“We’re not sure.”
A muscle in Jerome’s jaw twitched and a tic that only manifested itself when he was under extreme stress started in his right eye. He wanted to continue his tirade, destroy everything in his path—even Gordon—but the part of his mind that was still rational managed to get the upper hand. If he lost complete control, Thea would be the one to suffer and he couldn’t let that happen. Not at any cost.
“Get our best men together. I’ll meet them at the foot of the Berkeley Pier in fifteen minutes.” He spun around and headed for the door. A wave of dizziness hit him hard, but he shrugged it off and strode from the room.
In his quarters Jerome went immediately to his coffin and retrieved the small copper-lined box where he regularly put his ring to restore its magical powers. As he slipped the jeweled band on his finger, the turquoise and pearl stones glowed with centuries of accumulated power. He took his dagger and sheath from the wall. The simple act of hooking his weapon around his waist allowed him enough time to consider the dilemma he faced.
At any moment he could get word that San Francisco, or at least some part of it, was being turned upside down on itself. All the demonic vampires in the area would rise up and take advantage of the helpless victims left in the earthquake’s aftermath. With Zurik here as their leader, there was no telling what horrors would befall San Francisco’s citizens. He should stay here and lead his cadre against the hellish forces when they arose.
At the same time there was Julian in New Orleans, waiting for him to honor The Legacy of the family into which he had been born. All of his adult life he and his brothers had awaited the promise of the Goddess Lilith. The promise that one of her female descendents would enter Julian’s life, and if she fell in love with him and offered her life for his, Julian would regain his humanity. That part of the promise had been fulfilled. It was time now for him to receive Julian’s blood. Time to add another link to the chain the three brothers would forge to fight the enemy as mortals, no longer limited to the dark of night.
And now Thea had been dropped into the center of his world. Thea’s safety, her very life, was in his hands. He folded his arms across his chest and closed his eyes. Every fiber in his being urged him to cast all thoughts from his mind except those that centered on Thea. He was reminded again that she was his responsibility, a responsibility he had not asked for, a responsibility that had been thrust upon him, but one he had promised to uphold. What else could he do but put her first and do whatever was needed to rescue her? Besides, he loved her.
He punched his fist into his open palm. By all the Gods and Goddesses of Time, he loved Thea more than he loved life itself! For the first time in his long, often unholy, life, he had found a woman for whom he would forsake all others and willingly take as a lifelong mate. He could not lose Thea now that he had found her.
MICHAEL SHIVERED as cold air seeped in from the walls of the old French Quarter building in New Orleans. He knocked softly on the door of Julian’s and Simone’s apartment which was across the hall from his own. The door opened and Simone ushered him inside.
“How is he?” Michael asked, his voice lowered to a whisper. Julian’s temperature had reached the optimum temperature for performing the transfusion several hours earlier. A rise of more than a few more tenths of a degree would imperil his life and the transfusion ritual itself.
Simone replied in a tone as hushed and concerned as Michael’s. “His temperature has risen another tenth of a degree.”
The days of keeping a twenty-four hour watch over Julian showed itself in the dark circles under Simone’s eyes. Michael always spelled her during the night, but even then she insisted on staying in the room, dozing in the chair at Julian’s bedside until exhaustion claimed her against her will.
They walked side by side into the bedroom and stopped beside the bed where Julian lay, his skin flushed and dry, his breathing harsh and rapid.
Simone passed her hand across Julian’s forehead. He opened his eyes, gave her a brief smile and closed his eyes again. Simone looked up at Michael. “Any word yet?”
Michael shook his head, his fingers probing Julian’s erratic pulse. “Gordon is still optimistic that when Jerome realizes the eleventh hour is almost over, he’ll come.”
Simone sat in the chair at the side of the bed and took Julian’s hand in hers. “How long can his body take this high fever?”
Michael laid a gentle hand on her shoulder. “Julian is strong. His body has taken much abuse during his lifetime.” It would serve no purpose to let Simone know how grave the situation really was.
Simone leaned over Julian and pressed a kiss to his forehead. “I hate to see him like this.”
Michael squeezed her shoulder compassionately. “Try not to worry too much, Simone. And I’m here in the event something untoward occurs.”
He could tell Simone wasn’t convinced. All she knew was that Julian was terribly ill. She didn’t know that what was at stake here was more than Julian’s life. That what hung in the balance was the ultimate security of the world. She couldn’t know that the brothers’ ability to rout out the deep-earth vampires depended on each brother’s voluntary acceptance of his role in the fulfillment of The Legacy.
With Julian it had been easy; he had always willingly carried the fate of his brothers and the world on his shoulders. Not so with Jerome. Michael had always known it would be a battle for Jerome to give up the often decadent life he led.
But what no one except himself and his cousins, Gordon and Scott, knew was that one condition of the brothers assuming all the powers the Goddess Lilith had promised was Jerome’s voluntary acceptance of Julian’s blood.
Jerome was the critical link in the Whitcombe chain. It was necessary for his blood to mix with Julian’s so the resultant antibodies would produce a product compatible with the blood of the youngest brother, Jonah. Without Jerome the full potential of The Legacy would not be realized.
