Dark Cravings (23 page)

I drifted in and out of consciousness. My wakeful periods
were indistinct, unreal. Micah scooped me into his arms. The lulling sound of
his heartbeat pulsed in my ear, the warmth of his chest and the scent of him
soothed me back into darkness. The fierce words of comfort he breathed made it
all disappear.

I caught snippets of conversation between Micah and Castro.
Their voices jumbled together and I was having a hard time determining who was
saying what. I picked out only pieces here and there. I felt like I was playing
one of those word games my sister liked so much, with a decidedly dark twist.

Hannah had been five the first time she’d come to me with a
set of blocks. On each cube was a word. She would mix them up and ask me to tell
her a story with the words that showed. At ten, I was more interested in
throwing knives than playing games with my kid sister. I’d just stare at her.
She’d give me a stomp of her tiny foot and a swish of her hair. Then she’d
proceed to tell me a story. Over the years, the words got more complex and the
stories more intricate.

My mind whirled around the words I overheard and I imagined
them on blocks. I pictured Hannah’s beautiful face, the hopefulness in her eyes
that this time, I would play with her. Fine.

Hannah, pretty. Blood, necessary. I’ll kill you, Julian,
motherfucker. Queen, dead. Not going to make it, me? That was the best I could
do considering I’d just been gutted. The harder I thought about my stupid game,
though, the less pain I felt. I kept making new sentences. The more I played,
the more lucid I became.

“He can save her,” Castro was saying. I felt his irritation
like an itch I couldn’t quite scratch. He must be upset if he was projecting
his emotions.

“Over my dead body,” Micah growled.

The lash of Castro’s anger was fiery.

“It will be over your dead body if you refuse this! Do not
let your pride interfere with common sense. The moment her heart stops beating,
so does yours. Listen to me.” There was more emotion in Castro’s words than mere
friendship. In my semiconscious, pain-drugged state, I heard love. Castro loved
him.

We were steps outside of the abandoned hospital when Castro
spoke. I looked around, saw Micah’s beat-up black Mustang parked next to Dante’s
truck. Micah had said something about Hannah, but I couldn’t make out how
Castro had replied.

Through half-opened eyes, I watched Castro slash his wrist.
Blood boiled out of his hot veins and the pungent scent of it made my gums
ache. I knew I was in bad shape because, despite how my gut clenched with
hunger, my fangs didn’t lengthen. Erectile dysfunction. I had vampire ED, on
top of everything else.

Using the same slashing motion he used to open a vein,
Castro tore open a hole in our dimension. I had never actually seen a demon
portal being created. Power surged and the air swirled into a dark, shimmering
gateway. Blue lines of electricity crackled in the entrance. Castro strolled
through and vanished.

“Hannah, Dante?” I asked.

“She’s fine,” Micah tried to soothe. “Don’t talk.”

“Where is she?” I asked through a cough that brought up
blood.

He ground his back teeth. “Dante took her to the Vault.
Castro has called in a full medical team to help her. It’s where we’re going
now.” Micah picked me up and followed Castro.

Moving through the portal sent me into a nauseated abyss. My
body convulsed and my newly mended insides felt like they were tearing. By the
time I came awake, Micah’s footsteps echoed off the stone. This was a section
of the Vault I hadn’t seen. The same gray brick lined the walls, but instead of
overhead lights, the illumination in the tunnel came from the flickering glow
of recessed torches. A long, intricately woven rug covered the ground.

I braced myself for the assaulting music and electric buzz
of demons. I encountered neither. The air smelled of cloves. Micah walked
through an open door and into a softly lit room. A lush, oval bed took up the
center of the stone cave. Purple-flamed candles burned on the rich mahogany
dresser, vanity table and armoire.

In a corner of the room, Castro sat cross-legged in an
oversized black leather chair. How in the hell had he beat us here? Hadn’t he
been right in front of us? His black pants and black silk shirt melted into the
curved contours of the chair. The dark, menacing scowl he wore made my heart
beat just a little faster. His anger was tactile.

Micah laid me carefully on the bed. He stepped away and
paced. His footsteps thudded on the floor and then grew silent when they hit
the rug. Thud. Silence. Thud. Silence.

“There isn’t any other way?” Micah asked.

