by Kailin Gow
But her voice trailed off. She couldn't stand to think of Octavius either. Every time his name crossed her lips she remembered again the beauty and poetry of those few weeks in Europe, and all else seemed so small to her, so distant; she could still smell the bougainvillea on the balcony in Rome – hear the music from the opera house in Paris....
He had been so strong, so sure. She felt her blood cry out to him, buoyed by the pain of her memories; suddenly, her body began shaking, as if the calling of her blood had attracted an equal and opposite response.
Kalina.
She gasped as she heard the voice. It was that same soft familiar refrain – the sound of the beloved – that forced her heart up into her throat and cut off her breath; she could have swooned at the sound.
Octavius.
Was this a dream – or was it real? She had not expected to hear from him again after their final encounter – the way he had vanished after that, leaving nothing but the necklace behind.
Where are you?
She sent him a mental picture of her surroundings – the forest outside the outskirts of Rutherford.
I have come to fight Jaegar.
Octavius’ voice was slow and sure inside her head. He had never sounded more like a true warrior – sure and strong – than right now.
I cannot let you fight – nor can I send Stuart to his certain death. It would not be chivalrous. I am the strongest of you; I am the strongest vampire left alive on your side. I will fight – and I will win. I will kill Jaegar – though it pains me to do so – for nothing would pain me more than to lose you.
He did not allow his tone to vary, but she could nevertheless sense his love throbbing through his words. She felt shaken to the core. She had not expected to hear from him, and yet his presence flooded her brain, until she could not even see Stuart standing before her.
“What is it?” Stuart was asking, but he seemed to her to be oceans away.
You can't fight Jaegar....
I must. For you. He has been sending me telepathic challenges for days – I thought I could find Aaron first, have my men hold him off, but it is too late...I have come to fight him. He wants to eliminate me – to become the most powerful vampire in the Consortium. To have you. I will not allow him to do so...
Not alone. Kalina could picture him, walking slowly through the vineyards of Greystone Winery, approaching the big stone house where Jaegar was waiting for him.
I'm coming with you.
No, Kalina, you can't...
But she severed the telepathic link. She knew that nothing he could say or do would stop her. They belonged together, and now that she knew where he was, and that he was in danger, nothing would separate them.
And she could not let Jaegar kill Octavius. But she also could not let Octavius kill Jaegar. Not yet – not when there was still hope.
“Octavius messaged me,” she said to Stuart. “He's going to the winery. Jaegar has challenged him – he's gone to face him down: a battle to the death. We have to hurry – quickly! Before one or both of them is dead.”
She grabbed his hand. “Let's go,” she said.
“As you wish.” Stuart wrapped his arms around her and began launching into flight once more, as they sped back to the Winery – once more into the arms of danger.
Chapter 19
He was there when they arrived. Kalina's heart leaped instantly. She had heard Octavius' voice in her head, imagined his chiseled face and strong body so often in her fantasies that he had seemed real to her, but nothing was more intense than seeing him in the flesh. Her heart began to quicken in her chest, beating so loudly that she knew the other vampires would be able to hear it; her face was covered in a blush spreading out like a blooming rose from her lips. He looked like he always did – so handsome, so full of life and passion; that her breath caught in her throat. He was standing at one end of the vast living room; Jaegar stood before him, poised and ready to strike. But as Kalina entered, and Octavius turned to look at her, time seemed to slow to a halt, so that Kalina could spend hours meditating upon every aspect of his incredible beauty in the timeframe of a heartbeat. He was dressed impeccably – she smiled to herself as she thought of Octavius’ vanity; if this was to be his last day alive, he would at least go out in style. He wore black leather pants under a charcoal-colored dress-shirt; his jet-black hair had been pulled back off his face, showing his chiseled cheekbones. The light refracted off his silver stud earring, sending a glare into Kalina's eye.
