Scions: Resurrection

by Patrice Michelle

  Ezra shook his head. “He fulfilled his part.”

  At that moment Mira lost complete consciousness and her body turned limp in Ariel’s arms. Ariel’s heart raced and she tightened her arm around Mira’s form, her muscles straining to keep the unconscious woman upright. She knew she was running out of time. “Help me help Jachin.” Her voiced hitched with her need to know what part of the prophecy they hadn’t fulfilled.

  Ezra cupped her cheek, his gaze calm and wise. “My son seeks the rest of the prophecy. Relay it to him for me. ‘A leader is needed, you know this is true. Look not to one but two. A lesson was the goal you sought. You, too, must learn from what you taught. Layers of deception must be unveiled for three to become one and peace to prevail.’”

  “Is this the part we haven’t fulfilled?” she asked, confused by his words.

  He gave her a warm smile. “As I said, you know more than you’ve allowed your mind to realize.” Pushing the door open, he said in a gentle tone, “You need to go now.”

  Ariel stared into total darkness and her heart thudded at the sense of nothingness she faced. Taking a deep breath, she hoisted Mira’s body tight against her and stepped across the threshold.

  Chapter 15

  J achin entered the atrium to face a group of divided vampires brimming with tension. The smell of sweat hung in air, while the heat level felt twenty degrees higher than it had when he’d passed through the huge room a half hour ago.

  Thirty or so vampires railed at the rest. “Braeden is the true leader,” one of them shouted. “He didn’t leave us for ten years like Jachin did.”

  “And where is he now?” another sneered.

  The man’s question made the hair on Jachin’s neck rise and his jaw to tighten. “Where is Braeden?” Jachin’s deadly tone silenced the room. Every vampire turned to stare at him.

  “Several of us didn’t believe he deserved punishment. We let him go,” Tomias said as the tall, dark-haired vampire stepped out from the crowd. “He was fighting the weres, while you have apparently made friends with them.” He looked down his narrow nose at Jachin, disdain reflected in his brown eyes.

  Jachin cleared the distance between himself and the mocking vampire in a split second. “Know your enemy, Tomias,” Jachin growled. “It’s a tenet we’re taught from day one.” Scanning the crowd of vampires and finding certain key Sanguinas missing, Jachin barked, “Where are the council members?”

  “They spend most of their days in their rooms,” Talek answered in an even tone.

  Frustration tightened Jachin’s chest. “Get them—now!” he said through clenched teeth.

  Talek gave Jachin a quick nod, then strode out of the room toward the living quarters.

  Jachin saw Vivian’s willowy frame separate from the crowd as if she were going to leave the room. Her role in his banishment thumped like an incessant drumbeat in his mind, making his head pound. “Vivian, I would like you to stay.”

  She stopped and slowly turned his way. “Dawn is upon us. I’m tired. I’m going to bed.”

  “You. Will. Stay,” he ordered in a cold tone.

  Talek entered the great hall with three males and one female vampire following in his wake.

  Jachin addressed the group of older vampires who came to stand in front of him. “Are you not the council for the Sanguinas?”

  Each of them gave him a perplexed look. “You know we four make up the council,” the oldest council member, Liam, spoke up.

  Jachin scanned his gaze down the line of council members. “You are the oldest members of this clan, bringing with you knowledge of your past lives as humans before the Scions project. As the clan’s leader, I will look to you to help counsel me, to make sure I’m just, to temper my decisions with sound arguments if you disagree, and together we will vote. The majority rules. Understand?”

  The three men and lone woman glanced back and forth at each other in confusion before Elin, the female, finally answered, spreading her hands wide. “Our roles have been in name only for many years. Needless to say, we are surprised by this change.”

  Jachin focused on them as a group and hardened his penetrating stare. “If you don’t think you’re up to the challenge of fulfilling the responsibilities of your positions, the clan can elect new council members.”

  “No!” every single member of the council said in unison.

  “Good,” Jachin nodded, turning back to the Sanguinas population of nearly a hundred vampires. “I will lead you, but every single one of you is responsible for this clan’s survival. Know this now—you will be judged for any action you take that puts our lives as a whole in jeopardy.”

