Life's Blood (The Cordelia Chronicles) (24 page)

James nodded.

“Look, I’m sorry for what I did to you and your
wife
last night,” James said nodding his head in my direction. “I was trying to be funny, but I’ve never quite understood humans and their sense of humor.”

That was an understatement.

“Chaseyn, you’ve got yourself a great girl--truly,” James added for his brother’s benefit.

“Thanks, James, that means a lot to me,” Chaseyn replied.

I rolled my eyes when neither one of them was looking. I was worried Chaseyn was being sucked in by James too far too fast.

“Now, move over brother, I’m taking the wheel,” James said, pulling the front seat forward so Chaseyn could ride in the back. “Go on, get back there with him,
sis
. You two lovebirds should ride together.”

“You’re coming with us,” I shrieked.

“Chaseyn is in no shape to be driving,” he reasoned, and I couldn’t argue with him.

If we had any hope of reaching the hotel at a reasonable hour, we’d need someone whose reflexes and eyesight were sharp. With Chaseyn’s body changing so quickly, nothing was guaranteed. James seemed eager to help us reach our goal, and I wasn’t going to refuse his help. No matter how much I wanted to.

I pulled the seat forward and climbed in the back with Chaseyn. I pressed my head against his shoulder and took his hand in mine. We would make it through, one way or another.

“Hold on, little girl,” James warned teasingly. “If you think my brother’s fast, you ain’t seen nothing yet.”

What should have taken hours to drive took us a little less than thirty minutes. I thought Chaseyn was a madman behind the wheel, but he had nothing on James. Though I gripped the granny handles the entire time, I felt perfectly safe in James’ capable hands.

The Castel Dracula Hotel was located on a hill in middle-of-nowhere Transylvania. There were no towns of any substantial size for miles. As we drove up the long and winding road from the highway to the hotel, the dark, foreboding building came into site. It barely stood out against the dark sky, the only exception being the neon red sign.

Balthazar’s car was already in the lot, and we pulled up beside it. Chaseyn and I scrambled out of the backseat and went to grab our bags from the trunk.

“No way. My brother‘s been preserving his innocence far too long. It‘s about time you make an honest man of him, sis,” James said with a wink, bolting to the back of the car. “Go check in to your room. I’ll take your bags inside and have the bellboy carry them to your room once you’ve had a chance to settle.”

What made these people think Chaseyn was up to anything more than a good night’s sleep? He was having trouble walking, so I wasn’t sure how well he could possibly fair at more intense activities. But, I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t secretly hoping he’d get a second wind. And what was with this “sis” business? Ugh.

Regardless of my thoughts, Chaseyn and I took advantage of James’ offer and made our way inside the hotel. There were only a few other cars in the lot, which seemed strange given the enormous size of the hotel. It was bigger than any I’d ever stayed in to date. In fact, it rivaled some of the largest ski lodges in Colorado, and I wondered how it stayed in business with so few guests. Had we arrived earlier in the day, I’d have assumed the other guests were out touring the local attractions, but it was early evening, and I doubted that was the case.

It was only about twenty feet from the car to the entrance, but I feared Chaseyn would slip on the ice, so we took our time walking the short distance. We had to climb a handful of steps to reach yet another massive, ornately carved wooden door. Chaseyn took his time, ensuring he had each foot planted firmly on one step before making his way up the next one.

A rush of warm air breezed through the door, and we scurried inside. The warm afternoon sun had faded, and with the darkness came a brisk chill. We stood just inside the doorway a while rubbing our arms and blowing on our hands. Quickly, my body began to warm, but Chaseyn continued to shiver uncontrollably.

“Come on,” I said, wrapping my arm around his shoulder. “Let’s get you to the room and into a nice, warm bath.”

Chaseyn tried to reply, but his teeth were chattering so badly, he couldn’t get out the words. I scanned the room quickly in search of the front desk, but the only things in view were a bathroom and stained-glass doors that led to what seemed to be a very busy restaurant--though how the people got there when no cars were in the lot and the hotel was in the middle of nowhere baffled me.

That’s when I saw a short wooden stairwell in the far corner. The relief I felt when we finally stepped through the door a moment before quickly waned. To reach the reception desk, we would have to climb more steps. I sighed loudly, resigned to our fate, and guided Chaseyn across the room.

“We can do this,” I said, squeezing my arm tight around his waist to help hoist him up the first step. Chaseyn winced when he lifted his leg, and I could tell he was reluctant to put any more pressure on it than was absolutely necessary.

“Stop being such a wus,” James said as he walked through the door. He tossed our bags to the floor and scrambled to pull the doors tight in an effort to keep the cold air from entering the building. In the blink of an eye, he was nudging me away from Chaseyn so he could hoist his brother up the stairs. Chaseyn was at least 180 pounds of solid muscle, but James made it seem his brother was as light as a feather. I was making my best attempt at lugging my bag up the stairs when James breezed by me in a blur.

