Life's Blood (The Cordelia Chronicles) (27 page)

I grabbed a robe from the back of the bathroom door and wrapped it around myself. Though I had initially drawn the bath for myself, I knew Chaseyn needed it more. I waited patiently while he eased himself into the warm water, and then I knelt on the floor beside him.

“Lay back,” I instructed, cupping my hands full of water to pour down his hair and back.

Chaseyn moaned in ecstasy as I lathered his calloused skin and massaged his tired muscles. And it brought me such pleasure to make my husband--how strange--so happy. When I was done, I toweled him dry with an impossibly large, fluffy, white towel and wrapped the other robe from behind the door around his shoulders, tying it firmly at the waist.

“Do you think Eli and Addie are up yet?” Chaseyn asked as he flopped down at the foot of the bed.

“We’re in a hotel…with big, comfortable beds. Do you really think they went to sleep at all?” I asked with a chuckle. But Chaseyn didn’t share my laughter. In fact, a sad look came across his face.

“That should be us,” he whispered, hanging his head. “I’m so sorry, Cordelia. I should never have made you marry me--made you tie yourself to a dying man.”

“Don’t say that, Chaseyn. You didn’t make me do anything,” I said, rushing to his side, and kneeling at his feet. I hugged my arms around his legs in an effort to comfort him, he leaned across me in a half-hug. “I wouldn’t have it any other way.”

We sat like that a moment, until we were brought back to reality by the unmistakable ringtone Chaseyn had assigned to Balthazar--George Thorogood’s
Bad to the Bone
. I had to hand it to him, Chaseyn was still extremely fast when he needed to be--he reached the nightstand where he’d left his phone before the second ring.

I listened intently to Chaseyn’s side of the conversation, trying to piece together any clues about what had happened since we’d left them at the Castel Dracula Hotel. But it wasn’t until Chaseyn hung up the phone and filled in the blanks that I grasped the whole picture.

“What happened? Is everyone alright?” I asked the minute he pressed “end” on the call.

“They’re fine,” Chaseyn replied. “Emil’s strong, but when he realized how badly he was outnumbered, he knew they could outwit him if they couldn’t take him down through brute force, and he took off. He wasn’t anticipating James to take our side.”

“But he did,” I said. “He must really care about you.”

Chaseyn nodded, and I could tell he was processing that thought.

“James is tracking him,” Chaseyn explained. “He’s hoping Emil will lead them to Vlad.”

“Why do we need him?”

“We’ll need his blood,” Chaseyn said in a matter-of-fact tone.

“We can just use Emil’s,” I reasoned. “Now, what’s the best way to go about
collecting
it from him when we do find him?”

“What makes you think we can use Emil’s blood?” Chaseyn asked.

“Why wouldn’t we? He’s your ancestor, right?”

“Not quite, love,” Chaseyn replied. “It has to be a direct bloodline, father to son and so on. Emil is my uncle.”

I suddenly felt nauseous…to be so close and have it ripped away was heart wrenching. I ran to the bathroom, and I barely reached the toilet in time to empty the contents of my stomach into it.

***

Chaseyn dutifully held my hair while I vomited. He wiped my brow with a cold cloth, and when he thought I was ready to hear the truth, he explained it to me in great detail.

“So, I guess the simplest way to say it is that we have to find a maker from my family line,” Chaseyn explained. “If it could just be anyone who shared my blood, we could go after any of my siblings--and there are dozens. James for one.”

When Chaseyn was done, I felt like my heart had shattered into a million pieces. I had been holding out hope for so long that we would beat the clock and find everything we needed before it was too late, and I had been so relieved when I realized Emil was Chaseyn’s uncle. Even though he’d escaped the Castel Dracula Hotel, at least I knew there was someone out there who could help us, and I felt certain James would track him down. But now…

“Don’t give up,” Chaseyn mumbled against the top of my head. “We’ve still got time.”

But we both knew there was very little sand left in the hourglass. Still, Chaseyn comforted me--even when I should be soothing him. His aching muscles, his tired heart. He held me while realization set in--realization that we still had no idea how to get the help we needed. That we may never find Vlad, or his maker, or his maker’s maker.

“Alright, love, there’s no point moping any longer,” he said when I’d cried my last tear. “We’ve still got time and plenty of work to do, so get up, get dressed, and let’s get going.”

I wondered when Chaseyn had become the cheerleader out of the two of us. Just a few months ago, he was reluctant to even consider searching for the cure, but now he championed the endeavor. And, then there was me. It wasn’t so long ago I was certain we could help cure Chaseyn’s condition--a few days ago, in fact. Now I was the one struggling to stay onboard with the plan. What was the point?

Chaseyn. Chaseyn was the point--keeping him with me. Alive. Forever…in the mortal sense of the word. For his sake, I pulled myself together, and put a smile on my face.

“What’s the plan?” I asked.

Chaseyn explained that Balthazar and Mina were on their way to Bucovina via the Vatra Dornei Pass. According to the legend, the mixing bowl used to make the elixir, as well as the vial used to contain it, needed to be blessed by the priests from at least two of the seven painted
churches of northern Moldavia
that were listed as
UNESCO
World Heritage sites.

Balthazar and Mina would first visit the Moldovita Monastery in the village of Vatra Moldovitei. Built by Stefan the Great's illegitimate son in 1532, every inch of the exterior facade of the church was covered with intricate frescoes depicting Biblical stories. While they would not be able to enter the sanctuary itself, members of the clergy lived right on site. Balthazar was confident they would come across a priest passing through the courtyard. And if not, they would ask one of the nuns to find one for them.

