by Terry Spear
“Lynetta took a lot of her blood,” Kate said, her own voice unsteady. “Adrenaline and the will to terminate the vicious vamp were all that kept her on her feet.”
“Marissa, love.” We hadn’t finished the job, and I knew before the night was over, Lynetta would return with a vengeance.
Chapter 24
MARISSA
When I awoke, Dominic hovered over me. His hand caressed mine with a gentle sweep back and forth. His sensitive touch warmed me all the way through to the marrow of my bones. As soon as his dark eyes caught my gaze, he kissed my cheek. “Thank God you’ve finally come to. How are you feeling?”
I looked around the hospital room and down at the flimsy hospital gown I wore, and the thin white blanket that covered me to my waist. A plastic ID bracelet encircled my wrist. The awful smell of antiseptics floated on the air, but the fragrance of red and white roses stacked on the bedside table helped to disguise the odor. “What am I doing—”
“We’re at the hospital. You received some blood, but…”
He glanced in the direction of one corner of the room. When I followed his gaze, my mouth dropped wide open. Dominic’s brother stood holding a crossbow fitted with a round wooden stake. Like a gigantic arrow, the sharp pointed end was wicked-looking. He winked at me.
“What’s going on?” I whispered to Dominic.
“We didn’t kill her, Marissa. Lynetta will come for us…you first, I figure. You stopped her from having me. She’ll want to destroy you, without a doubt.”
“We didn’t kill her,” I repeated, rubbing my temple, trying to recall what had happened. Then I remembered. Where her ashes and gown should have lain in the tanning bed, nothing remained. I searched Dominic’s dark brown eyes for answers. “Where’s Kate?”
She stepped out of the bathroom, holding a mallet and wooden stake. “Right here, Marissa.” She smiled. “We’re in this together.”
Tears choked in my throat. I had the best friends in all the world. “What about that policeman?”
“Cousin Bill,” Dominic said. “James let him in on the family secret, figuring we needed some more help. He’s got hall watch.”
“But his bullets won’t work on the vamp. Does he know that?”
“He’s been outfitted with a crossbow like James. The ward has been cleared of patients. No staff are allowed to visit, by order of the Witches’ and Warlocks’ Council. You have a virus that can cause you to cast dangerous spells should anyone attempt to enter the wing. However, the council met at your father’s house, and they’re trying to come up with solutions for destroying the evil…the evil vampires.”
It was the first time I’d heard him call them by their name. I shook my head. “Great. This will get all over school by tomorrow and…the dance!”
“We’ll still have time tomorrow night to attend the dance, if we can slay Lynetta before first light.”
My blood heated. “If that vamp makes me miss the dance…”
Dominic kissed my cheek with tenderness. “There will be next year. The most important mission is getting rid of Lynetta.”
I sighed heavily, wishing I could focus on the important issue, but I’d sorely miss dancing with the knight of my dreams. “You’re right,” I reluctantly conceded. I glanced down at my designer hospital gown. “I need to get changed.”
Dominic pointed at the I.V. attached to my arm and the blood dripping down the line. “You are not to go anywhere, love of my life. We’ll take care of her if she comes.”
“Why…why was your brother at the tanning salon? I mean, I’m glad he was, but…”
“Kate’s parents gave Cousin Bill permission to investigate the building after the police found her with her neck torn up in your parents’ car parked out front. When Bill told James he was investigating the incident, James figured he’d better let him in on what was going on with you and me. Anyway, Bill’s a great guy and is taking this mission to protect us seriously.”
“Thank God they were there when we arrived, but I sure wish the tanning bed had worked on the vamp.” I laid my head back against the pillow. Suddenly, I felt weary, like I’d swum the seven seas and back. So much for being Dominic’s savior. I knew she’d come again for him and I wouldn’t be able to lift a hand in his defense.
I closed my eyes, and Dominic kissed my cheek again, then sat down in the vinyl chair next to me. His hand continued to stroke mine, lulling me to sleep.
“She needs to sleep,” Kate whispered. “If she gets enough rest, she’ll be fine.”
