Women had always been frightened of Michael. He’d tried many times to make a connection, but he’d always screwed it up by saying something inappropriate. In the end, Michael had settled for the occasional fuck. There hadn’t been many—nothing like his brother’s track record with women. But it seemed now that Raphael had settled down. He’d found something far greater than instant physical gratification. And as much as Michael hated himself for feeling it, jealousy ate at his soul. The A.I. chip rewarded his negative feeling with a rush of endorphins.
“Enough,” Raphael said gently. “Or I’ll have to feed from Catherine again and I don’t want to weaken her. We still have far to go.”
Michael ran his tongue over his brother’s wrist and forearm, sealing the wounds. “Sorry, I guess I was hungrier than I thought.”
“With all the blood you were carrying when we met up, I’m surprised you’re able to eat a thing,” Raphael said.
Michael didn’t rise to his bait. He’d known Raphael would sense the blood he’d had on him when they met up several days ago. It would be impossible for a vamp to miss. He wouldn’t apologize for taking the nomadic tribe’s blood. This was survival. Raphael of all people should understand that.
“It’s not here now,” Michael said, wiping his mouth with the back of his sleeve. “Is it?” Blood didn’t last long in this heat.
“How are you feeling? Well enough to reach the boundary?” Raphael asked. His arm had already started to heal.
Michael nodded, even though his hunger hadn’t even begun to be sated. “Fine, thanks to your generous gift. I’m used to going days without feeding. I’m sure I’ll have no trouble making it to the fence now.” A shock jolted him, causing Michael’s hands to twitch.
“Are you sure?” Raphael asked, noticing the movement. “We could turn back. We haven’t gone too far.”
“Positive,” Michael said, fighting back the pain. He had to get to Roark soon. The chip’s interference was definitely getting worse. The blood took the edge off, but it wouldn’t last long.
Raphael squeezed Michael’s arm. “You are a better man than I, my brother. I wouldn’t make it an afternoon without a taste of that glorious elixir.” It was a lie and they both knew it.
He met Raphael’s eyes and for a moment they connected. “No, I’m not,” Michael said seriously. “You’ve proven that you are the better man time and again. Our parents would be proud of the man you’ve become.”
“Michael, I didn’t mean you any disrespect,” Raphael said. “I was . . .”
He touched him with trembling fingers. “It is not a point of contention between us. I’m simply stating the truth. You are the better man and I love you for it. Please remember that always. Now we had better go, before they leave without us. Wouldn’t want to miss the big transmission.”
Raphael stared at his brother’s retreating back. He wasn’t sure what just happened, but his gut was twisting with worry. How could words so tender leave him feeling so much pain? He swallowed hard and rushed to catch up.
Red, Morgan, Catherine, and Melea had already started to climb the mountain. They’d settled on a peak the night before, declaring it tall enough to broadcast the recording. That’s if the navcom was still working. Raphael had seen Morgan fiddling with it the night before. He hadn’t looked happy.
He’d considered reading his thoughts, but chose not to, since it wouldn’t change their circumstances. Now Raphael had wished he had. Morgan’s expression was grim and Red kept glancing back to check on Michael. Not that he could blame her. He found himself watching his brother, too. He’d been unnaturally quiet since the feeding and his skin had grown pale under the sun’s rays.
Raphael had hoped the blood would help his brother. At the very least alleviate some of his pain. But if it did help, Raphael couldn’t tell. He began to climb. He’d covered his skin with the balm he’d gotten from the border crossing store, which would allow him to move without the use of a protective clothing at least until the sun rose high in the sky. The sun’s rays didn’t seem to bother his brother today. In fact, nothing seemed to be bothering Michael. Concern ate him; they had to hurry.
