“We need to go faster, Soren. We have to.” I pled with him to understand. He nodded once and then grasped me tightly to his side with one arm around my waist and then hoisted me into his arms as if I were as light as a feather.
“Ready?” he asked quickly. I bobbed my head once. Soren didn’t need any other affirmation. The city lights flew by as we sped to our destination. Soren’s feet barely touched the ground. Half the time I think we literally flew. It was a bizarre sensation. I just prayed we weren’t too late. When we came to an abrupt stop, I would have been flung out of Soren’s arms if it wasn’t for his strong grasp on my waist as he sat me on my feet. I squeezed his arm quickly in thanks before I turned around to face whatever we had come upon.
I didn’t scream. I didn’t even cry. Both of those emotions were boiling inside me though—right below the surface, wanting to leak out of my very pores. There were six sets of red eyes and one mocking coppery pair staring at us from the middle of the road. There sat my family’s car with a huge smashed in front bumper which looked like it had been wrapped around a light pole. A bunch of vampires were standing there, grinning like they had just finished playing their favorite game of chicken and had won. My fury began to build in my chest as I took in the entire scene before me, but before I could even react, I heard a whimper coming from the back of the car. Little Sage was still strapped in her car seat, terrified and crying. My dagger was out and in my hand before I even realized I had started warping forward.
The vampire unlucky enough to make it to me first was a baby vamp with absolutely no talent in hand-to-hand combat. Not even his enhanced vampire abilities were an even match for a pissed off warper in full attack mode. A powerful swing of my sgian dubh and his head hit the pavement a second after I’d already moved on to the next vampire in my path. I could hear Soren’s roar of fury as he took on a couple of vampires to my right, but all I could see was the grinning copper-eyed vampire in my line of vision. I could taste the promise of his death on the tip of my dagger. I’d kill the little bastard for this. He shook his head like he’d been disappointed and began to walk over to the wrecked car.
My heart began to beat frantically as I battled a much larger vampire. I screamed out as the vampire raked his clawed nails across my stomach, shredding my shirt and skin in the process. I heard Soren’s scream of rage and power as I ducked another swipe of the vampire’s claws—that one had come too close to my neck. I pressed a hand to my stomach and then raised my palm out towards the attacking vampire. His eyes dilated rapidly as they locked onto the sticky crimson stains on my hand. He lunged for me, his agenda long forgotten beneath his lust for blood. My dagger caught him across the face just as he took his eyes off me and focused instead on the blood dripping from my palm. His eyes were so wide in shock and something akin to terror that I almost felt sorry for him. Almost. He reached up slowly and felt his jaw…it was barely hanging from one side of his face. Before he could react, and while he was still holding the remnants of the lower half of his face in his hand, I jumped up and delivered a backhanded blow of my sgian dubh to the back of his neck, severing the large vampire’s head from his shoulders.
I wiped my dagger on my jeans and began to run towards the vampire now standing near the passenger’s side of my parents’ car. I saw little Sage’s face in the back window, tear streaked and terrified as she tried to get out of the wreckage. Just as I made it within ten feet of the back bumper, I realized I could hear another sound, so insignificant and faint, I’d almost missed it. I could hear my mother’s quiet, labored breathing from where I stood. My heart emptied out. Its hollowness rivaled the terror I realized in the form of a vengeance crazed vampire standing next to my still breathing mother. Something caught my eye, and I found them drawn to the rearview mirror of the car. My mother’s eyes shone brightly as tears formed in them. They expressed so much in that brief moment: her love, her strength, her compassion, and her power all in a single glance. I saw the vampire reach into the car, and I yelled out Sage’s name as loudly as I could. I didn’t want her to see what was happening. She’d have enough to deal with in the coming years. I saw her little face appear in the back window, wide eyed, and staring at me just as the vampire snapped my mother’s neck. I heard a chuckle before the vampire sped away like the coward that he was.
