Blood Curse (Pulse #8) (14 page)

          She strode out from behind the boulder and assumed an angry glare.

          “You swine!” Her voice was not her own. “Must I do everything myself? You come only now, now that I've fought off hundreds of these rogue vampires. Look at me – I've even ruined my clothing. And you will pay for the amount of time it took you to get here, you worthless fools. Now a mere handful of these rogues are left, without a single knowledge of the diamonds, of what they are and what they can do. We must go after them now. We must get the diamonds –
my
diamonds.”

          The thrill of adrenaline coursed through her. She couldn't think about anything, now. She had to
be
Nereti, and that was all.

          “Diamonds?” The head vampire looked confused.

          “Of course diamonds! Minion – whose name I do not care to remember – do you question me?”

          The look of terror in her minion's eyes told her that the ruse had been a success. “It does not matter, my Queen,” he said. “It is not for me to know. I humbly apologize for our latest, and hope that you spare us. We will march as fast as we can to go after them. Tell us where we  need to go and we shall go right away.”

          “To the East!” Kalina exclaimed. Back to Mongolia.” She thought quickly. It would take days for them to get there, and only in that cave would they have sufficient rubies to destroy the vampires.

          “To the East, then!” The minion bowed and scraped his way out of the cave, his army following behind him.

          Kalina looked around in relief. He was gone. The danger was averted. She felt tears of exhaustion stinging at her eyes.

          Around her, Samson was smiling, Justin was grinning, and Jaegar – well, Jaegar was looking at her with the greatest joy, the greatest devotion of all. “Sexy
and
smart,” he said, his fangs sparkling in the heart of his smile. “That's one of so many reasons that I love you.”

          Kalina almost smiled, but the sight of Max on the floor, out of the corner of her eye, stopped the smile upon her lips.

          And then she noticed it – a trick of the eye, she thought bitterly, designed to prolong her pain. A twitch – no, it wasn't a twitch, just an illusion...

          Then Max twitched again.

Chapter 17

         
K
alina could hardly dare to hope. She had suffered, already, suffered and mourned; her heart had already broken. She had seen Max die; she had felt her – her mother – grow limp and lifeless in her arms. She had watched as those beautiful, piercing blue eyes – the eyes that made her feel so safe, so warm – closed for one final time. She had seen it all and wept.

          Surely she must be imagining things! She wanted Max to live so badly – she had hoped so badly for some miracle – that she was making things up, creating illusions, mirages, hallucinations, whatever you called them – all with the same result. She was deluding herself into happiness.

          Max was dead. Her mother was dead. Her mother had died for the second time. There was no use in denying it; there was no point in pretending that anything was different. Her mother was dead, and she was an orphan, alone in the world.

          But then Max twitched again.

          Kalina did not know what to think. She could not bear to think at all. She could only feel – feel her heart patter faster with anticipation, feel her blood boil and rip through her veins, feel her breath grow hot and shallow within her lungs.

          Max opened her eyes.

          For a moment Kalina stood there, shocked, overwhelmed, overcome, unable to make sense of what she saw. For a moment Kalina remained, convinced that she was lying to herself, that this was only a trick of her mind, a cruel trick her mind was playing on her, to make the pain that much keener, that much sharper, when she realized it again. She could no longer trust her mind. She could no longer trust life to keep her away from pain.

          But Max's eyes were open, wide open, and they were staring straight at her.

          “Max!” It was Justin's voice that woke Kalina from her stupor. Justin had seen it too – this was no trick – this was no illusion.

          Max was alive.

          “Mom?” Kalina's own voice sounded parched and strange in her throat. Someone else's voice, it seemed. Not hers. “Mom...are you...”

         
Are you what? Alive? Okay?
She hardly knew what to say. Her lips were dry and cracked with tears.

          “K-k-k....” Max's lips were trembling, but the sound made its way out. The first letter of Kalina's name.

          “You're alive!” At last Kalina could spring into action, spring into life. “You're alive,” she cried again, hardly daring to believe what was happening. She looked up with pleading eyes at Justin. “What do we do? How can we help her?”

