Immortal Echoes (Haunting Echoes Book 2)

by Caethes Faron

  “There’s no need for any of it really. If you would just submit to Zenas, so many lives could be spared. In spite of everything, he still waits to welcome you back into the clan with open arms. After all this fuss, he’ll need you to make a public oath of loyalty, but that’s all. Everything can go back to the way it was. Michael will even be welcome. We can be the happy little family we should have been from the beginning, that we would have been if you hadn’t kept your relationship with him a secret from me.”

  Amaia steeled herself against his words. Lawrence, better than anyone, knew how to play her. He’d created her. He knew her better than any parent could know his child. Oftentimes, she had wondered how things might have gone if she had simply sought Lawrence’s permission to marry Michael during her mortal life. But those thoughts only lasted a second, because right on their heels was the truth that Lawrence had manipulated her from the beginning. He was never going to let her be with Michael. He wouldn’t let anyone take her from him. To let herself believe otherwise was foolish.

  She’d fought for freedom her whole life, and now she fought for freedom from the man who had taught her how to win that freedom. She could never be happy beholden to someone else. Michael was the only man who could lay claim to her.

  Besides, she wasn’t foolish enough to believe that, even if she did surrender, it would change anything. Zenas would spare Meg and Liam in order to appease her, but it was only a matter of time before he decided to go after the nomads for some other offense. He had decided he was no longer happy simply exercising his authority over his own clan and territories. He wouldn’t stop until he had what he wanted.

  “No, Lawrence. I’m never coming back.”

  “Why am I not surprised? Oh, yes, because you’ve never been capable of feeling guilt. Fine. You should hope your friends won’t see you for the selfish bitch you’ve become. Or perhaps that’s who you’ve always been.”

  His words stabbed at her heart. No matter how deeply in her being she knew he was manipulating her, his words still hurt. After all this time, he still had the power to make her feel worthless.

  “Amaia, snap out of it.” Michael grasped her shoulders and shook her until she focused on him. She didn’t remember seeing or feeling him sit next to her, much less enter the church. How much time had passed?

  “What?”

  “I came in, and you were just sitting here, staring blankly ahead. It was him, wasn’t it? Lawrence contacted you.”

  “Yes.” Amaia didn’t have the will to say more.

  Michael’s grip tightened, and his voice dipped low, too low for any mortal to hear. “Why won’t you let me kill him? I know I lack experience, but Liam and I together can destroy him.”

  “I’m beginning to realize that may be the only course of action.”

  “What did he say to you?”

  “Zenas is amused that the nomads are banding together. He’s going to let us continue to build support so that he can kill all the nomads at once in battle.”

  “We expected this might happen. That’s not all he said. That news alone wouldn’t affect you this way.”

  No, it wouldn’t. Even Michael could see that she didn’t feel any guilt over the deaths her actions would cause. “He said that Zenas was willing to end it all if I would just come back. He said you were welcome as well. Meg, Liam, and the other nomads wouldn’t be harmed. He knew I’d refuse because all I’ve ever cared about is my own happiness. He knew I wouldn’t submit myself to someone else in order to save the lives of other vampires.”

  “Why do you let him get to you? Why do you lend so much weight to his words? He hasn’t changed.”

  “We both know what he said is true. I’m a poison to everyone around me, Michael. I always have been.”

  “Not to me.”

  “Especially to you! I killed you when you were the only man who had ever truly loved me. I cursed your entire existence. You, more than anything, are the proof of Lawrence’s words.”

  “I, more than anything, am the proof that he lies. You have always cared for me unselfishly. You killed me out of instinct. You didn’t know who I was. We’ve been over this. The bloodlust in your eyes that night, I knew it wasn’t you. When you were human, you were willing to sacrifice your independence to be with me. You were willing to take on my mother and my brother’s grieving widow and two fatherless children for me. As a vampire, you’ve always come to me. You never pressured me to become a vampire even though we both know you had the persuasive power to do it, and it would have made your life so much easier. You gave up drinking blood for me for God’s sake, Amaia. It doesn’t get more selfless than that.”

