Ironic Sacrifice (12 page)

He gave her a slight nod and headed to the seat Razvan vacated. Underneath the loud laughter and constant music, Jayden told Silas what happened with the pregnant girl at the concert. To her undying relief, he didn’t look at her like she was a monster.

“That is very intriguing,” he said finally, eyes narrowed against the constant smoke. “It almost sounds like Jonathon’s power.”

“Max’s doctor?”

Silas nodded. “And you say you aren’t getting any visions or impressions of anyone here?”

Jayden shook her head.

“Interesting,” Silas mused aloud, taking a miniscule sip of beer. “It seems this power borrows strength from your usual abilities. But why or how, I do not know.”

“Do you know why it happened in the first place?” Jayden asked, darting nervous glances around the bar in fear they were being overheard.

The vampire shook his head. “No. Psychic powers are usually not like in the movies, where it’s one thing only. I can get images from touching people or personal property. I can sometimes predict the future, usually the weather. And, once or twice I’ve been able to move small objects with my mind, though it exhausted me.” He sighed. “My best advice is not to invite this new power directly until you can manage your shields better. Only then can you come to understand it.”

Jayden nodded as a small measure of relief washed over her. “Thank you, Silas. Now may I ask a small favor? Could you maybe not mention this to Razvan?”

She didn’t want him to be disgusted with her.

An unreadable expression hardened Silas’s features before he gave her a brisk nod. “Very well, as long as you understand the matter will have to come out eventually.”

Razvan returned the cue ball to the bartender and regarded Silas with a savage glare. “Have you been monopolizing my woman, McNaught?”

Before Silas could reply, Sylvis burst out, “I am not a lesbian!”

The bar roared with laughter at that and the guy next to her said, “Jesus, woman I didn’t say you were, I only wanted to know if you were seeing anyone.” He gave her a rakish wink.

Sylvis blushed. “Sorry, the stupid tabloids are hinting at it. Just because I want to find the right guy and I don’t whore around like other celebrities doesn’t mean I like muff-diving. What I don’t get is why they don’t say the same thing about Xochitl or Aurora.”

Aurora had an answer for that. “Xochitl’s too flirtatious for anyone to question her sexuality. As for me, some members of the black community are too busy accusing me of ‘trying to be white’ to bother caring who I sleep with. It’s bullshit! Our people invented rock and roll! White people only embraced it when some rhinestone covered cracker from Memphis started doing it.”

Xochitl burst out laughing.

Aurora laughed and raised her beer glass in a toast. It seemed that Jayden was the only one that detected the bitterness in her voice. She remembered her vision of Aurora’s fight with her mother. It wasn’t just ‘some’ of the black community that was unsupportive of Aurora’s career.

Jayden glanced over at Xochitl, rocking on her barstool and singing along to The Doors. “She almost seems human here,” she commented, hoping to keep the distraction going.

“But she is not,” Razvan said. “And if people paid more attention, they would see that she reveals that fact in a thousand ways every day.”

“Like how?” she asked.

He favored her with a sinister smile. “She is incapable of fear, for one thing. Watch this.”

Slowly he stalked towards the girl. The other customers noticed and quickly hid their smiles with sips of beer. Xochitl remained oblivious, in thrall to the music.

The vampire clapped his hands on her shoulders and shouted, “Boo!”

Xochitl bounced up at least a foot off her barstool and shrieked. Then she burst into delighted laughter and swiveled around to face Razvan. “That was awesome!” she squealed. “Do it again!”

There were a few stunned a quizzical looks at her odd reaction, but most just laughed. “Girl, you are a strange one,” George said as he made another round with the bar rag. “But it’s nice having you around. We like your spunk.”

Spunk was an understatement, Jayden thought as she remembered Xochitl’s overpowering aura. Perhaps the people here were energized by it instead of intimidated. Still, she had no idea how she would handle an entire week in her company.

Jayden fell asleep the moment her head hit the pillow. But she awoke at two in the afternoon. The sun would be up for at least another three hours. Razvan lay next to her in a deep sleep. She rolled over to bury her face in his soft hair and timed her breathing to match his, focusing her mind to blend with him. This time it didn’t take so much agonizing effort. In seconds, she was back in the vampire’s memories.

***

“I am ready, Father,” Razvan regarded the Voivode, stroking his beard. “I want to become as you are.”

Crina looked up from her sewing. Pride and approval shone in her eyes, making him feel warm all over.

