by Kimbra Swain
“No!” One went down at my feet. Its fluid splashing over my boots.
“No!” I screamed as lightning struck one cowering in the far corner of the room.
“No!” The one at Grace’s feet with his fangs still embedded in her right foot splattered across the floor under the cross.
I stood over her, looking down at her still figure. She was paler than I’d ever seen. Her tattoo was faded. The platinum hair seemed to grey at the roots. Her lids were purple and closed.
The last of the vrykolaka stood across the room from me. His arms were folded over his chest. He glared at me knowing he would soon join the river of blood flowing through his home. “You are too…” he exploded into bits before he finished. I wasn’t giving him the satisfaction, so I put a little extra in his bullet. I holstered my guns. Looking over her tortured body, I feared to touch her.
“Dylan, see if she is still with us,” Jeremiah said. He and the other men stepped back from her.
I wasn’t afraid of her. Grace was still with us. I wouldn’t believe otherwise. She was too damn stubborn. I told her not to give up. She might be mad as hell, but I’d welcome it. Reaching out with my fingers, I stroked her cheek. It was frigid. Knowing who she was, and her magic, I stroked again. Pressing my palm to her cheek, I called out to her.
“Grace, wake up,” I said softly. She didn’t move. I moved my hand down to her neck to feel for a pulse. Nothing. I shuddered with fear and pain.
“She can still be there,” Jeremiah said, knowing that I searched for her pulse, but felt nothing.
“No breath. No heartbeat. She’s been drained,” I gulped.
“Just call out to her,” he prompted. “She will hear you.”
“Damn, woman! Wake up!” I yelled at her.
With no movement, not even from her lips, her voice filled the room like it resonated through a crystal, “Don’t you fucking yell at me, Dylan Riggs.”
Jeremiah heaved a sigh. Only our Grace would be so brash.
“Open your eyes and look at me,” I said, cupping her cheek. Jeremiah moved up with the others to release her bonds. The bruised eyelids fluttered, and crystal turquoise orbs stared back at me.
“You led me to them,” she said with her mouth moving this time.
“I didn’t know where they were. I only knew they were coming for you,” I said. She would be confrontational right now. So near to death, she still found a way to be difficult.
“Remember what I told you,” Jeremiah said. She wouldn’t remember any of this. He was giving me permission to do what I wanted until that time.
I leaned over to her forehead, kissing it gently. “I’d never hurt you, Grace,” I said.
“Don’t do that,” she whimpered. Tears welled up in her eyes. They spilled over to her temples running down into her hair. I brushed them away with my thumbs. My heart pounded looking at her as confusion filled her features.
“These wounds, Jeremiah. Do we need to seal them?” I asked. “We shouldn’t leave her blood here.”
“I’m going to burn it down,” Luther said.
Jeremiah waved his hand, and a soft blanket appeared in his hand. “Lift her,” he said.
“If it hurts, you tell me,” I said to her. She bit her lip, bringing what blood she had left to the indention that her teeth made on it. It flushed pink with life. I snaked my arms around her back up to her neck to brace her head if she couldn’t hold it up. Jeremiah tucked the blanket behind her. I withdrew one arm at a time, then put them back while he wrapped her up.
“Time to go,” he said.
I nodded. Gently, I picked her up. She winced in pain. “I’m so sorry,” I whispered in her ear.
“Not your fault,” she said quietly. I felt her hands grasping my body through the blanket.
“I left you. Please forgive me,” I said. I knew she wouldn’t remember, but I hated myself enough at that moment to ask.
“Nothing to forgive,” she muttered. “Take me home. Don’t leave me again.”
Pain stabbed through my heart, and I gasped. I would leave her again. This was just a rescue mission. Afterward, I would have to return to my misery with Stephanie unless Jeremiah changed his edict. His eyes met mine. I was surprised to see pain there. The source of which I wasn’t sure, but I knew he felt it. I knew he heard her.
