The Last Keeper (40 page)

I almost balked when we entered the main chamber. Half the members of the world’s Seats were there. Black clothes, shadowed faces, and hungry, eager eyes. Kiros and Elena were in the middle, with the entire Russian Seat and half of Finland’s. I was sure I spotted a couple of the Americans in the room. There was a representative from every Seat in the world.
 

Something was wrong.

They didn’t assemble like this for a simple audience.
 

Unless it was because it was Poppy Baruti they’d summoned.

“Poppy, my dear, how good it is to see you,” Kiros called.
 

“Cut the bullshit, Kiros. You
dare
to call
me
in for an audience?” Poppy stalked across the room, putting herself right in front of him. “I
invented
the damned things, and you have the audacity to use them against me?”

“Bring them in,” Elena called, glaring at Poppy.

Wishing I could move a fraction and see what was happening, but not wanting to give myself away, I listened harder. I heard Lizzy, sounding strong as ever as she was herded into the chamber. It was so similar, yet so different from the dream. Martin was the difference. She was stronger for having him at her side.
 

“Get your stinking hands off me,” Lizzy snarled.

“Silence, child,” Elena bellowed.
 

“Go to hell! I’m not scared of you.”
 

“You’ll fear me when I’m killing you.”

“Yeah, yeah. If I’ve told you once, I’ve told you a thousand times, you’re dead when my aunt comes for me.”

“What is this about?” Poppy demanded, barely glancing at Lizzy.

“You broke the rules,” Kiros hissed at her, circling.

“We never broke your rules.”
 

“How so? Both of these children know of us. They have shown not an ounce of fear since we captured them. If they did not come by the knowledge through you, then how did they acquire it?” Kiros asked, the picture of calm once more.

“They already knew of us when we met.”
 

“That may be the case, but as a vampire, and a
former
member of The Seats, it is your duty to eliminate them.” Elena was pushing her luck with Poppy, even I could tell that.

“Back off,
Ellie.
Did you think to read their minds to see why they know?”
 

I was glad I wasn’t the only one who called her that.

Kiros stepped in. “If it were possible, then we would have.”
 

The self-proclaimed king did little talking, but the rest of the members of The Seats knew not to interrupt him.
 

“And what, pray tell, is the race we cannot read the minds of?” Poppy asked, a look of determination on her face.

“That is hardly relevant.”

“And you are missing the obvious,” Poppy muttered.
 

“Regardless of why we cannot read their thoughts, did you bring the other human?” Elena questioned, growing impatient. Not that she had a lot of patience to begin with.

“You hear a heart beating, do you not?”

“Read it,” I whispered to Ray.
 

My lips were close to his ear, his hair tickling my face. I didn’t dare look into his eyes as he silently unfolded the piece of paper.
 

“Well, come forward, child,” Kiros called.

Why was it vampires thought they could use that term on everyone just because they’d been alive for a couple of thousand years?

“You did not call her that!” Lizzy said, laughing. “You really shouldn’t have said that.”

“Silence!”
 

“Your funeral,” she murmured.

“Come out,” he called again.

Looking into Ray’s eyes, I knew he’d read the letter. He was willing, but reluctant.
 

“You are trying my patience, child. Come out now, before I take out my frustrations on this one,” he said, moving towards Martin and Lizzy.

In a flash of movement, I was leaning casually against the back wall as if I owned the place.

“You know better than to call me
child,
Kiros,” I said from behind him.

“Azrael! This is a surprise.” He smiled as if he was my oldest friend.

“Is it?
Really?
Then you’ll know if you have harmed a hair on my niece’s head I will destroy you,” I promised, smiling coldly at him. “I’ll forget you broke into my home and kidnapped them. I’ll forget you forced me into this godforsaken place to retrieve her. I will also let it slide that you threatened her life, but we will be leaving now.”

“What makes you think you
can
leave?” Elena asked.
 

I caught a movement from the corner of my eye; all the exits had been blocked. It didn’t matter.
 

“Because I can do anything I want. I can get inside your minds, and you are powerless against me.” I tapped the side of my head, smiling brightly at them.
 

“That may be so, but you will not walk out of here,” Kiros was almost excited as he spoke. Any other time I would’ve been amazed the man actually knew what emotions were. He spent so much of his life devoid of them.

“Why would you think that?”
 

“Do not play coy with us, Serenity.” Elena had enough emotion for the both of them. “We are well aware you brought your partner with you.”

“And? Do you have a point?”

“You are vulnerable,” an impish voice purred from across the room.

“You brought yourself to the slaughter,” Elena finished.

“Oh please! Pull the other one, Ellie. We both know I should already be dead, yet here I am. Do you really think you stand a chance at killing me?” I asked, pretending to yawn. “I honestly gave you more credit.”

“I’ll drain you myself,” she hissed. “That will prove my point.”

“Wait!” I held up my hand, and she stopped in her tracks. So well . . .
trained.
“If we are going to go through with this pathetic charade, can I at least get a last request?”

“Why should we give you anything?”

“Because you would be nowhere without me.”
 

“I am interested to know what she would want,” one of them stated.
 

“Have your say,” Kiros said.

“If you want my body drained of blood, then I agree. On one condition. I get to choose who drinks from me,” I offered. “May I advise that you take me up on this? You are well aware that I could kill you all.”

