Blood Curse (Pulse #8) (15 page)

          “She guards herself well,” said Samson. “But the heart is often the least protected organ of all – because it was the one she least expected would fall before another's assault. Nothing could penetrate that hardened stone – or so she thought.”

          Kalina decided to change the conversation. “We have to go after them. Wherever they went. Oh, Jaegar – what if she found her way into that other world? And took Octavius with her?” The thought was almost too terrible to bear. “What if we can't find him again?” Tears filled her eyes at the notion.

          She could sense Jaegar's dejection, his envy. She knew what he was wondering. If she lost him, would she have such tears for him?

          “Sure we will, Kal,” Jaegar forced a smile onto his face. “Do you have any clue where they went?”

          “I had such a strong connection with her before,” said Kalina. “I could see and feel almost everything she felt. But now I can't. I feel nothing of her. It's like she figured out about onto me...and blocked me.”

          “Maybe it's because of me,” Max said. “After all, your bond to me was stronger because of all that was happening to me. Perhaps our pull – strengthened by the diamonds – has replaced the bond between you and her.”

          “Mom!” Kalina hugged her mother tightly. “My bond to you
should
be stronger. But I still don't understand why we resemble
her
so closely!”

          “She's the Queen of Vampires,” Max said. “If we are really carriers, then I guess it makes sense that we'd resemble her in some way.”

          “But I've lost my connection with her.” Kal's voice trembled. “I don't know where they are. Now I'm afraid that they've vanished into another world – that I'll never see Octavius again...”'

Chapter 18

         
K
alina couldn't bear the thought. Losing Octavius had been hard enough when she had thought of him as in this world, in
her
world, still attainable, if she only tapped in violently enough to the telepathic energy that connected them, if she only gave into the power that allowed her to see into his mind, and his into hers. No matter how far away he'd been, no matter how desperately he'd been placed under Nereti's spell, Kalina had always maintained a faith in their connection. She believed in him. She believed in their love. She believed that, no matter who else he loved, who else glamoured him, their telepathic bond was stronger than any other magic, any other vampire power. No longer. Now, Octavius might be in another universe, another world – a place that she could never reach or understand. Now, for the first time, Kalina began to wonder if her beloved Octavius were really well and truly lost.

          But she had no time to dwell on the sadness that reared up like a savage beast in her heart. A loud roar began to echo in the cave. The sound of rocks, tumbling. Rock after rock, boulder after boulder, began to shift.

          “Someone's coming.” Jaegar's ears pricked up with animal precision. “We have to get out of here, now!”

          Jaegar led them out of the cave. But no sooner had they escaped into the moonlit desert sands than they spied Nereti's army standing before them, led by that same, wicked-looking minion Kalina had only hours ago sent away. This one, whose name she did not know, had broad, powerful shoulders and a face marked by cruelty, with high, small eyes and a narrow, white-lipped smile.

          “My Queen.”

          Kalina could see into the savage red eyes of all his vampire brethren. They looked angry. More than angry, she thought. They looked like they were high on bloodlust. Like they were hungry. Kalina gulped. Very hungry.

          “You led us on a wild goose chase, my Queen.” The voice was a contemptuous voice – insubordinate. Kalina was shocked. No vampire would ever speak like that to Nereti, not unless he wanted his head forcibly torn from his body. It was an outlandishly foolish proposition, speaking like that to an Empress. Unless he didn't believe she was an Empress after all.

          She put on her haughtiest face and drew herself up to her full height, hoping he did not see the fear in her eyes. “What did you say to me, fool? What are you doing back here? Did you find the diamonds or not? That's all that matters to me!”

          “We have not found the diamonds,” the minion's voice was low. “We travelled halfway there, and then I sent our very fastest, our swiftest scouts on ahead to scope out the terrain. And they all came back saying the very same thing. There is not a single cave, nor a single mine, in that region. But why would our Queen send us on a wild goose chase such as this, we asked? Why someone as formidable and wise as Nereti?”

