It was strange seeing Meg suddenly all shy around him. Dahlia eyed them both for a moment. It would be the perfect time for them to be alone together. Coming to a decision, she looked over at the others as she said, “Hey, guys! Why don’t you show me the backyard? I never got a chance to see it the last time we hung out here.”
And the last time I was out there, it had been way too dark and had Greyson for company.
Dahlia sprung up from the chair as she each took Lee and Deacon by the arm and ushered them toward the back. She looked back to see Taylor standing off to the side so she gave him a pointed look to follow. He frowned back at her then reluctantly shuffled his feet over as he tagged along.
The next ten minutes or so was of Taylor sitting on a bench as he stared intently at the ground while Dahlia sat on another bench, watching Deacon and Lee wrestle each other on the lawn. A few moments later, the back door slid open and Meg walked out as she ran her fingers through her hair. She caught Dahlia’s eye as she made her way over.
“Hey,” Meg huffed as she sat down next to Dahlia.
“Where did Sam go?” She looked toward the door but didn’t see that he had followed.
“Oh, Sam?” Meg made a face in annoyance, sulking a little bit. “He had to step out. He got some random text then bolted before I could say anything substantial. It was all small talk. He said he’d be back though.”
Dahlia frowned dimly. “So I guess you didn’t tell him about your feelings yet?”
“No, not yet.” Meg tried to hide the disappointment in her face but it was obvious to Dahlia she was sad about it. “There will be enough time for that, I gather.”
Before Dahlia could say a word, she heard a commotion off to the side. “Ow,” Dahlia heard as both she and Meg looked over to see Deacon writhing in pain on the grass as he clutched his right arm tightly against his black shirt. She noticed there was blood that seemed to be coming from a wound somewhere from his upper limb.
“Oh God,” Lee gagged at the sight of blood as he quickly covered his mouth with a hand. Turning away from Deacon, Dahlia could see his face start to look pale and clammy behind his thick glasses.
Lee swallowed heavily and Dahlia caught his eye, which looked panicked. “I’m really not good with blood,” he exclaimed. Then in a blur he ran into the house, toward the bathroom would be Dahlia’s guess. Taylor finally looked up from the ground as his gaze flicked across Deacon, who still clutched his arm in pain, then to where Lee had just stood. Frowning, he slowly got up as he followed the direction where Lee had gone inside.
“What happened?” Meg was about to move over to where Deacon lay on the ground but Dahlia stopped her with a hand as she lightly touched her forearm.
“Let me see what’s wrong.” There was a lot of blood covering the green grass and Dahlia was a bit worried as she saw Deacon’s brown skin turn ashen in color. He had also stopped moving around as much. Dahlia looked back to Meg who looked worried and lied straight to her face, not wanting to freak her out.
“I’m trained in emergency care.” More like I’ve watched a lot of television hospital dramas. “I can handle it.”
Hopefully.
Meg nervously sat down on the bench that Taylor had occupied earlier as Dahlia walked over to Deacon and crouched by his side looking down at him. She zeroed in on Deacon’s wound, which was quite large, a deep gash found at the inside of his arm. From what, Dahlia didn’t know. A lot of blood poured out from the wound. Even though he was unconscious, having fainted, his breathing was still normal, although slightly rapid.
Dahlia started to breathe heavily herself as she stared fascinatingly at all the blood. She slowly licked her lips as her eyes got dangerously dark and she moved closer, wanting to get a taste of it.
“Is everything okay?” Meg’s frightened voice came from behind her.
Dahlia quickly snapped out of her daze, eyes instantly returning to her normal hazel color. She glanced over at Meg to confirm that everything was fine. Taking a deep breath, she turned back toward Deacon. She continued to stare at his bloodied arm, a little more calmly, since her mind was back in its right place.
Should I?
