B006XVUCOY EBOK

by Dawn Gray

  "You lie!" Quinn yelled.

  "Think about it, Father. Why would you go to Victor after your parents died, you didn't even know him? Why would a rich man, such as he, adopt two orphaned, poverty stricken children? For his own pleasure? No, it was because you were his son. Why do you think he wanted nothing to do with Julian? Because, he was so disobedient? No, because he didn't want him to begin with, only you and you followed right along with him, became his protégé', but he didn't count on my mother. He didn't think that you would be so defiant and bed down with some poor rich bitch and have two children." Jacob stepped up to Quinn, whose anger had mounted to a point where he was almost all animal. "Face it, Father, we have a legacy, you're a bastard, we, two, are bastards, and," he walked over to me and grabbed my chin, "this one here is a bastard, too."

  "Let her go!" Jason yelled and leaped at him. A rather large man grabbed him by the arms and pulled him back. Jacob smiled at him then looked at me and released my chin.

  "He's just so loyal." Jacob sneered. "Doesn't it just make you sick?" He said and slapped me, hard across the face. He stepped back, as I looked up at him from under the hair that was in my eyes, and he smiled, cruelly, at me. He waved his arms and two men grabbed me, one on each arm. He waved, cutely, and walked back to his table, where he grabbed a knife. "String her up!"

  "No!" Isaac yelled, as I watched the others all be taking into custody and restrained. I looked at Jason, at Isaac, then Julian, but it was the bitter anger on Quinn's face that made me realize that this had to end. They had been hurt enough, and I didn't want it to happen any longer.

  "I will unite this vampire nation under one law. Mine." He said as he walked back over to me with the knife, my hands tied above my head and my arms stretched to their limits. "And, with your blood, I will become the ultimate immortal. I will have the power to do anything I wish. All you have to do, my dear, is spill your blood." With these words, he slashed my bare arms twice on my right and once on my left. I could feel the blood begin to flow and feared that this couldn't end any way but badly was taking over.

  "Angel!" I heard Jason yell as he slashed me across my stomach. I watched as he cut my clothes, then tore them off, leaving me naked and hanging, as my blood dripped down the tips of my toes into what looked like a large grate-covered bowl.

  I listen to Jacob begin to chant something in Latin, something that I didn't understand, as he cut me on my legs, little cuts that began to bleed, but the pain from them hadn't seemed to reach my brain yet. I caught movement out of the corner of my eyes and, as my vision focused, I watched Jason leap out of nowhere, trying to get to Jacob, but he had seen it coming, and with a great thrust, caught Jason in the stomach with a stake, mid-flight. Jason knocked Jacob over, nonetheless, but he just rolled out from under Jason with ease.

  He looked at me with his brown eyes and I watched as he tried to sit up and move away. His eye connected with mine, locking me into their stare, bringing me into them, and giving me back my will and power to fight, but as his eyes began to droop, my mind flashed back.

  I saw him standing there in the hallway of my dreams, dressed in his black suit, with eyes full of knowledge and the feeling that I could trust him. He warned me to stay away, not to go in the door, to be safe. I know now that he meant that I would be safe with him, that he could be trusted to protect me.

  When he removed his helmet, that day that we finally met, and he looked at me with perfect confidence, but I was so shocked. I had not ever pictured him being real, but there he had been ‘saving my ass’. The way he felt underneath me when he had gotten so cocky, telling me that I couldn't break his arm, and the way he looked when he walked into the bedroom, holding his wet shirt in his hand, his skin seemed perfect in every way, and how I tried not to be attracted to him.

  I watched him in the lair, when he tried to open his eyes and bring himself to look at me, his day sleep taking over, but he had asked me to stay and I had lay down next to him and held him to me, loving everything about him. I remembered his face, when he saw Isaac walk into the house, and the way he stood next to the window, in the room while we talked. I thought of his kisses, the way we made love and the blood exchange, the way he held me to him, wrapping his arms around me in the dark room before he brought me down for my first "feeding", after my transformation. I thought about the way he had just been holding my hand, tightly, protectively, and my anger exploded.

