by Kate Wendley
They made love then, cautiousness mixed with desperation at the inevitable end to this intense love affair. She fought tears as they rocked against each other. She didn’t want her time with Ethan to end, but she knew it was for the best.
Chapter 27
The full moon hung heavy in the thinly clouded December night sky. The shifters were out at the ranch or other places running around as their animal, so it was only vampires here behind Wild Woods. If Harmony didn’t know any better she’d guess this was all the vampires in the Atlanta territory, besides Isaiah, anyway. Everyone was too curious to see a spirit guide become flesh and bone.
She looked at the group’s faces, trying to memorize them as a way to distract herself from what was really bothering her, which was the fact that she’d be leaving soon. She decided she’d at least wait until tomorrow night, wanting to be here for Nala’s ordeal, though thinking about leaving at all made her sad. She didn’t want it to be over with Ethan, but she was tired of him being distracted by his loving memories. She didn’t like this constant competition for his heart.
She was confused why Samson was beckoning her so soon after her last visit, too, and wondered if it was because he was in some kind of trouble. She didn’t really care that much if he was and would take her time going back, though the compulsion never let her drag her feet for too long. But this time she felt a little more control over the relentless pull, maybe because she’d had so much of Ethan’s incredibly strong blood.
That thought made her smile. Maybe she’d be strong enough to not have to put up with all of Samson’s demands when she went back this time. It wasn’t like he was exactly cruel to her, but he liked to play mind games even if he didn’t believe he was, and she had to put up with it if she wanted his continued protection. He gave her so much freedom apart from her yearly visits that she’d long ago decided she was ok with the arrangement, though a lot of that was because she was too scared to find out what it would be like to be under a different Master’s thumb. Maybe things could change between them now, though.
She flicked a glance at Ethan, who had his arm wrapped firmly around her. He wanted to break Samson’s bonds. She wasn’t sure if he actually could, but he was willing to try. She couldn’t handle calling him Master the way things were right now, though. There was too much heartache between them, which was something she never had to worry about with Samson. Kinky head games aside, her and Samson had an arrangement that kept them both as happy as they could be under the circumstances. She wouldn’t trade that for a relationship that wasn’t fully working yet.
But she loved Ethan, dammit, and he loved her. This sucked.
**
Harmony watched Anthony as he directed everyone. A four foot tall above ground swimming pool had been set up earlier today by the shifters and tested out with a foot or so of water to make sure the bottom didn’t have any leaks. Ethan thought the pool was bigger around than they needed, and not nearly as sturdy as he would’ve liked even though it had a steel frame around the whole thing. Christopher assured him that both he and Anthony thought it would work, plus it was the best they could find on such short notice. The vampires in both their families were now working on wiping down any remnants of the water they’d drained back out so they could start pouring bags of blood into it.
Anthony looked their way, then walked over to them.
Ethan said, “Are you sure you brought enough blood?”
“I’m not sure of anything, but we’ve spent three solid days and nights collecting as much as we possibly could, even bribing shifters to donate more than once, and this is what we got. It’s as good as we’re going to get under the circumstances.”
Nala stepped closer to them and said in a slow, unnatural voice, “It should be enough. There’s nothing else to do but hope Gaia allows this.”
Quite a few vampires were now staring at Nala, but she seemed oblivious to the attention. Seth put his arm around her and snapped, “Leave her alone, Daniel. You’ll have your time soon enough.”
She immediately slumped against Seth, Daniel apparently giving her a break from his intrusions into her mind and body.
Anthony took a deep breath as he turned his attention back to everyone working on the pool. “One more wipe down, then start filling it with blood.” He pulled a cooler aside and motioned to Christopher, who was helping supervise everyone. “Please keep your eye on this. There are some hungry looking loners around tonight, but Nala will need some of this, and assuming Daniel makes it, there’s also enough for him to feed if he still needs to.”
