“I’m alpha of the Lupreda pack.” The man’s eyes blazed, ready for a fight as he balled his hands into fists. “I’m going to enjoy laying you out and splitting you open on this plate,” he continued in a savage tone right before he leapt toward Jachin.
As the Lupreda flew through the air toward him, Jachin pulled out the gun he’d tucked in his pants waistline. Rage bloomed in his chest while he thumbed back the hammer, ready to empty the entire clip into the were. Before his finger fully pinched the trigger, a blur sped past, knocking the alpha to the ground.
Landon, his lip bleeding and his left eye swollen shut, wrestled the alpha were onto his back. Lodging his elbow into the man’s throat, Landon pinned him to the ground and growled, “Let him try, Nathan!”
All the fighting and yelling, snarls and growls faded into the background when Ariel put her hand on Jachin’s arm, drawing his attention. “I have an idea. Do you trust me?”
Jachin nodded, tension making his chest ache and his stomach knot.
She held up her wrist and her gaze locked with his. “Bite me.”
He shook his head. “I don’t understand.”
“Just do it!” she demanded and pushed her right wrist under his nose.
Her sweet feminine smell invaded his senses. He didn’t have to make his fangs extend. The sharp points exploded from his gums on their own in recognition of the offer in front of him.
Leaning toward her wrist, he plunged his fangs deep. It took all his willpower to withdraw his fangs without taking her blood, but he managed.
Barely.
Ariel moved in front of him. Placing her feet on top of his, she laid her right hand over his in the chalice’s hand imprint. She gripped her right forearm with her left hand and squeezed tight.
Jachin realized her intent when her action caused her blood to rush out of her vein and down across his hand. As her blood entwined with his, mixing along the carved-out circular trail surrounding the palm imprint, the stone circle maze began to shift, elongating, deepening.
The stone moving, creating a cylindrical cone out of the circular maze, caused their combined blood to follow the path down inside the pedestal. Jachin’s heart raced and hope swelled within his chest.
When the pedestal began to glow, every man stopped fighting and stared at Jachin and Ariel standing at the chalice.
Another ear-popping explosion ricocheted in the forest right before tremendous pain slammed into Jachin. He locked his body, tensing his muscles and baring his fangs as the gunshot wound burned in his shoulder.
Jachin jerked his narrowed gaze toward the crowd to see Braeden holding a gun, fury etched in his bleeding face. Without a moment’s hesitation Jachin aimed and pulled the trigger of his own weapon.
Braeden turned at the last second, taking Jachin’s bullet in his arm. Growling his outrage, Braeden started to raise his gun again when one of the Sanguinas knocked him back and wrestled the gun from his hand.
Jachin tucked his weapon away, pent-up tension releasing from his shoulders. He’d have to thank Saul for the vampire’s swift intervention. If all went well, Braeden would be judged for his many crimes against the clan when they got back to Sanguinas manor.
When the cone reached its final destination, descending deep inside the pedestal, the whole chalice began to hum and light up, glowing a bright white color.
Chapter 14
J achin’s eyes stung from the brilliance. He’d never seen the chalice glow before. He wasn’t sure it ever had.
The humming’s pitch grew higher and higher, winding Jachin’s body tight. Just when he thought he couldn’t take the noise and the power any longer, a bolt of lightning shot out from the pedestal, striking the sacrificial plate. A sonic boom quickly followed, reverberating throughout the woods. The force sent every single Sanguina and Lupreda standing in the arena slamming to the ground.
A streak of fire veined across the middle of the sacrificial plate right where the lightning had struck. Jachin and Ariel stepped back from the chalice at the same time the thick slab cracked completely in half. As soon as the sacrificial plate’s two halves hit the ground, the chalice began to dim and shake until it also split right down the middle, spilling their blood onto the ground.
Awed and a little taken aback by the sight he’d just witnessed, Jachin faced the crowd, conviction in his steady gaze. “I, Jachin Black, as deemed by the ascendancy chalice, take over the Sanguinas as their rightful leader. I promise to lead my people out of the darkness they’ve fallen into these past twenty-five years.”
