Ironic Sacrifice (10 page)

The twins were rooted to the spot as he drank. Razvan couldn’t decide if he was fascinated or repulsed. Radu’s jaw was slack and his eyes looked ready to topple out of his face. After an interminable amount of time, Alexandru released the man to gently slump against the wall of a smithy. At first Razvan thought the man was dead. Then he saw the gentle rise and fall of the man’s chest, revealing that he was in a deep sleep. Alexandru bit his index finger and allowed his blood to drip on the man’s wound. The puncture marks slowly disappeared.

“
Strigoi
!” Razvan whispered.

Alexandru shook his head. “No, my son. A
Strigoi
is a walking corpse. I am quite alive.” He showed them his finger. The wound had healed. “I know not what we are. Only that we must drink blood to survive and that the light of the sun or fire is death to us. Some of us can see the thoughts of mortals and some of us can fly.”

Before they could digest that information, Alexandru rose up in the air as if pulled by invisible ropes. He flew up until the darkness nearly obscured him from view, did a somersault in the air, then he came to a graceful land in front of the twins.

Radu gasped and stepped back.

“Do not fear me, my sons. I have raised you both since you were babes suckling from your nurse’s breasts. It is my intention to give you the choice to become as I am. When your beards have grown this long,” he held his fingers around two inches below his shaved chin, “I will hear your decisions.”

For the rest of the walk home, Alexandru explained more about the nature of his powers. “When the time comes, I will drink nearly all the blood in your bodies. Then I will cut my wrist and feed it back to you. That is how the magic is passed on.”

Later that night, when the brothers were alone in their bedchambers, Radu asked, “What do you make of this, brother? The man we thought was our father is not our sire, and he is also an immortal creature that drinks the blood of humans.” His mouth twisted in revulsion.

“He doesn’t kill them,” Razvan said defensively. “He even healed that man’s wounds when he was finished.” He got up to stoke the fire burning in their chamber. “Just imagine, Radu, being able to fly like that!” He couldn’t suppress a rapturous sigh as he imagined such powers. “To live forever!”

“I don’t know if it is worth it,” Radu said, “I don’t know if I could drink blood, and to never see the sun again, to never again spend a day fishing? I couldn’t bear it!”

“Do not worry,” Razvan said calmly, “We have at least ten years to think about it, maybe more.” He stroked the minute fuzz on his chin. “I wonder that our beards will ever get that long!”

“And what of our real family?”

Razvan smiled, a wave of tenderness for his brother engulfed him. “Why, of course we shall continue to visit them. I do not see why that should change.”

As the boys became men, their closeness with their birth family grew. Ihrin behaved as if they had always been family and Razvan soon found himself seeking her approval. Still, as was the case with Crina, Ihrin seemed to prefer Radu with his openness and fervent joy with life. Shortly after they had discovered the truth of their birth, Razvan learned why.

Radu, it seemed, had gotten the whole story from the Voivode. Razvan had been the one that Ihrin had given up. Radu was paid for. He was the one that was wanted. The knowledge was like a spear through Razvan’s heart, but he would die before letting anyone know how badly it hurt him. As his beard grew, he increased his efforts to distance himself from his emotions. It didn’t take long for him to come to the conclusion that there was nothing for him in the mortal world and he anticipated the night when he would be Changed into a powerful being that could thwart death. Unfortunately, his whiskers didn’t share his urgency and continued to grow at a snail’s pace.

Finally, in the twins’ thirty-third year, their beards grew to the requisite two inches. Radu scratched and grumbled about his beard daily. Razvan rather liked his, although he would like it to be better groomed.

“I cannot wait to shave this infernal thing. I am sick of discovering weeks old bits of food trapped in this mess!” Radu said.

Razvan’s breath caught at the statement. “Have you made your decision yet?”

“No, I’ve tried not to think about it. Have you?”

He nodded. “I think I’ve wanted it since the night we first saw father take to the air in flight.”

Radu was silent for a long while before he abruptly changed the subject. “We should leave for the village now. Ihrin is expecting us and we don’t want to be late.”

