Rapture (Elfin Series) (26 page)

I cannot see my husband but I know he is here.
 I can hear his laughter around me, caged within the shadows.  I can feel his taunting eyes upon me as he watches and waits.

Blood rains down from my hair, splattering against the bodice of my wedding dress.
 I do not know to whom the blood belongs.  Myself?  My husband?  My sister?

“Adela!”
 My voice is hoarse as I grip a pew to pull myself over a slain cousin, Remus and his young wife, Valeria beside him.  I try not to think of the unborn child within her womb that will never see the light of day.

My nails dig deep into the flesh of the pine seatback.
 I cry out as the pew tears free from the floor and crashes atop Remus.  I stare in disbelief at the flames that crawl up through the new cavity I opened in the floor.  
How did I manage that?  Surely it is because the floor is severely compromised by the fire.

But as I move to step around Remus, I spy deep indentations where my fingers laid buried within the wood.
 I step forward to brush my fingers across the markings but a sickening squelch from below my foot makes me feel faint.   
Oh, my Lord!  Who did I tread upon?

I dare not look for fear of losing my nerve as I pick my way through the carnage.
 Dismembered body parts lie scattered before me like a gruesome puzzle.  Is this Lucien Enescue’s doing?  My husband’s brother was the one who butchered my family and stole the life of my brother as I watched in stunted horror.  I have never a more vile man.

My hands tremble as I clutch my stomach and lurch to the side, expelling the acid as it burns in my throat.
 I wipe my mouth clean but the taste of guilt lingers.  My chest rises and falls as the sound of crackling flames consume my mind.  The smoke is growing thicker, hanging heavily in the air before me.  Though much of it rises from the blistered slant of the church gable, the smoke pouring from the walls around me is suffocating.

The room begins to spin as I fight back the terror that grips me.
 “Adela!”

My voice is gravelly as I push back to my feet, ignoring the flames that seize the hem of my dress.
 The floor is unbearably hot on the soles of my feet but I press on, gritting my feet against the blisters that form.

Nothing seems as it should, almost as if I have awoken into a terrific nightmare.
 If only I could pinch myself and wake.

My sister’s golden hair should be easy to spot in the firelight but she is nowhere to be seen.
 “Adela, answer me!”

I slip on the blood slicked floor and crash to my knees before the altar, jarring my jaw so that I nearly bite my tongue in half.
 Blood seeps between my teeth, but I ignore it as the copious amounts of fabric from my dress shield my knees from the brunt of the impact.  

A terrible crash from behind sends me scrambling to my feet.
 I glance back over my shoulder to find the timbers nearest the door have collapsed, sealing me inside.  I can no longer see my brother upon the far wall.

“Help!”
 I stagger up the steps toward the altar, terrified. Flames eat away at the wooden crucifix before me.  Already half of the Lord’s body has been destroyed, the other portrays a gruesome reminder of the eternal torment my mother so loved to preach to me about when I was headstrong as a child.

Am I dead?
 Is this my damnation?

 
 My gaze lands upon a glint of silver and I lurch forward to retrieve a bloodied dagger, clutching it tightly to my chest as another memory envelopes me:
Adela’s wide eyes latch onto mine.  Mewling sounds rise from her throat as she thrashes against Lucien’s grasp.  The muscles along her forearms pull taut as she fights to touch my outstretched hands.

“It is time, brother,” Lucien growls as his gaze focuses on the moonlight streaming in through the windows.

“Time for what?” I whimper as I turn to face my new husband.

Vladimir smiles down at me, curling his finger along my cheekbone.
 “Do not fret.  It will all be over soon.”

Adela’s piercing screams tear at me as Lucien waves the silver blade before my sister’s eyes.
 She bucks wildly as his arms snakes about her chest and her cries give way to wailing pleas.

“No, please!”
 I beg as stinging tears blur my vision.  “Take me instead.”

Vladimir’s hauntingly handsome face shows no emotion.
 “The pain will only be for a moment.”

“Roseli-” Adela’s cry gurgles in her throat as the blade slices clean through her flesh.
 A thin red line appears first, and then a shower of blood cascades down from her neck, staining her pale pink dress.  Her eyes bulge as she fights from breath.  Delicate fingers attempt to staunch the outpouring.

I fall to my knees and the dagger clatters from my hands.
 My hair falls in a heavy veil over my face as I bow my head.  Salty tears stream down the curve of my cheeks, pattering against the heated floor.  Small puffs of steam rise from where they fall.  My shriek of agony weaves among the rafters of this desecrated church and up into the night.

That is when I smell it.
 The heady bouquet that clings to my skin is sweet, delicious.  My throat clenches as the scent rolls over me and I fight the urge to lick my lips.  I lower my gaze and notice fresh sheets of blood staining my corset for the first time.  It trails down from my throat and oozes into a deep, cleanly edged wound just over my heart.  The hole has already begun to mend, sealing over with a new layer of pale flesh.

Reaching up with quivering fingers, I touch the sticky warmth that adheres to my chest.
 “No, no, no!”  

I shake my head at the memory of Vladimir plunging the dagger deep into my chest, tearing flesh and scoring bone.
 The pain had been excruciating, but it paled instantly as a new pain surged through my veins.  The fires burned hotter than any mortal flame, charring everything in its path.  The darkness had come...but not fast enough.

It was all real!
 
I cannot breathe as mocking laughter draws my gaze upward and I meet the dark, maniacal eyes of Lucien Enescue perched among the charred rafters.  His long hair drapes about his shoulders, thickly matted with blood.  The flesh of his right cheek is scored deeply with claw marks.  His chin is layered red with fresh blood.  As he peels his lips back into a grotesque smile, I feel faint at the crimson that paints his teeth.  

