Ironic Sacrifice (24 page)

Though it only lasted milliseconds, the battle seemed to last forever. Her brain felt as if it were being pulled out of her nose and ears as Selena fought to gain her hold. With one last desperate thrust, Jayden threw her back. Xochitl’s eyes cleared and her voice, clear as spring dawning, rose up into the night.

Selena’s scream catapulted Jayden back into her body. “You filthy blasphemer!” the vampire roared. “I’ll kill you!”

The door burst open and a mass of vampires poured into the room. Razvan leveled a wicked looking gun at Selena. Jayden leapt out of the way.

“I think not, bitch,” he said and pulled the trigger.

Razvan smiled in satisfaction as he awaited the sight of his former protégée being sliced apart. But in a split second, another vampire launched in front of Selena. Its body danced and jerked as the bullets tore through it. And then his gun clicked empty. He threw it down with a virulent curse.

Selena cackled. “You cannot harm me. Mephistopheles protects me.”

He shook his head ruefully. Her obsessive zeal had worsened over the centuries. “Your people protect you. But not for much longer.” He met Jayden’s eyes and the bruise on her cheek filled him with remorse.

“I have been trying to tell you that I love you, but we keep getting interrupted,” he said idly before he moved forward.

Jayden gasped and her eyes widened in the most adorable manner. He nearly reached her, his hand grasping for hers— then he was thrown to the ground by a pile of vampires. As Razvan's entire body was pierced by multiple sets of fangs, he thrust out his hand and yelled, “Silas, save her!”

***

Akasha huddled behind an overturned bureau. The sound of gunfire still echoed in her head, freezing her as panic thrashed through her chest like a captive bird. She was a little girl again watching mommy and daddy dying under a hail of bullets. She had to get away or they would shoot her too.

“No, no,” she muttered through gritted teeth.

This wasn’t happening. After everything that Jayden had done for her, she wasn’t going to wuss out now.

The gunfire passed and the sounds of the fight moved farther away into another room. When Akasha heard Jayden scream, she scrambled to her feet, gripping her sword until her knuckles ached.

“Time to kill some more cult members,” she hissed and ran after the fight.

She charged through the door in time to see a bunch of Selena’s vampires dog pile onto Razvan, biting at him like hyenas on a wounded gazelle.

Another vampire stalked behind them and raised his sword over the writing mass. Akasha roared and brought the flat of her blade down on the back of his head. He crashed to his knees, but was not out.

“The mutant!” Selena shrieked, pointing at her. The bitch didn’t look good. Bald patches and bloody scabs covered her head. It looked like she’d been tearing out her own hair. What was left hung in grimy orange tangles.

“Fuck you.” Akasha raised her sword to spear Razvan’s attacker.

Her blade clanged against the steel of his as he whirled to his feet to meet her strike.

“Why hello, Akasha,” Michael said with a grin. “I’ve been looking forward to this.”

***

All was chaos.

Jayden watched with her heart in her throat as a mass of vampires attacked Razvan.

He’d throw aside one and another would take its place.

When Michael raised his sword and Akasha beat him down, Jayden cried out in triumph and stood up on shaking legs.

Selena jerked her back by the hair. “I am not finished with you!” she hissed.

Let her go!
Silas’s voice echoed in her mind. From Selena’s startled gaze, she heard him too.

Silas, my love, you’ve come back to me!
Selena’s face had transformed into girlish adoration.

The Scottish vampire walked forward. He had lost his sword and Jayden wondered for a moment how he expected to fight Selena when the force of his mind crashed over them both.

Break free, Jayden!
He commanded.

For one terrifying moment it seemed impossible. The two ancient minds threatened to drown her and it seemed she was tied down with lead weights. But then, Razvan’s last words echoed in her mind.

He
loved
her and she would not disgrace him. With an agonizing pull, her mind wrenched free.

Still, Jayden could feel the magnetic currents of the telepathic battle between the two ancients. The veins stood out on Silas’s temples in sharp relief and his eyes glowed like emerald stars. He trembled and beads of sweat gathered on his upper lip. It seemed that Jayden’s release had strengthened Selena and she was getting the upper hand.

Then it happened. The hazy red tinge overlay returned to her vision just as it had the night of the
Rage of Angels
concert. Jayden could suddenly see the insides of everyone around. Razvan was weakening as the blood drained from his body.

Get back!
She screamed into their minds.

Selena’s vampire’s froze and obeyed like puppets.

Razvan rose up in the air with Silas’s fallen sword in his grasp. He spun like a dervish and sliced the nearest vampires in two.

