Called to Order (36 page)

“But for how long?”

“I imagine forever. Or at least however long forever will be to me. Sooner or later the calling will destroy my mind, and they in turn will destroy my body. I will only be waiting and praying for that day to come. Perhaps after you complete the bonding, everything will move swiftly and I can find peace in the end.”

“I don’t want you to die.”

“You do not know me well enough to know what you want for me.”

“I know that you are Adam’s brother and Abilene’s son. You are a breathing, living part of this world and somewhere under all that intimidating muscle, far behind those shrewd eyes, you are good.”

He laughed. “I am glad you think so. But my darling, none of that will matter once my beast takes over. If I die, they will mourn, but eventually they will move on. If I ran free and became crazed, I would find you, and it could be you who died. They would never forget you, my sweet Annalise. I have no desire to be the next legend of how brutal our kind can become. I will not be remembered for anything special, but I’d rather be forgotten than have my life be an infamous tool used to enforce obedience through fear.”

“I won’t be able to be happy knowing you are rotting in a cell somewhere.”

“Do not be sad for me. Embrace the gift of eternal life you will be given. Have a hundred babies that share the reckless shade of red that is your hair. Perhaps name one Cain and think of me from time to time, but do not cry for me. There are sadder cases than mine in this world. Save your tears for those who have earned the sympathy.”

Cain’s gaze followed her hand as she reached for the knife lying forgotten on the bed. He did not try to stop her, only watched as she pulled the braid he had fingered from behind her ear until it held taut from scalp to finger. She pressed the blade into the lock and in two quick sawing motions sliced the braid off. “Take this.”

He looked down at the amber twirl of tresses hanging limply from her hand. He did not take it. Rather he reached up to her face and felt the blunt tip of the cut hair where it had hung just above her jaw line. “It is the most fascinating color I have ever seen, like sunshine trapped in amber.” He took the braid from her hand and tucked it carefully into his pocket. “I will think of you every day that my mind remains in control, Annalise. And I will pray that you find a happy life here.”

“I—” There was a loud slam that reverberated through the house, coming from downstairs. Anna jumped, and Cain laid a protective hand on her wrist as his gaze flew to the door. A shatter of glass echoed somewhere outside of the bedroom door, and voices clattered together in a mixture of panicked outcries.

The door burst open, and Cain tugged Anna to her feet and forced her behind his much larger body. She noticed his eyes had suddenly gone feral and his fangs elongated, but there wasn’t time to catch much else. He yanked her behind his body so fast she was almost propelled into the plaster wall, but Cain never let go of the tight hold he had of her wrist. He hissed like an animal and adjusted his stance as if preparing for an attack.

His guttural growl was echoed from the door. Cain still held her right wrist tightly behind his back in his left hand. Anna peeked around Cain’s restraining arm and saw Adam’s equally hostile figure filling the space. His lip curled over his long teeth, and his eyes seemed to glow in the fading light of the room. “Take your hands off her.”

Cain’s grip tightened on her wrist. Gracie and Jonas suddenly appeared in the hall behind Adam, but there was no room for them to pass.

Cain growled, “She is in no danger from me. It is you who is acting
ferricked!”

“You
hesslich
man, you just could not resist coming after her!”

Anna tried to step around Cain. “Adam—”

Cain tightened his grip. “Shh, Annalise,
ruich.
Be still. He is not himself right now.”

“I will destroy you for touching her!” Adam roared. Jonas reached for him, but Adam nearly tore his arm off at the first hint of contact. His skin appeared burned, and Anna realized Adam must have sensed something wrong and come running to her.

“Adam, control yourself. Annalise is safe and in no harm. It is you who is the danger at the moment,” Jonas pleaded as the flesh of his arm began to knit back together under the tatters of his bloodied sleeve.

He growled, the sound gravelly and completely inhuman.

Gracie stepped close but still remained a safe distance. “Adam, let me take Anna out of here before she gets hurt. She is fragile.” He panted, but made no show of hearing his sister’s words. “Anna, move to Cain’s side. I’m going to pick you up and carry you from the room.”

Anna slowly moved behind Cain. He released her wrist but took her arm in his other hand. She looked at him, so worried for him and sad for him. She had never felt so important and helpless at the same time. “I’m sorry, Cain,” she whispered.

What took place next happened so fast that Anna almost felt as if there were three of her experiencing it. Cain placed a bussing kiss upon her cheek, and Adam roared. Gracie screamed, “
Adam, no, the baby!”
But it was too late. Anna felt the connection between herself and Cain severed as her body was heaved hard against a wall. Warm liquid coated her gown, and a slow burn started under the sleeve of her blue dress. Blood-curdling screeches pierced her eardrums. She screamed, and furniture scraped across the floor. Jonas shouted, and glass shattered as something large crashed through the window. They were moving too fast. Anna slid out of Gracie’s hold and covered her ears and shut her eyes as she began to cry.

Some time passed, and she acknowledged the sudden quiet of the room. She heard the sound of the others panting as breath sawed in and out of multiple chests. She slowly peeked past her lashes. The first person she saw was a man she vaguely recognized from some recent memory. She looked at his engaged expression and tried to strip away the diamond eyes and aggressive set of his jaw and see the man behind the beast. It was the man who’d dropped off Larissa many days ago. Silus. He must have followed Adam here.

