Endlessly (13 page)

I couldn’t let myself dwell on it. I
left him where he was, and looked for ammo that would fit my gun. I
grabbed all I could, and stuffed it in a backpack. I forced the
register open, took all the cash, and packed it in with the ammo. I
took one last look at my friend’s body, and walked out.

On the other side of the lot Ash and
Jessica were loading the car. I passed them, and went into the
apartment where I had a safe. I’d never trusted banks after the
Depression. There in the safe I had ten thousand dollars. I’d
stashed money in other locations, but there wouldn’t be time for
that. I added the ten grand to the cash in the backpack, then went
back out to the store. Jessica and Ash were waiting. Ash looked
scared, while Jessica acted indifferent.

As I approached them I pulled out the
bloody letter that Chris had given me.

“It’s already begun,” I said. I opened
the letter and read it aloud to them.

Dear Lost One,

Your presence and that of the Dragon is
requested by the Quatre. Two weeks from today please go to the
Glenbrook Mall at 11 am. Proceed to the overlook above the food
court. You will receive further instructions there. If you do not
follow this directive you know what the consequences will be. Just
ask Chris and Jason.

“It’s not signed,” I said. I looked at
the girls. I could hear Ash’s thoughts. They were a scream of chaos
and panic. Jessica knew what it meant, and was accepting her
fate.

“Jessica, we have to leave now. We’re
going to the Country Inn over on Cross Creek. If you need to get a
hold of us–”

“I won’t need to, Verloren,” she said,
cutting me off. “I can’t sit here waiting for whatever they’ve got
planned for me. You have to take me out before you leave.” She gave
Ash and me a twisted smile. “Besides, you’ll need the
feeding.”

“Jessica I can’t…”

“Don’t argue,” she snapped. “Just do it
and get out of here.” She closed her eyes and turned her head away
from me, showing her neck.

Ash stared, drawn by morbid curiosity,
then she stepped back. She wrapped her arms around herself and
bowed her head. She instinctively understood our need for
privacy.

I bent to hug Jessica, then whispered:
“You were right. I do love her.”

“I know you do. I know exactly how much
you love her.” Her aura beamed bright, blinding me. “Verloren, you
need to know some things before I go. I confess: I knew what she
was. I thought she was too old and would have to remain human. I
hoped you two could be together if that happened.”

I stepped back. Jessica
smiled.

“What are you talking about?” I
asked.

“There’s so much you need to know, and
only one way to tell you. When you take my blood I’ll let you
in.”

“I won’t take your soul,” I promised.
Numbness invaded my body.

I took a deep breath and focused.
“Goodbye, old friend,” I whispered. “Good luck in the next life. I
hope I get to see you again.”

I kept my head down, but Ash was still
in my line of vision. She stared, fascinated by the sad horror of
it. I bit into Jessica’s neck as gently as I could. I closed my
eyes. A tidal wave of thoughts hit my mind. She gave me all she
knew about the dragons. It would have filled several books, yet the
whole process took only minutes.

Jessica carried me back to a time when
vampires and incarnates lived in giant underground communities away
from the human population. It had been an age of religious
intolerance and persecution when humans had tortured and killed
anyone who was different. Our separate communities were the only
reason we survived. The dragons had ruled our peaceful communities,
but eventually they began dying faster than other dragons were
born. They were old souls, and soon they would pass from this
world, going extinct.

But recently the born knowing had
learned that dragons had not died; they’d gone into hibernation.
Each dragon possesses one element, either earth, wind, fire, or
water. A dragon could manipulate that element at will. Moving the
element brought a burst of energy, and when that energy was spent,
the dragon would replace it with sexual energy with a monogamous
lover.

Though she was dying, Jessica felt my
body twitch, and let go a soft chuckle. I showed her how Ash had
come on to me so strongly, and Jessica’s thoughts explained that
this behavior would be the norm from now on. Ash would crave it
just like I craved blood, though she wouldn’t need it to survive or
change. She would only require it in order to build up the
elemental energy.

