“I won’t, my lord.” Her father took her hand and pulled her after him. Legs unsteady, she followed him, numb with grief, terrified for her child and their future.
A hospital room.
Body beaten and battered in her struggle to bring her child into the world, she was finally allowed to hold her daughter after the babe was cleaned and swaddled in a blanket. Gazing into the child’s eyes, she never thought this moment would come.
The door opened and a nun rushed to Ivan. She whispered something to him, and he ran to the window, looking out it.
“Father, what is it?”
“They have found us again.”
She couldn’t leave the bed. Helpless and vulnerable. “Papa, take my child. Run! You must save my daughter.”
“I cannot leave you.” It broke her heart to see her beloved papa cry. Why wouldn’t the hunters leave them alone?
There was a scuffle outside the room. The nun propped a chair under the doorknob and hurried back to the bed. She held a crucifix out and recited a prayer. Papa laid his cheek on the baby’s thick, dark hair. Not once had the child cried since she drew her first breath. Large, dark eyes watched him curiously.
There was a ‘thud’ against the door. A second hit and the wooden frame cracked. Another and the door flew into the wall, sending the chair skidding across the room. The tall vampyre, who had saved her months earlier, entered the room. He assessed the nun as she held out her crucifix.
“Get thee back, son of Satan!”
Clutching her child, she watched the vampire coldly access the nun. “Madame, even the Devil would not dare trespass the likes of me.” He directed his intense gaze on the baby. “She lives. Remarkable.”
Papa asked, “My lord, where are the hunters?”
“Dead.” The vampyre ordered to the nun, “Collect a wheelchair. We must move her and the babe immediately.”
“Why? What is your intent with them?” The nun stubbornly refused to budge, despite the fierce glare the vampyre fixed on her.
“Because something far worse than I is coming for them.”
The nun’s eyes went wide. “I’ll find a wheelchair right away.”
After the nun left, she handed her baby to her father. “Why are you helping us?”
“As I told you before, we are bound to each other.”
Four men charged into the room, holding crossbows ready. She screamed as they fired at her father, who spun around to protect the baby, taking two arrows in his back. An arrow hit her in the chest. The force threw her back into her pillows. Grasping the wooden shaft, she saw the vampyre attack the hunters, quickly killing them. He ran to her side, and she saw the regret in his beautiful eyes. She knew she had not long to live.
“Papa?” she gasped out.
“Here, child.” Papa slumped against the bed, holding her baby so she could see her daughter was alive and unharmed.
“Oh, Papa, forgive me. My choices have killed us both.”
Cupping the side of her face with his big hand, he smiled at her. “Child, you must not regret love. I never did.”
Pressing her lips to the babe’s soft hair, she weakly asked, “My lord, please take her.” He carefully took her baby from her father and held her in his strong arms. “Protect her. Kill any who would try to harm her. Promise me?”
“What shall I call her?”
“Tell her … tell her Aidan and I … love her.” She closed her eyes, knowing in her heart Aidan was waiting for her in the next life.
“I will,” he whispered hoarsely. He gazed at the child in his arms. “I promise to kill any who dares harm you, Mariah. I swear it!”
She opened her eyes. He said her name!
No, he couldn’t be talking to her. It was impossible. The child in her dream was a child born of a human mother and vampire father. She was just a normal person.
Right, what normal person has a medallion that had a protection spell cast on it to protect you?
Was the nightmare man trying a new tactic to get her to talk to him? Was it the gypsy sending her memories, or was she remembering her past? How could she see memories of a woman she had never known? Who was the vampire who risked so much for them? Why did she recognize him?
Sitting up, she scooted to her side of the car. Wanting to cry, unable to escape the truth because it was right there staring her in the face about what had happened at the gas station.
Because of me. She is like she is because of me!
“What’s wrong?” Rathe asked, watching her.
Startled, she closed her mind, protecting her secret. “Why did Carl say you couldn’t kill him?”
