A Guardian's Salvation
Page 17
“Is that how you guys always travel?”
“Yes.”
She nodded slowly. “I think it will take me a while to get used to.”
Clarissa smiled as she carried her over to the bed. “It is almost time for my sleep. I usually sleep there… ” she pointed to the floor. “… but I will share the bed with you tonight.”
“Are you telling me that you usually sleep on the floor?” Jessica was shocked. “Why?”
Clarissa gently deposited her on the soft bed. With the flick of her hand, a concrete slab moved, exposing a deep, dark pit filled with soil. Jessica sat up, looking at the dark pit. She raised wide eyes to Clarissa. The vampire grinned.
“The soil is healing and rejuvenating.”
“It must be so dark and lonely down there all by yourself.” She reached out a hand and Clarissa took it.
“Not really, because I just fall into a deep sleep and wake up when my body senses that the sun has set.”
Jessica brought the cool hand to her lips and kissed it tenderly.
“Well, tonight you will sleep in my arms.”
Clarissa’s eyes glowed warmly. “That would be so nice.”
“Good, then come to bed.”
Chapter 12
Tahlia grinned at the shocked look on her wife’s face.
“It’s not true.”
“Well, find out for yourself.”
Jemima immediately sent out her senses and gasped. Oh, my … Who is this woman? She turned wide eyes on her grinning wife.
“You’re right. She must love our Clarissa very much.”
“She surely must. It took Gabriella quite a while to get used to the idea of sleeping underground … even with Trinity nearby.”
Jemima smiled as she walked over to the bed and stretched out next to Tahlia. She purred when the Vampire Queen drew closer, spooning her body.
“Clarissa deserves all the happiness she can get.”
“I agree,” Tahlia murmured softly, her lips nuzzling Jemima’s neck. “You did not feed tonight, my dear. You will have to do so now, otherwise you will keep me awake worrying about you.”
With a soft seductive laugh, Jemima turned in her wife’s strong arms and looked into the concerned, black eyes.
“Have I told you lately that I love you?” She blinked when Tahlia suddenly burst out laughing. It was a rare sight, even for her, to see Tahlia laugh. Jemima wondered what she’d said that was so funny. “Baby …?”
Tahlia sobered up and planted a soft peck on her nose.
“You have been listening to love songs with Inger again, no?” she teased, rolling a long blond strand around her finger.
“It’s a beautiful song, baby, and it always makes me think of you.” Jemima saw Tahlia’s eyes melt at her soft declaration. After all these years together, she was still falling in love with Tahlia every single day.
“Every time you look at me, your eyes tell me how much you love me.”
“Come here, you big softy.” She grabbed the dark head and held it against her beating heart.
†
The flickering of the flames emphasized the hard angular planes of the woman’s face as she sat there, staring straight ahead. The knuckles on her hand were showing white, as they curled around the goblet. Except for the slight rise and fall of her breathing, anyone looking at her would wonder if she was even alive. They would be right to wonder. The news she’d just received had thrown the vampire into such a state of shock that she might just as well have turned into a statue.
“You have been sitting like that for over an hour now. Please, say something.”
A wizened man in white robes stepped closer and placed his hand on the broad shoulder of the woman, his sharp eyes conveying his concern. Still, the woman didn’t respond. He walked over to stand in front of her, to break the hypnotic power of the flames. There was a tiny flicker in the ice blue eyes, before they blinked rapidly.
“Please, Molan, tell me that you were making a joke.” The words came out in a croak, the strong face displaying raw anguish.
“I wish it was not so, but it is, Warrior.”
A trembling hand lifted to rub over tired eyes.
“Do you know what this means?” The warrior’s eyes flashed with anger.
The Druid priest nodded, as she shuffled over to his cluttered table, where a thick tome lay open. His eyes scanned the ancient passage again, before he looked up into the expectant eyes of the female warrior.
“I am afraid nothing has changed in the text since the last time that I have read it to you.”
