“If she dies, so will you.” Slade didn’t even bother to glance at Roland as he delivered that threat. All his attention was on Jane. This couldn’t happen. He wouldn’t allow it.
Roland glanced at him. “She’s --like-- your girlfriend?”
“She’s my fucking soul.”
“Oh. Shit. Sorry, man. I thought you were into Allandrina.”
“Stop talking or I will kill you, right now.” Slade’s mind raced, trying to come up with a way to save Jane. Goddamn it, a villain would be able to think of something. Damien or Fang would no doubt devise some brilliant scheme to cheat death and save their woman. But, Slade didn’t know how to come up with fucking schemes. He’d been raised to be a hero. If it wasn’t for Jane urging patience and restraint, he would have stupidly charged at Fang days ago. It was just who Slade was. He only knew how to get a sword, stand up, and face his enemies.
But, how did he fight against this?
He couldn’t. Jane had the blood of two Vampires in her. There was no way to stop her from transitioning. Which meant there was only one chance in a thousand that she would survive this.
No.
No.
“Dude, do you know you got a bunch of arrow holes in your back?” Roland asked as if he was just noticing. “They’re --like-- closing up, though. It’s kinda weird.”
Jane’s blood was healing him. His blood was inside of her too, healing the cuts and bruises that she’d endured. But it wasn’t enough to bring her back from the edge of death.
NO!
“You cannot do this. Jane!” Slade gave her a shake, trying to rouse her. “You cannot leave me. You must fight!” The woman was the most obstinate creature ever born. She would never just surrender. She’d been knocked out before and she came around. She could do it, again. Jane Squire could do anything. “Jane, you must fight!”
“You should use CPR.” Roland recommended, hovering like a vulture.
Slade was desperate enough to try anything. Even something suggested by someone he planned to rip apart with his bare hands. “What the fuck is CPR?”
“I’m not sure. I don’t think it exists in Infinia. But, it would really be useful, right now.”
Slade truly was going to murder the boy. He might’ve done it at that very moment, except something so much more important distracted him.
Jane stopped breathing… and so did Slade.
“JANE!” The roar came straight from the soul that she gave him. He couldn’t go on without her. He didn’t even want to. Without Jane, the whole world might as well wither into dust. He loved her. Not just because she was his Eternal-One, but because she was Jane. Cynical and softhearted. Fearless and wary. A mass of contradictions and curls that came together to form something perfect. She couldn’t die. She couldn’t. Jane was everything.
Slade went into a complete meltdown, the Dark Instincts screaming inside of him. Tears were running down his face and he didn’t notice.
Roland looked weepy, too. “Man, this whole thing was a huge mistake. I don’t even want to be king. I’m not sure what I was thinking, ya know? I’m supposed to be a rock-god, not a politician.” He swiped at his nose and sorrowfully gazed at Jane. “She was totally kinda hot, too. I wouldn’t kill a hot chick. That goes against everything I believe in.”
“Shut up!”
“Do not worry, Slade. All will be well.”
Slade was so frantic, he barely heard the familiar voice. Nothing registered outside of Jane. She was so still, like she had already left. Like she was already gone.
Oh gods please don’t let her be gone…
It wasn’t until the newcomer tried to pry Jane away from him that he really noticed her. His head snapped up with a snarl, coming face-to-face with an elderly woman. To most people she was known as Dawnyah-Zanabriah, the legendary shape-shifter and prophet.
To Slade she was just Grandma Dawn.
His grandmother was a gray haired woman, who always acted like she was the smartest person in the realm. Hell, she probably was. She was also stronger than she looked. His grandmother tried to drag Jane closer to her, even as her magicks automatically created new clothes for them to wear. His grandmother was sort of a prude, so their half-nakedness was sure to freak her out.
Slade couldn’t care less. He jerked Jane back from her determined grip, the fabric of Jane’s new flowy dress flowing around him. Grandma Dawn loved flowy dresses. “What are you doing here?” He bellowed.
If Dawn answered, he didn’t hear it. Slade couldn’t think. Couldn’t function. He just instinctively clutched Jane tighter as his grandmother tugged on her arm. He wasn’t letting her go.