Alexandru smiled, “I knew you would be.” He turned to face Radu. “And what of you, my son? Will you join your brother?”

Radu stepped forward. “I will, but under one condition: I wish my mortal family to be given this gift.”

The Voivode’s eyes widened in horror, but something else glimmered in his expression: pity. “I cannot do that, Radu.”

“Why not?” Radu demanded, “They are my blood, my brother’s and mine. I cannot bear to watch them die.”

Alexandru shook his head sadly. “I fear that you must. It is part of what we are. That is why I forbade you to go to the village in the first place. It grieves me deeply that you both have disobeyed me and must learn this hard lesson so soon.”

Razvan understood his father’s words, but he could see that his twin did not, at least not yet. His heart surged in sympathy to him even as his stomach roiled in guilt. If he had not been so curious about his birth family, Radu would not have gotten attached to them and now be suffering the painful consequences.

“Damn you!” Radu shouted. “How can you be so heartless about this?”

Crina stood up. “Don’t speak to him so. Your father is right.”

Her words inflamed him further. “Damn it, he is not my father!”

The fight went on for over an hour before Radu stormed out of the castle. Razvan went to follow him, but Alexandru stopped him with a hand on his shoulder.

“Your brother needs time to think,” he said. “Leave him in solitude for a little while. In the meantime, I advise you to witness your last sunrise and sunset. If your decision still stands, I will Change you tomorrow night.”

Razvan nodded and set out for the castle parapet. Crina kissed him on the cheek on the way out.

Radu did not return until the next night. Razvan paced back and forth through the solar, darting nervous glances at the door. He did not want to be alone during his transformation.

“We can wait no longer,” Alexandru said, beckoning him to come forward.

Razvan stepped closer and the Voivode embraced him. “Welcome to the family,” Alexandru whispered before sinking his fangs into Razvan’s neck.

The pain was sharp and sudden and he couldn’t hold back a weak cry. The pain faded into a warm tingling which gave way to euphoria. His vision went black and soon he was weightless.

Then something wet and hot touched his tongue and his body jolted as if prodded by a thousand tiny needles. He couldn’t stop drinking the elixir, guzzling the sweet fluid as if he would die without it, and perhaps he would. Suddenly, he was thrust from the source.

Razvan let out a roar of rage, even as he curled up in a ball on the floor, shivering and bereft. A warm hand touched his. He opened his eyes. Radu knelt beside him. His eyes regarded Razvan solemnly as if he were imparting his strength to his brother. The shivering subsided, though the world seemed to explode with color and sound. And his mouth ached like the fires of hell.

“It will be all right,” Alexandru said and his voice seemed like a lash on his skin. “You will get used to it.”

For hours he lay on the stone floor, willing his mind to adjust to the assault on his senses, to separate the fusillade of odors and sounds. Radu stayed with him the whole time, the only solid tether to sanity.

Eventually the sensations blended and dimmed to a tolerable level and he was able to sit up, but another sense rose. Razvan could see the pulse beating at his twin’s throat. He stared at it, hypnotized. Saliva built in his mouth and he discovered that he was starving. A low, alien growl trickled from him.

“Ah, it is time,” Alexandru said. “You had better step back, Radu.”

Crina rang the bell to summon a maid. When she arrived, Alexandru bespelled her with his eyes and led her to Razvan’s side. Razvan was on the maid in a flash, nearly weeping with ecstasy when his new fangs punctured her flesh and the hot blood poured into his mouth. It was over too quickly and Alexandru had to wrestle her from his grasp.

“We must not kill them,” he said as he healed the girl’s wounds. “Such an act would bring peasants to our door bearing torches in no time.”

Razvan barely heard him. The world swayed in his vision. He felt wonderful, but incredibly tired and his mouth still ached from his newly grown fangs. Crina supported him with an arm at his waist and he was led down a hidden passage to a luxurious bedchamber below the castle. There was an identical door beside it, presumably meant for Radu.

His adopted mother tucked him into the mammoth bed and he knew no more.

When he awoke the next night, the blood hunger was upon him so fiercely that he nearly whimpered in desperation for sustenance. Alexandru was ready for him. He led him out on the parapet, took him in his arms and rose up in the air, carrying Razvan to the village. There he showed him how to capture the mind of a mortal long enough to take his meal and erase his victim’s memory of the feeding.

“When shall I be able to fly?” Razvan asked.

Alexandru laughed. “So eager, you are. Your powers won’t really manifest until your second or third century.”

“That long?”

