Resurrected (29 page)

He looked up at Stone, his
eyes expressing his pain. “I hate her, you know.” Brian began.
Stone took this as a cue and walked into the room until he stood
before him then knelt down. Looking up at him, he gave a merciful
expression and waited for him to continue.

“I hate her for the way she
revealed to me what she was. I hate her for leaving me in that
mental hospital in England, where my mind was left to rot. I hate
her for not loving me enough to take me with her. Yet I still love
and yearn for the woman, the mortal woman I knew as a young man.
None of them have been able to fill her place in my
heart.

“After one hundred and
eighty some odd years, I finally was beginning to control my
psychotic visions of all those I have killed. I was able to control
them enough to make my mind quiet.” Brian paused for a moment then
continued. “You have no idea what it has been like!” He said,
exasperated.

Not knowing how to respond,
Stone remained quiet, still kneeling before Brian and looked up at
him with sympathetic eyes.

“Oh,
don’t look at me that way.” Brian exclaimed. “I may sound like I
want your pity but please…” He paused for a moment then continued.
“Like always, this too shall pass,” he said and stood. Stone
quickly followed suit. Without saying another word, Brian walked
over to the window and looked out. His
demeanour
exuded sorrow and anger entwined like lovers in a love-hate
relationship, both feeding from one another keeping it strong and
hard to break through. Unable to just watch Brian as he stood there
so solemnly, Stone muttered the words out before really
thinking.

“They are
going to resurrect Deirdra tonight.” Brian turned and looked at
Stone. Shock and what could only be described as fleeting
hope,
coloured
his
expression.

“How?” He asked. Stone
looked at him blankly. He didn’t know what to say.

“I don’t know,” he said,
lowering his head in embarrassment. “I was on my way to feed and I
found myself driving here–to see if you were okay. And well, I
don’t know anything of what is really going to happen, I only know
that they are doing it tonight. If I want to be part of it, I
should be back as soon as possible.” Stone looked at Brian, the cut
above his brow now completely healed. His vampiric blood that once
stained his brow and forehead had absorbed into his flesh. It still
amazed Stone the healing ability of vampires.

Knowing how much Deirdra
meant to him, Stone spoke before thinking. “You should be there.”
He said timidly.

Immediately, his heart
began to pound in fear of the others. Stone didn’t know what they
would do to him if Brian did come. But despite his uncertainty, he
would stand up for his reasoning’s behind the invitation. Waiting
for Brian’s response, the moments seemed to pass like hours and
Stone began to worry that he would not join him. Just as he was
about to say something to encourage him, Brian spoke.

“Yes, I will come.” Walking
over to Stone, Brian stopped before him and patted him on the
back.

“Shall we go and feast
then, before we make our grand entrance to your family again?”
Brian added, laughing heartily at himself. Shaking his head, Stone
was unable to hold back his own laughter, seeing the humor in his
remark.

Together they hopped in the
waiting mustang and off they went to hunt the night. As Stone
drove, silence was their companion. No conversation was going to
happen about either Brian’s moment of weakness or the coming events
of that night. Stone’s mind made up fanciful stories about how
everything was going to be as it was, or even better than before.
However, his daydreams were slowly eroded by his worried thoughts
into a nightmarish outcome. Yet, as they found where they were to
hunt and Stone parked the car, he was amazed at how easily the
bloodlust consumed everything. Any worry or fear of anything faded
and the thirst became his main priority.

Having parked a couple of
blocks away from where they were to hunt, stealthily they wandered
their way to the back streets and alleys of Saint Laurent
Boulevard. Tonight Stone and Brian would not hunt among the
privileged but amongst the starving homeless. Going their separate
ways, Stone trekked through the maze of alleyways. Once he could no
longer hear Brian, Stone stopped, closed his eyes and listened. The
breeze that blew in the same direction he was walking would be of
no assistance. If there was anyone lingering in that alleyway
ahead, he was unable to catch the scent of their blood. He now
relied on his keen sense of hearing.

Just as he thought there
was no one to be found in that alley, the soft beat of a human
heart reached his ears and resonated rhythmically within his head.
Opening his eyes, he turned in the general direction of the sound.
Sheltered by an old refrigerator box about twenty feet away, a
young girl around the age of sixteen dozed. Curled up within a worn
army sleeping bag, she had several additional blankets to help keep
her from freezing to death. Given the situation and Stone having
experienced being homeless, he knew she probably acquired the
sleeping bag and blankets from the Salvation Army or Dans La Rue, a
charity that caters to the homeless youth. It was only when he
knelt down to peer into the box that the girl looked up at him. Her
nose and eyes were the only parts of her that peeked out from the
sleeping bag. With a questioning look, she shifted her position in
the bag but said nothing.

“Hello, Skylar.” Stone said
his voice soft and soothing.

“How do you know my name?”
Fear now filled her doe-like eyes.

“I know a lot of things.”
He said. “I know you’re cold, tired and starving.” Stone said
crouching to a sitting position and pulling himself closer to the
girl.

Looking
deep into her gray-blue eyes he spoke to her silently,
“
come closer to me
.” Sitting up now, she pushed the sleeping bag down. Her face
appeared void of any real emotions.

“Okay.”

Skylar
now cradled in Stone’s arms, he nuzzled his face into the crook of
her neck. He let his fangs gently glide into her flesh and wrapped
his lips around the wound. Her young sweet blood flowed down his
throat sending him into instant
ecstasy
. Wrapping
his arms around her, Skylar’s hot body pressed against him. Within
his secure embrace, she too reached her arms around
him.

