by C. L. Quinn
Near the cliffs, Koen, Zach, and Daniel sat behind the women whose spirits were still separated from their bodies.
“I’ve never seen her in this state for this long. Do you think they’re okay?” Daniel asked.
“I’m sure that they are,” Koen answered, but still looked up at Bas, seated on a big rock as he waited. He and Bas had big stakes in this, too, because if Dez didn’t make it, neither would his daughter. His jaw was as hard-set as the rock Bas sat upon.
“Call Baron,” Zach suggested. “See if he has any news.”
Koen shrugged and did so, making sure that he kept an eye on Tamesine as the call went through.
“Hey, just impatient. How’s the girl?”
“She’s calm,” Baron said, “But she has been for some time, even with the virus raging inside her. So I can’t really say if this is working. Yet.”
“Okay.” Koen rung off. “No news yet, men. This can’t fail, though. I can’t allow it to.”
“That Destiny shit,” Bas commented.
“Right. Destiny better fix this or it’ll see my ass coming for it.” Even if Koen knew that it was impossible, he thought he still would try if his daughter didn’t get a break.
Bas had nothing to say. What was there to say when his mate was dying? He’d heard Eillia say once a long time ago that there were no words big enough to describe the pain of that kind of loss. He agreed and stayed silent, but he still sent prayers out into the universe and made promises that he’d keep.
Sarah entered the lab and weaved her way through the corridor to stop in front of the lab that housed isolation room 4. She hesitated before she pushed the door open.
Baron’s back was to her, his eyes on the small window in the door that separated the isolation room from the lab area. She noticed that he wore his bio-hazard suit with the helmet sitting on a counter next to him. He turned to glance at her.
“Ah, Miss Sarah. You’ve come to see if first blood magic is as powerful as we hope it is?”
“I came because I couldn’t just sit there anymore and wonder. This is too important and has such huge repercussions, not just for the vampires, but for humanity period. If we can’t contain this, we could be looking at a pandemic the like of which humanity has never seen.”
“It has been on my mind this entire time. The vampire Vaz seems to be immune, so I have been stockpiling his blood for future research. Even if it were to turn out that this would work…” Sarah thought that he looked like he didn’t think so. “This is still a credible threat and I must prepare for the chance that it might spread.”
“I get that. I’m a physician, did you know that?”
“I did not. Do you practice in Paris?”
Sarah scoffed. “No. I’m still blood-bonded to Xavier, a generational bond. My parents were blood-bonds to him too. My chief responsibility is his household. But some years ago, I decided to get my doctorate. I mean, I had long days with nothing else to do, so I went to school.”
“That’s admirable. Are you going to?”
“Be a doctor? It isn’t possible as long as I’m with Xavier. He didn’t care that I went to school, but I think he’d be pissed if I got another job. He thinks he’s all any woman would ever need.”
“You’re together?”
“Oh, hell, no. Never. I’m not his type. Plus, he watched me grow up. I’m closer to a daughter than anything else to him.”
“I can imagine. Life with vampires is quite wild, isn’t it?”
“It can be. But I tend to think lately that perhaps I have been at it too long. I’m over a hundred years old.”
“That is a long time for a human.”
Both Baron and Sarah were standing in front of the window to Dez’s room, distracted by their conversation, when a face suddenly filled the window.
Dez had risen from her bed and pounded at the window.
Baron grabbed the helmet. “Ms. Sarah, I think it best you step outside.”
Nodding, Sarah raced back through the entry door.
She stood just outside, and knew that she wouldn’t move until he told her if Dez was well or not.
The men were discussing wingsuit flying, a subject brought up by Zach, when they heard the collective sighs of the women in the circle, and prepared to catch them when they emerged from the spirit walk. Seconds later, they did, shot backward, caught and held immediately in safe arms.
Koen caught Tamesine, who roused the soonest.
“Careful, relax, that was a long one. Are you okay?”
“Yes.” She still seemed dazed.
“Were you successful?” That was all Koen wanted now, the right answer to that question.
She laid her head on his shoulder, looked into his eyes and smiled. “Were we ever.”
Bas dropped his head. The relief shoved tears through his soul and out his eyes.
Koen looked over at Bas, and silently thanked the universe for granting his prayers.
Finally, Tamesine pushed away from Koen and spoke clearly. “The magics worked. We sensed Dez as they entered her body and began the repair. We are truly amazing when we work together.”
“Outstanding!” Koen kissed Tamesine heartily on the lips. “Thank you, my friend, for thinking beyond the obvious. For saving my daughter’s life.”
“I hope so. I pray that Dez’s blood works like the scrolls say it should. If not, we’ll go back in and do the same thing for Park. I won’t let you lose her Koen, Bas. This must stop here.”
“Can we go to the lab? Can I see Park?” Bas finally pushed away from his rock seat.
“I don’t think so. Let me find out how she and Baron recommend we handle this.”
Zach’s cell phone buzzed.
“Yeah?” he said, when he noticed it was Sarah.
“Hi! I’m at the lab with Dez and she’s up, she’s talking and seems to be feeling okay. It worked, Zach!”
