Consequences (Blood of Pharaohs Book 1)

by Mairsile

  “Vince, no, damn it! I can save you both,” Nikki shouted over the wafting wind.

  Almost too weak to speak, Vince used his mind for one last witticism. “And be left permanently drooling in your straight jacket? No way, sis. Arrivederci.” The wind carried his last thoughts down to Nikki as Vince flew away.

  Nikki strained to hear him – his thoughts, his heart, the wind that carried him away, but then she heard a thump of Lilah’s heart. The welcomed sound brought her back to the other most important person in her life. Her hand surged with electrical energy as Lilah’s heart pumped again. “That’s it, come on, baby!”

  Beulah clasped her hands together, willing the young woman to breathe.

  “What’s happening?” Leonard asked, the haze of Beulah’s touch fading away. “What are you doing to her?”

  “She’s bringing her back to you, Leonard,” Beulah explained joyfully.

  Suddenly Lilah gasped for air and then inhaled deeply, as if she had been drowning.

  Leonard grabbed her hand, oblivious to how cold it was, and cried, “Lilah? Lilah.”

  Nikki lifted her hand long enough to see that the wound was healing from the inside out. Relieved, she covered it again, splaying her fingers out to encompass more of the surrounding area. Each finger carried her energy into Lilah’s organs, drawing death away and replacing it with her life’s vitality. “That’s it, baby. You can do it,” she urged, willing her to open her eyes when she saw her eyelids flutter.

  “What happened?” she murmured, confused and dazed. “Where am I?”

  “Oh God. Lilah?” Leonard cried, holding her now warm hand to his chest.

  “Daddy? What’s wrong?” Lilah’s mind was filled with a plethora of thoughts dulled by the exhaustion that consumed her. She knew something was wrong, but she couldn’t grasp hold of a single thought to understand what.

  “You were hurt, honey. But you’re all better now,” Leonard explained, wondering if she would remember being dead. He hoped not. “Nikki saved you.”

  Focusing on Nikki for the first time, Lilah smiled. She tried to lift her hand to her cheek, but she was too fatigued. She caught her hand and carried it to her lips, kissing her palm. Lilah muttered something she couldn’t understand, and then her head rolled to the side and her eyes closed.

  “No!” Leonard cried, shaking his daughter’s shoulder.

  “It’s all right, Leonard. She’s only sleeping,” Beulah rushed to assure him. “She’s just exhausted from the journey back to the living. She needs to sleep to give her body and spirit time to replenish. Nikki, help me get her up to her room.”

  Nikki lifted her with ease and clutched her to her chest. Lilah snuggled into her warm embrace and fell asleep again. Nikki kissed the top of her head, rejoicing in the beating of her heart, the warmness of her skin, and the soft snore of her breath. She shivered at the thought of how close she had come to losing her and vowed that she would never be in harm’s way again.

  As Nikki, Beulah and Leonard walked into the house, Ludovico turned his attention back to the assassin, whose good arm had already healed. He nodded at the guards, and they sliced his arm off again.

  “Tell me what I want to know, or for the rest of your measurable life, you will die a slow and agonizing death.”

  *

  “Lovely Lilah Rose. Are you asleep?”

  “Yes, and dreaming of the most wonderful woman who saved me.”

  Sitting alone in Lilah’s darkened bedroom, her head slumped to the side, Nikki walked into Lilah’s dreams as she slept in her bed.

  “I was so afraid that I had lost you,” I said the minute I entered her dream.

  “Nikki, no, never. I love you. I want to be with you for the rest of my life.”

  “That’s what you said to me three years ago. It has come full circle.”

  “I don’t understand what you’re saying, Nikki?”

  “Lilah Rose, I have to leave.” I looked at the confusion in her eyes. How could I tell her that I couldn’t burden her with my insanity? I can already feel the pull of the hysteria welling up inside. I couldn’t bear the thought of her seeing me that way.

  “No! Don’t leave me again, please, Nikki. I love you.”

  “It’s because I love you that I must leave you. But this time I will be back. Do you hear me? I promise that I will be back for you.”

