Jack stared down the Feyk. He wasn’t going to leave his daughter out there. But the plan was starting to unravel. They were outnumbered, and Melinda was surrounded.
“Stop!” the command came from Stricker.
Everything went quiet, his Feyk army obeying at once.
The Isle’s fireworks show had ended, but booms still exploded from the tourists still shooting off their own collections.
They could hear each other’s heavy breathing and hearts pumping.
Lizzy grabbed at her potion belt. “Damn it. I’m empty.”
“We’ll have to fight our way through their line,” said Charlie.
Lizzy nodded in curt agreement. She untied her small magic handbag. “Unclasp my potion belt,” she told him. He reached over and slid his arm down her back until his fingers gripped the belt, unhinging it. He slid it off, letting it slink to the ground. She did the same with the one around her waist, needing to be mobile as possible. She quickly secured the handbag to a belt loop.
Stricker left his perch, sauntering down the embankment to the battlefield. His Feyk army stepped aside, making a path for him. He stopped in front of Melinda and gazed down at her.
“Hard to say whether she’s dead, or alive. Shall we find out?”
“You. Will. Not. Touch. Her.” a familiar snarled out in warning. Stricker looked up to see the villainous eyes of William Wakefield staring him down from the crest behind the Howards.
The Howards and Lizzy turned, needing to see him with his own eyes. The vampire was healing. His clothes singed off his body, a few obvious injuries, but alive, and on the mend.
“I thought we killed you,” Stricker tut-tutted. “If you’re alive, I guess that means our shifty friend met her untimely end.”
William snarled his answer. “And you’ll join her if you so much as lay a finger on Melinda Howard.” He crouched, his body taking on a feral stance. The animalistic pose of a hunter prepared to attack its prey.
The Howards had never seen William in his true form. A dangerous predator… just the same, they were relieved beyond words to see him alive and healing from the torture he’d endured.
William’s eyes met Lizzy’s. “Your brothers are fine,” he answered her unspoken question. He watched relief wash over her.
“Thank you,” she mouthed.
William peered down below him, meeting the gaze of Jack Howard for the first time since his return.
“Hello my old friend,” said Jack.
William nodded. Only a fleeting moment of shock at seeing him alive. There’d be time to catch up later. His focus intent only one thing: Melinda.
“Just in case my point was not clear, Eva Jordan is dead. I killed her.” He gnashed his teeth at them as if to warn, you’re next.
Charlie felt a mix of emotions. Part of him relieved Eva was gone, part of him angry that he didn’t have the chance to confront her again, to kill her himself.
Eva/Emily grinned, from just inside the doorway underneath the old tree.
William caught it, noting the darkness behind it, but understood it. Her father’s death had been avenged. He was surprised to see her looking alert though. When he’d left her, she wasn’t far off Melinda’s condition.
Eva/Emily really grinned for another reason of course.
You may have killed me, but I’m not gone yet... and I’m so not done yet…
Stricker called out to Jack, his patience gone. “I have another bargain for you. What’s say you let me through the door this time, and I don’t kill your daughter. That’s if she’s not already...” his voice cut out. William flashed in front of him with a snarl.
Stricker’s eyes widened, his mind too slow to react and pop out before William flung him across the meadow. His wiry frame slammed into the embankment he’d been perched on the entire night.
William launched himself at the closest Feyk, snapping its neck in a single vicious twist. He reached out grabbing another, breaking its body in half like it was nothing more than paper.
“If anyone touches her, I will rip you. And break you. And you will rue the day you were born.” Stricker’s army faltered, taken aback at the savageness that was William.
Their leader got to his feet, his beady eyes fuming. “Bring them all down,” Stricker shrieked, refusing to admit defeat.
Half the remaining Feyk attacked William.
The other Jack, and company. They were out of potions and would need to rely on themselves and each other.
William pounced on another Feyk, crushing him with sheer brutality.
The remaining Feyk attacking William gazed at each other in fear. This was a foe they didn’t want to fight and could not win against. It was suicide.
Stricker ordered them to attack again, but instead, they started popping out of the scene. Fleeing White Pines.
The group attacking Jack’s group hadn’t seen this and kept fighting.
Popping in, casting a spell, popping out and popping back in a few feet away.
This dance continued.
William lowered himself, crouching on the ground. He peered down at Melinda. If she was dead, he’d hunt down every single one of the Feyk responsible. They would regret stepping foot on the Demon Isle. They would regret being born. They would regret taking her away from him. They would pay with pain. So much pain before he ended their suffering.
He gently cleaned the debris off her body, rolling her into his arms. He lifted her off the ground bringing her lips to his cheek. They did not warm his icy skin. He closed his eyes listening for a heartbeat… then he felt it. A stab of warmth as her breath hit his cheek.
She was still with him.
The world slowed. Each breath, each blink deliberate and slow.
He grasped her securely, turning to Jack.
Their eyes met.
William didn’t need to hear Jack’s voice. His look exclaimed his feelings clearly.
Save her, William. Don’t let my baby girl die.
“Always, and never,” promised William. He disappeared into the night.
