Undeniable (39 page)

They were the only two left in the makeshift hospital. The
minute Katie, the nurse, had opened her eyes, she had taken in the scene on the
bed, listened to the screams coming from the Slashers, then fled to the safety
of her house.

The remaining few hours of daylight had dragged on.
Sebastian’s breathing grew shallower with each passing minute.

At one point, John, the man who had carried Diana out of the
city, had returned to check on her. Seeing her cradled in Sebastian’s embrace,
he had left and returned with a bowl of cool water. He’d wiped the faces of the
couple with a wet cloth, declaring gruffly that Angelina and Doc Jenkins should
take better care of them.

His wife had arrived with enough food for an army shortly
before dusk. Angelina virtually drooled from the aromas rising from the
steaming dishes. She avoided asking what animal they feasted on, preferring to
enjoy the succulent meat ignorant of its origin. Corn, broccoli and carrots
melted in her mouth. But the food lodged in her throat each time a moan arose
from the bed.

When John and his wife finally left, she and the doctor had
nothing left to do but wait until sunset and pray that Damien had heard her calls.

An hour after the sky grayed, it sounded like all hell broke
loose on the other side of the wall. While most of the Night-timers—too afraid
to be near a full-blooded vampire again, too afraid that the scent of his blood
would tempt them and awaken the beast they’d worked so hard to control—had
stayed away from the doctor’s, it soon became apparent the Slashers wanted
nothing more than to storm the town in search of that same scent.

Screaming and snarling, they clustered at the base of the
wall closest to the doctor’s street. One by one, the residents of the town flew
into the hospital with word from the lookouts.

“Every single Slasher in the city is clawing at the wall.”

“They’re killing each other!”

“The dead are stepping stones for the living!”

Then John charged in, his eyes filled with terror. “The pile
of dead is almost to the top of the wall!”

One hour after dusk, a crowd of terrified residents gathered
on the doctor’s front lawn and demanded he hand the vampires over to the
Slashers.

“The Mayor’s here. He’ll calm them down,” Doc Jenkins said,
moving away from the window to unlock the door.

The Mayor charged into the room, his eyes wide and his hat
twisted between his trembling hands. “They’re going to reach the top!” he
cried, his voice as shrill as a young girl’s.

Angelina placed her hand on the Mayor’s arm. “Calm down,
Mayor. Sebastian’s stepfather is on his way. I can feel it.”

“Another vampire? Oh no! They’ll get over for sure if they
smell another one. We’re doomed if they come over that wall. Doomed!” He crept
over to the bed and peered down at the couple. “One might satisfy them.”

“Don’t even think about it, Mayor.” Angelina ran up and slid
between him and the bed. “If you separate them now, they’ll both die.”

The Mayor held out his hands. “What can I do? I can’t
sacrifice a whole town of innocents for one vampire!”

Doc Jenkins walked away from the window. When he spoke, his
soft voice seemed to calm the Mayor. “If you take him, you’ll kill the girl.
Give them a little more time. The Slashers have never scaled the wall before.”

“They’ve never had a full-blooded vampire on the other side
before, either.” He dropped into a chair by the window and resumed twisting his
hat. “As if this one’s scent weren’t enough to drive them over the wall, we
have reason to believe he’s not the only vampire on the island.”

Angelina’s heart swelled at the thought of seeing Damien
again. “You’ve seen him?”

He jumped as the demands outside suddenly surged. “No, but
the field workers came in this morning with news that the helicopter that
dropped off this young woman crashed. They were on their way to check it out
when they saw the wreckage fall off the cliff.”

Doc Jenkins looked up from taking Diana’s pulse. “So what
makes you think anyone survived?”

The Mayor smacked his hat down on his leg. “Vampires don’t
die that easily, do they? And the Night-timers could smell it. The males said
it was a female.”

“Olympia.” Angelina walked up to the Mayor. “Release the
Slashers into the woods. Let them go after her.”

He laughed nervously. “The only way from the city to the
crash site is right through the middle of town, woman. They’d feed on every
Night-timer they found on the way, not to mention these two.”