“Give me those,” he spat, grabbing my bag--and the others--and dashing up the stairs faster than I could take two steps. “
Humans
, harrumph.”

When I arrived at the top of the short stairwell, I found myself at a midway point--a sort of sitting room between the reception area and the entryway. It was filled with well-worn furniture that looked like it was fashioned in the seventies. There was a second short stairwell, and I thanked my lucky stars James had come to the rescue when he did. There was no way Chaseyn and I would have made it up all those stairs to the front desk without his help.

At the top of the second staircase was a small room with a large wooden desk in one corner. There was glass separating us from the clerk, with a large wooden canopy boxing in the entire reception area. Taxidermy animals--a crow, a fox, and a few others--were situated atop the canopy, poised as though they were living creatures ready to attack. I shuddered at the thought, and wondered once again how Addie had convinced us to stay the night here.

Chaseyn was sitting just beside the stairwell in a wooden chair padded with an overstuffed cushion. He looked comfortable, so I instructed him to remain seated while I checked us in.

As James and I approached the counter, the woman slid open a small window in the glass. She said something in a language I didn’t understand, and when I responded in English, she looked at me like I was from another planet. James took over the conversation, and a moment later, they were laughing and smiling as she slid the key across the counter.

“I’ll get someone to bring the bags to your room later,” James said. “For now, let’s get him up to the room so you two can freshen up before dinner.”

“Dinner?”

“You have to eat something,” James said.

“I’ll just order something to the room,” I replied.

“It’s your wedding night, Lia. You don’t really think your family…your friends…are going to let you spend the night moping in your room, stewing over Chaseyn’s health, do you?” James asked.

“I’m really not up for a party,” I yawned, covering my mouth with the back of my hand. “And I should really help Chaseyn warm up and get some rest.”

“Rest…you’re kidding, right?” James laughed. “I don’t care if he’s on death’s door, there is no way he’s getting any sleep tonight.”

“Think what you want, but that’s exactly what’s going to happen.”

“Look, I’m not supposed to tell you this, but Addie has planned a whole
thing
,” James said. “It’s my job to get you to the dining room for dinner so you can celebrate.”

“I don’t care what Addie has planned. I am
not
putting Chaseyn at risk. He’s fading fast as is, and he needs his rest.”

“Well, you should care,” James replied. “You’re going to disappoint a lot of people.”

“Stop it,” Chaseyn shouted, pushing to his feet. “Stop it, both of you.”

“Chaseyn, sit down, honey. You need to rest,” I said, rushing to his side.

“I’m fine, Cordelia. Please, just stop talking about me like I’m already gone. Like I don’t have a say in any of this.”

And with those words, Chaseyn grabbed his bag from the floor and stormed off through the door behind the reception desk.

***

I ran down the hall in a vain attempt to stop Chaseyn, but James caught my arm before I even made it through the door that separated the administrative part of the hotel from the lodging.

“Let him go,” he said. “Give him a moment alone to think.”

“I can’t just let him run off like that,” I insisted, struggling to pull my arm free from Jame’s firm grasp. “You’re going to leave a bruise.”

James loosened his grip, but he didn’t let go. We stood for a moment staring each other down, and I knew there was no point. I could never win against a vampire. He’d lived centuries longer than me--time was of no consequence to him. He could stand still for hours without so much as blinking an eye.

“What do you propose we do then?” I said breaking our silence.

“Just give him a minute.”

“It’s been five already.”

“Then wait five more,” James said calmly, rationally. “Give him a chance to cool down. Today’s been a rollercoaster of emotions, and he’s never been good at managing his feelings.”

I couldn’t argue with that. No doubt Chaseyn had become much more in touch with his romantic side in the past few months, and he’d come to be able to laugh or cry in front of me, but today may have pushed him over the edge.

When the agreed-upon time had elapsed, James willingly let go of my arm. I turned to walk away without saying a word--none were needed. I knew now James was on my side. He only wanted the best for his brother, regardless of whatever had torn them apart in the past. I could feel James’ adoration for Chaseyn pulsing between us, and if I didn’t know better, I would say James was envious of the life Chaseyn had carved for himself since they parted ways.

“It’s the blood, isn’t it?” I asked, turning to face James from a few feet away. “He needs more of it now to sustain even a modicum of health.”

“I’ll fix something and have it sent to the room,” James nodded. “It should help get him through the night, if you know what I mean.”

Still with the wedding night mumbo jumbo. A small part of me hoped he was right, but I didn’t want to push Chaseyn to do anything his body couldn’t handle. A sly smile curved the corners of my mouth nonetheless.

“See, you do want it,” James chuckled. “I knew it.”

I smiled and shook my head at his audacity, but I couldn’t deny that he was right. I started down the hall again, but stopped after only a few steps.

