He squashed himself into the ambulance, still staring at Rachel. “Will she be ok?”
The paramedic in the back with them took Rachel’s pulse, his expression grim. “I don’t know. My partner has already called ahead to get hold of the Cherki healers. I’ve never seen them work, though, so I don’t know what their chances are of smoothing over a change that’s being rejected.”
“Tim?” Rachel looked around, apparently not able to focus on her surroundings.
“I’m here.” Tim scooped up her hand and squeezed it. “They’re taking you to hospital. Everything is going to be ok.”
“Hurts,” she mumbled.
“Here, let me give you something for the pain.” The paramedic had already put in a drip, and he injected something into it. “I’m sorry I can’t give you anything stronger, I just don’t know how morphine will react with vampire venom.”
Tim brushed Rachel’s forehead, pushing back stray hair. “How long until we get there?”
“Less than five minutes. There are doctors standing by to keep her stable until the Cherki arrive.”
Tim was about to ask another question, but the words were jolted out of his mouth when the ambulance screeched to a sudden stop.
“What the hell!” The paramedic banged angrily on the divide between himself and the driver.
“Some maniac drove right out in front of me, they’re blocking the road.”
The next moment, the back door of the ambulance burst open. Three pale figures pushed their way in, their eyes glinting red. Tim leapt up, putting himself between them and Rachel.
One of the figures brushed him aside easily and bent over Rachel. “Assa? I am Jexin, the head of the royal guard. We are here to help you.”
Rachel moaned, reaching for Tim.
“What are you doing! You have no right to barge in here.”
Jexin swiftly hit the paramedic on the side of the head, and he collapsed. He turned to Tim, but Rachel lunged, trying to grab him in an attempt that was both brave and foolish.
“Don’t touch him!”
To Tim’s utter shock, Jexin ceased at once, sending Rachel a quizzical look. “We need to leave, Assa.”
“I’m not leaving Tim.”
Jexin didn’t hesitate. “Then we bring him with us. Come.”
Tim didn’t have any idea what was going on, but it looked like the vampires wanted to help Rachel. Jexin lifted Rachel easily and beckoned for Tim to follow. They were loaded into a limousine, laying Rachel flat on one seat.
Jexin sat back as a female vampire examined her. “Gali? How is she?”
Gali pursed her lips. “Weak, but I think we got to her in time. If it was anyone else, we would have been too late, but her bloodline gives her more strength than anyone else.”
Tim still had no idea what they were talking about, and he didn’t care. He just wanted to know that Rachel was going to be fine. “You can heal her, right? You’re a vampire healer, aren’t you?”
Gali nodded distractedly. “Quiet, child, I need to work.”
She touched Rachel lightly and murmured words Tim couldn’t hear. Though there was no visible effect, Rachel’s breathing became less labored and some of the pain lifted from her features. Gali was starting to show strain, sweat appearing on her brow and her hands trembling, but she didn’t stop to rest.
Some time later – Tim didn’t know how much time – they stopped. Jexin carried Rachel out, with Tim nearly tripping over his heels, he was so close behind. He barely had time to take in the splendor of the palace, like something from an old movie, before they were rushing through the halls.
Finally, Rachel was laid on a bed and surrounded by four other vampires. Some of them had bottles of liquid and jars of salve. Tim tried to stay by her bedside, but Jexin pulled him back.
“Give the healers space to work. If she’s survived this long, she’ll likely survive the rest of the change.”
It was hard to force logic to take hold when Tim’s emotions were in so much turmoil, but he saw the sense of Jexin’s words. “She doesn’t want to be a vampire. When she wakes, you mustn’t let her leave, not without talking to me. She wants to go to one of the clinics…”
Jexin gasped. “She cannot! It will not be allowed. This is who she is, who she has always been. That it could have gone for so long unnoticed, even with all our efforts, is almost unheard of.”
“Ok, I think it’s about time someone told me what’s going –” Tim broke off when Rachel moaned his name. The healers moved aside a little, allowing him to come in close and hold her hand. “How long until she’s better?” he demanded.
