Love and Blood (Evening Bower Book 2)

by Sherry Rentschler

  Seth smiled, “I will miss his t-shirts.”

  “I will miss Sondra,” Victoria sighed. “Who could have guessed she was a male?”

  Steel doodled on a piece of paper. “Sondra Lard. Of course,” he shoved a paper at Victoria. “It’s an anagram for Lord Ransad.”

  “No way. Is everything a symbol or a riddle around here?” Keta whined.

  Their musings set her fangs on edge. Dra hissed at them.

  “This is not the time for a wake. Rhea is not dead so get off your asses and do something. The sun is up, and I have to go, but first I need to see Am. Upstairs?” Dra asked of Cooke who nodded. “Then that’s where I’ll be. Later.”

  Dra and Reaper disappeared and reappeared upstairs. Am sat alone on the landing outside their wing. When Dra stepped out of her mists, he didn’t look up but said, “they are using our bath suite to operate. Catarina stopped the blood and stitched her up. It’s bad, Dra. Cady said she isn’t going to make it if we don’t do something to get her heart going. I tried to fire up my blood and get her to drink, but she turned away. She’s giving up, Dra. What do I do?”

  He lifted his face to Drahomira, and she tasted his fear hanging in the air along with the dread he felt in his potential loss. Now she must prepare him for what was coming. How?

  “And Destin and the baby, gone. I swear I am going to kill my sire and hack him into a thousand tiny pieces, then I—”

  Drahomira reached down and put her delicate hand on his shoulder. He stopped speaking and stared up at her.

  “I need to speak to the little birdy. It’s important, JL,” she pleaded. “Then we need to talk, you and me.”

  “I won’t stop you,” he clutched at her hand, “only don’t let her die before I see her?”

  “No worries honey. Quick as a nibble,” she promised and entered their suite.

  CADY STOOD BY the window and watched the sunrise over the river. Dra winced and stepped into a patch of shadow. She could tolerate the sun, but it was easier not to try. When Cady saw her, she abruptly shut the blinds, and the room shades brought back the night.

  Dra nodded. “Pretty neat little trick, kitty cat. Rhea was sneaky not to tell us. I knew there was something about you. Reaper is going to have trouble, but he’ll come around.”

  Cady tried to smile but couldn’t. “I understand. And you can call me by my real nickname. Cat.” She waved at the master bedroom. “She’s restless and somewhat awake. Don’t stay long. I’m trying to keep her calm. Her heartfire is barely burning, and she’s cold. She lost a great deal of blood which she won’t let me replace.”

  Drahomira frowned and went into the bedroom. Her beautiful fiery phoenix friend suddenly seemed small and frail. She could taste blood in the air, sweet and pungent, and knew how close Death hovered. She had to tell Rhea about Viseriel. If anything could be done to prevent him, Rhea must be convinced to try.

  “Little birdy, it’s Dra. Open your eyes for me, hon.” Dra sat on the edge of the bed and waited.

  Rhea’s weak smile gave Dra hope. She took Rhea’s hand and quietly told her about Viseriel’s coming, his sorrow, his words. “Rhea, if there is anything to be done, now is the time. He said there was nothing he or I could do. I guess that means you can? Please, little birdy, Am and Destin need you. Crap on toast, I need you. Most of all, your baby needs you.” Dra frowned.

  At the mention of her baby, Rhea swallowed a sob and turned her head away. “My baby is gone. Dead.”

  Dra frowned. “You don’t know that. You must fight now, and then we’ll go get Destin and your little girl too.”

  “Too late, Dra. Sorry. We killed them. He killed her. I have lost them both.” Rhea closed her eyes and pushed Dra’s hand away.

  Catarina came into the room with a smiling Franklin close behind. He carried two small vases. One held a beautiful, lush blue rose. The petals were thick and vibrant. This one he set beside Rhea’s bed.

  “Look, Madam. The blue roses are blooming again, wild and vibrant. They cover the side lawn by the fountain. Your roses live. Young Master Destin must be alive and well and so you will recover,” Franklin said with excitement and hope ringing in every word.

  A second vase he set across the room and lifted a flower from it. This one he lay next to Rhea. The petals rested gracefully on the bed’s elegant counterpane. “Madam, this new rose bloomed too. I’ve never seen anything like it. It is so golden it is almost white with yellow deep in the veins. See how it glistens, Madam?”