          “Because,” Kalina said, her voice as cold as ice, “it was Nereti's will. Do you not think that someone as wise, as brave as Nereti – as you yourself say – might have a plan that the pitiful likes of you could not comprehend? Is that not more likely?”

          “I may not have seen your face up close, my Queen,” the vampire took a creeping step forward. “But I have gotten face to face orders from you before. And in all that time, never once have you ordered an entire army to go to a location without sending a scout out ahead first. You are notorious for using as few troops as possible, for minimizing waste. So why change the chase now?”

          “These are important diamonds,” Kalina snapped, hoping the vampires wouldn't hear her heart fluttering in her chest. “And it is not for you to question my demands, underling.”

          “Yet you send all your troops to gather something priceless? You trust even the most foolish of under-soldiers with your prize?”

          Kalina began to falter. She knew that she was lost. The vampires suspected something – that much certain – and there was only so much time she could gain by stalling. “I...”

          But Jaegar cut in.

          Before Kalina could speak, Jaegar had sprung forward, his ivory fingers tight against the vampire's long, sinewy neck.

          “A-a-ah,” the vampire minion gurgled as Jaegar lifted him clean off his feet. His feet kicked lamely against the empty air.

          “Come any closer,” Jaegar's voice was low and dangerous. “And his life will be forfeit. Mark my words.”

          The vampires looked nervous, exchanging glances and glares among themselves.

          One rogue stepped forward, a cruel smirk upon his face. “So be it,” he said. “What is one vampire among many? Kill him, and we will swarm you gladly. What we want, what we lust for, what we
ache
for – is blood. Spilled blood. We have not seen such blood for a long time, and we are itching to spill it anew.”

          He signaled to the other vampires to follow him.

          “Looks like there's no loyalty among you rogues.” Jaegar's voice did not falter, though Kalina could sense his fear. “So be it.”

          In a flash, Samson had thrown the ruby-encrusted stake over to Jaegar, who caught it deftly between his fingers. There was no time for the vampire minion to protest – or to scream. Jaegar had driven the ruby-encrusted stake deep within his chest, and the vampire turned to dust.

          The battle had begun.

          Kalina's heart was pounding. Around her, a series of images so surreal it felt like a dream. So many vampires – swarms upon swarms of opponents – coming toward them like the tidal waves of a flood. She and Jaegar, Justin and Samson, were fighting off as many as they could, but no matter how many they turned to ash, more kept on coming. Her Life's Blood was boiling; she was sweating – exhausting – overloaded – and still they kept on coming.

          They fought for hours – no, Kalina thought, it had been days, now. She had lost the ability to tell the time. She had lost the ability to notice sun or moon. All she could tell was that she was so hungry, that she was so tired, that she ached with an ache that was beyond any pain or understanding. She could not bear the sensation. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see Max fighting – Max, weakened through her ordeal, Max needing food, Max, as tired, maybe even more tired, than she was.

          They had to survive. There was no way they could survive. There were too many of them.

          They would die of exhaustion – of sun – or something. At some point, they would not be able to go on. There was Samson and Max, Jaegar and Justin, Kalina – five against so many thousands.

          And then one vampire sword met the flesh of Samson's upper arm.

          The sword flashed red with light and blood.

          Samson screamed out loud as Kalina saw what had happened. Samson's severed arm, lying there upon the dirt. The strongest of them – laid low.

          “Retreat!” Samson's voice sounded out. “Retreat.”

          They scrambled back into the caves; Samson found a boulder, and with the last of his strength he shoved it against the opening to the cave.

          “That'll hold them off,” he gasped, barely able to get the words out through his pain. “Long enough for us....”

          “We can't go on!” Kalina said. “We need to find a way out.”

