“I heard them talking about it earlier. He and John planned this. They set me up to kill that guy.”
“After John told us everything he had been put through at the hands of Ram? I think you need someone to blame, but there is nobody to blame here. It’s part of the wolf’s nature to want to feed.”
“So you don’t believe me?”
“No, that’s not what I’m saying.” She defended her response.
He got up and walked to the back of the plane and sat across from Ram. Selene sighed in frustration and yelled out, “Alex!” at him. It did no good. He ignored her like a child and crossed his arms in defiance.
Ram watched them as they avoided interaction. He smiled and sat, his head back against his seat. He had accomplished what he intended.
Chapter 26
Sol’s shoes glided across the hospital floor with pep in each step. He hummed a 1950s’ tune underneath his breath as he looked throughout the hospital basement for Ram. He stopped short of a few doctors standing outside of a room where a sick woman lay. They were discussing how difficult her situation was before they scurried away to other business. Ram took the opportunity to look in on the sick woman.
A nurse sitting near her sick bed stood up and said, “Sir, you can’t be...”
Sol raised his hand to her and she stopped speaking and sat back down. He had quelled her urgency with the motion of his hand. He stood over the sick woman and stared down at her as she clung to life.
“Who is this woman?” he asked.
The nurse stared at him, unable to answer.
“You may speak now. Just don’t tell me to go.”
“Her name is Amalia Jacobs and she is here because Ram has made her a part of his vampire clan. She bit one of the immortal witches and it seems their blood is poison to vampires. She’s clinging to life. Ram is present out somewhere with the witch she bit to find some sort of spell or necklace or something of the sort to bring her back to life.”
“Yes, our immortal blood is sacred,” nodded Sol. “I don’t understand this Amalia’s importance, though. There must be more to this story. My sister cannot have the talisman. I must speak with Administration. Do you know where I can find their office?”
“They usually meet in the conference room at the end of the hall, but beyond that I don’t have a clue where you’d find them.”
“You mustn’t tell anyone I’ve been here. More particularly…” He raised his hand and turned it sideways. Her neck snapped and her body fell from the chair onto the floor.
He left the room and searched through the basement for offices, but found the place in disarray. He wondered if Administration had abandoned Ram and his idea of a hospital for blood purposes. Sol found it to be a brilliant resource for the vampire community, but Administration had never liked the idea of that much responsibility. Most of them were young and wanted to live vicariously with their powers. Ram had chosen the high road, and most of the other vampire bloodlines refused to follow rules, much less drain people for a little blood rather than for every drop.
“Are you lost Sol?” a female voice said from behind him.
He smiled before turning around to see one of the female members of Administration standing before him. She looked like a little girl in a business suit. She couldn’t have been older than twenty yet she carried herself confidently as though she was thirty. Her long brown hair cascaded to below her shoulders and her breasts were perky enough to make a priest look twice. She smiled with pearly white teeth that hinted at evil with her youthful-looking fangs.
“I was looking for a member of Administration. You’ll do. What’s Ram doing with a sick vampire, and why is it so important for him to join forces with my sister to help him find the talisman? I thought we had a truce.”
“We agreed to let him find the talisman by any means necessary. We want what is best for all parties, but it is paramount that we become immortal.”
Sol, taken aback by her outright admission of carelessness, said, “I didn’t realize that both he and the vampire Administration were willing to betray one of the immortals in order to gain immortality for themselves. That’s a little counterproductive, don’t you think?”
She grew silent and her shoulders swayed slightly downward. Her young mind seemed to be churning but she said nothing. Sol wrapped an arm around her and they walked towards an elevator close by.
“Let me put a thought into your mind and you let it stew awhile before you approach Administration. What if I told you that… what’s your name?”
“Cami.”
“What if told you, Cami, that you would be able to run Administration. Head of this hospital. CEO. Everyone could come to you with their vampire problems and you could tell them to fuck off or help them. No Ram and eventually no Administration. I can get you to that point.”
“But I don’t want that responsibility. I hate making decisions, and when I become immortal I definitely don’t want to make those decisions,” she protested.
He stopped her and grabbed her by her shoulders. He resisted the urge to end her since manipulating her was better.
“That’s the beauty of it, Cami. I will teach you how to kill immortal creatures and everyone will be too terrified to come to you with anything.”
“I don’t get why everyone else in Administration is so terrified of you,” Cami replied. “You are so much nicer than they make you out to be.”
“You are a very smart girl, Cami. Very smart.” Sol sealed their agreement with a devilish smile before getting onto the elevator with her. “Show me around, will you? Never seen how a hospital operates. We might even have a little fun, but first could you tell me exactly where Ram is?”
“Sure. I can get his flight schedule for you. My office is up on the second floor, where the ICU patients are. That’s where we kept Alex when he first came here. You can see what we’ve done with all of the other soldiers that land in here.”
“Sounds positively entertaining.”
She pressed a bright red fingernail onto the second floor button in the elevator and said, “I meant to mention that the sick vamp you saw is the wife of Alex. You know, the guy that your sister is head over heels for. She bit your sister and there she lays.”