  “Nikki, no. Don’t go.”

  “I love you. Wait for me, Lilah Rose.”

  Nikki woke slowly and looked over at Lilah. There were tears pooling in her eyes as she slept, and she bent over her and kissed them away. The salty taste of her essence brought tears to her own eyes. She laid her hand gently on Lilah’s forehead and sent a soft stream of energy into her subconscious. “Dream of me and remember. I love you, and I will be back for you.” Nikki walked out of the room with pink tears in her eyes.

  Chapter Eighteen

  November 11, 2016

  da Polenta Ranch, Texas

  The sun, with its soft rays of warmth, lulled Lilah into consciousness although she didn’t want to wake up. She held on to her dream for as long as she could, and when her eyes finally did open, she called her name. “Nikki?”

  “Good morning, sleepyhead,” Leonard greeted her from the overstuffed chair in the corner of her bedroom.

  “Dad? Wait. What’s wrong?” Her father hadn’t been in her room since she’d had the flu five years ago, and then only to check on her.

  “What do you remember about last night?” Leonard countered.

  Lilah slowed down the rush of memories until she could grab a hold of one. “I remember being terribly worried about you and Nikki and not knowing what was going on was driving me crazy. So I jumped in the jeep and drove here… wait, I hit something. No, I hit a man!”

  “What did you do?” Leonard asked calmly.

  “I stopped to see if I could help, and he… he wasn’t there. No. It wasn’t a man, it was a vampire, because the next thing I knew, he was above me, floating on air. I remember shooting him point blank, like over and over again. He finally fell to the ground and I took off and never looked back. But just before I got to the ranch, another man came out of the sky and yanked me out of the jeep. He didn’t say a word, he just put his hand on my throat and I was paralyzed.” Lilah shivered at the memory. “God, I was so scared, dangling in the wind like that. I couldn’t move, I couldn’t speak.” Suddenly Lilah turned pale and swayed unsteadily. “Dorothea? The guys? Are they all right?”

  “Yes, don’t worry. They’re just fine. I went up just before dawn, while there were still people to guard you, and stopped them from leaving.” Leonard chuckled. “They said they were your cavalry and they were loaded for bear. Anyway, we’re going to keep them out there at least through tonight. After you were… after that vampire delivered his message,” Leonard said the last word with bitterness, “there have been no more attacks.”

  “What happened to the second man who grabbed me out of the jeep after I killed the first one? Oh, um, by the way, I think the jeep is probably crashed in a ditch because I was driving really fast.”

  “We found the jeep. And you’re right, it was upside down in a ditch beside the road. But I don’t care about that, as long as you’re all right.”

  “Dad, what happened? I don’t remember anything after that. Where’s Nikki?”

  “Nikki’s gone, honey,” Leonard answered.

  Leonard had been in the kitchen making coffee when Nikki came through on her way out. He put down the cup and spoon, and held out his hand to the woman who brought his daughter back to him. To say thank you wasn’t nearly enough, but it was all he had. Leonard and Nikki stood eye to eye for a moment, and Leonard saw only sorrow and regret in the woman’s eyes.

  “Is she all right?” Leonard asked.

  “Yes, she’s still sleeping,” Nikki replied. “Mr. Dupree, you can thank me by doing me a favor?”

  “Anything, Nikki. Just name it.”

  “I have to leave, and I may not
be back for months, maybe even a year or so. Lilah will think I’ve deserted her, but I have no choice. The gift of restoration comes with a malicious curse. My mind is already starting to play tricks on me.”

  “I don’t understand. What are you saying, Nikki?”

  “It’s only a matter of time before I go criminally insane, you idiot! No, no, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean… look, I don’t want Lilah to see me like this.”

  “My God. What can I do to help?”

  “I ask only that you assure her that I am all right and most importantly, that I am not deserting her. I will return for her. I love your daughter, Mr. Dupree, but I may forget that during my psychotic break.”

  “Stay here and let us help you, Nikki. You can’t go out there alone in that kind of condition.”

  “She won’t be alone,” Beulah said from the kitchen doorway. “Ludovico has arranged to have his jet take her to our villa in Zermatt. Two of our men will accompany you to insure your safety, Nikki.”

