The Unmaking (The Rayne Whitmore Series Book 1) (33 page)

            “She’s that powerful?” I
ask quietly. Clearly, I have a long way to go in terms of strength if I ever
hoped to be Zara’s or even this other woman’s equal.

            “Yes. Zara’s own cousin
Apollo begged us to take them in to let them live with the Immortals until
things had blown over. We agreed, but we also warned them that if they chose to
go back to their realm that we would not intervene in any of punishment if they
were caught.” 

            “For ten years, they lived
here together, happily. But then, the Dark Days came and a plague swept across
Asia. The plague only affected the supernaturals and made them feral, unable to
control their urges. They were like zombies, ferocious and deadly, but mindless
killers. To this day, no one knows how the plague started, because one day, it
just stopped. But, when that human heard about what was unfolding, she knew she
had to help. It was her nature, too many humans had been slaughtered already
and too many supernaturals had succumbed to the madness.”

            That must have been
horrible. How did such an event get covered up from history? I listen more
intently now, completely enthralled in hearing this revelation.

             “She and your vampire
went there. They did their best to clean up the mess, but it was just too much.
They had fought too many battles without stopping and a simple mistake cost the
human dearly. The human became mortally wounded and something inside Zara
exploded. That is the day that she came into her own gifts and became known as
the Crimson Princess. It is said that she massacred every single supernatural
in the area, whether affected by the plague or not. She was bathed in so much
blood that there was no speck of her caramel skin showing. When it was all
over, the vampire was forced to turn the human into one of her kind in order to
save her life.”

            If I wasn’t watching Diana
so closely, I might have missed it. Her fingers begin to tremble slightly and
it isn’t from the light breeze kissing us.

            “Yet, as you know, those
who are turned cannot stand daylight the way that one pure of the blood can, so
they were frequently forced in the shadows. Then as if fate was the cruelest
being to exist, the plague touched the newly turned vampire as well and Zara’s
heart broke even more. She called to us hoping that our blood would heal her.
We refused. Our blood is sacred; no vampire is ever allowed to drink from it,
for it is blasphemy.”

             Her voice becomes lower,
more passionate. It fills my ears in a deep echo. “The one who answered the
vampire’s call that day was not me, it was my brother. Not Lawrence, but Blake.
Blake refused her pleas and her requests for the blood and Zara did the
unthinkable. She… murdered my brother, blood raped him and let her newly turned
vampire drink from him as well. I don’t know what his blood did for Zara, but
the new vampire was saved, the effects of the plague reversed and she was able
to withstand the sun as if she were pure of the blood.”

            Her anger at the act
reaches me and causes my eyes to water. Without realizing it, Diana is calling
to her own power. “Please calm down a little bit Diana, you’re hurting me,” I
ask, reaching out to her. She tones it down, continuing as if I hadn’t spoken.

            “But, my brother was dead
and retribution was in order. Zara begged to be punished for the crime, but it
wasn’t enough, she wouldn’t suffer properly that way. We took her lover,
punished her and locked her away,” she finally finishes quietly and I sit there
dumbstruck, the entire story painted in my head.

            “I honestly don’t know
what to say. I mean, do you still have her imprisoned or is she dead? What’s
her name?”

            “She is still in our
tombs, in chains and put in a magical sleep. Her name is Sage. She was born of
a Japanese mother and a European father with fair skin, white hair and grey
eyes. She always looked like a fallen angel to me.”

            Now, she is sleeping
beauty, waiting for her crimson princess to rescue her.

            So, she’s been in chains
for nearly two hundred something years because Zara killed their brother. Because
the same Immortals who unmade her refused to save her. Would they do the same
to me, just ignore me if I needed to be saved? Is that why Zara so fiercely
wanted to protect me too? Did she really have to kill him?

            There are far too many
questions that I have no time for. I think I understand more now what Zara
wants. She’ll try to use me to get Sage back. The question is, will I let her?

            “How long, how long do you
plan on holding her like that?” I ask quietly, afraid to hear the answer.

            “Blake was one thousand
years old when he was murdered. She will stay as she is for every year of his
life,” Diana says as if it’s no big deal.

            I shake my head in
disbelief. “That’s too cruel of a punishment.” Plus the fact that time was
slower on this realm, it would be thousands upon thousands of years before she
was released.

            Diana laughs. “You know
nothing of our pain. We will never get our brother back, so why should she get
her lover back?”

            I frown. There has to be a
limit to punishment right? Especially if the actions were done out of love,
even if it were wrong. Maybe Zara didn’t have to kill him, but who could say
what I wouldn’t do to save Selene, how crazy I’d be if something happened to
her. “What about Zara’s pain? Why are they both being punished for her
actions?”

            “It is our way,” Diana
snaps still looking so uncharacteristically frazzled.

            “Diana, I think that it’s
time to let go now before Zara ends up killing someone else,” I begin.

            “That is not just up to
me. Lawrence has a say in it as well as our elders. And trust me, Lawrence’s
hate for that vampire runs much deeper than mine. Lawrence loved Blake more
than anything else in this world.”

            I sigh and stand up,
brushing myself off. “Then, let’s get to the reason why I summoned you in the
first place. Zara has determined that Namen is planning on making his move on a
day of an eclipse. It deals with the sun falling from the sky. I was hoping you
could lend your mind to tell us anything you may know that will help.”