“I can help your Eternal-One.” Dawn met his eyes levelly. “You know I can, Slade. Just let me see her.”
“Are you out of your mind? You abandoned me when I needed you most and now you think I’ll give you my…?”
Dawn cut him off. “I looked into my crystal ball and saw your true path. That is why I ensured that you would be deposed. Everything I have ever done has been to aid you, Slade. To help you find your true destiny. And you have, if you’ll just let me help her.”
Slade stared at his grandmother, breathing hard. Her words closely mirrored the thoughts he’d been having. Maybe she hadn’t betrayed him, after all. Maybe she’d foreseen that Jane was his only chance at finding happiness. It made sense. Without Jane, his life would be empty. That was why she had to start breathing again. She was the only thing in his whole life that mattered…
“Please!” Dawn pulled on Jane’s arm again. “I haven’t much time in this realm. Listen to me and I can fix her!”
Slade’s attention sharpened, finally processing her words. He needed a miracle and his grandmother held untold power. Although Jane scoffed at the idea, Dawn’s people really did come from some distant world beyond the stars. His grandmother was one of the most powerful women in the universe. Surely she could save a tiny human girl.
“Fix her.” He implored, allowing his grandmother to tug Jane closer. “I’ll do anything. Just bring her back to me.”
“She’s not breathing.” Roland interjected, as if maybe they hadn’t fucking noticed that. “It’s hard to fix dead.”
“She is not dead yet, Grandson.”
Slade wasn’t the one who’d said such a pointless thing, so why was Dawn addressing the answer to him? To offer reassurance, maybe? He couldn’t be sure, but it didn’t really matter. He barely even heard her. Everything was a meaningless roar of white noise in his head. All he could hear was the echoing silence where Jane’s heartbeat should’ve been.
She was still alive, though. His grandmother was right about that. Slade could feel it, too. Some small part of Jane was hanging on. She wanted to stay with him.
Dawn picked up Jane’s limp fingers and dropped them into Slade’s palm. “Your bond will be what saves her, Slade. She does not want to leave you and her will is strong.” She pressed their hands together, chanting the strongest healing spells of her ancient people. “Reach for her and guide her back. She will follow you out of the darkness.”
“That’s not going to work.” Roland complained. “I’m telling you, we need to figure out the CPR thing, because…”
Slade tuned out the rest of that gibberish. All his life he failed when it was important, but he would not allow those doubts to weaken him now. Not when failure meant Jane would die. His closed his eyes, reaching for her. All his powers were concentrated on the tiny sparks of life still within her body. She was fighting and he threw all of his strength into helping her. If Jane faded from the world when they were fully linked, she would take him with her. Slade didn’t care. Ever since he’d met her, the woman had been trying to slip away. If she was determined to leave, he would go, too. There was nowhere he wanted to be, except beside her.
He was so deep that he could feel the all the invisible strings that tied them together. The millions and billions of tiny ways they were Eternally-Bonded. It was beautiful. Like looking into the heart
of magick itself. Their blood and the mating had completed the ritual, but their true connection was so much deeper than that. What he felt for Jane went down to the core of everything Slade was.
She truly was his soul.
Jane, this is not the way our story ends. Come back to me or I will follow you wherever you lead. You are my partner. My home. I will be by your side, in this world or the next.
For a moment there was nothing.
Then, Jane gave a gasp, her heart resuming its rhythm. She was back!
Slade’s eyes popped open, relief flooding his system and making him dizzy. “Jane!” He wasn’t through panicking, quite yet. Not until he knew she was safe. “Look at me! Open your eyes at look at me, Jane!”
Her gaze fluttered up to his and he saw recognition light the perfect, fathomless gray. Her mouth curved ever so slightly. Then, her head slumped to the side and she was unconscious, again.
Dawn grabbed his shoulder before he could experience a full breakdown. “Your Eternal-One will be alright. She’s survived the hard part of the transition. Now, her body must heal. You must allow her to sleep.”