As she turned, Anna realized her arms were defensively wrapped around her head like a helmet. Gracie had thrown her smaller form over her in an attempt to protect her. Jonas held Adam pinned to the wall as he seethed in protest. His father’s face looked racked with anguish. It took a moment for the shouts and cries from below to register in her ears. Cain, where was Cain? The window!

A tortured sound escaped Anna’s lips, sounding nothing like her voice. She fought to get Grace off of her, but the small girl proved too strong. She cried Cain’s name, which only enraged Adam more. Jonas struggled to restrain his son. He slammed Adam against to wall. The unbreakable calm that was Jonas Hartzler seemed long gone. His eyes were storming with rage. His accent was thick. “
Ganoonk, Adam!
This is
unfershtendich!
She vas oonder my protection. She vas safe you foolish boy! There is no need for this!” A cry rent the air, and Jonas’s head dropped in resignation. He shook his son one last time and whispered, “No need.”

Abilene’s voice could be heard through the broken window, her cries pitched to such a level of hysterics even Annalise winced.

Adam’s eyes were still not his own. Jonas continued to whisper, to soothe his son and himself. “He was willing to go peacefully. He swore he would. He just wanted to tell her goodbye. Just goodbye.”

“He had his hands on her,” Adam raged, seeming to once again struggle under his father’s hold.

“
Ganoonk! Enough!
Do you hear your mother’s grief? You did that to her. She is my
frau,
and you have hurt her! Mine! Cain did nothing to hurt Anna, yet you are frightening her now. Get control of yourself so I can go where I am needed, to your mother and Cain.”

* * * *

Adam blinked a few times and looked toward Anna. She was crying in Gracie’s arms. Her words muffled, disjointed, syllables falling over hiccups and sobs. He watched as his sister rocked her like a child. There was blood in the air. He looked to his father. He nodded as if with each dip of his head he was coaxing Adam back to reality. Anna was crying. Anna was crying. Anna was crying.

* * * *

Larissa watched in horror. Cain’s body lay motionless in her mother’s lap. Abilene rocked her brother back and forth as if he were still a boy. His throat was slit viciously deep, and broken pieces of glass glinted under the last remaining streams of light.

“Drink, Cain, my sweet boy, drink,” her mother cried as she held her wrist to Cain’s nonresponsive lips. When he still didn’t move after several tries, Larissa dropped to her knees and bit her own wrist. Twin rivulets of red flowed quickly from the puncture and dotted her blue dress as she brought it to her brother’s mouth. She and Abilene cradled his head in an attempt to seal his lips to the opening as the liquid filled his mouth. Without the pulling and swallowing, the wound quickly sealed closed. Larissa bit her wrist again and repeated the process.

Just as she thought it was too late, that the damage had been done and only time and prayers would save her brother, she felt the slightest little tug on her wrist. Cain’s pale lips closed over her skin and pulled with the pressure of a babe. She cried in renewed hope and supported his back.

The more he drank, the more his strength appeared to return. His throat was a bloodied mess, soiling both her and her mother’s gowns. Other members of The Order stood by and watched silently. One by one, Larissa caught the whispers of the males sending their female counterparts off to the new house.

Cain began to drink vigorously from her vein, and her strength began to wane. He was a brawny male, and Larissa, although tall, was no match for him. Her blood was meant for her children and her husband. She had never offered it to another and was unsure how much he would take. At the moment, as her conscience flickered with each pull, she did not care of the consequence that lay ahead.

Cain’s eyes slowly opened. He watched her as their mother ran a soothing hand over his dark hair.

“
Larissa!”

Larissa jerked at the sound of her husband’s voice. The motion caused Cain’s now imbedded fangs to rip painfully at her flesh. She instinctively cradled her wrist against her chest and swayed from the loss of blood. Silus stood two feet away, a severe frown marring his face.

He looked down at Cain then to Abilene, who now was helping her son sit up. He stepped forward and gripped Larissa under her arm. Her hand clamped over her healing wrist held tight as he brought her to her feet. “You should have let him die,” Silus whispered, and she gasped at the thought.

“Silus, he is my brother.”

“He is a threat to our kind and no longer your business. The council will see to him. Letting him bleed out may have been the more merciful choice.”

Before she could even form a reply, Eleazar King stepped through the crowd. His pitiless eyes cut to her and then took in her brother sitting bloodied on the ground. She unconsciously took a step closer to her husband.

Eleazar King was named properly. He was older than any of her relatives and one of the first to travel here from Europe. Not just an elder on the council, Eleazar was The Order’s bishop.

His ancestors were said to be of the first orders that traveled from the isolated mountains of Switzerland in the sixteen hundreds. Larissa would not doubt that he’d once lived in those hidden parts of the world. Even his language, as seldom as he spoke, was more
Schwiiz
and French than German or Dutch. His plain clothing seemed slightly sartorial against his darker olive skin. His wide-brimmed hat hid his black, almost blue, hair. He had eyes so dark it was difficult to see where the irises stopped and the pupils began. His neck was wide and long, his shoulders a bit wider yet somehow trimmer then the rest of the males she had grown up around, and he was almost a head taller than the men in her family. Being a tall woman herself, she found it odd to have to look so far up to meet another person’s eyes. Yet she had no inclination to look in the eyes of Eleazar King. As intriguing as one might find his mysterious aura, Larissa knew better. He was Swiss to the bones, work and appetite before all else, leaving no space for love or affection.

“Bishop King,” Silus greeted, his shorter stature making him appear like a bug next to the bishop. “Jonas sent me down to inform you that Cain has agreed to go willingly into the council’s custody.”