Bloodgifted

by Tima Maria Lacoba

  ‘He loathes me.’

  ‘Not as much as he does me. It’s my fault, you see, that Laura chose you. He’s angry… feels betrayed. I’m worried about his mental stability; afraid he might do something… stupid.’

  ‘Why do you say that?’

  ‘He’s withdrawn even further into himself. Don’t know when was the last time he fed. You know what can happen to a vampire if he starves himself.’

  He looked at me pointedly. I didn’t need reminding. Following my transformation I’d nearly gone insane from hunger after refusing to feed directly from humans.

  ‘Where is he now?’

  ‘No idea.’

  ‘You’ve got to find him and get that DNA sample, Luc. It can’t wait. And If you’re right about his mental condition, he mustn’t be allowed anywhere near Laura.’

  He nodded.

  Neither of us spoke for a few moments. I wondered if the others knew, or perhaps even guessed, that Jean had feelings for her. I hoped they didn’t. It would be humiliating for him. More importantly, Laura must never know. How would she take it, knowing that the young man she’d met as a teenager was her father’s kinsman, a vampire and possibly her half-brother? I didn’t want to picture it.

  Laura tossed restlessly in her sleep. She flailed her free arm and cried out. It was as I feared—a post-traumatic nightmare. I stroked her face in an effort to wake her. ‘Laura? Laura, wake up…’

  Chapter 31

  Business Arrangement

  LAURA

  A voice said, ‘Laura?’ A cool hand touched my cheek. ‘Laura, wake up. ‘You’ve been dreaming.’

  Dreaming? I didn’t know I’d fallen asleep. It was so real. My eyes struggled to open. ‘No dream. Nightmare.’ My words were slurred.

  He looked at me with concern. ‘After trauma you can get nightmares.’

  For how long? The thought raced through my mind. I dreamt of my best friend, Jenny, as a vampire and the image was still before my eyes. No matter that it was only a dream, a phantom of my imagination, it was disturbing. It’s not real! I told myself. I tried shaking it and the accompanying grogginess from my head. Besides that, the inside of my mouth felt like cotton wool.

  I turned my head toward the window. A couple of chairs hid Russell’s dust from view. The foul memory of his breath in my face brought up bile, but I forced it down. Must get out of this room. The urge was so strong I pushed the sheets off me and tried to rise from the bed.

  A firm hand gently pushed me back. ‘No, ma petite. Stay there.’ A plastic cup was placed into my hand. ‘Here, drink this. It’ll make you feel better.’

  ‘I want to go home.’

  ‘Drink first,’ Luc said. ‘And we’ll arrange something.’ He glanced at Alec. ‘She’d be safer at my place. None of the Brethren would dare try anything there.’

  ‘You’re probably right.’ Alec turned to me. ‘Since I can’t guarantee your safety here, it’s best if you stay at Luc’s for a while till we catch whoever sent Russell.’

  ‘And—’ my father added just as I opened my mouth to ask if I couldn’t simply go back to my own flat. ‘Your mother and I would love you to spend some time with us.’

  How could I argue with that? ‘Can we go there now?’ I pushed the cotton blanket aside and swung my legs over the edge.

  ‘Laura!’ Alec protested.

  I ignored him and stood up. My legs buckled beneath me as if made of jelly. Two pairs of hands caught me and lifted me back onto the bed.

  ‘Not until you’ve had something to eat,’ my father said, the tone of his voice making it clear he would brook no argument. ‘I’m already in enough trouble with your mother,’ he said, as he tucked the blanket around me. His face softened. ‘Laura, ma petite, you’re the most precious thing in my life, next to Judy. And right now you need to give your body a chance to recover.’

  ‘Breakfast is on its way,’ Alec said. He sat on the edge of my bed. Probably to ensure I didn’t try crawling to the door.

  I gave a resigned sigh and looked down at my bandaged hand. ‘How long was I asleep?’ I asked.

  ‘Little over an hour. Not enough.’

  ‘I had a horrible dream.’

  ‘Want to talk about it?’

  I thought a moment then shook my head. Alec had never met Jenny. I’m sure my father knew her though, since he’d been secretly watching over me all my life. But that wasn’t all of it. Maris had been in it, too.

