Nevermore, the Complete Series (29 page)

“Ah, Salem's little pet!” she cooed mockingly, “I was afraid you would be too lost in your nightmares to come out and play.”

Salem struggled on the ground, the sound undoubtedly bothering him. I shut my mouth and the sound faded. Why wasn't she affected by it?

“I am much stronger than him,” she said with distaste, as though she could hear my thoughts, “even more so than father, much to his surprise.” She spoke of him so fondly.

I wouldn't let my eyes fall upon Salem again; I couldn't bear to see his condition. Hannah kicked him to the side and I heard the faintest groan escape him, causing my stomach to churn once more. I had never felt such fury before as I did at that moment. My wings were flat against my body as I dove downward, ramming my beak into the flesh of her abdomen. She barely seemed affected, although I knew the hot venom had to be running through her veins now.

“What did you do?!” she suddenly shrieked with pain, “You’re just a bird!”

I couldn't respond, but dove at her again, delivering peck after peck until she showed signs of weakness. Salem uttered something incomprehensible as I went in for the kill.

“No, Alex!” he yelled. I could hear the pain in his voice – it was more than just physical. “Please...”

“Oh, how lovely!”
Hannah laughed as I flew at full speed at her, “he doesn't want you to kill me!”

A blur of movement flashed before my eyes. Hannah's fist smashed into me as I turned to glance at Salem. The scenery twirled around me as I flew through the air. I came to a sudden halt, skidding across the ground. My body elongated and I was human again, writhing in pain against the cool blades of grass. Hannah was beside me in mere seconds, her head cocked to the side as she glanced down at me.

“Pitiful,” she said, shaking her head. “What does he see in you?” She spat on me, then kicked hard into my left side. The unmistakable sound of bones crunching rang through my body, but this time it was not from transforming.

I coughed, blood spurting out of my mouth. “Salem...”

“Salem can't save you now, girly,” Hannah laughed, “he doesn't love you enough to save you – he'd rather see you die at my hands than lift a finger against me again.”

“You're wrong!” I yelled, immediately regretting it as a burst of pain radiated through my broken ribs. As I wreathed in pain, Hannah placed the bottom of her shoe onto my neck. My thoughts were traveling into a darker place, a place where I knew this was the end and I had no more chances left. As I lay there and braced myself for the inevitable breaking of my neck, a flicker of regret washed through my mind. Before I was able to reflect during my last moments of life, the sound of tires against gravel caught my attention. Was Paul here? Had he understood the urgency of the matter at hand?

Hannah perked her head up toward the sound, her eyes wild with curiosity. She lifted her foot and gave me a devilish smile, “don’t go anywhere, okay sweetie? I’ll be right back.” Leaving my side, she ran to investigate what this noise was.

Within seconds I heard a terrifying shout of agony – it wasn't Paul's voice, it was Hannah's...

“Alex?! Salem?!” Paul shouted anxiously, but he sounded so far away.

I heard movement nearby. Salem was on his feet. He must have healed enough to be mobile again. I felt his cold palm against my cheek.

“Don't leave me, Alex,” he begged, cradling my head in his hands.

With wide eyes, I scoured the area. Paul was pinning Hannah against the wall, an arrow piercing her throat – the poison from it combined with my own must have finally been weakening her. The sun was breaking through gray clouds overhead, and I could feel something cool and sticky against my shoulders. After momentary confusion, I realized it was Salem's hands gripping me tightly and shaking me awake.

“Alex?” he whispered soothingly, “can you hear me?” I could distinctly hear the worry in his voice.

My head throbbed miserably as I nodded.

He smiled faintly. “I am so glad you called Paul before coming out here.”

Another slow nod. “Why are your hands so sticky?” I managed to say.

The faint smile was gone immediately and he held his hands up to where I could see. Crimson stained his fingertips and palms. Was it my blood or his?
Both? “You are bleeding...a lot,” he choked out, answering my unspoken question.

I hadn't noticed the ache coursing through my body, the moisture that made my shirt cling to my abdomen and chest, nor the faint coppery smell that surrounded me. The panic came quick when I realized how much damage had been done. My lungs burned with each labored breath. I could barely remember any of what had happened.

“Am I going to die?” I asked in horror, tears beginning to fall down my cheeks.

Salem shook his head at me; the despair in his eyes was overwhelming. “I won't let that happen, Alex.”

