Eternal Changes (Mikah) (23 page)

Chapter 22

This wasn’t how it was supposed to go. Ashton threw a shirt onto Lucy’s bed in frustration. There was nothing giving him any indication of where the Haemon could be. He kept searching hoping he’d find something…anything. Instead, her room just reminded him of how much he missed her.

The alarm clock by her bed stood out like a sore thumb as the red numbers flashed up at him. It was a minute after midnight. Ashton closed his eyes.
“Lucy?”
he asked as he attempted to reach her.

“
Something’s happening to me, Ashton,”
Lucy whispered.

Ashton felt pain radiating from her.
“Just keep talking to me, Luce,”
he said as he tried to concentrate. “
I’ll try to take some of the pain away.”
Wave after wave of pain rolled through him and he dropped to the floor on his knees. He clenched his hands together and gritted his teeth as the pain lacerated his body.

“
What’s happening to me, Ashton?”
Lucy asked.

“Your body is slowly preparing itself for the change,”
Ashton murmured
.

 “But it isn’t supposed to be time yet,”
Lucy said.
“My birthday’s still a few days away.”

Ashton flinched.
“Your adopted parents set your birthday on the day that they received you, but it isn’t your actual birthday,”
he said.
“Today is.”

“I think this is the worst birthday ever,”
Lucy said.

“I’m so sorry, baby,”
Ashton said as her scream rung through his head as another wave of pain hit her. Tears slid down his cheeks. “
I’ve failed you in every way.”

“Don’t say that,”
she moaned. “
This isn’t your fault, Ashton. My fate was sealed the day I was conceived.”

Ashton shook his head in denial.
“But it was my duty to protect you, Lucy.”

“I’ll be fine, Ashton,”
Lucy murmured.
“I was going to have this pain even if you were sitting next to me.”

Ashton felt another wave of pain rock through her and Lucy’s gasp whispered through his mind. “
I’d be able to ease it more than I’m able to right now,”
he said.
“You wouldn’t be going through it alone.”

“But I’m not going through it alone,”
Lucy said.
“You’re here with me.”

 “I love you, Lucy,”
Ashton whispered.
“I know it feels like this has all happened way too fast, but I’ve been waiting hundreds of years for you. If I die tomorrow, I die happy because of you. Until you, I didn’t know what happiness and love was like.”

“My feelings are so strong for you that it scares me sometimes.”
Lucy said.
“I still feel so young and unsure of myself. The feelings I have for you are unlike anything that I’ve ever felt before. When I’m in your arms, I feel like I belong.”

Pain punched him in the gut as Lucy’s screamed. His insides burned and flames licked across his veins. A small gasp left his lips as the pain left his body. “
Lucy?”

 Ashton tried to focus on anything else in the room as the silence gnawed at him. He looked around at the complete chaos he had created. Clothes were strewn across the floor and the sheets to her bed had been ripped off and piled in a heap on the floor. Dresser drawers hung open and broken glass littered the floor.

Ashton walked over to Lucy’s closet and pulled the door open. Her scent floated through the air and he took a deep breath as he started searching through her things.

“We know where the Haemon are, Ashton,” Talmadge said as appeared in Lucy’s room.

Ashton dropped the jeans he was holding and left the closet. “Where?”

“They’re in Arizona,” Talmadge said as Ashton walked up to him. “Braelyn found one of the Haemon, Ophelia, not far from here. Ophelia had been poisoned with dogwood,” he said. “She was in bad shape when I saw her.”

“Whoever poisoned her with dogwood wanted her to suffer before she died,” Ashton said. “That’s a rough way for a vampire to die.”

Talmadge nodded in agreement. “We need to meet the shifters back at the caves. It’s already past midnight and Lucy’s probably going to go through the change soon.”

“It’s already started,” Ashton said.

Talmadge paused and looked over at Ashton. “Are you sure?”

“Yes,” Ashton said. “I felt some of the pain she was feeling when I was able to talk to her earlier.”