I could hear Soren calling my name as I landed on my knees in the gravel to throw up the contents of my stomach until dry heaves shook my body. A hand landed on my shoulder, and I spun around, swinging my dagger without thinking. I was beyond thinking rationally. Luckily, Soren wasn’t a regular vampire and was able to dodge the sharp edge of my sgian dubh. I felt his arms wrap around me as I struggled wildly, sinking to the ground to scream out my anguish until my throat was raw from the force of my cries. Soren rocked me gently as I cried for all that had been taken away from me.
“Sage?” I could hear my name, but I couldn’t seem to care enough to answer. “Sage? The little girl is still in the back of the car.” It was then that the muffled sniffling and cries broke through the haze of pain I’d been mired in. I lifted my eyes to Soren’s and found the strength I needed to pick myself up off the ground. I wiped my hand and face off as best as I could before heading around to the side of the car.
“Sage?” I spoke softly, trying not to terrify the little girl any more than she already was. “Honey, I’m going to open the door and help you out, okay?” I opened the door as slowly as possible, and my heart broke all over again. I didn’t look in the front seat. I didn’t need to see any more, but the little girl all curled up into a ball in the backseat was enough to make me crazy. No matter what else I accomplished in my life, I would track down and kill the vampire who did this to my family…who did this to me…who did this to the innocent little girl I had once been.
“Sage, you need to come with me. The police and ambulance will all be here soon. Let me help you out of the car.” I reached a hand out and smoothed her hair away from her face, but I wasn’t prepared for her to launch herself into my arms. After I recovered, I squeezed her small body tightly to mine and promised her over and over again that she would be okay and that I would find the person responsible and make them pay. My ears picked up the sound of sirens, still a little ways away. Soren had already begun to take care of the bodies of vampires we’d disposed of. I didn’t know or care where he was taking them. I sat Sage down and held on tightly to her hand as Soren pushed the car with all his might into a telephone pole off of the side of the road. A large, bloody deer was placed in the middle of the road where the vampires had stood in formation, to make it look like my parents had hit the deer and then had run into a light pole. It was all necessary, but that didn’t make it any easier to swallow.
When Soren returned to stand beside me, little Sage flinched and hid herself behind my legs. “It’s okay, Sage….He’s a good guy.” I bent down and channeled my mother as best I could to smile at the little girl. “I’m not going to lie to you. Things are going to be tough without your mommy and daddy, but always remember that you are strong, that you are special, and that your parents loved you more than anything in this world.” Tears streamed down my face, and I pulled her to me to hug her to my chest once again before turning to Soren. “I can’t be here when all the emergency people arrive. Can you stay here with her until she is taken?” His hand cupped my cheek and his thumb gently wiped away a lingering tear.
“Of course I will,” he said softly. I exhaled slowly. There was no way I would’ve been able to leave her there by herself. I pulled Sage out of my embrace and wiped her tears with the tips of my fingers.
“Now, I have to go…but Soren is going to stay with you until someone comes to take care of you.” I tucked a curl behind her ear and mock whispered in my conspiratorial voice like what I had to say was a big secret meant only for us special girls. “When everyone gets here, they won’t be able to see Soren. He’s kind of special and only some people can see him when he’s there to help them.”
�
�Like an angel?” Her eyes widened and she gazed up at Soren in awe. I smiled and nodded my head.
“Just like an angel. But angels don’t like to be fussed over…so it will be our little secret, okay?” She nodded her head vigorously and stuck out her pinky.
“I pinky promise,” she said very seriously. I wrapped my pinky around hers and sealed the deal. I gave her a big hug as I said my final goodbye. When I stood, I was fighting back more tears, but I didn’t allow them to fall…there would be time for that later. Right then, I needed to be strong for her. I placed her beside Soren on the side of the road to await the emergency personnel. I warped to a place out in the woods where I could watch, but not be seen. Soren sat next to Sage on the side of the road and held her hand as everyone began to show up. At first no one noticed the little girl sitting there so quietly in the dark by herself as they pulled my parents’ bodies from the wreckage, but when they finally did, she was rushed off into a waiting ambulance to be checked over for injuries. Soren stayed near her the entire time, deflecting the prying eyes of everyone around him with his “you don’t see me standing here” vampire mind-control mojo, and I knew I would forever be in his debt for the kindness he showed that night.