How dare you?
Selena’s gaze focused on her.

Jayden saw that one of her pupils was slightly smaller than the other. She probed deeper with her inner vision and saw the cause. Deep inside Selena’s brain was an unmistakable bulge in one of the arteries. She had a brain aneurism. It was probably from when she was mortal. Razvan likely saved her life when he changed her into a vampire.

That alien force inside Jayden reached for it and wrapped invisible fingers around the delicate bulb.

This time, she didn’t shrink in terror at the destructive urge. She gathered that strange force and squeezed with all her might.

The result was instantaneous.

Selena’s pupils doubled in size before her eyes rolled up into her head and she dropped like a stone.

Razvan swung the sword in a shining arc and chopped off her head, sending it rolling towards the feet of her remaining followers.

All dropped to their knees, except for Michael. Selena’s favorite apostle spun on his heel, his mouth gaping in shock. Akasha decapitated him in one swipe. His head flew from his shoulders and rolled next to that of his mistress.

“Jayden,” Razvan dropped the sword and swept her into his arms.

His skin was cool, clammy, and deathly pale. Blood ran freely from what looked like hundreds of bite marks. If he didn’t feed soon, he’d die.

She brushed her hair from her neck and grasped his face, drawing him closer. “Drink, and heal,” she whispered.

As his fangs penetrated her flesh, they stumbled into the makeshift altar of
Rage of Angels
memorabilia. Thankfully, a pile of tee shirts cushioned most of her fall. Jayden’s hand reached out for balance. As she touched the autographed guitar she once again sank into the world with two moons.

Dawn broke forth, chasing away the darkness with crimson and purple light. The vampire Delgarias looked at her and began to speak. His words came from her lips as if she were his amplifier.

“And the queen shall seek seven night walkers with seven brides to lead their brethren to battle the unholy father,” Jayden gasped. “And they will be joined by kin of the queen and those from allied worlds that hear her call.”

She breathed the last words in a sigh as darkness flooded into her eyes and she sank into unconsciousness.

Razvan released Jayden gently. He didn’t mean to take so much, but he’d been so weak. As her blood coursed through his veins and healed his injuries, tears rose to his eyes. Again she had sacrificed herself to him and again he had hurt her.

“What the hell did she say before she passed out?” Akasha’s voice intruded.

“It was a prophecy of some sort,” Silas said. “Delgarias sent it.”

Razvan raised a brow. “What are you talking about?”

Silas’s eyes widened. “You didn’t see him when you fed from her? From the remainder of my connection, I saw everything. It should have been vividly clear to you.”

He shook his head. “I had my mind closed off to protect her from further psychic intrusion, as I always do. Is Jonathon still here? I think I took too much from her.”

The Lord of Coeur d’Alene smiled gently and held out his arms. “Let me see her.”

Reluctantly, Razvan handed over his burden.

Silas inspected her for what seemed to be an eternity. Razvan gnashed his teeth in impatience.

“She’s going to be fine,” he said finally. “I think she passed out more from psychic overload rather than from blood loss. Still, you should be sure she eats a hearty meal when she wakes up.” He handed Jayden back to Razvan.

“What about this prophecy?” Akasha interrupted.

“Yes, yes, the prophecy!” The remainder of Selena’s cult murmured.

Silas looked at them and rolled his eyes before he turned to his wife. “Delgarias was right. It seems that when Xochitl returns to this world, we are going to fight a war.”

“You seem awfully calm about that,” she retorted. Still a smile of adoration hovered on her lips.

“When you’ve lived as long as I have with powers like mine, little will surprise you.” He looked at his watch. “It’s only an hour until dawn. We need to feed and get home so I can make out a report to the Elders.”

“The Elders!” One of their captives exclaimed in zealous fervor. “They will punish you when they hear what you’ve done.”

Razvan laughed. “We have immunity. Didn’t your former mistress inform you of that?”

The vampire shrank back. Her eyes bulged in horror.

“Dear God,” she whispered. “If we had known, we never would have fought you! Please, have mercy!”

“Speaking of,” Trey said, reloading his gun. “What
are
we going to do with them?”

Razvan raked the six remaining cult followers with a furious gaze. “Give them a choice. They can surrender to us as prisoners, or perish in the fire.”

“Why Razvan, you’ve grown soft in your old age,” Silas said with a grin.

“What fire?” a small male asked.