  Cady and Dra stared at this new flower and Rhea, curious, turned back and lifted it up. Her eyes opened wide, and she struggled to speak.

  “My baby,” she whispered, “my baby is alive. Get Am. Hurry.”

  Dra was out the door in a flash. She dragged the beleaguered vampire to Rhea’s bed. Franklin showed him the flowers but Am only cared about his rose. He knelt beside her bed.

  “It seems we’ve been here before, m’ange,” he smiled sweetly. “Remember?”

  “I remember you, my carakahzi. I knew you, my Khnuman,” Rhea whispered.

  Am breathed in her cinnamon scent and lay his head next to hers.

  Cady, Franklin, and Dra backed out of the room and stepped outside the wing to the stairs. Everyone below rushed to look up. Cady shook her head, which caused Victoria’s sobbing all over again.

  “See what Franklin has brought? Look, Am, the roses are back. Destin is alive. The blue roses are blooming again.”

  Am sat up and fingered the blue petals. “But what is this?” He picked up the gold rose.

  “I think that is hope, my love. Franklin says it is new.”

  He blinked and then inhaled the fragrance. “It is like ambrosia,” he said. “Thick and sweet. Almost too pure.”

  Rhea shuddered and grabbed his hand with the flower. “That may be our daughter, my love. I think…I think it is a sign she is alive. Promise me that when I am gone that you will find her. Dra will help you.”

  Shadows fell across Am’s face. “We will find her, together, Rhea. I will not let you leave me alone.”

  “You do not have a choice, my darling. I felt Death whispering to me. He is close. I am not afraid. My sole regret is that I have found you again and we have not shared enough.”

  “Rhea no, I won’t accept that. You will live. You can choose to live,” Am urged with a seductive drop in his voice.

  Cady walked in and insisted that Amor-el leave. “She needs to rest a while. Then you can come back. I will watch her.”

  Amor-el leaned over and kissed Rhea’s lips. She met his mouth with love, but there was no warmth. Tears threatened again, and he hurried out.

  Dra stopped him on the landing. They sat down on a chaise outside the suite. Am’s shoulders sagged with resignation.

  “She’s going to let herself die, Dra. We think our daughter is alive and she’s not going to fight for her. I am at a loss as to what comes next.”

  “Let me tell you something, JL,” Dra purred and called him the name he gave her when they first met. She recounted the conversation with Viseriel.

  Amor-el listened, asked a hundred questions, until finally, “And that is all he said?”

  Dra nodded. “I think you have a choice, but you need to make it fast, by tonight.”

  “She’s already said she will not. She’s ready to leave me.” The pain in his voice hurt to hear.

  “Then you have to make her mad. Make her need to stay. Justice. Revenge. Honor. Whatever it takes, but use it. Then do what you must do.”

  “And if it kills her anyway? I doubt this is something covered in The Great Book. I can’t bear the thought that I may make her worse and speed up the inevitable.”

  Drahomira laughed, almost relieved. “I can see it now. Mix blood and fire together and stir.”

  Am grinned at her in spite of himself.

  Dra frowned. “Whatever it takes. Remember who and what you are, Jean-Louis Riviere. Death is death. Will it matter how or who? We’ll deal with whatever, later. Think it over
but don’t take too long.” Dra left him and went back to the suite. She didn’t need to sleep and wouldn’t anyway.

  Am bowed his head and wrapped his arms around himself. “A horse, a horse, my kingdom for a horse,” he whispered, and he said a silent prayer to any and every god. Even the part of him that didn’t believe prayed. When he could bear it no longer, he crawled into Destin’s bed and let dreams of a solitary life drag him down into nightmares.

  WITH THE DAWN, life looked uglier than it did hours earlier. Detective Bayone returned with a cleanup crew. More pictures and fewer questions. Sleep eluded everyone that night. As a result, the residents cleaned away most of the party rubble before the police returned. Only the ballroom remained untouched.

  The events outside temporarily shut down any responsiveness to Tyler’s death, but with light and focus, grief returned, fresh and vibrant. More than once the comment floated how death seemed to curse the club.

