Looking up, she realised that that white hair belonged to Malachi. In this different form, he looked more like a huge bat with elongated sharp claws and veins bulging under his darkened skin.
“Are you okay?” Malachi asked in a deeper voice through his sharp teeth. “We came as fast as we could…” Once he finished, Maya and Ben stormed into the room, shooting what had to be silver bullets from rifles at the vampires.
Helena nodded. “Keep them away. I need to get Lucious back.”
“We will do what we can,” Malachi replied.
“I will help keep my siblings at bay,” Ealdraed pitched in.
In the middle of the commotion, Helena planted her hands on Lucious’ shoulder and kissed him. “Lucious?”
“It’s me… I’m…me.” He spoke as if he was in agony. “He is stronger than me, but I cannot let him keep hurting you, my dear.”
Helena smiled at the endearment she had not heard in forever. She wrapped her arms around his neck and hugged him close. “I’ve missed you!”
He pushed her away and observed the fight around them. She did, too. Malachi was taking on Kallias and Cenric. Maya and Ben were shooting nonstop into Bion’s chest who menacingly marched towards them. To the side of the room, she noticed Ealdraed holding Laclia back. The Royal had dropped Hartwin on the ground. He hadn’t moved or said anything. He just lay there like a broken toy.
“We have to stop this madness. We cannot let Arthemis and Lilia win,” Lucious said, brushing her aching cheek with his cool fingertips. “You have to kill me.”
Helena’s voice went up a notch. “What?”
“It is the only way to prevent a war.”
She shook her head violently. “I’m not killing you!”
Standing up, Helena looked at her friends who were being hurt because she couldn’t make up her mind. Malachi had Kallias attempting to rip one of his wings off as he wrestled with Cenric. Maya and Ben had managed to make Bion collapse with a sword in his hand. Helena wasn’t sure if that Royal was alive or dead. Since he hadn’t turned to ashes, she assumed he still had some life left in him.
“Helena, there is…no time,” Lucious urged her. “Take that sword and pierce my heart. I will hold Arthemis in for as long as I can.”
“You big idiot.” Her vision blurred with her tears. She ran to Bion and peeled his large fingers off the weapon.
“Maya, is there anything else we can do? I don’t want to… I can’t…”
Maya took the sword from her. “I’ll do it if you can’t.”
“There must be another way!”
Malachi threw Kallias across the room, and Cenric collapsed to his knees next to Bion. “You’ve hurt him, hunter scum! Je te tuerai.”
Maya jumped in front of Ben with the sword pointed at Cenric’s face. “Move and I’ll cut you in half.”
Malachi staggered to Helena. One of his wings had been torn in half, and he cradled his side. “We can remove Arthemis from your lover’s body.”
“How?” Helena demanded.
“I can pull him out only if the vessel if weakened enough. He must be on a brink of death,” Malachi elaborated.
Helena looked at Ben’s belt. “Do you have any liquid silver?”
“I do.” Ben handed her a small metal flask. “It’s enough to kill two vampires.”
“Or one strong one.” Helena ran back to Lucious. Hugging him one last time, she said, “Drink this.”
“Silver? A sword would have been a faster death, my dear.” Lucious let out a pained chuckle and took the flask from her hand. He sat back on his haunches, twisting the top. “Bottoms up.”
Helena held his free hand and squeezed it. “I won’t let you die…and I love you.”
Lucious swallowed the liquid silver. After a few seconds, the flask slid out of his hand, spilling the remaining contents. He grasped his chest and whispered, “I love you…Helena.”
Her face paled when the veins on his face and body turned black. Malachi squatted next to them, pushing Lucious down onto the ground.
“The second I take Arthemis’ soul out, you must feed him your blood,” Malachi instructed her.
Maya threw one of the daggers to Helena. She caught it and mouthed a ‘thanks’ to her friend.
“I’m ready,” Helena said, slicing her palm.
