Resurrected (17 page)

“Yes it has. We have much
to catch up on. I fear we are soon to run out of time. Are you
ready to see how the world has changed?” Sitting up Eme took his
hands into her own and kissed them.

“I am not sure if I am
ready, but I am not staying here. You have come and released me
from my purgatory, as I waited for my true death to spiral me into
hell.” Malachi rose to his feet. Eme quickly followed suit and
together they walked towards the opened door, out into the
freshness of the night air, and began their trek to
Quebec.

Chapter 14

(Elijah & Mylana -
December 20 - 21, 1999)

Screaming, Elijah sat up in
his bed. A blood sweat moistened his forehead. His gluttonous
desire for human blood gnawed at him night and day. His nights were
spent looking for a way to release the bloodlust and his physical
weakness dragged him into days of nightmares. He dreamed of all
those he killed; their blood flowing freely only for him. It was as
though Elijah suffered from a form of withdrawal, despite his
constant feasting.

Two weeks had passed since
Adam’s attack and his state of health, both mental and physical,
was deteriorating severely. The wounds still festered and sent a
different fear into Elijah–a fear of final death. This was
something he hadn’t experienced for thousands of years.

Elijah stayed locked in his
room when at Chantonnay to keep away from Deirdra whom he now had
anxiety over. She had become so detached from him that it
frightened him. The fact that she no longer cared if he died from
his wounds or if she were to do the deed herself, alarmed him and
solidified the dread in him.

“Quit your whining and
whimpering, or I will stop it for you!” Her callous words unsettled
Elijah. For on the previous night, the night Lacroix left, Elijah
ended up dealing with the mess that Deirdra left to rot in the
dining hall.

On most nights he heard
Deirdra talking to herself, fighting against what was bringing the
demon out of her. He had no strength in him to confront her, so
locked up in his room Elijah stayed, fearful and loathing
himself.

Wiping his brow, Elijah
slid off the bed, walked over to the window, and opened the heavy
maroon curtains to reveal the moonlight. Sighing, he looked to the
crescent moon and ran his hands through his short tousled blond
hair, down the back of his neck and around. Feeling the wound that
still lingered, he closed his eyes in frustration and lowered his
hand to his side. Turning he opened his eyes, walked towards the
closet and quickly dressed himself in a navy v-neck sweater, blue
jeans and shoes. This night, like every other of the past
fortnight, he began to feel the bloodlust rise in him, and like
always, knew he would give in to it.

Nearing the bottom of the
staircase a sudden burst of cold air came from the foyer. Elijah
paused at the base of the stairs as a woman entered the room. He
hoped it wasn’t Deirdra. Standing there in anticipation, he watched
this woman raise her hands to lower the hood that concealed her
face. As she did a mass of long wavy red hair spilled forth and a
sigh of relief escaped his lips. It was Mylana. Turning as she
heard Elijah, he began to walk over to her.

“Mylana! It is good to see
you,” he said, reaching out to take her cloak. She quickly removed
it and handed it to him. Together they walked to the living room
and sat on the chesterfield.

“I’m glad to see you–don’t
get me wrong–but what brings you back to Chantonnay tonight?”
Elijah asked, his eyes meeting with her fierce green
orbs.

“I
cannot
feel
Deirdra any longer. She is no longer herself. I came to see if
she was here.” Mylana’s eyes began to wander and then locked with
Elijah’s again.

“I’m
sorry, but I haven’t seen her for two nights. She was here, but I
myself have been staying away from her.” Elijah lowered his head in
shame. “It does not surprise me that you cannot
feel
her. I would have done something
sooner, but I fear Adam has gotten the better of
me.”

Mylana furrowed her brow,
her confusion clear to see. She looked at Elijah, her eyes
examining every slight crease, vein and disheveled hair. As her
eyes fell upon the open wound on his neck, she let out a sound of
shock.

“What
happened, Elijah? Why haven’t you fed to heal yourself?” Her voice
was filled with concern and
coloured
with fear as she
began to reach out to his wound. Elijah reached up and grabbed onto
her wrist.