“Well, you’re just full of interesting information. I think we are going to be great friends.”
The elevator doors shut to and they slowly rose to the second floor.
Chapter 27
The plane landed just after dawn. All of them were weary, taking turns yawning and stretching as they exited the terminal in Jackson, MS. Alex and Selene were ushered into a rental car driven by John while Ram and his cronies took an SUV.
After driving a couple of hours they arrived at the graveyard that Ram had seen in Selene’s eyes. A funeral precession was finishing up and everyone was driving away as they pulled in.
Two giant lion statues guarded the black wrought-iron fence at the entrance. A weeping angel sat on a judge’s stand just inside, and many gargoyles guarding the dead buried below them hovered in a close watch.
Alex and Selene exited the car. She paused and looked around at all of the ominous tombs and statues.
“I haven’t been here in ages.” She said with wonder in her eyes.
“I know this is going to be difficult for you. We can take a day and come back if you need more time,” Alex said.
“No. I want to get this over with.” Selene took his hand. “I’m sorry for not believing you earlier. I don’t want you to blame yourself or someone else for what comes naturally when you are a werewolf.”
“I want this to be over, same as you. My actions are my fault. I choose to kill people. I have control; I just need to learn to claim it.”
“Learning control is difficult. It takes some werewolves years. In the meantime, they ruin their relationships, they destroy their belongings, and they destroy their own lives. I don’t want to see that happen to you.”
“I think it’s a little late to worry about my sanity and my relatio
nships. You’re the only one who has stood by me through this mess.”
She smiled at him, knowing he appreciated her being there for him. He may not love her loyally but those feelings were there. They had a history and now they had a present. All she could ever hope for was a future between them. Only time would tell.
“Let’s go,” ordered Ram.
They walked on into the graveyard looking at the names of each tombstone until they came to a massive mausoleum that stood in the middle of the graveyard. It was marked with the name of ‘Neighbor’. Selene stopped dead in her tracks and everyone behind her followed suit. They all stared at her as she examined the huge marble columns and statuesque floral bouquets.
She walked up the first two steps. Just shy of the third step, she placed her hand on the last of three floral statues and it came alive before them. The flowers twisted and grew as they opened the marbleized door to the mausoleum. She casually walked in and the rest of them cautiously followed behind her.
The front hall was filled with marble coffins. She trailed her fingers across each one as she passed by. A set of stairs stood at the back of the mausoleum, leading down into a tunnel beneath the graveyard. She stopped short of the stairs and looked over at two metal suits of armor guarding each side of the dark stairwell. She placed one foot onto the top stair and the seemingly empty suits of armor lowered their axes, preventing her from going further down the stairs.
“Thou shalt not pass unless thou art worthy of a sacred trinity,” the suits of armor said in a haunting unison.
“I am worthy.” Selene responded.
A bright blue glow of energy came out of their axes and passed through Selene’s chest. She spread her arms out on either side of her as the glowing blue light became brighter and brighter until she disappeared.
Alex ran to grab her but, it was too late. She was gone. Ram grabbed Alex up by his collar and slammed him against one of the marble coffins.
“You knew about this, didn’t you?” Ram growled.
Alex wrenched Ram’s hands away from him and said, “No, now take your fucking hands off of me.”
Alex felt the wolf within, ready for a fight. John raised the tranquilizer gun up to his neck again, threatening to make him sleep. Alex’s eyes quickly turned yellow and his claws began to grow.
“I will rip your throat out before you pull that trigger,” Alex promised John.
Ram released Alex’s shirt and pushed John away. “Now’s not the time. Let’s just see if we can follow her.”
He signaled for one of his three cronies to head for the stairs. The unsuspecting vampire did so willingly and placed one foot on the steps. The armored suit statues placed their axes on either side of the vampire’s chest.
“Thou shalt not pass unless thou art worthy of a sacred trinity,” they said in unison.
“I am worthy,” the vampire said with every bit of confidence.
The bright blue light formed at his chest and he raised his arms on either side, as Selene had done. The blue light wavered then turned red. The vampire struggled to move but could not. The light turned redder and redder until the vampire burst. Blood and flesh exploded throughout the mausoleum. They were all completely covered in his remains.
Ram turned back to Alex. “You had to know about this.”
“I knew nothing,” Alex growled, in his deeper wolf voice.
Before John could even raise his tranquilizer gun, Alex was completely in wolf form. He raised his fist at John and punched him across the room. John landed hard on a marble coffin. He was unconscious and the gun was nowhere to be seen.
Ram picked Alex up by the shoulders and threw him across the room. He landed on another of the marble coffins, breaking it completely into. The bones within let a foul smell into the air and dust particles flew everywhere. The other two of Ram’s vampire cronies gathered around him to aid in the fight.
Alex quickly jumped up from the ground and punched Ram in the jaw, knocking him against the wall. The two vampires seized both of Alex’s arms and pulled him back against one of the coffins. He struggled to get himself free but the vampires proved to be too strong together.