Malachi closed his eyes and placed his hand against Lucious’ chest. The energy that surrounded them created a bubble. His hand passed through Lucious’ skin and gently pulled out a glowing ruby soul orb. Out of his back pocket, he took out a large clear crystal and spoke in a strange language. The soul merged with the crystal.
“What’s that?” Helena asked.
“No time for explanations, feed him your blood before he dies. Arthemis’ power left him. He is no longer as strong as he was before.”
Lucious was the colour of porcelain. The black veins had spread, and he didn’t respond to her voice.
She opened his mouth and squeezed her hand, urging the blood to drip into his mouth.
“He needs more than that. Give me the dagger,” Ealdraed said next to them. By his side was Laclia with a sad look on her face.
Helena warily handed it to the Royal.
Ealdraed sliced his wrist and started feeding Lucious his blood as well.
“It’s not working…” Helena complained, her body shaking. She massaged Lucious’ knuckled with her thumb. “Come on…please come back to me…”
“Why did you not pierce his heart with that sword to save everyone?” Lilia’s voice broke through Helena’s growing panic.
“Because he is the man I love, vampire or not.”
“And how did you return from the Well of Souls… It is impossible without a fate’s intervention.”
Helena clutched Lucious’ hand in her lap. “Your sister helped me.”
“Diya did… I see.” Lilia went silent for a minute.
Helena didn’t care if that woman spoke or not. Any moment now, Lucious could be gone for good and it would break her heart. She kissed his bloodied hand and her wet tears splashed against it.
“There is nothing more we can do,” Ealdraed murmured. “My blood is the oldest of anyone present and it is not working.”
Helena stifled a sob. She couldn’t let him go, not after everything they had been through.
Please, someone save him!
Lilia responded, “If I restore your soul-bond, his suffering will also transfer to you. Together you may have a fighting chance. I am warning you, Helena, this may kill you.”
“I don’t care. Do it!”
“I guess this will be my parting gift to you. I am sorry for everything. I was…wrong.”
Helena felt her soul shaking in her chest before her soul-string appeared and stretched towards Lucious’. Through blurry vision, she watched the two souls merging together into the familiar red and white ensemble.
“Helena, that’s dangerous…” Malachi said with a worried expression.
She smiled at him and lay next to Lucious. Once the link finished being recreated, she convulsed and screamed. From the roots of her hair to the tips of her toes, everything felt like it was on fire. Her veins turned black like Lucious’, and she shut her eyes so tightly, she thought her eyeballs would burst.
“Helena!” Maya’s voice came from somewhere far away. “What the hell is she doing?”
Helena ignored the pain the best she could. She desperately focused on the link with Lucious and met him in the middle where they lay on the floor of his mental shields, wreathing in pain.
“Why, Helena? I did not want…for you…to get hurt!” Lucious said through gritted teeth.
She reached for his hand and held it. “A wise woman once…told me that love is…going to save you…and that…we are beyond fate.”
“That woman was mad,” he choked out.
“I would rather…die with you.” She meant every word.
Turning her head to one side, she looked at his mesmerising blue eyes. They kept staring at e
ach other for what seemed like forever. The pain ate away at her sanity, but he was her anchor, and she knew that she was his. Together, they might survive. A slim chance was better than none at all.
After a while, his eyes closed and his expression relaxed. Helena, too, felt a chill washing over her body. Her conscience was losing the battle with their suffering. At least, they were together in the end.
“I will always love you…” Helena whispered, and her world faded into darkness.
23
TOUGH DECISIONS
HELENA
T he next time she woke up, Helena was in a room with tonnes of electrodes attached to her chest and an IV in her arm. She groaned as she lifted her head.
Malachi’s worried voice came from her side. “You’re awake?”
She smiled at the demon who had dark half-moons under his eyes. He wore a navy sweater and a pair of black jeans. She preferred this appearance to his demonic one. “You stayed to keep an eye on me?”
