“What kind of papers?”
“Just…weird. He’s paid this apartment off for us. He wants a fund set up for an Amy Batty, so she has access when she turns eighteen. I’ve never heard of this girl. There’s other stuff too that makes a bit more sense, but it’s almost like…”
“Like what?”
“Like he’s written the vampire version of a Last Will and Testament. Like he knows…”
“That he’s gonna die…” Lauren finished.
Chapter Forty-Three
A Step Closer
Michelle knew something was wrong the moment she stepped inside a dark apartment. Not a single light was on, yet she knew Alex was home.
“Alex? Babe?”
She placed her bag on the hallway table and walked slowly till she could see around the corner. Alex sat in full armour against the wall with her knees bent, staring out the balcony window. Trembling hands clutching underneath her thighs. Her face remained impassive yet her cheeks were shining with tears.
“Hun, what’s wrong?”
Alex gave small, wheezing breaths as if a new wave of tears were not far away.
Michelle approached her silently and lowered herself to her knees. Her silence to the question told Michelle what she needed. “How much do you remember?”
Alex’s lips barely moved, blinking and trying to find the words. She sounded drunk, tired. “A shadow…” she started. “I was in a room, no…a hallway, being dragged by my hair into a room. A bedroom. I was flung onto a bed…”
Michelle closed her eyes. If it was this painful to hear, she didn’t want to know what it felt like to say it.
“I can still feel his hands around my throat…” Alex whispered. “He had no face…but I heard it. How happy he was to hurt me. He hated me…I screamed so hard…”
Michelle swallowed. The day she had feared was here. Everything Dominus had done to her…she now knew.
“It came in flashes. Tonight. And then I heard sirens…real sirens. Outside. But I…but I couldn’t…I can’t…” Alex looked down at the backs of her hands. “The sirens were going…and I’m thinking this is my time. I gotta help someone…but I…”
“Alex, it’s perfectly understandable.”
“No, it’s not. I can’t fly, Mish! The wings won’t open. I just stood there on the balcony a crying mess. I tried…I tried so hard…but I couldn’t. The sirens faded away. What if…what if the person died?”
“Even if, it wouldn’t be your fault…”
“And it’s not anyone else’s fault what happened to me!” Alex shouted. “You protected me from it. I love you for it. But enough is enough. I gotta do this…” Alex made to rise and Michelle made to steady and relax her.
“Don’t touch me!” Alex shrieked. A sound of hysterical panic as she instinctively pulled away. Her face echoed the sentiment. Shocked at the shrillness of her own voice. “Oh my God, I’m sorry…” Alex’s face scrunched as emotion poured out of her, slumping back down. “What the hell is wrong with me…”
“Nothing…” Michelle answered, careful not to touch her. “You just learned about this. You have to give yourself time. You’re just not ready…”
“I have to be! This won’t ever go away. I am not some victim. I’m better than that, dammit! I have to help people…I have to…I can’t…” Alex broke down and buried her face in her hands, screaming into them, sobbing so hard the words she used were nonsense to Michelle.
“Alex, you also have to help yourself. It’s not selfish. Powers or no powers. You can’t just brush this aside for the greater good. You need to be ok. Somehow. Someway. I swear I will do anything to help you. Just tell me what you need…”
Alex succumbed to sobs and leaned forward to curl into Michelle’s lap. Michelle held her as she cried, planting soft kisses along the side of Alex’s hair as her own tears fell.
The demon was gone. The sky was clear, but the damage still lingered. What Alex needed was someone that truly loved her. Someone that wouldn’t merely tell her things would be ok. Someone that would just hold her.
Sometimes sorrow was so great words weren’t necessary. Michelle knew, or thought she knew, the best way to begin healing Alex. She ignored the repeatedly buzzing phone in her pocket. Alex needed her. She needed Dante too. She needed to see him. The memory of her attack had returned, but not of the man she had loved. Surely, it was best to reintroduce them. As hard as it was to see Alex so distraught, the good news was their biggest obstacle was gone. There was no need to hide anything from her anymore. Michelle felt in her bones that Dante could help. He couldn’t erase the past, but he could help her see the future with more clarity, strength and love. But that would be a job for later.