After Moldovita, Mina and Balthazar would travel to Voronet. Located in the town of
Gura Humorului
, Stefan the great built the monastery following a battle victory in 1488. Like Moldovita, the church had been elaborately decorated with frescoes. The most obvious physical difference between the two churches was that the color yellow featured prominently in the paintings at Modovita, while a bright, bold blue was used for the paintings at Voronet.

I looked at pictures on Chaseyn’s smart phone as he described each church. I was sorry we wouldn't be able to visit the monasteries ourselves but thankful Mina and Balthazar were tackling this part of the trip on our behalf. It was clear Chaseyn and I needed to lay low now that Emil--and who knows how many other vampires looking to seek vengeance for Alexei's murder--were aware of our presence in Romania. In fact, Balthazar instructed Chaseyn to relocate to a safe house in Sibiel.

“It's an
old
family friend,” Chaseyn explained. “And she's willing to help us hide out until Mina and Balthazar arrive.”

“How old is this friend?”

“I don't know, four, five hundred years,” he replied. “She's very powerful, which will be useful if any of the others do find out where we are and come for us.”

Chaseyn instructed me to go for a late lunch with Addie and Eli while he contacted the “old” friend to make arrangements for our arrival. He also planned to have a new rental car delivered to our hotel. The Charger was too conspicuous, and we'd have to do a better job at blending in with the locals if we wanted to stay safe.

“You're sure I can't bring anything back for you?” I asked as I pulled on my leggings. “A croissant? Some juice?”

“I don't have much of an appetite for those things these days,” Chaseyn said, and I understood what he was implying, though he never spoke the words--the only sustenance he craved was the kind that came direct from my veins.

I nodded my understanding. Then, I gave Chaseyn a quick peck on the cheek and made my way to the door.

“Be careful,” he warned. “Try to stay in the shadows, and avoid eye contact with anyone.”

“Will do,” I replied cheerily, only half-listening.

“I'm serious, Cordelia. If you notice anything unusual at all, get out of the dining room as quickly as possible,” he said, taking my hands in his and staring deep into my eyes. “And don't step foot outside the hotel without me.”

***

I sat in the back corner of the dining room with my back to the rest of the room while Addie prepared my plate of food at the buffet table. She returned to the table at least three times to give me my options and take my order.

“French onion. Not tomato,” I said on her final trip. “Don't you know me at all?”

I would have been able to prepare her meal without once asking her preferences, and I was fairly certain I'd have got it perfect on the first try. But that was the difference between us--I paid attention to the fine details, while she paid attention to...herself. I loved her still.

We ate our meal in silence. I think we were all afraid to draw too much attention to ourselves. When we were done, we all returned to the suite I was sharing with my new husband.

“Seriously, Chaseyn? Did you have to book the best room at
every
hotel? You couldn't throw me at least one bone?” Addie said, scanning our suite with her eyes wide. “Our entire room is the size of your bathroom.”

“Only the best for my new bride,” he said with a chuckle, beaming at me with love in his eyes.

Chaseyn had packed our bags while I was at breakfast, and he was eager to make the short drive to the town of Sibiel. He handed the keys to the Charger over to Eli and explained that we would be splitting up into two separate cars.

“You can try to get anyone who might want to follow us off our trail while Cordelia and I get away,” he said.

“But won't that put Addie and Eli in jeopardy?” I asked. I wouldn't agree to any activity that put their lives at risk.

“They're of no interest to any of the hardcore vampires they might come across in these parts,” Chaseyn assured.

“How can you be so sure?” Addie asked. "Won't they try to use us to get to you?”

“I doubt it,” Chaseyn said. “No offence, but most vampires don't put much stock into what mortals say and do. Once they realize we're not with you, they'll prefer track us down on their own--they'll think they can do it faster and easier than following you around.”

His response appeased us all, and we said our goodbyes. Addie and Eli would spend the day sightseeing. As much as I wished Chaseyn and I could join them, I knew it was better for us to part ways.

“You guys should take our room tonight,” I said. “Chaseyn had booked it for two nights so you might as well enjoy it. Just tell the chambermaid to put new sheets on the bed and towels in the bathroom. It's so lovely, I hate to see it go unused.”

“And we can get out of the storage closet-sized room they gave us,” Eli laughed.

“Are you sure you can't stay?” Addie pleaded. She was having trouble processing the necessity for us to go our own way--to use them as a decoy while we traveled to the safe house. “I hate leaving you like this.”

“Me too,” I said, hugging her tight to my chest. “But it’s the only way.”

Addie made me promise to call her the minute we reached the safe house and again at various intervals throughout the next few days. In fact, she quickly jotted down a phone schedule using a note pad and pen she found on the nightstand.

“Eli and I fly out the day after tomorrow,” she said. “We won’t be back home for a visit until reading week, but we’ll still talk every few days.”

“Yeah, bud, you’ll have to come out and see one of my games when you get back,” Eli said, slugging Chaseyn on the arm.

“Love to, mate,” Chaseyn smiled, but I knew we were all thinking the same thing…
if
he came back. If we didn’t find the cure soon, Chaseyn wouldn’t be with us much longer.

“Get out of here before I start to cry,” Addie chuckled, swiping a tear from her eye.

“You mean, before you start to cry
again
,” I laughed, hugging Addie one more time.

“Love you,” she said.

“Back at ya,” I replied.

Ten minutes later, Chaseyn and I were riding in a Dacia station wagon at a normal speed--both because I was driving and so we wouldn't draw any unnecessary attention--while Addie and Eli made their way to Poienari Fortress. In all honesty, I was thankful we weren't accompanying them on that part of the trip. The thought of climbing the nearly 1,500 steps through the forest to reach the top of the castle was mind numbing--let alone actually making the trek.