Blood Spirit (7 page)

"Okay."
Climbing off him, she scooped up her dress and wriggled into it. Fully dressed,
she bent down and kissed him sweetly on the lips. "Goodnight, Marc."

"Goodnight,"
he said flatly, his mind already back on Lena.

As
he sat alone in his offices received as reward for murdering her lover, a
thought came to him. Something in her blood had enchanted him, transfixing him
to the point of threatening all he'd ever wanted.

What
was it about her blood?

If
the Archons could isolate that quality that her blood possessed, the
possibilities would be limitless.

Marc
dialed the phone and waited as Knull's cell phone rang. Finally, he answered
and Marc uttered the words he knew could do him in. "Change of plans. I
need you to find Collins' girlfriend Solenne too. You handle it
personally."

"Sure.
What do you want me to do when I find her? Stake her?"

"No.
Bring her to me."

"No
problem. Any idea where I should look?"

Marc
thought back to when his spy had told him she'd left France. Smiling, he
answered, "Try Greece."

Chapter Six

 Opening
her eyes, Ilona looked around for some sign of how long she'd been in that
room. Candles flickered, throwing shadows that danced on the stone walls, but
there were no windows to show the time of day or night. Only the light that
slipped in under the door told her she wasn't alone, abandoned in some
singular, lonely place.

How
long had she slept after Terek left? Terek. Just the sound of his name in her
mind filled her with confusion. Part of her dreaded him as the vicious monster
who'd stolen her life in exchange for one she couldn't accept. Wouldn't accept.
A life as a soulless creature of the night.

But
another part of her—a part that came from somewhere she'd never known existed
inside her—yearned to have him near, to feel his touch on her skin setting her
body on fire.

Ilona
closed her eyes tightly as shame flooded over her. Why? How could she crave the
touch of someone like him? She forced the thought from her mind, but it came
back again and again, each time stronger, forcing her to accept it. Her body
betrayed her too, wanting him in ways so foreign they frightened her.

In
her mind, she saw those green eyes whose glance had slid over her skin studying
her as she lay under his power. Those eyes that with the help of his gentle
voice had hypnotized her. They saw into her soul and held control over her,
commanding that wanton part of her only he had ever found.

A
hunger she'd never known tore at her insides, and she rolled over to search for
anything edible on the nightstand. The tray Callie had brought before was gone,
and only a glass of water remained. Sliding herself upright, she drank the
water and hoped it would stave off the terrible hunger. It only seemed to
increase it.

The
need she felt pushed her to leave the bed, and as she stood, her legs shook,
nearly buckling underneath her. The cool stone floor felt good against her
feet, though, and slowly she made her way toward the door. If this was to be
her home, she needed to find where they kept the food.

Clutching
the doorknob, she pulled with all her might, but the large wooden door wouldn't
budge. Again, she turned the knob and yanked but nothing. As she struggled to
pull harder, her hands began to shake and slid from their hold on the metal as
she fell to the floor.

The
cool stone that had felt so refreshing just a minute earlier slammed against
her side now, and instantly, searing pain from her injured ribs radiated
through her torso, bringing tears to her eyes. The crack under the door was in
her line of vision, and she watched in desperate hope that someone would pass
by her door. If only someone would come near, she could try to scream for help,
but as the minutes passed, she saw no one.

With
every ounce of strength she had, she propped herself up on her right arm, but
in seconds it gave way and her side landed hard on the floor again. The pain
was excruciating, but again she tried, only to fail. Each breath in came with
an agonizing stab to her ribs. Finally, she gave in and allowed the tears to
flow, soaking her cheeks.

Could
vampires die like this? Alone and unsure of even how her kind could be hurt or
killed, she prayed for anyone to rescue her. Before long, the agony was too
much to bear. Sure her life was at its end, she closed her eyes and silently
asked God for forgiveness.

"Ilona?
Please open your eyes, honey. Please!"

Carlie's
frightened voice registered in Ilona's mind, even as it sounded like a
whispered plea from miles away. Slowly, she opened her eyes to see the female
kneeling over her, eyes wide with worry.

