Tears of Blood (The Blood Chronicles) (30 page)
Read Tears of Blood (The Blood Chronicles) Online
Authors: Tamela Quijas
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He cradled her near as flames leaped about them, their heat radiating voraciously and threatening to consume their bodies. Amado held her limp body pressed close, and a widening pool of crimson darkening the floorboards.
“Let me go, Amado,” she whispered weakly, pressing her face to his chest. “Save yourself.”
Gently, he laid a fleeting kiss on her brow. “I won’t leave you, Meghan.”
A sad smile pulled at her lips. “I can’t allow you to die in here.”
“I choose to, Meghan.” He remarked with steady resolve. “Whatever you say, or think you can do to convince me otherwise, I’ll remain.”
“You’ll stay, even if I don’t have long left?” She breathed huskily, the words almost a whisper.
“You’ll be fine, Meghan.” He attempted to soothe. “The fire trucks will be here soon, and you’ll be safe.”
She chuckled weakly, a slow stream of red slipping from the corner of her mouth.
“I don’t think I’ll be the one leaving, Amado.” She murmured faintly. “Kevin’s had his revenge and I’ll remain here with him.”
He swallowed heavily, hating the finality in her voice. Meghan broke into a coughing spasm, the searing heat, and billowing smoke scorching her lungs as the inferno crackled about them. Silent, his arms cradling her cherished body, he rocked her. Thankfully, she didn’t understand, she’d succumb to smoke inhalation and blood loss long before the flames would touch her precious flesh.
On the other hand, he would suffer horrendously.
The smoke wouldn’t fill his lungs, whisking his breath away until he slipped into unconsciousness. His curse would make him experience every moment of the burning hellhole as they hungrily tore the flesh from his body. The blaze would rip at him before turning him to ash.
Still, he wouldn’t leave her. Meghan was his love and, regardless of the pain his ending would bring, he’d remain with her. He pressed a delicate kiss to her forehead, wiping the soot from her cheeks as she coughed and issued a gurgling sigh. He rested his temple to hers, tears sliding down his face as he hugged her close.
“I love you, Meghan Stanley.” He whispered, feeling her life source slip from her. “I love you.”
Coughing, she echoed his words.
“Amado!”
He realized they weren’t alone. Amazed, he watched as Sebastien DeClerq rushed toward him, his figure a dark outline. Despite the intensity of the fire, not a single flame touched him, the blaze appearing to cower with every step he took. Behind him, sheltered in an umbrella-like spell that warded aware the fire, Declan followed. Amado scowled, unfamiliar with the alarm etched on his adversary’s unearthly features.
“Here!” He shouted urgently, but recognized his desperation was wasted. The very spirit, the soul that made Meghan who she was, was slipping slowly from her body. Still, he forced a semblance of hope into his tones. “Meghan
, cara
, help has come.”
“Is it Sebastien?”
“You won’t believe me.” He stifled a weak laugh. “Sebastien has arrived, with Declan.”
She barely heard him. He looked away, rocking her in his arms, ignoring the pair as they approached. DeClerq’s fingers touched the pulse at the side of Meghan’s throat, and frowned.
“She doesn’t have long.” He mouthed the words to Amado, who nodded.
“I know.”
“You have to get outside.” Sebastien insisted.
Amado managed a smile half-heartedly, understanding the mage was aware that vampires avoided fire of any sort. “I won’t abandon her.”
“You can’t help her.”
He shrugged. “I know I can’t, but I’m not ditching her.”
“So, instead, you’ll die here with her?” Declan asked as he dropped to his knees.
Amado lifted his face to the ceiling, the structure nearly enveloped in all consuming flames. “Yes.”
“I could force you.” Declan’s brows lowered and his expression became threatening.
He smiled gently. “I know you can’t.”
Declan glanced at the vampire who he’d tormented for too many decades, pain and finality filling him. “Do you love her enough to die?”
Amada nodded, unable to speak.
Despite his fear, he leaned close. “You can save her, and DeClerq can lead us from the fire.”