Ram walked over and backhanded him. Alex’s head turned slightly but quickly snapped back. He gritted his wolf teeth at them. His mouth watered for the taste of their blood.
The marble door behind them thundered open and two werewolves stood at the door. The vampires holding Alex down immediately dropped him and backed away.
“I wondered when the army would come along,” Ram said to them.
They changed back down to their human form much more graciously than Alex would have. It was instantaneous. Alex bent his wolf body over and changed slowly down back to himself. Alex stepped forward towards them but Ram placed his arm over Alex’s chest, preventing him from going further.
“How do we know we will get him back?” Ram asked.
“He will return with the other member of your group. Hyperion wishes to see him.”
“So he is here?”
“Yes. He is home.”
Ram lowered his arm, allowing Alex to proceed further.
Alex walked into the stairwell with the other wolves. The marble door closed behind them, leaving the three vampires remaining in the marble mausoleum alone with John unconscious on the floor.
Ram straightened his shirt and dusted it off. He smeared vampire blood droplets and dust together. It was a brown and bloody mess on his designer clothing. He wasn’t pleased with the situation but he felt helpless to change it. Not being in control was not his strong suit.
John was starting to wake up in the front corner of the mausoleum. One of the skeletons had fallen close to him and it startled him. He backed away from it making a girly grunting sound.
Ram peeked over at him and rolled his eyes.
Chapter 28
Alex followed the bare wolves down into a deep, dank stairwell. It wound down what must have been four stories until they came to a well-lit basement area. Candles illuminated the pathways. It looked like an upscale foyer. It led into a living area that contained huge animals that had been stuffed and hung up on the grand stone walls. The heads of antelope, deer, and bison glowered over them all.
The wolves showed him into the room. Hyperion and Selene stood in the center of a giant white bear rug. Selene reached her hand out for Alex to take. He walked over to her and clasped it tightly. The wolves that had led him in retreated to one of the five doorways.
He felt extremely uncomfortable, standing there shirtless.
“We are well accustomed to half-naked men around here. This place is watched over by many wolves. As so you’ve probably learned, vampires are not welcomed here,” Hyperion said to Alex.
“Yes sir,” Alex replied. He felt as nervous as he did the first time that he met Selene’s father. But he wasn’t just an immortal witch who created vampires and werewolves. He was also a father wanting the best for his daughter.
“There is no need for nerves. Please sit.” Hyperion waved his hand towards two hand-made couches. They were covered in brown bear skin and made of what looked like the bones from the bears. The bones formed crosses on either end of the couches. Hyperion sat across from them in an oversized chair made of the same material. Alex petted it when he sat down.
“It’s real bear. I’m sure that some humans find it cruel, but that bear actually wanted me to keep his fur for an eternity. As I have done,” Hyperion said.
“No, it’s nice. Very… unique,” Alex said nervously.
Selene looked up at him and smiled. She found his nervousness cute.
She turned to her father.
“Father, you know why we are here. I beg of you, please let me carry the talisman. They want your head on a platter and I don’t feel as if I have a choice.”
“The choice is yours, my dearest daughter. Nobody can choose but you. The talisman cannot be given freely. You know that.”
“Surely it can be if you will it.”
Hyp
erion stood and yelled, “I can’t will the talisman. There must be a sacrifice. This is magic. It’s not about a heritage or me simply handing it over. You know I must die for a new Immortal to rise to power. It is my blood and my life. It is your sister’s blood, your brother’s blood, your blood.”
Selene stood and said, “There’s one more you forgot to mention. He is sitting right there.” She pointed to Alex. He sat silently, unable to add to the argument. “Remember? He is the one who had to be a creature of magic for the circle to be complete. You forced me to watch over him so that he wouldn’t become one. You forced me to stand beside him, unaware of what spending that much time with one person would lead to. It led to feelings that I’ve had to repress for years, and now I have to watch him being used by my brother and by Ram to gain immortality. Now they want him dead. You dead. Me dead. That’s how all of this will end. Sol will be in power and they will all be immortal. Nobody wins here.”
Alex stood at her admission of betrayal and said, “Wait, you became friends with me and Amalia just so you could watch and make sure I didn’t become a werewolf or a vampire. And now that I have? You’ve been lying to me for years! You’ve been lying to me since this all started? How could you?”
“Not now,” she snapped at him and waved her hand. He was forced to sit and be quiet. She looked at her hand curiously, ignorant of the exact power of her magical forces.
“Nobody said Alex had to die,” said Hyperion. “We don’t have to die. I don’t want anyone dead. These are the words of your brother and that heathen vampire he has working for him. I ordered you to watch Alex so he would live a productive life and avoid this madness. He could have had kids and passed the bloodline down to another generation, but Sol figured the spell out first. He knew that you and your sister would need to be sacrificed, but I hid Alex from him and I knew the only one strong enough to protect him would be you.”
“And what of that?” retorted Selene. Nobody can tell me of these great powers I have. I can move nature and burn vampires but Sol can move objects with his mind. I would think that to be a stronger power than my own.”
The Blood Talisman Page 16