          “Not all of us,” Jaegar's face was grim. “They're full of blood lust and anger. Now that they've injured one of us, their resolve has been renewed. They're confused, lost, desperate. Their real queen and general are nowhere to be found. If we don't distract them here, who knows what they'll do? Maurade, ravage, go into nearby towns and villages, kill everyone they see...”

          Max was coughing up blood. Her thin frame was shaking.

          “Look at her!” Kalina cried. “She can't go on. She hasn't eaten for two days. I know she has Carrier blood in her, but she's a human. She needs food.” Her stomach growled with what she had not dared to say.
So do I.

           
“We need to get you two out of here.” Jaegar's eyes were dark and grim. “You need to run. The rest of us will hold them off.”

          Kalina's stomach dropped as she realized what he meant.

          “We can't go at once or they'll follow. We three will fight. You two need to fly...you need food. You need to get us help.

          “You can't hold them off...” Kalina's voice faltered. “Not with just three of you. Two – because Samson's lost a hand...”

          Jaegar pulled Kalina so close that she could smell the heat of him. He kissed her violently, passionately, a kiss that sent her reeling with desire and with fear. The kind of kiss you only give when you know you're saying goodbye.

          “I love you, Kal. And with my last breath I will defend you, and your kind. You and Max cannot die yet. It's not your time. You need be strong, Kalina...”

          “No!” She couldn't be strong without him.

          “You need to lead other carriers, rebuild the vampire consortium against these kinds of vampire, against all evil, you need to live on. I'll fight them off. I'm the strongest one left. I can take on these peons...” He grinned, and he was almost like his old self again. “As if they're nothing. Please, Kal. Let me do this. Let me give you your life. And if I can't live to be with you, if I can't live long enough to see you live your life, then at least let me go out this way. In a way befitting of my love for you.”

          She could not hold back her sobs. “Jaegar, no, please! You can't mean this. It's not goodbye – it's
not
.”

          But in her heart, she knew it was. As Max pried her out of Jaegar's arms, she knew that this goodbye would be forever.

          Max's arms were around her, Max was pulling her, Max was flying with her, through the air, and Jaegar was getting smaller and smaller.

          She could hear Jaegar's voice echoing to her on the wind.

          “This is the day all the good vampires, all the humans who know our story, will remember. The day that we, the last remaining members of the Consortium, defended to the death all that is good, all that is pure. All that is life.”

          She could hear the boulder being rolled away.

          “Charge!”

Chapter 19

         
T
hey were flying as fast as they could. Kalina's adrenaline was pumping through her; her blood was boiling within her veins. Her arms were around her mother's waist, barely keeping her up; she could feel how exhausted Max was, after her injury; how much she needed to eat. She was numb, utterly numb. Jaegar might be dying in the battle below, but she couldn't feel it. She'd gone through so much in the past few hours that she was unable to feel anything at all. Her pain was a dull, white force, like a fog, that obscured her from the reality of what was happening. All she could focus on was the need to get back to town, back to the hotel, to get something to eat.

          “There are lots of street vendors nearby,” Max said. “I'll get us some food, okay. You go to the hotel. You need to recharge.”

          It was so strange, Kalina thought, to be in such a crowded place, such a crowded,
normal
place, when a battle was raging on a few minutes' flight away. As she sat on the hotel bed, the silks so soft beneath her skin, she could almost believe that she was a normal girl, a normal human being. That her life was anything other than what it was.

          In the corner was Jaegar's bag, slumped over a chair. She noticed it with a pang. How could it be that Jaegar was risking his life miles away – and she wasn't there to see it? She walked over to the bag and brushed it lightly with her fingers, trying to inhale the scent of him, trying to breathe in one last breath of his sweat, his musk, the intoxicating aroma of his body.

          She saw it glittering in the bag. At first, she was not sure what it was. She reached out her hand and picked it up: a glimmering ring. An enormous diamond, in an old wooden box that had fallen open, a dark wood so deep it was nearly black. At first, she thought, it looked like --- could it be? A diamond ring...