  “I’m not buying that,” Seth stretched as he followed Steel into the kitchen. He and Steel stayed the night downstairs in the library, but now they followed their noses to the kitchen. “It only seems that way because we’re caught up in their lives.”

  “They didn’t do this to Tyler, that woman did.”

  “Zephyr. I know.” Seth grabbed some coffee and took a chair. “At least here, I thought we could leave all that behind.” He raised his mug to Cooke. “Thanks for the coffee.”

  “My pleasure. You lads are family now, so sit and eat and stay out of the way of the police.”

  And just like that, reality smacked them back to Earth.

  BY MID-MORNING, flowers arrived at the bower and kept coming by the trunkful. Thank you cards proclaimed the gala an overwhelming success, haunting and magical. The post office delivered Baskets of goodies for the new baby too. The newspapers and local TV stations mirrored the appreciation and applause. Oddly, there was no mention of Tyler’s death or elves or carnage. Mace Bayone was Cajun and understood New Orleans in a way others couldn’t. Vampires were real at Halloween but beyond that? Rabid dogs and breakins.

  He signed his card to the Rivieres and reminded himself to light a candle at Madam Laveau’s for the lady Rhea.

  DRAHOMIRA STROLLED DOWN the manse’s hallway as Victoria and Keta helped Cooke put the last touches on the supper. Cady remained upstairs along with Amor-el. There was no news and hope dwindled. The grandfather clock in the hall chimed seven and Dra frowned. Not many hours left and if what she feared happened, then Am and Rhea needed time alone. Goodbye was a word said in private.

  “Hey boss lady,” Keta sniffed with a half-hearted smile. “We opening tonight?”

  “No, and that’s why I’m here,” Dra lingered in the kitchen doorway. “I want you and the guys to take a night off. I have a friend in Treme who works at Sweet Lorraine’s Jazz Club. They have a great show tonight and will be open late. You two, along with Steel and Seth, should see it. Have fun. When you get tired, stay in my apartment. Come back tomorrow.”

  “But what about Rhea? I think we should be here,” Victoria pursed her lips and shook her head.

  “I think you need to give Rhea some breathing room,” Dra countered. “Look, if there’s news, we’ll find you. Why sit and be miserable when you can’t do anything to change things?”

  Keta swallowed the last of her dessert. “I’m in. But you promise if anything happens?”

  “Sure, hon. If anything happens and you need to be here, I will find you.”

  “C’mon Vic, please.”

  Victoria finally agreed and followed Keta upstairs to change.

  “I know what you’re doing,” Cooke said as she cleaned off the table. “Do you want us to go too?” Franklin stood behind her.

  Dra shook her head. “You need to stay. I don’t think she’s going to make it.”

  “Then, miss, why not let them be here?”

  “Because, Frankie, this time is for Am and the little birdy. I want her to have that.”

  Upstairs, Dra made her way to the master suite. Cady sat by the bed, her face sullen and drawn. Her patient lay still, gaunt, and pale as moonlight.

  “Well?”

  Cady shook her head. “Her heartfire struggles and honestly, I’m not sure I know what else to do.” Tears welled, and she swiped them away. “Dammit, I thought I was done crying.”

  “What about blood?”

  “I gave her a transfusion earlier. It helped for a little while, but the attack shocked her body. The dragon’s blood calcite stole so much from her heart that I’m amazed we got her back. I’ve never operated on a phoenix before, and I don’t know how to reach her. Her spirit is leaving us.”

  “I do,” Dra growled. “I’ve sent the girls away for the night. No matter what happens, tonight is for Rhea and Am.”

  “Talk to her. Make her fight. Try.”

  Twilight darkened the room, and Rhea stirred. Cady left Dra alone.

  “Hey, Rhea. Honey, you sure know how to throw a party.” Dra pulled the chair by the bed closer, sat down and leaned her arms on the edge of the bed. “But now we need to talk. Seriously.”

  Rhea’s eye’s fluttered and slowly opened. Dra tried not to show shock at what stared back at her. Rhea’s ordinarily violet-blue eyes were dark and dull. Usually, they flickered with the fires of the vibrant and fiery soul of her phoenix. But these eyes were empty and hollow. Hopeless.

  “Dra, I am glad you are here. I never told you how happy I was that first night we met, how fierce and beautiful I thought you were and how much I loved the way you tormented Viseriel.” Rhea reached for Dra’s hand.

