Dangelis de Fiammetta was a very attractive man. He stood at least as tall as Ambrose with curly blond hair. It was his eyes, however, that showed the world what kind of man he was. Cruelty was only one of many words that could be used to describe him.
His hand, with long fingers, wrapped around Ambrose’s neck from behind, and he grinned at Carissa. She watched in slow motion as he yanked Ambrose back. The motion was so powerful that the old man went flying in the air.
Carissa screamed out, but in the midst of the fighting, no one heard. She watched helplessly as the only father figure she had ever known in her life slammed into an old piece of mining equipment that had a broken steel pipe.
The pipe went completely through Ambrose’s chest to stick out. Blood spurted out of the pipe and out of Ambrose’s mouth to pool on the ground.
Carissa found she could only stand there and look as she was hit with complete disbelief. Never in her worst nightmares did Carissa think Ambrose would die tonight or in that fashion. Julian was the one to take some kind of action. He tore his mask off as did Lucian to look at the sight of the last council member dying.
Lucian dashed off toward him as Julian turned to the master. Dangelis de Fiammetta smiled cruelly at Julian, showing him surprisingly white teeth, but a coldness that should have sent chills down Julian’s back.
Julian rushed toward Dangelis, taking a large swing at him with his own staff. He never heard the warning that Carissa screamed at him. The only thing Julian saw was red. He wanted this thing dead, and nothing was going to stop him from accomplishing that.
Dangelis didn’t say a word to him. He only hissed when Julian tried to take a hard swing at him. Each time Julian tried to hit him, Dangelis moved back. It was apparent that the master was playing with him and enjoying how pissed he was becoming.
Carissa tried like hell to get to him, but the breeds seemed to come out in a steady flow. She was starting to get worried about Julian getting killed before she could join him for backup.
However, the playing suddenly came to a halt when Dangelis grabbed Julian by his throat and picked him up off of his feet. He hissed in Julian’s face before he hit him hard in the side. Blood shot out of Julian’s mouth from the blow, telling Carissa that Dangelis hurt him real bad.
“Julian!” Lucian yelled.
Fear gripped Carissa with the way Lucian called out to him. It also seemed to give her the extra energy she needed to rush up on Dangelis. With all of her might, Carissa jumped up and came down with her staff, hitting the master as hard as she could in the back.
Dangelis screamed out in pain, dropping Julian to the ground. Before he turned his fury on Carissa, Dangelis kicked Julian hard in the side. It was so powerful that Julian went skidding to the side, where Ambrose was dying.
Dangelis swung around and sliced his knife wide. He managed to cut Carissa deep across her belly. Somehow, Carissa was able to block the pain and shove her large sword-like knife deep into the master’s chest.
Dangelis screamed out in pain before he backhanded Carissa hard, knocking her down. Bleeding from her wound, Carissa watched the master drop to the ground and spit out a good amount of blood. The breeds around them all looked on in stunned silence while their master tried to crawl back to the mine.
Instead of tending to his wounds, Julian rolled over to Ambrose. He pulled the mask from his face with tears suddenly in his eyes and pain throughout his body. The hit that he took from Dangelis was hard enough that Julian knew all his ribs on his right side were broken, and maybe even a lung collapsed. He was just thankful that he didn’t have a bad cut to deal with as well.
Ambrose tried to smile at them both but found it too painful. Blood poured out of his mouth when he tried to speak to them, and his eyes showed exactly how much pain he was in.
“Don’t speak,” Julian said.
Julian looked over his shoulder and found Carissa on the ground crawling over to them. He frowned in pain, watching as blood dripped from her stomach. She dropped down further in front of Ambrose, resting her head on the ground before she pulled her mask from her face.
“Ambrose,” she said softly. Tears fell from her eyes as she looked up at his bloody face.
Ambrose looked out at nothing. His breathing was quickly becoming shallow as his lifeblood poured out of his body quickly. “I…I…I…” was all Ambrose could stutter out before the life within him was over.
“No!” Carissa cried out in pain. “No, no, no, no!” She hung her head down and cried. “Don’t leave!” She stood up suddenly and yanked him from the pole, holding his head in her lap. “Come back! God, come back!” She cried with a scream.
Lucian and Julian both watched Carissa hold Ambrose’s lifeless form. It wasn’t until Julian dropped to the ground unexpectedly that Lucian realized how badly his friend was injured from the inside.
“Julian!” he cried, rushing over to him. “Jesus. Your insides are a mess.” Lucian ripped his shirt and began to wrap it around his chest.
Julian hissed in pain but gave him a tender smile. “I’ll be fine.”
Both watched Carissa wipe her face and gently lay Ambrose down on the ground. Tears were still falling down her face as she looked at Julian. Saying nothing, she stood up and walked over to Julian.
Julian managed to sit up as he looked at her. Pain was in both of their eyes, but for the life of him, he could not say anything to comfort her like he knew she needed.