The Voivode chuckled. “It is not nearly the eternity you think it is. We have all the time in the world. Besides, you have other skills to occupy you for now.”

“Like what?”

Alexandru’s answer was a mysterious smile. “Run,” he said.

Razvan obeyed and whooped with joy as his feet devoured the ground at an impossible speed. Now he knew how wolves felt when they ran with the moon.

When they arrived back at the castle, Radu was waiting. He looked deep into his twin’s eyes and said simply, “I cannot let you take this journey alone.”

Razvan fought back tears and embraced his brother. “I will always be your family,” he vowed.

Alexandru changed Radu the next night. From then on, the twins returned to their inseparable state. And for the very first time, they did not look identical. Radu shaved off the beard and mustache at his first opportunity, sighing with relief as he stroked his now-bared chin. Razvan kept the mustache but trimmed his beard until it was a small point at the end of his chin.

“You look like a devil,” Radu teased.

Razvan grinned and bared his fangs. “Perhaps I am.”

The twins continued to look in on their birth family, but did not visit them any longer in fear that their Change would be detected. Instead they kept to each other and their new shared experiences and powers. Their bond with their adopted family grew every night as they spent many a delightful evening listening to endless stories of Alexandru’s immortal adventures.

When Ihrin died, Radu and Razvan wept over her grave and made certain the site was always adorned with flowers. When the simple marker decayed over the years, they replaced it. Razvan remained desolate over the death of their birth mother, but Radu reminded him of the existence of continuing generations. Eventually, he found peace in looking after them.

Jayden wasn't able to access any more of Razvan’s memories for over a week. She was too exhausted. Silas’s normally quiet house was turned into a noisy world of chaos for the time that
Rage of Angels
were guests. Jayden worked on her psychic training as often as she could, often going to the shop with Max and practicing on him as he worked on cars because it was too loud at the house.

Still, she’d never had a more exciting time. Every evening was full of laughter, music, and those eerie meowing conversations that Xochitl had with her cat.

The band really did live and breathe music it seemed, for when they weren’t practicing or putting on impromptu concerts for their hosts, they monopolized Silas’s stereo-and his collection of 80’s mix CD’s and sang and danced for hours.

They didn’t maintain a consistent schedule, sometimes they stayed up all night watching the most awful B horror movies that Jayden had ever seen, other times they whiled away afternoons reading, shopping, and conversing on every imaginable topic. Jayden had never met anyone like them or seen Akasha so happy.

Everyone went to bed early the evening before
Rage of Angels
had to depart…except for Xochitl. Jayden got up to get a glass of water and found the singer pacing frantically in the living room, hugging her arms as if she were cold. Her energy seemed to ricochet through the room, making Jayden feel as if she were surrounded by lightning.

“Xochitl,” Jayden said quietly, cautiously making her way to the living room. “Are you okay?”

Their eyes met and that alien energy pelted Jayden, making her hair stand on end.

“I’m okay,” Xochitl said, every tremble of her body revealing the lie. She pulled an electronic cigarette out of her pocket and took a puff, breathing out a cloud of blue vapor.

Although every instinct screamed at her to run, Jayden held her ground. “No, you’re not.” In a gentler tone she continued, “Want to talk about it?”

Xochitl didn’t answer. She picked up an empty glass from the coffee table and walked past Jayden into the kitchen, pulling out a can of Red Bull and a bottle of Stolichnaya from the fridge with brisk efficiency. The vodka was half gone and since no one else in the house drank vodka, Jayden was willing to bet the rock star was already three sheets to the wind.

After mixing another drink, Xochitl went back to the living room. Jayden followed her. For the longest time Xochitl stood staring at the waxing moon through the picture window.

“He’s coming for me,” she whispered. “Just like he said he would.”

“Who?” Jayden whispered even more softly.

“The dark man. I’ve dreamt of him for years and now he’s finally coming. I don’t know what he wants. I saw him at the concert….” She took another swig of her drink and swayed. “…and I think he’s following me.”

Chills broke out on Jayden’s skin as she remembered dreaming of Razvan before they met. But what sort of creature could cause Xochitl to sound almost afraid? Razvan had said she was incapable of fear and her cheerful ease amongst the company of vampires seemed to prove the point.

“I don’t know what he wants from me!” Xochitl said as if Jayden wasn’t there.

“Maybe—” Jayden began, but was cut off by a shrill meow that sent her heart careening into her throat.