Slade gave a jerky nod and forced himself to sit back from Jane’s still form. His gaze stayed focused on the steady rise and fall of her chest. “She is so small.” He whispered. “But, she is the biggest part of my world. I am her fate and she is mine.”
The sound of trumpeters sounded in the distance, signaling that Fang had regrouped and was advancing. Perhaps he planned to circle around and use whatever route Roland had taken, or perhaps he was just forcing his troops to charge across the field, again. The Werewolf had lost at least half of his force, but he would sacrifice every man if that’s what it took to reach Jane.
“We have to get out of here.” Slade said. The sun was rising and Fang was approaching. He needed to get Jane to safety.
Roland ignored that, squinting down at Jane. “So, is she a Vampire, now?” He asked in confusion. “‘Cause she still looks the same.”
“Humans who transition do not physically change, they just gain Vampiric powers.” Dawn paused. “I think.”
Slade glowered over at her. “You think? You just said she would be fine!”
“And she will! But, so few humans survive the transition, it is difficult to be sure what will happen when she first awakens.” She touched his shoulder. “The important thing is that she is alive, Slade.”
He closed his eyes. “I know. I do. And I will do whatever it takes to ensure she adjusts to this change.” Jane was the only thing that really mattered. He reached over to hug his grandmother. He had been wrong to ever doubt her love. In the end, she had given him everything. “Thank you for helping her. I can never repay you for all you’ve done.”
“You don’t have to. Your woman has a great destiny, Slade. Even if she refuses to acknowledge it.” Dawn smiled. “Besides, to help her is to help you. And I will always help my grandsons.”
Grandsons? Plural? Dawn had only one grandson. Unless…
“Is To’kel back?” Damien had killed Slade’s evil cousin, but there was always a change that traitorous bastard had found a way to return. He automatically glanced around preparing for attack.
“No, not To’kel.” Dawn looked over at Roland. “My other grandson. You Roland.”
Slade and Roland exchanged a sideways glance. “What?” They chorused.
“It is a long and fascinating tale.” Dawn assured them. “Possibly suitable for a prequel of some kind. You see, I was married to Adonolo, King of the Enchanted Realm of Melody. Our daughter was your mother, Harmony, who married Stone, King of the Vampires, and had you, Slade.”
“I know all that, but…”
Dawn kept talking. “When you were a baby, Harmony was lost in the Sea of Silence and it swept her to Infinia. Here, she met Roland’s father and, knowing her old life on the Vampire Isle was lost to her forever, she moved on. She eventually married him and they had Roland. Then, they were killed by the Werewolf. I saw it all in my crystal ball long after it happened, but I know it is the truth.”
Slade blinked at that ridiculous story. Not only was it unsupported by all previously known facts, chronological infeasible, and mystically impossible, it also meant that this moron next to him was his…
“Brother!” Roland turned his huge eyes on Slade. “At last, we have been reunited!” He flung his arms around Slade, hugging tight. “This is the happiest day of my life.” He mumbled into Slade’s shoulder. “I’ve always wanted a big brother. You can totally beat the hell out of everyone who’s mean to me. Like this asshole Orc names James.”
“Get away from me.” Slade shoved the boy aside, glaring at Dawn. “This is preposterous.” In his head, he could already hear Jane mockingly saying something like, “Of course the kid is your long lost brother. Fantasy movies always have some magical person show up and do a long lost brother reveal.” And thinking about Jane meant thinking about the fact that this little shit almost killed her. “I will never accept this.” He shook his head. “Roland harmed my Eternal-One! I have a duty to decapitate him and then chop his body into as many pieces as possible.”
“But, it was a total accident!” Roland insisted. “The Wizened Enchantress gave me the Vampire blood to stop you from stealing…” He stopped mid-word, his eyes cutting back over to Dawn. “Hold on.” His brows compressed in deep thought. “You look different, but the voice is the same. I recognize it.” He spun back to Slade. “She’s the Wizened Enchantress. She’s the one who gave me the blood, in the first place.”
Slade gasped in outrage. “Grandmother!”
