B005EMAYWS EBOK (12 page)

“We’ll have to go after this vampire,” Nicole stood up. “Alex and Darrien should be brought in on this information.”

The two vampires had been asked to wait in the other room while Lex talked with the sisters. Sarah had not felt comfortable keeping information from Darrien, but now there wasn’t a lot of choice. She had to tell him what was going on, including the part about the spell she cast on him and Anton. She just might need Darrien’s help to save her friend.

“We have no choice. If Summer dies, all hell will break loose. The wolves will not distinguish between one psychotic vampire and the entire species. The sisters will be much stronger together.”

“Then take us to my sister,” Sarah told Lex.

Lex started pacing the floor. “She will be eighteen within a couple of months. My daughter will just need to understand how important this is.”

“So our sister is with your daughter?” Sarah asked.

Lex nodded. “She is my adopted granddaughter. Kathrina is half lycan and half vampire. She is a breed that is dangerous to both the wolf and the vampire. This type of hybrid is a natural slayer. Of the three of you, Kathrina is the most dangerous to Omar. This is why we have kept her location secret.”

Nicole shook her head. “I’m confused. You mean that my father … and a werewolf mated.”

“I know little of the particulars. That is something you will need to talk with your father about. What I do know is that Kathrina was left at the portal entrance when she was an infant. She was taken to the Keep, and that is where she stayed until Kayla and her husband took her in.”

“What’s the Keep?” Sarah wanted to know.

“It is a place in
Outerlands
where the criminal and insane are kept,” he told them.

“Unlike you and Sarah, Kathrina carries the poison of the vampire though she has not experienced the changing … at least not yet. She has all of the talents of the wolf and the vampire. This is what makes her so deadly to the immortals. It is also why these hybrids are so often used as slayers.”

“Is that what you planned for my sister,” Sarah was angry.

“It is her fate … her destiny, as it is yours. All three of you were born to be slayers.”

“Against Omar maybe, but never against those that we love,” Nicole’s dark eyes were shimmering with barely controlled fury. “I cannot believe my father willingly created a hybrid for this purpose.”

“I seriously doubt he did. A child was probably not his intent at all,” Lex’s voice was laced with sarcasm.

Dark laughter filled the room. All eyes turned to the vampire that had sired the immortal sisters. Donavan’s very presence was commanding, but yet being close to him was an enchanting experience. He was a vampire that was as ancient as the species of the immortal. His sinister good looks could easily sway the heart of even the most cynical female, but as a father, he could be formidable and unyielding.

Donavan’s black eyes rested on Lex. “How can you be so sure that wasn’t my intent?”

“Why would you intentionally father a child that would grow to be someone so dangerous to your species?” Lex cocked his head to one side, his doubt obvious.

“Are you aware that we are coming up on a time that has been prophesied as being a turning point for mankind … for all species on this planet?” Donavan directed his question to Lex.

“As I understand, it has been foretold that the source of the immortals will return in the year 2012.” Again, Lex’s doubt shone through in his eyes.

“And you learned this from my brother Cato. The only vampire ever permitted entrance into
Outerlands
?” Donavan smiled.

“I can’t tell you if this will really happen. What is important is that Omar believes it will happen. It is his hope that when the creators return, they will name him lord. The earth will be his domain and its inhabitants his subjects.”

“But why would they do this?” Sarah asked. “I mean … if there is any substance to this story in the first place.”

“There are a few among the creators that share Omar’s view of the humans … and the wolves. Some believe that the immortals are the masters of all races on earth. Basically, it was a common attitude among these creators that the humans were little more than cattle, meant to serve the immortal, and as a food source. The wolves were hated and envied.” Donavan’s voice trailed off. He stood at the large window, gazing out into the night.

“Are you and your brothers members of this race of creators?” Nicole asked, fascinated by the story her father was telling. All of this time he had been very reluctant to share information with them, but it seemed that was changing.

Donavan shook his head. “No … we are the children of these creators. There are a few of us left, but there is only one vampire on earth that was one of the original immortals. If I were to tell who this was, it would mean a sure death.”

“And the wolves … what about them? What are they and why does this
Outerlands
even exist?” Sarah wanted to know.

This time Lex was the one so speak up. “Sarah … you are a witch. You know that there is much more to our existence than what the normal person can sense. There are a total of eleven dimensions to this universe,
Outerlands
is but one of those. It is a place that is as solid and as real as this dimension, but different species live there. It is a place where the spirits of nature are in physical form.”

The wolves lived on this plane of existence at one time, but after the arrival of the immortals, they retreated into
Outerlands
. Some still live among the humans, just as if they were one of them, but they are the minority.”

“Tell them the rest of the story,” Donavan urged.

