Inside Emily’s body, a separate battle was taking place.
Emily, weakened and without her mother’s ring thanks to Stricker, found her body invaded by the spirit of Eva Jordan.
Emily knew she was there, she could sense Eva’s thoughts and emotions. But she could not force Eva out. “Michael. Michael,” she called out silently. She needed to warn him. But Eva’s spirit was too strong and overpowered Emily easily. She took control of her movements. Her voice. Her mind.
It felt like someone turning out the lights and falling off to sleep. Emily vanished deep into her own mind, into slumber she could not wake from.
You’re my body now. Oh the fun I’m about to have… Eva had to force the elated grin from showing on her face.
She looked down to see that Emily’s wound, the vampire bite on her wrist, was healing. She gasped, overjoyed. Her abilities from life stayed with her after death. And now she had a new body.
This is how she’d live again.
This is how she’d avenge her parents’ deaths and finish the job she and her father had come to the Isle to do.
She covered her arm to hide it from Michael so he would not notice the wound healing.
Lizzy cried out, stumbling and dropping Melinda.
A spell had swiped the side of her head while she’d been digging out a potion that had gotten stuck in her belt. She turned, ignoring the blood and the pain, potion in hand. The Feyk shot off a spell just as she threw hers. They collided, a shock wave hitting them both. The Feyk flew into the air landing hard against a think branch overhead, its skull cracking.
Lizzy found herself thrown on her back, her breath gone from the hardness of the impact. She jumped when four muscular legs suddenly landed protectively around her tiny frame. Charlie’s silver eyes penetrated hers.
“I’m okay,” she heaved breathlessly. “I lost Melinda.”
Charlie bounded upward, standing erect and spun around. His eyes narrowing in on his sister, lying face down on the ground about ten feet away. Feyk closing in around her.
##
At the entrance to White Pines, Mack paced anxiously, her eyes jutting into the park each time the battle stopped and started again. The Isle’s famous firework’s show had begun and was already half way over. If the battle didn’t end in time, it would make no difference now. There would be explosions all night long…
To their credit, the locals had stuck around, even after the sounds of battle got heavier and more intense. More and more of them started to show up as their store of fireworks ran out.
They heard another loud explosion.
Simultaneous inhales were followed by silence, and frightened stares. Each wishing there was more they do to help. All they could do was wait for the outcome of the battle. Ready to assist if the need arose.
A voice called out, from somewhere just inside the park. It was too dark to see. She grabbed her largest flashlight and shone the light down the road.
“We need help,” the voice shouted.
Mack motioned for everyone to wait until she’d gotten a look at who it was. Three figures approached, two people carrying another between them.
“William,” she breathed out. She gave the okay and a few of the locals raced forward, helping the Deane brothers get William to the ambulance.
They placed him on a bed.
Mack couldn’t believe the sight of him. She had seen the sadistic video Eva had sent Charlie hours before. He looked a little better now. Regardless, it was shocking to see the normally virile vampire in such a helpless condition.
“Thank God we found you,” said Lucas. “We were afraid we’d need to find help in town somewhere.”
“He’s in rough shape,” said Riley, catching his breath.
Mack’s head shot up, peering at him suspiciously.
“Yes. Because of me. You don’t have to tell me what I did. I remember everything.”
“It’s really my brother though,” defended Lucas. “The Feyk removed the spell. My brother is… okay.” He wasn’t really. But he wouldn’t hurt anyone now.
Mack nodded, hoping this was true, and turned back to William.
“Mack,” started Alex the ambulance driver. “I have to admit, I have no idea how to treat a v-vampire,” he stammered in disbelief over the patient in front of him.
“He needs blood for one thing,” explained Lucas. “He’s barely hanging on and it’s the only thing that can save him.”
“What blood type?” asked Alex, somewhat dazed.
“Any,” rattled Mack.
Alex tried to stick a needle into William’s arm. It broke.
Mack reached over, grabbed a blood pack and ripped it open, pouring the contents down William’s throat. He swallowed it, some spurting out as he tried to get his esophagus to work properly.
“Tie him down,” said Mack. “With every damn strap you have.”
Alex and Lucas hopped into the ambulance, grabbing every strap they could find.
“Why do you have to do that?” asked Riley.
“He’s going to be high on human blood. When he comes around, he might need a few minutes to… calm down.”
Riley stood just at this side, staring into William’s face.
“God. I did this… I did this…” Riley couldn’t help it. Each word felt like a knife cutting into him.
“Look, Kid,” said Mack, hearing him. “He’ll be okay after some time. He might be a little pissed though. Maybe you should not be standin’ over him when he comes ‘round.”
Riley lifted his gaze and stared at the sheriff, so much pain etched in his gaze.
Maybe I should stay. Let him get his revenge over with now.
Not revenge… punishment.
“You really had a number done on ya,” Mack mumbled, feeling for him. “Damn. What this place does to people. William will recover.” Inside, she wondered if the same could be said for Riley. Poor kid. Got stuck in the middle of this clusterfuck of an island that has ruined so many lives.