Without warning, flashes of
Skylar’s life flooded Stone’s mind. It was then that he knew the
root of it all; why this beautiful young girl froze herself on the
street and was starved for a meal. It was ultimately the friction
between her and her step-father that finally drove Skylar to run
away. To Stone it all seemed so petty, but to her, he was the bane
of her existence. She felt she didn’t need him and above all, she
didn’t want him to replace her biological father, despite him never
being there for her. Stone could relate. He knew how painful it
could be, believing you are not loved, to feel that you have been
replaced by another. And when one is unable to see the light, they
always seem to choose the darkest corner. It was frightening to
Stone how similar she was to him when he was her age. It saddened
him so much that he lost any delight in her lifeblood and began to
linger in her sorrow. Pulling away from her, he licked his lips and
looked at her.

“Take it all,” she muttered
her voice barely a whisper, “I don’t want to be here
anymore.”

“And you won’t be.” Stone
said. In one swift motion, he pulled her out of the makeshift
shelter and swooped her up in his arms. He carried her down the
alleyway leaving whatever personal effects she had and headed back
to Saint Laurent. Once on the brightly illuminated boulevard, he
paused for a moment and scanned the roadway for a cab. Just as he
sensed someone watching him, a cab rounded the corner. Knowing that
it was Brian keeping an eye on him, he continued to hail the cab
and as it slowed, he walked out onto the road and waited for it to
stop before him.

Skylar looked up at him in
awe as he placed her in the cab. He was not going to use his
telepathic abilities on her. He wanted her to remember him, even if
it was a dangerous thing to do. Stone wanted her to remember what
monstrous creatures walk the streets. He wanted to remind her that
home was a much safer place to be and not to tempt death at such a
young age.

Leaning over her, he looked
her straight in the eyes. “You will go home and try to work things
out with your family.” Stone whispered to her and with an unnatural
sparkle in his fierce eyes, he revealed his nature to her, then
continued. “For I am not the only one of my kind that lurks within
the shadows of these streets and few are as merciful as I. You live
because I choose to let you live.”

Skylar’s eyes became wide
with fear. It became more intense as she recalled what he said and
what he did to her. Like crashing from a high, she fell out of her
swoon and began to weep like a little girl.

Pulling
back out of the cab, Stone then addressed the driver. “Take her to
4011 Avenue
Marcil
.” He said, having read her
mind for the address. Slamming the door shut, he left her to her
sobbing and turned to see Brian standing in front of an old
storefront, a smug look upon his face.

“You can’t save them all,
you know.”

Not responding to his
comment, Stone felt his face flush, embarrassed at his weakness for
her.

“You ready to
go?”

Nodding, Brian began
walking in the direction they had left the car. The walk back to
the mustang and the drive to Adam’s house was painfully quiet.
Stone could feel Brian become more anxious with each passing
moment.

Deep down
Brian actually feared that the resurrection spell
would
work and he would
have to confront Deirdra. It had been so long, and he had changed
so much since they were together. He was not the same man she knew
him to be, not only because he was now a vampire, the same as she.
He was physically older and his nature was now neurotic. He feared
she would loathe who he had become. Once those thoughts ran their
course he began to wonder what Deirdra would be like, mentally and
physically after such an experience. How would they cast the spell
and would they use her ashes to bring her back? There was no way
Brian could fathom what would happen, nor how it could even
happen.

It was only when the engine
was turned off that Brian was brought back to the present. Turning
to look at Stone, his features clearly expressed his
apprehension.

“Well, we better not be
late for our date with the dead.” Brian said reaching for the door
handle. Before Stone could say anything, he stepped out into the
cold. Still in the car, Stone could feel his heart begin to race.
He feared the unknowable outcome of the looming resurrection spell.
His anxiety grew to a point he thought he would not be able to
contain it. But somewhere deep down, he grabbed onto the courage
that lurked within and pulled the keys out of the ignition. It was
all going to happen whether he was there or not and he felt he had
to be. She was his family, even before being brought
across.

With a few quick steps,
Stone stood behind Brian. Having been waiting for him to join him,
Brian wanted Stone to be the one to take over and be the mediator
for him. Brian had already made the decision that barging in on any
of Stone’s clan, this night of all nights, would not be the best
thing. Extending his hand, palm up and standing before Stone, he
gestured for him to go before him, his manner quite
diplomatic.

“After you, m’lord,” he
said with a smirk upon his face and gave Stone a playful wink.
Unable to hold back a grin, Stone walked past Brian and made his
way to the back.

Walking into the house,
again Stone had to suffer with the smell of death. He had become
used to it the night before and had forgotten about it, but
unfortunately he would have to go through the torture of it once
again. Although the smell was sickening, he found the scent less
strong. It had been some time since the bodies were buried and part
of Stone couldn’t help but think that the scent had lessened so
much because he just didn’t care about them as much.

The kitchen was dark. The
only light came from the digital clock on the stove which cast a
greenish glow. Now standing by the kitchen table, which was placed
near the stairs that lead to the basement, Stone could see that
candles had been lit. The candlelight that illuminated the hall at
the base of the staircase flickered from the breeze in the room
that housed them.

Turning
to look at Brian, silently he spoke to him. “
Down there. They must be starting
.”
Brian nodded in agreement and followed Stone as he made his way to
the stairs. Walking down the hall to the room where Stone had been
held captive, the scent of incense filled their nostrils and the
soft voices of the other vampires were now audible. In hushed
tones, Eme and Malachi talked of magick while Brenna, Mylana and
Elijah talked about good memories and of their fears of what might
or might not happen.