Dawn winced. “Well, I knew it would all work out in the end.” She defended. “This is your path, Slade. I was just doing my part to move you along it and bring you boys together.” She patted his cheek. “Now, I love you, pumpkin, but I have to go. Traveling between realms is hard work for a Were-cat and I have fencing club in the morning.”
“You set all this into motion and now you just plan to leave?!”
“I must. But, don’t worry. You’ve got everything well in hand, just like always. I have never doubted you, even for an instant.” She smiled over at Roland. “It’s so wonderful to see you two together at last. Your mother would be so proud of you both.”
Roland nodded happily. “Especially of me. So, I’m really a prince, right?”
Slade sighed in irritation. “Grandmother, I cannot be expected to tolerate this moron.”
She ignored that and kept talking. “Remember, our true fate is never just handed to us. We all must forge it for ourselves. Oh, and watch out for the Dark Fairy. That bitch wants your cinema script and you won’t like what she intends to do with it. Toodles, boys.” With that, she disappeared in a fog of sparkles and magicks.
…Leaving Slade sitting in the gravel beside the lava pits with an unconscious, newly Vampired Eternal-One, a “brother” he didn’t know and already detested, and a Goblin army on their tail. He had no idea what to do next. Staying there meant death. Flying again so soon was impossible, especially with the sun rising. He could not outrun Fang for long with Jane incapacitated and he would never leave her behind. This was an untenable situation. Anyone with a brain in their head would be terrified by the lack of options and…
“This totally explains my rockingly awesome band, ya know?”
Slade’s eyes slowly slid over to Roland. “What?” He growled.
“If Mom came from the Enchanted Realm of Melody, it’s no wonder I’m so musically gifted! It’s like a genetic superpower.” He smirked. “That ass hat James the Orc is going to be soooo jealous. I can’t wait to tell him.”
Yeah… Now was a really good time for the decapitating-and-chopping part to begin.
The Dark Instincts took control again, howling with satisfaction as Slade lunged at Jane’s attacker. His frustration found a worthy outlet. Slade grabbed Roland by the neck, wanting to squeeze his bones into powder.
“Dude!” The boy flailed around, but he wasn’t going anywhere exc
ept to whatever afterlife awaited idiots. “Let go! I’m your little brother.”
“I don’t have a brother. And even if I did, I certainly wouldn’t have one for long after he hurt my Eternal-One!”
“What part of ‘accident’ are you not getting, huh?! Besides she’s fine. Grandma said so, remember? Don’t be a dick about it.”
Slade’s grip tightened.
“You’re supposed to be the hero.” Roland gurgled. “Heroes don’t pop-off the skulls of their little bros.”
Son-of-a-bitch.
Slade released the kid, shoving him backwards. Not because of Roland’s whining words, but because of Jane. She should be Eternally-Bonded with the hero of the tale, not a murderer. He would be the Eternal-One she deserved, no matter how tempting it was to toss Roland into some magma and watch him liquefy.
“Give me the Silver Sword and go home.” He ordered, jabbing a finger at Roland. “Jane would not want me to kill you, so I will ignore to my better judgment and let you leave here with your head.” He paused. “Actually, she probably would want me to kill you, at first. Then, she’d quickly change her mind and try to make it seem like she was grudgingly allowing you to live as a favor to me, even though she was the one who wished to keep you breathing.” It was just the way the little softhearted cynic operated. “So, I will just cut to the end of the argument and let you survive, for now. But, don’t. fucking. push me.” He accentuated the final words with a deadly glare that even Roland seemed to understand.
The kid shrank back. “But, I don’t want to go home. I wanna stay with you.” Roland nervously tugged on his ear and Slade recognized the gesture from the earliest recesses of his childhood. His mother had often done the same thing. “You’re the coolest guy in this whole kingdom. Who wouldn’t want to hang out with you? That’s why I was so pissed earlier. Everyone --like-- likes you and nobody really notices me. I mean, I get it. But…” He trailed off with a gloomy shrug. “Whatever.”
Slade frowned down at him, refusing to soften. “What do you want from me?”
“Well, I was thinking that maybe we could work together.”
Vampire Charming Page 21