  Luc’s mobile rang. ‘Excuse me,’ he said and walked outside, graciously sidestepping one of the hospital staff who walked in carrying a hot tray. It smelled delicious and my stomach grumbled.

  Alec smiled. ‘Good sign. Let me arrange for you to eat it in another room.’ He took the mobile from his jeans pocket and rang down to reception. ‘Dr Munro here. Do we have another suite available?’

  He waited while the receptionist did a search. All the while his eyes never wavered from my face. I must have looked terrible and probably resembled an unkempt red setter: my hair was loose and tousled and I’m sure my eyes were red and puffy from lack of sleep. I brought the cup to my lips and drank. It was freshly squeezed orange juice and tasted good. The dizziness I’d experienced on waking began to wane.

  ‘Perfect.’ He paused. ‘No, I won’t need a wheelchair.’ He tucked the phone back into his pocket. ‘There’s a room available down the hall… moving you there now.’

  He rose and wrapped the cotton blanket modestly around my waist, scooped me up like I was an invalid, and proceeded to make his way down the corridor to the other suite. ‘Follow us!’ he said to the young woman who carried my breakfast.

  ‘I can walk, you know!’

  ‘This is quicker,’ he said, and to prove it he strode at such a fast pace the girl carrying the breakfast tray clunked it back onto the trolley and practically ran after us.

  Since there was no arguing with him, I put the bad dream—and everything else that happened in that room—behind me.

  We reached the end of the hall and Alec turned into an open doorway. The early morning light streamed in and bounced off glass-covered pictures lining pale apricot walls, while twin beds, separated by a three-drawer cabinet, stood adjacent to a window that overlooked a leafy suburban park. He lowered me onto the nearest bed, removed the cotton blanket in which I’d been cocooned then tucked me into the fresh sheets. He took the tray, perched himself on the edge of the bed and watched me eat. Since I was unable to use my right hand, he buttered the toast, sliced the bacon and cut up the baked tomato. He was as attentive as any nurse. The contrast between his vampire self and the caring physician could not have been greater.

  ‘Now, our unfinished discussion.’ He leaned toward me. ‘Do you love Sommers? I’ve asked you that three times and you’ve never replied. Why the difficulty?’

  ‘Why does that matter to you?’

  ‘You’re evading the issue.’

  Was I? Or was I afraid to admit I had my doubts since learning what Matt was planning to do with the white oak bullets Alec found on him? Not only that, but were I to marry him we could never have kids as it would only continue the curse, and being an only child, I wanted a house full.

  ‘I don’t know!’ I finally admitted. ‘How can I love him after what you told me? He’s not the man I thought he was.’ It’d been playing on my mind all this time. He and Alec and Luc would only ever be enemies. How could I marry someone who hated my family enough to want to kill them? ‘Besides, I want kids, yet I don’t want to pass on this wretched gene!’ I gave a derisive laugh. ‘I need to end this curse and the only way is to find someone with Pictish blood and have a child with him!’

  Alec was silent for moment, then he said, ‘Would you be willing to do that?’

  ‘Do I have much choice?’ Up until last Friday I believed my future lay with Matt and in the space of four days all that had changed. I was faced with the decision of my life – to marry for love or to end my family curse, and it looked more and more like it was going to be the latter.
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  ‘In this situation, no you don’t, since you’re apparently the Child of Light and Darkness the prophecy spoke of. It’s your destiny to end this curse.’ He paused. ‘As it appears, it’s mine.’

  ‘What do you mean?’

  ‘I’m descended from the witch who uttered the curse. My blood is Pict.’

  My heart jumped into my throat and all I could do was stare at him as his words sunk in. Alec sat on the edge of my bed and watched me.

  ‘Why didn’t you tell me sooner?’ I eventually said.

  He huffed. ‘You always want to know everything before you’re ready to hear it. If I had told you last Friday night that you need to have a child with me in order to end your family curse, I doubt you would have met me for coffee the next day!’

  ‘Probably not.’ Matt would probably have tried to kill him sooner.

  ‘Would you consider it?’