Xochitl whirled around, blinking at Jayden in surprise before looking down at the Siamese cat perched by her feet glaring at her with turquoise eyes.

“Yes, Isis, you’re right,” she told the cat before meeting Jayden’s eyes. “Good night, Jayden. It was nice meeting you.”

Jayden watched her walk away with catlike grace despite her obvious drunkenness. Whatever Xochitl was involved in, it likely went deeper than even Silas could guess.

***

When
Rage of Angels
left, the silence was almost overwhelming. Akasha’s cheer was gone and she returned to being the coarse beer-swilling mechanic that Jayden had met. It was obvious she missed her friends. The weekends were worse. Akasha was like a sullen ghost haunting the house with a book in one hand, a beer in the other, occasionally breaking the silence with a pensive sigh. On Halloween she shut herself up in the library.

“She’s always like this for a while after they leave,” Silas explained as he filled large bowls with candy for the trick-or-treaters. He sighed, “It’s a little worse because of the season, I believe, because she first met them this time of year.” Something in his voice didn’t ring true, however.

“You sense something,” Jayden said with conviction.

“Aye,” he said, meeting her eyes solemnly. “And I’ll bet you do as well.”

She hugged herself as if she were cold. “It’s like I swallowed a rock. The feeling that something bad is going to happen, it just never leaves. And with Akasha being so distant...”
and Razvan as well.

“Perhaps it’s because you’ve been shut up in this house too long,” he said with forced calm. “Max is going to try to get Akasha to go to the Halloween party at the Powder River. There’s to be a dart tournament and she hasn’t missed one yet. It may do some good if you joined them.”

“I don’t know,” Jayden said, “I’m not really in the mood to go out drinking, and I should probably wait for Razvan.”

“Razvan will not be back until after the bars close,” Silas countered smoothly. “And I meant that it would be good for Akasha. She needs a friend.”

Jayden flushed with guilt. “Oh. You’re probably right.” She was quiet for a moment. “Akasha told me that Xochitl and the others were her first and only friends, but Aurora told me they didn’t meet until their senior year in high school. Why didn’t she have friends before? I’ve tried to ask her, but she is so evasive.”

The genuine empathy and desire to help in Jayden’s eyes almost undid him. “I could tell you, but it would be better if you asked Max.”

She raised a brow. “Why can’t you tell me?”

“Because, she would never forgive me, but she would forgive Max anything. Also,” he added with a wink, “the man’s tongue gets awfully loose after a few pints.”

“Well, in that case, I better get my costume ready. Speaking of, yours is nice. It looks authentic.”

Silas looked down at his kilt, and plaid draped over his shoulder, fastened by the McNaught crest. “It’ll be even more so when I wear my sword. Now would you hold this bowl for a moment?”

Jayden smiled with wry amusement when he filled the bowl with full size candy bars. “I’ll bet your house is a favorite stop.”

He grinned, showing a hint of fang. “Aye, it is. I don’t know why.”

***

Silas sighed in relief when Max and Jayden, with a reluctant Akasha, headed out the door a few minutes later. The moment they were out of sight he pulled out his phone and called a few of his strongest vampires to keep watch over them. Caution was imperative these days.

Razvan had received another message from Selena, this time threatening “dire consequences” if they failed to give her Jayden within a month. They had agreed to keep this information from the ladies for now. Razvan believed that Jayden’s mind was still too fragile to handle too much undue stress and Silas was worried that Akasha would lose her temper and try to confront Selena herself.

To make matters worse, Razvan still had a spy among his Spokane vampires. While he worked on weeding out the traitor, Silas was trying to track down Delgarias. He’d already sent a letter to the Elders informing them of Selena’s actions, but he had little hope they’d do anything. After his trumped up trial in Amsterdam, he had few allies among them. There was only one he could call a friend amongst the Elder’s council. But Ian Ashton, Lord of London had the typical stiffness and lack of imagination that was stock of the British aristocracy, so it was hard to tell how seriously he would respond to the threat.

Delgarias was his only hope for sorting out this situation. But so far, the ancient vampire was nowhere to be found. It was a regular occurrence with the Thirteenth Elder, but lately it drove Silas mad. The son of a bitch had a knack for disappearing when he was needed the most. In fact, if Delgarias had been around four years ago, Selena wouldn’t have been able to cause as much trouble as she did the first time.