She remembered how she had played with the earring in Rome – impishly nipping at it to distract him. He had been so beautiful then – he seemed even more beautiful now. As he turned to look at her, Kalina could see a brief flicker of love evident on his face – flitting across his stern expression for just a moment: time enough to give her hope. He loved her – she knew he loved her – and the surety of that fact obliterated all else. How she had missed him! Even now, the slow cool breeze carried his scent to her, intoxicating her. She wanted nothing more than to rush into his arms, to climb into his lap. She felt the very essence of her blood calling out to him, burning with a dark fire. She remembered his protestations – his portrayal of the impossibility of their love.
“Jaegar,” Octavius was saying slowly. “You will not harm Kalina. As your maker – I command you.”
Jaegar let out a high, cold laugh. “As my maker!” he shouted. “As my maker! Oh, you should know – you of all vampires, Octavius, should know how much your role as my maker means to me! I want to hurt her for your sake – to spite you! To drink her for your sake. I can feel your blood calling out to her – your blood in my veins. I can feel your desire for her within me; I feel that same desire, Octavius! And if you think I'm just going to let you have her, stand by and let you take that delicious nectar from me – well, Octavius, maker or not, you are mistaken!”
“You fool,” Octavius said, his voice dripping with contempt even as it concealed a raw layer of pain at the loss of his progeny. You can control this – if you could only find the strength in yourself! When I was your age, my powers had matured enough to allow me to control my emotions, my vampire lust! Your brother has managed to exercise such self-control – a strength you clearly do not understand! You laugh because he cannot fight like you can – but in his restraint he has proven himself a stronger vampire than you will ever be. His control is what makes him powerful, Jaegar; not this savage monster that reigns in you! The most powerful of vampires know how to control themselves.”
“Oh, well that's just unfair!” Jaegar gave a mocking smile as his voice was rich with irony. “Comparing me to Stuart! Bookish, shy, serene, weakling little Stuart!”
“And why shouldn't I?” Octavius smiled back, giving Jaegar a taste of his chilling calm. “He's been a vampire as long as you have, Jaegar. And yet his actions prove him to be far stronger than you. His treatment of Kalina only affirms that in my mind. Strong vampire men always treat women with the utmost respect, especially their chosen eternal love. Perhaps I chose the wrong heir – those many centuries ago. Perhaps I should have considered him my true successor.”
“How dare you!” shouted Jaegar. “Do you not see my strength?”
Octavius swiftly shifted tactics. “Remember, Jaegar,” he said slowly. “You were not entirely out of consideration – you have not lost this battle yet, though you swiftly will if you keep up this madness.”
“What are you talking about?” Jaegar scoffed.
“Kalina had not decided – had she? Which brother she would choose.” Kalina could see Octavius wince as he spoke – he had not entirely mastered his jealousy. “She still had hope for you – that you might become good after all. That was why she came back – because she sensed, perhaps, some inkling of a heart in you, some glimpse of humanity that is lost to the rest of us.”
Jaegar looked up, awestruck, at Kalina. “That just means I'll have to convince her harder!” said Jaegar, grinning and showing off his row of sharp teeth. “Maybe killing you wil
l do the trick – convince her she's lost me for good!”
With that he leaped towards Octavius, his fangs poised to sink deep into his maker's flesh.
“No,” Kalina tried to cry, but the noise caught in her throat. Stuart placed a warning hand on her shoulder.
“Do not interfere,” he said softly. “Not yet – you may yet do more harm than good if you get between two vampires as intent on death as they.”
Though Octavius had far more experience than Jaegar – thousands of years that rendered to him infinitely more vampire strength, Jaegar was alive with Life’s Blood, intoxicated by its qualities – at once stronger and more full of confidence, of bravado and swagger. He laughed in the face of Octavius’ careful feints – rushing at him with pure liquid adrenaline shining in his eyes. He took risks – he left himself uncovered – breaking all the rules of vampire fighting even as the power of the blood allowed him to escape from Octavius’ learned technique unscathed.
“You've grown strong, my boy,” said Octavius, his voice thick with disappointment. “It is a pity that it was this terrible blood that gave you such strength!”
