Blood of the Rose (35 page)

“Let’s hope someone can stop him. He is an arrogant fool.” Rhys took her hand and walked through into the inner circle. Rosalind shivered as her gods took note of her presence, and she sensed their alarm and concern.

“How did George get in here?” she whispered to Rhys.

“Elias has been here before, remember? Perhaps that’s why the gods let them through.”

Rosalind spotted two figures by the central altar and took a deep breath. “I see them.”

“So do I. Let’s approach with great caution.”

George leaned against the stone altar where Elias lay. George glowed vividly like a bird in full plumage in red satin with gold embroidery. Elias’s face was as pale as his gray silk doublet. A thin trickle of blood from a puncture wound on Elias’s throat marked a winding passage down the stone to the ground. Elias’s eyes were closed, but at least he was breathing.

“Ah, I see your rescuers have arrived,” George said. “I hoped you would be killed trying to get to me, but it seems you survived despite the odds.”

Rosalind met his gaze. “What do you want, George?”

Anger flickered in George’s dark eyes. “To make my ‘sister’ suffer.”

“And what does that have to do with us?”

“You have conspired with her to ruin me. You have made sure that Anne has turned against me, and so you will all suffer.”

“We have done nothing. If Anne no longer treats you with the respect you deserve, you should take the matter up with her. We are merely a small irritant, and far beneath your notice.”

George pointed a shaking finger at Rosalind. “No! It all went wrong when you turned up. It must be your fault. She made a bargain with you, a filthy Druid, a Vampire slayer!”

“She used us as she used you, can you not see that?” Rosalind felt pressure in her mind, though whether it was from Christopher or the magic of the circle she wasn’t sure. But it was definitely a warning. “Perhaps we could help you defeat her. Wouldn’t that be better?”

“You think I’d trust a Druid?” George sneered.

On the altar, Elias stirred and Rhys sidled closer to him, his dagger at the ready. Rosalind stepped nearer to George to mask Rhys’s movement. “Please, my lord, we wish you no harm.”

George’s laughter was wild and edged with fear. “Liar. You all lie to me. Do you think I’m dim-witted?” He lunged for Rosalind and she let him catch her and pin her against his chest. She gagged as his foxlike stench surrounded her. Rhys moved too and his knife blade flashed out, freeing Elias’s bounds.

She is coming!
Christopher’s blunt warning screamed in Rosalind’s head, and she looked up to see Anne Boleyn and Christopher entering the stone circle. Anne had a knife to Christopher’s throat, but he looked as calm as Rosalind.

“Well, isn’t this nice,” George sneered. “My ‘sister’ and one of her paramours have joined us. Have you come to watch them die, Anne?” He preened like a peacock. “I lured them all here, even the mighty Elias Warner, the man you consider more worthy than me. I’m quite happy to kill them all if it makes you look at me again.”

While George was distracted, Rosalind glanced at Rhys, who nodded. She elbowed George in the stomach, ignored the burning heat of his blade as it skimmed over her throat, and rolled neatly out of his way. Elias sat up and Rhys tossed him his dagger.

Anne moved past Christopher and confronted George, her black velvet skirts sweeping over the cracked stone floor, her ruby necklace shining more brightly than Elias’s spilled blood.

“You are such a fool, George. You aren’t strong enough to kill them, and I’m certainly not going to help you.” She nodded disdainfully at Rosalind and Rhys. “If I destroy these two, my bargain with the Druids will be void, and I cannot afford to do that. And, despite his betrayal, I need Elias too. He is so powerful he can work with the Vampire Council to make things more favorable for me.”

George hissed and pointed his dagger at her throat. Anne laughed, the sound grating. “You don’t have the courage to kill me. I
made
you.”

“I’ve had enough of this.” Elias got down from the altar, his normally silver eyes glowing red. He stalked up to George and glared at him. George fell to the ground, his fingers clawing frantically at his throat as if someone was squeezing the life out of him.

Anne held up her hand. “Stop it, Elias.”

“He tried to kill me.”

“If you let him live, I’ll leave you alone. I won’t betray you to the Vampire Council and I’ll reinstate you as my premier adviser.”

Elias looked unconvinced. “Why do you want him?”

“Because his death at this particular time would cause me difficulties with the king. I need him to live and play the part of my devoted brother.”