Dahlia maneuvered her body so it would be difficult for Meg to see anything. She looked around for anything sharp and noticed a rock on the ground nearby. Reaching for it, Dahlia discreetly gave herself a cut on the forearm as she watched her blood start to seep out. She let her blood mingle with Deacon’s as she hung her arm over his, silently praying that it would work. Obviously with an audience, she couldn’t make him drink her blood.
“Yes,” Dahlia whispered to herself as she watched in awe as Deacon’s wound magically diminished until nothing was left but a smaller, more manageable injury. She quickly removed her arm and wiped it clean as she smiled over at Meg.
“He’s fine. He must have cut himself on a rock or something.”
Dahlia only wanted to give enough blood to Deacon so his gash was no longer as severe as it was. It would be difficult to explain to the others where his cut had disappeared to if she healed him completely. She looked down at Deacon, still pale and out cold, then got up as she walked over toward Meg.
Dahlia didn’t notice the strange look that crossed Meg’s features as she exclaimed, “I think we should get the guys to help Deacon into the house so he can rest. Then call an ambulance, just in case. Hopefully Lee will be up for it.” She hurriedly ran into the house, searching for the boys.
Meg followed Dahlia, her steps slow as she walked into the house. Her movements looked almost drained. “I saw what you did,” she murmured from behind her.
Dahlia froze in her tracks as she turned back around to face Meg guardedly. There was a look in her eyes that she couldn’t quite decipher. “What are you talking about?” She was sure she hid away from view.
How would she be able to explain this?
Meg frowned, the look almost foreign to Dahlia, who had known her for such a short time. “With Deacon. I saw how you healed him. He was losing too much blood and went into shock. He could have died with that injury. You did something to him using your blood. I saw it with my own two eyes.”
Dahlia laughed weakly, trying to change the subject as she shook her head in denial, looking into Meg’s alarmed eyes. “Today’s been crazy and we’re all exhausted. Why don’t we talk about this tomorrow?” She would need Greyson to wipe her mind.
They were definitely back on speaking terms.
“Why don’t we talk about this now, Dahlia?”
She paused at the way Meg said her name, almost scornfully, eerily sounding similar to…Ava. Dahlia looked directly into Meg’s eye with question, whose normally friendly demeanor had changed. “What do you mean by that, Meg?”
Before Dahlia could get an answer, Taylor and Lee had quietly entered the room to stand next to Meg, who still stood before the glass sliding doors. Lee, who didn’t appear sick anymore, crossed his arms where he stood. While Taylor no longer hid his face away from Dahlia, his head held high.
Surprisingly, even Deacon had awakened from his apparent “slumber” as he stood with the others having just re-entered the house. All four of them had the same similar look of hardness on their faces as they stared at Dahlia standing alone across from them.
Meg spoke again. “You think we didn’t know about your little secret? You’re the reason we’re all here in the first place.”
“You sure are difficult to kill.” Dahlia looked away from her to see Lee with his usual kind smile replaced with one of wickedness.
“Wait,” Dahlia paused as she looked at every one of the people standing before, realization setting in. “Being pushed, the quicksand, the water? Are you trying to tell me that it’s been all of you this whole time?”
Dahlia saw the four of them share glances between each other then Deacon answered for t
hem all. “Yes. It’s unfortunate—I kind of liked you.”
“I know, right?” Meg shook her head, her ponytail swinging breezily. “And I really apologize for bringing Sam into all of this, but it was necessary.”
Dahlia looked up in alarm. “Sam? What’s he got to do with this?” She looked around the room but remembered that Meg had said he had stepped out.
Had she been telling the truth?
“We’ve been searching for you after you left the orphanage. We learned that a teenage boy would soon be your sibling and thought we could use that to our advantage. Before you even came to Cedar Oaks, we implanted ourselves into Sam’s life. We created false memories so he knew us as his close, trusted friends. As a result, you became our new, little friend.” Meg paused, giving a little laugh. “Although it seems you really are quite hard to kill. But don’t worry. Sam’s fine—he really did have to leave. It’s not him we want.”