“Don't you dare lecture me, master!” Jaegar shouted. “It is I who am the strongest one now! You will call me master now!”
And then they were locked in combat again, in a brutal symbiosis that seemed to Kalina to have no beginning and no end – only blood, brutality, death. First Jaegar threw Octavius against a table, shattering it in two. Then Octavius responded quickly, brandishing the broken table legs as stakes, stabbing Jaegar in the shoulder – just enough to draw a torrent of black blood out of the wound. They were relatively evenly matched; they knew each other's moves – each other's ways – Octavius’ precise technique matched by Jaegar's brute and primal strength.
Kalina held her breath. The idea of Octavius dying was unthinkable to her, yet how could she bear to see Jaegar killed, now that she suspected there was some good in him, the possibility of redemption.
“Stop,” she whispered, “Both of you, please stop.” But her words had no meaning, so locked were they in the ferocity of their combat. Stuart brandished his stake and motioned for Kalina to get behind him – waiting, if necessary, to begin the fight anew. It was a fight Kalina never wanted to begin.
The fight continued on for some time. There were moments when it seemed, with a thickening dread in Kalina's heart, that Jaegar had won, but Octavius was able to use his centuries of training and find an acrobatic way out of Jaegar's death-grip. There were instances where it seemed Octavius’ fists were closed tightly about Jaegar's neck, but then he too would break free. Then at last, with horrible certainty, Kalina saw Jaegar throw Octavius to the ground and stand over him, his fangs poised for the final encounter, and she knew then that the battle had been won.
“No!” she cried out, and her voice mingled with Stuart's own cry of despair.
She rushed forward, brandishing her stake, forcing her body against Jaegar's, trying to harness that power she had used before at the Wineries.
It worked. A blinding flash lit the room, and Jaegar was thrown back against the wall, shaking the very foundation of the house.
“Kalina...” Octavius looked up at her, his eyes full of love and gratitude.
“Blood against blood,” Kalina muttered, her eyes fixed on Jaegar. “Now it's me you'll have to listen to.” But before she could take another step, she heard a familiar laugh from the doorway.
“Brother!”
It was Aaron – but not Aaron as she remembered him; impish and kind, silly but well-meaning. This was an older Aaron – more subdued. He was free – for a moment, Kalina felt the glorious sensation of hope – but then she saw Mal beside him. Aaron sauntered into the house.
The room went quiet. She knew the other vampires – even Jaegar – were all thinking what she was thinking. Had he been turned, like Jaegar, after all? Was this the real Aaron? She could hear Stuart's mental agony pounding in her ears from across the room.
“Come in,” Aaron said lightly to Mal, and the levity of the invitation was terrible. As he came closer, Kalina could see his eyes red with malice – this wasn't Aaron at all! His cherubic sweetness had been turned sour by evil; this was less Aaron than Jaegar was Jaegar, so completely did he seem to be consumed by the Life’s Blood.
A note of pain struck Kalina's heart. After all this – was this the end? She had mourned Aaron before, thought him dead before, but to lose him a second time seemed unthinkable to her. They had shared so much - he had helped her through her grief when her parents died, shared the sweetness of high school life with her in a way none of the other vampires could fathom – and now he had become a monster. She shuddered.
“Aaron,” she whispered, but she knew it was too late.
Chapter 20
“Well then, Kal,” said Aaron. His voice was steely and emotionless. “Looks like we decided to pay you a visit.” He scanned the room. “And you” he turned to Jaegar “and you” - he turned to Stuart - “Still going after my girl when I'm not around. Tut tut – bad form!”
Even in this new transformation, he still retained the dry sense of humor. But gone was the jovial innocence of the old Aaron; this was only a monster with the same face.
Octavius was standing beside her now, brandishing a stake in each hand, set to defend Kalina with his life if necessary. It was time to mentally force herself into defense mode. She had known fighting Jaegar would be difficult – hopped up as he was on Life’s Blood – but fighting Mal too would be impossible, especially if Aaron as well had ingested the blood. The even match had just been turned on its head.