When he came to stand beside me after the last of the flashing lights had pulled away from the “accident” site, I was utterly and completely spent physically and emotionally. Soren pulled me into his arms and I melted into his embrace. As I stood there, clinging to the only thing that made sense in my crazy world right then, all the little pieces of my memories from this very night in my past started clicking into place. The scary smile I remembered belonged to the vampire who caused the accident. Someone holding my hand as my parents’ bodies were being taken away…everything. I clung even tighter to Soren.
“Thank you,” I whispered hoarsely. Soren groaned and hugged me even tighter to his chest. I flinched. My stomach wounds would have to be looked at eventually.
“Don’t thank me, Sage. I failed you. You should have never had to go through what you did tonight. I have never felt so useless in all my life.”
“Just the same…I’m glad you were here, and I realize now that our being here was meant to be….I was stronger as a child and all my life because somewhere deep inside, I remembered someone telling me it would all be all right, and that no matter what, I was loved and had a guardian angel looking out for me.” A small smile played on my lips. My guardian angel had turned out to be a ferocious vampire. I was a pretty lucky girl.
“So what now, warper?” Soren breathed into my hair, and I could almost feel the smile on his lips.
“Can we just sit and rest? I don’t care if we are in the woods in the middle of nowhere….I just want to sit for a minute.” I pulled back from Soren and looked up into his handsome face, wondering what he was thinking.
“Sure we can. We have all the time in the world, right?” He smiled a cute little crooked smile that made my heart skip a beat as he sat down and leaned his back against the trunk of a huge old tree. He patted his lap and raised a brow. I positioned myself between his legs, my back leaning against his chest. Immediately my body protested and I had to bite back a cry of distress. My stomach was hurt more than I thought, but not so badly that it couldn’t wait just a little longer. I twined my fingers through Soren’s, and a long sigh escaped me. Just as Soren bent to kiss the back of my neck, I felt a sensation I’d felt only once before. I braced myself as best as I could, grasping both of Soren’s hands in a death grip, just as my powers stretched to impossible lengths from my body.
We both landed with an umph and I sucked in a long, greedy breath of cold air. I was still holding Soren’s hand and had landed sprawled on top of him after our little impromptu trip. I stood up slowly and held a hand out to the vampire sprawled out on the ground. He grasped my hand and pulled himself to stand next to me.
“Well, that wasn’t as bad as the last time,” he said with a crease between his brows. I couldn’t help it—I started laughing hysterically. Nothing was really funny, but I guess laughing was better than crying. I stopped abruptly when stomach spasms brought tears to my eyes. Holy ouch! Soren tried to move some of the ripped shirt and found it stuck to my skin with dried blood. His jaw clenched, and his eyes began to glow their unholy light.
“Let’s get you taken care of,” he said quietly. I nodded my head and allowed him to put an arm around my waist so I could lean on him as we walked down the familiar park pathway. I shivered against the chilly winter air. I had no doubts in my mind that we had warped back to our present. I could feel it in my bones. The entire trip back was overall quicker, easier, and less…violent. It seemed to be much more user-friendly when we were traveling back to our natural place in the time stream.
Soren’s apartment was one of the most welcome sights I had ever seen. The same doctor that had taken care of Matt was waiting for us when we entered the apartment building. I shook my head. I’d never know how to become as efficient as Soren. I lay on the bed while the doctor fussed over the dried mess on my stomach. Warm water washed away most of the dried blood, but she had to use tweezers to remove some of the shredded shirt that had adhered to my wounds. It wasn’t pretty. Two of the gashes needed stitches and my stomach pretty much felt like it had been used as a punching bag by the time she had me all fixed up. I thanked her and promised to take the pain pills she pressed into my palm.