“You can’t take my place!” Braeden shook off Saul’s hold, his face contorted with rage. “Only my family line—the Raptours—can lead the Sanguinas.”
“Then Jachin has exactly what he needs,” Ariel said.
Surprised as hell by Ariel’s comment, Jachin glanced at her. Her eyes were glazed over as if she were in some kind of trance.
“Ariel?” he asked right before her eyelids fluttered closed and her knees gave way.
Jachin’s heart raced in fear. When he lifted her limp body in his arms, he saw the wound on her chest. The bullet that had hit his shoulder must’ve gone right through her first. She’d held so still he hadn’t known she was even hit.
He faced the crowd of men staring at him and addressed the Sanguinas in an authoritative tone. “We’re done here. Leave the Lupredas’ land immediately.”
Braeden tried to regain control. “Don’t listen to his lies!” He pointed to Ariel in Jachin’s arms. “Her blood has poisoned him.”
“I haven’t seen a vampire jump like that since before the sickness,” one vampire said.
“He emptied the chalice, Braeden. Accept the truth,” another Sanguina joined in.
Jachin narrowed his gaze on Braeden, anger burning in his chest. “Take him into custody to be judged for crimes against his people. I will explain all when we get back to our home.”
His gaze swiveled to Landon. “We’ll leave your land the way we found it…with the exception of the sacrificial plate that should’ve been destroyed years ago.”
“Agreed,” Landon nodded.
Nathan let out a growl and slammed his fist into Landon’s side.
As Landon tried to catch his breath, the Alpha stood up and faced Jachin, his fists clenched by his sides. “Only I can speak for the Lupreda.”
“Not today,” Landon said through gritted teeth as he swiped his booted foot out, cracking Nathan’s leg. Nathan went down, howling in pain. Before he could recover, Landon jumped on the man’s chest and slammed his fist hard into Nathan’s face, knocking him out.
“Go now!” Landon growled at Jachin.
Jachin watched as the Sanguinas left Lupreda land, hauling a fighting, irate Braeden deep into the woods. Once his people were out of harm’s way, the tension in his shoulders lessened. He acknowledged his appreciation to Landon with a curt nod.
Landon stood up and his gaze lowered to Ariel’s limp body and her blood staining Jachin’s arm. “Is she going to be okay?”
Jachin gathered Ariel close and set his jaw to keep his expression neutral and his emotions at bay. “She has to be.” He wouldn’t accept anything else. He couldn’t.
Without a word, he turned his back on an entire pack of werewolves and carried Ariel into the woods.
His body tensed when he heard rumblings of hatred whispered behind him and low growls emitting from the crowd of weres, but Landon’s heavy, authoritative bark silenced the men.
Jachin knew he had very little time to get back to the safety of the Sanguinas manor. As soon as he was out of eyesight, he ran a zigzag, confusing path for a while in case some Lupreda tried to track them.
After he felt he’d muddied their scent enough, he took off for home as if the spawns of hell were clawing at his back…and in truth they were. If Ariel didn’t survive, he’d have to go on for his people. But his soul would die with her.
As soon as he entered the manor carrying Ariel, the group of Sanguinas waiting for him pa
rted, allowing him space.
“I hear a faint heartbeat. She’s not dead.”
“She fulfilled the prophecy, helped Jachin claim Braeden’s position.”
“You should’ve seen it. The ascendancy chalice and the sacrificial plate cracked….”
Jachin heard the whispers but ignored them all as he turned away and headed down the hall toward Mira’s room. He had no doubt that his old rooms had been taken over the very same day he was exiled.
Mira broke through the crowd, running to catch up with her brother. She cast her worried gaze over Ariel’s slack, pale features. His sister’s concern echoed in his own heart with each step he took. He couldn’t lose Ariel. He didn’t deserve her, but he needed her.
“You’re bleeding,” Mira commented as she opened the door for him to enter her room.
Jachin walked over to her bed and laid Ariel down on it as gently as he could. Ripping her shirt and sweater open with a quick yank, he stared at her gaping wound. The bullet had gone straight through her upper chest, near her shoulder, but the wound it left behind had bled profusely. She couldn’t afford to lose any more blood.