Elias waved his hand, and George fell forward gasping and wheezing. “I accept your terms, my lady.”

Anne kicked George in the ribs. “If you wish to survive, you will continue to serve me as my ‘brother’ and you will be grateful for my mercy for the rest of your pitiful existence. Do you understand?”

George gave a muffled sob. Anne snapped her fingers and he disappeared.

Rosalind was aware of Rhys coming to stand by her right shoulder and Christopher to her left, both of them protecting her. Anne swung around to stare at them, and the men tensed.

Her black gaze flitted over Rosalind. “I want to kill you so badly, but I can’t. One day, however, I
will
find a way to have you murdered. Don’t ever doubt it.”

Anne came closer until she was eye to eye with Christopher. “You have betrayed me, Kit. I gave you every chance. I told you how she concealed your own child from you. Yet here you are, still at her side. You chose her over me.”

“I love her, my lady.”

“Ha!” Disgust rang through Anne’s voice as she brought her hand up to cup Christopher’s chin. “What a terrible shame you have no claim on me at all. Because unlike her,
you
, my dear friend,
can
be punished.”

With one savage motion, Anne angled Christopher’s neck and her fangs flashed out.

“No!” Rosalind screamed and yanked Christopher away, but not before his blood spurted out and he crumpled to the ground. Anne disappeared, Christopher’s blood still smeared on her laughing mouth.

Chapter 26

R
osalind sank to her knees in front of Christopher and desperately tried to staunch the flow of blood. Rhys and Elias joined her and lifted Christopher to lie on the sacred altar. Rosalind stared wildly at Rhys. “What can we do? I can’t stop the bleeding!”

Rhys handed her his kerchief, and she pressed it to Christopher’s torn throat, watched it instantly redden.

“We can pray to the gods to help us save him, my lady.”

“There must be something else! How far away are we from Mistress Hopkins or a surgeon?”

“Too far, even if we could move him.” Rhys grimaced and glanced down at Christopher’s pale face. “Pray for him, Rosalind. That’s the only thing we can do for him now.”

“That isn’t good enough!” She was aware that she was shouting, but she didn’t seem able to stop. Elias touched her shoulder.

“I could turn him into a Vampire,” Elias said quietly. “If he loses all his blood, I could at least do that for him.”

Rosalind stared at Elias, who held her gaze and allowed her to see the sincerity of his offer in his silver eyes. Would Christopher want that? Traitorous thoughts slid into her mind. If he was truly a full Vampire, at least he would know who he was and have a family and a half sister . . . but he wouldn’t want her and their child, would he? And he would be turning into her worst nightmare.

“Rosalind, no! How can you even consider such a thing?” Rhys said urgently. “You will be denying his soul eternal rest!”

Rosalind stared at Rhys’s anguished face. “But I cannot bear to watch him die. Surely he deserves another chance?”

“A chance to become a blood-sucking monster?”

“Not all Vampires are monsters, Rhys. Even I have realized that.” With trembling bloodied fingers, she pushed back a lock of Christopher’s dark hair and took a long shuddering breath. She loved him. It seemed she had no choice.

“If that is the only way left to save him, Elias, then do it.”

As if her words had been a channel to the world beyond, a bright light enveloped the stones, and the white-haired Druid Elder, Lady Alys, stepped through the upright stones behind the altar. Elias covered his eyes and backed away, leaving Rhys and Rosalind huddled over Christopher.

Lady Alys smiled at Rosalind. “You have made a brave, loving choice, my daughter. Your sacrifice is deemed worthy of the gods. Now step away from your mate and let me attend to him.”

When Rhys grabbed Rosalind firmly by the shoulders and pulled her against his chest, a sob tore from her throat. The female Druid laid her hand on the ragged gash on Christopher’s throat, and her lips moved in silent prayer. Power flooded the small space, vibrating through Rosalind’s heart and heating her very bones.

Rhys shuddered too, his grip on her tightening until it hurt.

On the altar, Christopher groaned and tried to sit up. The Druid Elder placed her hand on his chest and held him down. “Do not be so eager, my friend. You need to heal.”

Rhys let go of Rosalind, and she realized she was crying. “Thank you, my Lady Alys.”

