“Thomas?” Garcia asked looking at the boy then at me confused.
I can no longer speak. I’m in utter shock and can’t look away from the boy, for fear he will disappear.
“Lexi? Are you alright my dear?” That’s Thatch’s voice moving forward to stand next to his wife, leaving Donavon behind everyone.
“Oh God, Thomas,” I whispered as I fell to my knees on the floor. Placing a hand over my mouth, still trying to process this.
Zach is right in front of me grabbing my shoulders. “Lexi? Are you okay? What’s going on?” He stressed.
I can’t answer. I just glared at the boy. I can’t believe my eyes. This has to be a trick.
Donavon moved past everyone to stand before Thomas, who still remains on the bed. The child cowered and looks like he’s ready to be hit. “This is why! This is why I told you to wait! You stupid child! I should have left you on your own!” Donavon roared and raised his hand toward Thomas.
I lunged to my feet, but I’m not fast enough to get to Thomas in time. Donavon slapped him right across the face and the impact of the hit sounds like a large tree branch snapping in half.
Thomas cried out.
Before Zach can grab me, I ran at Donavon. I grabbed his shoulder making him turn toward me and slapped him right across the face. I grabbed a handful of his shirt and jabbed my finger in front of his face. “If you EVER touch him again I will KILL you PERSONALLY! Do I make myself CLEAR!” I roared in the face of the stunned Vampire.
Zach suddenly came up from behind me and yanked me away, but I tried to resist.
“Someone needs to learn to control his woman,” Donavon said calmly.
Zach growled.
“She’s got one hell of a hit for a human, I can tell ya that,” Donavon laughed.
I smiled menacingly at him. I feel better, I got a little revenge against him for harming Katrina, but it’s not enough, I want more.
“Lexi what the hell is wrong with you!?” Zach roared in my ear.
Zach’s right. What’s wrong with me? I never felt like this before. I’m full of such anger and I can feel the heat filling my body. I feel… bloodthirsty. I want to go back and attack Donavon until… What’s wrong with me!?
Thatch and Garcia looked at me shocked and speechless. Thomas looks at me happily as he smiled. I can’t help but smile back at the sweet boy.
“Lexi!” Zach roared again, obviously looking for an answer.
“No one hits Katrina’s brother and gets away with it,” I said trying to calm myself down.
“What?” Zach, Garcia, and Thatch said at once turning toward the boy.
Thomas
Donavon carried Katrina to her bed, lying her down like she’s breakable and kissed her cheek.
We sat on the floor in Katrina’s room and I told them the story K told me about her supposed-to-be-dead brother and what she suspected happened.
“It wasn’t her fault,” Thomas said with a scrunched face when I finished. “It was mine. I distracted daddy for just a second and…” He started to choke up.
Thomas sits next to me, so I wrapped my arms around him and hugged him to my chest.
“You may want to be careful. He still has a hard time controlling himself,” Donavon said from across the circle.
“What are you talking about?” I hissed at him.
“He’s a Vampire Lexi. He can be dangerous,” Zach said watching me warily and ready to pounce at any moment.
Well, that explains how Thomas is alive. I should have known, but I don’t feel afraid of Thomas. He’s just another person to me.
“I don’t care what he is. He’s Katrina’s brother, and that’s all that matters,” I said confidently.
Zach sighed exasperated.
“What do you have to do with Thomas?” I practically growled at Donavon.
Donavon held his hands up in surrender. “I didn’t change him if that’s what you’re talking about. I had nothing to do with it.”
“Then who did?”
“I told you before it was the other Vamp I chased off. I didn’t think a dead human could be changed, but apparently, they can.”
“How did you get a hold of Thomas? What did you do, dig up his grave!?”
“If I didn’t know a dead human could be changed, why the hell would I dig up the kids’ grave!?” Donavon sounds disgusted.
“How should I know!? Sounds like you keep lots of secrets.”
“I woke up before I was buried,” Thomas said looking up at me calmly, still hanging on to me.
“Told you I had-”
“Shhh!” I hissed at Donavon. “Do you want to tell us what happened? I understand if you don’t,” I said to Thomas smiling slightly.
He looked around a little self-conscious then began. “I don’t remember much about how it happened, but I remember the crash and waking up. Daddy looked away for just a second and there was a loud screeching noise, then pain… so much pain,” Thomas shivered. “I remember lying in the road and then everything went black. After a few seconds of darkness, I saw a light, and I felt like I had to go there. I started toward it and it was pulling me closer. I was surrounded by white light and all of a sudden, I was being pulled away from the light. I was scared because I was back in the darkness. I don’t like the dark. Scary things live there. I tried to find the light again, but it was gone. I couldn’t see anything and I started to cry. I heard a voice telling me it was okay. I stopped crying and listened. It told me to open my eyes, but I was too scared to. The voice told me it would be okay. I opened my eyes, and I was in a dark box. I tried to push the top open, but it was stuck. Someone opened it from the outside. It was a lady. She was so pretty covered in white. We were alone in the dark, but she was glowing and I trusted her. She hugged me and said it would be okay. It was her voice I heard the whole time I was scared. She reminded me of my mom. She told me to go into the woods and that I would be safe there. Then she was gone. When she left, I could see things around me and it was scary. The box I was in is what they put dead people in and the room was filled with flowers. I didn’t like it. It reminded me of when my great grandma died.