“We can’t leave any evidence for mortals to find, surely you knew that?” He glared down at the youngling until he was reduced to a mass of quivering flesh. Then he turned to the rest and asked cheerfully. “Now, who is surrendering?”

All six hands came up.

“Whose prisoners are they?” Chang asked. “Yours or Silas’s?”

Silas answered, “It was Razvan’s woman they took, so they should be Razvan’s captives.”

“Except for the injured one and the nurse,” Razvan said. “If you do not mind, Silas, I would like them to remain with your doctor. He could use a nurse.”

Silas nodded. “Since they did not fight us, I thought of them as voluntary transfers, probationary, of course. I think the nurse will be agreeable, and we shall see about the other one when he is healed.” He took out his phone and called Jonathon. “You may bring the gas cans down now.”

Trey and Sarah took charge of the six prisoners. Razvan doubted that they had enough bullets left between them to take care of all six, but no one had to know.

Minutes later, they drove off in their vehicles before the first tendrils of smoke became visible from Selena’s soon to be former compound.

Since they had nearly double the passengers, many volunteered to take taxis and score a convenient meal while they were at it.

Razvan looked down at Jayden’s slumbering form. Her head lay on his lap and she was curled up on the back seat of Jake’s car. There was virtually no traffic on I-90 at this hour and they were making good time.

“Would you please stop at the nearest restaurant that is open?” Razvan remembered Silas’s admonition that Jayden needed to eat. “Pick up the most fattening meal you find on the menu….and get yourself a quick bite if you are able,” he added.

Jake raised a brow at the “please.” “Sure, boss.”

Razvan settled back against the seat and ran his fingers through Jayden’s hair. Silas had also said that physical activity would help bring Jayden back into the world and keep her visions at bay. He looked forward to that.

***

Jayden awoke slowly, reluctant to abandon the sensation of safety. Her cheek was pressed to something warm and firm. The smell of food and the soft sound of a television newscast reinforced the instinct that everything was okay.

Her stomach growled and the surface cradling her shifted.

“Good morning, Jayden,” Razvan said.

She rolled over to face him and nearly fell off the couch. He steadied her and smiled down at her. “How are you feeling?”

“Starving.” She didn’t mean for it to come out so bluntly, but the smell of the food was driving her crazy. She sat up. “Is that chicken fried steak?”

“I have no idea.” Razvan grabbed a paper sack from the arm of the couch and pulled out a to-go box. He opened it, frowned, and handed it to her. “I hope that will be enough for you. There is orange juice in the refrigerator as well.”

It was chicken fried steak. There were also hash browns, bacon, sausage, and two fried eggs. Jayden salivated as she reached for the bag, hoping it contained plastic utensils. Not only were there utensils, but the bag was stuffed full of napkins, little pats of butter, salt, pepper, and ketchup packets.

“I think it’ll be plenty,” she said as she grabbed a fork and dug in.

Jayden’s cheek hurt as she chewed the steak. As she reached up and touched the bruise, the night’s events came back to her.

“Selena’s dead,” she said.

“Yes,” Razvan replied agreeably.

“Is everyone safe? What happened afterwards? I must have passed out when I saw—” The memory of that strange world with the two moons came back and she felt a twinge of pain in her head.

“Eat,” he commanded. “We’ll have plenty of time to discuss that later.”

His tone, along with her hunger and the almost-headache decided the subject and she returned to the food. But halfway through her meal, she stopped.

“Where are we?”

The air didn’t have the stale cigarette odor of Silas and Akasha’s house, and yet the lack of the aroma of pungent incense indicated that they weren’t in Selena’s abode either. The walls were bare of typical hotel room décor… or any décor for that matter, and the couch and TV were older and well worn.

Razvan gave her an enigmatic look. “This is my home.” At her incredulous expression he added, “I told you it was empty.”

Jayden dropped her fork and gazed around. The room was large, verging on cavernous. An old wooden elevator sat at the far end near a shadowy staircase. The drywall only extended so far before abruptly cutting off to reveal ancient brick walls.

Razvan touched her shoulder. “I will give you the full tour if you finish eating,” he said. “I took more blood from you than I'd intended.”

He sounded so guilty that Jayden hid a smile and returned to the food. Did he really mean it when he’d told he loved her earlier? Or had he been performing to piss off Selena? The sincerity of his tone then gave her hope.

When there was only a scrap of egg and a few bites of potatoes left, she pushed the Styrofoam container away. “I can’t eat anymore. Where do I put this?”

Razvan took the container and put it back into the bag. “We should save it. I’m afraid I don’t have any more food here.”

