Finally the heart stopped altogether silencing the cries of the donor forever. I felt strength slowly seeping back to me and for the first time I wondered if I had lost my eyesight for good. I didn’t remember getting any type of injury to my eyes.
“Sleep now,” the voice said. I felt a hand stroking my face as I drifted off. I wasn’t sure if I was alive or dead, and didn’t have enough will yet to care. Sleep then came again.
Upon opening my eyes the next time I could see, although only hazily. It seemed I had my sight back and so I took a moment to be grateful for that.
Looking around I realized I was in my room at the sanctuary. Gavin was staring down at me. He looked like hell. His eyes were tired and he was gaunt and drawn, but smiling wide none the less.
“Good morning,” he whispered. I tried to sit up. “No, don’t move. You’re hooked up to a lot of stuff,” he said motioning to the other side of the bed.
He wasn’t kidding. I was hooked up to about four bags of blood and some kind of white liquid. I had IVs in places I never knew they went. I was still feeling a pain in my chest, but certainly not as bad as the last time I had woken up. It was duller now but breathing still required a bit of effort.
“What’s going on?” I said.
“What’s the last thing you remember?” he said gently brushing the hair off my forehead. I felt like I needed a shower very badly all of a sudden.
“I remember dying. James killed me,” I said.
“No, he tried to. You killed him though.” Then the memory came flooding back. He had tried to stake me but Gavin and Daniel had held him while I turned him to ashes. I smiled at the remembrance of his suffering contorted face twitching during his last moment of misery.
“He’s dead,” I said.
“Yes, after he died we took the sword out of your chest,” he continued, “you should have been able to heal yourself right away, but Holly said the fact that you’re not full blooded and that you used your fire right after he attacked you made you too weak.”
“How am I still here then?”
“You came very close to meeting your final death. We got you inside and put you in the death sleep to see if that would heal you. After that all we could do was wait.”
“Death sleep?”
“Yes, a very deep sleep. Vampires can put themselves into a sleep almost like death for many years if they choose. For some that’s how they’ve stayed alive so long. Between Holly, Daniel and I we were able to get you there after you passed out. We had to keep feeding you our blood so we could will you into it. Normally we only will ourselves.”
“Did I feed?”
“Yes, that was yesterday, but you’ve been in the death sleep almost two months.”
“I killed a man didn’t I?” Gavin looked reluctant to tell me the truth.
“You did. There was no other way. You needed to take a full body’s worth of blood to live.”
“Who was it?”
“Someone who the world is better off without. Trust me. Don’t fill your mind with those thoughts right now.” He smiled again, “I’m just so happy to have you back.” He leaned down and put his head on my shoulder for a few moments.
A soft knock at the door interrupted our peaceful moment. Holly poked her head in the door. She raised her eyebrows in surprise to see me awake.
“Welcome back,” she smiled. “Angus, look who’s awake.” Holly came in followed by Angus who towered over her. He was smiling as well.
“About time,” he said. “How are you feeling?”
“A little fuzzy about everything. Gavin was just filling me in on some of what happened after I passed out.”
“There’ll be lots of time for that later. I’m glad you’re awake; I have good news for you two. I’ve decided to lift your guardianship. Gavin is no longer your official keeper.” Gavin was smiling so wide now I thought his face would crack.
“Now that doesn’t mean you stop guiding and teaching this young lady. Understand?”
“Of course,” Gavin said.
“Well you better hurry up and get on your feet then,” Holly said. “So many things to do. Wedding dresses to try on, plans to make.” She seemed to be making a dozen mental lists in her head all at once.
“Holly loves to plan a party, and she hasn’t done it in a while. We might be in trouble here.” Gavin was teasing her.
“Congratulations you two,” Angus said, “I look forward to performing the ceremony.” I wasn’t aware he could actually do that, but it sounded good to me. “Oh Gavin, don’t forget the council meeting tonight.”
“I’ll be there,” Gavin nodded.
“We owe you a debt of gratitude little missy,” he said, and then turned on his heel and left.
I turned to face Gavin. “Council meeting?”
“Yes. With the other two members of the council gone I’ve taken one of the vacant spots.”
“Imagine,” I said, “me married to a politician.” Holly found the referral of her brother as a politician very funny and began to laugh hard.
“Nobody will spit in your direction anymore,” he smiled.
“Well that’s good to know. So I assume people are more ok with the idea of an Acadian as a vampire then?”
“No,” said Holly. “They are ok with the idea of you being a vampire. The rest may follow later.” Holly began poking around with the bags of blood and looking at my IVs. She took all but one out, which was a relief. “You should be good to go home tomorrow.”
“Home…” I had wanted to go home for so long, but I knew my life would never be the same. I wondered what that word even meant now, and what kind of life I’d be walking into now that all of this was over. A thought occurred to me. “Where does my aunt think I’ve been all this time?”
“I called her,” said Holly “and told her I was a doctor at the emergency room and we were sending you to Halifax because you had a severe case of Bacterial Meningitis.”
“She must be worried sick.”
“I’ve been giving her updates every few days. She’s concerned of course, but didn’t really question me too much.”
“That’s good,” I said.
“Well I’m going to get out of your hair. I’ll be back later to disconnect the last IV. Just relax for the rest of the day. Tomorrow you’ll go home. You and Gavin must come visit our house. I just got it back the way I like it.”
“You’ve left the sanctuary?”
“Yep. Out among the humans once again.” A lot had happened while I’d been asleep. “I’m setting up a practice in town, and I’m going to rotate emergency room shifts with the other doctors in the area. I’m going to be back with a book of dresses for you to look at later.” She gave me a wink and then was out the door.
