by Rena Marks
Lifting both legs, I kicked with all my might. My feet connected with his knees, breaking them with a horrendous crack. His face whitened in shock and he collapsed in slow motion, his knees bending backward as he kneeled facing me.
And facing his feet.
His screams were atrocious, even to my experienced ears. I rose and walked to the back door, slamming it behind me to soundproof the screeching.
It worked.
The silence was blessed for a moment, until the beginnings of anxiety began to hit. Was Ethan truly dead? Was it a trick by Fokusovich?
“Ethan?” I called out, a dreaded sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach.
What was I thinking? How could he respond?
Water dripped. The steady plop-plop echoed the rhythm of my heartbeat. I forced myself to become calm, to breathe easy.
My heartbeat slowed.
I turned the corner. That was where Ethan’s body had been strewn.
My heartbeat stopped.
The taunts were true. He lay still as a marble statue. No breath raising his chest, no sight in his eyes.
The ground felt like it shifted below me. Cold terror clutched me with icy fingers. My heart should have started racing but strangely enough, it didn’t. Instead my whole body was numb, shocked to the core.
The world felt unreal, as if I were caught up in a dream. He couldn’t be dead. I couldn’t live without him.
Slowly, I dropped to my knees.
His skin was pale. More so than usual. Had he been entirely drained? Was he completely dead? He couldn’t be, for he would have evaporated into dust. There had to be a chance still.
I never stopped to think. I simply did.
I tilted his head back, opening his mouth. Then I sliced my wrist vertically and allowed the blood to gush into his upturned mouth. It drained and drained, while I grew dizzy. The thought constantly swirling in my head was Ethan’s greatest fear.
To die alone.
Hot, burning tears cut trails down my cheeks. I couldn’t change the events that led to this. I couldn’t save him from his horrible fear.
Ethan had died alone.
I wasn’t there for him. I was too busy hunting when I should have concentrated on searching instead. A never-ending Extinguisher training that my consciousness hadn’t been able to leave behind. Even at the end, the damn Academy won. They completed my transformation to where my human emotions had been left behind.
My Ethan. Had his last thoughts been filled with the terror he’d never admit to? His greatest fear?
I lowered my head to his chest to rest, careful to keep my bleeding wrist in his mouth. He had to wake soon.
I still had to tell him I loved him.
* * * * *
“Is it awake?”
I was vaguely aware this time the small voice sounded scared, not disgusted like before.
So long ago.
“Do you guys congregate anywhere other than caves?” I managed to say, through lips that were a little hard to manipulate.
“Afton!” A warm ball of energy tumbled into me, a little too enthusiastically for my tender muscles.
Jordan.
And then remembrance hit me. Where was Ethan?
I gasped and sat up. Lightheadedness hit and the world swam as the child was pulled away.
“Easy, bella.”
I whipped my head toward the voice. “Ethan?” I whispered against the dizziness.
“Yes, my love. Relax, now.”
“Come to me.” I had to make sure he was real, not just a dream I’d made up. He stroked my fevered brow. “It worked? My blood?”
“Yes. You gave too much blood, Afton.”
I knew what he meant. I traded his greatest fear for…my own. It took me a few more seconds to ask.
“Did I die?”
There was a long pause. The rest of the noise in the cave subsided completely, as if everyone strained to listen. Whether it was to witness my reaction or the answer, I couldn’t tell.
Ethan’s expression was carefully measured, showing no emotion either way.
“Yes.”
And yet I rose.
I took a deep breath. “Then we both traded in our fears. You no longer fear dying alone and I no longer fear death. Now we can begin anew.”
“Begin anew?”
“Yes,” I murmured. “The old life is behind us. Ethan, I can’t live without you. You don’t have to follow me around any longer, because I will never leave you.”
His lips hovered over mine. “It is about time, my love.”
* * * * *
My stomach was in knots.
“What is taking so long?” I muttered, pacing the floor.
The old French woman who sat across the room laughed softly. “Relax. Nothing is taking long, you just don’t primp as much as normal brides. I’ve never even seen a bride wear her hair loose! Why, it’s scandalous,” she teased.
“I like the white flowers in your hair,” the child on her lap said shyly.
I’d refused a veil. The tiny, white, star-shaped flowers had been twined through my dark hair. My dress was bright white, loose and flowing, so different from the tight black outfits I always wore. It hardly looked like me, Ethan would be so surprised.