Jessica showed me what she had been
keeping from me: hidden thoughts in my own mind that even Ash
hadn’t discovered. These were things I’d forgotten, but Jessica saw
every thought and memory I’d ever had. As she showed me these
thoughts, she also revealed them to Ash.

Jessica’s body grew limp. She left me
as myself, yet I was different. The memory she left me with was so
clear I felt as if I were living it. It was a future memory, if
such a thing is possible. In it I turned and found Ash sleeping on
her stomach. She looked different but I knew that it was her. Her
skin was darker. As I stroked her long hair I noticed my hand was
no longer pale white. It had color. I was becoming a human. As Ash
awoke she smiled at me. I was suddenly aware that her eyes were
brown. She rose to kiss me.

I got another image of Ash wrapped in a
sheet holding her swollen belly. She was with child. Then I saw
Kale hunched over Ash as he fed from her. Fury burned through me as
I attacked him, but my strength was no match for his. He threw me
against a wall, and as I lay dazed on the floor, he drank from
me.

In another scene I woke up in a
mountain cave. I walked to the cavern entrance, and had to shield
my eyes from the sun. My arm was white. My hands started to shake
as I remembered what I had become.

Jessica stopped the images,
and spoke with her thoughts:
You were one
of the born knowing and Ash was the last dragon. You were soul
mates. She was the only dragon to ever become pregnant in her human
form. When Kale discovered she was with child he killed her. The
pictures that you see are either premonitions or memories. They
might be from the future, but the future is not set in
stone.

I gripped Jessica harder, careful not
to crush her frail human bones. Shock flooded my body and my
stomach sank. If I hadn’t been holding onto her I would’ve fallen.
I’d never guessed. It was the reason that only I could see auras,
that only I knew what people were. It wasn’t a freak accident or a
random gift. I was the forbidden one, yet they allowed me to
be.

Kale was one of the oldest
vampires,
Jessica told me with her
thoughts
. He’d worked closely with the
born knowing. They’d decided that when the last dragon died they
would create a new kind of government. Kale would be one of its
leaders, maybe the top man. He worried that Ash would give birth to
another dragon. Impatient for his turn in power, he killed her and
hid her body. Kale let you live out of morbid curiosity. That is
why the Quatre let you go that last time. Kale couldn’t bring
himself to kill his creation. He’s been experimenting with hybrids
ever since. Use caution if you meet him again. There are legends
that immortality comes from drinking the dragon’s blood, and if you
consume their hearts you will gain their elemental power. I think
he might want one of each—earth, wind, fire and water—so he will be
master all of the elements.

Jessica’s mind was starting
to fade, yet her thoughts sped up. She wanted to get me the last of
the information.
Your name was Varin
Holstein. As you mourned for Ash you contemplated suicide, but as a
vampire you thought your soul would die too. You thought you might
not see her ever again. You’ve stayed alive all this time, waiting
endlessly, in the hope that she would come back. Over time your
conscious mind forgot about her. Kale turned you in 1348. He’s kept
an eye on you ever since.

I strained to get her last
thoughts
. Her name was Abriana. She was,
and is your soul mate. You’ve found her.

Jessica’s heart stopped. I opened my
eyes. Ash grasped a shelf to steady herself. She stared at me,
panting.

I gently laid Jessica on the floor. So
much information so fast. My body was shaking.

“Soul mates,” Ash breathed. “Another
life.”

I reached out to her, my hand
trembling. We embraced. She sobbed as I held her. The fierce
pulling ripped through my body. “It won’t happen again,” I
promised.

So if the picture I’d seen was of Kale
in the past, but I’d thought it was the future, what did that say
about every other premonition I’d had?

“We have to go now,” I said.

Ash nodded through her tears. We
gathered what we needed and left.