“I swear, Grace. I will always be there for you,” I said. It wasn’t a lie. For once, I didn’t lie to her. Even if I had to go back to my own personal hell, Grace and I had a future. I just had to wait for it. No matter what, I would be there until the day I stopped breathing.
As we exited the home, the fire raged behind us. Luther emerged from the center of it unscathed. His dark black wings tucked behind him, and the curling horns disappeared. The heritage of my father pulled toward the flame. The pyromaniac in me reveled in the light of the burning blaze. Darkness fell on the house as it burned to embers.
“Impressive,” I told Luther.
“Thanks. It means a lot coming from you,” he smiled.
“Home,” Grace muttered. Jeremiah put his hand over her forehead. Her eyes rolled back as her lids closed over them.
“What did you do?” I asked.
“She’s in pain. Let her rest. You will get another chance to say your piece before I remove the taint as well as the memories,” he said.
I finally felt her heartbeat again. Her chest rose and fell gently.
Grace was always larger than life. Her presence consumed whatever space she was in, but as I carried her in my arms, she felt small. Fragile. Delicate. I realized that the ice queen could be broken. I just hoped she wasn’t beyond repair.
Grace
A throbbing pain assaulted my head. Pounding like a jackhammer. “Urgh,” I grunted.
“Easy there,” Dylan’s soft voice came from nearby. I grasped at the bed I laid in. It was soft compared to the wooden cross. However, my body ached from the prone position. I wasn’t sure how long I had been bound to the torture device, but it was too long.
“Hurts,” I said, opening my eyes to see him seated next to the bed. He was close enough to touch me but wasn’t. I remembered his warm arms carrying me out of that hell hole.
“Jeremiah is getting what he needs to heal you,” he said.
“Who else is here?” I asked. “There were others.”
“Deacon Giles and Luther Harris,” he replied.
“Luther? Luther left Betty?” I questioned.
“We had to get you back,” he said. I shook my head. No one should risk death for me, especially someone as kind as Luther. “It’s okay. We are all glad we came.”
“He’s right. I would have volunteered,” Luther’s strong voice came from behind Dylan who leaned back for me to see the tall man standing behind him. Would have volunteered meant he had had no choice. The Sanhedrin forced him. Luther was a fairy.
“Betty?” I asked.
“She knew I’d come home to her. Someone has to keep that woman straight,” he smiled. His white teeth illuminated the dark corner where he stood. Luther was a beacon of hope and light to me. He and Betty were friends. I thought I didn’t have friends, but apparently, I did. I had been short-sighted. Perhaps, I had been about other things as well.
“What are you?” I asked Dylan. He bowed his head and rubbed his temples. He couldn’t have survived the den of vampires unless he was something very special. Through the haze, I remembered a rolling thunder following his voice. The flashes of light like a storm. The unnatural warmth of his touch.
“Excuse me,” Luther said, leaving the room.
Jeremiah entered as Luther left. “I’m ready when you are, Serafino.”
“Give me a minute,” Dylan responded.
Jeremiah stalked back out the door. It clicked with a heavy lock. I turned my eyes back to the troubled storms in Dylan’s. “Please don’t lie to me anymore. You’ve been lying for years.”
“I thought you didn’t know,” he cringed.
“I chose to ignore it,” I s
aid. “But I don’t know what you are. I just know that whatever it is, it’s powerful enough to end me.”
“Which is why I swore to you, on my life, that I wouldn’t hurt you,” he said hanging his head.
“They wouldn’t let you tell me,” I said.
“No. Even when I wanted to. I begged them. They denied my request,” he said. The truth floated somewhere between us, and neither of us could grasp it.
“Then don’t tell me. Your oath is enough,” I said. The fairy inside me ripped me a new one, but I forced her to the back of my mind.
He clasped my hand, sending warmth up my arm. His lips pressed against the back of it at the tips of my tattoo which looked faded. I waited for him to tell me what he wanted. What he was allowed to tell me.