He drew a bloodstained hand through his hair and stopped
pacing in front of Castro.

“You’re absolutely sure there isn’t anything else we can do?
Maybe if I give her more blood?” He sounded pained.

“I could give her blood from every creature in this place.
It would prolong her life for a short while, but it wouldn’t heal her. The
damage is too great. I’m sorry, Micah. Vampires can heal a lot of things, but
she is different. She is a living vampire. The same rules of immortality don’t apply
when the heart beats.”

“Then do it,” Micah growled. “But don’t expect me to play
nice.”

Castro rose in one fluid sweep. “I’ll make the arrangements
for Ella. Then I’ll see how our young Hannah fares. They’ve set the broken
bones in her arm and fingers. She won’t need surgery, but it took forty-five
stitches to close all the cuts. I fear most of the damage is psychological.
When she comes out of sedation, we will see. Dante has not left her side.”

“What?” Micah shook his head. “Forty-five stitches? We only
just got here.”

“The portal wasn’t stable,” Castro said. “Time moves
differently depending on where you travel. Dante and Hannah have been here for
two hours.”

As if I was an invalid, or already dead, the demon lord didn’t
look at me when he pushed aside a blue velvet curtain hanging on the wall. He
vanished through it and left Micah and me alone.

“What is he about to arrange?” Forcing my words to come out
in a single, unbroken string took a great deal of effort. My voice was breathy
and hoarse.

I tried to push myself into a sitting position, but my
muscles weren’t working. Sweat beaded on my forehead and my vision darkened.

“Don’t try to move, you’ll just hurt yourself worse. Your
patch job won’t last for long.”

Micah sat on the bed and brushed my hair back from my
forehead. Fatigue and anger shone in the corners of his bloodshot eyes. Were
these my last moments with him? Was this purple velvet bed my final resting
spot? I was going to be royally pissed if it was.

“Why didn’t you wait?” he asked in a deceptively soft voice.

Tears gathered in my eyes.

“I couldn’t. God, Micah, I listened to Hannah’s screams over
an intercom. I heard her bones breaking as I searched room after room. The
bitch had her strapped in the pitch black to this archaic operating table. She
was naked and bleeding, and…” I looked up, felt my lower lip tremble. “Dante
was with me. But even if I’d been alone, I still would have gone in because
she’s my sister. I don’t regret it.”

The fogginess around my vision was increasing. I now understood
what Micah had said about the patch job being temporary. How much longer did I
have?

Micah’s restraint broke and his quiet voice vanished. He
jumped from the bed. Lizbeth’s ashes covered his pants and adhered to the blood
painting his naked chest. His sudden movement sent up a puff of dust.

“I know, god damn it. You think I don’t know you’d do
anything for her? I almost killed myself avenging my sister. And I’d give my
life for Eli, but fucking Christ. I can’t lose you. I won’t give you up. I’ll do
whatever has to be done to keep you alive, I’m telling you that now.”

What exactly was Castro arranging? “What does that mean,
Micah?”

He didn’t meet my eyes.

“I’ve got to find a way to check in with Roy and see how Eli
is doing. He needs to know you and Hannah are safe. Who the hell knows how much
time has passed topside.”

He drew out his cell phone and turned his back on me. The
conversation, apparently, was over. Did he really think he’d get cell service
down here, wherever here was? I was going to argue, but the curtain on the wall
moved aside and I closed my mouth. Dante’s large body eclipsed the adjoining
room. Cradled against his chest was my sister. Washed, docile and clothed only in
a man’s dress shirt, she looked like a little girl. She clutched Dante’s shirt
but the blank, vacant look in her eyes told me no one was home.

She had a black eye that was swollen shut and a split upper
lip. What had Lizbeth done to her? Bandages covered her slender legs and the
bottoms of her feet. Neon-pink plaster kept her right arm immobilized. The
bright, cheery color seemed wrong given what had just happened.

“Hannah?” My voice was so small.

She didn’t stir at my words or even the sight of me. Hannah
didn’t even blink. A day-old corpse would have had more life in her than my
sister did.

Dante shook his head. “She hasn’t said a word since I
brought her here.”

Micah stepped across the room. He stroked his hand over her
face, gently touched her cheeks.