“We’ve stabilized the effects of the change, but our measures will slow it down.” Gali lifted one of Rachel’s eyelids and peered into her eyes. “She’ll rest now, and in a few hours, the change will be completed.”
Tim hated this, hated having to trust people he didn’t know with Rachel’s life. He didn’t hate vampires like she did, but like most of the human population, he didn’t like them, or trust them.
“Is she still in pain?”
“No.” Gali was grimacing and sweating. “I have taken her pain.”
Tim gaped at her. “You can do that?”
“I can. It is something only the most skilled healers can do, and it’s risky, but I will gladly accept any risk on my part.”
“Why would you do that?” Tim was glad they were helping, but why would they go so far to help a girl they didn’t even know?
“She is Assa.”
“No, she’s Rachel. Who is Assa?”
At that moment, Gali’s knees hit the floor, and the other healers rushed to her. Jexin urged Tim away. Tim tried to talk to him, to ask the questions burning through his mind, but Jexin hardly seemed to notice he was there. His eyes were fixed on Rachel, burning with such fierce hope and joy that if Tim hadn’t known better, he would have sworn that Jexin had known Rachel all her life.
Chapter Three
Jexin
Jexin knew he should try to answer the human’s questions. Assa clearly cared for him, and she’d want him to know. She’d want to know. It was obvious that she knew nothing about her heritage, but she was too weak and delirious to get an update on her history now. There was nothing Jexin could do but wait for the change to run its course.
The sounds of sobbing filled the halls outside the healers’ bay. When someone rejected the change, death was inevitable. The only way to save them was for another vampire to take their place. Of course, in this case, there had been no shortage of volunteers. One of the healers had taken the burden. Gali had protested, of course, offering herself, but Dasek wouldn’t allow it, saying they needed her skills.
Jexin looked around but saw no sign of Dasek. He’d want to be at Assa’s side, but there were matters more important than maintaining a vigil. The discovery had brought everything into turmoil. He needed to do what he’d been doing for many years now: run their kingdom.
Though others might think Dasek was cold and withdrawn, Jexin knew he was anything but. He remembered the scene from earlier that evening, as he knew he’d remember it until his last day on this Earth…
#
A commotion outside caught his attention. Jexin left his paperwork and headed out to see two of his lieutenants bringing a half-starved vampire in. Jexin immediately recognized him as the rogue they’d been hunting. He was mumbling incoherently.
“I’m sorry… didn’t mean to… didn’t know she was royal.”
The words sent a thrill of hope through him, and Jexin did his best not to get ahead of himself. There had been so many false leads. “What do you mean?” He grabbed the vampire by the collar.
“Royal blood… didn’t mean to…”
Jexin shook him, but he couldn’t get any more information out of the rogue. He turned to his lieutenants. “Belian, get him some blood and get the full story out of him. Asark, scan the human channels for anything that can give you clues as to what happened.”
He paced wh
ile the rogue was fed. Once the delirium had faded, Jexin hurried to continue the questioning. There, he got the full story. The rogue had attacked a human at random and had tasted royal blood. There was no doubt now; it was one of them, one of the triplets. Jexin got the location just as Asark came back telling him there had been a call for an ambulance in the area the rogue had described.
“Did they give a name?”
“They said Rachel.”
For a moment, Jexin clutched Asark’s arm, overwhelmed. “Assa,” he whispered. “It’s her, the eldest. We’ve finally found her. Wait, an ambulance?”
Asark looked uncharacteristically pale, even for a vampire. “It sounds like she’s rejecting the change.”
Jexin didn’t pause to think as he started running, calling out orders. They had to get to her. To be so close, only to fail now… he couldn’t bear it.
He’d promised Vella, the triplets’ mother, that he would find them. It had been the last promise he’d made to her, before she was killed by a rival house. Jexin had wanted more than anything to stay and protect her, but Vella had commanded that he take her daughters to safety. Her husbands died defending her while Jexin fled.