“It’s because of the peace treaty my father and the Elders signed with the leader of the Damned, forbidding the Slayers to hunt the Damned.”
“Are you a Slayer?”
“I was.”
Remembering what the vampire in her dream had said about Slayers killing half-breed children, she asked him, “What does a Slayer do?”
“We are — were — the peacekeepers of the Vampire world. Our duties were to hunt and kill the Damned, to keep them from killing the humans and Borne vampires.”
That didn’t sound like what the vampire in her dream said. “If the Slayers are not keeping the Damned in line, aren’t they increasing in numbers?”
“Yes. To make matters worse, there is a plague spreading amongst the young Borne vampires. They are losing their souls and turning Damned.”
“Are the Damned infecting them?”
“No, they are turning demon without attack.”
“Spontaneously? How is that possible?”
“The Elders hold the Book of Laws, in it is the list of signs to watch for when a Borne is close to losing their soul.”
“No disrespect intended toward your Elders, but who is to say someone might be misinterpreting the signs and are actually condemning innocent people?” She shook her head. “Heck, what do I know? But it sounds to me like the witch-hunting days of old Salem, when the religious fanatics hunted down those they hated and falsely condemned them to hang.”
Rathe glared at her. “My father, Dimitri, was a great and honorable man. He would not have installed a law that could be misinterpreted.” His anger faded. “Not that it matters anymore.”
Seeing the bleak expression on his granite hard features, she felt his grief. “What happened to him?”
“He was murdered three months ago.”
“Murdered? Who killed him?”
“My father’s ashes were found. He was … he met the sun. No investigation was carried out. The Elders declared his death a suicide and closed the matter.”
“A suicide? But you said he was murdered.”
“Father would never leave my mother, not after two thousand years together. He was murdered.”
“I am so sorry, Rathe.”
“So am I. I’ve involved you in a feud, one that has gone on for a thousand years. You are part of our tragedy and our war. With my blood flowing through your veins, you will always be in grave danger.”
“Considering my parents were murdered by someone who thought they were either vampires or worked for ones, I wear a medallion with protection runes on it, and I am borderline vampire — I’d say I am already in deep trouble.”
Chapter Five
When Rathe said they’d be in Santa Cruz before sunrise, she really didn’t think the man would actually break the speed limit to accomplish it!
Blurring their car, as he described it, he sped past patrol cars and continued on with being stopped. As the miles passed by, she nearly dozed, jerking awake before any other memories could take hold. She’d seen enough, learned enough for tonight.
When she felt the car slow, she looked at Rathe. “Are we there?”
“Yep. Hold on. The road leading to my house is rough.” He turned left onto a dirt road, and she saw the Pacific Ocean. When the road veered to run parallel to the ocean, he stopped and put the car in park.
“Rathe?”
&n
bsp; He shifted close to her and stared into her eyes. “Sleep, Mariah. I command you to sleep until I awaken you. Sleep.”
What didn’t he want her to see?
Pretending to fall asleep, she felt the seat dip, and the car began to move. When the SUV stopped again, the engine turned off. She heard him open his door and he got out. The rear door opened and her dogs jumped out. Peaking under her lashes, she saw a three-story Victorian house before the SUV. The double doors flew open and a teenage girl with long, black hair ran out. She threw herself into Rathe’s arms, wrapping her thin, pale arms around his neck as he held her.
“Rathe, you are safe! We were so worried when we couldn't reach you.”
“Mina, I truly am sorry for worrying you. I was merely detained.”
A gust of wind brushed the car and a handsome, young man, with dark brown hair, appeared on the other side of the SUV. Rathe set the girl down and extended his hand out to him. The man swept it aside and hugged him.
Rathe awkwardly patted the shorter man’s back. “I’m fine, Simon. Really, I am.”
Simon stepped back, glaring at him. “You should not have taken such a risk!”
“Where is Mother?”
“She left with Faeroes and Anya, to feed,” the girl answered, giggling when Bear and Salish tried to lick her face. “Where did you get them?”