His sister’s hand on his shoulder drew his attention. She had pulled the torn fabric away from his own chest and was examining his wound. He’d seen that look in her eyes before. He knew the physician in her couldn’t resist.
“You’re lucky it missed your heart. Even with her blood running through your veins you know your wound isn’t going to heal completely until I get that bullet out.”
Jachin set his jaw. Right now he needed the pain radiating from his shoulder. It kept his mind sharp, focused, kept him from falling on his knees and begging whatever god might be listening to spare Ariel.
Ignoring his sister’s concern, he sat down on the bed and carefully lifted Ariel in his arms. When he ran his tongue over the gaping hole across her chest, then carefully turned her and did the same to her back, his heart clenched at the bittersweetness of the act. As her skin began to mend, he closed his eyes briefly, hoping he wasn’t too late.
Laying her limp form back down on the bed, he stared at her pale face with a heavy heart. He’d never known what it felt like to not be able to catch his breath…until now. The squeezing sensation around his lungs felt like a vise cinching tight, burning all the way to his stomach. I can’t lose you, my love. Live. For us, he whispered in her mind.
Yelling echoed from the main atrium room, the sounds growing louder as they flowed down the hall.
Mira moved toward her door and opened it right as Talek was about to knock. His gaze jerked from hers to Jachin’s. “The Sanguinas are splintering. Some still support Braeden. They need your guidance.”
Guilt tore at Jachin’s heart. “She’s lost so much blood,” he murmured as he glanced at Ariel’s wan features.
Mira grabbed his hand and pushed him in the cushioned chair next to her nightstand. “You’re not going anywhere until I get that bullet out. Now hold still.”
Before he could stand up, she leaned over him and jammed her finger in the bullet hole, digging deep.
Jachin’s vision blurred and he gritted his teeth to stay conscious, growling out, “I was better off with the bullet.”
“Hush—” she started to say when he felt a sharp tug. “Got it!” she said, pulling her fingers free of his body, a bloody bullet plug clamped between them.
Jachin stood and glanced over at Ariel, his heart aching. Mira shoved him toward the door using her clean hand. “I’ll watch over her. If our clan ever needed a true leader, it’s now. Go.”
Ariel sat at a small café table in a coffee shop she’d never visited before, a cup of coffee in front of her. Bright sunbeams flooded through the big picture window and spilled across the room to warm her body, giving the room a cozy feeling conducive to intimate conversation.
Crisp fall air swirled in the room, drawing her attention to the door. A distinguished-looking man in his early fifties walked in the room. He smiled at her, then took off his heavy black overcoat and hung it on the wrought-iron rack beside the door.
“May I join you?” he asked as he approached her table.
Ariel took in the other ten or so unoccupied tables in the room. Maybe he wanted a little company, too. She smiled, nodding.
He settled in the seat across from her and unbuttoned his black suit jacket. “Your coffee smells good. I might have a cup myself.”
She liked this stranger. He had an open face with a genuine smile. He reminded her of someone, but she wasn’t sure who. “Yes, you should. It’s delicious.”
He winked at her. “I understand you’re a librarian. And an author,” he added.
She tilted her head to the side, knowing she should probably be alarmed this total stranger knew information about her, but something about this place felt so warm and safe that curiosity was all she felt.
“And an author,” she conceded with a smile, noticing that he now had a cup of coffee, too. How strange. She didn’t see anyone bring it.
“You know more than your mind is allowing.”
“Really?” His comment seemed out of place but oddly she didn’t mind.
He nodded, a knowing smile tugging at his lips. “Braeden’s family line is genetically connected to yours. You subconsciously realized this as soon as you heard Braeden say his last name—Raptour. His father was your grandfather’s half brother.”
His mention of Braeden made her frown. She felt as if she should be somewhere, as if she was missing some big piece of the puzzle, but she couldn’t remember where or why. “Who are you?”
He lifted his cup and took a sip before he answered. “Don’t you miss Jachin?”