The worry over Jerome’s availability could have been avoided if Julian had either stayed in San Francisco or made the trip back when his temperature first began to rise. But Michael had quickly quashed that idea when Julian brought it up to him before his trip to California. The relocation wasn’t possible since the equipment Michael needed in his lab, should a complication arise, could not be broken down and set up again in San Francisco without a lot more time than they had at their disposal.
Michael began to pace, but quickly forced himself to stop so as not to give Simone more reason for concern. She already knew that if Jerome did not arrive soon it would be too late to perform the ritual.
ONLY A FEW MINUTES had passed since Jerome donned his ring and his sheath and sword. He knew he should already be on his way to the Berkeley Pier. Every minute he lingered was one minute less he had to find Thea. He had no clear-cut plan except to capture Zurik or one of his henchmen and somehow force him to reveal where Thea was hidden.
He could only imagine what Thea must be going through, reliving again the horrors she had already endured. He knew she was a strong woman—that she had survived Zurik’s cruelty once before was a testament to that—but was she strong enough to stand up to the monster for a second time?
Jerome called upon his powers of concentration to conjure up his last encounter with Thea. He had left her on the bed and walked away from her without the courage or decency to look her in the eye when he said goodbye. “Have a safe trip home,” were the last words he had spoken to the woman of his heart—the woman he loved, the woman for whom he was now about to turn his back on The Legacy.
He imagined Thea in his arms, her lovely body curved into his, her neck lifted to his mouth in an offering of the blood he desperately craved. He would have both when he rescued Thea and made her his own.
He would first take her body and drink deeply of her blood. Then, he would return her blood, mixed with his own, to bind her to
him for all eternity. He was both aroused and excited by all that awaited him.
He stood, prepared to leave at once to meet his cadre at the Pier, when a rumble of voices inside his head caused him to stagger back onto the chair. Instantly, the voices turned into agonizing screams and then came the images—men, women, children, the unborn, their cries of pain so deafening he put his hand to his ears. But the sounds would not cease.
And then the images came alive, clear and unedited, scenes straight from the depths of a hell even he had not before imagined. Women raped, their bodies sliced from groin to throat; men decapitated, their genitals and entrails all that was left of their bodies; children and infants slit from ear to ear, the blood from their upraised bodies flowing like rivers into the gasping mouths of their evil vampire slayers. Pain wracked Jerome’s body with such force he cried out in agony.
Thea’s face, beautiful and unmarred, floated before him. He put out his hands to touch her, to catch her and bring her closer, but like vapor she eluded him.
And then he heard the voice of the Goddess Lilith.
The fate of the world. Or Thea. Choose one, for you cannot have both.
Agonizingly he made his decision and left the room. He climbed the stairs, his heart heavy, his decision one he would regret for the rest of his life.
When he entered his office a few minutes later, Gordon stood in the same spot where Jerome had left him earlier. “Everyone is assembled and waiting at the Pier. I have the Corvette ready in the event you’re still not able to transport yourself.” Jerome had taken Gordon into his confidence as soon as his power of physical transportation had been weakened by the earth’s magnetic shift.
Jerome hurried to his desk, wrote hastily on a piece of paper and slipped it inside an envelope. “I won’t be heading to the Pier. I want you to go in my place and impress on the men that it’s imperative to find out everything they can about Thea’s whereabouts. I also want every Watcher in the area to make tracking every enemy Watcher a top priority.” He held out the envelope to Gordon. “If you find Thea . . . alive,” he choked on the word, “give her this.”
“Anything else?”
“I need you to get me a ticket to New Orleans on the next flight out.”
Gordon smiled. “I’ve already taken care of that. I have a chartered flight on standby.”
SIMONE’S RELIEF was evident in her gasped, “Thank God, you’re here,” when she opened the door and found Jerome standing on the threshold. Without another word, she led him to the bedroom where Michael stood at the side of Julian’s bed.
Michael wasted no time crossing the room. He clasped Jerome in an affectionate embrace and quickly released him. “Another few minutes and you might have been too late.” Jerome began unbuttoning his shirt.
“It would be best if you waited outside until this is over,” Michael told Simone as she moved to Julian’s side.
Simone took Julian’s hand in hers. “I’d prefer to stay.”
“Michael is right,” Jerome interjected, tossing his shirt aside. “You should do as he says.” Before she could object further, he turned to Michael. “Are you planning to perform the procedure here, rather than in your lab?”
“Yes. Time is of the essence. We may have only minutes to spare.”
“Michael will let you know when it’s over,” Jerome told Simone as she and Julian kissed, their whispered exchanges of “I love you” reminding him of the woman he had left behind before he had the opportunity to tell her how much she meant to him. The pain in Simone’s eyes as she walked away from Julian was like a knife in his own heart.
For a fleeting second he recalled his initial reaction to Julian’s commitment to Simone, how he had sneered and even ridiculed his brother’s decision to take a life mate. If only he had known then how important Thea would become to him. But that was then and this was now, and the fulfillment of Lilith’s promise was the only thing that mattered at the moment. If it was in his future, there might be time later to rectify his mistake.