  Amaia listened to her lover, let his words sink in, but they couldn’t completely take away the pain of Lawrence’s observations. “As much as I love you and trust you, it will always be easier to believe him. I’m still not convinced you see me for who I am, and I’m grateful for that because I’m not sure you’d still love me. But Lawrence knows. He’s always known what I am.”

  “It’s always easier to believe the worst, but that doesn’t make it true. I swear, Amaia, I will kill him for what he’s done to you. The fact that you haven’t let me kill him before now is proof that you have more humanity than he credits you with. You’ve always had a tender heart for those you’ve let close. And even now when you’ve done everything to distance yourself from him, you can’t so easily turn him out of your heart. That’s the truth of what you are.”

  Amaia hoped he was right.

  Chapter 29

  “Lawrence has made another threat.” Michael took the lead. He wouldn’t make Amaia talk about such raw matters aloud, but Meg and Liam needed to know where they stood.

  They sat in the woods outside of the village. He hadn’t the faintest idea where, only that they were in the Netherlands. He wondered how long it would take him to develop the same seemingly innate knowledge of European geography the others had. Then again, he supposed it didn’t really matter. He’d always have Amaia with him.

  “Are you all right, Amaia?” Trust Meg to worry about her friend first.

  “She’ll be fine. His barbed words didn’t do any lasting damage. What we need to do is decide how to proceed. Apparently, Zenas has heard about our gathering support and is content to let us build an army to face him. He fancies he can eliminate all the nomads in one fell swoop or at least decimate our numbers.”

  “I don’t understand how that benefits him. He enjoys the tribute the nomads pay to hunt in his territories. If he knows we’re planning to fight back, why not just come after us now?” Meg asked.

  Amaia spoke before Michael could think of an answer. “Zenas has all the money he could ever want. Besides, it’s never been about the money for him. He only collects it because of what it represents in the mortal world: power. That’s the only thing he’s ever wanted. Taking out the nomads is how he has chosen to display his power at this time.”

  “He underestimates us. His arrogance will be our advantage,” Liam said.

  Michael nodded. “I agree, but we’d be foolish to underestimate him as well.”

  “He wouldn’t allow us more time unless he was confident he could kill us all. There must be a way to tip the scales in our favor,” Amaia said.

  “There is.” Liam stared at Amaia as if she held the key to their success.

  “What is it?” Michael hadn’t the faintest idea what Liam could be referring to.

  “Lawrence was always obsessed with creating a superior race of vampires. Between you and Amaia, you could do it. You both have an extraordinary ability. You could turn people who have strong auras. If they’re even close to as talented as you are, they’d be beneficial in a fight. It’s Amaia’s abilities that make her such a good fighter. The only reason Lawrence hasn’t done it is because of Zenas’s restrictions on transforming.”

  Amaia was already shaking her head. “No. I won’t do it. I never shared Lawrence’s vision. Besides, I have no desire to start a clan. I’m not comf
ortable with that many people being loyal to me or Michael because we sired them. It’ll be harder to disband after this is through if they’re our children.”

  Michael’s heart leapt at the word children. He’d never particularly wanted children, but the idea of children with Amaia held appeal. But this wasn’t the same thing, not even close. “Spoken like a truly selfless person.”

  Amaia’s lips lilted upward slightly. “I just don’t want to be bothered. I always wondered how Zenas could bear to have so many vampires intruding into his mind.”

  “Sure.”

  Liam shrugged his shoulders. “Fine. Then we recruit as many nomads to our cause as we can.”

  “Given this new development, people will join us more readily.” Meg, as always, saw the upside to the news.

  “Why? The danger is greater now.” While they hadn’t encountered any nomads who were outright against them, they had found plenty who preferred not to get involved. Michael didn’t see that changing. If anything, he thought it would worsen.

