Chapter THIRTY FIVE
Harrow
The primal survival instinct is stronger than fear. It can drive a savage heart to near madness if forced to choose between doing the unthinkable to survive or doing nothing and dying. As my eyes opened I could feel Michaela's need to feed. Her desperation called to me as she hunted the living to save the dead. To save her own life. She was my maker which made a connection between us stronger than any family ties or blood bonds associated with it. We weren't exactly soulmates since historically, when the creator died it was like a child learning that their mother had passed. No matter how far away they might be, all her children felt it and cried. That's what I woke up to. Even though I was weak and starving, my mother was hungry and hurt.
I vaguely remembered her screams as the light scorched the flesh from my body. In placesit had burnt straight through to the bone and the muscle that once made me such a dangerous creature was gone. I tried to get to my feet, but all my strength had been stolen as I laid there unconscious. The smell of fresh blood surrounded me and the need to feed took over. The need to kill one living creature too ensure my survival filled my mind as I scanned the floor. That's when I realized he was there. Barely breathing, but alive. His neck was torn open and like a pump, each heartbeat he took drained him and soon there wouldn't be any life left. If I didn't feed soon I wouldn't have the strength to do it.
I dragged myself towards him inch by inch with the knowledge that he wouldn't be the only life I would be forced to take. Despite my ideals about killing those that were innocent or could change their lives to build a better future, I didn't have that luxury any longer.
When push came to shove, I would kill and survive rather than starve and die. It was the circle of life. Humans ate everything that they encountered and my kind ate humans. That's just the way it was and right now I might not like the idea of it, but I would survive. I needed to survive.
The smell of his blood floated in the air as I climbed up onto his body. My stomach quaked with anticipation of the taste and my fangs slowly dropped. I needed to feed and the time had finally come. I avoided his eyes at all costs as I slipped close, ready to drive my fangs into the other side of his neck. I hated looking into their eyes and seeing how vulnerable they were, knowing that soon I would end their life. He smelled delicious and my fangs were about to dig in when he grabbed me. He threw me back with so much force thatI bounced off the wall and landed on the floor. A booming echo ricocheted away from us, lost in the darkness.
He swayed from side to side like an old tree caught in a strong wind. He wasn't as durable as he thought and looked completely drained. He considered himself a righteous warrior of humanity, but if he was going stop me, he was sadly mistaken. He was alone and in this state I might struggle to overpower him, but he wouldn't be able to fight me off. I had no choice in this and desperate times required cruel actions. He fell back against the wall, gasping for air.
"Don't feed, there's a blood spell. I don't have the strength to break it again."
That's when it came back to me like a forgotten dream. I was frozen and my body had been as hard as stone. I wasn't dead in the normal sense as I was locked inside my mind, screaming for help. There was no one to listen, though.
Nathanial's trap for me was cruel at best. Everything went numb and stiff except my mind. He designed a prison meant only for me. An isolation inside myself that I could never break.
"You broke the spell."
Renaud sat there, still reeling from it.
"Yes, but I won't be able to do it again." Placing his hand on his chest, he muttered "She stole it."
Trying to control the ever-taunting hunger that was consuming me, I asked, "What did she take?"
He almost fell over from exhaustion as he whined, "Murlin took my soul stone. She betrayed me."
"Renaud, she cannot betray you. She's a familiar. She has served us since the days of old. Created by Merlin in King Arthur’s Court to serve humanity as long as his bloodline exists."
Sadness filled his face as he stated, "Our bloodline has been corrupted. It's no longer mine to claim and her loyalty vanished along with it."
I still couldn't believe that Murlin abandoned us. That after giving her loyalty to our family generation after generation, it had ended like this. It ended with her trying to trap me and not only control Renaud, but steal the magic that was born inside him. In her hands, he could be forced to do her bidding. To be summoned and controlled.
"I don't believe that she has the power to betray you."