“James…one more thing,” I said, my voice barely above a whisper, but I knew he would hear it as clearly as if I had shouted the words.

“Yes, Lia.”

“Is there anything more I can do to help Chaseyn? Anything at all?”

“You could let him turn you,” he replied.

“Anything but that,” I said, dropping my head. “That’s not an option. Is there anything else?”

“There is one thing…”

“What?” I asked eagerly, walking quickly back to where James was standing.

“You can let him drink straight from the vein.”

I left James to deal with our bags and pushed through the wooden door leading to the lodging portion of the hotel. I stood in awe for a moment, staring at the maze of stairwells and hallways that lie ahead.

Red carpet lined every inch of the floors, and massive paintings depicting scenes of vampires and their prey in various situations covered the walls, along with several axes and other barbaric torture devices. The hotel logo--a black, gothic, serpentine “D,” presumably representative of the name
Dracula
--was embossed in the carpet every few feet.

Glancing at the small signs showing the locations of several blocks of rooms, I determined which hall to take to reach our suite. I hesitated outside the door, not knowing how Chaseyn would react to my arrival. I hoped he’d had enough time to calm down after his outburst. I slid my key card into the slot--this was the first European hotel where I’d seen this technology--and slowly pushed open the door, knocking gently as I entered to signal my arrival.

“Chaseyn, honey, are you here?”

There was no reply, and my heart broke a little bit. He’d never behaved this way before, so I knew he must be truly, utterly upset with me. I walked deeper into the suite, through the narrow hallway to the bedroom area. And that’s when I was struck numb with sheer terror. Chaseyn lay prone diagonally across the foot of the bed.

I ran to his side and shook him hard, but he didn’t move. So, I found a glass and filled it with cold water from the bathroom tap. I splashed it across his face, and still, he didn’t move. That’s when the panic set in. I managed to prop him on his side so I could press my head to his chest. I listened closely, and after I moment, I heard it. His heartbeat. It was faint and uneven, but it was there, and that was all that mattered.

Quickly, I positioned a pillow under his head and dug in his pocket for his phone. I was about to speed dial the number of the first vampire I found in his contact list when there was a knock at the door. Peeking through the peephole, I was relieved to find a familiar face on the other side--one who could help me--rather than the bellboy with our bags, as I had first suspected.

“James, thank goodness. Drop the bags, and get inside,’ I urged.

“What’s up?” he asked, following me into the room. And that’s when he saw his brother, who looked like death warmed over. “Is he--”

“Alive? Yes,” I confirmed. “But he’s fading. You have to help me. What do I do?”

James opened his mouth wide, and I watched as his incisors transformed into fangs. It was as if he’d turned a switch, and he’d become a whole other kind of being.

“Give me your arm,” he ordered, and when I hesitated, he shouted loudly at me. So loudly, I was sure the people in the room next door could hear him clearly. “Now.”

There was no time to think, to reconsider, so I did as he instructed and braced myself for what I knew would happened next. James pushed back my sleeve and lifted my right wrist to his mouth. He sunk his razor-sharp fangs into my vein, and as the blood began to flow, he motioned for me to climb onto the bed beside Chaseyn. I positioned myself so that I was kneeling to the left of his chest and reached my arm across him so that it was hovering just above his lips.

When the first drop of blood landed on his mouth, the difference in him was apparent instantly. His eyes opened, and he licked at the blood anxiously. James lifted Chaseyn’s head so he was in line with my arm, and the moment his lips touched my skin, they latched on tight to my wrist, sucking at the blood as if he had been lost in a desert and I was his oasis.

“Drink, brother,” James instructed. “Take it all in.’

“Well, maybe not all of it,” I said, trying to sound teasing but knowing the quiver in my voice gave away my nervousness. What if he couldn’t stop once he’d started? “I might need some for later.”

I was already starting to feel lightheaded, and I wondered how much more of my blood he could take before putting me in jeopardy. I also wondered if I was his first--his first taste of blood straight from the vein. Jealousy burned hot in my cheeks at the thought of him being satisfied in this way by another human. I pushed the thought from my head but made a mental note to bring it up with him at a more opportune time.

“Enough, brother,” James said softly, pulling Chaseyn’s head back gently.

By now, Chaseyn’s eyes were wide and the color had returned to his cheeks--well, as much color as a half-vampire could have anyway.

While James helped Chaseyn sit up on the edge of the bed, I ran to the bathroom to run my arm under water. I was expecting the blood to keep flowing from my vein, and I applied pressure with a clean towel to stop it. But when I removed the cloth to take a look at the wound, it had scabbed over. I’d forgotten about the enzyme in vampire saliva that cause wounds to heal more quickly than they naturally would.

