your true mates. Find your comfort there.”
“I told you that I would leave if it is necessary. You shouldn’t have to run from me,” he says to me as I see Rebecca coming out of her room and heading to the dining hall.
“I have to go,” I say as I turn to catch her.
“You are still running. Your feelings will catch you sooner or later. I’ll be here waiting.” When I turn around to challenge him, I see Jessica standing outside her door. She goes quickly back inside and slams the door shut. I will talk to her later; first I need to speak to the wizard about some ghosts.
“Rebecca, I need to talk to you. Is there a spell to stop the Demon spirits from attacking the Vampires?”
“I’ve been working on something. It is dangerous for me to perform. All their attention will be on me. The spell can handle them, but when Lilith sees that I am the source of the spell, she will attack me.”
“Then you will need added protection. Jacob, Malachi, Jessica, and I will surround you. I can keep the spirits from attacking them. They cannot harm me since I have pure Angel blood in me. Finish your spell and we will implement it tonight. Jacob is going to try to draw the Demons to us and away from the pond. He is planning on draining the pond so they will be trapped here when the daylight comes. They will die in the sun. All we have to do is hold them off until morning.”
“I have a lot of work to do. You should rest, and it looks like you can use more blood.” Rebecca places her hands to her face and rubs her forehead.
“Don’t worry. I will not let her get to you. You are well protected here. We are family and ours is forever.” I place my hand on her shoulder as I reassure her. She feels the responsibility of our lives in her hands.
“I need to talk to Jessica. Good luck. You should rest as well.” I leave and head back to my sister-in-law’s room. I knock on the door. It is not locked so I enter. There is no point securing a door when one can just open it with their mind.
“Jessica, we need to talk.”
“There is nothing to say. He will not leave you for me. He has already tried to make love to me, and he couldn’t go through with it. I am tired of trying. I do have feelings for him, but it is best that I leave him be so that I don’t get hurt.”
“Listen, he was making an effort until Lilith took him. With us being forced to be together in Hell, our lives have been turned back upside down. We need to readjust to the way things are supposed to be. He is with you, and I am with your brother.”
“I am going to release him from his Guardianship of me.”
“No,” I say but then reconsider. “At least not until the fighting is finished.” I am being selfish in my answer. With him being gone from the estate and from me, maybe he will be awarded another soul to protect and the distance will make him come to his senses. Jessica starts to cry, and I hold her close to me. She does not want to say goodbye to him. I am torn with what I should do.
Just then the door opens and Malachi comes in. I let go of her and stand to leave. As I pass him, I whisper a warning. She needs him. I see that now. “She is going to dismiss you after this is over.” Malachi does not say anything to me. He and I both know that if she does, he is gone from my life indefinitely. “Go to her. Love her.” I say as I exit the room.
Jacob is sleeping when I return. He is wearing pajama pants and a soft T-shirt. He is still angry or he would be naked and waiting for me. I put on a silk gown and climb into bed beside him. When I go to touch him, he rolls over. I snuggle in against his back. I kiss his shoulder and lay my head down on the pillow. I am exhausted. There are only about eight more hours until dusk. We need to be up in less than that.
“Drink from me,” he whispers.
“I need…to rest. I…am too tired to try…now,” I say as my eyes are closing. I feel him rustling beside me under the covers. I go to sleep.
I feel like I am underwater, and I am having difficulty breathing. My chest is heavy. When I open my eyes, my mouth is full of blood. I swallow while looking into his eyes. “I will not lose you,” he whispers to me. You will drink. If you are too weak, I will transfuse you if necessary. Now swallow more.” I do. The blood is slow to flow out of his wrist. He grumbles when I pull away. I rise up and bite into his throat. He lowers his head for me so I can rest while I nourish myself. When I stop, he makes me keep drinking. “Your body is not healing your scars. I do not understand. You’ve been in the sun and you’ve drank plenty of my blood, but the dagger wounds are returning. Did Lilith chant anything when she stabbed you?”
“No. She spoke in tongue to Arthur but not to me. When Malachi and I were in the middle of…you know, she started vibrating and gyrating. I thought she was just excited.”
“How are you feeling now?” he asks.
“I’m still tired. I need to sleep.”