It hadn’t gone as planned. He’d lost track of the triplets, having no choice but to leave them and draw the pursuers away. He’d been searching for them for the last twenty years.
A hand on his shoulder jerked him back to reality. Dasek was staring at him with wide eyes. “Is it true? You’ve found one of my nieces?”
“It’s true. I have to hurry, Issa. She’s rejecting the change.”
Dasek swayed on his feet, and Jexin grabbed his elbow, steadying him. “You worry about the rest, Issa, about the other families and the turmoil this will cause. I will get Assa. I won’t lose her again; you have my word and my life on that.”
Dasek nodded, gesturing for him to go ahead. Jexin ran to the car they had waiting.
Though the driver screeched through the streets at a speed that would make even car racing professionals cringe, the trip seemed to drag on for years. What if they didn’t get there on time? the very thought had Jexin clenching the seat so hard that the fabric tore under his hands.
Finally, they caught up with the ambulance. There was no time for subtlety or diplomacy. The humans would undoubtedly surrender Assa – after all, once she was bitten, she officially came under the rule of the vampires – but the humans loved their forms and red tape. Assa didn’t have time for that.
Jexin, Gali and Inre burst into the ambulance. There was a paramedic and a human male, but Jexin barely saw them.
Assa looked terrible, but the sight of her filled him with such joy that he thought he might float a few feet off the floor. He pushed aside the humans, speaking to Assa. She was delirious and doubtless didn’t remember him, but that could all be remedied. Now, they needed to get her to the palace.
Jexin paused when she screamed that she didn’t want to be separated from the human. The last thing he wanted was to drag a human along, but Assa had spoken, and he couldn’t disobey her. He gave quick orders for the human to be brought along.
He felt helpless, watching the healers work over her. It was out of his hands, now.
#
Jexin came back to himself, watching them work over Assa. How in the world was he going to explain this to her? The human – Tim, they’d called him – had said she didn’t want to live as a vampire. Jexin couldn’t disobey a direct order from Assa, but he couldn’t allow her to die, either.
If it came to that, he’d have to hand the issue over to Dasek. It was way above his station.
“She can’t die. We need her.”
Tim looked sharply at him and he realized that he’d spoken aloud. “You said she’s going to be fine!”
“She will, physically, but if she insists on going to a clinic… Dasek won’t be happy to have to disobey her, but he’ll do it if he must. She’s too important.”
“Alright, enough! Tell me what’s going on here. Why is she so important to you? We don’t even know you.”
Jexin stared at the irate human. He had every right to be angry. “I can’t tell you. Not yet. Assa doesn’t even know herself. She should be the first to know, and she’s in no condition to be told anything right now.”
“Why do you keep calling her that, Assa? Her name is Rachel.”
“I know what her name is. I’ve known that for longer than you’ve been alive, human. Don’t presume to tell me about Assa.”
“I’m her boyfriend, I’ll presume whatever the hell I want!”
“Boyfriend. That is a human term for betrothed, yes? You are part of her harem?”
Tim spluttered incoherently. Jexin would never understand humans. Like most vampires, he’d been raised in vampire society until he came of age and could be turned. For one born to vampires to be raised among humans as Assa had been was rare in the extreme.
Jexin gave up the questioning. “You’re probably exhausted. Come, I will show you to one of our guest rooms.”
Tim stiffened. “I’m not leaving her.”
Jexin nodded in approval. He was loyal, this one. Assa would need mates like him at her side. The next few weeks would be trying for her. He gazed tenderly at her pale face. So many years of searching, and he’d finally found her. With any luck, she’d be able to help lead him to her sisters, and then his vow to himself would finally be fulfilled.
“Here, sit down at least. It’ll be a while until she wakes.”
Tim took the offered chair and pushed it close to Assa’s bed. Jexin caught Gali’s eye and nodded discreetly at the human. He looked on the verge of collapse, and it wouldn’t do to have him unconscious when Assa woke up. The healer nodded and went off to get some food for the human.