            Diana gazes at the gently flowing
water, thoughtful. “Hmm. It sounds familiar and if I am thinking of the same
event, it is not the eclipse that will be the main concern, it is what can be
done under the power of this eclipse. What I can deduce is that the witch you
seek is going to capitalize on the fact that every couple hundred years an
eclipse lends the awakened enormous strength. Witches can perform such powerful
spells alone that you’d better pray to the creator that a group of them do not
attempt any such thing in numbers.”

            “You will not be able to
stand against him if he is to get his way. The human government will surely
tumble child. The best I can do is alert any of my Machaera to seek out any
unusual behavior that may be related and eliminate it in their regions that
they are protecting. It will be top priority. I hope that this small deed will
lend you some relief Rayne.” Diana sounds nearly apologetic this time. I nod to
my immortal, still not understanding why they will not intervene when they
could potentially save millions, and ask to be returned to my world.

            With my newfound knowledge
like a ton of bricks on my shoulders, I step through the circle of blinding light
wondering how in the hell did the fate of my country come to rest in my hands.

Chapter Twenty Nine

           
I
t’s a couple hours later when I get back due to the time
difference in each world, and unsurprisingly, no one is outside waiting for me.
I knock on the door and one of Anubis’s own answers. Then, I set off to look
for Selene and Zara, hoping they’ve made progress and needing to speak with the
vampire. Soon, I discover them in one of the larger guest rooms where Selene is
sitting cross-legged on the floor, sweating from the difficult task. Zara is
behind her, coaxing her to push harder. Neither one of them look up when I come
in the room.

            “Do not let the magic
consume you priestess. Do not let the blood become tainted. Zara’s eyes are
rimmed in red and with the smell of blood and the feel of Selene’s fear in the
air, I know that she is working hard to keep her composure.

            Finally, Selene falls over
and Zara catches her before her head hits the ground. I rush to her side and
take over for Zara, bringing Selene in close.

            “Is she going to be
alright?” I ask.

            Zara stands up from her
crouch and looks at the blood that’s now on her fingers with hunger. Then, she
looks at me and wipes it on her pant leg with a look of regret at letting good
blood go to waste. “She’s been at it since you were taken. It’s just exhaustion
setting in. Her chakra level is just low. But, she did the spell correctly.”

            I smile down at my
beautiful girlfriend and brush her hair and sweat from her face. Her soft
features make her look like a sleeping angel and at this moment I really wish
she had wings and could take us away from all of this. Finally, I look up at
Zara.

            “She told me about Sage,”
I say quietly, releasing Selene and pulling Zara into the hallway.

            “Did she? Hmm.”

            “What does that mean?”

            “I just wonder if she told
the truth.”

            “You mean if she told her
truth. Zara, you’ve lived long enough that you know people are blinded by
their own circumstances. You had a chance to tell me first, but you didn’t. Now
I only have one side of the story. So, what is your truth?” I ask calmly. I
lean against the wall with my arms crossed, frankly growing tired of the mind
games and round-about ways that these people operate.

            “My truth is that I had a
choice Rayne. I could have followed orders blindly and killed Sage without a
second thought, but I didn’t. I let my heart lead me. Those Immortals believe
themselves to be gods, better than any other race. If they are not worshipped
then they begin to hate those who they feel should worship them. They have no
sense of love for anyone but themselves. They wanted revenge on the human race
for not believing in them, so they abandoned her the way that they felt
abandoned by mankind.”

            We lock eyes as she lets
the weight of her words hit me. She definitely doesn’t want me to trust the
very people that made me what I am.

            “When Blake came to us, he
laughed at her weakness. He spit on her and told me that she was nothing but a ‘thing’
now. The fact that she was now vampire meant that there was no obligation to
save her, that she was beneath him. I went berserk. I was fueled with a rage
that I’ve never known before and I killed him, no I slaughtered him, drank from
him, and shared his blood with her to save her life. When it was all done, I
brought Blake’s body back to the Immortals for proper funeral rituals and then
I was ready to receive my punishment. Instead, she was the one they punished,”
Zara laughs bitterly.

            “They took me first
because I was compliant and bound me to a stone wall with their magics. I never
knew they had intended for her to be the bearer of the retribution. Once I was
magically bound and unable to fight back, they tortured her for days upon days
until she begged for a final death. I was forced to watch every aching second,
crying out for mercy that never came. It was horrible. She was a newly turned
vampire that barely had any blood to sustain her and they did that to her.
Then, they bound her in chains, and put her to sleep. I tried to save her, but
they sent me back and locked me out of their realm.” I feel the pain of her
words, her sorrow for her lover through our bond and I can’t help but reach out
for her hand, to offer her some small comfort.

            She looks at me and
smiles, gripping my hand firmly, but I still manage to feel its slight tremble.
“For years I wandered the Earth, unfeeling, uncaring. I’ve taken other lovers
of course out of necessity. Blood and sex often go hand in hand, but the hole
in my heart remained. I found out years later that members of the nine had
gotten permission from the Immortals to kill Sage should she become too much of
a nuisance. Those members I killed, brutally, and since then, no one in the
family has ever stood against me. I tried and tried to get her back, to find a
way back to their plane, but there was no hope.”

            Zara touches my face in
such an intimate way that I feel guilty and remove her hand slowly. She smiles
a sad smile and says, “Then, I met you Rayne. You, a small child, somehow
filled my soul with hope again. When I told you never to fear, it was like I
was telling myself that as well. I started to believe again that day. I feel
like our paths crossing was not a mistake. There is a reason that we were
brought back together as well. This is destiny. There is a bond between us
Rayne and you may not completely trust it or understand it yet, but we are the
keys to each other’s goals.”