          Justin's eyes were shining with tears of joy. “I...I don't know.' He stammered. “I mean...I deal with human patients. Normal human patients. This isn't exactly my field...”

          “Can we take her to the hospital?”

          “I...uh...I mean, I guess that's what you'd do...you know, normally. But Max – I mean, Mom – she's not an ordinary patient, is she? They'd ask a
lot
of questions. And I don't know if things like X-Rays really matter...when it comes to a Carrier. I mean, you're not exactly normal human beings.”

          Kalina felt the sting. She said nothing, but inwardly she recoiled. It was true, wasn't it – what Justin said? She and Max, whatever they were, weren't human. She knew that, deep down, but somehow she hated to be reminded of it.

          Kalina looked up at Jaegar, whose expression was torn. “I could offer her my vampire blood,” he ventured softly. “Or you can offer yours.”

          It wasn't even a question. Before he had finished speaking, Kalina had bitten deeply into her own wrist, letting the pain flood through her as droplets of blood gathered on Max's pale lips. She watched as Max's tongue darted out, as she drank the Life's Blood down.

          Then she sat straight up, her eyes wide and bulging. She retched, once, then began to cough violently, vomiting up all the blood in a single, sickening motion.

          Kalina's mouth fell open in shock. How could it be? How and why was Max rejecting Carrier blood?

          “Let me try!” Jaegar bit into his own wrist, and fed Max from it. But still Max was rejecting the dark liquid, spitting it up like a recalcitrant baby.

          “What's going on?” Jaegar looked almost hurt. “That's a first. Nobody's ever rejected my blood like that before...”

          “I don't understand.” Kalina's brow furrowed with confusion. “Why is she rejecting our blood?”

          Max's coughing grew louder. Her chest racked with the upheaval. At last she was able to make out a few words. “The diamonds...” she whispered, croaking hoarsely, “I need some. My body – it craves...”

          Kal looked up at Jaegar in surprise. There were a few diamonds left over, she knew, in the leather pouch he was carrying.

          “This?” Jaegar asked her.

          “Yes!” Max's voice grew violent. “Give them to me!”

          In shock Jaegar handed her the pouch, automatically.

          Max ripped it open in a single motion.

          “Wait!” Jaegar cried. “If it disintegrates vampires – how do we know what it'll do to you?”

          “You don't,” rasped Max. “But I need it. Now.”

          She poured the diamonds into her palm. Nothing happened.

          Then she swallowed them down whole.

          “Mom!” Kalina cried in horror. Surely nobody could survive swallowing diamonds. They were the hardest substance on earth – they would lacerate the organs – they would kill her.

          “I can't help it...” Max was shaking. “I must have it. Must...have...”

          Jaegar stepped up closer to Max. He showed Kalina her wounds. There, where Max had been crushed, tiny pieces of diamond were embedded into her skin.

          “She must have fallen on one of the piles of ash where the vampires were disintegrated,” he said softly. He took a twig and brought one of the pieces closer.

          “Holy...smokes.” He looked up at Kalina in surprise. “It's not a diamond at all....” The piece was glowing a bright white color.

          “Whatever it is,” Samson said gruffly, “it's working. Look.”

          Max was no longer desiccated, no longer wrinkly or gray. She was as beautiful, as vibrant as she had ever been.

          “What's going on?” Kalina couldn't believe her eyes.

          “I don't know...” Max was starting to talk like her old self again. “I think it's one of the elements in the Life's Blood. It must be. There was something like this in the box we found in the doctor's house in China – perhaps it's one of the base ingredients of Life's Blood....”

          “I've never seen anything like this before,” Justin said.

          “It's not of this world,” cut in Jaegar authoritatively.

          “You mean it's from space?” Kalina turned to him with questioning eyes.

          “Possibly,” Justin said. “But not likely. I think – I think it's from a completely different universe altogether. Something...old. Something...magical. Can't you just feel it?” He gave a little laugh. “A couple of years ago, I'd never be talking like this,” he said. “I didn't even believe in the supernatural. But now...”