“Jeremiah is going to heal you from the taint. When he does, you won’t remember this conversation. You won’t remember us being here. You won’t remember that I love you, Grace. I don’t know how to face the future waiting for the moment that it won’t be a forgotten memory. My heart fears that you will never forgive me for the lies. All the lies. So many damn lies,” he said, pouring out his heart. My own tears flooded my eyes, making him a blurry spot in my vision.
“Love me?” I repeated. “You are with her.”
“I have to be, for now, but I assure you that my heart has never belonged to anyone until I gave it to you. It’s yours. It always will be,” he said. An impatient knock rapped against the door.
“Why can’t I remember it?” I asked. Jeremiah was going to erase my memory. It was part of my contract. I had given him permission to do it if absolutely necessary. He couldn’t get me out of that den without Dylan. He knew that the truth would reveal itself, and he would have to paint over it with a broad brush. I clenched my fists in anger. Dylan’s actions over the years made more sense. He loved me. He was torn between the orders of the Sanhedrin and the man he wanted to be. I didn’t know how or why it happened, but I felt a warmth in my own heart that I didn’t think could exist.
“It’s just not the right time,” he said.
“You don’t believe that,” I said, suddenly feeling full of life.
“No, I don’t, but that’s the way it’s going to be for now,” he said with regret. The knock on the door turned to a pounding.
“Are you going to kiss me?” I asked. “You are supposed to kiss the girl you love.”
A smile crossed his face. The one that melted my panties, only I wasn’t wearing any. Under the blanket, I realized I was very naked. Not just naked, but naked to my soul. I’d just admitted that I wanted him to kiss me. The taint must have been affecting me.
“No. I’ll kiss you when I can make you mine,” Dylan said.
I pouted which caused him to grin more. “Stop, smiling at me,” I fussed.
“You like my smile,” he said.
“No, I don’t,” I huffed.
Jeremiah burst through the door. “Serafino!”
Dylan laughed at him. He leaned over me. I felt his breath tickle my cheeks, then he planted a kiss on my forehead.
“I changed my mind. I’m not interested,” I said.
“Welcome back, Gracie,” he said, walking out of the room. Fine ass. I felt more like myself.
“What kind of name is Serafino?” I called out to him. As the door shut, I could hear him laughing.
Jeremiah took a deep breath, preparing himself for a fight. I always fought with him. It was fun. I didn’t feel like fighting. If he was going to erase everything, the kidnapping, the torture, the taint, and the confession, then I wanted him to hurry up and do it.
“Just do it, Jeremiah,” I said.
“You aren’t going to fight me?” he asked.
“No,” I said shortly.
“What about what Dylan told you?” he inquired.
“What? That he loves me? He’s not the first to be enchanted,” I said.
Jeremiah shook his head at me. “Grace, that man loves you more than any other ever has,” he said. “He is unique. He will be worth the wait.”
“Sure. Tell me all that so you can rip it from me. Sadomasochistic bastard,” I grumped.
“I’m sorry,” he said.
“No, you aren’t. Just do it,” I said.
Without another word, he began to chant while lighting a candle beside the bed. He lit a bundle of herbs. Its scent filled my nostrils, as I drifted off to sleep. I tried to force myself to remember what Dylan told me. If I remembered anything, I wanted to keep that. Just that. Nothing else.
Dylan
Watching her sleep in her own bed, I had to rush to leave the trailer and her behind.
My curse was to remember.
Hers was to forget.
For two years now, I’d worried about the lies and if she would ever forgive me, but now I had a small hope that she would. My problem was in believing the necessity of it. Jeremiah assured me that we needed to continue to play this game. I told him that Stephanie wasn’t oblivious to the fact that Jeremiah and the Sanhedrin were trying to get information. Despite all her distasteful friends and actions, she was intelligent, but a manipulative woman. Had she not been manipulating me, it would be fascinating, maybe even a turn on.
Grace slept for three days. Jeremiah sat by her side, dozing. I made coffee and kept tabs on the county business when Troy would come by to check-up with me. I wouldn’t miss her waking up. I didn’t know how I would feel. Happy that she survived. Torn because she had forgotten. Broken because I had to keep lying.