During their visit with their family, Razvan was struck by two things. The first was that Radu was avoiding speaking of their upcoming transformation into immortality. The second was how old their birth mother looked. Ihrin’s hair was now almost completely gray and her cheeks were beginning to sink into her face. Her aging looks disturbed and frightened him, but not as much as the sight of Dorin’s balding pate. He didn’t want to grow old. He looked at Radu and noticed that he was studying the changes in their family as well. Razvan craved immortality, but he didn’t want to leave his brother behind.

The wagon ride back to the castle was silent and pensive. Razvan tried to converse with his brother, but he remained hunched in his seat staring at the sunset, deep in thought. After a while, he gave up and prepared himself to announce his decision to let the Voivode Change him.

***

As the vision faded, Jayden tried once more to link her mind to Radu. At first she felt a flicker of….something, but then she was once more forced back into consciousness with nothing but a throbbing headache as a reward for her efforts. Sighing she let sleep close over her. Maybe next time….

A loud knock on the door pulled Jayden into wakefulness.

“Jayden, wake up!” Akasha’s voice sounded from the hallway outside. “The concert starts in two hours! We need to get ready!”

Razvan yawned and stretched before getting out of bed. He crossed the room to his dresser and grabbed a pair of pants. “I am starving,” he said. “Would you care to feed me, my pet?”

Jayden groaned and resisted the urge to pull the covers over her head. She doubted that she got any rest with her foray into Razvan’s memories and now he wanted her to volunteer to be his breakfast. She looked up at him, searching his face for signs of the tousle-haired boy he used to be. It seemed that the centuries had swept him away, leaving a sardonic stranger in his place.

“On second thought, I will seek my meal elsewhere,” Razvan said, studying her. “You look like you did not rest well.”

“Why, thank you,” Jayden said sarcastically. “You’ll turn a girl’s head with such flattery.”

She did her best to tamp down jealousy at the thought of him drinking from another woman. She couldn’t be his blood donor every night and besides, maybe he’d pick a man.

He chuckled. “Perhaps you should go back to sleep until your mood improves.”

“Forget it,” she said, getting out of bed and heading for her own dresser. “I am going to this concert.”

By the time Jayden was dressed and she and Akasha were loading up in the car, Razvan returned to slide in beside her. As they set off, she stared at his handsome profile, wondering if he sensed that she had been in his mind. She doubted it. He would have said something. Excitement and trepidation of the upcoming concert warred within as she stared out the backseat window of Silas’s ’68 Barracuda.

“Are you certain you want to do this?” Razvan asked again.

She nodded. “It’s not like I’ll get another chance to see my favorite band in concert, much less with backstage passes.” She managed a wry smile. “Besides, it’s too late to go back. Akasha will freak if there’s another delay.”

“Damn straight,” Akasha said from the passenger seat. “It’s bad enough that we have to take Highway 54 and go through Hauser, instead of a straight shot down 1-90.”

Silas moved his hand from the stick-shift and patted his wife’s thigh. “You know that if we go through Post Falls Selena will find some way to make things ugly for us.”

Akasha sighed. “I still think it’s bullshit. I miss that seafood and smokes store on Spokane Street. They have damn good chowder.”

Jayden continued to watch the waxing moon hovering over the tall pine trees. Soon the trees gave way to vast prairie. The giant sprinklers in the hay fields cast sinister shadows, or maybe that was just her mood. Tonight was the first time she would be in a public situation since she lost her job. The visions were almost always magnified when she was among crowds.

Would the shielding techniques Silas taught her be enough? Or would all of her hard-won control shatter before the music started? She flicked a glance at the car’s other occupants. If she lost it in front of Razvan and her new friends, the humiliation would kill her.

They got back on I-90 shortly after they crossed the state line into Washington. The car seemed to hurtle closer to the Spokane Arena and Jayden’s mind raced over all of Silas’s lessons. It seemed they reached their destination in seconds.

“Well,” Akasha said as they locked up the car, “at least the traffic wasn’t too bad.”

Jayden’s legs felt wooden as they crossed the parking lot and got in line. Silas, Razvan, and Akasha surrounded her like an honor guard and her heart swelled with gratitude.

“Breathe, Jayden,” Akasha said as they made their way to their seats. She reached out to maybe pat her shoulder then snatched it back.