The ice-blue eyes narrowed and a large hand pushed through short, sable locks.
“So there is no other way of fulfilling the prophecy without me getting myself killed?”
The priest slowly shook his head.
“Yes and no. The risk is great, I concede.”
“Then why in Hades should I do this? This is a suicide mission and I do not even know exactly what role I would play in this. No, no … wait … I am the idiot who is going to sacrifice her life trying to merge two races.” She hurled the goblet across the room and surged to her feet. “I have not survived 700 years just to have my head chopped off because of the feverish rumblings of a dying priest.”
The Druid shook his head ruefully. “The prophecy is ancient. I assume Lecrac knew about it. Why else do you think he kept you alive?”
“I think it is obvious, Molan. I am to be slaughtered by his Queen.”
The Druid carefully approached the agitated woman, his approach frontal and fully intentional. She was big and extremely strong and he didn’t want to startle her into a fit of violence. He could see that she was holding onto her sanity as best she could at the moment. He really wasn’t in the mood to find himself flung across the room.
“I need to show you something,” he said, as he carefully gauged the mood of the warrior. The woman was unpredictable in this state, and deadly. “As I stated before, yes, the mission will be extremely dangerous, but I doubt you will die in the process.”
The ice-blue eyes widened slightly at his words.
“I am listening.”
Relieved that the cold eyes were not snapping in anger, Molan spoke quickly. “I cannot tell you, but I can show you.”
He hastily made room for her hulking frame next to his desk. With a murmured passage from the same book, he held his hand out. There was a gentle burst of light before the rays each multiplied until there were so many they cast a blinding light.
The warrior turned her head away from the blaze of light, but the priest nudged her gently.
“Look, Warrior.”
He watched as the ice-blue eyes grew wider the longer she watched the scene unfold. When the light dissipated, the room was thrown into a deep silence. Molan waited patiently to see what the warrior’s reaction would be.
He sighed inwardly when, with seemingly new resolve, the warrior turned to look at him.
“When should this be done?”
“According to the passage, the deed should concur with the dethroning of an evil master. The end of her reign will herald the beginning of a period of healing for the Race. Two races shall blend, both of noble purpose.” Molan slammed the book shut with a loud thunk and looked up at the warrior. “I believe it will all happen at the new moon.”
The warrior blinked at him before she threw her huge form into a nearby chair.
“That is tomorrow night!” she exclaimed, as she raked her fingers through her hair. Molan would never say it out loud, but it was rather unsettling to see the normally confident warrior so rattled. But who wouldn’t be, considering whom they were up against? He fought off the urge to shudder, as he gathered his thoughts to ease the warrior’s frayed nerves.
“Yes. You see, the evil princess referred to in this passage bears an uncanny resemblance to Mary Huntington. My sources anticipate a full-out attack by the Royals in two days. That is the time when we will strike, when they are otherwise occupied.”
&
nbsp; The dark warrior clasped her hands together as if in prayer. She nodded.
“Then it shall be done. Make sure you do your part.” On silent footfalls, the warrior left the chamber. The Druid priest stared at the book before him.
With a soft sigh, he flipped it open again and reread the passage. With a slight feeling of guilt, his finger traced the last part of the passage, the one piece of information he had withheld from the warrior.
Torn asunder to the four winds, is the fate of the one who attempts this perilous feat. Only the one truly deemed worthy by the prophecy will not succumb to the rage of the Dark One.
If he was wrong about her, he was leading the warrior to her death. If she wasn’t the true one the prophecy called for, he was sacrificing a true and just warrior to death. She had vigilantly protected her people for centuries. They would be left leaderless, isolated, and at the mercy of those she’d protected them from.
He reached for his crystal ball.
“Old friend, I need your assurance that I am not wrong.”
†
The sun was high in the sky, when Jessica slowly fought her way back to consciousness. She languidly stretched, rolling onto her back in the process. Her eyes instantly flew open when she bumped into another body and her head snapped to the side.