Chapter Forty-Four
Bittersweet Memory
Melina charged into the house. He was here. She raged at him, bellowing, before finding him in his bedroom, calmly looking out at the city. She leapt on top of him, screaming.
“How could you do this to me?”
“I had to.”
She flung him against the wall so hard that an indent of his body was left.
“It was the only way to…” she heaved a kick to his head that belted him against the wall. “Save you all.”
“Fight back!” she screamed, pounding into his face with fist after fist. “I can’t stop!”
Dante held his hands by his side, taking hit after hit.
“Alejandro, Goddammit! Protect yourself!” she cried frantically, gripping him by the shirt collar, cracking his skull with a headbutt.
“No…” Dante replied, a glob of blood seeping out of his mouth.
Melina screamed again, through fear and panic. Tears welled in her eyes as she pulled Dante to the floor, straddling him, holding his throat with one hand. “Don’t let me do this...! Stop me…!” she said, shaking with tears. “Please!”
But she brought her fist down. Again and again.
“Alejandro! You’ve gotta kill me or you’ll die!”
Dante hung his head back, his eyes barely open. The carpet underneath them both was soaked with his blood. Melina gripped him by the throat and squeezed. The lacerations on his face and neck oozed more crimson as she held on.
“Fight…please…” Melina sobbed through squinted eyes. She couldn’t look at him…what she was doing to him. Saliva dropped from her mouth as she gnashed her teeth. She tried to release her grip, but her body wouldn’t comply.
Dante reached up and gently touched her cheek speaking heavily through bulging, bloody eyes, “You were always my first love. I’m glad it was you.”
Suddenly, Melina’s grip slackened. She had control over her body again. After a few seconds to recover and make sure she was in full control, she looked over Dante, who stared back at her. His eyes were lifeless. His body still.
Melina touched his face, his body. A strange sound like a sick moan escaped her. The truth becoming evident. She kept repeating the word no as if that would make things better, and she would find out he wasn’t gone and she hadn’t done what she now knew she had. She picked him up by the torso and held him, scrunching her eyes and screaming. The window shattered with the force of her scream and shredded her skin with bits of glass. Not even that could break through her agony. Dante had done something she never in her wildest nightmares thought he would do. He used the Go Deo to set them free. They would never be bothered by Julian again. He had also used her to exit this world. His ultimate sacrifice and her ultimate betrayal. She would have to live with that for eternity.
*
Alex burst awake when a pulsing pain hit the left side of her chest. A severe case of heartburn? She took some antacid and sat down, waiting for it to pass as she noticed Michelle wasn’t with her. She was alone. While seated, an overwhelming sense of sadness came over her, and she had tears rolling down her face without even knowing why. She had never been much of an ugly crier. She had heard, sometimes, a good cry could make you feel better. She hoped so as she burst into a flood of tears, but t
hey only succeeded in making her feel worse.
*
Michelle raced up the footpath as a piercing wail erupted from the apartment, thundering into the night. She had headed home once Alex had fallen asleep, only to find the ringing in her phone was from Clive. She listened to only one voicemail, and that was enough to see her floor the car to Dante’s door. She didn’t even take time to think about calling Clive back. The message was enough to send a chill through her along with adrenaline to fuel her movements.
“Good God…”
She barged in and tore up to the bedroom where she had spent so much time. Melina was sobbing uncontrollably, holding Dante’s limp form. Her hands and face were splattered with blood, and Dante was nothing more than a beaten, crimson mass.
“Oh my God…” Michelle said, trying to find the wall for support.