They reached the top of the peak an hour later. There weren’t many places to stand, so each member of the group had to find his footing carefully. Raphael glanced over his shoulder at the drop behind him. It might not kill him, but he’d be in no shape to travel if he slipped. Catherine stood closest to Red and Morgan. She tried to look casual, but Raphael knew it was a tactical move. He still wasn’t sure what kind of deal she’d made with the commander of IPTT—not that it mattered now, the circumstances had changed for everyone.
Morgan pressed a button to power up the navcom. The screen glowed, which was a good sign. At least it was receiving some juice from the crystal. He reached into his pocket and took out the small digital recorder Kane had used to tape Roark, then looked at the group.
“I’m only going to get one shot at this before I drain the power out of this navcom,” Morgan said.
“Then you’d better hurry,” Raphael said. The words had barely left his mouth when he saw a blur of movement. There was only one creature that he knew could move that fast—his brother, Michael.
Michael’s arms snaked around Catherine. In the next heartbeat, he’d pulled her knife and held it to her throat. The sharp blade glistened in the sunlight, its deadly teeth threatening to shred the soft flesh protecting her esophagus.
“No one move,” Michael said, his voice a harsh rush of air and panic.
“Brother, what are you doing?” Raphael asked, judging the distance between them. He shifted his feet and rocks tumbled down the mountainside, crashing below.
“I wouldn’t,” Michael said. “Unless you want to lose your woman.”
Raphael raised his arms and stepped back. “We’re trying to help you.”
“I can’t let you send that message,” Michael said to Morgan, ignoring Raphael.
Morgan’s gaze shot to Raphael, who shook his head in warning. “We have no choice. It’s the only way Gina and I will ever be able to return to the republics.” Morgan went to push the button, but his hand froze above it. “Damn it!”
“It’s Michael,” Red said, then attempted to rush the vamp. “He’s using his telekinesis to stop us.” Her body shook as she tried to break free.
Raphael focused his attention on Michael. Catherine hadn’t moved, although he could hear her thoughts and she was planning an attack. “Don’t!” he cried out.
Michael and Catherine jumped, which caused the knife to nick her throat. The smell of her blood filled the air and Raphael saw Michael’s eyes lock on the slow, steady drip. The moment Michael’s fangs extended, Raphael’s heart tripled its beat in his chest.
“Michael, no!” he shouted.
Michael tore his eyes away from Catherine’s throat. “You are in no position to make demands, brother.” He licked his lips.
“Why are you doing this?” he asked.
“You know why.” Michael pulled Catherine closer.
Raphael shook his head. “No, I don’t.”
Michael tapped his brow. “It’s in there. It’s always in there. It’s keeping the shadows at bay. Roark can get it out. He promised if I brought Red and Morgan back he’d take it out. He’s the only one who can. Don’t you see? I can’t let you destroy him.”
Raphael frowned and looked around in confusion. “What shadows?”
He glanced around, his eyes wild and unfocused. “They think I don’t see them, but I do. I really do. They’ve been following me, keeping just out of sight. I’m surprised you didn’t notice that they’re waiting for me, when you put me on the cot.”
Cold enveloped Raphael. His brother was mad. Morgan and Red tried to warn him, but he hadn’t listened. He’d been too focused on getting help. How could Raphael have missed the signs? They’d been there. The subtle clues in his behavior and the not-so-subtle ones like him wiping out an entire nomadic tribe. He had no doubt now who was behind the
murders. And Raphael had ignored them all. Made excuses for him as . . . as anyone would do for someone they loved.
The realization that he was partially responsible for this situation struck Raphael. Fear came on the heels of that discovery, numbing him. He shuddered. Catherine was in the hands of a madman and there wasn’t anything he could do about it, unless he wanted to get them both killed.
Raphael looked at Morgan and Red. Red’s eyes had started to turn amber and claws had sprouted from her nail beds. She hadn’t even cried out, but he knew she was in pain. It was a show of sheer willpower. Soon the change would be complete and there would be no reasoning with her.