“Who would you choose?” Kiros asked, a curious light in his eyes.

“Ray.”

There was a shocked gasp that ran through the room, and it occurred to me that they knew who he was.
 

“Well then, that is something I would like to see. I never took you for the dramatic type, Azrael,” Elena said, laughing.

Trust her to be excited that I’d requested that my partner drain me. She didn’t pause to consider
why
I’d asked for him.
 

“Serenity,” there was pain in Ray’s voice as he spoke, “Serenity, I . . .”

He was playing his part well—the reluctant participant. “Please, Ray.”
 

“Why me?” he asked, moving slowly to stand in front of me.
 

“It was always you, Ray,” I whispered. “It was always meant to be you.”

“I love you.”

“Whilst you live, so shall I. When you sleep, so shall I,” I replied. “I finally worked it out.”

“Are you sure?”
 

“Yes.” I
was
sure. I was absolutely sure William was right.
 

Every member of The Seats present looked on with expressions full of eagerness. Turning to face them, Ray at my back, I smiled. I tilted my head to the side, giving Ray the access he needed. The others didn’t know this was all part of the plan.
 

They showed no signs of worry as Ray hesitated. They thought there was only one way to kill me, and they were right. For the most part, at least. If Ray were gone, I doubt I would want to come back.
 

That day was a very long way off.

I closed my eyes and let my head rest on Ray’s shoulder as his fangs pierced my skin. It was a sensation I was used to, and one I was growing to enjoy. Giving him the sustenance he needed was its own reward.

This would be an unforgettable experience for him. The rush of power that came with the loss of life was a memorable event. No vampire ever forgot the first life they took.

As my legs collapsed underneath me, we sank to the floor. Ray’s teeth never left my neck; his tongue greedily lapping up every drop of blood my body had to offer.
 

My vision started to blur, dimming at the edges. My hearing was weak.
 

I knew, with absolute certainty, my life was almost over. Everything seemed to have slowed to the point of stopping. The feeling was a strange one.
 

With my last few breaths, I recited the last words of William’s letter. I wanted them to know they’d been mistaken.

“I was never meant to be the last of us.” I gasped, struggling to breathe. “I was the one meant to change us.”
 

My vision was almost black. “
Thank you.
”

My last words, with my last breath, were thanks to The Seats of Power. If William was right, then it wasn’t over.
 

I was dreaming, I must have been. Floating in the blackness, I felt at ease. There were bright lights surrounding me, illuminating nothing. Peace. Calm. Weightless. But . . .
 

   
Who was I?

Why was I here?

Where was here?

Why did it feel as if everything was as it should have been, but something was missing? Something I
needed
to know.

In the darkness I heard the faint echo of people speaking. There were worried cries and a frantic pleading. I felt the soft touch of someone holding me close, then the brush of fingertips against my hand. The sounds grew stronger.
 

Faint recognition stirred within me as I struggled to understand what was going on. I
knew
the voices that were crying and begging. With each new exclamation, my focus sharpened.
 

The arms around me tightened as a stir of air brushed against me.
 

“Don’t touch her!” the voice belonging to the arms growled. What a beautiful voice it was.

“Ray, she’s dead,” a gentle voice whispered, causing the first to growl again. “You have to let her go.”

“No!”

I wasn’t dead! I could hear them! Every inch of me was aware of that fact. Nothing else made sense, but I knew I was alive. All that existed were the arms around me and the floating blackness. I couldn’t move; I had no recollection of a body to move with. I couldn’t make a sound; there were no words I could form and no mouth to make them.
 

If I couldn’t speak, how was I supposed to tell them I was alive?

The arguing continued as I contemplated what to do.
 

Why was there a burning desire in me that said these people
had
to know I was alive?

Who were they anyway, and why did they seem to care so much about whoever I was?
 

There was so much
pain
in the voices, and I wanted to know why. I wondered why they were crying over me, I wanted to tell them not to and wipe away their tears.
 

My wishes were soon granted, but not in the way I expected. I wanted to talk, but I ended up screaming. I wanted to move, and I found myself thrown forward, a bubble of agony crashing through me.
 

It was as if I was being electrocuted, or struck by lightning. Perhaps both. I hurt everywhere, and nowhere, and for one brief moment everything was clear. I felt the arms cradling me to a hard chest. Their grip broke as my body flung itself forward. The floating blackness had disappeared and everything was in perfect clarity. The echoes of my tortured cries were fading, sounding like a million screams.
 

All I remembered was the sensation of the sharp heat, even though it had faded.

My chest heaved. Then the pain came back, crashing through me again, just as piercing and all-consuming as before. Another scream tore its way up my throat, and echoed off the walls.
 

I could pinpoint the origin now. It wasn’t flowing through me at all. It was centred in my chest. The feeling was so intense in that single moment that it felt as if my whole body was consumed by it.
 

I watched with fascination as my fingers curled in reaction to the pain, slicing through the stone beneath them as if it was water.
 

There was silence again as I crumpled to the floor, curling in on myself, closing my eyes. I had no idea how long had passed before the final bout hit me, worse than ever. The white-hot strike pierced every piece of consciousness I was clinging to. I screamed again, unable to hold it in.
 

Then, as I felt my heart pounding in my chest, I knew what I was missing . . .