  “The stakes are higher. Originally, we were targeting just his inner circle. If we tried and failed, the consequences would have been relatively contained. If there’s a battle between Zenas and the nomads, and of course there will be now, then the nomads have to win. If they don’t, Zenas will simply continue his attack on them. The others will recognize what is at stake here and join with us. You’ll see.”

  “I hope you’re right, Meg.”

  “We should split up,” Amaia said. “It will make the recruiting go faster.”

  “No, absolutely not.” Michael would not be swayed on this. “You’re still a target. We need to stick together.”

  “I agree.” Liam nodded. “She’s our standard-bearer. If she dies, it will be harder to get some of the nomads to join us. Given this latest bit of news, it’s unlikely Zenas wants her dead, but no doubt one of his followers may foolishly try to gain favor by killing her.”

  “Besides, we’ve always stuck together.” Meg smiled at Amaia.

  “Fine.”

  “This will work, Amaia. We will overthrow him. And when we do, I’m going to find Lawrence and kill him as slowly as I possibly can.” Michael didn’t normally take himself for one prone to unnecessary violence, but for Lawrence, he’d make an exception. That worm was the primary source of pain in his life and Amaia’s.

  He hadn’t killed anyone since he’d seen that girl at the Red Lion. His desire to kill had no outlet, and it only drove him further to seek vengeance. If given the choice between winning this war or killing Lawrence, he wasn’t confident in his ability to decide. Then again, in his mind, the war would never be over as long as Lawrence lived.

  Chapter 30

  Amaia was tired of all the running. Not the physical act, of course. No, she was ready to stand and fight. It irked her that Zenas still controlled how she conducted her life. If it weren’t for him, she’d have a home somewhere with Michael. Every day that her actions were dictated by circumstance instead of choice felt like defeat.

  For almost a year, they’d been recruiting vampires to their cause. It would have gone much quicker, but many nomads insisted on meeting her, seeing that the stories were true. Europe had been by far the easiest, but Zenas’s clan extended much farther than Europe. Their effort had to be equally broad. In the last year, Amaia had seen more of the world than she ever had before. They had traveled throughout Asia and then Africa. She wished time had permitted her to enjoy all the different sights with Michael, but at least now they knew where they’d like to visit when this awful business was over.

  Once again, they were in Crawley with Marcus and Jacob. They’d had several meetings since that first one. Even though they were nomads in name, Marcus and Jacob often spent several decades in one place. Then again, that probably did seem quite a nomadic existence to two men who had lived several thousands of years together.

  “You’ve done well, Amaia. Our numbers are growing quite impressively.” Jacob had grown to like her after that first meeting. He was the one who coordinated much of the effort. Whenever he heard that some vampires were hesitant to join until they saw Amaia for themselves, he’d send word, and Amaia would go to them. The network of nomads was quite effective in delivering messages and spreading news. Normally, she’d chafe at being issued commands, but Jacob had never worded them that way. He simply let them know where to find vampires who could be persuaded by a personal visit. In fact, she knew that Jacob didn’t really care if she went or not. He just relayed the information.

  “Thank you for the tips. The meeting with the contingent from the Americas was particularly fruitful.” They had met with a group of nomads who had crossed the Bering Strait into Russia. The New World vampires, being further removed from the origin of the rumors, had been suspicious. Zenas had plenty of territory there, and the nomads feared that rumors of war were just a way to frighten them into continued obedience to the tribute system. Once Amaia had shown herself to them, they had been more than willing to join the fight.

  “I’m glad to hear it.”

  “What news do you have for us this time?” Liam cut right to the point. Amaia knew he was as eager as she to get on with the battle. They’d waited long enough. He was hoping this would signal the beginning of the end.

  “It’s good news. Zenas attempted to draw Ezekial in as an ally, but he refused. All the other clan leaders have followed suit. It appears Ezekial wants to see how this will all play out,” Marcus said.

  Liam’s only response was a smile.