Deciding now was as good as any to meet Rathe’s family; she opened her door and slid out. The girl gasped, scrambling behind Rathe. Trying to ease the girl's obvious fright, she held out her hands.
“I’m so sorry! I didn't mean to scare you.” She heard a growl and saw the man named Simon coming for her, his fangs exposed as he made to attack her.
She turned to run and tripped, her legs flying in the air as she landed on her back with a ‘thud' on the hard ground. Screaming, he was almost on her when Rathe landed in front of Simon and seized him by the shirtfront, lifting him several inches clear off the ground.
“Rathe, what the hell are you doing?” Simon struggled to free himself.
“Mariah is not to be harmed!”
“She’s a human! Why did you bring a human here?”
“She is under my protection. Do you understand?” Rathe drew his brother close, glaring at him.
A woman with white hair stepped into the moonlight. Stunning couldn’t begin to describe her. Delicate and strong, her beauty ageless, there was no way she was two thousand years old!
“Rathe, release your brother.” Her dark eyes sparkled in her amusement as he dropped his brother unceremoniously to the ground.
Rathe helped her to her feet. “Are you alright?”
“Yeah, I'm fine. Only my dignity bruised. Sorry, I should have stayed in the car.”
“I am the one who should apologize. I should not have tried to put you asleep. I just wanted to warn my family I was … not alone.” He turned to the white-haired woman, who was quite tall compared her. “Mariah, I would like you to meet my mother, Tereza Romulas. Mother, Mariah Jordan.”
Holding out her hand to her, she tried to smile, still shaken at his brother’s attack, “A-a pleasure to make your acquaintance, Mrs. Romulas.”
Rathe’s mother gently clasped her cold hand in her warm one. “Please, call me Tereza.”
She could actually feel her trying to poke around in her head. Attempting to block her, she felt at the same time saw Tereza’s surprise.
“You are a most unusual mortal.” Looking deep into her eyes, holding her in those obsidian depths, Tereza said softly, “Yes, you are very special.” Taking her arm in hers, she smiled at her. “Let us go inside and chat.” Before she knew what was happening, Tereza had led her to the front door.
“Mother,” Simon protested angrily, “she is human! Our Laws forbid us to associate with them.”
“Simon,” Rathe said, “hold you censure until you’ve heard the whole story why she is with me.”
“You exchanged blood with her, didn’t you? Why would you, the greatest of the Slayers, risk death for a human?”
“Back off! You have no right to reprimand me or remind me of the laws. I have protected our family centuries before you were born; I will not allow a mere whelp to take me to task!” Taking an intimidating step forward, smiling bitterly when Simon hurriedly backed away. “You are barely twenty, remember your elders.”
Tereza’s eyes narrowed dangerously at Rathe. “As should you, my son.” She regarded her. “Children, inside. Miss Jordan is cold, and I would very much like to get to know this charming, young woman better.”
“I'm hardly young. I celebrated my 35th birthday a few months ago.”
Peering at her, Tereza’s head reared back as she exclaimed, “A daughter? You have a daughter!”
“Daughter?” Rathe repeated with a look of horror on his handsome face. “You have a child? Why didn’t you tell me?”
Pulling her arm free, Mariah backed away from Tereza and Rathe, keeping a wary eye on Simon. “You didn’t need to know about her. No one outside my family knows about her.”
Understanding replaced his distress. “Because of what happened to you.”
“Yes. Even though she is sixteen, she is still my baby and I must protect her.”
The girl approached her, her intense, angelic features eased into a shy smile. “Your daughter is my age. I am Aramina, but everyone calls me Mina.”
Relaxing a bit, she smiled at the young girl. “Very nice to meet you, Mina.”
Mariah tried not to be afraid when Simon extended his hand out to her. She saw he wore a ring similar to Rathe, but it was on his right, index finger. She and the young vampire glanced at Rathe, who crossed his powerful arms, scowling. Simon dropped his hand and offered her an apologetic smile.