“I can’t wait to marry you,” Gavin said as he kissed my hand.
“You’re so sappy.”
Chapter Twenty Seven
The mid June air was light and fragrant and a soft breeze was blowing down over the hills. The sky was clear and starry to perfection. We had talked about getting married during the day, but with my eyes not having fully developed into their vampire maturity the brightness would have been too much. Plus, as much as I loved my Prada sunglasses, I didn’t want to get married in them.
The courtyard of the sanctuary was lit by torches and from the archway I was hiding behind I could see all of the guests standing in a circle waiting for the ceremony to begin. Gavin was standing in the middle of the circle in front of Angus, who was behind a makeshift altar. I was supposed to have another vampire lead me into the circle, but since I had no actual vampire family members I had opted to go it alone.
All the vampires from Soldiers Cove were here, and even some from St.Peters and Chapel Island. I took one last look at myself in the full length mirror that Holly had brought out for me to use. My dress was beautiful. The black and sleek material hugged all of my curves just right.
In my hair was a silver and beaded headpiece which had tiny black and white
flowers attached to it. Everything was decidedly gothic and beautiful.
Looking in the mirror I almost didn’t recognize myself. I looked much too sophisticated to be the girl I had known.
But then that girl had really ceased to exist the night Gavin came to my door. Holly appeared behind me in the mirror, looking gorgeous as always. She was wearing a small black dress and carrying two bouquets of Calla Lilies.
“You look beautiful,” she said. “I knew that was the dress as soon as I saw it.”
“Holly I can’t ever thank you enough for everything you’ve done,” I said. I was trying not to tear up.
“Don’t cry,” she said hugging me. “You’ll ruin your makeup.” She was choking back tears herself. “We’re sisters now. We’re family.” She fiddled with my headpiece for a moment. “Are you sure you want to walk in all alone? Dad or Daniel would be happy to walk you in.”
“How about letting an old fella like myself do it?” a voice said from behind us. We turned to find Duncan standing there. He was wearing a very old fashioned tux and looked like something right out of a fable. Holly’s mouth dropped open in shock like she’d just seen the biggest celebrity on earth. I guess when you’re a thousand years old in the vampire community you become somewhat of a legend.
“Duncan!” I said as he put his arms around me for a hug. “This is a surprise.”
“You sure you want to marry that creature talker? I could use a good woman myself,” he winked.
“I’m sure,” I said holding back my laughter. “And I’d be honored to have you walk me in.”
“I don’t know. I think you might need someone to keep tabs on you. You’re a little dangerous.” Coming from him I wasn’t sure if it was an insult or a complement.
“We better get started then,” Holly said still staring at Duncan. She tore herself away and went to the altar whispering in Angus’ ear. Angus smiled wide and raised his hands above his head indicating that we were about to get started.
“Take my arm girl.” I put my arm around his and he patted my hand. We walked out as the fiddle started. As we came toward the circle Gavin’s parents moved aside and let us in. This was a gesture meaning they were welcoming me into their family, and considering I had killed one of their children, as justified as it was, I was grateful.
Duncan walked me over to Gavin and untwined our arms and kissed my hand placing it in Gavin’s who did the same. Then, holding his hands over both of mine the ceremony began.
Moments later we were husband and wife. We kissed as the entire circle erupted in applause. I looked over at Holly who was crying, her very large husband had his arm around her. The sight of the six foot four biker vampire crouching to put his arm around his tiny wife made me laugh a little.
Everyone congratulated us, and then we finally had a moment alone.
“You are so, so beautiful Rachel,” Gavin said bringing his lips close to my ear.
“I’m so happy.” I was gushing. I normally hated that sort of thing, but tonight it couldn’t be helped. He put his arms around me and held me for a long moment. I could feel everyone’s eyes on us, but I didn’t care.
“Let’s have a tune!” Duncan bellowed from across the courtyard. He had brought his fiddle. Gavin and I exchanged a look and took our place in the center once again. Duncan struck his foot on the ground four times in rhythm so hard it made the earth shake. That was the beginning of an all-night party.
I was looking forward to many more wonderful days and nights with him. Just before sunrise Duncan played a slow rendition of, “My Love, Cape Breton, and Me,” which was perfect. Those were indeed the only three things I cared about at this moment, and all I felt I’d ever need to be happy.
The Vampires of Soldiers Cove – Book 2:
One Crow Sorrow
When Gavin begins acting strange and eventually disappears after the return of his estranged brother Ian, Rachel is left thinking she has been abandoned. Soon thereafter a string of gruesome murders between St. Peter’s and Chapel Island lead everyone except Rachel to believe that Gavin has returned to his murderous ways. With Ian’s help Rachel sets out to find Gavin and prove his innocence before Angus is forced to give the order to kill on sight.
Buy it here:
http://www.amazon.com/Vampires-Soldiers-Cove-Sorrow-ebook/dp/B00ET9W97U/ref=sr_1_4?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1377709680&sr=1-4
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Also by Jessica MacIntyre:
The Slave Queen
{Paranormal Erotica}
After being chosen by a King to be his bride, Lady Iliya is taken to a castle far away to be wed to King Roman. On the night of her wedding, just as she is about to discover the mysteries a man holds, she is kidnapped and taken to an underground world full of strange creatures. The Satyr King, Ramses, wants her not just to be a Queen in his strange world, but to be a sexual Queen in his bed both with him, and others who he will choose. Now it is up to King Roman, with the help of his knights, including young Sir Henry who is also in love with the Queen, to rescue her.
http://www.amazon.com/Slave-Queen-Book-One/dp/1484040325/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1371348054&sr=1-2
The Vampires of Soldiers Cove Page 21