Jayden managed a wan smile and took a deep breath as she struggled to keep her mental shield in place. With a crowd this size, it was hard. As with every
Rage of Angels
concert, the Spokane Arena was packed. Random visions of dirty secrets flicked through her mind like a television weaving in and out of reception.

A guy a few seats to her left worried about the results of his HIV test. A woman to her right had an argument with her husband earlier today. The husband told her that if she didn’t get off the meth he would leave her and take the kids. She knew he was right, but the addiction had her enslaved. She also worried about what her friends and family would say if she checked herself into rehab.

But it was the girl directly three rows in front of Jayden that was the loudest. She was fifteen years old, pregnant and contemplating an abortion. The girl was certain that if her pregnancy was discovered, her eighteen year old boyfriend would go to jail and her mother would lose custody of her and her little brothers.

“To tell you the truth, I don’t like crowds much either,” Akasha whispered from the seat next to her, interrupting the psychic onslaught. “I mean, I’m not getting any visions from it, but things like this always make me a little claustrophobic. It’ll get better once the show starts. And if doesn’t, I promise I’ll take you backstage.”

“Thanks,” Jayden murmured weakly. Her nerve endings felt like they were being prodded with a taser. Razvan placed a hand on her shoulder and she felt a small measure of comfort.

I never should have come
. Max had stayed behind, declaring himself to be “too old for that shit.” His gruff company was more desirable than ever right now. But Silas and Akasha had worked their charm on her. Silas said her training had gone well enough that she should test her abilities out in a public place. Akasha had spent the week regaling her with stories about the times she had spent with
Rage of Angels
.

“They were the first friends I ever had,” she’d said with a far off glimmer in her eyes and a soft smile. “I can’t wait until you meet them.” The adoration in her voice was impossible to resist. As was the moment when Akasha turned toward her with a speculative look and said, “You know what? I like you, Jayden. You’re easy to talk to.”

The way she said it as well as from what she knew of Akasha’s cynical demeanor told Jayden that Akasha didn’t like many people, but she would hold undying loyalty to those who earned her regard.

The opening band came on and it was all she could do not to scream from the noise and vortex of energy assaulting her senses. She clung to Razvan’s hand and bathed in his strength. The lead singer was actually pretty good. From the octaves he was able to hit, it was apparent that he was a trained opera singer. Still, he was no match for Xochitl’s powerful vocals and she couldn’t help but feel impatience for the act to finish. When at last the band left the stage, Jayden applauded along with the audience and fought back guilt for her relief that they were finished.

The lights dimmed and the crowd roared as four figures emerged on stage through a mist of manufactured fog. As Aurora Lee began a primal and impossibly fast drumbeat, Jayden forgot about her surroundings as she was transported into the awe of the performance. Aurora Lee was the fastest drummer in the world, made even more impressive since she was the only African American female to drum in a famous heavy metal band. Still, until she saw the incredible blur of Aurora’s hands on the drumsticks, Jayden had thought the percussion had been digitally altered.

Beau’s bass thrummed a compelling rhythm soon punctuated with Sylvis’s and Xochitl’s guitars.

Jayden blinked. It seemed that she could see faint lines of force linking the band members together. Was it a stage effect, or a vision?

Xochitl opened her mouth and sang in a powerful soprano rivaling those of the greatest hair bands of the eighties. Goosebumps rose on Jayden’s arms and she fell under the spell of the music until the song ended.

Xochitl yelled out her greetings to the audience. Her black and purple hair waved around her like a live thing as she bathed in the crowd’s cheers. The next song began, transporting all into a place of blissful energy. Jayden had always felt better after listening to their music, but that was nothing compared to this live performance. All of her troubles seemed to drift away as the melodies carried her into symphonic ecstasy.

***

Razvan took Jayden’s hand as the song ended and the crowd around them surged with applause. Her skin was clammy and trembling in his grip. Silas was wrong. She wasn’t ready to be out among the public just yet. Her mind was still too fragile to withstand the energy of such a seething mass of humanity. But he was unable to leave her behind. Not only did he not trust Max to make sure that she stayed put, Akasha had whipped up Jayden’s enthusiasm so much that the she wouldn’t hear of not attending this concert.