“In ancient times there was a war between the immortals and the wolves. The wolves are the guardians of the earth and its creatures. They are hunters, but also guardians. The vampire … they are hunters with a thirst that is insatiable. They have no regard for human life. There was only peace between the two species when there was an agreement. The vampire would live on the earth’s plane and hunt, as long as they did not upset the balance of nature. Omar has broken that treaty, and now with a child of the wolves taken by a vampire, there will be another war.”

Nicole looked at her father. “So you are saying that you fathered us for the purpose of fighting these vampires that are to return?”

Donavan shook his head. “That was not my intent, but I came to realize that it was fate. After the three of you were born, it was revealed to me what your destiny would be. I was to protect you, and the best way to do that was to disappear from your lives. Lex is right. Now is the time to bring the three of you together.”

* * *

Dash lay on the cold stone floor, curled into a tight ball. His muscles throbbed and his body trembled uncontrollably. The pain of blood deprivation was far more agonizing than he had ever imagined. His thoughts were clouded with a ravenous thirst that was all consuming. Aside from his hunger, there was one thing that managed to come into the forefront of his mind. It was the knowledge that his quest to find the light had been for nothing.

Even in the Place of Light, he was damned to live in darkness. His prison cell was as dank and gloomy as any crypt he’d ever been in, but now he was not free to hunt.

“He needs nutrients.” The voice broke through his haze of misery. Somewhere in the back of his mind there was a realization that something had changed. The voice belonged to someone that hadn’t been there before.

Growling, Dash opened his eyes. Two figures in black hooded robes stood near the bars of his cell. His instinct forced him to move and he flew at the bars, his body slamming against them before sliding to the ground. The impact jarred the metal, sending a cloud of dust down from the ceiling.

One of the figures fed a tube through the bars. A red substance began dripping from the end of the clear plastic cylinder. Dash rushed for the tube. Holding it above his mouth, he let it drip down his throat. Somewhere in the back of his mind, reason was fighting to overcome his hunger. He knew that what he was drinking was his recipe. Nicole had been right; the recipe had come from
Outerlands
. Somehow they had downloaded it to his brain when he’d been allowed that brief visit years ago.

All that time he’d thought it was his own invention.

As the pain in his body began to fade, he fed more slowly. Drinking too much - too fast wasn’t a good idea. Finally when his thirst was sated, he moved away from the tube and fixed his eyes on the hooded figure. Now that he was paying attention, he could see that the other end of the tube was attached to a plastic IV bag. The figure’s face was obscured by shadow. He could not make out features, only that the figure was a female. Her companion was clearly male, his stature much larger.

“And what did you hear? That there was a crazy vampire looking to find his way into your sacred realm?” Dash could not keep his sarcasm from coming through. He had never felt it right that he had been denied the light, while there had always been a place where he could have embraced that light.

“Do you know why it is that a vampire can be in the light here, but not on the other side?” she asked, a note of amusement in her voice.

Dash shook his head. At the moment he didn’t really have the heart to get into a discussion about the limitations of the immortals.

“It is because the light here is not true light. The light is only a reflection of what is in the world of humans. That is why the UV rays will not hurt a vampire here.”

Dash said nothing. His heart felt too heavy in his chest. To know that he had been chasing an illusion was too much to accept. Even here nothing changed. The light was not real. It only mirrored what was real on the other side.

The woman’s companion spoke for the first time. “This is an unfortunate fate for the vampire, but a few of us here realize that many of your species did not choose this fate for themselves. That is why we have come to help you.”

The woman brushed the hood from her head and Dash was struck by how familiar she looked. Her long red hair reminded him of Sarah.

“Sarah …” Beth’s voice trailed off and she appeared lost in thought. Suddenly her green eyes focused on Dash. “If we let you out, you must go back to the other side. The truth you seek is there … not here.”

Beth had already started moving down the dark passage, but at Dash’s words her steps faltered. “Tell her nothing. When the time is right I will go to her.”

Summer was sure that her arm would pop right out of its socket. The vampire had a vice grip on her wrist and was dragging her behind him. Her knees were stained green from the many times that she’d tumbled into the grass while trying to keep up with him. Every time she would fall, he’d yank her to her feet and continue dragging her. At first she’d tried to fight him off, but he was too strong.

They moved through the maze of headstones so fast that there was no time to notice how still the night was. Only when he slowed did she take in how the moonlight appeared to shimmer off the stones of the dead, calling attention to the last testament of the lives they once lived.

“Where are you taking me,” Summer asked, breathless from trying to keep pace with someone that could move so swiftly.

He didn’t answer, but he had slowed enough that it was no longer too difficult for her to stay behind him without risk of having her limb ripped from her torso. It felt as if the cemetery went on forever. All that she could see in every direction were intricately carved headstones. The sheer size of the graveyard was a clue. Only a large community would have such a big cemetery.