“I did as the lady told me and went into the woods. That was when I felt hungry and I didn’t feel good. I felt like I was gonna throw up, my stomach hurt really bad. I just sat down and cried again. That was when Donavon found me and handed me a live bunny. I didn’t know what to do with it, but he showed me. It felt wrong, but I felt better. He took the bunny from me before I killed it and he let it go. It hopped away like nothing happened. He’s taken care of me ever since,” Thomas finished, smiling at Donavon.
“You knew about him ever since you started to see Katrina? Why didn’t you ever tell her?” I asked Donavon trying to keep my rage to a minimum.
“I didn’t tell her because I wanted her dead. I was falling in love with her. So, I kept my mouth shut. I planned on telling her many times in the past year, but he was never ready to see her. He had a hard time controlling his hunger. Tonight, I was obviously going to tell her or he wouldn’t be here. I know it sounds crazy to you, but I kept him a secret because I never really knew how she would react.” He paused and looked at Katrina on the bed and continued on. “She always seemed strong, but I never knew how strong. As the years went by I took less and less blood from her. I was eventually going to stop feeding on her altogether, but it was hard. Like I said before, her blood is pure and it’s hard to let go of something like that. Then she told you about me and ruined everything.”
I just stared at him. I don’t know what to say.
“Oh, but it’s okay for you to attempt to kill her multiple times!” Zach roared.
“Would you rather her be killed by her own flesh and blood!? Would that have been better!?” Donavon roared right back.
There was a moan from the bed. Everyone shut up and sat motionless except for me.
I got up. “You stay here, okay?” I said softly to Thomas.
He nodded looking nervous.
I walked over
to the side of Katrina’s bed and grabbed her hand. I don’t know what to expect when she finally wakes up.
“K? It’s Lexi. Can you hear me?” I kept my voice low.
She groaned a little. “I have a headache.”
“Yeah, I imagine you would, but are you okay?”
“Yeah, I guess. What- Oh Lexi I saw Thomas!” She said still in a faint whisper, her eyes flying open. “He… He was alive!”
“K, calm down okay. I have something to tell you.”
She suddenly looked at me shocked. “He’s not…”
“No. He’s not dead K. He’s… I don’t know how to say this, but he’s…”
“A Vampire,” Donavon finished for me.
I shot him an angry glare.
He just shrugged his shoulders dismissing me.
Katrina’s eyes widened.
“Do you want to see him?” I asked her.
She didn’t say anything for a moment but nodded her head.
“Thomas, come see your sister,” I said over my shoulder.
Thomas quietly got up and warily walked toward me.
Katrina sat up on the bed and looked at me scared out of her mind.
“It’s okay. Promise,” I said looking into her eyes.
She nodded.
I felt Thomas tug on my shirt.
I stepped aside from in front of Katrina so she can finally see her brother for the first time in six years.
What happened next is something I’ll never forget.
As soon as Katrina looked at Thomas, she started to bawl her eyes out. She grabbed him into a tight embrace and Thomas is bawling too, hugging Katrina back just as fierce.
I could never imagine what’s going through Katrina’s mind right now. Thinking your baby brother was dead for six years and all of a sudden, you’re hugging him again, it must be one heck of a feeling.
“Oh God Thomas, I’m so sorry!” Katrina wailed in harsh whispers.
“It was never your fault sissy!” Thomas wailed back.
“I missed you so… mu... ch!”
They continued to cry and talk to each other through their tears for some time.
Zach, Garcia, Thatch, Donavon and I looked on with smiles on our faces.
It was a little later that Katrina and Thomas calmed down enough that they could actually talk. Katrina had so many questions about how this happened. We told her everything we talked about while she was unconscious. The whole time she never let go of Thomas.
She handled everything really well, which I guess shouldn’t surprise me. The only time she let go of Thomas was to go stand in front of Donavon.
“Stand please,” Katrina said in a whisper, her voice sounding hoarse.
Donavon stood not sure what to think. I don’t know what Katrina is going to do either.
Katrina stared at him for a moment then raised her hand and slapped Donavon right across the face. Donavon didn’t move, didn’t react.
“That’s for attacking me all of these years and this…”
She threw her arms around Donavon’s neck, which is about a head higher than her and hugged him. “Thank you. Thank you for taking care of my baby brother.”
Donavon, over the momentary shock, hugged her back gently. “No thanks needed,” He whispered in her ear.
Katrina raised her head back to look at Donavon in the eyes.
“Katrina…” Donavon whispered with longing shining through his eyes.
“Donavon…” Katrina whispered back with an odd expression.