  “More likely, he wants to see Zenas destroyed and our numbers decimated,” Amaia said. This news mildly surprised her. True, Ezekial and Zenas were enemies, but she knew from experience that they both enjoyed fighting each other. She had expected that he would join forces with Zenas in order to ensure they both survived to continue their feud.

  “Perhaps.” Marcus arched his eyebrows.

  “This is great news. It means we have enough allies to move forward since we won’t be battling two armies,” Meg said.

  “No.” Amaia was as eager as Meg to move to the battlefield, though Meg’s eagerness was purely to see this finished while Amaia thirsted for a fight. “Ezekial may not be joining forces, but he’ll be nearby. As soon as we’re finished with Zenas, he’ll swoop in to take advantage of our depleted numbers. He won’t let us recover.”

  While Amaia knew that Ezekial and Zenas routinely ended battles without destroying the other, it was because they considered each other worthy opponents. That was not the case here. If nothing else, Ezekial hated her for the way she had savaged his clan during the battle she’d fought in for Zenas. He would see this through to the end if they gave him the chance.

  “I agree with Amaia.” Jacob nodded to her. “However, I think we should put a timeframe in place. We need to send word to the others of when and where we should gather.”

  “Is there any location that will give us a tactical advantage?” Michael asked.

  Liam shook his head. “I can’t think of one.”

  Everyone was silent.

  An idea began to form in Amaia’s mind. Zenas had fought battles all over the world. It was all equal to him. The only advantage Amaia could think of was to have the battle at the one place where she was familiar with fighting on such a large scale. “Samegrelo.”

  They all turned their attention to her, awaiting an explanation.

  “I fought there once. I know the lay of the land, where he’s likely to come from, how he’ll position his army. It’s not a great advantage, but it’s the best we have.”

  “Very well, Samegrelo it is.” Marcus nodded. “We’ll send word. How much longer should we recruit? With a firm time and place, the urgency may convince those who are still reluctant.”

  Amaia spoke. “Three months from today. That gives people time to travel and time for us to recruit more. If someone hasn’t joined us in that timeframe, they never will.”

  They all looked at one another. Nervous energy hung in the ai
r. Were they really about to make this commitment? Everyone’s eyes were firm in agreement.

  “Three months it is. As always, it was lovely seeing you.” Jacob’s words were directed squarely to Amaia as he rose.

  Jacob’s disdain for small talk was one of the things Amaia admired about him. This wasn’t a social call. They were temporary allies. No need to pretend otherwise.

  “Three months. Do you think we can be ready?” Michael asked as soon as they were on their way to the coast.

  “We’ll have to be.” She felt his nervousness. She hoped he didn’t feel hers.

  Chapter 31

  Michael spotted his prey. A woman walked alone, a basket in hand, no doubt running errands. She appeared somewhat young, in her early thirties perhaps. Michael smirked. That meant, in mortal terms, she was older than him. He couldn’t shake the feeling that all humans were young though, not when he had memories that stretched back centuries and knew he’d be around long after everyone he saw was dead.

  The woman had a large nose, dull brown eyes framed by eyebrows too large for her face, and thin lips. Nothing about her appearance appealed to him. Michael preferred feeding from women he didn’t find attractive. It soothed his conscience to know that the women he pretended to seduce couldn’t ever stir his passion.

  As soon as Michael greeted his prey and smiled, her energy leapt. She would be easy. Less than five minutes later, he had her behind a building, convinced she loved him. His memory of all the languages he had known in his mortal lives helped in these situations. He didn’t doubt he could take the woman to bed if he wanted. The thought of having sex with a human would have sickened him even if he didn’t have romantic notions of loyalty to Amaia.

  His skill had increased under Amaia’s tutelage. She’d only agreed to teach him because the knowledge made their lives safer. Not only could Michael manipulate energies to a greater extent than he even needed, he could take energy from humans at will. He took a little here and there, just to see that he could. While he understood how it was possible to survive off of them as Amaia had, he still didn’t understand how she had exercised the willpower to do so. He only did it when he didn’t have time or wasn’t in an appropriate place to feed.