“Of course. I promised I would keep watch until everything had settled down, and I took the liberty of removing my tracking bracelet from your wrist.”
Turning, she realised that Lucious was nowhere in sight. “Where is—”
“Your lover is in the room next door.” He rubbed the back of his neck and sat back in his seat. “After Maya took the soul crystal with Arthemis in it to the Demon Realm, the Royals had given up the fight. At least, they did when Ealdraed told them to. They worked tirelessly to remove memories of the onsite police and nearby locals of the destruction the hunters and the vampires had caused outside. They are currently busy trying to find a way to fix Hartwin. The cursed objects had broken his mind.”
“He was a good man, and he believed that Lilia would bring him salvation.”
Malachi held her hand. His warm touch was hotter than that of a normal person, or she was colder than usual. Being bonded with Lucious again, she assumed it was the latter. “What about Hans and Perri? Are they well?”
“In the middle of the commotion, that vampire took his woman out. He then helped us get into the Council building through the back door while the rest of the hunters fended off the Council’s hounds. Those humans are braver than I thought…”
“Is everyone okay?” Helena asked, her voice trembling with uncertainty.
“Wagner, Reynard, and that woman, Freda, have broken some bones. It is nothing a short stay in a hospital and a few months in bed won’t fix,” he assured her.
“Malachi…” Helena didn’t know if she should tell him about Diya or not, but she decided to do it anyway. “I spoke with Diya in the Well of Souls. She wants you to stay by her side when she is born into this realm.”
“I would do it even if she didn’t ask. She is my everything. I would die for her,” he said with a forlorn expression.
Helena looked around the sunlit room. “How long was I out?”
“For a week. The doctors the vampires brought were unsure if you would make it until yesterday when your life signs had stabilised.”
“Shit.” She struggled to sit up.
Malachi helped her get into a sitting position by propping up her back with pillows. “Did you forget something?”
“My mother is due any day now. I have to call her and find out if she’s okay.”
“I will get you a phone,” he said, leaving the room.
A minute later, he returned with a mobile phone in his hand. He handed the device to her and winked. “It’s a Royal’s phone. Waste as much money on an international call as you’d like.”
Helena laughed, scratching her dry throat.
He gave her a glass of water from the bedside table and waited patiently for her to have her fill.
“Thank you,” Helena said with a smile. “Would you mind stepping out for a little while?”
He waved to her and left the room without complaint.
Helena sucked in a steadying breath and dialled Richard’s number first. She had to do it three times, she was that nervous. On the fourth attempt, she finally heard Richard’s voice.
“Who is this?” he asked.
“It’s me, Helena. How is Mum doing?”
Richard let out a heavy sigh. “Helena, do you know how worried she was?” He sounded angry. This was the first time he had ever raised his voice at her. “Where are you? We thought something had happened to you and the police told us you left the country… What were you thinking?”
Helena’s emotions started to overwhelm her and her hand trembled. “I will explain everything later. How is she? Is the baby okay?”
“Sasha and the baby are fine, but the stress got to her. She’s in labour. She wanted to wait for your return but—”
Helena started to say that she will get there as soon as possible and stopped herself. She couldn’t leave Lucious in the state he was in. And since he was a Councilman, he had to stay in Europe. Her bandaged hand curled into a fist. She couldn’t keep dragging her parents into the supernatural world. They were normal people who deserved a normal life. Her sister, too, deserved to have some happiness for as long as possible. Diya mentioned to her that her sister’s life would be in danger. Malachi needed to be there for her whereas Helena had to protect her family from afar.
“Can you hear me?” Richard asked. “When will you be here? We both want to make sure you’re safe.”
“I’m fine. Don’t worry about me.” She managed to put some cheer into her voice. “Have you picked a name?”
Richard grumbled something under his breath. “You are as stubborn as your mother. Yes, we decided to go with Claire in the end. It was my grandmother’s name.”