  “We didn’t ask for your leadership,” a vampire called out from the back of the room.

  Jachin set his jaw, knowing he would face some opposition. “Vivian, come forward,” Jachin said, waving to her.

  The female vampire approached, her movements unhurried. She stopped a few feet in front of him, defiance reflected in her gaze.

  “Tell them,” Jachin demanded, tension coiling in his chest.

  She raised her chin in a haughty pose. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

  Jachin gritted his teeth and demanded, “Tell them why I was banished.”

  “Because you tried to take Braeden’s woman,” she answered with a satisfied smirk.

  Rage brewed inside him like a storm on the verge of shifting to a full-blown hurricane. He closed the distance between them in one long stride. Gripping her arm, he turned her to face the Sanguinas.

  “Braeden left you to fend for yourself. Look them in the eye and tell the truth, Vivian. They are the ones you have to answer to.”

  Silence descended on the crowd for several seconds, to the point Jachin thought Vivian wasn’t going to speak. Then something broke inside her, and she squared her shoulders and cleared her throat.

  “Braeden told me to seduce Jachin. He planned to discover Jachin and me together. He wanted Jachin and his ridiculous ideas about the prophecy gone from our presence.”

  Gasps of disbelief and rumbles of angry surprise rippled through the crowd.

  “Finish!” Jachin demanded, his temper on a short fuse.

  The group quieted down as Vivian glanced over her shoulder to glare at him. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

  “Ariel.” He said the one word with such conviction Vivian physically flinched.

  When she didn’t speak, Jachin tightened his hold on her arm. “Don’t deny your race their future for your own selfish reasons, Vivian. Tell them or you’ll be judged as a traitor.”

  She pulled out of his hold and tossed her long black hair over her shoulder as her gaze locked with the rapt attention of her clan. “The human’s blood is viable.”

  While a collective gasp of outrage reverberated throughout the clan, a thick-boned female vampire howled and rushed forth, slamming her fist into Vivian’s face.

  As Vivian fell to the ground, the woman straddled her stomach and grasped her neck, trying to choke her. “You deceitful bitch! I want to have children.”

  Jachin gripped the woman’s arm and hauled her off Vivian. She bared her fangs at Vivian and tried to pull out of his hold, causing Vivian, her face and neck already swelling, to scramble to her feet to get out of the woman’s reach.

  Jachin held fast to the enraged female’s arm, forcing her to meet his gaze. “Fighting amongst ourselves isn’t the answer, Paiden.”

  After a couple more struggles, the fight left her. Jachin wrapped his arm around Paiden’s shoulders and faced the Sanguinas. “I can’t say what was in Braeden’s mind, but I can tell you what’s in mine. The prophecy has always ruled me because I want us to flourish. My ultimate goal is not to hide but to eventually live among humans.”

  His words stirred worried comments from the crowd. “They deserve the punishment, Jachin.”

  Jachin met the speaker’s defiant gaze. “Don’t you think we’ve all suffered enough for our past mistakes? Before the sickne
ss there were many who believed as I did; desiring a life where humanity was something we all sought, not this hunting and vengeance against humans.”

  “Maybe your human is the only one,” another woman said, her tone doubtful.

  Jachin shook his head. “She’s not. It wasn’t until I took her blood that I realized the difference. I have a theory as to how to determine which humans are viable. I will test this theory myself to make sure no more vampires will be poisoned, then I’ll share how to tell the difference.”

  Jachin scanned his sincere gaze to each and every Sanguina in the crowd as he continued, “We need them. But we need to live in harmony, to live without violence. I will establish guidelines and rules for the safety of our clan. All of you will follow them or you’ll be brought before the council and me for judgment.”

  Speaking of judgment, Jachin thought, his blood beginning to boil as he strode toward the group of vampires. Scanning the crowd as he walked, he finally stopped in front of the blond vampire he sought. Jachin stared Vlad down as his entire body flushed with heat. Rage built to explosive levels within Jachin at the thought of the spineless bastard violating his sister.