  I watched the room seemed to explode with light as all of the fires around it blazed up in a bright surge of power. The people backed away from them, either by pulling closer to the tables or moving back towards the inner circle. My body reacted to this with glee and I felt my powers growing. I closed my eyes and concentrated on breaking the ropes around my wrists, making them stretch and move, and when I was free, I moved myself to stand next to Jason, who lay across the circle from me.

  I knelt down on one knee, and looked at his lifeless form. My heart beat quickened, but all I felt was the heat of the hatred of Jacob burning in my veins, all I heard was the rush of the blood through my body, and as I turned all I know was when I looked at Jacob, all I saw was red.

  He yelled to me, as he grabbed Isaac from the men who held him. I watched as he placed the blade he had used on me, against Isaac's throat, and nicked him with it to make him bleed. Isaac struggled with his grandfather, trying to get away, but he wasn't even moving him. Jacob's power was fueled by anger, probably because this was going all wrong.

  "Who are you going to save, Angel?" Jacob asked sternly, mockingly. "You can only save just one."

  "Release him!" I ordered and stepped closer. I watched as a man knelt over Jason and grabbed the stake that was still lodged in his stomach. I stepped back towards him.

  "Get away from him!" Jacob yelled then smiled at me. "Or, I'll slit his throat!"

  "He's your grandson, Jacob." I yelled.

  "He's a traitor!" Jacob yelled back.

  If the heart is strong and beats pure love, than light shall overcome darkness. The words seemed to echo in my head; Julian's voice was just a level higher than the rhythmic beating of a slow-paced heart. I looked quickly at him, but his expression told me nothing. I drew in a breath and looked back at Jacob.

  "Let him go." I asked softly.

  "What's in it for me?" He asked me with an equally soft voice. I looked down as something hit my foot. I bent down, quickly, and scooped it up. "What is that?"

  "It’s just a stone." I replied and showed him the stone that I had given to Julian in the house. "See, just a rock."

  "Fine, hold your stupid rock, but what's in it for me?" He asked again.

  "Well," I smiled and looked down at my hand, then up at him, "me."

  "Angel, no, this is insane!" Quinn yelled to me. I tried hard not to listen to him. "You don't have to do this."

  "And, all I have to do is let him go?" He questioned.

  But, if the heart is weak and beats false hopes, than darkness be delighted. Julian's voice again invaded my senses, but these lines were not just poetic thoughts; they meant something. Let's just hope I was strong enough to make them happen. I glanced over at Louis, and then at Julian and Quinn, as the brothers stood together, then back at Louis as a memory came to me.

  "There is no power in the stone; it's all in you, the stone is just a way to channel your energy, your power, because if you let it loose, it could kill you."

  Maybe power is what was needed to stop Jacob, a strong heart that beat pure love, for Isaac, and for Jason. Pure love of an unbreakable nature, unstoppable power that can't be destroyed.

  I turned back and looked at Jacob, then glanced down again at the stone.

  Let it loose. A voice whispered to me.

  The only thing that I could hear was my own breathing, and the beating of the heart in my chest. I looked up from the stone, at Jacob, who seemed to be waiting for an answer, and then I watched as his face changed, as if I had changed into something not quite human. However, his eyes seemed suddenly to gain th
e knowledge of what I was about to release, as my hand closed around the stone and crushed it to powder in my hand.

  My body shook, my muscles seemed to convulse and I could do nothing to stop the sudden rush that the power, I myself, had brought on. I leaned my head back, opened my arms as wide as I could and felt it release from within me. My eyes wide open; I watched the light seem to erupt from me in a blaze of pure white light. I watched it spread out to every corner of the room, every inch of it gleamed with power, my power, and as I looked at this, I smiled and closed my eyes, basking in the warmth of the white glow.

  When I opened them, quite suddenly, darkness surrounded me, except where I knelt on the ground. Isaac knelt in front of me, and Jason to my side, but in the middle of us, cupped in my own hand, was a ball of white light, illuminating our area, while everything else was black.

  "What's this?" Jason asked.