I attempted to smile at him, “It’s not exactly something anyone has control over, S-Salem…” I coughed. The motion shot pain throughout my entire body.

“I might,” he muttered quietly, “but hopefully it doesn't come to that.”

“What's going to happen to Hannah?”

I watched his eyes lift upward, toward Paul and his half-sister. “I don't know,” he replied, his expression uncertain. “She may be too corrupt to save...”

“Maybe...” My body convulsed painfully and I clung tightly to Salem's arm, “M-maybe you can convince her...to see things your way.”

He didn't seem concerned with her anymore, his focus fully on me now as he pulled me close. “That's not important right now. I need to ask Paul a question...but I don't want to leave your side.”

I smiled weakly at him. “I'll be okay...”

“Don't leave me, Alex...” he repeated, kissed me gently on the forehead and lowered me onto the cool green grass. “I will be right back. Please hang on…for me.”

My vision was blurred as I attempted to watch them. Hannah was still pinned up against the back wall of the Victorian, the venom weakening her to the point that she could barely move. It was amazing she was so strong, even Raziel didn't possess her strength. There were at least ten slender arrows puncturing her skin in numerous places now. Paul held her firmly at the wrists, and I saw Salem approach him.

“How is she doing, Salem?” Paul asked, his voice trembling. He appeared to want to glance in my direction but fought the temptation.

Salem's back was to me now, trying to shelter me from their words, but I could still make them out, “Not good...I don't know if she has much time left...”

“I will kill you both if Alexis dies, you hear me?” Paul stated furiously. “I don't care who she used to be to you, or anyone.”

“I understand,” Salem whispered. “I need to ask something of you.”

“What?”

“Before I say anything, promise you will listen before you react. This isn't something I want to do either, but I am afraid we have no other options.”

Paul eyed him suspiciously, “What are you talking about?”

“What would happen to Alex...” his words broke off, his voice unsteady, “if she had to be turned, if that was the only way to save her?”

The fury in my father's eyes was evident even through my foggy vision. My heart beat accelerated when I understood what Salem was asking him. “There has to be something else we can do,” he replied through gritted teeth.

“I am afraid there may be no other way, Paul,” Salem said regrettably, “I do not want this any more than you do.”

Hannah hissed, “Do us all a favor and let her die!” she laughed viciously until Paul elbowed her hard in the stomach.

“I'm not sure what would happen, Salem,” Paul frowned, finally glancing at me. His eyes watered. “As far as I know, a Waldron has never been turned before. There’s a chance that she might not be able to be. She already has the gift of turning into the raven, for all I know it could cancel each other out. Hell, the venom in her could hurt the vampire part and she could suffer forever.”

“Or she would only be capable of holding
onto one ability. Or maybe she would carry both,” Salem added thoughtfully.

“This is all wrong,” Paul growled, “I was supposed to protect her from this! You were supposed to protect her!”

“There is no sense in dwelling on that right now. I fear we have precious little time to decide.”

“This isn't a choice I can make,” Paul said flatly, staring down at his feet. “I don't want to lose her, not like I lost Destiny...but at the same time, I can’t just let her become a monster.”

“I won't let her become a monster,” Salem vowed. “She can feed the way I do...she doesn't have to be the enemy.”

“If you are asking my permission, Salem...I can’t tell you yes or no. Just,” I could hear my father's voice crack, “save her...”

“Of course,” Salem whispered, took one glance at Hannah, and retreated back toward me. My eyes were fearful when he approached me. “Don't be afraid, Alex, please...”

“You said nothing was worth this!” I cried, “Not even you!”

“I was wrong,” he whispered, “I can't let you die...not like this. But I won't make the choice for you.”

I wanted to laugh, but I fought it as hard as I could,
knowing it would hurt. “So, this is what it takes to make you realize you want me to live? I had to be bleeding to death…for you to realize how fragile I am…”

He grimaced, “I was hopeful there would be another alternative, Alex. You must understand that I could never imagine life without you, but I could not bear to hurt you…to risk you becoming like Hannah,” he shook his head in anguish. “Is this what you truly want? I need to know, now.”

How was I supposed to decide this? What if my body rejected it and I died despite his effort to save me? Would I be able to control myself and live like Salem, or would I become corrupted like Hannah? What about Jason, Mitchell, and Karen...would I ever be able to see them again, or would I be sacrificing that forever because I couldn't control my thirst? I had little other option right now – it was either this or die, but which was the lesser of the two evils?