“Thank you, Leyna,” I said, looking at the sweet child. Her twin sister was silent, a thumb plugging her mouth, her left hand clutching an Extinguisher Barbie. Huge brown eyes stared from beneath the curtain of blonde hair from the face of the doll to my own.
I hoped she wouldn’t make the connection.
“Neveah!” Leyna snapped, like the bossy mother figure she often was. “You weren’t supposed to bring the dolly to the vampire wedding! Mom said so.”
Neveah said nothing, her eyes huge. So different from her twin sister, much much smaller, her movements quiet as if she didn’t wish to call attention to herself. The only thing they seemed to share was the shade of hair. And although hers was growing, it was still much shorter than her sister’s. And where her twin’s eyes were blue, hers were a dark, somber brown. Endless pits to lose yourself in. And whereas her sister chattered incessantly, the tiny twin never would utter a word.
“Ssh, it is all right. The vampires won’t mind,” their nanny said, rocking the two on her lap. “Everyone here in the village knows vampires are not scary.”
“No, the Extinguisher was scary,” Leyna said. “She blew up the whole camp of humans and killed herself too. Her eyes bled,” she continued. “When she cried. They killed her lover and she bled.”
“What do you know of lovers, little girl?” her nanny said, tickling her abdomen.
“Mommy told me,” she giggled. “But now the Extinguisher can rest in peace. No one hunts her anymore. ‘Cause she destroyed the camp, so there’s no more of the black Extinguishers who hunt the vampires. Burned it to the ground, so no other village children can be kidnapped in the night. And people were scared, ’cause the vampires were loose but they never hurt no one. And even the police stay away from them.”
“Non, the vampires come into towns whenever they wish now. There is no one to wait in the shadows and exterminate them. The vampires dole out their own justice within their race should naughty little vampy children misbehave.”
“Mommy says prejudice causes our fears. That’s why she bought Neveah the doll.”
Neveah continued to look from the doll to me, piecing things together. As always, the one known as the quiet twin didn’t say a word, allowing her sister to speak for her.
The eerie notes of the organ drifted up the stairs.
“There is our cue,” Nana said. “Come, Leyna. You are tossing the rose petals first, to show Neveah how.” She lifted both children to their feet, then took Leyna’s hand, heading out the doors of the room and to the spiral staircase, leaving Neveah with me.
“Come,” I instructed the smaller twin left behind. We walked to the top of the stairs also but instead of watching the child who strew petals in the walkway, I looked down at Ethan.
His enhanced vision connected with mine. He stared, stunned.
I glanced down at myself. The dress began as a strapless corset of white silk that wrapped around my breasts and tightened down to my waist. From there it flowed down to my ankles.
I had never worn white. In fact, I’d never worn anything but black.
His eyes were filled with love. This was the best moment of my life. I blew him a kiss, feeling my eyes overflow with the beauty of him.
Blinking, I squatted down so I was eye level with the child whose name spelled heaven backward. “Are you ready?” I asked, even though I knew N-338 wouldn’t answer me.
Again, she looked down at her hideous doll. Then she placed it gently on a nearby stand where a basin of holy water sat. She grabbed a tissue from the nearby box and turned to me.
Pudgy hands reached tentatively to my cheek, wiping at the salty trail I didn’t realize was there.
The white tissue was stained pink in the wet spots.
Silently, she turned and descended the stairs to join her sister.
About the Author
During my daytime job, I explore people of all types. At night, I love to read.
Why did I start writing? My favorite authors were all between books and I twiddled my thumbs until deciding, “Hey, I can do this for someone else out there who’s waiting for a new release too!” My favorite authors in no particular order include: Kim Harrison, Laurell K Hamilton, Jim Butcher, Charlaine Harris and Kelley Armstrong. So obviously, I cling to urban-fantasy-type work with one difference—I’m a romance author at heart. I must have my happy ending with Prince Charming. And no, it doesn’t matter if he has fangs. Or fur. As long as he’s naked, we’ll be just fine! Therefore, Ellora’s Cave seems a perfect fit for my work.
Join me for a few hours and get lost in my worlds. For now at night, I love to write!
Rena welcomes comments from readers. You can find her website and email address on her author bio page at www.ellorascave.com.
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Also by Rena Marks
Born Again
Boy Toy
Demonic Pleasures
Demonic Possession
Forgotten Kisses
Man Candy
Plaything
Shared by Wolves
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