“Oh my …” She scrambled off the bed and stared in horror at the stiff form lying on the bed. Dear heavens, that … she looks … Her shocked eyes travelled over the rigid form of Clarissa, the pale, almost translucent skin tone and sunken eye sockets. Wait, Jessica, remember Clarissa warned you about this. She carefully crept closer. With her eyes fixed on Clarissa’s chest, she waited for a sign of breathing. After two minutes and no heartbeat, she scurried away to stand at the door. She’d been sleeping next to a corpse. She turned to the door, ready to make her escape when she felt a soft presence in her mind. Spooked, she clasped her hands around her head, as if to block out the strange sensation.
Clarissa! Relief flood her body at the knowledge that her lover was indeed alive.
Jessica noticed that Clarissa’s speech was slurred, which was understandable bearing in mind the time of day.
Jessica lowered her head in shame at her knee-jerk reaction. It was, after all, her idea to come down here with Clarissa, even though the vampire tried to warn her. The thought immediately transported her to what had transpired the night before. She recalled the moment Clarissa had told her that she was vampire. She relived the pain as Clarissa told her about the senseless killings, but mostly she remembered the love and tenderness she had experienced in the vampire’s arms. An image of a smiling Clarissa with dancing eyes and deep beautiful dimples swam to the surface of her memories, and Jessica felt a deep sense of peace settle around her heart. She loved Clarissa and nothing would ever change that. With new resolve, she looked at the still body on the bed.
Jessica almost jumped out of her skin, when Clarissa suddenly sat up. The brown eyes were deep-set, but they still burnt with a fiery intensity as they looked at her.
“Come to me. Let me hold you,” she slurred.
Without hesitation, she crossed over to the bed and slipped into Clarissa’s arms. Clarissa’s body was cool to the touch, more so than usual, but the moment the blonde folded her in her arms, she sighed and snuggled deep into her familiar, strong arms.
“Do not be so hard on yourself, my love. You are braver than any other person I know. I doubt I would have been able to process half the things you have heard and lived through since yesterday.” Clarissa gently brushed her lips over her hair. “I love you and I am proud of you.”
She lifted her head and saw that Clarissa was even paler than before. She placed a soft kiss on the dry lips and watched the brown eyes flutter open again.
“I love you too, Clarissa, very much.” She gave her another kiss, this time it lasted longer and was deeper than the first one. “Sweet dreams, my love. I will be here when you wake up.”
Jessica almost burst out in tears when she saw a lone, red tear run down Clarissa’s cheek and disappear into her neck.
“I am so happy …” Clarissa’s voice faded and Jessica knew she had succumbed to sleep when she felt no heartbeat. She gently stroked the pale cheek, before she snuggled deeper into Clarissa’s arms and closed her eyes.
I am safe here. This is home.
†
Paloma swung her feet off the bed, very much alert for someone who’d just woken up from a twelve-hour-long sleep. Naked, she padded over to the chair where Inger sat deeply involved in a thick, law volume and placed a soft kiss on the dark hair.
Inger allowed her eyes to travel leisurely over her wife’s nakedness. She slowly licked her lips and grinned.
“Hi, honey. You look delicious.”
Paloma smiled warmly, as she pulled Inger out of the chair and into a deep, prolonged kiss.
“You, on the other, hand taste delicious.”
They kissed a few more times before Paloma gently cupped Inger’s cheek and stepped back.
“I have to get ready. The others are waiting for me.”
Inger took her reading glasses off and placed them carefully next to the law book. Her eyes conveyed her worry, as they looked at Paloma who was dressing quickly. Her heart clenched when Paloma reached for the leather breastplate and sword. Tonight could be an all-out war between the Renegades and the Royals. It would be bloody and dangerous and her wife was going to be in the middle of it all.
“Paloma.”
The Assassin turned and quickly came to her. They were completely in tune with each other’s emotions. Inger knew it would serve no purpose for her to hide her anxiety.