"Do you see her? She was here when I broke the spell and I woke up here like this. No,Murlin and my soul was gone. I don't know how, but she definitely broke her oath to serve and betrayed me in the process."
I felt her thirst. I tried to push Mihaela’s need to feed from my mind, but it was an impossible task. It was like living above a bakery and never getting to eat cake, or hearing your child cry out in pain and not being able to help them.
"We have another problem. Mihaela is in worse shape than I am and she is preparing to feed."
"If she does, she will face the same horror that you did." Lifting his arms, he said, "And I don't think I can break the spell again. Not now." This was no exaggeration. He was spent and pretty much used up.
I could see in his bloodshot eyes that there wasn't any kind of spark, just sadness. He was attached to Murlin. One needed the other to exist, and now it had been taken away.
I felt empty, like suddenly everything had no taste. My hunger vanished and I was alone. A chill grew inside me as I realized that she was gone. Such despair came over me and I could feel the tears streaming down my cheeks. My creator was gone and, for the first time in my life, I couldn't feel her presence. I was alone.
"She's gone."
"Mihaela is shut into herself." It was strange to look into his eyes and see the same kind of pain and emptiness staring back at me. We were brothers by birth and shared that unbreakable bond. Destiny had twisted our family’s ties until there was nothing left except hate.
Fate made us enemies on either side of an invisible line, yet at this moment in time we shared the same kind of grief. We shared a common bond in our misery.
Renaud climbed the wall as he got to his feet. Dried blood stuck to the side of his face, starting from his ears and going all the way down his neck. His legs were wobbly and his movements were slower than I had ever seen, but he was on his feet. He walked over and reached out his hand. I took it and as he pulled me up I asked, "What are we doing."
"Killing a gangster."
As I made it to my feet I added, "And saving an old flame."
I expected a smile or a laugh or at the very least a smirk, but he just rolled his eyes.
"Yes, that too.” He said it like it was the last thing on earth he wanted. If I were him, I would probably feel the same way.
After all, she had cheated on him with me of all people, blamed him for it, and then married another man.
Pointing, I said, “She’s this way, likely with the King.” I could still smell her perfume and it seemed obvious that where his prize was he would be also. We just had to follow my nose. The smell of freshly spilled blood was so alluring that I kept having to fight the urge to run after it. I was at my weakest point and it was a struggle not to feed, even though I knew that the consequences would be immense if I did. The other question was, whose blood was it? There was a very good chance that Mihaela killed the first person she met and if that person was Jenny, she was either dead or dying.
Renaud wouldn't have the strength to save her, and even if he did I don't think he would do it voluntarily.
"Let me deal with the King."
Laughing, I asked, "Don't think I’m strong enough to kill a middle-aged gangster?" If that were the case, he was sadly mistaken. Even in my current state, I might not be able to maintain it but I was still a lot faster and stronger then Renaud was.
"No, dumbass. This whole place seems to be vamp
ire-proof. Nathanial had Murlin guiding him and for all we know, she taught him things that we can't even image. Stay back and let me handle this." Smiling, he added,"For all we know, he had Mike walk around blessing the place."
I didn’t really know what to say. Nathanial certainly left me with a collection of unwanted gifts here. Blood spells and vampire traps might not have been the worst of it, either. Another thought that came to mind was, who killed him? At first, I thought it was Wilson and the King but now I wondered if it had beenMurlin. If she could betray Renaud, her sworn master, what else was she capable of? Murder?
“I am serious, Harrow. Don’t do anything stupid. Nathanial seems to have designed this place to trap you.” Twice now, he had saved my life. I was vulnerable and he could have easily just let me die. It was like old times. Renaud the hero always coming to my rescue.
“Okay, I’ll let you play the hero and win the girl,” I said with a grin.
Rolling his eyes, he said, “I never wanted to be a hero.”
A man jumped out at us, carrying a gun in one hand and one of those flashlights in the other.
