Dragan's Redemption Book One of the Manor at Echo Lake Trilogy (36 page)

Amira could not believe her eyes.  The figure reminded her of Dragan
, but
it couldn’t be possible. 
“Aaron
,
NO!!!”  The s
cream
echoed over the lawn.   Aaron stopped
,
turning to look up at her.

A voice reached out to him.

“Hello
,
Brother.”

“Dragan?!  Is it really you?”

Shadow sniffed the air curiously at the semi
-familiar
figure in
front
of him.  “
If it is you
,
brother, th
e
n w
hy does your wolf not recognize you?”

“Because I am human again.”

“What
?!
”

“I have been spared.”

Aaron watched as Dragan weakly dropped to his knees, before
gaining enough of his senses to rush over and help
him back to his feet.

“Dragan!!!!”  Both men watched as Amira ran full speed towards them.  By now, Shadow had gotten over the new scent realizing that this was indeed his master
and
jumped around all three
figures
.

Wrapping her arms around his
waist
, she pulled him in close.  “
You’re
not dead.  We thought you were dead.”

Catching
h
is brother wincing, Aaron
extricated
Amira’s arms from Dragan.  “Amira, he is human
now
.  I
have to get him
inside
.
”
  With his arms around his
brother’s
waist, Aaron
hurriedly
half carried him inside the manor calling out to James as they reached the foyer.  James ran out from the kitchen
,
stopping in stunned
disbelief
as his eyes met Dragan’s.

“Hey
,
James.  How’s it
going?
”

“Sir…your….Oh my God.”

“James, quickly, please get some hot soup, something…anything.”

Pulling himself together,
James
ran back towards the kitchen as they slowly walked up the stairs to
Dragan’s
room.  Easing him down on the bed, both Amira and Aaron looked at each other before looking back at the man lying on the bed.

“I would appreciate you both stop staring at me.  I will tell you
everything in
a minute. 
I just need to catch my breath.
This body feels like it is starving
,
and I am incredibly cold at the moment.   Turning away from him, Amira turned on the fireplace.  Shock setting in at realizeing that
he was alive
,
and
her body shook uncontrollably.  Aaron ran over wrapping his arms around her.  Pressing her face into his chest, she whispered.  “Aaron, how can this be?  Is it really him?”

“I don’t know
,
Amira.  It could be a trick.  We have to listen
to what he has to say.”

“Can you two stop whispering and come over here please?  As I am no longer a vampire, I cannot eavesdrop as I did before.”

Pasting a smile to her face, Amira
walked back to the bed
s
itting on the edge hesitating before putting her hand on top of his cold one.

“I know that it is hard to believe, but it is real.”

Spending the next hour, he told of his decision before leaving
Nantucket
t
o give his life for Amira’s
,
realizing that he had no life anyway as a vampire
,
and the thought of living wi
th
out her was not an
option
. 
Dragan
was more
hesitant
speaking of
Sebastian
and the three angels, overwhelmed still with the feelings of gratitude that
they had stayed with him
through all those years, he really was never alone in his grief.

“So your faith did work after all
,
brother.”

Catching and holding Aaron
’
s gaze,
Dragan
nodded.  “Indeed it did
, not in the way
I
expected
,
but it worked
.”

Dragan could not read the
dark
expression that
crossed
Aaron’s
face before he stepped out the door.  Compassion
towards his brother
caused his heart to
constrict.  No longer were they linked as vampires
,
and he could not even begin to imagine what Aaron was going through
.

Looking back to Amira, he brushed the hair away from her face cupping her cheek in his hands.  Eyes
welling
with
tears
, she
placed
her hand
over his
.

“I am so mad at your for taking the chance that you did.”

“
I know
,
but
I couldn’t watch you die
,
Amira.”

Nodding in understanding, she slid in
to
the bed next to him
believing
finally
that it really was him
pressing light kisses on his lips.
  Having felt his death, she understood the pain of losing the one you love
and the sacrifice he made for her
.

Emotion overtook her causing her voice to shake. 
“You cured me
,
Dragan.  There are no longer any anomalies in my blood.  In fact, my blood is perfect in every way
.  You saved me
.”  Punching him in the chest, he grunted.  “Don’t ever do that to me again!”

Pulling her to him, he kissed the top of her head.  “Promise!
”

Shadow waited until both people fell asleep before stepping up onto the mattress,
lying
down at their feet, he watched over them as they slept
,
a grin c
oming
over his hairy face.