Slowly she leaned into him, kissing him gently and long. When she broke the kiss, she rested her forehead against his. “I love you,” Carissa then whispered softly. “Until the end of time. Never forget it.”
Another quick kiss and Carissa was pushing away from him. Lucian helped Julian stand up, and both watched Carissa load the last gold tip arrow into her bow. Standing in front of the blown up entrance, she took aim.
In a dream, they watched her release it. They watched it shoot into the mine, knowing that this was it. Knowing that there was enough left over explosions in that mine to bring the whole thing down on them and finish this war once and for all. They knew the wounded master would never again come out of that mine and do harm.
The explosion was huge. Fire, wood, equipment, everything, and anything that was around the old mine blew up. Julian and Lucian were knocked off their feet and thrown a good yard backward where they slammed into an old building. Broken wood flew back to hit them both, and some even lodged into the building They could hear the high piercing screams of the breeds as they died, but their deaths didn’t change the fact that Ambrose was now dead.
When all that was left were pieces of wood falling around them, both men sat up and looked around. They were shocked to find that Carissa was still standing in front of what used to be the mine.
Lucian looked at Julian, but his eyes saw a piece of wood sticking out of the building with blood dripping off of it. When Lucian looked at Julian, he noticed that Julian was looking at Carissa’s back.
“Julian?” Lucian asked gently.
Lucian looked at Carissa and watched her drop her bow to the ground. Her body swayed some before she tumbled to the ground.
Holding his side, Julian rushed over to her. Right off, he saw the hole in her side where a single piece of wood had gone through her body. It was the piece of wood that Lucian saw lodged into the building with blood dripping.
“Carissa!” Julian cried, dropping to the ground next to her. He picked her limp body up, looking at her closed eyes and feeling the helplessness. “No, you don’t!” he yelled. “You don’t get to leave me again with only memories.”
Chapter 14
“Why would she do that?” Julian asked the same question for at least a thousand times. “I just don’t understand it.”
Corbin sighed as he finished tightening the knot around Julian’s chest, making sure his right arm also couldn’t move.
“She explained it to you in the letter,” Corbin told him, tossing his shirt in Julian’s face.
“She d
idn’t explain a damn thing!” Julian snapped back. “She just walked out again.”
Corbin handed Julian a cup of coffee then smacked him on the back of the head. “You are such a selfish dipshit. Ambrose was a father to her. Give her time.”
Julian stood up quickly and then hissed in pain. “That is all I have given her. How much more am I supposed to give!” he yelled.
“As much as is needed!” Corbin yelled back.
“Um, can you two knock this off until later,” Lucian remarked. “The kids are missing again.”
Julian groaned. “Not again.”
Lucian opened his mouth to say something, but a sharp scream from downstairs had all three of the men up and running. Julian moaned with each fast step he took as he followed Lucian down into the room that used to be Ambrose’s. The sight that they saw scared the hell right out of everyone.
On the floor with his head in Tempest’s lap was Isaiah. His eyes were open wide, and he was staring up at the ceiling. Alina and Paris were standing off to the side, scared out of their minds.
Next to Isaiah was the bottle that Ambrose and Carissa were talking over. It lay on the floor empty of whatever it was that Ambrose put in it.
“What happened?” Julian snapped at the girls.
“We’re sorry,” Paris stuttered out, crying. “We only found him in the room.”
“What happened!” Julian yelled this time, causing the girls to jump.
“Isaiah said he could smell something,” Alina stuttered out. “He asked us to pick the lock for him.”
“We didn’t know it wasn’t his,” Paris cried. “Honest, Papa, we didn’t know.”
“Julian,” Lucian called out in a calm voice. “He is changing.”
Julian frowned and knelt down next to the boy. They watched as his eyes changed to almost every color there was. Julian picked the bottle up, sniffed at the contents, then handed it to Lucian.
“It’s blood.” Julian informed them all.
“What’s wrong with my boy?” Tempest cried.
Julian and Lucian both looked at each other, not knowing what to say. Isaiah never changed. He stayed in that condition, not moving or flinching. Only when Tempest passed out in the chair did Lucian take her to bed. He and Julian decided to take turns watching the boy.
Julian had to work hard in convincing the girls they didn’t do anything wrong, but he did make it a point to explain again why they shouldn’t go around picking locks.
At three in the morning, Julian was slumped in the chair sleeping. For two days, Isaiah never changed. Nothing they knew could help him, or answer the big question of what was going on.
The house was deathly quiet. Nothing stirred, but for a hooded figure that suddenly walked into the room where Isaiah was resting. Someone should have been able to hear the door open or the swooshing sound of the long leather coat.
Bright purple eyes shone in the dark as the figure sat down on the edge of the bed and touched the child’s cool head. Thunder pounded gently off in the distance, and red lightning hit the ground. A new kind of storm was brewing off in the distance. A new rain to wash the sins and the grief from the land away, giving everyone around a fresh start.