“No,
don’t…” Still holding onto her, he continued, “I
have
been feeding. I feed
all night–men, women, children… but it doesn’t take away the
bloodlust, the thirst. It doesn’t heal me. I seem unable to
regenerate.”

“Who did this to
you?”

“Adam,” Elijah said simply
and then proceeded to tell Mylana what had happened. By the time he
finished explaining who Adam was and why Elijah was in the state he
was in, he was holding onto Mylana’s hands for comfort.

It had been barely over an
hour and his hunger was fast becoming unbearable. He began to shake
and broke out in a blood sweat. Mylana sat in shock, her eyes wide,
trying to absorb what he had told her. She watched as Elijah began
to fall into frenzy for blood. Mylana could tell it took all his
willpower to stay in the room and not to seek out and take the
first human he saw. She slid closer to him, took his hand, placed
it behind her neck, and whispered.

“Take me, maybe my blood
will heal you… maybe it is immortal blood you need.” At first
Elijah looked at her aghast at the offer. But quickly his hunger
overruled his horror and couldn’t even form words of protest. He
found her so appealing that he immediately took the offer without
saying a word. Elijah firmed his grasp on the back of Mylana’s neck
and pulled her roughly to his mouth. He leaned in and bit down
hungrily on her neck. A grunt-like sound escaped her as his fangs
pierced her skin painfully. Raising her hands, she held onto his
shoulders as they both fell back on the chesterfield.

As she began to feel the
pulling on her veins from the force of his thirst, she pushed
Elijah away from her. In doing so, his teeth tore her flesh. She
cried out and Elijah fell back against the arm of the chesterfield,
eyes closed and his mouth smeared with blood. Mylana slid upright,
leaned against the soft backing of the chesterfield. Holding onto
her neck, the flesh around the wound vibrated and tingled. She
could feel it healing beneath her hand. She looked at Elijah,
hoping that her blood would help. Sitting in silence, Mylana
noticed the wound on Elijah’s neck begin to heal and his shaking
had subsided.

“Thank you, thank you…”
Elijah kept muttering as he lay there partially upright. His body
vibrated from head to toe. His relief was so great that a single
red-stained tear escaped his closed eyes. As Elijah healed, Mylana
pieced together the events that had happened. Breaking her from her
thoughts the phone rang, startling both. They looked at each other.
Elijah quickly wiped the tear from his cheek and rose to his feet.
Mylana remained on the chesterfield and watched as he made his way
for the portable phone on the coffee table.

“Hello?” Elijah’s voice was
deep, but Mylana could hear the fear he tried to mask.

“Oh my God, Eme!” Elijah’s
wide eyes met with Mylana’s.

“Who’s Malachi?”

A long silence.

“Why won’t you tell me? Can
we trust him? How is he going to help us?”

Another pause.

“But I don’t understand how
all this fits together. I don’t want to wait, tell me now!” Elijah
demanded. His anger and frustration grew with each passing
moment.

“Are you sure you are safe
with him?” Elijah sighed and sat on the arm of the nearby wing
chair.

“Alright then, we will see
you and your friend two nights from now. Be safe.” He lowered the
phone and pushed the off button, sending a shrill beep throughout
the room. He then turned his worrisome look to Mylana.

“She wouldn’t tell me
anything in fear that Adam would somehow find out.” He lowered his
head. “I’ve never heard of Malachi,” he looked up at Mylana again.
“Have you?” Mylana could hear the hope in his voice that maybe she
knew him, but solemnly she shook her head, no. Elijah put the phone
down, sat in the wing chair and turned his gaze to the cold
fireplace.

Three quarters of an hour
had passed before Mylana rose from her spot on the chesterfield.
“Well, I am not spending the rest of the night here like this. I
must feed, I will be back to check on you later.” Walking over to
Elijah, she rested a hand on his shoulder. He looked up at her and
a weak smile crossed his face.

“Yes, do what you have
to.”