“Stop or I’ll shoot!” he snarled, trying not to show his fear. His trembling hands were a solid indication that he knew he was in way over his head. We all were. He kept the light on Renaud at all times, rather than flash it from person to person like an experienced man would have.
"I don't want any trouble, I just want out of here. I was told to grab the high society bitch, that was it. Nobody mentioned anything about wild-ass priests or monsters that tear out hearts." He was just a scared kid with a gun, and like all kids he was looking to get out. Mike would have said it was a turning point in his life, but I am not as optimistic as he was.
"Where did you see the priest?" Renaud asked, trying to block the light with his arm.
Waving the gun around the kid snapped, "I ask the questions here!"
Renaud was getting tense as he demanded an answer.
"Where is the priest?" He was stepping towards him, pointing. "I asked you a question." The young stranger stepped back and in the process, he accidentally shot the gun and it went off with a loud bang and a flash of light. Renaud fell to the floor and rolled, groaning in pain and holding his side. Could a man die twice, I wondered? It would be ironic if my brother died twice.
"I said freeze!" he shouted, still waving the gun around like a mad man in a bank. You know, the ones from TV that get trapped and choose suicide or a gunfight rather than prison. This was probably a good thing, since I couldn't let anyone escape this place and Renaud wasn't the kind to kill unless he had no other choice. That's why he always forgave me my sins, no matter what I did in life. I always believed it was better to ask forgiveness than permission and Renaud always forgave me. “It’s your fault he got shot. I said freeze and you didn’t freeze.” He lowered the gun and said, “Let me go and nobody else has to get hurt. Just point me to the door and I am out of here.”
I ran towards him, grabbing his head on either side. He gave me a look of confusion and regret for a second. With a quick twist, I heard his neck snap and felt his body tremble. It was better this way. No witnesses meant no complications. When this day was over I wanted no more complications then necessary. His body went limp and I dropped it to the floor. I couldn't leave survivors, even if it meant being seen as a monster in my brother’s eyes. He always saw me as a monster, so if that's what it took to protect my secret so be it.
“You didn’t have to kill him,” Renaud said in shock as he laid there bleeding on the floor. “He was just a scared kid. A frightened child pulled into the wrong life.”
That was the Renaud I remembered. Too soft when times required a hard hand. Maybe, if he wasn’t such a softyI would be the crawling from the pits of Hell and he’d still be alive with a wife and a few kids.
“I had to do it.”
“Why? He’s only a boy.”
“A boy that would talk. I survive because nobody knows I am real. I can exist here because I am no more than a legend.”
A series on hollow stomps caught my attention. Blind in one eye and with the remaining one blurry, I couldn’t see who was running away, only that it was a big man. Not an athletic fellow, but still a large man. Renaud climbed to his feet, rubbing the gunshot wound as he whispered, “Munda.” Immediately,he clenched his teeth and winced in pain. His whole body trembled as he whispered the spell once again and slowly, little shards of lead started to poke out of the wound. Smacking the wall with his fists, he grumbled, “Munda,” as he nearly fell to the floor. His hands were trembling as he slowly placed it over the wound. “Sana!” I watched the wound start to heal, but it was slower than I expected it would be. Taking a deep breath, he whispered again, “Sana!”
“Seems to me you aren’t as powerful as you once were.”
Still red-faced and teary-eyed, Renaud muttered, “Seems to me that I used up a lot of my strength saving you.”
“Not saving me, just setting me free of my prison.”
“Same thing.”
We started walking and I responded, “No, I am already dead so you can free me, but not kill me. The best you can do is destroy me.”
We continued the childish banter about who would kick whose ass and such just like we had so many times before. I had spent so much time letting the guilt of his death haunt me that I forgot just how much I missed him. Maybe the family bonds weren’t broken. Time had just twisted them until I couldn't see we were still attached.