“No, wait here. Keep your eyes open.” He gets up to leave. When he returns, I see he has Malachi and Rebecca with him. I am awake, but I do not speak. My mo
uth is dry. Jacob pulls down the covers and starts to lift up my gown. I see Malachi looking at my body. Rebecca is taken aback.
“She put a spell on her. I’ve never seen this before. Is that where she pierced her with your daggers?” Rebecca asks Malachi.
“Yes, and her shoulder and abdomen. I thought they were healed. They did not look like this after I licked the wounds. When did you notice they were getting worse?”
“I drank from her earlier. When she returned from seeing Jessica, she drank from me. That is when I saw that the wounds had reappeared.”
“I will have to consult the books. I may even have to call Merlin.”
“You consort with him?” Jacob asks her.
“Yes, on many occasions. I have taken up my apprenticeship again since Arthur died.”
“Very well. Do what is necessary. Will this kill her?” Jacob asks.
“I do not know. I have a theory, but you are not going to like it.”
“Tell me once you confirm it. I do not need to know any of it just yet.” Jacob turns to Malachi. “What is your thought on the matter?”
“I assume it is the same conclusion as Rebecca’s. I caused this with my dagger. I play a part in removing the curse. We did not finish what we started. Maybe this was her enforcement to make sure we followed through.”
“I will not consent to you taking her to your bed,” Jacob hisses.
“Are you that selfish?” Malachi asks.
“There may be another solution. Don’t everyone go killing each other yet. Wait for me. Let her rest. Drain your blood back out of her since it got worse when you gave it. Do not swallow it. You may have drunk from her earlier but do not attempt it now,” Rebecca instructs.
“Should she drink from me when she is empty?” Malachi asks.
“I’m checking on that, but hold off for now. Keep her in bed. She did not get sick off of the bagged blood. Find the source of it and feed it to her.” Rebecca leaves. Malachi stays. When I try to sit up in the bed, I see my thighs. The holes are wide in my flesh, and black spider veins spread across my flesh.
“Get your blood out of me now,” I spit at Jacob. He goes over to the door and takes a large vase from the table. When he sits beside me, he leans in to bite me. “No,” I say. “Take me to the shower and let it fall out of my arteries. It is too dangerous for you to drink.” Jacob picks me up from the bed and carries me into the bathroom. After removing my gown, he joins me in the shower and proceeds to bite me in multiple locations along my main artery and vein lines. Blood oozes out down my skin and into the drain. I feel better already just by having half of his blood drained from me. When my wounds heal, he bites me again to open my flesh.
I shower off and put on my nightgown. Malachi is still in our bedroom waiting on our return. The places on my body look much better, but are still not completely healed.
“Let me take her outside to the patio. She can sleep there while she soaks up more of the sun,” Malachi suggests.
“Very well, bring her back two hours before dark,” Jacob responds. “And I shouldn’t have to remind you that she is my wife.”
Rebecca walks back into the room. “Merlin says that Lilith’s vibrating dance was a mating ritual. Did she give chase right away or finish her spell?”
“She did not chase us until we were close to the portal,” Malachi says.
“Then my assumptions are correct. Unless you two finish mating, then the curse will not be broken.”
Jacob curses and throws the vase against the wall, shattering it to pieces. “We can just keep doing what we are doing. There is no need to do this.”
“There’s more,” Rebecca says. “You and Marion cannot drink each other’s blood or mate until the spell is broken. I take it since she is still alive you have not had sex since she came back?”
“No,” Jacob says. He does not offer any explanation. He knows that if Malachi had not drunk from me and left his evidence behind that I would be dead right now.
“There is one alternative. She can drink the blood of a pure Angel. It is the only thing that can release the red Demon’s curse.”
“I will send for Adam.”
“He will not come,” Malachi replies. “He will not get involved.”
“I will try just the same. We have been friends for over a millennium.”
“There is someone else who may help. I will call for him just in case Adam falls through.”
“Send up your prayer. Take her to sun. I will have the bagged blood ready for her when she returns.”
Malachi reaches for my hand. I hesitate before taking it. I know Jacob does not like seeing me touching him as I leave our bedroom still wearing my nightgown.
The sun hurts my eyes as he opens the front door. I adjust to accommodate my new surroundings. We walk to the patio and Malachi sits in a lounge chair. I try to move to the next chair but he doesn’t let go of my hand. Instead, he opens his legs and pulls me down to sit between them. I start to protest.