“I can’t take her to the dance if Lynetta’s not dead,” Dominic said with some regret in his voice.
I knew, too, if we didn’t kill her before the dance, Dominic would be the vamp’s forever.
***
“Did you want a cup of coffee?” I heard Bill ask James sometime later, stirring me from the sleep of the dead, though I still felt I had barely any strength.
“Yeah, another cup will do. I’ll take your place at the door.”
I took another deep breath, my eyes still scratchy from not getting enough sleep. The overhead light was turned off. Only the bathroom and hall lights drifted into the room like warming nightlights to chase away the nightmares. I could see anything in the dark anyway, but James and Kate had need of the light.
James shut the door behind him and sat in Bill’s chair outside the room.
Dominic and Kate slept quietly in two oversized chairs. I glanced at the blood bag. Empty.
Good. I hated being chained to a metal rack in the event something bad happened. Though without a weapon, I wasn’t sure I could stop the vamp if she came for me.
Time seemed to suspend. More voices drifted to me. I floated on the air, jostled about, drifting through the clouds and mist and dark, damp air.
Dominic kissed me, his eyes heavily lidded, his hands on my shoulders, his touch warm and endearing. But then he pulled away from me and sat in the chair next to the bed, leaned back, closed his eyes and seemed to fall asleep, his face at peace with the world.
I watched him for some time, glad, despite our circumstances, that he had drawn me into his world. Then I closed my eyes, too weary to do much more than sleep.
A funny burning odor wafted from behind my bed. I turned toward the bathroom and saw the vamp. My heart dropped.
Her eyes and lips hostile, Lynetta stood watching me, her face and hands burned badly from the tanning bed. She took a flying leap forward and grabbed my throat, squeezing the life from me. I tried to choke out a scream, but no one responded.
“Dominic, wake up!” I telepathically implored him. “Dominic, please!” I moaned with terror and grief. “Dominic!” I beseeched.
A light flickered on, and I opened my eyes. I glanced around the room, my room with the green comforter decorated in pink roses, the pictures of my warlock idols hanging boldly on the walls that I suddenly realized I needed to remove now that I had my very own real one to adore. I was in my bedroom, now filled with fragrant roses. I stared at my mother standing in the doorway.
She wore her mint green robe and her blond hair hung down to her hips in sleep mode. A wrinkle marred her cheek where she’d slept on a crinkle in her pillow. “Marissa? Are you having a nightmare again, dear?”
“I…I guess so.” I couldn’t think. Had it all been a horribly vivid dream? I felt like my head was full of cobwebs and the memories were buried beneath them. “What happened?”
“After the hospital staff gave you blood, we brought you home.”
I glanced at the windows, the curtains drawn shut. “What time is it?”
“Four in the morning. You need to sleep, honey.”
“What day?”
“Friday, dear.”
“The dance.” I looked up at my mother’s worried face. “It’s tonight?”
She nodded and brushed away a strand of hair tickling my cheek.
I rubbed my temple, trying to make sense of my surroundings and what was real and what had been perceived. “Where’s Domin
ic?”
“He’s sleeping in the guestroom.”
“And Kate?”
“She’s home, sleeping in her own bed.”
“Dad?”
“Out like the proverbial light.”
Relieved, I sighed deeply. “I’m…I’m all right.”
“Okay, dear. Well, if you need anything, just come and get me.”
I was safe. Not only would my parents’ spells protect us, but since Lynetta had never been invited in, there was no way she could get to Dominic or me.
Not long after that, I drifted off to sleep again, feeling reassured and secure.
But an hour later, I heard a noise. Something like tapping on my bedroom window. Forever, I sat staring at it. Maybe I’d only thought I heard a tapping.
Then it happened again. Like pebbles being thrown against the glass. I climbed out of bed and walked to the window. I felt much better, though still tired. My head no longer throbbed, and I was steadier on my feet. Pulling the drapes open, I looked down at the front yard.