A figure was kneeling over something twenty feet in the distance. I couldn't make out who was there, only that there seemed to be a dead female lying motionless on the floor. The image of the man I killed previously must have still been in Renaud's mind, because he grabbed my shoulder firmly and whispered, "That's Mike. He isn't a witness, he's an old friend."
"I know who Mike is."
"Just don't kill him.
"Why would I kill Mike?"
"Opposite team’s kind of thing. You know our side and their side."
That's when I saw Mihaela lying there motionless, trapped in her own prison. I ran to her and touched her face, feeling the rough twisted skin that replaced the soft timeless flesh that had existed for so long. My sweet Mihaela was lost to me. Knowing she was gone and seeing the result were never the same thing. All the remorse came back like a flood pouring down a valley. I wanted to beg Renaud to free her. To smash down the walls that trapped her, but I knew well enough that it was impossible. He didn't have the strength to save her and even if he did, I don't think he would do it.
I turned back to Renaud and Mike and saw them kneeling over a young woman's body. Mike was gently stroking her hair,saying "She’s just a child. A goddamn child."
"I am sure that she will be alright." Picking her off the floor he said, "Take her out of here now, Mike. She needs to go to the hospital, but don't tell anyone where you found her. You can't tell anyone about any of this, Mike."
"So the King gets away with murder?"
"She's not dead, Mike."
Pointing to the body on the floor he said, "What about Holland there? He shot him right in the head because he disappointed him. He killed a man because he got his ass kicked by me."
It was the first time that I had ever seen Mike's eyes filled with hate and loathing. More shocking, was the fact that Mike had kicked his ass. Mike was still flying high on the vampire blood I gave him obviously, but it should have worn off by now, plus this Holland looked rather large.
"If you can beat the hell out of him I understand the disappointment part.” Mike was silent as Renaud passed her into his arms.
"Don't worry, I won't tell anyone about this place, but what about Jenny? I’m pretty sure he has her locked away in the little safe room that he has set up."
Renaud crossed his arms, "He will pay for this, just not in a prison. There's a special place in Hell for guys like him and I’m going to make sure that he gets there."
I couldn't help but laugh. M
ike was thinking figuratively, yet Renaud was talking literally. He had seen it and felt it, and would send him there to pay his penance. I wanted to shout out that my little brother was an authority on going to Hell, but Mike wouldn't understand the humor. It was probably best that he still thought of Hell as a metaphor rather than a location. He was still dealing with the idea that vampires existed. Why add more nightmares to his life?
At the end of the hallway three men stepped out into the dim light. They weren't the usual suit and tie gangster types that I had seen previously. No, these guys were wearing torn jeans and sleeveless T-shirts. They didn't gloat or taunt us like the wise guys. They just aimed and fired. Renaud grabbed Mike, using his body as a shield. Renaud groaned and shrieked in a pain as the bullets hit him.
Turning, he seemed saddened as he looked at the criminals firing at us and then to Mike,who was lying on the floor trying to cover the young blonde whore he seemed attached to.
"This has to end," Renaud said as he stepped further into the corridor. The splatter of bullets kept coming and they never seemed to miss. Holding his hands out he screamed, "vivus ardebit," and a flame travelled down the corridor and attacked the men. They were engulfed in the flames and one by one, they screamed and hollered until they collapsed onto the floor. I watched the flames flicker and fall until they slowly faded away. That was the great thing about magic. Fast, hot flames that exploded with such intensity that they burned anything in their path.
I have seen many men die since my change occurred. The guilty and the innocent alike. I never really felt comfortable with it, but it was usually forgotten rather quickly. Seeing Renaud fall to the floor though would not be easily forgotten. He wasn't dead, but he was lying there bleeding on the floor. I wasn't even sure bullets could kill him, but they sure did knock him on his ass. I would need to keep that in mind in case our recent peace was short-lived.
Looking down at Renaud, I decided it was time to end this.
"Sorry brother, but I’ll be breaking my promise to you. It's time I dethrone a King."
Chapter THIRTY sIX
Renaud