  "Our power." I replied and smiled at him.

  "Yours, you mean." Isaac said. I shrugged and watched as Jason reached out to touch it then shied away.

  "Why are we here?" Jason questioned.

  "One of life's unanswered questions." I replied, smiling at me. He shook his head at my sarcasm.

  "What is this place?" He asked again.

  "Our darkness." Isaac replied, looking around the room, then at me.

  "We have the same one?" Jason commented.

  "We're family." I replied. "We have the same everything. The same light, the same darkness." I paused and looked at the two of them. "And, we share the same heart."

  "What the hell does that mean?" Jason shrugged at me.

  "I love her, she loves me. You love her, she loves you." Isaac replied and looked at him as if he were dumb. "Don't expect me to love you, though, pain in my ass. I'm not even sure I like you."

  "The feeling is mutual."

  "Can we discuss this later?" I asked. The light faded from my hands, but as the darkness cleared, I found myself kneeling on the floor of Jacob's little area, in the same position, with someone's heart in my hands.

  I looked up at Jacob, who stumbled backwards away from me, as I sat there, naked and covered in blood, with a large hole in his chest, where the blood leaked out. His heart, still beating as I held it in the palm of my hands, began to beat slower and slower, until it stopped, and Jacob fell to the ground, lifeless.

  I dropped the heart, shook my hands of the dripping blood, and then wiped them on pieces of my ripped shirt. I crawled over to Jason, whose head rested on Isaac's knees, the stake resting beside him on the ground.

  "Come on." Julian said, softly, in my ear as I took Jason's hand. "Let's get you cleaned up."

  I stood in the shower with my hands against the wall, watching the blood run off me and down the drain. The cuts that Jacob had inflicted upon me were gone, no trace of them remained anywhere on me. I felt a presence enter the room, and turned to look at the figure who stepped closer to the shower. Slowly, I slid the door open and looked at Isaac.

  "How is he?" I asked him. Isaac smiled, looked me over, and then nodded.

  "He's healing well all ready." He replied to me. "How are you doing? You've been in there a while now."

  "I can't get the picture of Jacob with that hole in his chest out of my head. It's like it wants to haunt me." I replied and closed the door so that only an inch of it remained open. "Do you think I did the right thing? Do you think my grandfather will disapprove of me killing his son?"

  "Quinn knows you did it for our survival, if we didn't stop Jacob, we would all be dead right now." Isaac sighed. "I'm just sorry I didn't get to help more."

  "I think you helped me enough. You got me to where I needed to be, which was here; so I could kill him." I sighed and, when the water ran only clear, I shut it off and grabbed a towel. I stepped out of the shower and looked at Isaac, as he sat there, looking at me. "What are you going to do now?"

  "Well, I'm not sure." He smiled. "I have family in Massachusetts, but Cleo offered me a place to stay at her house. What about you? You're free, are you going to go to Disney World?"

  "Nah, I think that I'll wait until Jason's completely healed, then I'll think about where I want to go." I said and slipped on a pair of men's pajamas. "These are yours, aren't they?"

  "Were, now they're yours." He smiled at me and stood up. He put his hands on my waist and kissed my forehead. "They look much better on you than they ever did on me."

  "Can I ask you a question?" I said as he turned to leave the room. He stopped and looked back at me. "If things were different, like if Jason or Cecilia weren't part of this big picture, do you think that maybe we would, you know, be together?"

  "I'm not sure." He whispered his face thoughtful. "It's not a secret that I love you and you love me, Angel, if that's always the case, than we are together, just not in that way."

  "I heard your thoughts out there." I whispered and watched his face flush, but his eyes looked to the floor. "They're not anything to be ashamed of."

  "It was the wrong place, wrong time, Angel." He replied and shook his head.

  "It's called nature, and don't kick yourself for it." I smiled at him. "Besides, wrong place, wrong time? That seems to be our life, between the two of us."

  "Do you think it will be any other way?" He asked as he turned the doorknob. I smiled and shrugged.

  "Maybe, someday." I replied and watched him nod as he walked out the door.