          “Everything's different,” Kalina echoed him softly.

          “It's from the world where the first vampires originated,” Jaegar said. “The world where Nereti was born. No wonder she wanted them so badly.”

          “So that's why she's the only vampire who can handle touching it.” Kalina's eyes widened with realization. “Humans can, Carriers can, but not other vampires – except for her. And her kind. Whatever that means. What is her
kind
?” She smiled softly. “All I know about other kinds of vampires I know from the movies. Or from you.”

          Jaegar laughed. “Humanity needed to explain us. So we're relegated into the media as one kind, one thing. Sparkly vampires excepted, of course. But we're more complicated than that. There are many kinds of vampires....or so I'm starting to think. Because Nereti isn't like us.”

          “So how do we get to this other world? Where Nereti's from? Is there a portal, a ley line, a gateway...anything?”

          “I don't know,” said Jaegar. “But we're near some of the oldest places in human civilization. If there were to be a portal, it would be a pretty good guess to suppose it's somewhere around here. Don't you think?”

          “Then...” It was all coming together in Kalina's mind. “That's probably what Nereti's trying to find. She's trying to head back there.”

          “Head back there? Why would she do that?”

          “I don't know...” Kalina faltered. “I know her plans were to stay here, to take over humanity, to enslave us all. But she wants something else now, too. She wants to go home. I felt it in her. I saw it in her. When I shared her thoughts. Something different, that made her long for home. I think...I think she was scared.”

          “Scared?” Jaegar scoffed. “Nereti? I highly doubt that...”

          Samson stepped forward, a serious expression on his face. “What brought
that on?
” He turned to Kalina. “It could be important. What's her weakness?”

          “Octavius,” Kalina said softly.

          Samson and Jaegar looked at one another. For a moment, there was silence. Then both of them burst out into hysterical laughter.

          “Good old General!” Samson's laugh was hearty and deep. “I knew he had a plan. I just didn't think he would ever go so far as to...”

          “Go so far as to what?” Kalina couldn't understand what was going on. “He had a plan?”

          Samson looked over at Jaegar; Jaegar looked down, shuffling his feet. “If you've known the guy for over five centuries,” he said, “You'd be pretty sure that he had a plan. He always had a plan. I bet Octavius was born with a plan.”

          Samson nodded. “Octavius is one of the youngest, the very fiercest, one of the most august and venerated vampire generals for a reason, Kalina. He is a great leader, a very great leader. He'll do whatever he has to do to fulfill his obligations, to perform his duty. He made a solemn vow, Kalina, to protect all of humanity. To protect you. And that's what he did. He sacrificed more than his life for you. He sacrificed his mind. He was taken prisoner by Nereti on purpose, let him glamour her, became her general – all to distract her.” Samson chuckled. “He must have been a very good general indeed – and a good lover, if he's made Nereti fall for him.”

          Jaegar shook his head. “Amazing,” he crowed. “Well, I don't feel so bad having Octavius for a rival. He really is that good.”

Kalina turned scarlet. She didn't want to have that conversation now, in front of everybody, including her mother and brother. But she couldn't help feeling a twinge of anger. So, this was all a plan? Octavius had
chosen
to make love to Nereti? And he must have truly enjoyed her body, too, if he was able to act ecstatic so convincingly...

          Jaegar put a reassuring hand on Kalina's shoulder. “I know you care for him, Kal,” he said. “And you're worried about him. But if Nereti has feelings for him now, it's the best thing for all of us. Wherever they are, he'll be safe. Nereti won't harm him.”

          “She healed him...” Kalina's lips were trembling. “After she almost took out his heart.”

          There was something utterly macho about the way Samson and Jaegar smirked at one another.

          “I guess he slayed her in more ways than one,” Jaegar's cocky grin was spread across his face.

          “Jaegar!” Kalina was horrified at his levity.

          “Sorry,” Jaegar groaned. “I just can't believe Nereti would ever fall. I bet she didn't see
that
coming...”