“No one’s ever gone through the change without someone there to take some of the pain away,” Talmadge said as he ran his hand through his brown hair. “We need to go.”

Talmadge and Ashton dissipated from Lucy’s room and reappeared on the platform in the middle of the caves. The rest of their clan was already there waiting, along with Braelyn and Cail.

“Caoilainn will be here in a few moments,” Cail said.  “She’s trying to convince our people to come into your lair.”

“We don’t have the time to waste waiting for them to get here,” Ashton said as he paced back and forth. “It’s already well after midnight.” He paused and looked over at Talmadge. “We need to move NOW.”

“Give me a minute. I’ll bring her back,” Talmadge said right before he dissipated.

Talmadge solidified in Caoilainn’s bedroom and looked around. The room was empty.

“Where are you, Caoilainn?”
Talmadge asked as he reached out to her with his mind.

“I’m in the middle of the city trying to convince my stubborn people that your home is safe,”
Caoilainn said.

“Maybe I can help,”
Talmadge said right before he dissipated.

Talmadge solidified in the middle of Othniel. Caoilainn stopped speaking to her people as she glanced over at him. Talmadge walked over to her as murmurs floated through the air. Caoilainn nodded her head at Talmadge as he turned to speak to the crowd.

“We’ve lived hundreds of years at odds with each other,” Talmadge said as he looked into the faces of the Daroch. “My people are not the Haemon. We can’t change the fact that we’re vampires. We can’t change the fact that we
need
blood to survive. Most of my people would if it was an option. We have no desire to harm any human or creature. All we want to do is to live in peace.”

“All the vampires we’ve seen have created nothing but destruction and chaos,” a voice from the crowd yelled.

Talmadge looked at the crowd as most of them nodded in agreement. “That may have been the case hundreds of years ago,” he said. “but times have changed. All we want is a chance to prove ourselves.”

“What do you say?” Caoilainn asked as she stepped forward. “Are we going to join forces with the Dragomir and track down Malachi’s killer? Or are we going to sit here and be a bunch of cowards?”

The crowd broke out in murmurs.

“We’ll give the Dragomir a chance,” someone from the crowd yelled, “but only
one
chance.”

Talmadge bowed to the crowd before dissipating. He arrived back on the platform in the caves where Ashton was still pacing.

“Well?” Ashton asked as he turned to Talmadge.

Talmadge spread out his arms and Caoilainn and her people appeared.

 Ashton’s eyes widened as he looked at the large number of people in front of him. “Impressive.”

“Looks like we’re ready,” Caoilainn said as she surveyed the crowd.

“Let’s do this,” Ashton said.

Chapter 23

Lucy woke up screaming as her body burned. It felt like someone was pouring acid on each one of her organs. Another scream erupted from her lips as a bone in her arm cracked and popped. She squeezed her eyes closed as she touched her arm. Her breathing came in short, hard gasps.

“Please make it stop,” Lucy moaned.

“She’s converting,” Karver whispered as he entered the room and sauntered over to the bed.

Lucy’s screamed as her leg bone snapped and shifted.  Her hands clenched together as another bone popped. Tears poured down her cheeks as she screamed again.

“Lucy? Baby, what’s happening?”
Ashton asked as his voice whispered through her mind.

“Oh God. Oh God. It’s starting again,”
Lucy moaned.
“I’m on fire and my bones are breaking. I don’t want it to be time.”

“Just hold on.”
Ashton said.

 “
It hurts, Ashton,”
Lucy whispered. “
I don’t think I can take this.”

“
I’m on the way, baby,”
Ashton said.
“Just hold on.”

“Hurry!”
Lucy screamed as another bone snapped.

“I can hear the cracking of your bones,” Karver murmured as he leaned over her.

Sweat poured off Lucy’s face as wave after wave of pain flowed through her. Her stomach churned and rolled. “I’m gonna be sick,” she moaned as she leaned her head over the bed and vomited on Karver’s shoe.

“Your body’s getting rid of all the waste,” Karver said as he shook the vomit off his shoe. “It’s preparing itself for your new life as a Mikah. Soon the bloodlust will consume you.”