Lynetta, still wearing her shimmering black evening gown, stood near the brass yard lamp, its pale yellow glow casting shadows over the yard. Holding Dominic by the throat with her long, bony fingers, she gave me a sinister smile and her black eyes smoldered with hate.
My heart nearly stopped.
Dominic’s eyes widened when he saw me peering out the window, and he vehemently shook his head at me. “Stay inside where it’s safe, Marissa. Don’t come outside!”
Was I still dreaming? Was I having another nightmare?
Lynetta bared her wicked canines at me. They were real. She was real and so was the threat.
Terror streaked through my system. It was a nightmare all right. A very real nightmare. I had to save Dominic. I knew Lynetta intended to lure me from the house and kill me. She couldn’t get to me if I didn’t come outside. But I had to try and save Dominic.
I grabbed my blue jeans and shoved my feet in them so fast I fell. For a second, I hesitated, hoping I hadn’t woken my mother again since I didn’t want to risk her neck, literally. If The Stars was correct, this was my show.
Then, hearing no response from down the hall, I hurried to yank on a sweatshirt and a pair of tennis shoes, barely taking the time to tie them.
I jerked my bedroom door open and raced down the stairs, trying not to sound like a stampeding horse.
If I’d been thinking more clearly, I would have realized I had no weapon with me. All I could think of was getting to Dominic.
I bolted outside, causing the front door to slam against the wall inside, rattling a couple of framed pictures. It didn’t matter who I woke now. Nobody was stopping me. Well, except maybe Lynetta.
Close up, I could see her face and hands were a grizzled mess of fire-burned skin. Her gown appeared even more tattered than before. Like a hunter eagerly awaiting its prey, her haunting black eyes followed my every move.
I rushed forward across the lawn and tripped.
My heart leapt into my throat. Fall on your face, why don’t you, while you go to rescue the love of your life, I chastised myself. Really cool move.
At once, the vamp released Dominic, who dropped to his knees, gasping for air.
Likewise, I was on my knees, cursing whatever I’d struck in the grass that had dug into my shins and would leave bruises for sure, if I lived that long.
I touched the object while Lynetta whooshed into my face, her bloodied teeth bared.
The garden stake! It was the pansy flower wooden stake I’d used to beat her with before. I grabbed the stake and thrust it upward, hoping I aimed it directly into her heart, hoping the pointed post would kill the vamp. Though it wasn’t real sharp, this time I had a vampire’s strength.
Lynetta screamed as the stake tore through her tattered gown. She screamed again as I drove weapon through her fragile, sunburned skin, deep into her heart. Then she turned back into the form my patron demon had left her in, her dehydrated skin stretched loosely over bones. Her body collapsed in a heap on top of me, only this time her remains began to turn to a fine gray ash.
“Marissa! Dominic!” I heard my father shout from upstairs, apparently discovering we had vanished from our rooms.
“Marissa!” Dominic called out, lifting me in his arms. He carried me into the house, kissing my wet cheeks. “You did it, my angel of mercy. You did it!”
I glanced back at the remnants of the vampire, still not believing she was really, really dead. But the ashes confirmed it. She couldn’t come back from that.
The truth surged through me like an adrenaline rush. I did it! The witch who was average at most everything destroyed an ancient vampire as old as time. A strange euphoria cloaked me entirely in a silky sheet of bliss. I wouldn’t have to strip Dominic naked and turn him over to the Council of Witches and Warlocks. I would be famous because I’d exposed the evil ones to the world. Such was my delirium when he returned me to bed.
“Famous,” I muttered dreamily, and Dominic smiled before kissing my lips again.
***
“She’s had a fever,” I heard my mother say beyond my bedroom door. “I don’t think it’s a good idea.”
I glanced at the window. The sun was already beginning to set. How could that be? The sun had never risen. Then I rubbed my temple, realizing I’d lost the rest of the morning and now it seemed I’d lost the day too.
I sat upright, my head spinning. “The dance!”
“Marissa?” Dominic said against my closed door.
“Yes, Dominic, come in.”