Hurried footsteps outside gave only a moment’s warning before Dasek burst into the infirmary. “Where is she?”
Jexin leapt up, gesturing to the bed. “She sleeps, Issa. The healers say she will be fine.”
“And this?” Dasek gestured irritably to the human, who had glanced back at his arrival but didn’t move from Assa’s side.
“She commanded we bring him with, Issa. We couldn’t disobey. I think he is part of her harem.”
Dasek shot Tim an appraising glance, taking in his hand holding Assa’s. “Good. She will need her husbands. Track down the rest of them and bring them here.”
He paused close to Assa’s bed, but Tim bravely stepped between them. “Who are you?” It was clear he wasn’t letting this strange new vampire near his mate unless he was certain she would come to no harm. For a moment, Jexin thought Dasek might slay the human on the spot for his presumption, but fortunately, Dasek’s face softened. “I am her uncle.”
Tim seemed to have nothing to say to this and allowed Dasek closer to the bed while he stared in amazement. “I didn’t even know Rachel had an uncle. She told me about the few memories she has of her sisters and birth parents, but she never mentioned an uncle.”
“I’m not surprised.” Dasek brushed Assa’s hair back from her damp forehead. “She was only three when it happened. She’s lucky to have retained memories of her closest kin.”
Jexin knew he should wait for Assa to wake up, but he couldn’t help asking. “Do you know where her sisters are? I’ve been searching for the three of them for almost two decades, but Assa is the first one I’ve found.”
Tim frowned, but didn’t question, apparently accepting that Jexin wasn’t going to tell him anything until Assa woke up. “No, but she’ll be glad to hear you’ve been looking. It’s caused her a lot of frustration over the years. Having someone else to help in the search can only be a good thing.”
She had more than that, but Jexin didn’t say so. The entire royal family had been on the lookout for leads ever since the triplets had disappeared. Saying so now, though, would simply frustrate the human even more. Best wait until Assa was awake and he could have all his questions answered.
Someone called for Dasek from the hall, and he reluctan
tly left Assa’s side to attend to his duties. Jexin had his orders and turned to Tim. “Where are her other husbands? She’ll need all of you here when she wakes.”
“She doesn’t have a husband, or any other boyfriends. It’s just me.” Tim peered curiously at him. “I didn’t realize it was common for vampires to have multiple partners.”
“For some, it is, but I suppose since she’s been raised by humans, it makes sense she’d adopt their customs. You’ll have to be enough. She’ll need your support in the coming weeks.”
“She’ll have it,” Tim said at once. Jexin smiled at the human. There was hope for him yet.
Chapter Four
Rachel
Reality faded in and out. Rachel was aware of pain and movement. She called out for Tim, and felt his familiar hand gripping hers. She hung onto him for dear life. People were moving and talking above her, but she couldn’t seem to get her eyes to focus. She must be in hospital. Was she dying? She didn’t know if that would be a good or bad thing.
Someone was stroking her forehead. “Sleep, Assa. Rest, and when you wake, you will be well.”
She shied away from the unfamiliar touch, which was quickly replaced with Tim’s steady hand. “It’s alright Rachel. They have you. Just rest.”
She didn’t need any more invitation than that. Clutching tightly to Tim’s hand, Rachel let the encroaching darkness take her.
When she woke, she was in a brightly lit room, lying in a soft bed. The covers were rich silk with golden embroidery on them. Rachel frowned. Where was she? This wasn’t like any hospital she’d ever been to before.
“Tim?”
Tim jerked awake, having been asleep in a chair next to the bed. “I’m here. How are you feeling?”
“Thirsty,” Rachel said honestly. “Parched, actually.”
“Of course. Here.” Tim quickly poured her a glass of water from a jug next to the bed. “Hang on, I promised I’d call him when you woke up. Jexin!”
Her Royal Blood Page 2