“He’s right,” the doctor added, his hand now on Sebastian’s
free wrist. “I just can’t imagine how they could scale the wall. Do you realize
how many of them would have to die to create a mound that high?”

The Mayor and Angelina shuddered in unison.

If Damien didn’t get here soon, he’d arrive to find no one
alive to rescue.

A soft whimper from the bed drew their attention. Diana’s
eyes opened for only a moment, but the smile on her face as she tucked her head
under Sebastian’s chin gave Angelina more hope than she’d had since she watched
Olympia lower her granddaughter from the helicopter.

“I hope your vampire gets here in time,” the Mayor
whispered. “I’d hate to see these two go through all this just to have to fall
into the hands of the Slashers. It’d be a damn shame.”

“He’ll make it,” Angelina stated, her voice sounding surer
than she felt. Ever since she’d landed here, her abilities had weakened. Past
visions had never gone further than their rescue from the city.

John burst into the room. “The beach lookout said a
helicopter’s coming this way.”

“Damien.” Angelina turned toward the door but halted and
glanced at the Mayor, then Diana and Sebastian.

“Go on,” Doc Jenkins said, wrapping his arm around her
shoulders, “I’ll keep them safe.”

She ran to the door, then, with a weary sigh, turned away.
“I haven’t seen him in decades.” Her hands flew to her hair as she glanced down
at her bloodstained clothes.

John let out a bark of laughter. “You couldn’t look awful if
you tried.”

The Mayor nodded and smiled. “You look fine.”

“The man flew across an ocean to save you. Don’t keep him
waiting,” Doc Jenkins said with a wink.

Her heart lodged in her throat. “I’ve waited so very long
for this moment. And now I find I’m terrified he won’t want me anymore.”

The sound of the helicopter finally met their ears. Doc
Jenkins and the Mayor went to the window and peered out into the darkness.

“You’d better hur—”

Angelina ran out the door.

* * * * *

Olympia huddled against a boulder. Unable to stop shivering
since she’d taken refuge in the dank cave when dawn had approached, she wished
she had the courage to get closer to the band of fading light at the entrance.
The remains of the rats she’d drained during the day were sprawled at her feet,
along with the swarm of insects drawn to the blood surrounding them. She saw
them, heard them, felt them crawling up her legs.

She tenderly ran her fingers down her left arm. The gash on
the back of her shoulder from the helicopter blade striking her when they
crashed had already begun to heal, but throbbed relentlessly. The throbbing
could only mean an infection brewed.

Olympia regretted ignoring her pilot’s pleas for help as he
struggled to release his seat belt moments before the helicopter tumbled off
the cliff and fell onto the rocky coast below. She could have used some help,
someone to lick her wound clean, someone to toss to the Slashers. Someone to
keep them busy long enough for her to get off this damn island.

The screams from the city made their way into the cave and
kept her from moving toward the entrance long after dusk finally arrived.

She jumped up as some unseen pest pierced the tender skin of
her inner thigh. “Ugh, they’re in my damn pants!”

Running out of the cave, her pants half down, Olympia
screeched and started swatting at the red ants covering her legs. A rustle to
her left sent a chill down her spine. Trembling, she searched the shadows
surrounding her.

Slashers inhabited this island. Hovering above the
beachfront entrance to the city, safe in her helicopter, she’d watched them rip
each other to shreds over and over again. Ragged teeth slicing through flesh
and muscle as if they were butter. Screams of agonizing pain giving her a
little too much pleasure and no guilt as she tossed the newest resident of the
island into their midst. She never imagined that her feet would ever touch
Fentmore soil.

A twig snapped. Olympia leapt from the rock and ran toward
the scent of the ocean. Branches whipped at her face, animals, catching scent
of her weakened state, lurched from the darkness and nipped at her ankles. For
the first time in her life, Olympia was terrified.

Father! Father!

She’d been trying to reach him last night and all day, but
to no avail. She refused to believe he would block her from his mind, decided
instead that something on this wretched island, something the elders must have
installed to protect their kind from hearing the constant calls of the
Slashers, blocked her own cries for help.

