Chosen (Book #4 of the Vampire Legends) (12 page)

It was a sheer
miracle, she thought to herself. With all the commotion; the dogs, the shots,
the people screaming, the priest fight and the police, she still managed to
find the Red Amulet. She knew it was meant to be. Now, she had to take it to
Benji. She had to get to him quickly. She pulled the Red Amulet out of the
center of the cross and put it around her neck. It hung there proudly and she
could feel its energy and power seeping into her body. She knew she’d found it
and was now able to save Benji’s life for good.

Chapter
16

Rachel fled from
St. Patrick’s Cathedral quickly and began her flight to Benji. She knew time
was running out and that he would die soon. In fact, she didn’t know if she
would make it. She hoped and prayed that when she returned he would still be
there where she’d left him but she wasn’t sure. The thought of Benji not being
there was eating her up inside. She knew it had taken her longer than she
expected to find the Red Amulet, but she finally found it and hoped that she
still had time to save Benji. She hoped that it wasn’t too late.

As she flew up
the coast, she felt her body growing stronger and more powerful as a result of
wearing the Red Amulet. She knew she was not to wear it as jewelry or for any
other reason than for protection, but she figured that this was a time when she
needed protection. Perhaps that because she was wearing the amulet, she was
able to dodge the bullets and dogs in the church. Perhaps it is why she was
able to escape the scene unharmed. Perhaps the Red Amulet saved her life? She
will never know, but what she did know was that she felt like a new person as a
result of having the amulet touch her body.

She was making
record time as she soared through the sky on her way to Benji. Then, she
spotted the cliff where they’d jumped off of a year ago. She knew she was close
to him now. She could feel it in the air. She could sense his presence close to
hers. She hoped that it was because he was really near and not because he had
died and was not with her in spirit.

She could see the
waves crashing against the shore, stronger than she’d ever seen before. It was
almost as if a big storm was coming to town. Suddenly the sky grew dark and the
rain started beating down on her. She was being flung across the sky by strong
gusts of wind. She was scared and thought she was going to have to land and
wait out the storm on the ground. Then, she darted through the sky at lightning
speed and arrived at the place where she last left Benji.

She knew she had
to get inside the cave before the storm brought the water level too high. She
worried that the water might enter the cave and flood the entire thing. If that
happened she and Benji would surely die.

As she walked
through the dark walls of the cave she could hear dripping coming from the stalagmites.
She heard her footsteps echoing off the walls of the cave and it actually sent
a chill down her spine. She felt scared to be inside the dark cave, wandering
around alone.

“Benji!” she
yelled out. “Can you hear me? Are you there?”

She waited but
there was no response. She didn’t expect him to respond to her since he wasn’t
able to speak when she left him a few days ago. She thought it was worth a shot,
though, since his condition might have improved while she was gone.

Unfortunately,
for Rachel, it was getting darker and darker as she got deeper into the cave.
She knew it was going to be completely dark out in a matter of minutes and she
had to find Benji and get him outside, to safety. The water was beginning to
rise at her feet and she knew it was only a matter of time until the entire
cave flooded.

“Benji! I’m
coming. I’m here to save you. I love you!” Rachel yelled as she walked quickly
around the cave to find him.

As she turned the
bend, she spotted his shadow in the distance, still laying lifeless on the
ground. She ran over to him and knelt down by his side.

“Benji! Benji!”
she said, as she shook his body.

She could see the
blood had spilled out even more around him and he was lying in a pool of his
own blood. His body looked frail and thin and she didn’t know if he was alive.
She put her head to his nose to listen for his breaths but didn’t hear them.
She then put her hand on his chest to see if she felt it rise and fall. As she
lay her hand there, she waited, quietly  for any sign of life. Then, she felt
it, a small inhale.

“Thank God!
You’re alive! Benji. I’m here. I have the Red Amulet. Can you hear me?” Rachel
said, caressing Benji’s face with her hand.