His gaze flicked to the stage and the singer’s inhuman power seemed to lift every hair on his skin with her voice. He was usually pleased to see Xochitl and her companions, as he’d had a hand in the development of their success, but not this time. The situation with Jayden made their visit unwelcome. They would stay with Silas and Akasha for a week and Razvan was worried that Jayden’s mind would be unable to withstand Xochitl’s power.

Jayden squeezed his hand as another raucous shout from the audience pierced his eardrums. He looked at her and noticed that though she was pale and trembling from the psychic onslaught, her lips were curved in a genuine smile of enjoyment at the show. His heart surged at her bravery. He struggled to tamp it down. It wouldn’t do to get too attached to this woman. Not with his luck with females. His last long-term lover had been Selena…before she lost her mind. And Jayden was far more powerful than Selena had been….and more beautiful.

His eyes took in her glorious hair. It was a far deeper red than his former lover’s, which faded to a dull orange without henna treatments. Her legs were longer, her lips more generous and soft, her breasts more…his cock stirred with arousal and he fixed his attention back to the stage. He would enjoy her while he could and do his best to keep her safe from Selena’s cult and ensure that she didn’t go mad. But he must keep his emotions under control and remember that this magic between them could not last forever. The best he could hope for was that once she regained her sanity and had control of her powers, her infatuation with him would fade and she would leave him peacefully to make her own life.

Through the remainder of the performance, Razvan kept a close watch on Jayden for signs of distress even as he fought his attachment to her. When the show neared its conclusion, he realized that someone else was watching her as well. Surreptitiously, he scanned the mass of heads turned to the stage to see which were not. All were captivated by the show. He pretended to yawn and turned to observe those meandering in the area behind the seats. There they were. Two vampires bearing Selena’s Mark stood by the exit. Their heads were bent towards each other, no longer looking at Jayden as they spoke in hushed voices. Though vampires from other territories were welcome in his city to attend public events such as concerts, the Post Falls vampires were banned as long as Selena reigned.

Those two were disobeying his decree. He bared his fangs for a moment at their insolence then suppressed a chuckle. They must believe they were safe as long as they remained in view of mortals. Well, they would learn. He sought out a few of his Spokane vampires and issued silent commands. Silas caught his eye.

What is going on, Razvan?

Razvan telepathically explained before they escorted their women backstage.

***

The backstage area was crowded and noisy, but it was still an oasis of peace compared to the arena. Jayden stepped back from the rush of people heading towards the refreshment tables and took the air in deep, easeful gulps. Razvan placed a possessive hand on her shoulder and she leaned into him, grateful for the secure stability of his presence.

Suddenly, the incessant buzz of conversation bled away. The door opened and the hairs on the back of Jayden’s neck stood up. The four band members entered the room, energy thrumming from them like an electrical storm. She shivered and pressed closer to the vampire, momentarily overwhelmed. Perhaps coming here had been a mistake.

“’Kash!” Xochitl Leonine cried and ran towards them, black and purple hair flying.

As the singer hurled herself into Akasha’s embrace, Jayden flinched. Most of the energy was coming from her. She was like a walking live wire. Xochitl was not human. She wasn’t a vampire either. Whatever she was, she vibrated with enough power to level mountains, despite being even smaller than Akasha.

“And this is Jayden,” Razvan was saying as the creature hugged him.

Xochitl turned to face her. As honey colored eyes met hers and perfect lips curved into a smile that could beckon the dawn, Jayden took an involuntary step back.

Oh God, please don’t let her touch me! If she touches me, that power will surge through my brain and make it explode! Oh, God if she touches me, I’ll either go insane or die!

“I’m h-honored to f-finally meet you,” Jayden stammered, struggling to smile and keep her shield in place. She hoped she just sounded star-struck instead of revealing her terror.

“So Razvan finally got a girlfriend?” Xochitl said. Was it her imagination, or had the smile dimmed a bit?

Razvan put his arm around Jayden and drew her close. She leaned into him, grateful for his protective presence. “In a manner of speaking,” he said.

Xochitl blinked at him in confusion. “Well, you’ll have to tell me the whole story later.”