Greyson.
Dahlia needed his help desperately and prayed that he would hear. She waited but there was no response so she tried calling out again.
Greyson!
“You know that won’t work, calling out to your beau,” replied Deacon as he gave the smaller Taylor a hard slap on the back. “Taylor here has a gift of blocking communication between us lapsus. Lover boy doesn’t even know you’re in trouble. It’s come in handy, hasn’t it?”
Dahlia looked at Taylor as she realized his normally light brown eyes were glowing bright orange at his concentration of preventing her from contacting Greyson. She swallowed hard, knew she was in deep trouble. She tried distracting them by keeping them talking. “Why go to all this length to get rid of me?”
Meg shook her head pitifully at Dahlia, her brown eyes narrowing. “You really don’t know anything about your past, do you?”
Dahlia gave her head a shake, biting the inside of her lips. “No.”
Meg stepped forward. “Let me just show you.”
Before Dahlia could react, Meg took Dahlia’s head in her hand as a slew of images were forced into her mind. She cried out in pain as the vivid pictures kept piling on top of one another, with nothing but heartache and bloodshed. She saw people with eyes as black as night and sharp incisors staked in the heart before they disintegrated into nothing but dust. Others with those same black eyes slowly bleeding to death as their blood was collected. Then she saw people as they struggled to break free, blood forced down into their mouths, their glowing eyes instantly dimming until they ceased to exist.
Meg disconnected from Dahlia as she stepped back and looked back at her with a knowing look on her face, unshed tears in her eyes. “You see now why we have to do this.”
Dahlia slowly shook her head, understanding their pain. She saw through their eyes what their ancestors experienced so long ago. The pain that both lapsus and lamia went through because of one man.
Because of her father.
Lee interrupted. “Your father went too far to find some form of immortality for his poor excuse of a soul. Our families didn’t care too much about the slaughtering of the lamia. The creation of the vampires to begin with was an error on our part and we needed to correct it. But to sacrifice his own fallen comrades? How do you do that?” Dahlia could see the anguish in his blue eyes as he spoke.
Meg continued for him. “You see, your father killed many of our family members. He used them as guinea pigs to see if they’d become immortal with lamia blood. They ended up dying instead because his stupid experiments didn’t work. Our blood does not mix.”
“And to find out that you are the key to his release? On top of that, with the blood of the lamia running through your veins?” Deacon shook his head in disbelief. “We refuse to let that happen—you shouldn’t exist. At least your death will make the deaths of our families not hurt so much.”
Meg continued to stare at Dahlia before she spoke again, almost quietly. “I tried killing you that night in the forest but you didn’t die when I pushed—and I pushed hard. I really didn’t know your self-healing ability was so strong. So Deacon tried again by suffocating you to death and still, you live thanks to your little friend. We attempt for the third time on our turf and Lee uses his power of water and again, you don’t die.” Meg paused as a cruel smile came across her face, making her beautiful appearance seem almost grotesque.
“The only element that’s really left…” Meg’s voice trailed off as her eyes flicked to her left.
“Fire.” Dahlia answered, following the girl’s gaze to look at the silent figure standing next to her. His eyes were a fiery orange as he stared across at Dahlia in raw hatred. His entire body started to crackle with flames as heat radiated from his core.
“Taylor,” she breathed in terror as she took a few steps back, realization sinking in as the back of her legs hit the couch.
She had nowhere left to go.
Chapter 22
“There’s nowhere to go.” Meg taunted, staring back at Dahlia in revulsion. Then she swiftly turned to her left as she yelled. “Taylor, now!”
As soon as he spoke, a ball of flame shot out from his body and aimed straight at Dahlia. Dahlia, unable to move, saw a blaze of orange and red take over her entire vision.
This is it.
She squeezed her eyes shut, feeling the heat getting closer, getting ready for impact. A tear leaked from the corner of her eye as she realized she’d never see Greyson again.