Please don’t, he pleaded with her and Morgan using their mental connection. Michael is not well. The chip has left him paranoid. I believe he will kill Catherine if he feels threatened. I cannot lose them both.
We can’t stop the broadcast. It’s our only chance. The only chance we’ll have to prevent Roark’s blood war, Red said.
Give me a moment to talk him down. I believe I can reach him. If I fail, then . . . you know what needs to be done, Raphael said.
The navcom won’t last much longer, Morgan said. Even now I can see the power draining.
He is my brother, Raphael said softly. My only family. And Catherine, well, she holds my heart.
Morgan nodded in understanding. You won’t have long, he said. This thing only has about three minutes left in it before it dies. He won’t let me reach the controls to shut it off.
Thank you for allowing me to try, Raphael said.
“Let me go,” Catherine said, but she didn’t try to struggle.
Be still, Raphael told her, but it was too late.
He felt her power building a second before she released it. Morgan, Red, and Melea clutched their heads and dropped to their knees. Michael swayed, then his eyes clouded before quickly snapping back into focus. The power washed over Raphael, harmlessly passing through him.
“I forgot about your little trick,” Michael said, leaning down to lick the blood off her throat. “You try it again and I’ll widen this slit until you bleed out.”
A growl rumbled in the air. It took Raphael a second to realize that it was coming from him and not the wolves. “Don’t touch her again, brother. You test our bond with your actions. You know I love her.”
Catherine’s eyes widened, then filled with tears. Raphael forced his gaze away. He couldn’t chance being distracted.
“In another minute, it’ll be a moot point because the navcom will be dead. Already the screen is beginning to dim,” Michael said.
“Has Roark given you so much that you’re willing to sacrifice everyone else for selfish gains?” Raphael asked.
Michael’s eyes locked on him and he felt pressure build around his throat, threatening to cut off his air. Raphael didn’t give Michael the pleasure of seeing him grasp at invisible fingers.
“Selfish gains?” Michael hissed. “How dare you? You know nothing of what I’ve had to put up with over the years.”
“And yet, here you stand still doing your master’s bidding,” Raphael said. “Seems to me that you’ve learned nothing.”
“My life is worth more than a few Others. Our time together is priceless to me.” Michael’s grip tightened on the knife handle. “Would you like to see what Roark taught me, brother?”
“No!” Raphael rushed forward as the knife began to slice Catherine’s throat. The movement distracted Michael and he dropped his hold on Morgan’s hand.
Raphael grasped Michael’s arm, stopping him from cutting Catherine any further. Her wound was bleeding badly. He pulled the blade a few inches away from her throat and she grasped her neck with her free hand. Michael had to release her to get a better grip on the knife. When he did, Raphael shoved her, sending her sprawling onto the ground. Melea rushed forward to help her. Raphael stood face to face with his brother in a desperate struggle to disarm him.
“Michael, stop this foolishness. No one wins,” Raphael grunted out between clenched teeth. Kane’s voice rang out from the recording as Morgan sent the message, but it was Roark’s voice that nearly caused him to drop the weapon. The recording was short and direct. It ended almost before it began. “Please let me help you.”
“It’s done,” Morgan said.
Michael looked around, his black eyes growing wider. “It’s too late. They’re coming for me. There is no escape.” He struggled to break Raphael’s grasp. The fact that he didn’t use telekinesis to fight spoke volumes. The knife slipped, cutting Michael’s hand. “Keep them away.”
Tears stung Raphael’s eyes. “Please, brother. Do not do this. Give me the knife. We can help you. We just need to make it to the emergency care center.”
Michael’s gaze met his and softened. For a moment the world dropped away and they were children again, playing cowboys and Indians in the backyard with sticks and water guns. “Remember what I said. You are the better man,” Michael whispered softly. “Now allow me to help you with what needs to be done.”
The words had barely registered in Raphael’s ears when the pressure Michael was exerting on the knife ceased and the blade flipped over. Raphael was still bearing down hard. Without his brother’s resistance, the knife slammed into Michael’s throat and came out the other side.