“I can’t.” Amado protested with a hearty shake. “I can’t damn her to an existence worse than this.”
“You have to save her before it’s too late.” Declan continued in his haunting voice.
“I’d rather die with her.”
Sebastien looked from one to the other, counting the seconds until they had to escape. “He can’t take her blood because of the vow he took. The Brotherhood doesn’t allow one of their own to feast on the blameless.”
“This is true?” Declan questioned with a lift of his brow.
Amado nodded tersely, scowling as Declan laughed outright.
“I didn’t take a vow to anyone.”
“You belong to The Sanctum.” He spat. “You bathe in evil, relishing the hurt you deliver.”
“Perhaps I’m not really part of the sect.” Declan shrugged as he made the curious confession. “Even more so, I might not be as wicked as I lead you to believe.”
Sebastien and Amado looked at his quizzically, wondering about his low spoken admission. They didn’t have long to ponder, though, as a wooden beam crashed a few feet from them, the blaze leaping higher into the air.
“Give her to me,” Declan pleaded. “Don’t let her die.”
“Do you expect me to sit back and watch you create another of your kind?”
Declan turned and glared at the wizard with scathing eyes. In spite of the horrendous blackness consuming the orbs, compassion radiated from him.
“Have you not already broken the rules this night?” He inquired gently. “Consorting with the undead, attempting to rescue the love of a creature of the night, so what’s one more offense?”
“I can’t permit you to do this.”
“I don’t think the choice is yours.” Declan remarked gravely before he looked into the face of the one who had taunted for the last century. “Allow me, Amado. Let me to right the wrongs that have haunted me my entire existence.”
Torn, all he could do was stare at the vampire. Meghan was slipping away from him, her essence vanishing in the leaping flames, and he felt broken inside.
“She will hate me.”
“Will she?”
“Eternity is forever…”
“You will have an eternity to share your love, to spend together.” As another coughing fit wracked her delicate body, his voice filled with urgency. “If you wait too long, she’ll be lost to you.”
Sebastien rose to his feet, standing near enough where his spell enveloped them in a protective blanket and sheltered them from the searing and vengeful flames. Lifting his chin and staring at the ceiling, he whispered a prayer of forgiveness into the wind.
Chapter Twenty-One
Sunlight reflected on the tranquil surface of the body of water just beyond the cabin, and the lake seemed awash in colors that mirrored the sun, sky, and the vibrant green of the towering pines rising high around it. Light resembling the tiny fractures of small stars give the impression of shooting off the placid waters, dancing in the air before vanishing. The sight was dazzling to the woman who stared at the picturesque scenery in amazement.
Blues, reds, emerald, gold, and brown, colors believed lost, flooded her vision. Meghan gaped in childlike wonder at the scenario, nearly breathless with awe, as she savored the beauty spread before her.
“It’s an amazing view, isn’t it?” A gentle voice remarked and she turned slowly, fearing the world would spin dizzily about as it had for the past few days. She was still striving to become accustomed to the change, which often meant she lost her equilibrium.
Remaining steady on her feet, Meghan looked at the lady who owned the stunning cabin in the woods. She was somewhat envious when her scrutiny drifted over her hostess, the woman appearing to be not much older than a budding university student. Her red hair, a shade darker than that of Chesca, was caught up in a tight ponytail. She didn’t wear cosmetics and a spray of freckles ran across face, making her appear more youthful. Presently, she wore a starling white Florida college sweatshirt and faded jeans.
Despite the innocence and youth displayed, Meghan knew better, though. During the past week, she had learned Vivi Delaneaux, formerly Genie Carter, was closer to a human fifty.
“I still can’t believe the colors.” She divulged with a smile. “I’m still having trouble taking it all in. At times, I feel like my senses are overwhelmed. I afraid this is all just a hallucination and I’ll wake up and only be able to see the darkness.”
“It’s not a dream, Meghan.” Reluctantly, she shrugged her shoulders. She examined the blonde’s features, wondering if her change had been the best decision. “Do you think you’ll have any trouble adapting?”
“I don’t know.” She scowled slightly. “I’m not there, yet.”