The news came back on and he grabbed the remote and turned it up.

“An update in our latest story: a group of houses in Post Falls, Idaho caught fire at approximately six AM this morning. It’s reported that no one is believed to have been in any of the homes at the time. Police and firefighters suspect arson.” The reporter looked up at the camera with an almost salacious smile.

“We have just received information that all four houses were registered to the same owner. Police have been unable to reach her and a neighbor has stated that the owner owed back property taxes.”

The camera cut to an elderly woman bundled up in a warm scarf and cap. “There were always people going in an out at odd hours of the night,” she said with a disapproving frown. “But nobody was around during the day. And then those tax notices began coming in. I got one at my address by mistake,” she said defensively. “I think drugs were involved.”

The camera cut to the charred remains of the four houses and the reporter. “As police attempt to contact the homeowner, anyone with any information leading to the cause of the fire is encouraged to call our crime check number.”

Jayden smiled. “So you guys burned it down?”

He nodded. “It was the only way to destroy evidence of the bodies.” He turned the TV off and chuckled. “That was quite convenient about the taxes. They will think she did it herself.”

“That had to be the most insane night of my life,” Jayden said. “I can’t believe that Xochitl and the others are in another world. But what did Delgarias mean when he said there’s going to be a war?”

Razvan shook his head. “I’m not certain, but I suppose we shall find out when they return.” His brows drew together. “I think it best if we do not talk about it for now. Why don’t we begin your tour of my home instead?”

Jayden grinned and stood up. The world tilted for a moment before the dizziness abated. “About that orange juice?”

Razvan smiled again. “Follow me.”

The carpeted area ended shortly and their boots echoed on cracked concrete flooring. The place had a basement feel to it, and yet not.

“This isn’t a house, is it?”

He shook his head. “We’re in the lower level of the old Sal’s Warehouse.”

Jayden gasped. They were only half a block from where he had first taken her. The crumbling red brick monstrosity had been a usual sight in her days of homelessness.

She had once considered breaking into this place for shelter when the weather got cold. With a wry smile, she wondered what would have happened if she did. Maybe then he would have killed her for real… or would he?

The kitchen area was bleak and dim with a low hanging bulb casting shadows in the corners. An ancient stove sat in one corner covered in dust and cobwebs. The hot plate and coffee maker on the counter appeared to be used more often. Razvan opened a fifties-style fridge and placed her leftover food inside before he took out a large Styrofoam cup. She took it and sat in the only chair at the cracked table.

“I take it that you don’t have company often.” Jayden was still in awe over the revelation of his home.

She’d expected a chic bachelor’s residence with top of the line everything, hot tubs, and scantily clad women running around. Hell, she’d expected the Playboy Mansion.

Razvan smiled slightly at her tone. “I am not often at home.”

Probably because it’s too lonely.
The thought struck her and she had an urge to take him in her arms and vow that he’d never be alone again. She blushed and sipped her juice.

“Well,” he said after an uncomfortable silence. “Would you like a tour?”

Most of the rooms were empty, though a few contained stacks of unpacked boxes. One room made her breath catch in amazement. The walls were lined with shelves of records running from the ceiling to the floor. A gorgeous wooden console stereo dominated the room and an enormous Lazy-Boy recliner sat nearby, inviting the listener to relax.

“Wow,” she whispered. “You must have thousands of dollars’ worth of vinyl in here.”

“I like music,” he said simply.

Another long awkward silence ensued as she burned with a thousand questions. A strand of hair fell in her face and she smelled Selena’s incense. Her stomach roiled.

“I need a shower,” she said.

“There is one in the bedroom. Shall we go there now?”

Her curiosity rose to a fevered pitch and she tried not to show her eagerness. “Sure.”

The bedroom was a little homier than the rest of the rooms, perhaps because the bright splash of color of the fluffy quilt on the bed detracted from the blank walls. The wood from the antique dresser and wardrobe gleamed warmly when he turned on the lamp.

“I had a bathroom installed and there is a shower,” he said stiffly. “No tub, I’m afraid…”

She realized then that he was embarrassed.

“Your bed is very nice,” she offered. And it was. The king size colonial, covered with the elaborate quilt, likely cost a fortune. “I love the quilt.”

“It is from my home country.” He looked down at her, his dark eyes inscrutable. “Jayden, after your shower, I would like to talk with you about…well….I would like to talk.”

He was so stiff and formal, with no sign of his usual mocking demeanor in sight. Though Jayden wanted to scream with the suspense, she knew it wouldn’t work to press him.