Blood sprayed over Raphael’s face and down the front of his shirt. He shrieked and removed the knife, pulling Michael into his arms before falling to his knees onto the rocks.
“No, damn you! No!” Raphael cried, rocking Michael in his arms. “Why did you do this?”
Michael opened his mouth, but was unable to speak. Blood bubbled out of his wound. Raphael pressed a hand to Michael’s throat to stem the flow, but the blood just kept coming. His fingers were covered in crimson.
“Make it stop,” Raphael said, shaking Michael. “You have the power. Make it stop.”
Words flowed into Raphael’s mind.
Please do not feel any guilt. It was the only way. The only way I could escape once I realized I wasn’t going to make it, Michael said.
But we could’ve gotten you help, Raphael said.
Then what? I’d spend the rest of my life waiting for an assassin to find me? That is no way to live. I tried to make it easy on you.
His words stilled Raphael’s breathing. You set this whole thing up.
Not initially. Only when I realized it was too late.
Why, brother? Raphael asked.
You wouldn’t do it otherwise. I knew the threat to the Others wasn’t enough, but your love for Catherine would be. I knew you wouldn’t let her die.
Raphael brushed his face and cooed softly to soothe his passage. No, I couldn’t.
Michael choked, spitting up blood. I swear on our mother’s grave I would never have killed Catherine. The chip made me cut her. I didn’t want to. I know how much she means to you.
You mean a lot to me, too, Raphael said. Crimson tears flowed freely down his cheeks as he rocked his brother in his arms.
Remember me as I once was.
I will, Raphael said, holding him tighter, as if that would stave off death. It didn’t.
Raphael threw his head back in anguish. He raged at the heavens. A century of pain erupted in guttural growls. His brother was gone, leaving only emptiness.
It took several minutes for him to notice the warm arms encircling him, comforting, even as the pain threatened to crush his heart. He felt moisture on his back and realized that Catherine was crying with him. Or maybe she was crying for him. He didn’t know. And it didn’t matter. All that mattered was that she was there doing everything she could to remind him that he wasn’t alone.
Raphael didn’t know how long he sat there. His muscles were stiff by the time he released Michael and attempted to stand. He stumbled, but Catherine steadied him.
“Did you get the message out?” he asked Morgan.
Morgan shook his head. “I don’t know. We only got to send it once, then the navcom died. I guess we’ll find out wh
en we reach the boundary fence. I’m sorry for your loss.”
Raphael nodded, then wiped the tears from his face.
They carried Michael back down the mountain and buried him deep under the sand. Raphael stood over the mound, swaying on his feet. The rest of the group surrounded the makeshift grave. Red, Melea, and Catherine had never experienced a funeral. They’d been done away with long before any of them were born. Outdated on the dead world, bodies were now recycled like any other biodegradable object and used as mulch to feed the plants in the hydroponic chambers.
“Do you want to say a few words?” Morgan asked.
Raphael shook his head slowly. “No, we said all we needed to say on the mountain. I hope he found the peace he so desperately sought.”
“Amen,” Morgan said. “Let’s go end this.”
chapter thirty-one
I
t took three days for the group to clear the last of the dunes. They could see the boundary fence glowing in the distance, its sight both welcome and foreboding. What if the transmission hadn’t made it out? What if no one knew what Roark had done? They might be walking into a trap, but they wouldn’t know until they got a little closer.
Red couldn’t think about that now. They’d made it over the mountains and through the endless dunes without any more trouble. For that she was grateful. There’d been enough death on this journey. It was time to put this conflict to rest. On the other side of the fence the Republic of Arizona waited for them.
They stopped so she and Morgan could put their registered chips back into their necks. It was a risk. A big one. If anyone was tracking them, they’d know exactly where they were with the chips in place. But it didn’t matter—they were done hiding.
Crimson Page 28