She didn’t move or shift, but I looked up to meet dark, doe eyes staring at me. They darted over to Jeremiah who woke up sensing her movement.
“Nestor,” she whimpered.
“Nestor is fine. He went to the med center, and he’s back home resting,” Jeremiah said.
“You!” she stammered. Her eyes pierced through me as her nostrils flared. “You led me straight to them.”
I knew if anything Grace was consistent. I knew we would have this conversation again, but I had no idea how much it would hurt having it. My gut wrenched inside me.
“I just knew they were coming. I didn’t know they were at the bar,” I explained. Thankfully, Jeremiah helped me out.
“It’s true, Grace. He got all us to you faster than we would have without the information that he obtained in Tuscaloosa. I’ve kept him away working on a project for the Sanhedrin. We suspected that a Greek band of undead tied to the mafia was making moves to take you. He got the information that morning,” Jeremiah lied like a lazy dog.
“That dog won’t hunt, Jerry. He called me drunk the night before. He wasn’t on some secret mission,” she said staring at me. I felt it was best to keep my mouth shut, even though I wanted to protest.
“The Greek contact in Tuscaloosa is a man who runs the law firm where Stephanie Davis works. Dylan attended their Christmas party to get information. Somewhere along the line, they suspected him. They drugged his drink, sending him back to her apartment alone. When he woke up, he called all of us,” Jeremiah said.
“Drugged? He was just drunk,” she said, waiting for me to speak.
“Do you remember calling her?” Jeremiah asked me as if we were having this conversation for the first time. I wasn’t sure which lie I wanted to try with her.
“Vaguely. I remember. Did I say anything inappropriate? If I did, I’m sorry, Grace. I’m just so glad you are okay,” I said. Denying calling her would have made me a huge ass. Who was I kidding? After all of this, I was a huge ass.
“No. Nothing inappropriate,” she muttered. “I asked if you needed help.”
“I know, but I didn’t realize what was going on,” I replied.
“Are you going back to Tuscaloosa?” she asked.
I looked at Jeremiah who shook his head. “No, he’s staying here now. If there are entities making moves against Shady Grove, then we need the sheriff here. I should not have sent him away.”
Bless Jeremiah Freyman. He could spin a web, and instead of making me look wo
rse, he tried to help. I supposed it was my consolation prize for agreeing to all these lies.
“What happened at the bar?” she asked.
“Dylan arrived as one of those vile creatures bit you. You passed out. Troy followed Dylan in, and I came in just a minute after. We killed a couple, but the others got away. He injected venom into you, and I had to heal you. You’ve been asleep for three days,” Jeremiah explained.
“So, you saved me?” she asked, quirking an eyebrow.
“Yes, right after I put you in harm’s way,” I said, grinning back at her.
She looked annoyed at my playfulness, but I saw a little light in her eye.
“You would. Guess you get the medal of honor, Sheriff,” she quipped.
“Only if you hang it around my neck,” I said back.
Jeremiah watched me carefully with a warning not to flirt too much with her. I backed down. She saw the exchange. I realized now that Grace paid more attention than we gave her credit for, and I needed to keep that in mind for future reference.
“After I slap you with it,” she said. Jeremiah laughed.
“She’s feeling better,” he said.
“I see,” I replied. My smile faded watching her watch us. She wanted more information. She knew there was something else. My resolve broke. “I need to get going.”
“Bye,” she said flatly. It cut through me. I wanted the gentle, caring woman from three days ago. I had hoped that wiping her memory didn’t wipe that from her as well. It was there but buried beneath the steel facade of a tired and scared fairy queen.
“Glad you are feeling better,” I said, quickly ducking out of the room. I heard Jeremiah muttering something to her, then his quick footsteps followed me out of the trailer.
“Riggs!” he called out to me.
I spun around on him. “What? What more do you want out of me?”
“We have a deal,” he said.
“I haven’t gone back on that,” I said.
“You couldn’t stay in that room with her for two minutes without panicking. How are you going to work with her?” he asked.