Not much later, I slid under the covers that Soren had already pulled back on his bed. I was so tired my eyes were closing of their own accord as I reached out behind me for Soren. He was instantly pulling me into the curve of his body…and that was all it took for me to fall into an immediate and dreamless sleep.
Waking up was a lot harder than falling asleep had been. The pills I’d taken before getting into bed had kept my body relatively pain free. It hadn’t had time to catch up with all the time travel and abuse I’d put it through recently. When I finally cracked my eyelids open, I had a hard time remembering where I was or even when I was. Time travel was hell on a girl’s equilibrium. Sitting up wasn’t any easier. My body protested at every little movement, and I had to stop myself from whimpering, crawling back into bed, pulling the ridiculously soft covers back over my head, and pretending I was still asleep. But now that I had a face to go with the vampire that had killed my parents, I had work to do.
“Soren?” I didn’t find Soren, but I did find a note from him on the kitchen counter. I pulled a bottle of root beer and everything I needed to make myself a sandwich out of the fridge as I read it.
Sage,
I have a few things I need to do, so please make yourself at home. I already took care of everything with Jorge at the club, so you don’t need to worry about going in until you are ready to. I have a surprise for you tonight. Look in the closet when you get a chance.
Yours Always, Soren
I finished off my ham sandwich in record time and made my way back into the bedroom to see what Soren was up to. When I opened the closet door, I found a long, black clothing bag hanging in the walk-in closet with an enormous, red-velvet bow attached to it. The card on the outside had my name slashed across it in Soren’s familiar handwriting. I opened the card and found another note.
Sage,
Happy Valentine’s Day. Will you be mine? Be wearing this dress when I get home at six o’ clock—I have more surprises in store for you.
Forever Yours, Soren
My hand smoothed over the expensive garment bag. I hadn’t even realized it was Valentine’s Day, and yet Soren had gone to all this trouble even after what we had been through recently. I gulped back the unexpected threat of tears….I never thought I’d feel so happy with another person again. I never thought I’d have the chance to feel even the most miniscule portion of love that I’d harbored for Aldwin…but Soren was slowly mending the shattered pieces of my heart. I wiped away the single tear that Aldwin’s name evoked and breathed in a hopeful breath before reaching for the zipper of the bag.
Soren
wasn’t kidding when he said he had several surprises in store for me. At 2:00 PM sharp, the doorbell chimed, and I’d barely opened the door when a babbling trio of beauticians swooped into the apartment in a puff of perfume and big hair. I really didn’t want anything to do with the manic gotta-make-her-gorgeous gleam in their eyes, but I soon succumbed to the pampering—one massage, pedicure, and manicure at a time. My skin was glowing and smelled absolutely divine, my make-up was done to perfection, and my hair was arranged artfully in big, soft curls down my back. I felt beautiful, and that was before I’d slipped into the expensive lingerie and dress Soren had bought me. Each of the magic-makers properly oohed and ahhed and then air kissed me on each cheek before they left the apartment in the same whirlwind fashion they’d arrived.
At 6:00 PM, Soren walked into the apartment with a single red rose, dressed immaculately in a black Gucci suit. The thunderstruck look on his face when he saw me sent a shiver of pleasure straight to the pit of my stomach. My dress was simple and elegant, but it felt as if it had been made just for me. It was crafted out of a shimmery golden silk that gathered at one shoulder and left one bare. The dress skimmed all my curves and had a handkerchief hemline that fell halfway between my knees and ankles.
“You look absolutely divine, Sage.” Soren circled around me slowly, his fingertips skimming over the curls hanging down my back. His nose tickled the arc of my neck as he inhaled the scent lingering on my skin. “Divine,” he murmured as he placed an intimate kiss on my bare shoulder. My skin quivered in response, and my breathing became shallow. The touch of his lips sent my senses reeling. “Shall we go?” I opened my eyes and found Soren standing directly in front of me with a knowing smirk on his face.
Relativity (A Sage Hannigan Time Warper Novel #2) Page 9