  "Easy does it." Quinn said as he and Isaac helped Jason into the car. Julian climbed into the passengers’ seat and unlocked the door. Quinn looked at me one last time before he got in. I turned and looked at Louis.

  "So, you're my grandfather, huh?" I smiled at him.

  "Yeah, amazing, isn't it?" Louis laughed and took my hand. "I'm glad we met."

  "It's good to know that I'm not alone." I smiled back.

  "You were never alone, Angel." He whispered. "I'm surprised you didn't notice the chain of events. When you and our family were finally all together, things started happening. First Quinn, then Julian, then Jason and Isaac."

  "It's funny, the grandfather of the family, his two children, and their children." I replied. "I guess we're all connected."

  "Heart and soul, I'm afraid." Louis laughed. "I've got to go."

  "You're not coming?" I asked him. He shook his head. "Why?"

  "Angel, there are others of us that you aren't aware of, others of our bloodline." Louis smiled. "I've got to be with them. You're safe with your family, but you're welcome to visit."

  "How will I get an address?"

  "Ask Benny. He'll tell you, he brought you to Quinn." He smiled and stepped away, disappearing into the darkness of the house.

  Quinn touched my shoulder. "Weird isn't it?" I asked him.

  "What?" He questioned.

  "To know that all this time, they were alive." I sighed and looked at him. "Do you hate me?"

  "No, never. Why would you ask me that?" Quinn questioned.

  "I killed your son."

  "He was never really my son. His adopted father took him when he was young. I never really got a chance to see him, like I did with Louis. Maybe, if I had, than this all would have been different." He replied and smiled at me.

  "So, is this it?" I looked up at him as we walked over to the car. "Is it over?"

  "Ah, Angel, it's never over. There will always be someone trying to track you down and kill you, but you're not alone." Quinn replied. I stopped him before I got in the car. "What?"

  "So, what's with you and Lauren, anyway?" I asked him.

  "We'll talk about that later." He said and put a hand on my head, pushed me into the car then closed the door.

  Eight Months Later

  I watched as things were packed into a U-haul, clothes, boxes, and other stuff that had been collected over the short time that they had been here. My grandfather and uncle were moving back to their New London home, and taking Michael and Lauren with them. I think I'll miss them all, even Lauren, who still isn't sure of me yet.

&nb
sp; Isaac was helping with boxes, in between stealing kisses from Cecilia. The two of them had grown so close that they could hardly stand to be away from each other for more than a night. Cleo had asked us to stay on a more permanent basis and we agreed for now, but Jason and I had plans to run away together with in the next few months.

  Julian smiled at me as he hugged me good-bye, but he stopped and looked into my eyes.

  "So, what are you going to do?" He asked me.

  "What do you mean?" I asked him.

  "Where are you and Mr. Finn going off to?"

  "We were thinking of staying here a while, then maybe it's off to Hawaii." I laughed then touched his face. "You're friend, the writer, would she see me?"

  "No, probably not." Julian sighed. "She has a family of her own now and sometimes it brings bad things about, even when I try to get in touch with her. We have to be very careful not to expose her to anyone; there are always others of our kind watching her, protecting her, because of who she is."

  "What happens now?" I asked him. He smiled and kissed my forehead.

  "Life." He replied and walked away. Quinn smiled and nodded.

  "You will call, if you need anything, won't you?" Quinn asked.

  "Yes, I will." I replied and hugged him. "You know, Quinn, we never did get to talk about this thing with you and Lauren."

  "Well, I meant to ask you if you like this?" He said and pulled out a ring box, flipped it open, and flashed a three-carat diamond ring at me. "Do you think she'll like it?"

  "If she doesn't, can I have it?" I asked playfully.

  "I'm going to ask her when we get home." Quinn smiled. "That is, if it's okay with you."

  "I have no problem with you and her, Quinn." I smiled at him. "As long as you don't have a problem with him," I said and pointed to Jason, who was carrying out a box, shirtless. Quinn made a funny face, and then shook his head. "Good." I replied and Quinn kissed my cheek. "Have a safe trip home."