“It isn’t easy, being what we are.”
Meghan lifted strangely golden eyes to the writer and shrugged. “I don’t think it’s simple for anyone, whether you volunteer, or are forced.”
“When Dom changed me, it was by my choice.” Vivi admitted easily, pushing her hands deep into the back pockets of her jeans. She nodded and her similarly shaded gaze held a faraway expression. “It wasn’t uncomplicated for me to change from being Genie Carter, and into this fresh persona. The human I was so blasted eccentric, consumed with insecurities, and slightly agoraphobic. I guess I could say, because of my mortal issues, slipping into a new identity was easy.”
“Do you enjoy the spotlight now?”
“It’s not as bad as I once thought it was.” She smirked. “Though, I still try not to be in the public eye too much. When you’re one of the undead, things have to change every few decades. In particular, I can’t allow people to become too familiar, remembering when they aren’t supposed to.”
Broodingly, Meghan absorbed the information in silence.
“I’m so sorry,” Vivi interrupted swiftly. “I spoke out of turn. You really didn’t have much of a choice in changing, did you?”
“I don’t recall too much after I was shot.” She revealed.
“Darling, what’s the last thing you remember?” Her gaze narrowed as she looked beyond the woman and out past the lake.
“Sounds…the building groaning as the blaze climbed up the walls, beams crashing to the ground. I…” Meghan closed her eyes, the nightmare flashing behind the lids. “Agonizing pain in my chest, Amado’s voice, and horrendous heat.”
“I suspect the pain was from the bullet your ex-husband so considerately decided to put into you, in his vicious little attempt to keep you to himself.” She filled in heavily, her words laced with acrimony. “The heat would have been the blaze he set, as well. If he couldn’t have you, you were going to die in that fire.”
Meghan shuddered, the event flashing through her thoughts. She had been at the cabin, from what Vivi told her, for nearly a month. During that time, she had brief flashes of Amado’s face imprinted in her pain-filled memories, shouting at a different vampire’s smirking countenance, and the softly lilting bayou timbre of another who attempted to defuse the situation. Since her recovery, she hadn’t seen any of the men, their presence conspicuously absent.
“What happened to Amado?” She inquired hesitantly.
“Don’t worry about him,” Vivi assured, detecting the dread in Meghan’s panic filled gaze.
“He attacked Kevin, just as the gun went off, and was hit by one of the bullets…”
“As you probably already assume, my dear, bullets don’t have much of an effect on a vampire.” She chuckled softly, recalling a personal time in the past. “Normally, they walk away from the assault. At other times, I’ve known them to suffered memory loss but, eventually, they do recover.”
“I remember him being at my bedside,” Meghan began hesitantly, “Along with a blonde haired person and one that spoke with such a delightful accent.”
“The one with the charming speech would be my husband, dom.” Vivi giggled aloud as she made the admission. “The other man was Declan.”
Meghan scowled at the mention of his name. She recalled the confrontation in Amado’s dance studio, and the dislike radiating from the two, and she wondered why he’d be close by.
“I understand, by all rights, I should be dead.” Meghan looked inquisitively at the woman. “I’ve this sneaking suspicion Amado didn’t transform me.”
“You know, that’s the strange thing.” Vivi admitted before pulling her hands from her pockets and plopping down on the worn cushions of an ancient sofa. She ran a plump hand over the back of her neck and her face screwed up in quizzical reflection. “Despite how much he loves you, and the fact you were dying in his arms, Amado couldn’t touch you.”
“Why not?”
“It’s an element of the vow we make when we join The Bloods.” She stated beneath her breath. “Innocent human blood is strictly off limits, taboo, and big no-no if your part of the sect. Feast on an untarnished soul and you’re banished, and never allowed to return.”
“And this would be difficult since…?”
“Our kind joins The Brotherhood to redeem ourselves for the sins in our past.” The author supplied helpfully. “The faction’s entire concept is forgiveness, and correcting the errors of our ways. Although we may be cursed, we use that damnation to cleanse the world of the true evil that lurks.”