The scent of death permeates the air around him as he leaps down to the floor before me in a billow of black silk.
 There is no sound as his feet connect with the ground.  Only the whisper of air shifting.

“She remembers.”
 His words feel like a thousand snakes writhing across my skin.  Goosebumps rise as I flail backward, scuttling away from his slow, purposeful approach.

My fingers snag in something moist and stringy as I frantically try to flee.
 I turn slowly toward my hand, terrified of what I might discover.  Tears roll unhindered down my grimy cheeks.  Lifeless blue eyes stare back at me as I untangle my fingers from my sister’s golden strands.  

“Adela!”
 I wail as the room begins to darken around me.  My head grows unusually light as I blink against my shock.  

The wooden floor trembles beneath my hands as something lands beside me, but I can only see my sister.
 A clean gash is carved into her throat, cut deep to her spine.  I can see bone protruding from the wound and realize her head is only partially attached by a thin layer of stretched skin.  The blood that spilled from her wound has already begun to congeal against her ashen chest.

It is not this wound that consumes my attention, but the semi-circle of teeth marks on the tender flesh nestled in the hollow of her neck.
 A tremor rises through my body at the taste of Adela’s blood on my lips.  
I bit her!

“Guard the door, Lucien.” A husky voice seems to call from the distance.
 “I do not want to be disturbed.”

“But the fire-”
 Lucien’s protest cuts off and I hear him move away.  

My vision blurs as a dark face appears before me.
 I try to focus as strong hands press me roughly to the floor.  I know that I must fight back, to scream for help but my thoughts splinter.

I can feel my skirts being lifted and a weight pressed down upon me.

“Congratulations, my dear.”  Cold fingers slide down my inner thigh as the hard voice of my husband whispers in my ear.  “Your first kill.”

Tears spill down my cheeks as my head rolls to the side.
 I stare into the unseeing eyes of my sister as my husband takes me for the first time.

Enjoy this Excerpt from

Never Let You Fall by Michele G Miller

Never Let You F
all

Michele G Miller

PROLOGUE

“Skye?” 

A distinctly male voice called out to me.

“Skye?  Can you hear me?”

As the voice kept barking questions, something warm touched my cheek.  My head lolled back as I tried to pry my eyes open to see who was yelling at me.  They wouldn’t cooperate, and my head spun dizzily. 

“What the hell are you trying to do to yourself, Skye?”  The voice asked, as I felt myself being lifted into a strong pair of arms.  I rested my head on his chest and closed my eyes as he carried me away.

“Skye?” the voice whispered in my ear.  I could hear a touch of fear in his voice.  It was deep and strong and laced with panic. 

Groaning, I rolled over slowly. “Stop shaking me,” I heard my voice reply.  I was so groggy I couldn’t tell what was up or down, and my stomach and head felt as if I’d been on a boat for weeks, they were so topsy turvy. 

I felt something hot touch my ice cold head again, as a worried sound was emitted from my male companion.  I actually felt myself push into the warmth, trying to seek out more. 

“Skye?  What did you do tonight?” his familiar voice asked.  Why was it familiar?  I couldn’t make out who he was.  I tried again to open my eyes, but found myself starting to retch.

“Damn,” he spat out; the panic in his voice gone now as he rolled me over.  I emptied my stomach of the mostly liquid diet and I was spent.  The smell was so revolting, and I wanted to remove my clothes, but I couldn’t get my arms to cooperate with my brain.  Or perhaps it was my brain that wasn’t functioning properly?  I choked out a sob and asked my rescuer to help me, but there was no answer.

“Hello?”  I called out weakly, as I lifted my head and tried to take in my surroundings through my tear-blurred and alcohol-induced hazy vision. 

“C’mon,” he replied, startling me from behind. “Let’s get you cleaned up so you can sleep this off.” 

I could feel him as he sat me up and struggled to pull my vomit-stained shirt off.  I tried to help him, but all I succeeded in doing was rolling from one side to the other.  After a few moments, his strong arms picked me up again and carried me into a bathroom.  He easily placed me into the shower, holding me up under my arms, while he stood behind me.  I felt the hot water begin to stream down my front.

Xander

I was sickened by her behavior, again, as I stood in the shower and held her in my arms.  Her head hung low, as the water hit her hair and streamed down in a waterfall; rinsing vomit from the long, dark brown strands.  She was so wasted, her entire weight rested on my arms.  If I were to let go of her, she would collapse like a rag doll. 

I gritted my teeth as I thought about what she was doing to herself time after time, going to parties and drowning her sorrows.  She was running from something she would never be able to outrun - not on her own anyway, she just didn’t know it yet.  I’d been watching her from afar for so long, but that night I couldn’t help myself.  I couldn’t watch her kill herself anymore. 

  My arms were wrapped around her waist, and my fingers skimmed the soft skin of her ribs below her breasts.  It was torture!  Removing her shirt had been necessary, since it had been covered in vomit and liquor.  Standing behind her, I tried to keep my hands from roaming over her bare skin too much.  Her low rise jeans were slipping down from the weight of the water, revealing more and more of the small of her trim back.

I needed to get away from her - and quickly - because the longer I stood with her in my arms, the harder it was for me to remain aloof. 

As her Guardian, I was not supposed to make contact with her.  I was to watch her from afar and keep her safe until it was time for her to learn about us.  As I thought about the consequences I would probably face because of this night, I felt her shoulders start to shake.  She was crying quietly and I leaned in, trying to hear what she was mumbling.

“Are you safe?” she whispered brokenly over and over.  I remained quiet for a few minutes, waiting for her to say more, but she just kept repeating herself.