The Vampire Went Down to Georgia

by Selene Charles

  “Weren’t you though, my dear? It was never about the mate.” He smirked wickedly.

  War’s smile slipped. “What?”

  “Oh, Bellum, what a great idiot you are. You cannot stop her. Or me.”

  Death raised his hand and made a squeezing motion with his fist. Instantly, three balls of glittering blue light sped into his hand, and without skipping a beat, he shoved those soul orbs into me.

  I screamed as Mercer, James, and Boo’s souls mainlined like thousands of razor blades through me. The cross on my chest no longer warmth with Boo’s light.

  “Come, my darling girl, for we have one final matter to attend to,” he whispered brokenly in my ear even as I screamed and screamed and screamed myself raw.

  “I will find you!” War’s shriek followed us into the darkness of stars.

  Chapter 16

  Scarlett

  I didn’t remember how I got back to the den. The only thing I could remember with any kind of clarity was watching War kill Mercer.

  Tenebris was dormant inside me again. It didn’t matter.

  Nothing mattered now. Not anymore.

  It was over.

  It was all over.

  There was a clatter like the sound of glass shattering that caught my attention. I looked up just in time to see Blue standing by the kitchen sink.

  “Scar, dear goddess, what is this?” he asked in a breathless, husky rush, running to my side as he gripped my hand.

  I looked down at where we were joined, knowing everything was all wrong and that now it always would be.

  “You look terrible. What’s the matter, little flower? What did they do to you?”

  His hands were on my face now, framing my cheeks, forcing me to look into his worried blue eyes. His umber skin was washed clean of makeup, and he wasn’t wearing the wig anymore.

  In fact, I was vaguely aware that he wasn’t wearing anything at all. I blinked, still feeling completely dead inside.

  No joy. No anxiety. Not even much pain right now.

  Maybe it would come later.

  But right now, I’d lost everything.

  She’d stolen everything from me. Steven. James. Mercer. Even Boo was gone now. I hiccupped and then looked at Blue.

  Everything but... “Blue!” I wailed and wrapped my arms around his neck, clinging desperately, sick in my soul because I knew she wouldn’t rest. She would come after him too. War wouldn’t stop until she’d taken it all from me.

  “Go! You have to go! You have to leave. She’ll kill you too! She’s crazy. She’s insane. She’s—”

  “Oh, flower,” he breathed, husky words shivering with heat and regret. “Oh, my beautiful, beautiful girl.”

  He took my hand, but I yanked it away, wild and desperate that he hear me.

  “You have to go. Go to faery. Another dimension. Just get the fuck away from me!”

  I twirled, trying to run out the door. But he was there, blocking my path, traveling through light as only the fae could.

  I punched at his chest, pleading, begging, screaming, and crying for what felt like an eternity and no time at all.

  He held me, refusing to let me go. Letting me get it all out. And when I was done, when the fire of agony had petered out of me, he kissed the top of my head and whispered in a grit-filled voice, “I’m right where I’m supposed to be, my girl. I need you to come with me. Can you do that, Scar? Can you trust me one last time? For me?”

  His words were so serious, far too serious for my flighty, fashion-conscious, and flirty fae. And I felt the last bits of sanity inside me fissuring.

  “Don’t.” I shook my head. “Don’t do this. She can’t take you too.”

  He laughed. “That bitch could never take me away from you, Scarlett. Don’t you know that?”

  I continued to shake my head, knowing without words that if I took this next step, if I followed him to wherever he was going to take me, I would lose him too. Because that’s what happened to someone like me.

  “Mother won’t stop, she won’t stop...” It was Tenebris who whispered through my mouth.

  Blue nodded, and then yanked me into his tall, lean body, hugging me so damn tight that, for just a moment, I felt warm again. I felt again.

  “Don’t leave me, too, Blue. I love you.”

  He chuckled. “I’ve waited so damn long to hear you say that. I know I said fae didn’t need love, but I lied. I fucking lied.”

  I chuckled despite myself. “I thought you couldn’t lie.”