“Aaron,” Stuart's voice cracked with pain. “You don't want to hurt Kalina. You don't want to hurt your brothers – your maker.” He stepped forward, trying with all his strength to reason with Aaron, to find his little brother in those cold, red eyes. “You're our family, Aaron. You're our little brother. Please. Remember the oath you made us swear, Aaron -to protect Kalina from harm? You swore it too – we all swore to it. Even Jaegar. Vampire's oath. The oath of the Greystone Brothers. The highest oath we could ever swear or think of swearing. Remember that. Even Jaegar remembers that.”
“Do I?” Jaegar shot them a cold grin, but Kalina could see the wariness in his eyes. Seeing Aaron so afflicted had gotten under his skin, bringing out a note of humanity in his eyes Kalina hadn't seen since before the Life’s Blood.
“Here we are!” Mal's voice sent waves of trauma through Kalina as she remembered the last time she had heard it – when she was being tortured in that dungeon beneath the Seine. “All the brothers here at last. And two of them on my side.”
“By force, not choice!” Stuart called out, his bravery clear on his face.
“That just leaves you.” Mal turned his gaze upon Stuart.
“How could you?” Kalina's voice shook. “He's just a boy!”
“I didn't.” Mal grinned. “I didn't need to force him. He drank that blood of his own free will. Once he got a nice whiff...he just down it. I didn't expect it – I wanted to keep his nose pure. But now that he's done it...”
“Aaron...” Kalina's throat had gone dry.
“He wanted to be big and strong. Like his brothers. Stronger than his brothers. He didn't want to kowtow to Octavius – to let Octavius dictate who got the girl. Looks like he never forgave you for chaining him up, Octavius! I guess loyalty only goes so far.”
“He was never in my steps!” said Octavius gravely. “He was never one of my soldiers. He was free – with the exception of that one mission – to do as he wished. I turned him only at his mother's request – I would never have done it otherwise. He was too young, too immature, to be made a vampire. I regret my decision to grant Marilee that favor.”
“Or you regret the competition.” Jaegar turned his gaze on Kalina; his face was filled with desire.
Kalina became acutely aware of all four vampires staring at her – their faces hot with desire for her…and longing. The sensation of her blood had b
ecome overwhelming; she felt, for the first time, like a particularly tender piece of meat – and for the first time was even afraid of Stuart and Octavius.
“Really!” Only Mal had remained free of this desire. “I've never seen a room of vampires so entranced by a woman!” He laughed. “Okay, maybe I have. There have been other Carriers, after all! And my Tess… Luckily I've drunk enough of them to get used to the smell. But the little bitches always go for the strongest. Natural selection, right? So – Kalina – which one of these brooding, handsome men makes you want to – ahem – reproduce?”
“How dare you!” Kalina shot back.
“Aaron wants to be the strongest, doesn't he? Does he make a good impression now?”
Kalina could have rolled her eyes! How stupid of Aaron – how indicative of his immaturity – that he would be the one to willingly succumb to the blood. She could sense that there was no hope for him now. Jaegar still retained his true nature, raging against the Life’s Blood, because it had been unwillingly inflicted upon him. But Aaron – that was different. He had welcomed it willingly. And so the Blood had overtaken him completely. “How could you, Aaron?” she said.
Aaron stood strong before her. “So I could be strong enough...to do this!” In a flash he had turned on Mal, punching straight though his chest.
Kalina's lips contorted in a grim smile. The upside of vampires going crazy, she supposed, was that they were willing to compete with each other. So, that was their weakness – at least she, Octavius, and Stuart made a united front.
But her smile vanished as Mal wrested himself away from Aaron. His wound began healing up instantly. “Really,” Mal said. “Trying to turn on a vampire centuries older than you are! How stupid of you...”
“No!” Stuart shouted, but there was no hope. The terror in Aaron's eyes made it clear what Mal was about to do. In a few agile steps Mal had gone over to Aaron, and took him firmly by the shoulders.