He pulled the door open and hurried across my carpeted floor, his dark eyes still concerned. “Your mother says you might still be too sick to attend the dance.”
“She’s dead, isn’t she? I mean, Lynetta?”
His lips curved upward in a sunshiny smile, while dimples dented his cheeks. “You bet.” He touched my hair in a loving caress and I imagined after having tossed and turned all night I must look a mess. “You saved me,” he said.
“How…how do you feel?”
His face fell slightly, then he tried to look cheerful. “Some of the vampire traits aren’t so bad.”
My heart dropped. “We…we didn’t stop the vampirism?”
Frowning with worry, he reached out and touched my cheek with tenderness. “Can you telepathically hear my words?”
My eyes misted.
“I think that’s a good thing, don’t you?”
I agreed. But would he continue to change, to become a full-fledged vampire—what we’d tried with all of our hearts to prevent?
He took my hand and kissed it. “I haven’t changed any more since you put a stop to Lynetta’s feasting on me. But I’m afraid if we want our lives back to normal, we’ll have to take this a step further.”
Uncomprehending, I stared at him, not liking where this might lead.
He pulled up a chair next to the bed, sat and held my hand, his dark eyes focused on mine. “We have to find who bit her first. Somewhere in our memories of her life, we’ll discover who it was. Then all we have to do is locate him.”
“And eliminate him.” I groaned, the idea we’d have to terminate another of the evil ones gave me a monumental headache. “Fine, if that’s what it takes, we’ll do it.” Then I frowned at him in my meanest scowl, and folded my arms. “Why did you go out to her?”
“I had to try and kill her. She was attempting to draw you outside. I heard her throwing pebbles at your window. There was no way I’d let her entice you to leave the house, especially as weak as you were.”
I poked my finger at his chest. “We were supposed to do this together, remember? She had the perfect bait to lure me. You.”
Trying to pacify me, he took my hand and kissed my fingers. “I was afraid to wait too long and I was certain you were too exhausted. So I tried shooting her with the crossbow from the front porch. Since my brother earned an archery Boy Scout merit badge when we were kids, I figured it couldn’t be that difficult. But unfortunately I misse
d by a mile.”
“So then she grabbed you and still lured me outside,” I said icily. I wasn’t letting him get away with thinking what he had done was right.
“Yeah, good thing for my sake you came for me, too. Though I nearly died when you tripped and she lunged after you, but I was too incapacitated to make a move.”
“Who tripped?” I asked, my face growing hot. Of all the stupid things, I couldn’t think of anything I had done recently dumber than that. Teaches people how dangerous their home environment can be and that it pays to pick up stuff and not just leave it lying around for someone like me to injure herself. “I pretended to fall on my face, to put her off guard. You know, I left that garden stake there, just in case of emergencies.”
He chuckled, then leaned down and kissed my lips. “Your mother said you might not be well enough to go to the—”
“I’m going. A promise is a promise. I help you get rid of your stalker vampire. You escort me to the dance.”
Grinning, he shook his head.
“So,” I said, running my fingers over the palm of his hand, tracing his life line, “do you still have warlock abilities?”
With an incantation, he raised the bedside lamp off the table, then set it back down.
I inhaled deeply, the fragrant flowers from the hospital room scenting the air. “Good. I was afraid you might find a way to get out of the warlock dance after all.”
“No, I’m afraid you’re stuck with me. By the way, you never told me what zodiac sign you are.”
“Libra. Diplomatic, romantic, charming, sociable, peaceable—”
Dominic laughed.
“Well, normally peaceable.”
“And your bad side?”
“Don’t have one.”
“All zodiac signs have a bad side. You told me what I could be. So what are your foibles?”
I folded my arms, not wanting to let him know I had any more faults. “Can be indecisive, changeable, gullible, and easily influenced. But can be are the operative words. I definitely don’t have any of those personality traits.”
“Right,” Dominic said, a grin splitting his face. He touched my hair again with a loving caress. “Okay, a deal’s a deal, but I’ve got the real bargain.” He took a deep breath. “You never asked me how well I dance.”