An electrical current ran through Lucy’s veins and her lungs felt heavy as she tried to catch her breath. Her heart beat stuttered and she gasped.

“
Ashton?”
Lucy whispered.

“
Are you ok?”
Ashton asked.

“
“
I can’t do this, Ashton,”
Lucy sobbed. “
I feel like I’m dying. I can barely breathe.”

“Then it’s almost over baby,”
Ashton whispered. “
The pain will soon go away and the change will be complete. Don’t fight it. Just hang on a little while longer.”

Lucy gasped for a breath as everything around her blurred.

Karver smiled down at Lucy’s lifeless body. “It’s almost time for the grand finale,” he whispered as he turned and left the room.

Karver’s eyes narrowed as he looked at his people. Their eyes were blood red as they hovered around his room. Karver grabbed a blonde male standing to close too him and ripped out the males heart. Karver squished the organ in his hand and he looked around the hall. “Leave,” he said. “Or this will happen to you.”

Karver tossed the organ into the air and watched it burn as the others dissipated. The hall was empty as he turned and walked towards where he was keeping the boy.

Karver entered the room and found the boy cowered in a corner with his head lying on his knees. “Get up,” Karver hissed as he grabbed ahold of the boy’s arm.

The boy stood up and tried to pull his arm away from him. “Let go of me,” he screamed.

Karver tilted his head back and laughed. “It’s pointless to fight me, boy. But if it makes you feel better, go ahead,” he said as he looked at the boy and shrugged. “I was only taking you to see your friend.”

Michael stopped struggling. “You’re taking me to see Lucy?”

“Yes,” Karver said as he stepped away. “So you can follow me and see her or go back to sitting in your miserable corner.”

Karver left the room and the boy followed. He smiled as he arrived at his room with the boy right on his heels. He could hear the boy’s heart pumping and the flow of his blood. Hunger stirred and Karver’s fangs started to lengthen. Karver shook his head and entered the room. The room felt like a sauna as heat radiated from Lucy’s body. She lay pale and lifeless on his bed.

“Lucy?” the boy asked in a whisper as he ran towards her. “Lucy!” He pulled her up into his arms to hug her to him. Her body lay limp in his arms. He laid his head against hers. “You!” he screamed as he turned and pointed at Karver. “You
killed
her.”

Karver smiled as the boy rushed forward and tried to tackle him to the ground. Karver didn’t move an inch as the boy pushed against him. Maniacal laughter filled the room as Karver pushed the little pest away.

“What are
you
?” the boy asked as he fell to the ground.

Karver leered down at the boy in front of him as he stopped laughing. “I’m what you have nightmares about
boy
,” he said as he bared his fangs.

“Oh my
God!”
the boy screamed as he fell and scrambled backwards.

Karver smiled as the boy crawled towards the bed and stood up with his back to the bed. Lucy’s arms wrapped around the boy and a scream pierced the air.

The boy’s eyes were the size of saucers as he turned his head. “Lucy,” he said as a relieved sigh left his lips. “I thought you were dead.”

Lucy didn’t respond as she opened her eyes.

“Lucy, let me go,” the boy begged as he tried to get out of her grasp.

Karver laughed as the boy struggled as Lucy started to pull the boy towards her. Her red eyes sparkled as she took her hands and tilted the boy’s head, exposing his neck.

“Stop!” The boy screamed as he stood locked in place by Lucy’s hands.

“Yes,” Karver whispered as Lucy’s fangs elongated and she delved into the boy’s soft flesh.  Blood dribbled down from her mouth as she drank the boy’s blood in rushing gulps.

“Please,” the boy whispered as he felt faint. “Stop…”

Karver smiled at the boy’s request. There was no stopping any vampire when the bloodlust was upon them. The vampire part took over and filled the need. Every other part of the brain shut off. She needed the blood and so she took it.

The boy went limp in Lucy’s arms and she finally let him go as her eyes started to turn back to their normal color.