  ‘Have a child with you?’

  He nodded.

  Could I do this? My parents placed me in the care of others to ensure my safety, at great cost to themselves. Could I do any less? I tried to imagine myself fifty years from now having to explain the coming-of-age ceremony to my child and the very thought chilled me. I couldn’t let that happen. I wouldn’t let that happen!

  I lifted my head and looked at Alec. We’d known each other less than a week and if I agreed to his suggestion, he would become the father of my child. The enormity of it all struck me—whatever decision I made affected the future. Yet I couldn’t deny the attraction I felt toward him and the image of the two of us making love rose unbidden in my head. A rush of pleasure surged between my thighs and I tried to mask it by looking out the window, as if deep in thought.

  I felt his hand turn my chin to meet his gaze. ‘Laura, I know this is a difficult decision for you, so think of it as a business arrangement. We’ll come together until you fall pregnant and when the baby is born our contract is at an end. After that you need never see me again.’

  It was so clinical, so cold, yet what choice did I have? ‘That simple, huh?’

  He shook his head. ‘Anything but. The baby needs to be born in Scotland at the site of the Roman massacre. I’ll arrange all that; be with you when the time comes.’

  He said nothing about feelings. How could two people be so intimate and then go their separate ways? ‘Then you’ll be gone.’

  ‘You won’t need me any more. Once the curse is lifted, there’s a chance your blood will revert to human and its unique properties will disappear. My role as a guardian will be over. You’ll be free to marry whoever you want and have as many children as you like.’

  I should have welcomed that knowledge, but instead it filled me with emptiness. He wouldn’t be there. But I couldn’t let my mind—or my heart—dwell on that. As long as I kept in mind that my child would never have to undergo the Ritual, I could go through with it—no attachment, no obligation… no emotion.

  I took a deep breath. ‘All right. I’ll do this.’

  ‘Good. It’s best we start tonight, while you’re ovulating.’

  I’m sure I looked startled, not just by his reference to my cycle but his suggestion for us to be together so soon. ‘How did—’

  ‘I can smell it on you, Laura. This is the most fertile time for an Ingenii and we need to take advantage of it.’

  We could have been discussing the price of fish!

  He dropped his hand and his head turned toward the door. A few seconds later a young woman stood there. It was one of the hospital staff. ‘Excuse me Dr Munro, there’s a Mr and Mrs Dantonville asking to see their daughter.’

  Two dear and familiar faces appeared in the doorway. It was Mum and Dad.

  Chapter 32

  Family Ties

  LAURA

  Mum and Dad both stood in the doorway as if unsure what to say or do. I smiled at them, extended my arms and temporarily put Alec’s “business arrangement” out of my mind. Mum practically threw herself over me in a huge hug.

  ‘It’s okay, Mum,’ I said. ‘It’s all okay,’ I whispered into her ear and patted her shoulder as she began to cry.

  Dad came over and kissed the top of my head. ‘You’re still my baby girl,’ he said. He appeared even older than the last time I’d seen him.

  ‘I know, Dad. That’ll never change.’

  ‘We got a phone call early this morning,’ Mum said. ‘We came over soon as we could.’ I nodded and glanced up to see Alec quietly leave the room. ‘I’m so sorry I didn’t come to the Ritual. I just… couldn’t. The thought of seeing you as some creature’s blood supply…’ her eyes glistened.

  Oh no, please no tears, I silently begged. That’s all I needed to set off my own waterworks. I took both her hands in mine. ‘Mum, I know and I understand. It’s all right. Really.’

  ‘We had to keep the truth from you all these years… Your father—’ she stopped and then corrected herself. ‘John and I promised not to reveal anything to you till you came-of-age. And even then Judy wanted it to come from her.’ She looked at me with tear-stained eyes. ‘I’ve loved you as my own child. Never doubt that!’

  ‘I know Mum, and I couldn’t have had a happier childhood. This doesn’t change anything between us. I love you as my mum and always will. The same goes for you, Dad.’

  He squeezed my hand, then sat down in one of the two empty chairs by my bedside.

  This must be hell for them, I thought.