"Oh,
you're awake! Honey, what happened? Are you hurt?"

The
pain in her side came back with a vengeance and she curled up in a ball hoping
to escape the stabbing in her ribs.

Carlie
ran her hand tenderly over her back. "Shhh. It's okay. I'm here. Where
does it hurt?"

Ilona
croaked out, "My ribs."

"Okay,
honey. Don't try to move. I'll be right back. I promise."

As
the sound of Carlie's footsteps grew quiet as she ran down the hall, Ilona felt
a sense of despair wash over her. She was hurt, alone, and in a strange place
where she truly knew no one. The thought was too much and she began to sob,
even though it made her side ache more.

"Oh,
honey! Don't cry. I'm back and we'll take care of you," Carlie whispered
in her ear.

Ilona
looked up to see Carlie and Jasmine right behind her. A tiny lick of
disappointment fluttered in her mind when she saw Terek wasn't with them.

"Can
she sit up, Carlie?"

"I
don't think so. I think she might have broken her ribs when she fell."

"Let
me see."

Carlie
moved out of Jasmine's way, but her hand remained on Ilona's head, stroking her
hair sweetly. Carefully, Jasmine examined her side, lightly running her
fingertips over her injured ribs.

"Ilona,
I don't want to hurt you. I'm sorry if I do, but I need to see how bad it
is."

Breathing
in as deeply as she could, Ilona waited in dread as Jasmine completed her
examination of her.

"I
think some food and some blood will do wonders for her. Carlie, go to the
kitchen and make her a plate. There's food left from before."

"No
blood. I won't," Ilona said through gritted teeth.

Both
Carlie and Jasmine stared in surprise. "You have to, honey. You can't get
better if you don't have blood. Food and water will only do so much,"
Carlie pleaded.

Ilona
shook her head. No blood.

Jasmine's
look turned to worry. "If you won't take blood, you're going to be in pain
for much longer than you have to be."

Shaking
her head again, Ilona moaned, "No."

"Then
at least we have to get you into the bed." Turning to Carlie, Jasmine
motioned toward Ilona's head. "Lift her carefully when I say."

Crouching
down above her, Carlie looked down into Ilona's eyes. "I'm sorry, honey.
We have to pick you up."

Jasmine
knelt near Ilona's hip. "This may hurt, but only for a second. Carlie, on
the count of three. One. Two. Three."

Ilona
cried out in agony, sure the number four would forever be associated with the
worst pain she'd ever felt. She squeezed her eyes closed as the two women
hurried her to the bed and gingerly laid her down.

"Carlie,
go get her food. I'll stay with her."

As
Carlie ran down the hall, Jasmine took Ilona's hand in hers and began to speak.
Instantly, Ilona was reminded of her mother.

"You
must take blood. You are vampire. Without blood, you will drift away. It's not
your body that needs blood. It's your soul."

Ilona
looked away and stared at a candle flickering near the far wall. "I don't
want to be this. Just let me drift away, back to what I was."

She
knew the answer before Jasmine said it, but something in the way she said it
struck Ilona.

"I
won't do that. Not to you. Not to Terek. I don't know how you came to be here
with us, but you're here now. We take care of one another and Terek. We'll take
care of you."

Closing
her eyes, Ilona fought the urge to point out the obvious to Jasmine. Terek
wasn't there to take care of her. He'd made her a vampire and left her alone,
even though he clearly should have known she'd need him.

Carlie
returned with a tray similar to the first she'd brought her earlier, but Ilona
didn't want food, despite the terrible pangs of hunger inside her.

She
just wanted to drift away.

***

Terek
heard the fear in Jasmine's voice and knew instantly something had happened.
"What is it? A hunter? Are you all okay?"

"No,
it's not that. It's Ilona. She won't take any blood and she fell in your room.
She's slipping away, Terek. I doubt our blood would be enough now. She needs
you."