Donavon moved his face closer to her’s, and she reached up on her tippy toes still looking him dead in the eyes. Before Donavon kissed her lips, she reached her hand back and hit him again… hard.
Donavon pulled back looking at her a bit confused.
Katrina stepped back a little and looked at Donavon with defiance in her eyes and a cocky smirk on her lips. “It is not gonna be that easy to earn my trust or my affection.”
Donavon smiled, “I expect nothing less.”
Continue the Saga in Book Two…
Sapphyre:
Truth Within
Read ahead for a taste of what’s to come!
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‘Sapphyre: Burden to Bare’
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Sapphyre:
Truth Within
(Book 2)
Sample Chapters
Choice
Two weeks passed since the incident with Donavon. Things have been somewhat tense. I can tell Katrina is having a hard time adjusting to the new Donavon, but having her little brother back, brought a light into her eyes that’s been missing.
I think she will always have that fear of Donavon and I certainly don’t blame her. She told me that things between them weren’t always bad, but she’s going to have a hard time trusting him. There’s been a lot of damage, mentally and physically. I told her, if he’s true and loves her, then he will prove himself.
“Lexi…” Katrina came up sounding scared. Her voice is back to normal and the doctors are shocked that her ribs are one-hundred percent healed already.
“Yeah?” I said as I turned around and seen her face. She looks upset as her eyes dart around the yard nervously.
“I have… to show you something…” A tear threatened to spill from her eyes.
“What’s wrong?” I asked concerned.
She shook her head. “I have to show you,” she turned and headed into Zach’s house still looking around.
I quickly followed a bit confused.
She headed upstairs and into a bedroom she made as her extra art studio. Garcia told her she could have the extra space. It wasn’t being used, anyway.
I instantly became nervous. What she’s painted hasn’t always been good.
In the middle of the room stands an art easel covered with a sheet. Katrina walked over and grabbed the corner, slightly lifting it off the canvas underneath.
As the sheet dropped to the floor, I looked at the painting and instantly understood Katrina’s demeanor. I feel disgusted and angry as I look at the painting in front of me.
Katrina laid limp in Donavon’s arms as he held his teeth to her neck, draining her of blood once again. Blood escaped down her back as he drank from her. Donavon looks darker as his eyes show hatred and fury.
My stomach churned.
“I… I can’t go through that again…” Katrina started to cry.
I quickly hugged her. “We won’t let that happen K. You know that.”
She wrapped her arms around me and hugged back. “I know.”
I hate to ask… “What brought on this painting? Do you remember anything about it?”
We released each other. She stepped back shaking her head.
“Do you want them to get rid of him?” I asked softly.
Her head snapped up. “He hasn’t done anything yet. I don’t want to just go on this… what if it’s wrong?”
I smiled gently. “We’ll just have to keep a close eye on him. We won’t let you be alone together.”
“I’m scared Lexi,” Her voice shook.
“I know you are, but it will be okay. Do you want to tell the others?”
She thought for a few seconds. “Not Thomas…”
I nodded in agreement. Thomas and Donavon have a brotherly relationship and it would be best not to tell him.
I called out lowly to Zach, Garcia, and Thatch. Donavon and Thomas are out hunting biding by the rules Katrina set, so I’m glad they’re not around.
In a flash, all three show up in the doorway at on
ce. Katrina and I stand in front of the painting blocking their view.
Worry crossed all their faces, but Garcia spoke first.
“Katrina, what’s wrong child?” Her voice is thick with motherly concern.
I stepped forward. “Katrina painted something, but we need to keep this between us for now. Understand?” I looked at all their faces and lingered on Zach’s, willing him to agree.
I can see the questions in his eyes, but he nodded along with his parents.
Katrina and I stepped aside so they can see the canvas behind us.
Garcia immediately gasped while Thatch looks in disbelief. Zach growled lowly as anger flashed in his eyes.
Garcia came over and hugged Katrina. “What do you want to do young one?” She asked Katrina.
K let out a low sob. I know she doesn’t want to kill him unless he does something. I spoke for her. “We just want to watch him for now and not allow him to be alone with her. If he tries to do something, we’ll deal with it then.”
Garcia nodded in agreement.
“But we don’t want to tell Thomas,” I added.
“I knew I should have killed him when I had the chance!” Zach growled, his fury rising as he glared at the painting. Black fire building in his eyes.
He quickly spun around and headed down the hall without another word.
Leaving everyone behind, I ran after him. Zach is at the bottom of the stairs and headed for the front door. I ran as fast as my legs would let me and I grabbed his arm just as he is about to open the door.
Zach turned, looking at me with eyes full of anger and hatred. I know he hates Donavon and they’ve had plenty of words between them the past two weeks. But this time, I know Zach is out to kill him.
“Zach, this isn’t what Katrina wants! This is not up to you, it’s her choice,” I told him holding his gaze, keeping my voice assertive.
“She’s gonna wait until he kills her!” He growled.
Sapphyre: Burden to Bare (The Sapphyre Saga Book 1) Page 26