“I’m not going to do anything inappropriate. Lean back against me and rest.” I relax and lie back onto his chest. He wraps one arm around my waist and pulls me in closer. “Are you comfortable? Lay your head back and sleep.”
I put my head back onto his shoulder. I start to fall asleep very quickly. I feel his hand pull down the spaghetti strap of my nightgown off my shoulder. He lifts up the silk over my breast but replaces it just as immediately. He pulls my gown strap back into place. I know he just checked out the wound on my shoulder.
When I feel my flesh tingle all over, I panic. “Lie still. I am healing you. I told you that I am not going to do anything inappropriate. I had to see the state of your wound to know how much to repair.”
I lie back down and fall asleep. Malachi wakes me in several hours. He seems tired.
“Did you rest any?” I ask while sitting up.
“No, I no longer sleep.”
“Why do you seem so weak?”
“I will be fine when the time comes. Can you make it upstairs on your own? I need to stay here a little while longer.” I nod my head yes.
“Come here,” he says. I move closer to the chair. He places his hand around my hips as he raises my nightgown higher up my leg. He runs his hand over my thigh. I look and notice my skin is smooth.
“Did this work?” I ask.
“It is only temporary.”
“Thank you. I feel so much better. I’ll see you in a few hours.” He is slow to let go of me. He lowers his head and rests it on my abdomen. I do not know whether to touch him or not. Slowly I raise my hands and run my fingers through his hair. His long locks twine around in my hand and fall over his face.
“I’m sorry that I am hurting you,” I whisper. “You deserve someone better than me, someone who can love you completely.”
“I am growing weary in my resolve. I am tired, Marion. My life was desolate until you came into it. I fear that my existence when you leave will be lonely once more. I cannot live anymore.” He pushes me back and stands to look down into my eyes. “I fear that I will not survive this battle.” I start to cry. He wipes my tears away. I know he wants to kiss me, but he holds back. “I must go now and call Michael for help.”
“The Archangel?” I question.
“Yes, he and I were friends before I fell from grace. He will help us, one warrior to another.”
Malachi opens his wings. They are dull in color.
“What happened to them?” I ask.
“You have my light. I must recharge while I can. Goodbye, Marion.” He lifts off the ground. I see him rise above the trees and head towards the sun. I go inside while wiping my eyes. Jacob is on the steps.”
“I was coming to get you. What’s wrong?” he asks.
“Nothing,” I say. He does not ask why Malachi is not with me.
“How do you feel?” he asks.
“Fine. He healed me with all that he had in him. I’m afraid that he has done too much. He thinks he will die tonight,” I inform him.
“That is why you are so upset?”
“Yes.”
“I will not let that happen.”
“You cannot protect all of us,” I say.
“I am stronger than you think.”
“Can I touch you?” I ask him.
“Rebecca does not advise it. She does not know if it will weaken you. You should be strong for the battle.”
“Is she ready with her spell?”
“Yes. Once the Demons and spirits reach the estate, we will go the pond to drain it and Rebecca will call the spirits back to us where she will trap them. Hopefully we can keep Lilith from coming up into this realm.”
“I’m going to go upstairs and get ready. My drink is there?” Jacob nods. “I may not make it to the meeting.”
“That’s fine. You know the plan. Take all the time you need.”
Chapter 17
Dark shadows float along the lawn sprawling across the grass. I can barely make out the multitude of Demons and ghosts that hide in waiting. The Vampires make their way out to meet them. Those of us who can fly are on the rooftop.
When Jacob lets out a fierce roar, we attack. The Demons are falling fast. Once the ghosts join the fight, we are once again at a disadvantage. Jacob nods at me and Rebecca. We take flight to the pond. He will join us after he makes sure no one follows us. I look down and see Jacob’s sword slicing through a ghost. It will not kill it but it will slow it down.
After we fly over the pond twice to make sure it is clear, we land. Rebecca starts to put up the hidden mirrors, attaching them to the trees in a circle. I hear the water rippling behind me. When I turn, I see several Demons emerge.
“We’ve come to drag you back to Hell, hybrid,” the one with the scar says.
“Does Lilith miss me already?” I say sarcastically.
“She will not be as kind to you this time.”
“You call her hospitality kind?” I spit. “Quit talking and let’s dance already.” I throw my dagger at him and miss on purpose. It lodges in the chest of the Demon behind him. He crumbles to bones in the water.
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