  ‘Thank you, Laura, love.’ She cupped my cheek. ‘We’ve had the privilege of having you in our home all these years and it’s only right that Judy and Luc share that joy now. They suffered to keep you safe.’

  ‘I know, Mum. They told me everything.’

  ‘Lucien’s a good man despite… what he is,’ Dad said.

  I smiled. He couldn’t bring herself to say the word, “vampire.”

  ‘I met him only once; the day they brought you to us,’ Mum said. ‘He came with them and arranged the necessary papers—birth certificate for you and death certificate for my little Katie.’ She smiled to cover the emotion the memory evoked. Dad placed a comforting arm around her shoulder. ‘Parental names were swapped, of course.’ She paused. ‘He came across as a very sympathetic man. I never saw him after that—till now.’

  I gazed at Dad. He said nothing and his lips were set in a firm line as he gazed out the window.

  ‘I was worried sick how you were going to take it,’ Mum said.

  ‘Don’t be. I really am fine—with everything.’ I gave her a reassuring smile.

  ‘Do they know who did it?’ Dad asked. His gaze came back to me.

  ‘Yep. They were all caught. They won’t be committing any other offences.’ I raised my right eyebrow at him meaningfully.

  Mum moved off the bed and sat in the other vacant chair while I briefly outlined what happened Tuesday night, and the reason Alec brought me here instead of letting the ambulance take me to RPA.

  ‘Thank God you weren’t injured worse,’ she said to me. ‘Have you heard how Matt is?’

  ‘He’s okay.’ I repeated Alec’s words. ‘The police spoke to Alec earlier this morning while I was still out of it. Said they’d be back later today to interview me.’

  ‘Want us to be with you?’ Dad asked. ‘You shouldn’t be alone.’

  ‘Look, I’m sure I’ll be fine, but it’s really up to you.’

  As I finished saying it, Alec walked in and declared the police were here to speak to me.

  ‘We’re staying,’ Dad said.

  Chapter 33

  Memories

  ALEC

  I stepped out of the room to allow Laura some precious time with John and Eilene. Luc waited for me at the end of the corridor. ‘I saw them arrive. Thought it best not to go in,’ he said.

  ‘Laura will be too preoccupied to notice you’ve gone.’

  ‘That’s what I thought, so I’m going back to the house and Judy and I’ll be back in an hour to take her home. They will have gone by then.’

  ‘F
ine. I’ll head down to my office.’

  I took the fire escape stairs, as it allowed me to move at my natural speed. The other hospital staff rarely used them, preferring the elevator instead.

  I walked into my office, sat at the desk and stared vacantly at the pile of papers next to my laptop. Several important articles waited for my attention, yet I couldn’t get my mind off Laura—could still smell her conflicting emotions. My mind replayed every word spoken between us; every expression which flitted across her face and the resigned determination when she agreed to my suggestion. I hated the thought of outright seduction and the deceit that accompanies it; better she knew the truth.

  All that was left was where to meet—my apartment in the city, Luc’s place or Laura’s flat in Rozelle? And then what?

  I rubbed my face as I considered the months ahead. There was someone out there who wanted her; who had sent and killed Russell. There could even be another faction who desired to end the Principate, although not the curse itself, as it bestowed power and privilege on whoever possessed the Ingenii. If anyone outside our immediate circle found out who I really was—a Pict descended from the witch, Eithne—they would kill me in order to prevent our child from ever being conceived.

  We were both in danger and seeing John and Eilene after all these years brought back the memory of the day Luc and Judith handed an infant Laura into their care. It was one I’d rather forget—sunny with a blazing blue sky, as if the weather mocked the sad events that took place.

  Luc had asked me to drive so he could sit in the back with his wife and child. I’ll always remember the haunted look on his face as Judith pleaded with him.

  ‘There has to be another way, Luc. Please, please tell me there is.’

  ‘We’ve been over this a thousand times, ma cherie,’ he said softly. ‘It’s either your relatives take her, or hide you in some remote location which they’d still find, and I’d lose you both.’

  She turned imploring eyes to him. ‘I don’t think I can do this.’ Her voice broke.

  He shook his head sadly. ‘You think I want to do this? It’s destroying me!’