Anthony walked away to continue overseeing things, and Ethan pulled Harmony into a hug. He whispered against her neck in between kisses, “I know why you’re going and I know it’s my fault. It kills me inside to know what you’ll be doing, too, because I want you to be mine, not his, not anyone else’s.”
She tensed as heartache consumed her. Sometimes she forgot how hardened she’d become to her life, assuming she had to allow Samson to use her body just so she could have her other freedoms. Being here with Ethan and hearing him say these things brought her world crashing in on her. He made it sound like she could have a more normal life, a life where she wasn’t always fighting to live how she wanted. She trembled as tears came to her eyes, and a small whimper escaped her.
Ethan hugged her even tighter. “I’m sorry Harmony. I’m so, so sorry for everything I’ve done to push you away. I’d do anything to have you back, though you might think it’s too late for that.”
She choked out, “You big jerk.”
She felt him laugh, though he didn’t make a sound. He pulled back from her, and she cried even harder when she saw the tears in his eyes.
“Have you decided when you’ll leave?”
Fat, soggy tears streamed down her face at his question. All she could get out was, “Not tonight.”
He rested his hands on her hips and timidly said, “You don’t have to go.”
She frowned and he more realistically said, “Will you at least consider coming back? You don’t have to give me an answer, just consider it. The door will always be open for you.”
She tried to stop her tears, feeling like crap that she was doing this, and wondered again why she was leaving. The sight of Seth and Nala was reminder enough, though. Those were Ethan and Sonya’s friends. Harmony had come to know them in her short time here, but just like that memorial painting reminded her of the other intense love in Ethan’s life, so did Seth and Nala.
She looked back at Ethan and said, “I’ll consider it.”
He sadly nodded as he glanced away and pulled her into another hug, then eventually settled beside her for the show.
**
Anthony felt bad to see that Ethan must still be having troubles with Harmony. There were too many tears and tight hugs between them for anything other than heartache. He gave them some time before it looked like they were done talking, then joined their small group again.
“We’ve got everything set up. Are you ready Nala?”
Seth and Nala both looked deathly resolved to a fate Anthony wasn’t quite sure about himself. Anthony said to Seth, “I’ll do whatever I can for her.”
“I trust that you will.” Seth was surprising calm. “If things don’t go the way we hope, I’ll know you did your best. Our lives are and have always been in the hands of the Spider Mother.”
Anthony’s blood ran cold. “What did you just say?”
“We’re ready. Whatever the Mother allows is what will happen.”
Anthony stared at Seth in shock. Did he actually know the incredibly powerful woman who’d called herself the Vampire Mother? The woman who’d hid in his home as tiny spiders for years? She said some people also referred to her as the Spider Mother. He shook his head as all the recent craziness in his world felt like it was slowly starting to tie together in confusing bits and pieces.
Seth seemed oblivious to his shock as he doted on Nala. Anthony flicked a glance at Ethan, who slowly nodded in r
esignation. It was time for this to begin, so he put Seth’s comment out of mind and used his power to sweep aside the empty blood bags strewn on the ground so they’d have a clear area to stand at the pool’s edge.
The pool itself was about two thirds full of blood, and they had more if they needed it. Anthony took one last look around the group and thought of Kaia alone back home with his father watching over her. She hadn’t been too happy about spending the night with his father, but there was no way Anthony was going to leave her alone in his home without protection. He just prayed this night didn’t blow up in his face and that he’d have a chance to make things up to her.
The night was bright under the solid moon as Nala stood with Seth on one side of her and Anthony on the other. The smell of so much blood was strong, and he wasn’t sure if it should be exciting to be in front of this giant pool of it, or if it was sickening because of the sheer overwhelming volume. Nala looked transfixed by it and Seth seemed to be meditating.
Daniel hadn’t detailed out Anthony’s part in this ceremony very clearly. Not as clearly as Seth and Nala’s parts, anyway. All he’d said was that he wanted Anthony here for whatever might happen since he was the one who’d already been able to tap into the earth’s power directly, even if he hadn’t known at the time that he was doing it. Anthony hoped he’d instinctively know what to do when the time came, but whether he did or not, he was still going to try his best to help this woman that he barely knew, as well as this spirit that swore it wasn’t evil. He wondered sometimes at his own soft heartedness and if it would end up killing him someday.