Melina continued to cry, not hearing. Not listening. Hysterical. Repeating herself. “How could you…I loved you…how could you…please come back…I’m sorry…please…how could you…”
It was then Michelle moved closer and knew what had happened. Go Deo. That didn’t make it any easier. Michelle sank to her knees and crawled the short distance to him. She reached for his ice-cold hand and kissed it, holding it to her chest. She wasn’t sure how much time passed, but she did know she would never completely piece together her broken heart again.
Chapter Forty-Five
Something I Need To Tell You
Michelle placed her hand in Alex’s. So much to say, yet every word seemed to be stuck. She still had to be careful. After letting Alex’s calls go to voicemail all morning, Michelle finally called and asked her to come over. This wasn’t something that could be said over the phone. Could Michelle even say it at all?
“Alex, the thing I’m about to tell you is one of the hardest things I have ever said.”
“Ok…”
“The thing I was hiding from you is that the demon Dominus took possession of your body. You attacked us under his influence. And…he violated you. You now know that.”
The colour drained from Alex’s face.
“But there’s more. There was one man that fought harder than anyone to save you. It was because of him that you’re ok. But the cost was that you would never remember him.”
“Who?”
“His name was Dante.”
“Why would he do such a thing to save me? How did I know him?”
“He was in love with you.”
“Did I…love him?”
“Yes. I think you did. The reason Dominus could attack you was because you slept with Dante. Apparently, that meant all your defences were removed. He was devastated. He didn’t know sex would leave you vulnerable to attack from anything, and he did everything he could to save you. Even if it meant him never being with you.”
Alex leant back, taking in all the information. “I um…I have to find him. I have to say something. Thank you at least. Maybe seeing him again will trigger something.”
Michelle closed her eyes, taking a deep breath. “He’s dead, Alex.”
“What? Oh my God…did I-”
“No. You had nothing to do with it.” Michelle explained what she knew of the Go Deo agreement and what it meant for anyone that killed Julian. She wavered when it came to telling Alex that Melina had been the one to end him, but she managed it. “He sacrificed himself to save us from Julian. He killed Julian.”
“Mish…I’m so sorry. I wish I’d known him or…that I remembered knowing him,” Alex finished softly.
Michelle shrugged. What else could be done or said? Nothing. She had done the right thing and told the truth which was what Alex wanted from the start. But even now, Michelle looked into her eyes and they were sad but not devastated. She had been told she’d known him, but she didn’t remember. She didn’t feel the loss. “Is there anything I can do?”
“Well,” Michelle asked. “I was wondering if you…Can you contact Masonian?”
“Mish…I don’t think I can.”
Michelle placed her fingers on her face, trying to settle her raging thoughts. “Please? Try? I’m trying to think of anything to make this feeling go away.”
“No, Mish, I mean really, I don’t think I can. I didn’t tell you this, but I drove out there and even bought a ticket to get into the particular cave tour for help as to why I can’t fly anymore. I’d planned to sneak off when I could. He’s gone. The entrance to it, the way in. It’s gone. I think…” Alex looked down, pressing a fist to her mouth. “I think I’ve lost it. I don’t know what to do. I’m supposed to be providing hope and I can’t even do that.”
“It’s ok…” Michelle said. Her voice, though, reflected her mood. Deflated. Alex and Masonian were her last semblance of hope to get Dante back. She swallowed that hope, making herself understand he wasn’t returning. Michelle thought she knew why Alex was having trouble and it was that word: hope. Alex wasn’t providing hope to people because she herself had none since her memory of that night came back. Beating herself up over it wasn’t doing anyone any good, but how to fix it?
“Is there…anything else I can do?”
Michelle smiled and blinked away the sting of tears. She truly had never known anyone like Alex. No matter how shitty her life was, she always tried to think of others before herself. Well…besides Dante. Alex was still processing the horrible truth she now knew but was focused on Michelle’s lost love and how best to help her. Always putting herself last.
“No…but thank you. I’ll be ok.”
“Seems like I wasn’t the only one in love with him?”