“That’s what Tamesine has been telling us. I’m coming in.”
“Not yet. Baron is doing tests to see if she’s still infectious. Once he determines that she isn’t, I’ll call you.”
“You’re there.”
“I am, but I’m outside the isolation area. I can’t see her from here, and you wouldn’t be able to either. Zach, if you come in here, I’m afraid you won’t be able to stop yourself from going to her. It’s just not clinically safe yet.”
“You call me the second he tells you it’s all right, Sarah. I’m staying right here until you do.”
“Okay. I just wanted to make sure you knew that Dez seems to be recovering.”
Olivia and Tamesine stood carefully and stepped in to hold each other. “We did it,” Olivia said, incredulous. “I really didn’t know if that was possible.”
“I think we know now that it is.”
Koen walked over to Bas to give him a warm hug too. “So, big meal, lots of ale, and we come back the very moment that Park calls and says it is okay, right?”
Bas nodded. “I’m good with that. You guys go on, I’ll be right there.”
As the group cleared out, Bas wandered closer to the cliff, his cell in his hand. He punched number 1 and waited. No answer. Ending that call, he punched a second number and waited until he heard Vaz answer.
“Victory, Bas. The merge seems to have worked.”
“I heard. How is she?”
“She’s okay tonight, Bas. Tired, of course, after the merge. It drained her enough that she fell into a nice sleep afterward.”
“Okay. I…” Bas paused, his head down. “I just wanted to speak with her.”
“I understand more than you know.”
“Vaz, buddy, I know you do. I’m so sorry about Bernie. I know that there isn’t anything that I can say that will help.”
“We’re going to save Park, though, I promise.”
“You know you have a home with me whenever for however long you want.”
“I do. We’ll see. Get some rest, friend, and kiss that little girl for me. I’ll let you know when
there’s something to know.”
Baron finished the final tests the next evening. He smiled as he walked over to Dez’s isolation unit and opened the door.
“Get out here,” he said.
Dez hesitated, then hurried through the decontamination chamber and out the side door.
“I’m okay?”
“You’re okay.”
“And did you get what you needed? The antibodies? Can I help Park?”
“I think so. The proof will be in the results after we treat her. I’ve prepared the first dose. Do you want to come?”
Dez smoothed her hair down. “Yeah, I do. Do I look like I’ve been dragged to hell and back?”
Baron smiled as he nodded. “Yes, you do.”
“Good. I’ll wear my look as a badge of honor.”
When they entered the large isolation chamber, Park was awake, Vaz in attendance as he had been since Bernie died.
Baron held up the syringe. “Madame, would you like a little magical potion to chase down that pudding?”
Weak, but pleased to see Dez, Park tried to smile. Her eyes glistened even though her lips couldn’t really do the upturn needed for a smile.
“I would, please. Dez, I am so happy…” She paused, and then finished, “to see you.”
Dez slid past Vaz and hugged Park gently. “No victory until you can dance with me, love. Baron, how long do you think it will be before we know if it’s working?”
“This is uncharted territory, your guess right now will be as accurate as mine.”
“Now, Baron, please.” Park laid her head back on her pillow and closed her eyes. He injected the contents of a large syringe directly into her carotid artery.
Afterward, he nodded. “Okay. Now, we wait.”
Everyone in both households waited for information.
Zach had finally come home to shower and change.
His cell chimed just as he was getting out of the shower, naked and soaked, his hair wringing wet.
He didn’t recognize the number.
“Yes?” he said, a question in his voice.
“Remember that’s the only answer I ever want when I ask you if you want to fuck me.”
He fell to his knees and slid down against the shower door. “Dez.”
Beautiful, flamboyant, crude, and alive!
“Okay, but only once I get past being pissed at you for that trick you pulled.”
“Sweetheart, I had it in the bag.”
“Nothing matters except that you’re all right. You are, aren’t you?”
“Why don’t you meet me on the cliff behind the lab and find out?”
Zach didn’t hesitate, he grabbed a pair of jeans, zipped them on and used air displacement to race up the road past Park and Bas’s villa to the cliff he’d waited on last night.
He saw her silhouette first and stopped, just for a second, his emotions so raw he wasn’t sure he could speak to her.
Slower now, he advanced and saw Dez turn to him. Her hair was loose, lifting in the breeze, wet and it smelled like jasmine. He stopped inches from her.
“Someone had better kiss me,” she whispered.
Zach stepped up to her, wrapped his fingers around her face, and dived in, soft at first, as if he was afraid that she would fade away in his hands, and then deeper. His arms went around her slim body and he lifted her from the ground. When he pulled from the kiss, he stared at her face, barely lit by the lights that surrounded the lab a hundred yards away.
“You really are okay?” he had to ask.
“I really am okay,” she answered exactly, so that he would have no doubt. “The virus has been exterminated. My body is filled with active antibodies patrolling the hallways. I’m fine, Zach. And I really am sorry that I had to do that the way I did. There was no other way.”
“I wouldn’t have let you do it.”
“And now you understand.”