Everything was hazy as Lucy looked around her. She was kneeling on the bed and Karver had a satisfied smile plastered on his wicked face as he stared at her. An odd metallic taste tingled in her mouth as something dripped from her chin.

Lucy looked down. A small pool of blood stained the comforter. “What happened?” she asked as she scanned the floor. She paused as she found Michael’s body. Her heart dropped to her stomach.

“Oh my god!” she screamed as she scrambled to the floor. “Michael?”

A look of confusion crossed Karver’s face. “Michael? I thought you said his name was Ashton?”

“I never told you his name,” Lucy said as she glared over at him. “You assumed when I asked for Ashton that you had him.”

Lucy looked down at Michael’s neck. Two puncture wounds glared up at her. “What did you do to him?”

“I didn’t do anything to him, my dear,” Karver said as he sat down on a nearby chair. “
You
did.”

Lucy shook her head in denial. There was no way she would have hurt him. She put her finger in her mouth and pulled it back to look at it. Her eyes widened as red dripped down her finger. She vehemently shook her head and tears pooled in her eyes as she clutched onto Michael’s body. Lucy gently put a finger to Michael’s neck and held her breath. A sigh of relief left her lips as a very faint heartbeat thumped against her finger.

Talmadge scanned the area outside of Kartchner Caverns. The night was clear as the moon’s silver rays shone down on the group. There was close to a thousand of them with the Dragomir and shifters combined and they were prepared for battle. He looked over at Caoilainn. A red horizontal stripe was painted across her face. He nodded at her.

Caoilainn held up her hand in a fist and her people shifted into cougars and rushed forward in different directions.

Talmadge looked at his people and pointed a finger up. They nodded and flew up into the sky. Talmadge walked over to Caoilainn and Ashton and pointed North. Caoilainn and Ashton nodded as they propelled themselves forward.

Ashton, Caoilainn, and Talmadge stumbled across an entrance a mile away from where they had started. Talmadge nodded at Ashton and Ashton climbed through the dark hole. One by one they made their way inside the dark caves. Talmadge stopped and listened. The sound of water dripping echoed throughout the caves.

Talmadge walked over to Caoilainn and picked her up as he levitated a few inches off of the ground.  He slowly flew down the hall with Ashton following not far behind him. The cave twisted off slightly to the left and Talmadge jerked to a stop as he heard voices coming towards them. Talmadge and Ashton slid up next to the rock wall and listened.

Footsteps scraped across the rock floor. Talmadge looked down at Caoilainn as the footsteps moved closer to them. His ears perked up as he listened in to their conversation.

“You put dogwood in Ophelia’s bloodstream?” One of them with a deep voice asked.

“If anyone deserved that kind of death, it was
her
,” someone else hissed.

“Remind me not to get on your bad side Jaymes,” the deep voice rumbled.

Talmadge felt Caoilainn’s claws dig into him as they listened to the conversation. He felt her slide from his arms. Her cougar’s body was crouched low to the ground as she silently stalked her prey. She inched forward as Talmadge and Ashton followed quietly behind her.

Talmadge paused as Caoilainn crouched down even lower and stopped as two vampires came into view. The two vampires had their backs towards them. Caoilainn rushed forward and lunged into the air. Her fangs were bared as she aimed for the blonde vampire’s throat. Talmadge blurred as he moved to take the other vampire out.

Caoilainn clamped her jaws down as she sank into the vampire’s flesh. Once she had a good grip on his throat, she swung her head and ripped out the vampire’s jugular. His head rolled to the floor as it snapped off. Caoilainn’s black claws dug into the vampire’s chest where his heart was. A loud gushing sound echoed around them as Caoilainn pulled the vampire’s heart out with her paw. Black blood was peppered across her face as she held the black organ in her paw.

“Give it to me and I’ll dispose of it,” Ashton said as he held out his hand to her.

Caoilainn handed Ashton the organ and turned her attention to the fight still raging between Talmadge and the other vampire. The other vampire punched his hand forward as he tried to strike Talmadge several different times, but Talmadge dodged out of the way.