Lucas pulled his brother away from William and set into strapping him down to the bed. “Eva Jordan is dead by the way,” he told the sheriff.
She let out a sharp exhale. “Well at least that’s done.” It should have brought some relief. But until all the Howards and their friends were out of battle, she’d not get any peace. She glanced over at the blood packs in the cooler sitting at the back of the ambulance. “It’s not enough.” They needed to keep some on hand in case anyone else had a serious injury that required a transfusion.
Someone walked up and rolled up a sleeve. “Take mine,” she offered.
“And mine,” said someone else, sidling up alongside the woman.
Mack nodded in approval.
This would work. She told Alex to get anyone willing, to start donating.
She continued to force blood down William’s throat.
With every pint, the vampire started to heal.
##
Lucas dragged Riley away from the crowd.
“We got William help. We have done all we can do here. I think it’s time for us to leave now.”
Riley tossed his gaze between his brother and White Pines, where he knew the battle still raged. Melinda’s fate, or anyone else’s, unknown. She would never forgive him. They were over. But he wanted the chance to apologize. To make sure she was okay.
“Riley, we can’t do any more good here,” argued Lucas. “If we stay, we are bound to make things worse. I say we go home, pack and leave the Isle for good. Coming here was a mistake. I’m sorry I dragged you here.”
Riley was torn. Every act since the Feyk spell had taken him slammed into his mind. Every word. Every look. Every spiteful moment. Melinda’s reactions to those things. To what he said, and did. To her. To William.
Apologizing was such a weak gesture. It almost made sense to leave. To let her live in peace without having to look at him ever again. All she’d see when looking at him was the guy who hurt her, so very very badly. The guy who betrayed he
r trust in just about every way imaginable. The guy who almost became a murderer.
It was only Melinda’s sacrifice that kept William alive. The only reason he did not have to add the word murderer to his sick list of accomplishments. He did not deserve forgiveness. He did not deserve Melinda’s forgiveness. And she deserves to never have to look at me again…
It was weak to run away and not face them. To face her. He was the weak one. Perhaps if he’d been of a stronger mind he could have fought the spell.
Still, with all these thoughts, his heart ached to tell her how sorry he was. To figure out some manner to make it up to her. To know if she was okay. Or even alive…
“Wh-what about Lizzy?” Riley asked in a hushed tone.
“Her choice.”
Riley closed his eyes. “Okay,” he agreed. “Let’s leave.” It pained him to do it, but it was the right move. They could not stay on the Isle.
Lucas grabbed his arm, the motion meant to tell him it was the right decision.
“We can’t be around magic,” Lucas said. “Our family is cursed. We need to find a place that’s magic free.”
Neither had any idea where that was, but vanished into the night hoping they’d find it.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
William sucked down the donated blood ravenously. His body waking. Healing. The healthy blood searching out and destroying the werewolf blood. Sealing his wounds. Rebuilding his flayed skin.
His eyes flew open, staring upward in pitch-black orbs. His muscles strengthened and flexed in attempt to move freely, a seething hiss snaking through his fangs.
The savageness of his face frightened the blood donors.
“It’s all good,” Mack told them calmly.
They backed away just the same.
William struggled to free himself. Mack called out his name. He heard it, and yet it sounded muffled. Distant. She kept trying. After a minute, her voice became clearer.
“Can you hear me, William?”
He stammered out a yes.
“Good. Don’t try moving. Got you tied down anyway… for all our protection.”
He lifted his head, seeing his bonds. He understood Mack’s concerns. The wildness surging inside him threatened to surface at any moment; his cravings intense. His senses on alert.
“Are you cold?” Mack asked him.
“Vampires do not get cold,” he spoke evenly.
“Didn’t figure, but seeing as you came out of the woods nearly naked…”
He glanced down again. His clothes had been burnt, there wasn’t much left. He didn’t care about that.
Memories flooded him. His agonizing fall from the pyre. Drinking from both Melinda and Emily, chasing his prey into the woods… “Eva,” he snarled. He’d watched her take her final breath, but had gone unconscious right after. He struggled under the bonds, trying to break free. If he’d been at full strength, he might have succeeded.
“Eva Jordan is dead,” Mack informed him. “Simmer down now, William.”
He stopped, turning his head to face her. Calm. Yes. He needed to do this.
It was difficult though, with all the fresh human blood coursing through his body.
“Eva is really dead?” he asked.
“Yes,” the sheriff confirmed.
Slowly, the blackness in his eyes dissolved to emerald, slicing off a piece of the wildness in his appearance.
“And everyone else?”
Mack lifted her head to look into the park, turning back and shaking her head. “I don’t know, William.”
He heard it. The sounds of battle raging on. “I have to go to them.”
“You’re still healing,” argued Mack. “And frankly, I’m not sure I can trust you right now.”
“I will not hurt anyone.”
“Can you guarantee the safety of everyone here?” she asked him, doubtful. “You’re pretty high on human blood right now, William. You know I have to take that into account, as much as I’d love to let you go.”