“I will not put myself in unnecessary danger, my love. I promise you. Come dawn, I will be curled up in your arms, sleeping like a baby.”
Inger swallowed hard, but nodded anyway.
“If anything happens to you and you don’t come back to me, know that I will go search for you myself and you will regret it when I find you.” The threat came in a hoarse voice, thickened by unshed tears.
Paloma pulled Inger into a crushing hug.
“I fear you more than I do any other being on this planet, sweetie. I will come back to you. You just promise me that you will be here to hold me before I fall asleep.”
“I promise.”
They shared a tender kiss, before Inger pushed out of the embrace.
“Let’s go find the others.”
†
Jessica gasped the moment she entered the room; her eyes grew wide in shock.
Earlier, when Clarissa woke her and told her the family was waiting for them, she wasn’t really sure what to expect. She’d shivered slightly at the knowledge that she had been sleeping, rather peacefully, in a cellar filled with deadly vampires. She knew that Clarissa wouldn’t have exposed her to them if she’d thought they would harm her. But nothing, nothing at all, prepared her for what she was looking at now.
Before her, were the most striking people she’d ever seen together in one place. Never, not even at a photo-shoot had she ever been witnessed such raw magnificence. Her startled gaze sought out Clarissa who stared at her, slightly amused.
“Jess, I want you to meet my family.”
Jessica lifted her hand and touched her chest, looking for something. But what? She felt her index finger itch and knew immediately what she was missing. Her camera. It was simply impossible to look at them, without wanting to immortalize them on film.
“I forgot my camera,” she murmured quietly and was surprised to see a beautiful redhead chuckle softly. Blushing, she averted her gaze and only looked up when she felt the familiar presence of Clarissa stepping closer to her.
“Let me introduce you, my love.” She gestured to an unbelievably handsome man with sha
rp, dark eyes. The man was tall and muscled and his eyes slowly took her in. “This is Jonas, my adopted brother.”
Jessica nodded at the man, who, even as he was smiling, had a deep sadness in his eyes. He acknowledged her greeting with a deep bow.
“Over there,” Clarissa continued, turning her to face the gorgeous redhead and a tall blond man with twinkling blue eyes, “are Genevieve and Pierre, Trinity’s parents. The other two …”
She stared at the couple for a few moments longer. Trinity’s parents? They didn’t resemble their daughter at all, but it was evident that good looks indeed ran in the family. It was evident that they were very much in love from the way they were holding hands and the loving looks they threw back at each other and then at her. She looked away from them slowly and her eyes moved on to the next couple.
Jessica blinked in surprise as she came face to face the two women she’d met four years ago at Gabriella’s office. She just shook her head. She would never have thought them to be vampires, except perhaps for the blonde. She exuded a dangerous aura which befit her nature, but it didn’t subtract in any way from her alluring good looks.
“We’ve met before,” she murmured softly.
“You have?” Clarissa asked, clearly surprised.
Jess could feel all eyes on her and she swallowed hard.
“I … we met at Gabriella’s office, about four years ago.”
All the attention moved from her to the gorgeous vampire couple.
“It’s a long story,” the beautiful brunette said quickly and stepped forward. “Hi, again. I’m Inger and this is my wife, Paloma.”
Jessica quickly shook the offered hand. She nervously nodded in the direction of the silver-eyed vampire before stepping back into the protective proximity of Clarissa. The silver eyes flashed momentarily, before a faint smile formed on the woman’s sensuous lips. Inger looked from Clarissa to Paloma and playfully slapped the vampire on her arm.
“Behave, honey.”
Jessica’s jaw dropped when a bright smile came over the vampire’s face, transforming her stoic countenance into one of even greater beauty. She pressed closer to Clarissa and felt her lover’s arms lock around her. For a few seconds, she bathed in the familiar closeness. Clarissa gently kissed her hair, before she turned her away from Inger and Paloma.