  “What the hell are you looking at?” Vlad glared at him.

  “A condemned man,” Jachin growled at the same time he slammed his hand around Vlad’s throat.

  The man had the gall to stare at him with innocent eyes, as if he hadn’t done a damn thing wrong.

  Yanking Vlad along, he dragged the man through the group and then pulled him around to stand before the council members.

  “What punishment would you hand down to this man for violating my sister?” he demanded of the council.

  “Castration,” Elin hissed without hesitation, her gaze narrowed.

  “Banishment,” two men responded with conviction.

  Jachin was shocked. He’d expected something more. “And you, Liam? What is your vote?” Jachin’s gaze snapped to the last council member.

  “Banishment,” Liam replied with satisfaction.

  “No!” Vlad’s garbled plea came out in a high-pitched squeal, making him sound like the pig he was.

  Suppressing the savage need for revenge that railed through him, tensing every muscle in his body, Jachin took a deep breath and tightened his hold around Vlad’s neck, his claws slowly extending from his fingers. “I would like more options, but I’ll follow the majority’s wishes. You are hereby banished. You are not allowed to speak to or be in the vicinity of another vampire. If you are caught breaking these laws, then the punishment will be death.”

  After he asked Talek to escort Vlad out of the manor, Jachin left the Sanguinas to check on Ariel. He was thankful his sister hadn’t been in the room when he’d dealt with Vlad. She didn’t need to relive any part of what the sadistic man had done to her. His blood boiled that he was forced merely to banish the man rather than meting out the kind of punishment he felt Vlad deserved. At least the man would be gone from Mira’s presence.

  When Jachin neared Mira’s room, a sense of panic overtook him. Something wasn’t right. He heard Ariel’s heart beating at a sluggish rate, while her breathing came out in frantic pants.

  He took the last couple of steps in one big stride.

  As he jerked the door open, Jachin saw Ariel try to yank something off her arm. He took in the sight of Mira levitating beside her bed a few feet higher than Ariel, her head, feet and arms drooped, her back arched as a tube filled with blood led to Ariel’s arm.

  Ariel glanced his way. She rolled to her side and tried to rise up in an effort to get to the tube on Mira’s arm, her words slurring as she said, “Heelp me get it ouuuut. She’s dying!”

  A cold chill ran down his spine and Jachin’s throat seized in fear. He rushed to the bed, his heart thudding. Gripping Ariel by the shoulders, he pushed her back on the bed. “Lie back,” he commanded as he pulled the tape off the needle that had been in Ariel’s arm. Running his tongue across her wound, he pushed her arm up in the air. “Hold it there.”

  He turned to his sister. She was mumbling and delirious, her features gaunt. He quickly removed the needle from her arm and closed her wound with another swipe of his tongue.

  Tossing the tube to the floor, he wrapped his arms around his sister’s petite form in the air and whispered in her mind, hoping like hell she heard him. Relax, Mira. Allow yourself to float to the ground.

  Ever so slowly, his sister’s body began to lower into his arms. When he felt her slight weight push at his arms, Jachin carried her to the other side of the bed. As he gently laid her down, Ariel’s glazed eyes met his.

  “Mira tried to save my life. She can’t die,” Ariel said right before her arm fell to her side and her eyes fluttered closed. Despite her unconscious state, his mate’s heartbeat sounded stronger than it had an hour before. She was going to be okay.

  When his gaze returned to his sister, tears stung his eyelids and Jachin began to shake as anger, guilt and fear battled within him. He bit down on his own wrist and pressed the open wounds to Mira’s mouth, demanding, “Drink! Don’t you die on me, damn you.”

  She managed a few swallows before her lips went slack and her heartbeat completely stopped.

  “No!” Jachin yelled, slamming his fist into the wall above the bed so hard it went right through the thick cement block.

  He fell to his knees and gripped her wrist, pressing it against his face as anguish racked his body. “Come back, little sister. Please don’t leave us.”