“Get down!” A voice suddenly came out of nowhere as it yelled fiercely at Dahlia.
She was shocked to see Ava rush quickly over to her, grabbing her firmly by the arm as she roughly yanked her down to the ground. Painfully dropping to her knees, Ava covered Dahlia’s body with her own but, Dahlia still felt the harsh heat surrounding them, permeating into her skin.
“Damn you,” Meg screamed as the ball of flames hit the opposite wall, looking angrily down at Ava. She ignored the gaping hole in the wall and glanced over at Deacon and Lee. “Do something!”
Both Deacon and Lee looked at one another, then rushed toward Ava to attack. But a gust of energy suddenly charged at them both, their bodies instantly crashing against the glass door as it splintered into pieces.
They remained motionless.
“Pathetic,” Ava stated as she stood up and moved her sunglasses away from her eyes so it perched on the top of her dark head. Dahlia lifted her head to see Ava eyeing Meg up and down. Her amber eyes gleamed brightly as the wind pulsated around her, raven hair floating against the strong breeze that she created. “You want to try something else, sweetie?”
Meg’s own eyes lit up brightly as she summoned a ball of wind and directed it at Ava. Ava, with a snap of a finger, caused the wind to disappear completely between Meg’s hands as Meg looked on in shock, seeing her powers evaporate.
Ava flicked her hair as she stared at Meg, unimpressed. “You, Dahlia and I share the same element, sweetie. It’s too bad I have the upper hand being stronger. And I thought you were oh-so powerful. How will you ever defeat me?” she mocked with a smirk on her face.
Dahlia knew she’d never seen anyone more livid than Meg as she glared back at Ava, then shot Taylor a look, commanding, “Do it again. Kill them both this time.”
Taylor’s eyes lit up once more, emitting another ball of fire directed at both girls now. Dahlia once again braced herself for the impact, squeezing her eyes tightly as she still crouched on the floor, knowing there was nowhere to run.
But as quickly as it started it was over.
Dahlia’s head was down on the ground, her body in prayer position as she breathed heavily through her mouth. As she inhaled deeply, she started to cough uncontrollably but she gradually moved to her feet, the back of her hand pressed against her mouth.
It was quiet.
“What happened?”
She was facing a
way from the others and as she attempted to turn to see what had occurred, Ava stopped her quickly. It wasn’t fast enough as Dahlia gasped in shock, her eyes witnessing a horrible image forever imprinted in her mind.
Tears sprang to her eyes at the sight of four charred bodies lying on the ground before her.
“What did you do?” Dahlia whispered in shock at Ava.
Ava looked down at the bodies in indifference, then at her perfectly manicured nails as she inspected them for chips. She glanced up and then flicked her dark hair over her shoulders. “I just deflected some wind their way. They could have stopped it if they were fast enough.”
Although Dahlia was shocked that four lives were instantly gone, she was grateful for her life. She looked over at Ava appreciably who was back to wearing her signature sunglasses back on her face, ruby red lips pressed together. “Thank you. They would have killed me.”
“Well, you’re not supposed to die now.”
Dahlia looked over at Ava with a start at the emphasis on the last word. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
“You dying doesn’t really solve anything. They were just sad that their poor mommies and daddies were killed by yours.” She paused as she tapped her fingernail against her chin as if deep in thought. “Or was it grandmas and grandpas? At any rate, don’t feel bad about it, D. They got what they deserved.”
Dahlia’s gratitude quickly changed to that of frustration as she replied, “You don’t even like me.”
“Oh, I knew someone was listening in on my conversation with Maddox.” Ava face started to form a smile. “Aww, don’t be so sad about that, D. It’s just the way the cookie crumbled. I’ve gotten over the fact that daddy dearest wanted to have another child. It’s not like he loved you. He just wanted your tainted blood to guarantee our future.”
Dahlia (Blood Crave Series) Page 19