“Forgive me for acting so rudely toward you. Since my brother's manners are also lax, I shall introduce myself. I am Simon,” thumbing at Rathe, “his youngest brother.” Bowing with a debonair flourish, he winked outrageously at Rathe, whose mouth curved to the side in a tolerant smile, shaking his head at his antics.
“It's a pleasure to meet you all. I—” Her vision blurred, her skin felt clammy, and her knees weakened. She had the oddest sensation she was falling in slow motion.
“Mariah!” Rathe caught her before she hit the porch. Lifting her into his arms, he hurried inside the house. The lights came on in the sitting room as he took a seat on the cream-colored couch with her across his lap.
“Mariah, what's wrong?” Tenderly, he brushed her long hair from out of her eyes.
“I'm fine. Just felt weird for a minute there.” She shifted off his lap, uncomfortable sitting on him with his family anxiously watching them.
Tereza offered, “Would you like some hot tea?”
“I do not want to be a bother.”
“Not at all. It will do you good.”
Mina volunteered, “Mama, I’ll make it.”
“Thank you, sweeting. I would like a cup, too, please.” When the girl had left the room, Tereza sat in the chair opposite of her and Rathe, “My son, what event brought you and Miss Jordan together?”
He rose to his feet and went to stare stonily out the window. “I was shot. Mariah found me and saved me from bleeding to death. I had intended to leave, but I wanted to make sure she was all right, and that’s when we were attacked by the same hunters. They were resourceful in their attempt to kill us.”
“Resourceful? They used a freakin rocket launcher to kill us with!” Mariah glared at Rathe for being so blasé about what happened. “They destroyed my cabin and my brand new car.”
Exasperated, Rathe faced her. “Would it make you feel better if I bought you a new car? Would that make you happy?”
Rising unsteadily to her feet, she ignored him as she asked Rathe’s mother, “Could you take me into town?”
“I wish I could take you, but dawn is closing in on us and we must go to ground soon. I promise you, we will aid you back home at the next rising. Won’t we, Rathe?” She shot her son a firm look.
&n
bsp; “Yes, Mother.”
Wanting to cry, needing to be alone, she had no choice except to stay. “That would be acceptable. May I be shown to a bedroom? I’m exhausted.”
“Yes, my dear. Right this way.”
Mina returned, holding a tray with a ceramic teapot and several coffee cups sitting on it, along with sugar and milk. “Should I follow you, Mother?”
“Yes, my dear. Come along.”
✝✝✝
Rathe watched them as they walked upstairs. Simon stood beside him. “Not a word, Simon. I’m not in the mood to argue further on the matter.”
“A daughter? How did you miss that when you exchanged blood with her?”
Leaning his head back, he closed his eyes. Mariah had a daughter. How had he missed that? Amazed at how strong she was in not succumbing to his suggestions, at hiding her daughter, he was at a complete loss.
What would Mariah be like if the protections spells were broken?
“Rathe, why did you exchange blood with Mariah?”
“The hunters shot me, I was dying. She found me in the woods and offered me her blood to save me. Shit, I almost killed her in my hunger. I couldn't let her die. So, I forced her to drink my blood.” He stared out the window, not seeing anything except his own weakness. “Because of me losing control, I’ve endangered her and not just the risk of turning her. On our way here, we had an encounter with two demon vamps. I killed them, but they smelt vampire blood in her and wanted her. If we can’t fix her, she’ll always be hunted by the Damned, who’ll want to recruit her.”
“Do not allow guilt to weigh you down, my son,” his mother said behind him. “You were right not to let her die. She did not deserve death for saving my eldest son’s life. Mariah is strong. Very strong. I was only able to see inside her mind through a small crack in the wall she built around her. If she were to turn, she will not be Damned. Her soul is intact and well-protected. Yes,” she said slowly, “She is well-protected.”
Whisper to Me (Borne Vampires Book 1) Page 7
