Betrayal (Blood Haze: Book Three) A Paranormal Romance (24 page)

I brought my hands together, merging the
vortex into one. I brought it down like a protective shield around
Father Jacobs. I could use it to knock back any wraiths that neared
him. It was almost over.

Another wraith broke away from the pack, but
I barely noticed. I was concentrating so intensely on protecting
the priest, that I hardly perceived the fourth wraith’s actions.
The group of three wraiths neared Father Jacobs, and I thrust the
walls of the vortex outward, propelling them away from him. It was
then that I heard the sickening slurp of something piercing flesh,
and I heard Alexi grunt in agony.

All of my attention was instantly diverted to
Alexi. The fourth wraith had hurled a broken tree limb at Alexi,
and it was now lodged firmly in his chest. He collapsed into my
arms, and I lowered him gently to the ground.

In the seconds following this diversion,
things happened to quickly it was hard to understand what was
transpiring. Alexi was all I could see, but I was vaguely aware
that the other three wraiths had descended on Father Jacobs. He
fell silent. Without him, all hope was lost.

I held Alexi in my arms, trying to decide
what to do. Alexi might have only seconds to live, but if I didn’t
gain control of the wraiths we would
all
die. All I could
see was Alexi. Nothing else mattered. It wasn’t that I didn’t care
about my mother, my brother, Jamie, Will, and even Dmitri. It was
that my mind literally would not focus on anything else. Everything
else was blotted out by some giant black screen, and he was the
only thing that existed.

The terror that I might lose him enveloped
me, and I began to tremble violently. My field of vision erupted
into the familiar Blood Haze, and I tore the branch from Alexi’s
chest and hurled it away.

Time nearly stopped as his head lay cradled
in my lap. His violet eyes looked up at me with pure adoration –
and trust. He knew I would save him. The pain began to creep over
my body, and my hands closed over his wound. I closed my eyes, and
concentrated on funneling my energy into him.

I could now hear the last words of the
exorcism being uttered, but they came not from Father Jacobs. Jamie
was reciting them. Through working with him to help him memorize
the words, Jamie had learned them, too. In slow motion, I heard her
voice – deep and slow, saying the last word.

I looked down at Alexi, expecting him to be
recovered. Instead, his eyes were closed and he lay motionless on
the ground. I fought desperately to funnel my life into him, but
nothing happened.

“No!” I shrieked. “Alexi! You said it would
be easier! You promised!”

Tears began to sting my eyes, and pain seized
my body in a way it never had before. I couldn’t keep going much
longer. I could feel my own life force draining for my body, yet
something was blocking it from entering Alexi. Something was
preventing my life from saving his. My mind raced, frantically
trying to understand.

The darkness
, I thought.
Maybe the
darkness has taken over, and it won’t let the light inside him.
What can I do?

“Alexi!” I cried. “What can I do?”

My body still trembled violently, more so
than ever before. The trembling and pain of using my Grace was
interlaced with the terror that I might lose him. My teeth rattled
together so loudly, it was almost deafening.

The talisman
, I thought suddenly.
Maybe the talisman somehow absorbed the darkness, and it’s
holding it inside him.

I had no idea what I was doing, but I reached
inside Alexi’s wound and began to search for the talisman. It had
to be inside him somewhere, but I had no idea where. I didn’t know
how much longer I had, but I was desperate to find it. Finally, my
hand brushed against something cold and hard. My fingers closed
around it, and I pulled.

In my hand, covered in Alexi’s blood, was an
ancient talisman. It was forged from a solid orb of gold, and it
was carved with dozens of symbols I could not decipher. It hung
from a golden chain. I glared at it for a second, and then cast it
aside in angst.

I placed my hands over his wound, and once
again tried to channel my life into him. This time, my hands glowed
brightly, and my Grace passed into him with ease. The trembling
began to subside, and the pain that had wracked my body dissipated.
I felt only the golden warmth of my life and Alexi’s melding
together. It was pure, and it was beautiful. I felt him.

His eyes opened, and I heard the familiar
whir of time returning to normal. I gasped, and he looked up at me
adoringly.

“Alexi!” I cried, throwing my arms around his
neck and sobbing gratefully into his hair.

“Alice, my darling,” he whispered, still
weak.

I heard a devious chuckle, and I turned my
eyes toward it. Dmitri bent down and his fingers grasped something.
As he stood up, I could see the chain dangling from between his
fingers. He put the chain around his neck, still dripping with
Alexi’s blood, and he touched the golden orb fondly. I menacing
grin curled up on his lips, baring his teeth as he snarled.

“I knew it would work!” he growled. “You lot
are
pathetic
. You fell for my little con, hook, line, and
sinker. To think… you actually though I was afraid!”

He cackled with glee as he thought of his
deception, and then he turned his eyes down to Alexi.

“Pity,” he growled. “I thought for sure you
were a goner this time.”

He glared at Alexi with contempt. I could
hardly contain my rage. Alexi had almost died because we thought we
were trying to help him, and Dmitri could not have cared less. I
narrowed my eyes, preparing to attack him. He held his hand up and
grinned at me with amusement.

“Uh, uh, uh!” he warned. “I wouldn’t, little
girl.”

In a flash, he disappeared.

I sat in confusion for a moment, and then I
snapped back into reality. I looked around me, frantically
searching faces to see if everyone was alive. Kai was lying on the
ground a few feet away from where Dmitri had stood. He looked
shaken, but fine. My mother, Will, and Jamie, were all crowded
around Father Jacobs, who was lying motionless on the ground. I
started to get to my feet, but my knees were wobbly, and they
buckled.

“You cannot help him, darling,” Alexi said
gently. “You are too drained.”

“I can’t just let him die!” I argued, trying
once again to stand, but failing.

“He’s already gone,” my mother mourned. “It’s
too late.”

“No,” I whispered, overwhelmed with
emotion.

Father Jacobs had done so much for us, and we
had failed him. He had saved all of us at the cost of his life.

“It is alright, darling,” Alexi comforted me.
“He knew the risks.”

“I failed,” I moaned. “I couldn’t see
anything but you, and I failed him.”

“It is over,” Alexi said. “There is nothing
you can do. We can only look forward.”

“What are we going to do about Dmitri?” I
asked.

“Let’s go home,” Alexi suggested. “We can
talk about it when we get there.”

Alexi hoisted me into his strong arms and
carried me to the car, while Kai and Will carried Father Jacobs’
body. We would have to call his church and have them claim it for
burial.

It was a somber ride home, but I still felt
intense relief. I did not know what was to come now that Father
Jacobs was gone and Dmitri was armed with his talisman, but Alexi
was still with me. I knew we could face anything as long as we were
together.

*****

Book four in the Blood Haze series is coming
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*****