Silas admired Akasha’s sexy pirate costume as they walked down the driveway, pleased that Jayden persuaded her to wear it by threatening to call Xochitl and tell her if she didn’t. Her bottom looked luscious in the tight-fitting trousers. Silas struggled to tamp down the lust. It wouldn’t do if his kilt stood up before the eyes of the approaching trick-or-treaters

***

The Halloween party at the Powder River Saloon turned out to be a lot of fun. Besides the dart tournament (which Akasha won) George’s wife had organized party games and “trick or treat walks” in which she had everyone line up to pull out paper bags from a huge garbage sack behind the jukebox. The bags contained treats like candy, chips, disposable lighters, and pepperoni sticks. But there were also “tricks” like dog biscuits, toilet paper rolls and George’s old socks. Before Jayden could toss away an old ace bandage, Max informed her that there was over a hundred dollars hidden amongst the “tricks.” Sure enough, she found a buck rolled up in the bandage.

When the festivities wound down around midnight and Akasha was occupied with another dart game, Jayden decided it was time to seek her information.

“Max?” she tried to speak softly, yet still be heard over the din. “What happened to Akasha?”

He blinked at her suspiciously before darting a paternal glance at his business partner. “What do you mean?”

She took a deep breath and began. “When I first met her, I shook her hand and I saw people being shot. I think they were her parents. And then I saw her in a home where she was abused by a crazy lady, then she was on the streets, and well, a whole bunch of stuff. I was wondering if you could maybe explain it.”

Max scratched his beard. “Have you asked her?”

She blushed. “Yeah, and she doesn’t want to talk about it. But even though I haven’t known her long, I really care about her.” she said quickly before he could respond. “I know she’s suffered a lot, and that’s probably why she drinks so much, but if she keeps drinking like that, it’s going to ruin her life.”

He gave her a long steady look. “With all the shit that girl’s been through, it’s a wonder that all she does is drink. If it had been me, I’d either have killed myself or been out of my mind.” He gulped down the rest of his beer and signaled for a refill before he leaned closer to her and lowered his voice further. “Fine, I’ll tell you, but if she finds out, she’ll kick my ass. During the Gulf War, there were a bunch of top secret government experiments in an attempt to create the perfect soldier. Akasha’s father was one of the soldiers experimented on. Somehow his genes were mutated and he and his fellow lab rats ended up with superhuman strength, extreme endurance, and a few other goodies. But for some reason, the higher-ups were unsatisfied with the results. They ordered the experiment to be terminated, meaning the soldiers.”

Max lit a cigarette. “Akasha’s dad managed to escape. He met her mother, married, and passed his mutation along to his daughter. Eight years later, the government goons found them and they shot down her parents right in front of her. The only reason Akasha knew how old she was then was because she had finished blowing out eight birthday candles only minutes before it happened.”

“Oh my God,” Jayden breathed, horrified by such a tragedy. “I couldn’t imagine.”

The bartender came to collect his empty glass, and Max requested a large pitcher before he continued. “Somehow she ended up in an orphanage, and then later in a foster home. The foster lady was one of them religious nuts. You ever seen the movie
Carrie
?”

Jayden nodded, dreading to hear the rest of the story.

“Well this bitch was ten times worse than Carrie’s mom. They shut her down after she starved a three year old boy to death. She said he was ‘fasting.’” He grimaced and lit a cigarette. “And there wasn’t a kid in that place that didn’t have a bruise or a burn or damaged knees from hours of kneeling. But Akasha ran away long before the lady’s abuse was found out.” He swept another look around the bar to make sure no one was listening.

“Anyway, she spent over two years on the streets sleeping in cardboard boxes and sharing canned beans with the other bums. One of the bums was a crack whore, and she sent Akasha away because her pimp noticed her and had ‘Johns’ that would love a little girl. So I guess there really are hookers with golden hearts out there.”

Jayden took a small sip of wine and pushed the glass aside, her stomach roiling with revulsion.

The bartender came with a new pitcher of beer and a fresh frosty glass. Max paid and waited until he was out of earshot. “When I met Akasha, she was taking food out of my garbage can. She’d been living in my shed. This was in Montana in the early winter. If I hadn’t caught her then, she would’ve gotten frostbite or hypothermia. It damn near broke my heart.” His voice cracked and he coughed. “Anyway, I made a deal with her. I wouldn’t turn her in to the system if she’d stay with me and help out around the house and in my garage, just with the legit stuff, mind you, she didn’t know about the chop shop thing I had on the side. She became like a daughter to me, of course, I wasn’t a very good dad, since I’m the one who taught her to drink and smoke and cuss and all that.