As soon as Jachin’s name came out of his mouth, everything came flooding back: her kidnapping, the Lupreda and the Sanguinas, Jachin and her standing with their hands on the ascendancy chalice. She should be wigged out that she wasn’t with Jachin…yet, contrary to the confusing thoughts zinging in her head, her body just felt too relaxed to get worked up about anything. She sighed and picked up her coffee. “Why does all that feel like a lifetime ago to me?”
“You’re dying,” the older man replied in a casual tone, his deep blue gaze locking with hers.
She wondered why his eyes seemed familiar. Strangely, his comment didn’t scare her. She felt blissfully sublime. “That’s why you’re here? To take me home?”
He shook his head. “No, I’m here to convince you to go back.”
The sun’s rays had moved up her body, warming her all over. It felt so good she closed her eyes. If only there were a bed or a couch here, she’d take a nap, curled up in the pool of bright light.
“Jachin needs you.”
Her eyes snapped open at his comment and a tiny place in her heart constricted. “You seem familiar to me. Who are you?”
“My name is Ezra.”
Understanding dawned, and her heart kicked up a bit as she reached over to grab his wrist in excitement. “You’re Jachin’s father.”
He turned his hand over and clasped hers, a warm smile lighting his steady gaze. “Indeed I am.”
Someone entered the coffee shop through the exit at the back of the store, drawing Ariel’s attention.
Mira walked through the shop, dressed in her turtleneck and jeans. She approached their table, a serene smile on her face. Bending over, she hugged Ezra and said, “Hello, father. It’s wonderful to see you again.” As Mira sat down in the chair next to her, a sense of wrongness shifted inside Ariel.
Ezra met Ariel’s gaze, sadness in his eyes. “You know this isn’t right.”
Ariel’s gaze slipped from Ezra to Mira’s face. The serene look remained on his daughter’s features. She closed her eyes and rubbed her arms with a shiver. “It’s cold out there.”
Ariel was dying. Ezra was dead. Mira shouldn’t be here. She was alive and well at the Sanguinas manor. The three of them together in this café nagged at Ariel’s brain until Mira spoke again. “The sunlight feels so good on my skin.”
/> Ariel’s eyes widened and her heart jerked in fear for her friend. Mira was a vampire. She grabbed Mira’s arm and shook her. “Sunlight will kill you, Mira! Move away!”
Mira glanced at her skin, then met Ariel’s gaze with a smile. “Look at me. I’m fine. I’ve always wanted to know what the sun felt like on my skin.” She closed her eyes once more and sighed her contentment.
When Mira’s body began to sway, Ezra reached over and gripped her shoulder to keep her from falling out of the chair. “She shouldn’t be here.”
The frown on Ezra’s face, coupled with the harshness and worry in his tone, snapped Ariel out of her trancelike euphoria.
Mira was dying. She had to help her.
Deep concern for her friend obliterated Ariel’s peacefulness, shoving her back into her painful reality. Ariel’s heart raced, her chest burned like hell and a strange soreness radiated at the bend in her right arm.
“Can I help her?” Ariel asked, jerking her gaze to Ezra’s.
Ezra nodded, his expression solemn. “If you go back.”
She jumped up and shook the woman’s shoulder. “Come on, Mira. We have to get you home.”
Mira mumbled, her words slurred and incoherent. Pain shot through Ariel’s shoulder as she bent and lifted Mira’s lethargic form up from the chair. Wrapping the other woman’s arm around her neck, Ariel grasped Mira around the waist and faced Ezra, breathing heavily from her efforts.
“Thank you.”
He smiled. “You are everything I knew you would be.”
Turning away from the bright light at the front of the café, Ariel headed toward the Exit sign at the back of the store. Right as she reached the door, Ezra stepped in line beside her, placing his hand on the door handle.
“Tell my son the prophecy was meant for more than the Sanguinas.”
Her gaze met his and a strong sense of failure made a lump form in her throat. “Are you saying Jachin didn’t fulfill the prophecy?”
Scions: Resurrection Page 20