  He joined me in laughter. “That’s just another one of our lies. You can’t trust us, Scar. Don’t you know that by now?”

  “But I trust you,” I whispered.

  And his laughter died. His eyes were soft and so, so beautiful.

  This was the last bit of light I had left to me. The last person in this realm who gave a shit about me at all.

  “What will I do without you, my friend?”

  Pulling my hands to his lips, he kissed my knuckles warmly. “You will win. You will survive. I know we haven’t much time left, but I have to get this off my chest. It wasn’t until just this moment that I realized how deeply I love you. I didn’t want to. Everything inside me is built for survival at all costs. My past isn’t always pretty, flower.”

  “I don’t care,” I said low. “I don’t care. I only care about you. Please, Blue.”

  He squeezed his eyes shut and sniffed, and I knew he was swallowing his own tears. When he finally looked at me, his eyes were glittering with them.

  “I’ve always been selfish. And petty. And for that, I’m sorry. I hurt you too many times. I was angry with you for choosing that asshole over me, even though I never actually declared myself to you. So there’s that, I guess.”

  I laughed and cried.

  He grinned and tucked my hair behind my ear. “Don’t mistake me, Scar. I wish I could stay here with you. I’m just enough of a bastard to want to keep you with me forever. But neither of us has that option anymore because she is coming. Death will only ward us for so long. He chose me, and I thought he’d chosen wrong. I couldn’t understand why he believed in me so much, but I think I do now.”

  “Why?”

  He sighed. “Because somewhere, deep down in this ancient, stony heart, beats a soul that’s in desperate need of redemption, I guess.”

  “Can I ask you a question?”

  His brows gathered as he nodded.

  “Will this hurt?”

  “Only a little. And only at first. Scarlett, you remember when we stopped at the Pink Lady on the way here?”

  I nodded. “Yes.”

  “I went there begging Helen to take me into the mists when my time came. I’m only half fae, you see. I’m not worthy to move on. My rightful place was to simply be gone.”

  I closed my eyes. “Oh, Blue.”

  He tipped my chin up. “Look at me, lovely girl. When I go, I will do it with a smile, but only if you look at me.”

  “Don’t make me do this, please,” I begged one final time, knowing the words would change nothing.

  “But don’t you see, my heart, you are freeing me. This is my choice, not War’s. Whether I do this now, or die at her hands later, I will die because that’s how it must be. Nothing that loves you can live.”

  “So this is all my fault? And that means hiding Steven won’t help at all. She’ll find him.”

  He wrinkled his nose. “I don’t think she cares about the pup, to be honest. She’s certain that you will destroy this world just as you have every other, ending him too. She’s cut you off from all those you love. It is enough to satisfy her need for vengeance.”

  “I hate her.”

  “She hates you, too, because you are a reminder of all that she lost. War is mad, and your father will end her tonight for good, but only if I do as I must. Come to my bedroom. Let me love you before I go.”

  I stopped fighting him. All of this, none of it could have changed. Not watching Mercer kill James. Or War kill Mercer. And now Bl
ue.

  I didn’t want him to die, but he was right too. Nothing that loved me could be allowed to stay with me. Steven wasn’t strong enough of an ally, and therefore unworthy of her notice.

  War had strategically cut me off from everything.

  I felt outside myself as I watched Blue lead me toward his chamber. When he opened the door, I saw rumpled bed sheets and a very naked Gareth lying there. It was obvious to me that he and Blue had been having sex, probably from the moment I’d left.

  Gareth looked a lot like I felt.

  His face, GQ worthy, was lifeless and withdrawn. His already pale skin was now so white as to look bloodless. He clearly knew the truth, that Blue was never leaving this place alive.

  Blue turned to me. “May I?” he asked.

  I nodded, and with a flick of his wrist, he vanished the clothes that were on me. Then he pulled me into his arms, and he kissed me.

  Not like the kinds of kisses he’d give me to incite Mercer into a rage, but a deep and drugging one that was wet and lovely and wonderful. I moaned, leaning forward on my tiptoes as he groaned deeply. Our tongues twined as my tears flowed. Not because I didn’t enjoy his touch. I did.