I could already feel my life diminishing despite my attempt to hold on. Salem was right; there wasn't much time.

“Yes,” I whispered with what might be my final mortal breath. It felt like such a simple answer, for such a huge decision.

Salem nodded solemnly, lifting my head into his hands and pressing his cold lips to my own. “I love you, Alexis,” he said in a strained voice, “no matter what happens.”

All I could manage was an obscure smile as he rested my head back on the moist ground – moist with my blood. I was barely holding on now, scarcely aware of my surroundings. Everything was fading before me. They say you see a white light when you die, but all I could see was darkness. As Salem's face grew dimmer and dimmer, I could hear the dull shout of his pleading voice, asking me to hold on just a moment longer...

As I drifted, my mind began to wonder if I had made the right decision. Salem had once told me that when he became a vampire, his memories of being human were vague...would I, too, be stripped of my memories? Would I forget who I had been?

Would I forget Salem? As I thought his name, I could feel his cold lips against my wrist. What if he couldn't control himself, what if the taste of my blood was too much? I felt something stab into me as he warily pierced the skin on my arm.

What if I didn't survive? I heard myself scream as his fangs sunk deep into my vein. I felt the warm blood flowing up through my skin. Then, I felt nothing.

Feeling returned. It was dull, numb and far way. There was a mild burning in my arm; my mind couldn't focus on anything but that. I could not see – my eyes may not even have been open. There were no sounds, just the slight discomfort.

The silence was broken immediately when I heard the distant screaming. No. It wasn't distant at all. It was coming from me. The burning evolved into a piercing, unbearable pain all throughout my body. I could barely feel myself jerking around as I tried to escape whatever was hurting me. Something strong and cold held me still. A soothing voice promised everything would be okay. Was it the voice of the creature that was hurting me? No. Something so sweet, so sincere couldn't possess this power.

The burning returned, only this time it was more than a slight irritation in my arm. It felt as though the blood in my veins had been drained, replaced with battery acid. I twisted and contorted, fighting against my own molten core. Every inch of my skin felt as though needles were being dug into my body. The more I fought to get away from the pain, the harder I was held down.

I fought against the cold weight, fought to squirm and wriggle in agony as the pain intensified. I heard another voice – thick, masculine, afraid – begging that it be over quick. Then, a vile laughter caught my attention; it was endless. This must have been the sound of the monster upon me. That was the only explanation.

The darkness slowly faded. I could see a dim light above. The voices grew louder, closer. The pain was still there, but my body had become numb to it. The monster was still pinning me down, and I knew it was the cause of my pain. Fighting for my own survival I screamed and kicked at it.

“It will pass quicker if you don't fight it, Alex,” the soothing voice came again. It was close to me, so close I could smell it. It smelled fresh, sweet...like water, chamomile, something else I couldn't quite place. It reminded me somewhat of the smell of old books.

My surroundings became clearer. The dim light was now a bright radiant orb in the deep blue sky; however it did not hurt my eyes to stare into its intense, resplendent glow. There was a face near me; it seemed familiar, yet peculiar at the same time. The crimson of his eyes caught my attention instantly.

“How do you feel?” the consoling voice asked again. This could not have been the creature whose laugh had taunted my agony.

I blinked. How did I feel?
Lost. Confused. Uncertain. Terrified. Pain incarnate. I could have come up with a list of thousands of words to describe the way I felt, but I couldn't find my voice. I turned my head away from the crimson-eyed figure, spotting two more bodies. One of them was slumped over against a wall, the other standing guard beside it as if waiting for it to attack at any moment.

With a gasp, my memories came flooding into my head. Janet. Desmond. Mark. Salem. Paul. Jason. Karen.
Claire – no, Hannah. Last, but not least, I remembered who I was. The simple, brunette-haired girl from Willowshire, Colorado who less than a year prior discovered she wasn't at all who she thought she was. A vampire hunter, who fell in love with a vampire.

“Salem...” I whispered, my eyes falling back on the familiar yet peculiar young man beside me. His face lit up when I spoke his name. The crimson eyes were still there – brighter than I had ever seen them before.

“How do you feel?” he repeated, running a hand across my forehead.