“Claire…” Helena smiled to herself. “It’s a beautiful name.” She shed a single tear as doubts clouded her mind. There was no other choice. She had to do it. “Richard, I have a favour to ask.”
“Do you need money to buy a ticket back?”
“After the baby is delivered, and both of them are out of danger, could you tell Mum that I won’t be coming back?”
“What?” he shouted down the phone. “What are you talking about?”
“This is the only way to keep you guys and the baby safe. I love you, all of you.” She sobbed, wiping at her eyes. “Please understand that your lives will keep being endangered if I am there.”
“This is madness. We could go to the police or the military for protection.”
“And tell them that vampires and demons exist and will try to kill us?” She levelled her voice, draining it of any emotion. “This is my decision, Dad.”
Richard went quiet. She had never called him that no matter how many years had passed. All these years, she had thought of him as a step-father, silently clinging to the possibility that her real dad was alive and well somewhere. But that was not the case. Lazarus had killed him, and her grandmother had pushed him into the Demon Realm to protect his family. At least, she knew her real father loved her and her mother to the very end.
“Will you come to visit us on holidays? What about college?” he finally asked.
“I will do what I can. Keep me updated on her status, please.”
“Take care of yourself, Helena. If you ever need anything, we will always be there for you.”
“I know,” she mumbled, covering her mouth to trap another sob. “When I get a new phone, send me some pictures of Claire.”
“Of course.”
They said their goodbyes, and Helena hung up. She called Malachi back into the room. “You have to go to America. My sister is about to be born.”
He froze for a second. His facial expressions interchanged between excitement and worry.
“What’s wrong?” she asked him.
“What if she doesn’t like me in this lifetime?”
“She will love you, I’m sure of it.”
He grinned and came over to give her a tight hug that nearly pushed the lungs out of her chest. “I am glad Lilia called me. It gave me a chance to meet a good soul like you.”
“And I’m gl
ad to know my sister will have someone to keep her safe. But…”
His expression sobered. “Yes?”
“Try to keep a distance from her until she is ready to know the truth. I want her to have a peaceful childhood without any death or magic in it.”
Malachi hung his head and then nodded. “You’re right. You have my word, Helena.” He lifted her hand to his lips and kissed the back of it. “We will meet again, hopefully under better circumstances.”
She laughed. “Yes. Take care of yourself.”
He winked as he pulled away. “Always.”
When he was gone, she pulled the IV out of her vein and re-secured the plaster. She detached the electrodes, noticing that some of the machines started flatlining. With the help of the mattress, she found her balance and shuffled to the door in a long white cotton gown that reminded her of old ladies wear. She had no idea where the vampires had dug up this antique.
Outside the door, she found Ealdraed, Laclia, Perri, and Hans sitting on wooden chairs in a long row against the wall. Perri and Hans were asleep. Their heads rested against one another.
Ealdraed and Laclia shot up instantly.
“Do you require anything?” Ealdraed asked. His deep voice made Perri stir and yawn. Once her big brown eyes opened, she squealed.
“You’re awake!” Perri shouted, running to hug her.
Helena nearly stumbled back into her room. Perri soon realised what she had done and muttered an apology.
“Where is Lucious?” Helena asked.
“I will bring you to him,” Ealdraed said with an unreadable expression.
Helena peeled away from Perri and motioned for him to lead the way. They didn’t need to go far. Lucious was in the room next door, thankfully awake.
He smiled at Helena, but she couldn’t feel what he was feeling through their link. He had closed himself off again, most likely taking on the brunt of the pain and suffering of the poisoning.
“It is nice to see your beautiful face,” Lucious told her.
As if pulled to him by an invisible magnet, she shuffled to his side and sat on the edge of his bed. “How are you feeling?”
“I am fine, my dear. There is no need for concern.” He pulled her down and kissed her on the lips. “I have missed you.”
Fated Origins: An Urban Fantasy Novel (Helena Hawthorn Series Book 4) Page 28