Knowing his daughter was in safe hands at last, Jack blasted a spell that sent the Feyk flying. He ordered everyone through the doorway.
They rushed in.
He followed. Turned. Swiped his hand across the roots inside, and instantly they were thrust into silence and darkness.
Stricker let out an incensed cry.
It was over. And he had not won.
He stared down at what remained of his army. Defeated.
“Time to fly, Boys.”
They left in a hasty retreat.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
William appeared out of nowhere, catching Mack and everyone gathered unawares.
He gently put Melinda onto the same raised ambulance bed that he’d been on not long before.
Mack let out a gasp at her appearance. She’d known it was going to be bad, but seeing it shut her down for a minute.
“She’s lost a lot of blood,” advised William evenly. “She was hit in the head a day ago. Bound to a stake all night, in the cold. Doused in freezing water. She’s had no food or water in twenty-four hours. She took a few falls and was hit…” his voice gave out. It was a slap from Riley, but it could have caused injury.
Mack unfroze and she and the ambulance driver set in to saving her. Mack told Alex Melinda’s blood type. He ran to grab it, hooking up an I.V. to hydrate her at the same time.
William leaned over her, willing her to wake up. She did not. Her skin had a bluish hue. He’d taken too much blood from her. She’d already been through so much at that point, her body just couldn’t bear anymore.
William saw the needle drive into her arm, a pinprick of blood forming around the tip. Mack glanced at him, questioningly.
“I’m in control,” William told her calmly. For now, his blood cravings were satiated. His concerns entirely surrounded Melinda.
Her body started to convulse.
“What’s happening?” asked Mack.
�
�We’re losing her,” shouted Alex. “She needs more care than we can give her here. We need to stabilize before we can move her.”
William backed away, allowing them to work on her.
Her body stopped convulsing a few seconds later.
They were finally able to get the needle into her arm.
“She’s stabilizing,” Alex got out in a gush of relief.
Mack nodded.
“We can’t move her yet though.”
William disappeared into the woods, sitting himself onto the ground. He allowed his mind to calm, reaching into hers. Seeking her out. She was there. Buried deep. He followed her into the depths, unable to let her feel any more pain.
Melinda eyes fluttered opened.
She breathed in and out, without effort. It didn’t hurt. She didn’t struggle to get air.
Sand squished between her fingers.
The moon shone overhead, brightening a starry night sky.
“You’re okay Melinda, you’re safe now,” a familiar voice rang out, seemingly from everywhere and nowhere. She turned her head, looking for him. It was William’s voice, but she did not see him.
“Where am I? Am I dead?”
“You’re still in White Pines. This is an illusion of sorts. And no. You are not dead.” Almost his thoughts lamented. So close to death. Too close.
“What is this place?”
“It’s all in your mind, like a dream. I brought you here. It’s nowhere in particular. Just am empty, quiet beach.”
“Can you stay with me?”
“Yes.”
She sat up, sitting on her knees. “It looks so real.”
Waves washed softly against the shore.
“Why can’t I see you?” Why did she even ask that? She didn’t want to see him burned and suffering. She wanted to forget that sight. Strike it from her memory.
“Close your eyes,” he told her.
She obeyed, with a shaky breath.
Melinda felt his presence. Just in front of her. His knees touching hers.
She opened her eyes, the sight of him catching her breath. It was her William, in all his perfection. Not a burn. Not a scar. His emerald green eyes penetrating hers.
“This isn’t real. This isn’t what you look like right now.”
“No. But I will again.”
“I don’t understand all this. How are you in my mind?”
“It’s not easy.” He shook his head, ever so slightly. “It is easy, now. It requires an intimate connection with someone. I cannot break into anyone’s mind, whenever I like. I can slip into yours now almost as if it were my own.”
“Oh.” She could not think of anything else to say. His admission sent a flutter through her.
My flutter… William could not help but revel in its meaning.
Mindlessly, Melinda lifted herself upward and ran her warm hands down the sides of his face. She needed to feel him. To confirm he was real. And alive. This cool, hard, skin had been burnt beyond recognition the last time she saw him.
William closed his eyes, the touch of her fingers on his skin sending agonizing pulses through him. He should stop her…
“Sorry,” she quivered, pulling away after he tensed underneath her touch. “I didn’t mean to do that.”
He let out a delighted sigh. “I… liked it.”
The flutter again… he swore he could feel it almost as if it were his own heart, his own blood pumping.
“Are you really okay, William?”
“Yes.”
She shuddered, picturing him on the pyre, tortured to near death. Never begging for the release of death because it would have meant forfeiting her life as well.
He opened his eyes to see tears brimming in hers. He cleared them away, his hands cupping the sides of her face. He didn’t deserve to touch this beautiful creature.
“Melinda,” he sang sweetly. “Are you okay?”
“No,” she spoke truthfully. “I’m not sure I will ever be okay.”
He told himself to let go of her. To let his hands fall. But they would not obey his command.
“I’m sorry,” he heard her whisper. “I’m so sorry, William.”