He looked around again, unable to shake the feeling that he was being watched, and this time not by Daniel. He’d dealt with a lot of new things this year, and thanks to Daniel explaining the Vampire Mother’s gift to him, he felt more at peace with his new powers as well as the other feelings he was experiencing. Still, he couldn’t put his finger on who or what might be watching him right now, and it was time to get the ceremony started.
He turned to Christopher. “Have some blood ready for Nala.” He flicked a look at Ethan as well.
Christopher moved towards the cooler and Ethan barely gave him a look, his arm snug around Harmony. His body language made it clear there was no way he was leaving her side. Anthony exchanged another look with Christopher, got a nod in agreement, then turned back to Seth. “Whenever you’re ready.”
Nala intently watched Seth as he leaned closer and gave her a chaste kiss before pulling out a small, very sharp looking knife with a worn bone handle. Anthony recognized it from Nala’s memories of Seth cutting himself after she originally died, letting his blood drip on her battered body. Now it would be Nala he needed to use it on.
She held her arm out for him in absolute trust, and Anthony was awed by her calm in all this. After all, there was no guarantee she wouldn’t die for real once they let Daniel out of her.
A breeze kicked up as Seth firmly grasped her wrist and held it straight out over the pool of blood. He began chanting in a strange language, and whatever he was saying made the hairs on Anthony’s arms stand on end. There was power in Seth’s words, a steady, relentless pull, and while it wasn’t incredibly strong, at least not yet, it never subsided.
Nala hissed when Seth finally cut into her, slicing her deeply from elbow to wrist. Anthony cringed at the rush of blood that poured out of her. It wasn’t good for a vampire to lose blood like that, and it wasn’t normal for it to flow out so quickly. He supposed that was Seth’s doing with his magic and chanting.
The wind picked up even more as Seth kept Nala’s arm well over the pool, her blood adding to the mixture of shifter blood. Anthony watched and waited, the pulse of Seth’s magic still thrumming through him and making the air feel electric.
More clouds gathered and there was a flash of lightning. Anthony tensed, and Seth flinched as well, but he didn’t hesitate to cut Nala again when her bleeding stopped and the wound healed itself. He cut her at least four more times before Anthony worriedly realized Nala was looking less and less solid. When Seth sliced her arm the next time, Anthony wondered if they’d be able to get enough blood out of her to finish the ceremony. They needed to be able to finish this before either Gaia killed them all with a lightning bolt, if she was even real, or Daniel finally woke up as a solid person inside the pool.
Seth tried to slice Nala again, but his knife went all the way through her ghostly arm. He didn’t miss a beat with his chanting, finishing whatever he was saying while Anthony looked at Christopher, then at the cooler of blood. Christopher got the point and pulled out a bag, but he waited to step forward with it until Seth stopped his chants. When he did, it was eerily quiet save for the wind.
It blew frantically, first one direction, then another, back and forth while Anthony’s tension rose. He stared at the thick pool of blood as many vampires gathered around and did the same. He honestly couldn’t tell if the spirit had made his way out of Nala, and he wondered if this was the part Daniel told him that he’d just know what to do.
He opened his senses wide and had the sudden, intense feeling of being watched again, and again it didn’t feel like it was Daniel. He turned to his right as if in slow motion… and froze in fear. Echo was staring straight at him, a hard, crazed look in her eyes, and he knew before she even opened her mouth that she’d been possessed.
A strange voice came from her, sounding like wisps of wind blowing at different sound frequencies, all of them hard and precise.
“Anthony Foster. You will not let my child die. Give him more vampire blood. Vampires are turned, not born.”
He was so shocked at the thought of who this was that must be speaking to him that he stupidly asked, “Gaia?”