I was staring baffled at the mark when James joined me in the bathroom. He’d grabbed a bandage from the small first aid kit I’d packed in my overnight bag and carefully placed it over the scab.

“You’ll be fine now, but we don’t want to draw any extra attention,” he said, winking. “Chaseyn is feeling much better also.”

James left me alone for a moment, and I was thankful for the opportunity to reflect on what had just happened. I had never imagined I would willingly allow a vampire to drink my blood, and I felt conflicted. I knew it was the only way to help Chaseyn, but it was such a violent act--one I had only previously experienced under duress--and I shuddered at the thought.

There was no point stewing about it--what was done was done, and there was no going back. Besides, if I hadn’t let Chaseyn drink from me, who knows what would have happened to him.

When I returned to the bedroom, Chaseyn was looking alert and well. He was unpacking his bag--evidently the bellboy had come while I was in the bathroom--like he had just woken from a catnap rather than as though he had just had a brush with death.

“I’ll leave you two alone, but be sure you come downstairs soon,” James said as he showed himself to the door. “Everyone’s waiting on you.”

“Yes, we will,” I said. “And, James, thank you.”

James nodded once, and in a flash he was gone.

“You two certainly seem to have made amends. What’s that all about?” Chaseyn asked.

“Oh, it’s just that Addie has apparently planned a small reception for us in the restaurant,’ I explained, as I rummaged through my suitcase for something half-decent to wear. Thankfully, I had thrown a dress in my bag at the last minute when we were leaving our home in Colorado--just in case we had a need to look nice for some reason. And if our wedding reception wasn’t reason enough, I didn’t know what was. I slipped it over my head and looked in the mirror for a quick appraisal. The sleeveless dress was made from the softest narrow-wale corduroy. It was princess white with black embroidery adorning the chest. I pulled on a pair of black tights, black ballerina flats, and a ruffled black cardigan--both for warmth and to hide the evidence that Chaseyn had made a meal out of me. Good enough, I thought as I stared at my reflection. I looked slightly pale, but it wasn’t anything a little blush couldn’t fix.

Chaseyn was wearing black, flat front dress pants with a black button-down shirt, and he looked delicious. Better than he had in ages. My heart rate skyrocketed when he came up behind me and slipped his arms around my waist. My knees weak, I leaned back against him for balance, and Chaseyn rested his head on my chin as we looked at ourselves in the mirror.

“Stunning,” he said, trailing kisses down my neck.

I moaned softly, closing my eyes as I succumbed to his light caress. If he kept this up, there was no way we were ever going to leave this room.

“Thank you, Cordelia,” he whispered as his tongue gently lapped my ear. “What you did…I know how hard that was for you.”

But I didn’t want to talk about it. Whatever emotional repercussions I stood to face as a result of my decision to let Chaseyn drink my blood would have to wait for another time. Besides, I’d do it all over again if I had to--it was our only option.

“I’d never hurt you,” he said. “You know that, right?”

Again, I stood silent as he trailed kisses along my cheek, nuzzling his nose into the nape of my neck, my hair.

“Cordelia, please talk to me. You’re scaring me,” he pleaded.

“Oh, Chaseyn,” I said, turning to face him. “Don’t talk. Just kiss me.”

And he did. He kissed me hard, walking me backward until my backs of my knees met the edge of the bed, and I fell backward onto the mattress. Chaseyn positioned himself gently overtop of me, grinding his hips against mine so I could feel how much he needed me, wanted me. And I wanted him too, more that I could imagine possible.

Just then, there was a knock on the door. Chaseyn continued to kiss me, his hands roaming under the cardigan in search of the zipper at the side of my dress. But, the knock at the door grew louder, and now it was accompanied by shouting.

“Chaseyn, Lia, are you in there?” Eli hollered through the thick door.

“Figures,” Chaseyn growled. “He’ll never be able to accept the two of us, will he?”

I just laughed as we pushed up off the bed and smoothed the wrinkles from our clothes. Chaseyn ran his fingers through his dark, wavy hair and it fell perfectly around his face. I dashed to the bathroom to replace the lipstick Chaseyn had kissed away and readjust my mussed hair.

“What?” Chaseyn hissed as he opened the door. “What could you possibly want that’s so important you would disturb two people enjoying some alone time in their honeymoon suite?”

“Were you two…ah, man? I’m sorry buddy. I just thought you’d be waiting until after the party,” Eli said, and I heard him slap his hand against his forehead. “I’ll let everyone know you’ll be another--what--like fifteen minutes?”

“A whole fifteen minutes? Wow, that Addie’s one lucky lady,” Chaseyn joked. “Not that it’s any of your business, but
if
we were going to make you wait, the party would be long over by the time we made it downstairs.”

Boys--always competing. But I had to admit, Chaseyn’s bragging had peaked my attention.

“Yeah, but only because you’ve got the whole vampire stamina thing going on,” Eli joked.