  More than I probably should have.

  But I was so alone now. Dead within. And he was life of the very purest kind. I scraped my fangs along the tender meat of his mouth, his blood tempting me. One poke, and I could end this all.

  It was the coward’s way out, and I knew it. But if winning this war meant I’d have to go on without the people I loved most in this world standing beside me, I wasn’t sure it was a world worth living in.

  His hands traveled up my thighs, circling my waist, before he turned us both and moved me backward toward his bed. He’d not been using his charms on me before, but I felt them leaking from him now.

  And I hungered. Thirsted for sex and lust and desire.

  He gently pushed me onto the bed, and then another set of hands joined in. We were a tangle of limbs, seeking absolution in an act that could never bring us peace, but it could make us all forget. Just for a little while.

  “I love you,” he whispered to me over and over. “I love you.”

  And I whispered it back, truthfully, honestly. I did love him. Not the way I’d been designed to love Mercer. But in our own unique way.

  My three men who’d been the world to me—I would lose them all tonight. And each one had devastated me more than the other.

  I spread my thighs as something hot and heavy sank deep into me. I cried out, clutching at his back as his hands played tenderly with my breasts. Above me, Blue gasped as he, too, was penetrated from behind.

  Blue shuddered, moving deeper and deeper into me with each thrust. “Look at me, my flower. Look upon me now.”

  I did. I opened my eyes and stared at his transformed image, my heart cleaving in two at the absolute beauty of a fae in the throes of sex magick. He shone like white fire, and his eyes blazed like a blue sun. Umber skin gleamed like polished bronze.

  I touched his dark brow, and he sighed.

  “When we climax, you must do it then. You must sink your beautiful fangs into me and take it all.”

  I gasped, feeling cold, but he didn’t stop pounding me. And soon I was riding the wave of powerful pleasure again.

  “But. It. Will. Kill. Me.” I gasped when he touched a spot deep in my cervix that elicited a lovely rush of tingles all through me.

  “Were you anyone else, yes. But you are Death’s daughter.”

  I arched my spine, nearing the peak of orgasm, so close now that I knew I’d come any second.

  “I... I can’t do that. I can’t do it, Blue. I can’t.”

  I looked at him, fascinated by the mask of pleasure and pain scrawled over his face, as I watched Gareth pound furiously at his back. The slapping sound of their bodies only fueled my own excitement.

  He shook his head, gasping as he reached back and pinned his hand to Gareth’s ass, as if silently begging him to go harder and deeper.

  “You will. Because it’s only through sacrifice, willful sacrifice, that you win, my darling. War can kill our bodies, but our spirits have gone to you. It is how you overcome her. It is how you end her mad reign of terror. And if you do not do it, then I will. I will slice a dagger across my neck, because she will not get me. Do you hear me, Scar? She will not get me.”

  I nodded, biting my bottom lip, staving off the little black death creeping over me as best I could, but I wouldn’t be able to hold out much longer.

  “Now tell me again that you love me,” he whispered.

  “I... I love you. And I always have.”

  He roared, and I felt the jet of hot seed flood my channel. The smell of flowers and rich earth filled my head and senses. Blue tipped his neck over my mouth and pumped his lust into me, driving my hunger, my need. I screamed as I came, and I did what I didn’t want to do.

  I drove my fangs deep into his neck, and I sucked. Drank and drank and drank until my stomach bulged, but still I pulled from his vein. Frost and fire slid down my throat, and I understood finally that he’d already given of himself to me tonight.

  Never again would I consume another fae because I would never sully the sacrifice of my dark prince.

  I held him in my arms until he grew cold and there wasn’t another drop in him. And as I held him, I could swear I heard a whispered “Love you” lingering in the air.

  Then he faded into a thousand little particles of light, drawing toward the ceiling now made of lambent mist. A choir of sylphs rang out with angel song, and Gareth howled.