He leaned back peering into the night sky, periodic light bursts exploding. His inhales and exhales getting heavier as the sounds of battle weighed on him.
“Do you want more blood, William?”
“It’s enough. I’ll heal.”
“Okay.”
“I have to go to them,” he persisted. “They need my help.” It’s why he drank Melinda’s blood in the first place. Why he’d accepted Emily’s. He’d finished off Eva, but the rest of the family was still in danger.
The last time William had seen Melinda she was being dragged off by the Feyk. Barely conscious because of his inability to stop drinking. He’d taken too much from her. She had already suffered so much before that. How much could her frail human body take before she… he closed off the thought with a desperate groan.
The healthy blood gushed through him, making him stronger. Filling each sinew with rigor and wildness. Making him whole again. The need to get free dug into his bones. The Howards needed him. Melinda needed him.
Thinking of her both calmed and strengthened him.
Her words… her confession. Her lips. In the agony of the moment her blood had saved him, but her lips were the most delectable thing he’d ever tasted. And she loved him. She had spoken the words.
Hearing them, not being able to say them in return was more painful than any of the attacks he suffered from Riley Deane. Not being able to free her. Or protect her. Physically, she been injured. But mentally and spiritually she had been broken. The level of spite and hatred she’d been subjected to… he’d heard every word exchanged between her and Riley. The fury over this was hard to control.
It wasn’t Riley’s fault, and he did not blame him.
William knew where to lay the blame.
What concerned him more was what had happened to Melinda before… to the pathetic excuse of a man that had treated her in such a disgusting manner. If he ever found out who this was…
And the part where Melinda blamed herself for what happened to him. He was equally to blame for pushing her away. Thinking it was better to ignore his feelings for her. To drive her away from him. They could not be together, but he saw now that he should have handled it so much differently.
And after all of this, she saved him. Freed him. Knew exactly what to say to force him to take her blood. He lived because of her. The thought that he had taken too much stung at him.
He refused to just lay here and heal while she still suffered. He had to get to her somehow. He reached out to her through his mind. She was far away from him, but he had to try. He gasped when he fell into her mind, easily.
Still alive… she’s still alive. Weak. So weak, but her heart still beats.
“Melinda,” he spoke softly into her mind.
She let his name slip off her tongue, in a weakened exhale.
Her eyes fluttered open.
William could see through them as if they were his own. Her head was on the ground. Spindly legs surrounding her.
Feyk.
Not family.
I’m coming to get you, William told her.
She pulled at the ground, trying to get to her knees.
Don’t try to move.
She stopped, her strength not enough.
“William…” she uttered in a voice so desperate and weak it sliced him in two.
He shifted underneath his bonds. Flexing. Needing to get free. Fury building, strengthening his muscles.
He heard Melinda cry softly as bony fingers grabbed at her. Defiling her with their touch.
A frenzy of hatred expanded inside him.
Melinda’s voice echoed into his mind. “I don’t think... I’m going... to...” the connection broke.
William’s eyes burst open, a frenzy of deadliness erupting in his pupils. His blood boiled, pulsing with anger.
“William,” shouted Mack. “You’d better...”
His fangs dropped, his eyes warning her to stay away.
“Everyone get back,” she ordered.
> “She’s dying,” William’s voice exploded.
“Who’s dying?” demanded Mack.
“I have to save her.”
“Who?”
He didn’t answer.
With a final thrust and enraged cry, his bonds shattered.
The bed flew backwards, the white sheets torn off, propelling into the darkness.
Everyone spun around searching for the vampire but William was gone.
##
The air was getting thick with smoke; in part by the Feyks constant materializing and dematerializing, and in part to the barrage of spells being shot from and against both sides. Debris flew through the air; leaves, branches, tree bark, trees…
Stricker had yet to lift a finger in the battle, other than defending himself the one time a spell misfired in his direction. He watched from his perch atop the embankment.
Jack ordered everyone on his side to get to the doorway. He was hoping to get them all inside, where he would close the door and they’d be safe, to wait out the Feyk. Once the Feyk discovered that Jack had left out a vital step (in how to open the door), they’d give up and retreat... he hoped.
This was the only part of the plan they’d left up to chance, as they just didn’t know what the Feyk would decide.
Michael had Emily (Eva) behind him. He was relieved she was awake, but she was unable to assist in the battle. He told her to go through the doorway and wait for him just inside, telling her she’d be safe there.
Eva/Emily turned around and stepped in. “Gladly,” she muttered smugly. She tried not to smile too hard; she didn’t want to give away her secret just yet.
Lizzy shot off spell after spell alongside Charlie, trying to drive the Feyk back and reach Melinda. The Feyk had nabbed her and dragged her out of their reach.
Charlie had let his human form take over again, his focus intent. And sublimely thankful to the woman fighting by his side for bringing him clothes. He’d only had time to slip on a pair of shorts, but this was far better than the alternative.
Michael aided his father, just outside the doorway, hoping Charlie and Lizzy would succeed and be able to rescue Melinda and get inside.
Bite Me Baby! (Wicked Good Witches Book 7) Page 10