“Lei è la nostra pietra di enlightment. Il sangue ha chiamato a lei, l'ha scelta al di sopra di il riposo. Risvegliarsi poco un. Risvegliarsi e portare il suo luogo come il coucil nuovo. Portare l'infomation che è dato e proteggere tutti noi!” the figure spoke softy to the child, rubbing his head in a manner that had him closing his eyes and resting. In English, a soft woman’s voice spoke out the same words, “You are our Stone of Enlightenment. The blood has called to you, chose you above the rest. Awaken little one. Awaken and take your place as the new council. Take the information that is given and protect us all!”
Julian woke up suddenly as the hooded figure in a long black coat closed the door on them. He jumped to his feet and winced in pain. Julian was shocked to find Isaiah sleeping peacefully, but that shock didn’t stop him from rushing out of the bedroom and up the stairs.
His heart dropped when he saw the front door open and blood red rain pouring down on the ground. He walked outside, getting wet, but not caring one bit. Julian looked around into the night. He saw nothing, but his gut told him she was there. That somehow she came back and saved them all, just like she did each and every time.
“Come back, Carissa,” Julian said to himself into the night. “Just come back to me.”
Epilogue
Easter weekend, eight months later…
“Now, if you three don’t get these eggs colored, then we are not going to have an Easter egg hunt before you have to go to bed.” Denver chuckled.
Julian leaned against the frame, smiling at the sight around the table. It had been months since the girls saw Denver. He had been out cleaning up the major mess that his father left, hoping to fix and repair all the damage. So far, he was doing a damn good job.
“All done!” Isaiah smiled, putting his paintbrush down.
Julian noticed that night when he woke up, the boy changed. He was wiser, clearer on things, and seemed to know way more than a boy his age should. It also took Lucian and Tempest a very long time before they accepted the fact that Isaiah was now the new council. What was in that bottle was the blood of Ambrose and all the memories one needed to become the new council. With Isaiah being a small boy, he had many years to add to them. He had the time to bring together a power force to protect them all.
“Well, I say, you four go outside where Lucian and Tempest are,” Corbin told them all. “And take these steaks out to them for the grill.”
“When can we have a cookie?” Alina whined.
“Yeah,” Denver remarked with a smile. “I want a cookie.”
“After dinner,” Corbin informed them. “And I have a bag for each of you.” Corbin sighed as he handed the large plate of steaks to Denver. “With her having another baby, she eats more then ever.”
“I have heard that pregnant woman eat for two.” Denver smiled.
“Yes, but with a bloodmate, it is more like a dozen.” Corbin shook his head and went back to the stove. “I swear I am going to the store every other day.”
“And bitching about it as well.” Julian chuckled before he took a drink of his beer.
Corbin waited until the children were outside before he walked up to Julian. He snatched the beer from his hands just before he was about to take another drink.
“This doesn’t help.”
Julian gave him an ‘I don’t give a shit’ smile, snatching the beer back. “It makes things a hell of a lot easier.”
“Julian…” Corbin was interrupted by a knock on the front door. “Make yourself useful and get that,” he said, taking the beer back. “I want that meat in the freezer.”
Julian gave Corbin a salute before he whipped around and walked to the front door. He grumbled all the way to the door about how pushy Corbin was and how unfair life was getting. However, all speech and thought left him the moment he opened the door.
Standing on his doorstep, clad from head to foot in a long, black, leather trench coat with a hood on was Carissa. Both only looked at each other, and both were just as shocked to see the other.
Carissa was the one to make the move. She dropped her bag and jumped up into Julian’s arms, hugging him tightly. Julian closed his eyes and wrapped his arms around her body, pressing her as close as he could. He took a deep breath, inhaling her scent and praying this wasn’t some kind of dream.
“Is it really you?” he asked, burying his face in her neck.
“I couldn’t do it,” she mumbled back. “I couldn’t live on the memories alone this time.” She pulled her head back, looking him in the eyes. “I couldn’t live without you.”
Julian smiled right before she kissed him deeply. When it ended, he hugged her again tightly. “I love you,” he said against her neck. “God, how I love you.”
“Paris!” Alina screamed. “Paris, she’s back!”
Jul
ian let Carissa go and smiled as she knelt down and hugged Alina. Paris came in running, followed by Isaiah, who also charged at her. All three of the kids knocked her to the ground, and Carissa loved it.
“Well, all I have to say is it’s about time,” Corbin said to Carissa with a grin on his face. “His moping around was starting to drive me crazy.”
Carissa smiled up at Corbin then looked at Julian. “I’m here to stay this time.”
“Promise?” the girls said at the same time.
Julian took her hand, giving her a yank up to her feet. She smiled even brighter at Julian, wrapping her arms around his neck and pulling him down to her. “Until the end of my time.”
The End
Bloodmate IV Page 7