  “I remember. He made an easy target,” Dra snickered. “However, you were the highlight of the night, you and that Valkyrie impersonation you pulled off. I’ve never seen anything like it. Next Halloween I think you should show it off.” Dra patted Rhea’s hand.

  “Next year you do it for me.”

  “About that. Rhea, I won’t play games with you. Last night angel boy came for you. He said you were leaving us tonight. I’m telling you now, don’t let him win. If you have a way we can help you, anything, tell us. Something in The Great Book? I will get anything you need. But you have to fight, little birdy.”

  Rhea’s eyes widened at the mention of Viseriel, and her fingers tightened in Dra’s hand. “He came for me? Does Am know?”

  Dra hissed softly and nodded once.

  “Then you must help Am. He will need you more than ever.”

  “Rhea, you can’t give up.”

  “I am not. I do not have any strength left for this fight. They took my baby. They took my son. My miracle children. I have no way of knowing where they are or how to get them back. My baby could be dead. And Destin,” Rhea’s tone sharpened, and she struggled to take a deep breath, “hates me.” Rhea’s eyes watered, but there were no tears. “I should have known. I thought it was the baby. I didn’t realize the stone…” she took another wavering breath, “that he would want to kill me.” She turned away.

  “Rhea, Destin was betrayed too, you know it. We heard him admit it. If Selwyn has him, we can get him back. We know where they will go. We visited there. Heal, and together we’ll find him.”

  Rhea shook her head. “You take Am, and you fight for me.” She pushed Dra’s hand away. “Where are the girls? Was Rico real? Is he still here? He is Am’s friend. He will help.”

  There was nothing more to do but to recount the night and how it ended. When she told Rhea about Reaper chomping off Selwyn’s arm, Rhea grinned, and for a moment Dra’s hope flared again. But the smile didn’t last long when she told Rhea about Tyler.

  “I don’t blame your gal, Catarina. She was protecting Destin. But you could’ve warned me she was a big cat. Reaper’s not too keen on her.” This statement won her a small chuckle, but it was short-lived.

  Dra wrapped up her story when Cady returned.

  “Rhea, think about what I said. If there is anything to do, let’s do it. Tonight. I will not bow to angel boy.”

 
When she left, she found Reaper sitting outside of Destin’s room. She barged in without knocking.

  “Get up right now. Get up and make her fight. By the seven hells, you’re the only one who can.”

  The balcony door shifted in the breeze. The room was empty.

  AMOR-EL RECHECKED the old house. Didn’t matter that he did it last night. Room by room he searched for any clue. Calling out proved fruitless, but he called out anyway. He shredded papers left behind, threw aside books and screamed profanities at the barren walls. No sign of his sire or his son. This house of bones was dead.

  When his wrath cooled, he searched the grounds. The bower garden bloomed wild with new blue roses. Rhea said that meant their boy was alive but he knew they meant Rhea was alive. Her blood renewed them, yet they promised nothing.

  Her blood. Amor-el stopped beside the large fountain and ran his fingers through the warm water. Suddenly he stood up and raced back to the house.

  “Franklin!” he yelled, “where are you, man? Where is the old book from the mantle? Did we unpack it? Franklin!” Am hurried to the library and rummaged through every shelf. One after another, he tossed his books and frantically searched for the one that held the orb. “Franklin!”

  His harried manservant appeared and surveyed the tossed books and the emptied bookshelves with some dismay. He considered where they unpacked the book and he climbed the spiral stairs to check. A few moments later, Franklin returned, a weathered volume in hand.

  “Sir, I have it.”

  Am paused, advanced, and then stopped. “Does it, I mean, is it…?” The words wouldn’t come.

  Franklin’s smiles were few and small, but this one filled his face. “Yes.”

  “Well, by the gods, as Rhea would say, we have a way to find our baby!” He grabbed the book, kissed Franklin smack on the lips, and ran up the stairs, almost tripping over Reaper. “Dra, I have it,” he called out.

  Drahomira found him waving an old book and listened, stunned. Am explained about the tiny orb pressed into the spine. “And that is how we reach Rico,” he finished. “We have a way, Dra. We can find our little girl.” His voice thickened with emotion. The fire blazed in his eyes anew.