  “Gone? I don’t understand,” Lilah admitted, confused by the rush of memories crowding her brain. “Where did she go?”

  “Mrs. da Polenta had her sent to their villa in Switzerland, located somewhere between the town of Zermatt and the Matterhorn.”

  “Switzerland? Why so far away? What aren’t you telling me, Dad?” Lilah asked, throwing her legs over the side of the bed and sitting up. Feeling lightheaded, she grabbed onto the bedsheet to steady herself. What’s wrong with me?

  “Whoa, slow down, honey. You’ve had a very traumatic injury. You need to take it easy.”

  “Injury? What injury? I feel perfectly fine, except for being a little tired and a lot dizzy.”

  “Honey, you were dead,” he said bluntly. He knew no other way of delivering such news that would make it sound any less credible. “That vampire stabbed you through the heart.” Leonard shook visibly at the memory.

  Lilah tore her pajama shirt open and looked down at her chest. Leonard quickly turned his head when he realized she was nude underneath. Beulah had undressed her and put her to bed while he and Nikki, who was not happy about being exiled from her room, waited out in the hallway. Lilah felt around for a bandage, or scar, or something indicating that she had been hurt. There wasn’t so much as a blemish. Then it hit her. Realization so shocking that it almost knocked her from the bed. Nikki brought her back from the dead.

  Leonard grabbed her up and helped her back into bed. She sat back against the pillows he propped up, and then he tucked her in like he’d done when she was a little girl.

  “Daddy?” she whimpered, tears welling up in her droopy eyes.

  “I know, sweetheart. And if I hadn’t seen it with my own eyes, I’d say it was impossible.”

  “I love her, Daddy,” she murmured. “I’ve been in love with her for three years.” Although she still couldn’t remember falling in love with her the first time, she no longer doubted that she had. Lilah yawned and slid down under the covers. “I love her,” she slurred as she drifted off to sleep.

  Leonard watched as his daughter slept, remembering how he would sit by her bed when she was a toddler, wondering what she would be when she grew up. When she showed an interest in horses at four years old, he bought her a pony when she was six, and the two of them grew up together. She could ride a full-grown horse before she was eight.

  Then his wife, Emily, pointed out how she stuck to the veterinarian like glue every time he came to the ranch, so he began calling the vet out to the ranch whether he was needed or not. The vet always said that Lilah had the healing touch and when she was old enough, he even offered her a job after school.

  Now, with her in love with a vampire, he had no idea how to guide her away from her. He liked Nikki, a good woman who risked everything for his daughter, but she wasn’t human. Her job was to kill whomever Ludovico ordered her to, and she did it without question, and even though they were immortals, murder was murder. She was nocturnal. She drank blood for food. She spied on people’s thoughts. She would always be the same age, and his daughter would age and die. How could she possibly want a life with her that included the loss of so many freedoms?

  November 13, 2016

  Lilah slept for two days, only waking long enough to go to the bathroom or sip on some soup Beulah fixed for her. Finally, mid-afternoon of the second day, she just couldn’t sleep anymore, so she got up and took a shower. The warm prickly pelts of water cascading over her shoulders helped ease her sore muscles. Even when she was cramming for her chemistry and biology finals, she didn’t crash afterward for that long of time. The warm water was lulling her back to drowsiness so she turned off the hot spigot and gasped when a blast of cold water hit her in the chest. A flash, like lightning, skittered across her mind and she saw the glint of his knife and felt the burn, like acid, as it punctured her heart.

  She left the water running and quickly stepped out of the shower, grabbing the towel from the counter. “Oh God,” she panted, clutching the towel against her chest. Steadying herself against the counter, she wiped the steam from the mirror and looked closely at her nude body. She knew it couldn’t have been a dream. Her father, who’d witnessed her being stab, explained it to her. Even so, she felt healthy and her strength was returning. There was no scar, no indication that she had been dead; it was hard to put it into perspective.