“Do not apologize. I did not make it easy for you to be honest with me. I pushed you away.”
“I should have told you everything. I should have told you what happened in my dream. But I was… afraid. You suffered so much because of that. And I almost lost you because of that. I don’t want to be afraid anymore.” She lowered her gaze, her cheeks rosy. Even after everything they’d been through, it still frightened her to say what was in her heart. Mainly because she knew it didn’t matter. It didn’t change anything. This world they were sitting in, didn’t exist. It wasn’t real. Just an illusion in her mind.
William lifted her chin, his reaction not what she expected.
“I love you.” The words escaped him more easily than he thought possible, but each one left an agonizing ache ripping into his lifeless heart.
Melinda lost her breath, her heart beating feverishly. Had she heard him right? Was this just part of the illusion? Was any of this actually real?
Powerful arms slid around her, pulling her closer. Her hands came to rest against his chest. It shot a pleasant sting through each finger. His hands splayed against her back felt real. And better than any dream she’d ever had of him.
“Melinda…” her gaze lifted, their eyes locking. “I love you.”
She saw the truth in his eyes. The pain it caused him to tell her, to admit it even to himself.
A stray tear fell down her cheek.
“I would suffer a thousand deaths to keep you alive.” His lips crushed hers. Melinda gasped. William breathed it in, soaking up her shock. He’d said the words, but he needed her to feel it. To understand. To believe him.
He pulled her closer, ensnaring her in a possessive embrace. Her arms slid around his neck, sinking into his kiss. Each press and release shooting electricity into her nerves. Awakening the memory of every dream, every fantasy she’d ever had about him. Heightening into a need William could not permit to go too far.
He gentled the kiss. Pulling away.
He closed his eyes, unable to linger in her gaze. He had to keep some measure of control.
“I love you, William.”
He let out a pained gush of breath.
She’d told him once, under the duress of impending death. But she needed to say the words freely. Of her own volition.
William expected for a moment that his heart might burst into life, beating of its own free will again.
She leaned her forehead against his with a long sigh.
“I know it doesn’t matter. How we feel. Once we leave this place…” she gave up trying to speak for a moment. She steeled her heart and blinked away the tears and lump in her throat. “Can we stay here?” She didn’t want to go back.
“A tempting thought…” he admitted in a whisper.
In this world, they could be together.
In this world, William could be everything she needed and wanted.
In the real world, only ugliness and pain waited. A brutal reality Melinda was not ready to face yet.
“We have to go back though.”
“Why?” she asked.
“The real world isn’t so bad,” he told her softly. “Your father…”
She pulled back, breathless. “Was he real? I thought I was hallucinating.”
“No. It was real. He came back to you. I do not know how.”
Melinda would have to return. She’d have to face the real world again. Her father was alive. And waiting for her there. It lightened the heaviness weighing her down.
“William… I… I don’t know how we go back and… pretend we don’t love each other. I don’t know as I can.”
“You don’t have to pretend. But you must… we must… accept what it is, and what it cannot be.” He shook his head. “I promise to do my best, but I may have moments of weakness.”
“I may ha
ve a lifetime of weakness,” she sniffled.
His fingers dug into her sides, an uneven breath sliding out of him.
“Can we just stay, a little longer?” She didn’t want to let go of William. Not yet.
In a smooth sweeping motion he had her lying in the sand, the longing in her eyes drawing his lips to hers again. His frame draped over hers, the flat, hard planes of his chest pressing into her. His fangs lengthened, pushing against his lips.
A shudder ricocheted through Melinda, so intense that he gasped, and in a flash was up on his knees peering down at her. He could not allow this to happen. He could not trust himself. It was a dream world, but it was still real. To them. Admitting he loved her was difficult enough. To take it to any other level might prove too much, even for him.
Melinda’s breath hitched, William suddenly vanishing in front of her. She sat up and looked around, calling for him. There was no answer.
William slipped out of her thoughts, his eyes flying open. A deep exhale sliding out of his throat.
A mere minute had passed in the outside world.
Mack and the ambulance driver, Alex, had successfully gotten an I. V. drip going, hydrating her. Alex had just finished giving her a transfusion of blood. Her color was returning. Her labored breathing, easing.
Mack drew a blanket up over her.
They moved to the wound on her head. It did not require stitches, but it needed to be cleaned out. They feared infection, with all the dirt and debris caked to her head.
William heard Melinda calling out for him in his mind. He should not return to her. But he was unable to ignore her pleas.
She gasped when he suddenly materialized in front of her. She was on her feet, arms wrapped around her waist.
“Are you cold?”
“No.” She dropped her hands hesitantly. “Where did you go?”
“I’m sorry. I… I didn’t trust myself. I had to leave for a moment.”
“You thought you’d hurt me? Even in a dream?”
“It is a dream, but it is also real. I fear what my actions here will do to me, after… if I give myself completely I do not think I can keep my promise. And I need to keep my promise,” he stated flatly. “I am a vampire. I will never be a living man. You cannot think of me as such. Ever.”
Bite Me Baby! (Wicked Good Witches Book 7) Page 11