Aaron dropped to his knees on the forest floor
,
sitting back on his heels
while
t
hrowing his arms out wide, his eyes looked up at the dark sky while a
primal wail rose up from deep inside of
him.  The sounds of his pain echoed throughout the woods.  With nothing left to spend, he gasp
ed
for breath.  He could not believe how physically painful it was to see his brother human again
,
knowing he was still a vampire. 
The loneliness was too much
for his heart
to bear.

Losing all sense of time, it was s
everal hours later
before
he rose to his feet.  His body numb from staying in one position for so long
as h
is mind raced trying to figure out what his next move was, unsure if staying at the Manor would be the wise
st
decision.  Now that Dragan was human, he would be susceptible to all of the human ailments.  Whatever years they had left together, he did not really want to spend those years apart from his twin.

Walking slowly down the path
back to the manor
, he thought of Amira.  Would he be able to stay knowing that he had a deep affection for his
brother’s
girlfriend?  Living close to her
and Dragan
, watching them grow old together was a curse in
its
own way.

Aaron realized how his
life stretched out bleakly
and pathetically
in front of him.
Thinking of the old book and all of the knowledge he had picked up over the past few months in re-reading the ancient words
,
he worried about the consequences of Dragan’s actions in being allowed to become human.  Their turning was due to a debt that was paid
from the gypsies to an old order that he knew nothing about
.  He was sure that whoever had their souls would not be happy at losing one of
those
souls back to the light
, especially if that soul was from a twin.  Once
Dragan’s
soul was discovered
missing
,
he had no doubt that retribution would be headed their way in full force.  Sighing deeply
,
Aaron realized that he just answered his own question as to whether or not he was going to stay.  Setting aside his own despair, he knew that he would protect the two that he loved with everything he had in his being.

Coming to the end of the path, he could see the great lawn stretching out before
him
.  He felt better now that he had made a decision about his immediate future.  Standing still just inside the tree line, he stared at the stately manor.  Watching as a light turned on the first floor
from one of the staff ready to start a new day
.   It was
such
a beautiful house with its
stone façade and small turrets placed strategically
around the architecture
.  Some parts of the house alway
s looked like a castle to Aaron, smiling now at his brother’s whimsical imagination.

Catching a flash of a movement among the tree line further down from where he was
,
Aaron peered through the early morning light wondering if his tired eyes were playing tricks on him.  Again, he caught the same movement but closer now to the house.  Someone was definitely trying to approach the manor undetected.

Stepping back under the protection of the trees, he ran quickly through the
woods
.  Within
seconds,
he was in the spot that he had last seen the intruder.
  Quickly glancing around, he could neither hear nor see any movement.  Frowning, he stepped out onto the great lawn.  He could not have been that off.  Faintly he heard a sound he had not heard in over a century, that of an arrow being pulled
tight
on
a bow.  Dropping down to the ground
,
he rolled quickly off to the side before the arrow could make its mark through his back.  Flying through the air in the direction that the arrow left from, his body slammed into a hooded figure.

A snarl came from his foe at
being
caught
,
and in the next moment
,
shock crossed Aaron’s face as he found himself flying through the air
before
slamming
hard
into one of the large oak trees
.
hard.  Losing his breath from the impact, he had no time to collect himself before he was picked up again and tossed through the air
.
  Twisting his body, he was able to control
his fall
,
and he landed on his feet.  Anger flowed through his veins, and he released his fangs.

“You have picked the wrong day to mess with me
,
my friend.”

Aaron charged his opponent, grinning with satisfaction when within moments he had the person pinned to the ground.  Relishing
the
body squirming underneath him, his fingers tightened around the neck of his attacker
,
his rage within him want
ing
to finish them off but logic told him that would not be wise.

Using his free hand, he reached down and ripped off the hooded mask that was covering the other vampire
’
s face.  Shocked
,
Aaron’s
fingers loosened slightly as long red curls released from the fabric
and
fell around one of the most beautiful faces he had ever seen.  H
e found himself staring into
a
ngr
y
,
gray eyes
.
  His attacker was a woman.

“What are you doing here
,
bitch?” 
He could sense
no fear within her.

“I was sent to kill you
,
Dragan Reynell.”

Aaron hissed loudly. 
“
You use
a name that has not been spoken for a long time, and I hate to break it to you, but I am not Dragan.  I am Aaron Reynell
.”