Taking a deep fortifying breath, she slowed to a walk. She
had no idea how she’d get off the island, if ever, but sitting on a rock all
night wouldn’t get her any closer to home and running in circles would only
wear her out. If she could make it to the ocean without bumping into a group of
Slashers, she would figure something out.

Something scurried out of the shadows. Expecting to see
crazed eyes and rows of jagged teeth, Olympia flew into a tree. Down below a
raccoon sniffed the ground. Blood from the scratches and bites covering her
arms and legs cooled as a soft breeze rustled the leaves around her. The cries
of the Slashers grew more frenzied.

Chapter Sixteen

Damien stared down at the town in amazement. He had expected
huts, not well-built houses with electrical wires strung between them. It
amazed him that this place had remained a secret for so long.

The crowd clustered around the town square parted as the runners
of the helicopter touched the ground. He saw a figure charging down the path
they’d created.

Angelina.
Flinging open the door, he jumped out and
ran to meet her. Her hair flew behind her as she sped toward him. Her eyes
shimmered with tears as she called out his name again and again.

When she finally reached him, he swept her into his embrace
and crushed her lips with his. Years melted away. They were together and
nothing, nothing would ever take her from him again.

“Angelina. My beautiful Angelina,” he murmured against her
lips.

She clasped his face in her hands and pressed her body into
his.

Their tears mingled as they continued to kiss each other
passionately, the crowd surrounding them forgotten.

“Mother?”

Angelina peered around Damien. “Frank? What are you doing
here?”

Damien laughed and swept her up into his arms. “You’d be
surprised how much your son and I have in common, Angelina. Did you know he
hates golf too?”

Laughing at Angelina’s confused face, he kissed a bruise on
her cheekbone, then carried her through the crowd.

Before they entered the doctor’s front yard, Damien brought
his lips to Angelina’s ear and whispered. “Do you have any idea how much I want
to dash off into the woods and tear off your clothes?”

She kissed her way up his neck.

“Unfortunately, we’re running out of time.” He raced into
the house she pointed out, then gently put her down. Not bothering to take the
time to acknowledge the three men gaping at him, he went directly to the bed
and placed his hand around Diana and Sebastian’s bound wrists.

“The blood is still flowing, but much slower than I hoped.
Just as I thought, the young fool only cut one vein. Get me sutures, quickly.”

He tore open the veins on their unbound wrists with his
fangs and, faster than normal eyes could follow, sewed the veins to each other,
then bound them with the strips of cloth he’d ripped from the clean sheet
Angelina had handed him. Untying the strips binding their other wrists, he did
the same.

By the time Frank and Tomas entered the room, Damien had
cocooned Sebastian and Diana in sheets.

“Did you look around, Damien? It’s amazing!” Tomas moved
around the room, checking out the crude instruments made from wood and clay and
others that looked like antiques.

“There’s no time, Tomas. For everyone’s safety, we have to
get out of here fast. Give me a hand.” Damien draped another sheet around the
couple as Frank and Tomas ran up to help him carry them out to the helicopter.

In the helicopter, they gently laid Diana and Sebastian down
on the floor. Angelina blushed when Damien wrapped his hands around her waist,
then lifted her into the helicopter and onto his lap. He stole a swift, deep
kiss before leaning out and yelling to the crowd. “We’ll draw the Slashers to
the center of the city long enough for you to clear away the bodies. It didn’t
look like there were enough left alive to create another mound high enough to
scale the wall.”

Frank frowned. “Shouldn’t we send help to get them all off
the island?”

Angelina shook her head. “I mentioned that to Doc Jenkins.
He said the Survivors had married and borne children with the Night-timers.
Here they all accept each other. He fears their children will be considered
freaks if they return to the mainland. They have no intention of ever leaving.”

Damien couldn’t stop staring at her, couldn’t believe he
held her in his arms. His fingers wove through her hair, then brushed over her
lips, her eyes, the line of her jaw. When they came to rest on either side of
her neck, he felt her pulse leap. He rested his forehead on hers and gazed
intently into her eyes. “I thought I would die on the way here. I could feel
your growing fear that we’d be too late.”