“Oh Hannah,” he sighed.

When his lips brushed her forehead, I fell a little bit more
in love. The first sob was a tiny sound. The second was louder. I saw the tears
before Hannah turned to Micah and threw herself into his arms as much as she
was able with the bulky cast. He caught her, smoothed his hand up and down her
back. Dante hovered close, as if he didn’t want to let her go.

In Micah’s strong, safe arms, my sister fell apart.

“Don’t cry. It’s over. I promise she can’t hurt you anymore.
Ella got her.” Micah pulled back, gave Hannah the smile that melted solid
objects. “I got the ashes all over me to prove it.”

“Oh my god, Ella.” Hannah’s tears began anew. “The vampire,
she…she stabbed you.”

“Micah got there in time, I’m going to be fine.” I willed
the cough in my throat away. I wouldn’t spew blood in front of my sister.

“You don’t look fine.”

“Micah has a plan.”

Hannah looked up at him and sniffled. “It better be a good
one.”

“It’s a horrible one, but it will work,” he said.

“I’ll take her.” Dante’s deep voice rumbled.

Micah carefully slid Hannah into Dante’s arms. My throat
started to close when the gentle lion settled into the leather chair and curled
my sister against him as if she were made of porcelain. In his lap, she pulled
her legs up under her shirt and tucked in close to Dante before she spoke.

“Did Eli…” More tears filled her eyes. “Is he alive?”

Micah crouched in front of her, tried to calm her with his
eyes. “Eli is messed up, I won’t lie to you. But he’ll make it. He made it
through one surgery and he was headed to another when I left. I’ll send someone
to get another update.”

A tear rolled down her cheek.

“Why did all of this happen?”

“Julian,” I said and my voice was too weak to elaborate, to
explain that he’d been sent to kill me but instead fell in love. I didn’t know
how to process that information or how to explain we were born with recessed
vampire traits.

As if my words had conjured him, I felt my sire’s presence.

Castro came back through the curtains. Behind him was
Julian. My skin crawled with the power emanating from him. Was he even more
powerful? His electric gaze moved over my face.

What has been done to you, min älskling?

“Don’t talk inside my head,” I snapped. “And I’m not your
darling.”

My gaze shot to Micah and I suddenly understood what was
about to happen. “What have you done?”

“What I needed to do to keep you alive.” He spoke through
clenched teeth.

“I don’t understand,” Hannah’s voice trembled.

Dante rose with Hannah in his arms. His large hand pushed
her damp, tangled hair off her face and I heard the rumble of his voice as he
exited the room. “Let’s get you back to bed and let them sort this out. Ella’s
gonna be just fine.”

Micah closed the distance between him and Julian. My sire
straightened his shoulders. They faced off and the spike in tension was
palpable.

“You did this on purpose, didn’t you?” Micah accused. “All
of this was some elaborate plan so you could come in and save the day. You
lousy piece of shit.”

“Micah,” Castro warned.

“Me?” Julian laughed. “You did this, mongrel. If it was me,
I wouldn’t have let her face off against Lizbeth alone. What was so important
that you left your ‘mate’ unprotected?”

Micah’s growl bounced off the walls.

“Ella cannot last much longer,” Castro said very calmly. “Julian
is the only one who can save her. Let’s stop this game we’re playing and solve
the problem at hand.” He gave Micah a pointed look. “You would rather her die
than drink his blood? If she dies, you die.”

“I don’t give a fuck about my life!” Micah yelled.

“What will Elijah do? You’re all he has,” Castro said.

“I’ll do it,” I said weakly.

Micah turned to me, green fire in his eyes. “I thought I
would do anything, but I won’t force you to touch him. You don’t have to do
this.”

“Yes, I do. It’s blood, Micah, that’s all.”

“It is not just blood,” Julian interrupted.

“What is that supposed to mean?” Micah hissed.

“I don’t do anything without a price. You want Ella alive
and I want her by my side. I save her, I keep her.”

“You manipulative fuck.”

“No,” I said and tried to lift myself into a sitting
position. I didn’t get any farther than I had the first time. “I’d rather die.”

Julian looked at me and for the first time, I saw such
sadness in his eyes. “You would choose death over me?”