The Druid smiled. “Despite his ancestry, this male has already shown himself to be worthy of our help and of you.” Her gaze drifted over them. “As have you all. Even you, Elias Warner.” Elias rose to his feet, a wary look in his eyes. The Druid smiled. “Do not fear me. I wish you no harm, Vampire.”

Elias slowly nodded. “Thank you.”

Wiping away her tears, Rosalind approached Christopher, who was trying to lever himself up on one elbow. “It seems you have survived again,” she said. “Fortune does favor fools.”

His grin was full of pain. “Aye.”

Rosalind spun around to confront the Druid. “Anne Boleyn deserves to die for this! I don’t care about our bargain. I cannot
bear
to see her sit on the throne with her son to succeed her!”

The Druid’s laughter was sweet, melodious, and so unexpected that it stopped Rosalind’s anger. “Anne Boleyn will not sit on the throne for long. In five of your years, she will no longer exist.”

“How can that be?” Rosalind asked. “Haven’t we given her
everything
she needs to survive?”

“Some people are never satisfied, and Anne Boleyn is one of them. When she fails to give the king the son he desires, she becomes desperate enough to break her bargain with us, and so brings about her own downfall.”

Rhys cleared his throat. “But, my lady, with all due respect, your magic promised her a son.”

The Druid shook her head. “No, our magic promised her a child who would inherit the throne.”

“I do not understand,” Rosalind whispered.

“The fertility spell will work, but Anne will bear only one living child to the king, a girl who will be named Elizabeth.”

“But a woman cannot rule this kingdom.”

“Not yet. But by the time Elizabeth is a young woman, she
will
reign, and reign for many glorious years.”

“Without her mother by her side.”

“Indeed. Her mother and George Boleyn will be executed for adultery, incest, and high treason. Between us and the Vampire Council, who will also be out for vengeance on Anne, we will make sure the king has all this information at hand. Elizabeth will never know her mother or her mother’s true ambitions for her.”

“I wish I could feel sorry for Anne, but I don’t,” Rosalind replied.

As Christopher listened to the incredible conversation, he struggled to sit up and swing his legs over the side of the altar, which was now streaked with both his and Elias’s blood. As he watched, the blood seemed to sink into the stone and disappear. Gingerly, he felt his neck and found no sign of the open wound he’d feared, only smooth skin. His left arm appeared to have been healed as well.

Rosalind looked shaken and angry, yet she was still determined to go after Anne for his sake. That warmed him, made him want to stumble over to her and wrap her in his arms. He doubted she’d let him touch her yet, though; soothing Rosalind’s ruffled feathers might take the rest of his life. He let that astounding thought sink in. He
had
a life to lead. He was finally free and he intended to make the most of it.

Rosalind finally glanced in his direction and frowned. “The lady told you to stay where you were.”

“I am staying here. I’m just sitting up.”

He looked at Lady Alys and bowed as best he could. “Thank you for saving my life.”

“You deserve to be saved. You have taken great risks for our race, a race you were brought up to hate and fear.”

“I have done what I have out of love, my lady,” Christopher replied. “Lady Rosalind knows that.”

“And you will continue to protect her?”

Christopher placed his bloodied hand on his heart. “For the rest of my life.”

The Druid nodded and opened her arms wide. “My blessings on you all.” Light streamed from her fingertips and she was devoured by it until nothing remained but shining dust motes.

Elias strolled over to Christopher and stood contemplating the stone altar. Christopher frowned at him. “Elias, I can sense you in my head.”

Elias touched the side of his face where a purpled, bloody bruise flowered. “George caught me unawares and hit me on the head. As I lost consciousness, I managed to direct our journey here, but that was all I could do to help.”

“Elias, do you not wish to discuss our new bond?”

Elias sighed. “If I must. Perhaps it is because our blood flowed together over this sacred stone.” He glanced dubiously at the ancient inscriptions. “Maybe it will wear off.”

“If it does not, then we are almost family, Elias,” Christopher said.

Elias met his gaze. “It would seem so, and for me that is indeed a gift, as I have no one else left.”

Christopher held out his hand. “Thank you for your help.”

“Nay, I must thank you all. I never expected you to rush to save me.”

Rosalind came forward and kissed Elias on the cheek. “Of course we came. We care for you.”