“Benji, I love
you. Please, please wake up!”

Benji lay there,
limp and lifeless; He did not open his eyes and he did not speak.  The blood
continued to drip from his neck as he lay there. Rachel took off her sweater
and tied it around his neck to put pressure on the wound and to stop the
bleeding. She didn’t know why she didn’t think to do that before she left, but
figured it was better late than never. She clutched his body with hers as she
lay there hugging him. She could feel him struggling for air as he lay there.

“Benji, please!
Wake up! I have the Red Amulet for you. I need you to tell me what to do with
it?” Rachel begged.

She wasn’t sure
how to use it since his parents didn’t tell him what to do with it once she
found it. She knew she forgot something, and now realized that she didn’t know
how to use it. How was she going to save him now without knowing what to do?

She took the
amulet off her neck and put it to his. She tied the necklace around his neck
and waited. She hoped it would do something, but nothing happened.

“It’s not
working!” she yelled out. “Help me!”

Benji didn’t
respond. He continued to lay there with the amulet around his neck as Rachel
waited for it to take effect.

Then she
remembered the page from the old Coven Book that she still had in her pocket.
She pulled it out and unfolded it. Suddenly, the page lit up like the light from
a Christmas Tree and she was stunned at what she saw on the page. It was the
same page as she remembered, but this time, she was able to understand the
words on the page. She couldn’t believe it. Why now, all of a sudden could she
read this new language. Was the Red Amulet the cause of this?

She couldn’t
believe it. She was reading Coven Code as if it were English. It was no problem
for her at all and she couldn’t imagine why she couldn’t do it before. It came
so easily to her.

As she read the
page she was stunned at what she had to do to save Benji. She had to take the
amulet, place it around his neck, laying at a 45 degree angle towards the sky.
Then, she had to perform a ceremony in ancient Coven Code using rosemary leaves
and the blood of a young fawn. She had to recite the ancient scripture which
thankfully, was printed in the page and then do the sacred coven dance. After
one completes all these sacred rituals, the person wearing the Red Amulet will
be cured. Then, she read on and couldn’t believe what she saw. As she
translated it, it said,
Those who perform this sacred ritual must be ready
to lay down their own life for the person they wish to save. It is an extremely
holy act to save one’s life using the Red Amulet and many have been known to die
performing the ceremony. If you perform these rituals and you survive, it is
very rare. Very few ever survive and make it to see the light of the day.

Rachel’s heart
jumped into her throat as she read that. She didn’t know what to do. If she
performed these rituals for Benji to save his life, then she might die. But if
she didn’t perform them, Benji would die and in turn she would be dead inside.

She realized she
had no choice but to perform the ceremony. She couldn’t bear to let him die and
her survive. She knew that Benji would lay down his life for hers and she
wanted to do the same for him. After all, her life would be meaningless without
him in it. It wouldn’t be worth living. She realized death was knocking at her
door and she had to greet it with open arms. If it meant that Benji would
survive, she would do anything. She loved him so much, that her well-being came
second to his. He was the only thing she cared about and she would much rather
look down on him from heaven than watch him die right there, in her arms.

She folded up the
piece of paper and put it back into her pocket safely. She then used all her
might to pick Benji up off the ground of the cave and carried him in her arms.
The cave was pitch black and the water level was rising by the minute. She knew
she had to get out and fast. They only had a few minutes before they would both
drown in the cave. She was just thankful at this moment that she got back when
she did. She realized the storm was coming and that it would kill him if he
continued to lay there on the ground.

She looked into
his eyes, which were still rolling back into his head as she carried him out of
the cave and into the open air. It was still raining outside, and the clouds
were a dark grey color. She knew she couldn’t perform the ceremony under the
rain, she had to go somewhere where it was not raining so that she could really
focus on the words of the ritual.