  Memories of a dream his sister had shared with him when she was a little girl flashed through his mind. “I want to be a doctor,” she’d said, her blue eyes bright. “Live in the city and care for those in need of help.” He squeezed her hand. She had accomplished her goal and far surpassed it. His heart ached at the loss. “Please don’t leave us,” he repeated in a hoarse voice.

  As if in answer to his plea, a faint tremor tapped at his cheek like fingers caressing his face. His throat tightened at the phantom sensation, and he pressed her wrist closer to his skin, waiting, willing a response. The tremor happened again as the sluggish rush of blood pumped through her veins. Jachin closed his eyes, his heart soaring that his sister’s life had been spared.

  Ariel sat on the top of Sanguinas manor in her favorite spot—in the indentation between two tall walls, overlooking the beautiful view of the Shawangunk mountain range. It was a great place to think. She’d been doing a lot of that, especially about her next book. The sun sank low in the sky, painting the horizon in gorgeous hues of streaked purples, pinks and oranges. She adjusted the sunglasses Jachin had given her, pulling them down to see the colors in their full bloom, but the evening sun caused her eyes to water and burn. Sighing, she shoved the shades back up on her nose.

  When the last bit of sunlight gave over to the night sky, Jachin appeared behind her, lifting her off the battlement. His approach had been so silent she jumped at the sensation of his arms encircling her waist.

  “Sheesh, you’re entirely too good at sneaking up on me,” she said, snuggling into the warmth of his embrace.

  He kissed her neck, then whispered in her ear, “I really don’t like you coming out here by yourself.”

  She chuckled. “Ah, but if I’m going to live among a bunch of superhumans, at least I’ll have one advantage—being able to walk in the sunlight.”

  Turning in his arms, she slid the glasses up into her hair and met his gaze. “How’s Mira?”

  Jachin set his jaw and shook his head. “No change. I told her about Vlad’s punishment and even that didn’t seem to faze her. It’s almost as if she doesn’t want to wake up.”

  Guilt swept through Ariel that Mira had risked her life to save hers. “I’m so sorry, Jachin. I wish there was something I could do.”

  He cupped her face, his gaze searching hers. “To do what she did for you, my sister had to have come to care for you a great deal. She’d be very upset if she knew you felt responsible. She’ll come out of her coma when she’s ready. We have to believ
e that.”

  Ariel gripped his hands and planted a kiss on his palm, then met his gaze with a steady one. “There’s something I’ve been meaning to tell you, but I’d wanted to wait for Mira to awaken.”

  He glanced at the dark sconce on the wall. “Do you wish for some light?”

  She shook her head, smiling. “I don’t know if it’s the thinner air up here or what. Not only are my eyes more sensitive to the sunlight, but I can see every expression on your face as if it were daylight. Odd, eh?”

  Jachin regarded her with a penetrating gaze. “Very,” he said as he laced his fingers with hers and pulled her over to sit down beside him on a wooden bench. “What have you been waiting to tell me?”

  She took a deep breath. “I saw your father.”

  Jachin frowned in confusion. “My father has been dead for more than two decades.”

  “I know. While I was lying there dying, Ezra visited my dreams and talked to me about the prophecy.”

  His shoulders tensed and his fingers tightened on hers. “What did my father say? Word for word.”

  She took a steadying breath. She knew Jachin wasn’t going to like the answer. “He said that you fulfilled your part of the prophecy, but that the prophecy wasn’t just about the Sanguinas.”

  “What?” Jachin stood and ran his hands through his hair as he paced in front of her.

  “There’s more. Your father told me the rest of the prophecy.” Once Jachin stopped pacing and gave her his undivided attention, she took a breath and recited the words Ezra had spoken.

  “Peace,” Jachin whispered, closing his eyes briefly. Opening his eyes, he spoke earnestly. “In my heart I knew that had to be my father’s goal.”

  When he stared off into the distance for several seconds, Ariel knew he was going over the entire prophecy in his mind. “I think part of the prophecy is about the Lupreda,” she said.

  Jachin frowned, his expression hard, unyielding. “During my battle with the two Lupreda, I saw one of them start to shift outside the moon’s cycle. In the past, they could only shift to wolf form during the three days when the moon was at its fullest.”