As Mylana began to walk
away from him, the front door opened abruptly and with a gust of
wind and snow, Deirdra came barging over the threshold. She
appeared dazed and perplexed. Once spotting Mylana with Elijah, she
woke from her stupor. Closing the door behind her she walked
through the foyer into the living room. She began to ramble on
about Stone incoherently.

Elijah rose to his feet and
stood beside Mylana. “Slow down, Deirdra. What about Stone?” Part
of Elijah felt relieved to see her showing some concern, acting
like her old self, but his fear soon enough pushed down his
relief.

“I was just…I was with…I
was at Adam’s. I didn’t see Stone but Brenna came in and she… she…”
Deirdra began to sob. “I was there! I could have stopped it–I just
didn’t know!” she managed to say between her choking
sobs.

“You didn’t know what?”
Mylana walked towards her. Reaching out with both hands, she held
onto Deirdra’s shoulders. As Deirdra’s red-rimmed eyes met
Mylana’s, she clearly spoke.

“Stone is Brenna’s child
now. He is one of us.”

“What?” Elijah blurted
out.

“I tried to find him, but
he was long gone, and I don’t have a clue as to where he might have
gone. I tried…” Deirdra’s words trailed off into mumbling
nonsense.

With love, Mylana placed
her hands around Deirdra’s face then gently lifted her gaze to meet
her own.

“This is
not your fault.” Mylana’s voice was soft and soothing. Despite the
care in her voice, Elijah could sense how she didn’t trust Deirdra
completely. He knew that she could still not
feel
her. Their bond had always been
so strong, unnaturally so, even from Deirdra’s fledgling days. All
Elijah could sense was the battle that raged within Deirdra.
Without thought, the words he had been thinking gushed
out.

“Why were
you with Adam?” A slight anger
coloured
his tone, as
though betrayed. Deirdra’s eyes darted between Elijah and Mylana.
Feeling shame, she lowered her eyes, unable to look at either one.
In the awkward silence, the aura about Deirdra suddenly changed.
Like the flip of a switch, anger now seethed from her cold gaze.
Deirdra looked up at Elijah and locked her wrath-filled stare on
him. Her whole
demeanour
changed. As she began to
speak, her voice was low and ominous. Mylana took a step
back.

“It’s none of your business
why I was with him,” she spat at him.

“Deirdra, you’ve got to see
that he is changing you.” Elijah continued, desperate for her to
understand.

“No, it is all of you who
have changed! I finally realize the power I have and I will use it
whenever, wherever and with whomever I wish.”

As Mylana was about to
speak, Deirdra without warning reached out with both hands. She
pushed Mylana back, sending her four feet to a sliding halt against
the wall cracking the plaster.

“Leave me alone!” Deirdra
screamed. Storming off, she headed for the staircase and up to her
room. With a loud bang, she slammed the door behind her.

Elijah walked over to
Mylana and reached out his hand to her. Taking it, she rose to her
feet. Without a word spoken, she turned from Elijah. She headed for
the stairs rather than out the door for her nightly hunt she had
thought about earlier.

Sitting on the hard wooden
floor leaning against the wall opposite Deirdra’s door, Mylana sat
until the sunrise. She listened while Deirdra argued with herself.
As the hours passed, Mylana suspected it was Adam poisoning her
mind with his voice. At times she was full of rage, willing to kill
anyone in her way of experiencing any form of pleasure. Then
realizing what she was saying, her guilt was immense and she tried
to rid her mind of his toxic voice. Mylana wept silently. Hearing
her child suffer in this way was unbearable.

As the sun rose, Deirdra
finally fell silent, giving Mylana some peace. Standing, she
stretched cat-like and made her way to her bedroom. Passing
Elijah’s room, she paused and listened but was greeted with silence
and knew that he was already in slumber. Continuing, Mylana walked
two doors down and entered the room she had abandoned for the past
week. Unable to handle the stress at Chantonnay, Mylana fled and
had been staying at the Chateau Frontenac hotel.