She picked Benji
up and flew with him in her arms across the fields and west towards the setting
sun. She knew it couldn’t be raining everywhere and continued flying until the
sky grew calm and quiet. She landed on the ground below on a grassy field next
to the woods. She knew she’d be safe here with Benji. She didn’t sense any
danger and she felt a sense of calm as she was about to begin the ancient
ceremony.

She took stock of
everything she needed and then realized that she didn’t have the blood of a
young fawn. She quickly put Benji down, and ran into the woods in search of a
young fawn. To her surprise, there was a family of deer that were crossing the
stream in front of her. She hid behind a tree as they walked by slowly and then
she jumped out and sunk her teeth into the baby. She captured its blood in a
hollowed out tree stump and then brought it back to where Benji lay, still
lifeless in the field.

“Benji,” Rachel
said before she started the ceremony. “I love you so much. I know we will be
together again. In our next lifetime. I am about to perform the ceremony and as
you know I may die as a result. I want you to know that I love you with my
entire heart and wish you a happy remainder of this lifetime. I hope you find
happiness and love. If you can’t be with me, I wish you find someone to make
you happy. You are my one and only great love and you will forever be in my
heart.”

Then she pulled
out the piece of paper and began the ceremony. She placed the Red Amulet on his
neck at a 45 degree angle towards the sky. Then, she took the rosemary leaves
and sprinkled them over Benji’s body. The smell of the rosemary permeated the
air around him and brought a sense of calm over Rachel. She knew she was doing
the right thing despite her fear of dying in the process. She knew it was the
right thing to do though. She knew she had to continue.

Her hands were
shaking as she reached for the blood of the young fawn. She then took the blood
with her right pointer finger and dabbed it onto his forehead in the shape of a
cross. She then took the blood and dipped her finger back in and made a cross
on her forehead. Now, she was ready to recite the ancient scripture.

“
Domini Angus
Lingus
,” Rachel said. “
Corpus, Truli, Andunis…
”

Rachel repeated
these two phrases over and over and watched Benji as she spoke. She placed her
hand on his chest and felt his body begin to shake. The Red Amulet let off a
soft glow, the same glow that she saw when she was in St. Patrick’s Cathedral.
It was almost as if it was being ignited by a force from above.

She could feel
Benji’s body waking up to the world again. She watched the wound as it slowly
closed up and the skin around it healed. She saw him quiver and shake again and
then his eyes began to blink quickly, opening and closing as his breaths grew
faster and less shallow. She could feel him regaining the strength in his body,
and at the same time she could feel her body growing weaker with each passing
moment. It was all she could do to continue reciting the ancient scripture. Her
body started to grow cold and shaky as she continued speaking, in a soft voice.
The page fell from her limp fingers and her spine grew weak. She slunk down to
the ground, feeling as if she were going to die.

She watched as
Benji, who lay next to him, regained his strength and then began to sit up. She
could hear him clearing his throat and she watched him as he touched his body with
his hands. She could tell he was trying to figure out what had happened to him.
There was no sign of injury or wound left on his body so she was sure he would
never figure it out. Then, she saw him look at her. Their eyes connected as he
reached out to touch her body.

“Rachel? Is that
you?” Benji asked. “You don’t look well.”

“
Domini Angus
Lingus
,” Rachel whispered, still gazing into Benji’s eyes.

“No! Rachel,
stop! Please! What are you doing?” Benji said.

He then put his
hands to his neck and felt that he was wearing the Red Amulet.

“You found it!
You’re saving me. You can’t do that, you’re going to die!” Benji said.

He took his hands
and wiped off the blood from her forehead. He then grabbed the Red Amulet and
ripped it off his neck. He then looked back at Rachel and said, “I can’t
believe you would do this for me. You have laid down your life to save mine.
How can I ever repay you?”

“Benji, I love
you!” Rachel said as she began to nod off, her body feeling weaker than ever.
She felt her eyes roll back into her head and the last thing she remembered
hearing, before her world went dark, was Benji’s voice.

“I’ll find you,”
he said. “I won’t live without you. One day, somehow, we will meet again.”