“Cold,” I replied in a hoarse voice, my body shivering as I spoke. Of all the adjectives, that one best described how I now felt. The hot, agonizing burn was now a vague feeling. I felt as though I were lying in a tub of ice. My body shook once more. “Why is it so cold?” I asked, staring back up at the sun.

“You will get used to it...” he muttered quietly, “what do you remember?”

“Everything,” I responded, peering downward at my body. My instincts told me to scream, but I somehow remained calm as I stared at the mess. Two ribs protruded from my side, a large gash tore across my abdomen, and blood was pouring from two small dots on my wrist. I watched in amazement as the wounds slowly closed, the ribs gradually fell back into place. “Shouldn’t I be ravenously hungry…or something?” I asked as I sat upright.

Salem helped me sit, although I felt perfectly strong enough to manage on my own. “No, why? Are you?” he sounded mildly concerned.

I shook my head. “No, that's just what I was expecting.”

His lips curved into a gentle smile, “Can you stand yet?”

“I think so,” I replied and let him help me to my feet. I didn't feel even the slightest bit wobbly or weak.

“I want to test something. Try not to be alarmed.” He spoke calmly. I watched his eyes twinkle violet and a small knife appeared in his left hand.

“What are you going to do with that?!”

“You said that my suffering triggers your ability to phase,” he replied, and to my horror he drove the knife into his stomach before I had the chance to stop him. I stared in disbelief at him, but the familiar feeling of changing didn't occur. He groaned and tugged the knife from his flesh. “Why aren't you changing, Alex?” he asked through clenched teeth.

“I-I don't know,” I stuttered, “Maybe I can’t anymore.”

“Focus,” he whispered, tossing the knife aside. “Imagine yourself as the raven flying over the lake and back to me. Please.”

Why was he so desperate for me to alter my appearance? Perhaps he was afraid he had taken not only my life, but my purpose away from me. I shut my eyes tightly and envisioned a raven ascending into the air, its vibrant wings glistening against the sunlight as they guided the bird across the majestic body of water. It took only a moment for me to realize my eyes were no longer shut and the fowl I saw was my reflection across the water's surface.

Salem stared in awe, and I noticed that Paul had taken his eyes off of Hannah to glance at me as well. I did an impressive flip and escalated higher into the air before diving down and landing gently on Salem's shoulder. I nuzzled my small head against his black hair and he reached a hand up to caress my soft feathers.

“I was so afraid that I had stolen this from you,” he said quietly, “something does worry me, however.”

“What?” I nearly fell off of his shoulder at the sound of my voice. I can't speak in raven-form! Perhaps I was only hearing my voice inside my mind. That was the only logical explanation...but the expression on his face made me doubtful.

“Well, first of all – that was unexpected,” he whispered as he stared at me with shocked, troubled eyes. “I don't believe I even saw your beak move...”

“So...you can hear me?” I blinked my beady black eyes at him, crooking my head sideways.

“Quite clearly,” he replied, “what concerns me, though, is you shouldn't be so focused, so capable. Newborn vampires are practically drones to begin with; I believe that might be what affects our human memories. Yet you seem to have forgotten nothing, and you are showing signs of powers you didn't previously possess...”

“Does that scare you?”

“No,” he gave me a half-smile, “not entirely, at least.”

My gaze tore away from Salem's expression and trailed across the field of grass until they met Paul's. He looked not only distraught, but exhausted. Hannah, now seemingly unconscious, stirred slightly at his feet. My wings spread out at my sides and I pulled away from Salem's shoulder and glided over to my father. With one swift, painless movement I felt my body alter into its regular form.

“You should go home, dad,” I said calmly as I placed a hand on his arm, “or at least go inside and lie down. You look like you’re about to pass out.”

Before I had any opportunity to react, Paul threw his thick arms around me in a tight hug. I could smell the salt of his tears as they fell upon my shoulder. I hugged him back, with one eye locked on Hannah. “I was so afraid I had lost you, Alex,” he bawled. It was strange seeing him like this, especially given his usual tough demeanor.

“Well...I'm okay, dad,” I replied awkwardly, letting him relieve
himself of the pain and suffering he had to endure. I couldn't imagine what it must have been like for him, watching his daughter come so close to death and then witness me becoming one of his enemies. “I’m okay now, really. Go get some rest.”

Paul released me slowly, wiped at his strained eyes and nodded. I directed him to the back door and watched him stumble up the stairs and into the house.