Chapter 13

NATURAL INSTINCTS

We left the store and headed to The
Country Inn. Chris, Jason, Jessica…all three were gone. We rode
silently, trying to absorb their deaths, and Jessica’s
revelations.

At the Inn I stopped in the unloading
zone, grabbed a pen and paper from my backpack, and scrolled a
short message. I handed that to Ash along with a large stack of
bills.

When she saw the bills her eyes grew
huge. “Holy Cow! That is a lot of money.”

“Take the money and that note up to the
front desk. They’ve dealt with me before; they’ll know what to
do.”

“Okay…”

I watched her as she disappeared into
the lobby. I felt as if I might never see her again. In those
uncertain moments anger flooded my veins. I knew that if I ever got
close to Kale again I would kill him. I would take out Sara too. It
was the only way to keep Ash safe, but the idea seemed impossible.
They would have the manpower. Ash and I were doomed.

The vision was too dark. My thoughts
turned to Ash’s new persona, and her need to feed off sexual
energy. Though she didn’t need it to shift, or to exercise her
power, she would crave sex constantly. When I thought of that in
light of our impending doom, my first instinct was to break all
laws.

Ash came out holding the key for our
room. As she got in I saw she was blushing. She handed me the
key.

“Um…apparently we get some kind
of…honeymoon suite?”

“I figured you could use being
pampered,” I told her. “If the idea of us together like that
bothers you I can get a separate room.”

“No way.”

I drove to the parking lot where we
unloaded the essentials. I kept watching for people tailing us, but
it was pointless. The ones who might be after us would be too well
hidden. Suddenly I realized they’d been watching us from the start.
Someone had come into Chris’s store acting like a customer, then
killed him. That person didn’t just flee. We were being watched
from somewhere nearby.

Still, there was the chance that they’d
lost us, so it didn’t hurt to change my looks. I grabbed a few
items from the car that would help in that effort. When we got to
the door to our room we stopped.

“Set your stuff down and close your
eyes,” I said.

She did as I asked. I took the key from
my pocket, opened the door, and set our stuff inside. “Okay, open
your eyes,” I told her.

She peeked into the room, and saw a
hallway bedroom, bath, and multi-mirrored Jacuzzi. The living room
even had a fireplace. I swept her off of her feet and carried her
across the threshold. She giggled. As the door closed behind us, I
carried her to the bedroom.

“
It’s beautiful,” she
sighed.

Numerous pillows and a red rose spread
covered the canopied bed. It lay behind sheer white curtains. The
curtains were tied to each post with ribbons festooned with red
roses. More roses spilled across the headboard of the bed. I laid
her down gently. The bed seemed to swallow her. She wrapped her
arms around my neck and drew me to her.

She kissed me passionately,
and I felt my heart pounding. My breaths came hard and fast, and
suddenly I heard my own loud gasps. I felt embarrassed, and I
pulled back from her. She stared into my eyes.
Verloren we have a death sentence. This is what I
want.

“It’s what I want too,” I confessed. “I
just…I don’t want to hurt you.”

I don’t think you
will.

“That’s the problem, you don’t think
that I will, but I know that I will,” I said.

Her eyes dropped from mine. I changed
the subject: “Besides, I really need to shower, and I’ve got to dye
my hair.”

“I wish you wouldn’t,” she said, giving
me a sad puppy dog look. “I like the way it is now.”

I gave her a quick kiss.

As Ash parked herself in front of the
TV, I dug through our bags until I found the hair dye. I was glad
to see that it was the 10-minute kind, and black, which seemed
appropriate. In the bathroom I shut the door, then saw the two
bathrobes. Every honeymoon suite has them: his and hers.

I stripped off my shirt, and applied
the dye like a pro. I didn’t need directions. I’d done this too
many times. I knew the drill: put on the gloves, mix chemicals,
apply. I even remembered the eyebrows. When 10 minutes had passed I
stripped and got in the shower. I rinsed out the excess color, then
let the water wash over me.