  She shrugged it off, turned off the water, and then combed her hair back. She wasn’t interested in drying it or applying her makeup. She wanted to check on the colt and the two mares, one of which was close to giving birth. She walked back into her bedroom and dug out a clean pair of blue jeans from the laundry basket. Someone must have done her laundry for her because she didn’t remember doing it this week.

  After pulling on her favorite blue-plaid shirt and her boots, she bounded down the staircase and into the kitchen. “Dorothea, are you in here? Dorothea?”

  “She’s on her way back, honey,” Leonard yelled from the living room.

  Lilah grabbed a cola from the refrigerator and a banana from the counter, and then joined her father in the living room. Slumping down in the leather armchair, Lilah propped her feet up on the coffee table and peeled the banana. “I forgot they were up at the camp.” She was almost afraid to ask the next question. “Is everyone all right?”

  Leonard nodded and laid the newspaper he was reading in his lap. He took off his bifocals and looked at her. “All the humans and horses are just fine. Dorothea’s going to be a little cranky, but I’m okay with that. I’ve missed her being here.”

  Lilah exhaled. “I’m okay with that, too,” she said with a smile.

  “What about you? Are you going to be all right?”

  “I’m having some frightening flashbacks, but I think I can handle them. Thanks for not sugar coating it for me, Dad. It’s really helped me deal with things better.”

  “You were always tough and didn’t liked it when I tried to pacify you. Unless of course it was when you wanted your pacifier,” Leonard said playfully.

  “Dad,” she whined lovingly, then became more contemplative. “I can’t wrap my mind around being… dead. So I really can’t imagine what it must have been like for you, watching it happen.”

  Leonard looked down at the newspaper for a moment, then back at her. “I killed him.”

  Lilah didn’t understand. “Killed who, Daddy?”

  “The man who killed you. I took a knife and stabbed him in the heart with it. I’m not sorry that I did, but it wasn’t enough. You were still dead.”

  “Until Nikki brought me back. How did she do that?”

  “Well, she’s the undead, so I guess… no, I don’t honestly know.” Leonard held his hand out, palm up. “She cut her hand and placed it over your wound, and then she put her other hand on your forehead. It looked like her hands were glowing.” Leonard stared at his own hands as if he were seeing Nikki’s.

  “That sounds so cool,” Lilah said, fascinated. “I can’t wait to see her again to ask her about it.”


  “She said she might not be back for months, possibly as long as a year.”

  “Oh, don’t worry. Vince will take care of her and bring her back to me.”

  Leonard gazed at her for a moment, wondering how he was going to tell her. As always, blurting it out was the quickest, most painless way of telling somebody something bad. He leaned forward and clasped his hands together. “Honey, Vince is dead.”

  “What? No, that can’t be. Nikki would have saved him, too. I know she would.”

  “Yes, if the choice had been hers to make. She was going to save you both, even though Beulah explained that it would have most certainly meant permanent brain damage. But Vince made the choice for her and flew away while Nikki was working on you.”

  Tears of gratitude, of loss, and of love, spilled over her eyelashes and down her cheeks. “Oh, no. Vince… what will Nikki do without her brother?”

  “Nikki and the other immortals spent most of the early morning looking for Vince, but had to give up the search because of daylight, and because Nikki had to get on the plane.”

  “Is there no chance that Vince could be alive?”

  Shrugging, Leonard said, “I don’t see how. He was shot with a poisonous arrow, and it only takes a few minutes for it to kill.”

  Lilah’s eyes clouded with guilt. If not for her, Vince would be alive still. If she had only stayed at the camp like she was told to do, Nikki would be here now, with her. Spurred by guilt, fueled by anger, her mind was made up. “I’m going to go find Nikki, Dad. I’m going to ask Mr. da Polenta if I can use his jet and fly to Switzerland as soon as possible.”

  “No,” Leonard said flatly. “You are not doing any such thing. Why would you think you can handle Nikki in her state of mind when even the da Polentas are afraid of her? She’s locked up for a reason, honey.”

  “I know, but with Vince gone, Nikki doesn’t have anyone with her. She’s all alone.” She choked on her tears. “She needs someone who loves her. I know I can get through to her.”