  I sensed a presence and turned to look into the eyes of Death. He nodded and clenched his bony hand, drawing a blue soul orb to him. I recognized Blue’s aura instantly and smiled softly, suddenly recalling that Death had done the same earlier. He’d given me Mercer, Boo, and James’s souls too.

  “Gareth, run,” Death said, without taking his eyes off me.

  The wolf got up and ran away, and I knew I would never see him again. I was sorry for it because I was sure there would only ever be two of us in the whole of this world who knew that Blue was so much more than what the rest of the world had seen.

  I felt strong, no longer so dead, no longer so empty. And I knew it was Blue’s blood, his sacrifice, that kept me together now.

  “So it’s finished? Now I meet my mother?” Tenebris asked.

  Death shook his head. “Not just yet, my daughters. Not just yet. The final battle is at hand, but first I want to tell you that I’m proud of you. Proud of what you’ve done this time. I know you will win. You opened your heart, Tenebris. You didn’t allow yourself to become poisoned by your mother’s greed. You truly became a part of this world and by so doing, became more powerful than she could have ever imagined. I’ve deliberately tamped down your powers.”

  I frowned. “What? You mean there’s more?”

  He chuckled. “Oh, my dear, there’s always been so much more. But you weren’t mature enough to handle it. It would not only have destroyed her, but you too. And that I would never allow.”

  “But you do not love me.”

  “If this is not love, then I do not know what it is. I think I am broken, my darlings. Father is no longer the Horseman he once was, and perhaps I have Pandora to thank for that. I want this to be done. For good this time. I am weary of this game, so now I will unleash the magnificent beast you truly are, confident in every way that you will win, and that we can both finally feel peace.”

  I sat up, moving my legs over the side of the bed. “Blue’s soul is the final piece of the puzzle?”

  He didn’t answer, but merely walked over to me and tenderly pushed the orb into me. I’d screamed with madness last time, but this time it was different. Blue had willingly given himself to me, where James and Mercer had been murdered.

  Blue’s death had been peaceful, and it was that peace that flooded through me. I sighed, taking a deep breath.

  “You should know, child, that Mercer did not betray you. He h
anded his soul over to me. He knew that you would never allow harm to come to him so long as you remained a mated pair. Just like Blue, he did sacrifice himself for you. He would want you to know that.”

  Tenebris and I blinked, but the hurt was so deep and so wide that it was too difficult for us to make sense of.

  Reaching out a hand to me, he helped me to stand. “You’re almost ready now. But first, you must look the part. I am no Blue, but I think I know my way around fashion well enough.”

  A blanket of light wrapped around me like a warm hug, and when it cleared, I found myself dressed in a gown of shadow and smoke, with spiked epaulettes on my shoulders. I was wearing black combat boots up to my knees, and they also had black metal spikes coming off them.

  I glanced at him, and he nodded. “You are my daughter. Never forget it.”

  Then he reached for me, waiting. I slipped my hand into his, feeling the sting of Death’s kiss fluttering like wings through my blood. But it didn’t hurt me. And it never could.

  I grinned, and together, we walked out into the night.

  Chapter 17

  Scarlett

  We stood upon a grassy hill. The stars were so clear. The moon so bright. A gentle breeze lifted the shadowy skirts I wore. There was no more fear in me.

  I would either win or lose. But one way or another, I would take War down with me.

  She was dressed similarly, in a gown of prismatic black, her ever-present sword resting upon her shoulder. Blood red hair spilled almost to the ground. Black paint swirled upon her exposed skin.

  She looked beautiful, haughty, and deadly.

  She smiled at me. “So, you’ve chosen, have you? After everything I’ve done for you?”

  I laughed. “You killed everyone who ever meant anything to me. What kind of a sick fuck are you to expect a thank you for that?”

  She pursed her lips. “Oh, I don’t know. You did a bang up job with your little sex fae. Felt good, didn’t it? Feeling his life slip away right through your fingers?” She stared at her hands with a wistful look on her face. “You see, you think you’re better than me. But you’re not. I don’t care what your bastard of a father has led you to believe, Tenebris and irrelevant shell.” She fluttered her fingers. “My blood runs through your veins too.”