“You couldn’t let Olivia or Tamesine go. I get it. And you pulled it off. Don’t ever do something like that again.”
“Oi, can you imagine that? Altruism is a one-time deal for this girl.”
He knew better. “I love you more because of your heart. Dez, I want to make you my mate. I want the stupid ceremony and everything. No waiting. We’re still new, this thing we’re rebuilding. We’ll figure it out as we go along. Marry me.”
“Ummm…” Dez’s eyes glowed like he’d seen Park and Koen’s eyes do at times in the past. “Yeah, that’ll do.”
He was swinging her around in his arms and yelling, “Whoo-hoo!” when Baron and Sarah came from the building.
“Someone is happy,” Baron said.
Sarah put a hand on his arm. “You’ve made a lot of people happy this week. You are a bit of a miracle worker yourself.”
“Shall we go see if we can do the same for another couple tonight?”
“If you think it’s been long enough.”
“Let’s go find out. First bloods do everything faster than humans, so I hope to find the results we want.”
Back in the office, with Sarah at his side, Baron looked at Park’s lab results. Then he looked at Sarah.
Both broke out in big smiles.
“I think you should tell her, Sarah.”
“I would love to.”
Fourteen
ONE WEEK LATER
Spring flowers were already blooming. Park walked past their soft colors as she dropped at the base of a carved marble angel and began to dig.
She felt his lifeforce even before she saw or heard him.
“Vaz, hi.”
He didn’t answer her, he just stood silently, and stared at the ten foot angel with her wings outspread and her arms open in welcome.
“It’s beautiful. Was she religious? I never asked.”
“I don’t know. I chose the angel because of something that Dez said. When she was dying, it gave her peace to think that a beautiful angel would come down and carry her to paradise. I thought that was a lovely idea, so I ordered this for Bernie. She would probably have laughed at me for it. Still, I don’t know what else I can do for her.”
“She’d love it because it’s from you. Bernie had an appreciation for everything. She was pure joy.”
“That is exactly what I said after I met her. I’d known her for less than an hour and I loved her. This is so much harder than I ever imagined. Bas warned me that when you live a great many years as we do, sorrow sometimes comes as often as joy.”
“You just have to make sure that you remember the joy.”
“I agree. Bernie would be standing here telling us to quit our whining and get on with it.”
“Which is why I’m here. Park, tell Bas I appreciate that you two have offered a home to me. I can’t stay. It does mean the world to me that you two are family and someday, I’ll be back. For now, I have no plans, but I don’t want to be around any memories of Bernie. It hurts too much to breathe when I think about her.”
Park stood and brushed the soil from her hands.
“I know. But you remember the joy, too, when you are able to, and keep that promise.”
“I will. Stay well, my friend.”
Park hugged Vaz, a long, tight hug, because even in the world of vampires where they lived for centuries, you never knew when a hug might be for the last time.
As Vaz walked away, Park lowered herself back to her knees, which were still sensitive, and continued to make a place for a little plant. In a year, there would be white moonflowers all over this area. They always made Bernie smile.
Tamesine helped Dez with the row of black pearls she’d chosen to wear around her neck for the ceremony. She had to admit, they suited Dez and looked stunning with the skin-tight banded dress she’d chosen.
Tamesine stepped back. “You are gorgeous.”
Dez sat down to slide on high-heeled ankle-strapped shoes. She looked up.
“Yeah, well, good genes.”
“Dez. May I just address the situation between us? I know we’ve had a roc
ky start, but I think we’ve moved past enough of it to find a way to begin a relationship, right?”
Dez had expected this conversation a few days ago, but it figured that Tamesine would choose the day of her wedding to hash this out. It was okay, she was ready, finally, to tell Tamesine how she truly felt.
“Sit down, please,” Dez invited.
Tamesine did so.
“Okay, here’s the deal. I forgive you. I know now that you did the best that you could do. There’s no way to thank you enough for what you did for me while I was dying. If it weren’t for you, I wouldn’t have made it.”
“That should never have happened, I wanted to spare you that.”
“I think you understand why I chose differently. I couldn’t let you do it, you have children. And I wouldn’t have let Olivia. You know why.”
“I do. A mother will do anything for her child.”
Dez knew that Tamesine wasn’t talking about Dez and Olivia.
“So, listen, I accept you as my mother, I want that relationship, but I have a full plate right now. How about we do this after I get past this trauma-drama?”
“Trauma? I thought you wanted this wedding.”
“The marriage, yes, the ceremony, no. It’s for that little girl I’m marrying. He’s such a poof.”
“I accept your terms. We’ll revisit this later. Did Olivia tell you that she wants to stay here for a while?”
That news was unexpected. Dez had thought that Olivia would come with her to South America.
“Sure,” she said, because she didn’t want to start another conversation.
The music began to let Dez know it was time to join Zach at the silly flower and ribbon-covered gazebo on the beach.
“Okay, mum, here we go.”
Tamesine walked with Dez down the steps, mother and daughter, as diverse as they could be, both ready to step into a new future.
Zach beamed, his smile too bright even for a toothpaste commercial. Dez loved him more every time she saw him.