Once Simone left the room, Jerome took his place beside Julian on the bed and Michael moved to the small bedside table that held a tray of surgical instruments. “Julian’s temperature is falling rapidly so I must move quickly. I cannot give either of you anything for pain because it would taint the blood.”
Both Jerome and Julian gave Michael an understanding smile and Jerome turned to his brother and touched his shoulder in their usual gesture of affection.
“Because of the time constraint,” Michael continued, “I will need to go directly into the heart.”
Jerome didn’t need Michael to spell out the danger to both him and Julian. He knew full well the risk. But he also knew that the risk of the Prophecy not being fulfilled was interminably greater. He couldn’t allow even the smallest trace of negativity to interfere with what lay ahead. The incorporation of Julian’s blood into his own had to work. The eventual conquest of the deep-earth vampires depended on it. The possibility of a life with Thea, though remote at best, depended on it.
“It is time now for both of you to beseech the Goddess Lilith for the strength to endure the pain each of you must bear,” Michael said, lifting a shiny scalpel from the bedside table. “The procedure will be quick and you will be healed within an hour of its completion.” He looked directly at Jerome. “There will be an interim where your body will be here with me, but your mind and soul will be with the Goddess.” He took a deep breath, looked at each of the brothers in turn and asked solemnly, “Are you ready?”
Julian and Jerome nodded in unison.
Michael leaned over Jerome and touched the scalpel to his chest. The blinding pain hurled Jerome into the center of an equally blinding light. The pain should have rendered him unconscious, but instead it sharpened his awareness of everything around him. He was neither dead nor alive. It was impossible to tell how long he remained in that ethereal state of nothingness.
Eventually the pain ended and his spirit was filled with a profound peace. Everything around him lit up, and in the middle of the blinding light the Goddess Lilith appeared.
She spoke to him softly, her voice filled with unmistakable pride. You have done well Jerome Whitcombe . Because you moved beyond a shattered heart and voluntarily gave up the life you loved, the next step in the fulfillment of the Prophecy can be taken.
The light faded and when Jerome awoke, he was in the spare bedroom and Gordon was standing at the side of the bed, Jerome’s shirt in his hand.
Jerome sat up slowly, anticipating some unpleasant reaction to recently having had his chest cut open, but he was pleasantly surprised. There was no pain at all. Gingerly, he touched his hand to his chest. Still no pain. He had healed quickly, as Michael said he would. He looked up at Gordon. “What are you doing here?”
Gordon held out the shirt. “I’ve come to take you home.”
“Are there no flights out?”
“None in the time you have left to get back.”
Jerome stopped midway through buttoning his shirt. “You found Thea?”
“We’ve tracked her. She’s with Zurik. And Gene is very concerned with the magnetic readings of the past hour. You need to get to her before the earth claims them both.”
Jerome was on his feet and at the door before the impact of Gordon’s news hit him. “What did you mean when you said you were here because there were no flights out?”
“The scheduled flights will take too long and the plane you came in on couldn’t make a return flight.”
“Then how the hell am I supposed to get home?”
Gordon chuckled. “Have you ever wondered what it would be like to fly on the back of a condor?”
“I can’t say I have, but I take it that’s to be my means of transportation back.”
“Precisely. And although I can carry twenty times my condor weight, I’m not di
stance-tested for such a heavy load,” Gordon said, smiling broadly. “I’ll fly to a stopover point and wait for you there. A Changer here in New Orleans will carry you to Albuquerque where I’ll pick you up and take you the rest of the way.”
“Sounds like you have everything worked out.”
Gordon ushered him through the open door. “Let’s hope so.”
WHEN JEROME AND Gordon left the bedroom Simone and Julian were waiting for them in the living room. Promises between Jerome and Julian to stay in touch by telephone had no sooner ended when Michael entered the room. Final goodbyes were exchanged and Julian and Simone left their visitors alone with Michael.
“I need to have a word with you, Jerome,” Michael said, closing the door behind him.
Jerome nodded. “Just please make it quick. I’m in a hurry to leave.”
“I know, but this is important.”
Jerome waited, each second a lifetime.
“You are not to breathe a word of the Goddess’ expectations to Jonah,” Michael continued. “He will have his own test of loyalty to The Legacy.”
“I understand.”
“I hope you do. I haven’t interacted personally with Jonah in quite a while, but if he is anywhere as resistant as you were we could be facing big trouble.” Michael let go one of his rare ear to ear smiles.
“Do you have any idea how or when he will be called to the test?”
Michael shook his head. “Only the Goddess knows. She’ll share that information with us when the time is right.”
Jerome shifted uneasily. “Is that all?”
Michael put a hand to Jerome’s arm. “Remember, you’ll retain many of your former vampire powers. To what extent those powers will be at your command only time will tell. But the Goddess will always be there for you to call upon in times of need.”
Jerome returned Michael’s gesture of affection by clasping his shoulder. It was good seeing him again, but time was of the essence. The woman he loved was in peril and the monster that had put her there had to be sent to hell.
The Vampire Jerome Page 16