He
looked around Vasilije's study at Dante, Sion, and Sasa as they worked to find
the last of Sampson's vampires. Fortunately, he'd been a sire who made sure the
Order had records of all his vampires, so it was just a matter of combing
through reams of paper to find which were still living. The problem would be
locating them and transporting them to safe houses. Dante and Sion would need
his help.

"Jasmine,
I have a job to do here. I can't leave yet."

The
phone was silent for a long moment, and then she said, "Terek, you'll lose
her if you don't return tonight."

Terek
slipped the phone in his pocket. "I have something I need to take care of.
Can you two deal with this?"

Sion
never looked up from his stack of papers, but Dante smiled and in his usual
cocky fashion waved Terek off. "What are we? Rookies? We got this. The
good news is Sampson didn't like to travel much. He seems to only have vampires
in Turkey and near you. And I guess he kept them on a pretty short leash. Don't
worry. We'll call you if we need you."

Opening
the door to his room, Terek saw Jasmine hadn't exaggerated. Ilona lay still,
and for a second, he feared he was too late. A sick feeling overtook him as he
watched to see if she was still breathing. Time seemed to stop as his gaze
fixed on her, waiting and hoping to see her chest rise and fall even slightly.
At last, she took a tiny breath in and pushed it out, as if the mere act of
breathing caused her intense pain.

He
sat next to her on the bed as guilt washed over him. She was a brand new
vampire who needed her sire, and he'd abandoned her at the most crucial point
in her existence. Whatever had happened was his fault.

Tracing
the outline of her jaw, he watched the face of this angel and hated having to
wake her. But if she didn't take his blood, he'd lose her for certain and for
the first time since he'd turned her, he knew he couldn't bear to think of his
world without her.

"Ilona,"
he whispered near her cheek. "Wake. I'm here."

Slowly
her eyelids fluttered open and eyes vacant and lost stared back at him.
"Terek?"

Her
gaze cut like a knife to his heart. She was nearly gone already, her soul
slipping into that void between the vampire and human worlds.

"Look
into my eyes, Ilona. Look! I need you to stay with me."

Her
eyelids drooped as she began to lose consciousness. Terror raced through his
body. There was no more time to wait. Fear of losing her controlled his every
move, and his fangs exploded into his mouth. In seconds, he'd pierced his wrist
and the blood began to seep from his vein.

Pressing
it to her pale lips, he waited in desperation for her to take his blood into
her mouth. The blood pooled on her lips, but she made no effort to take it.

"Ilona!
Listen to your sire. Drink. Now!" he commanded.

Her
eyes opened and turning her head, she whispered, "No. Let me go."

More
roughly than he should have, he grabbed her face in his hand and forced her to
look at him. "No, I will not lose you! Drink!"

Her
voice began to fade and faintly she answered, "Please. I can't live like
this."

Terek
bent over her and placed a kiss on her lips. The fear that he'd lost her
already pressed on his heart and even though he didn't understand why, he was
sure when she left him she'd take part of him with her.

He
whispered against her lips one last plea. "Do not take her from me. God,
leave her with one who can care for her. I beg of you. Do not take her."

"Why
do you want me to live when I don't?" she whispered hoarsely.

"Because
there is something special in you as there is in all creatures."

A
tiny sigh escaped from between her lips. "You made me this and left
me."

Cradling
her face in his hands, he said, "I'm sorry. Don't do this. Don't leave
me."

"I
can't be one of these women. I don't understand this."

Terek
kissed her tenderly. "Then don't be. Stay anyway."

Anguish
filled her voice. "I woke and I was so hungry. But I don't want food. I
hungered for you, but you were gone."

"Take
from me everything you hunger for. Take from the one who knows what you
need."

Pressing
his wrist to her mouth, he fed her soul with his blood. Timid, she stared up at
him in fear, but soon her hands held his arm to her lips and she eagerly took
what he offered.

Her
need for him—for his blood—touched his heart, and a closeness unlike anything
he'd experienced in ages came over him. Something about Ilona made him feel
like he hadn't felt in almost seven hundred years.

He
wanted to save her, to show her the wonders the world offered. If she would
allow him, he'd give her that world.