Michelle gave a small smile. “No, you weren’t.”
“Was that…weird for you?”
“Actually no. I knew how he felt about you, and I was ok with it. I was angry I was taken from him. But when I found out you had slept together…I was happy for both of you. I mean, I wanted to be with him and always have had but relationships with a vampire are…complicated things to say the least. I was just glad the both of you were happy.”
“But what about you?”
“What about me?”
Alex took Michelle’s hand in hers. “No one deserves happiness more than you.”
“Thank you,” she replied. “But I want to try and help you now. Try to take it easy on yourself with your powers. The more you stress the harder it will be. In the cave, from what you told me, you just…did it. Instinctually and naturally.”
Alex shook her head. “The more I try the harder it is. I’m trying to just relax, but I’m really devastated and I don’t know what else to do.”
“I’m always here for you, you know that. You’ll be fine.”
“Are you sure?”
“I’ve never believed in anything more.”
Alex leaned forward and wrapped Michelle in a hug. Michelle could not express how grateful she was for it. Alex kissed her on the cheek. Then again, slower this time. As she leant back there was a second, no, more than that, where there could’ve been another kiss. This time on the mouth. Michelle looked up and saw Alex staring at her lips…
“I’d better be going,” Alex said. “Unless…you want me to stay?”
Oh boy. What a branching question. Did she? Yes, she did. But why? For comfort? Yes. Alex made her feel better than anyone…besides Dante. He was gone. No amount of sorrow could bring him back. And Michelle’s feelings for Alex were…getting complicated
“No, it’s ok. I’ll call you soon, I promise.”
Michelle gave Alex one last hug at the door and held it for a few seconds before she left. She waited for the door to close before looking thought the peephole. Alex was still just outside, appearing to be deciding if she should leave. Michelle leant her forehead against the door, silently begging her to go and yet wanting the exact opposite. Michelle wrapped her hand around the handle, but was she fully prepared for what would happen if the door opened?
That she would take Alex into her bedroom and they wouldn’t leave. For what she truly wanted was on t
he other side of that door. She wanted to grieve, but she wanted to be loved. She scraped the fingers of her left hand down as her grip on the handle tightened with her right. With a sharp intake of breath, she pulled the door open only to find the hallway empty. Alex had gone.
At that moment she felt both a sense of disappointment and relief. She didn’t know which was stronger, but thankfully, she had tomorrow to figure it out.
Alex had to do what she had to do. So did Michelle. The first thing was possibly the hardest thing. To remember the man they both loved.
Chapter Forty-Six
The Carnival Is Over
Michelle got out of the car and walked the short distance to where Melina, Lauren and Clive stood. Alex stood beside her just as she had for Alex at Nick’s makeshift service. This was the same. A last goodbye for the most amazing man Michelle would ever know. One who had done so much for this city without anyone ever knowing. None of this was right or fair. He should be holding Alex right now. Not stuck in a box that they all surrounded in the dead of night at a beach at Kurnell. What sort of a farewell to a life spanning two hundred years was this? Although she knew Dante wouldn’t want a fuss, the small group around her didn’t feel intimate to Michelle. It only enhanced the gap this one person had left in all their lives. That was harder to take.
Clive stepped up to the coffin, resting on stilts just a foot off the sand. “Ladies, thank you for coming. Some of you may not know, the vampires of Sydney have no funeral rites or practices. If anyone would like to come up and say a few words, I’d encourage it.”
Lauren was first. Speaking loudly enough for the rest to hear her, “First night I saw you, I could never have imagined what an inspiration you would be to me. You showed me who I truly am. When I was ashamed, you taught me to always keep growing. To be honest with myself and never look back. That I deserve good things as long as I’m a good person. I um…” Her voice started to break “I really don’t know what I’m going to do without you. Goodbye, Dante. I’ll miss you…”
Pack Master (Undeadly Secrets Book 4) Page 27