She angrily screamed, “Do it!” at the same time a thunder clap boomed overhead. Every vampire out here clamped their hands over their ears and cried out in unison at the soul jarring force of it. The wind continued to whip about and Anthony forced himself to look at Echo again, who was still staring at him with a severe frown on her face.
He nodded once at her, then as quick as he could, he made his way through the crowd picking out the vampires who were low to mid power level. He tried to speak to them in their minds but wasn’t sure if they could make out his words over the ringing in their ears. He assumed if he still couldn’t hear that neither could they, so he also gave them a push forward with his power as he continued through the group.
He’d chosen more than enough vampires, he hoped, and joined them again at the edge of the pool. They didn’t all seem too eager to give blood, and he honestly didn’t blame them since it was only a month ago that he’d ordered them to donate it for two wolves that’d been shot. But this was what the community was for. To help each other when someone needed it.
His hearing was quickly returning so he knew theirs would be too. He spoke loudly over the wind. “Daniel needs your blood. As the Master of this territory, I’m ordering you to give some of yours to him. Do it. Now.”
He turned to Seth. “Help Nala feed, and when she has solid form again, both of you give as well.” Seth frowned, but nodded and got to work helping Nala with a blood bag. Anthony would stop and watch out of sheer curiosity to see how a ghost fed, but he had others to watch over right now.
Many vampires started giving blood as he’d commanded, but some didn’t, which was always the way it was. There were those that were never totally obedient to him, including some from Ethan’s family. He didn’t have time for their insubordination tonight, not with Gaia here watching over them all, so he snatched Seth’s knife that he’d set aside and raced towards one of the vampires that’d refused his orders.
He yanked Clive to the pool, quickly shredded the man’s jacket and shirt sleeve from his arm, then sliced his arm harshly from elbow to wrist, just like Seth had done to Nala. It earned a satisfying scream from the man. Anthony held his arm over the pool as he glared at the others who’d refused him. “Get up here and give blood, or the next one of you I have t
o assist will have his neck sliced as I hold you upside down above the pool.”
Curled lips and death glares were on many faces as they finally did what he asked. Anthony let Clive go with an extra shove of irritation, then looked for Echo again. She was now staring at the pool and the harsh look was gone from her face. As Anthony continued looking around, he also realized the wind was dying down. He breathed in a relieved breath and hoped this meant things were progressing as they should be now.
There was a moment after all the vampires he’d chosen, including Seth and Nala, had all given blood, that everything went quiet. The mumbled murmurs of the crowd stopped, the wind wasn’t even a breeze anymore, and the night felt like it was holding its breath.
And then something happened. Everyone close to the pool looked curiously at their feet before quickly clearing the area. Roots and green things grew out of the ground and climbed up the steel frame that held the pool up.
Anthony stared at the ground, the feeling of power under his feet like a long lost memory. Logically he knew this must be the same power from the night he healed himself after giving his life energy to save the wolves who’d been shot. It bothered him, though, that he’d blacked out during that time and that his memories had never returned.
He watched in curiosity now as he swore he saw some of those barely there wisps of energy he’d seen from Daniel’s mind when he and Nala had been in the dark forest after her death. They looked like the spirits and earth energies that came and went freely on that plane of existence. He watched them in wonder for a time, then glanced around the crowd to see if anyone else saw them.
He wasn’t entirely surprised that no one else seemed to notice, but it did make him worry all over again about what he was becoming and if Kaia would ever be truly safe around him, even when she became vampire. It also made him wonder how honest he was willing to be with her about himself, especially since the Vampire Mother told him not to mention her to anyone.
For now he put that worry out of mind. If Daniel didn’t survive his birthing into the physical realm, Anthony had no doubt Gaia would take out her displeasure on him. He just hoped they’d given enough blood. Shifter blood was supposed to help Daniel form a body, and vampire blood would hopefully enable him to become one of them. Anthony wasn’t sure what else they could do for him, so he took a step forward, deciding it was time to see if anything at all was going on in the pool.
