Ironic Sacrifice (8 page)

“So, now you know,” Akasha said. “And now we need to figure out what to do about the situation.”

“What situation?” Razvan’s dark chocolate voice filled the room, making Jayden quiver.

Silas sighed and held out Selena’s message. “This situation.”

Razvan snatched the paper from Silas’s hand. His brows drew together as he read the contents. Then he burst into the most sinister laughter Jayden had ever heard.

“
This
is her move?” He shook his head. “The woman must have grown more daft over the years.”

“Yes, we all know she’s doolally. But you never told me that you made her,” Silas said with a raised brow, leaning his elbow on the table.

“Would you think I’d admit to something that foolish?” Razvan replied coolly.

“He’s got a point there, buddy,” Max said.

Akasha groaned. “Please don’t tell me you slept with her as well. It’s bad enough that Silas did.”

His stony silence was answer enough. Jayden clenched her teeth as jealousy raged within her. To her humiliation, Razvan looked at her and seemed to read it in her face. He smirked before turning to Silas. “At least I did not join her cult.”

Silas flushed in embarrassment. “Aye, and I paid for that dearly. The bitch poisoning me was only the least of it.” He shook his head. “But that’s all in the past. Now she wants Jayden and I don’t think a simple ‘no’ will dissuade her.”

“Well, that is too bad for her, is it not?” Razvan said and pulled out his phone.

Jayden watched nervously as the room fell silent as the vampire pushed buttons on the phone with the rapid efficiency of a gossiping teenager.

“Holy shit,” Akasha breathed. “Did you just
text
her?”

Razvan gave her a wicked grin. “I would never be so uncouth. I sent her an email. I cannot very well ‘invade her lands’ again to deliver her message in person, can I? Even though she had no qualms with invading yours, McNaught.”

“What did you say to her?” Jayden asked.

He regarded her with a smug grin. “I wrote, in the most professional manner possible, ‘fuck you.’”

Max laughed until his face was an alarming shade of red and he was clutching his large belly. To Jayden he looked like a redneck version of Santa Claus. “I don’t think the ‘High Priestess’ is gonna like that very much.”

“No, she will not,” Silas said, looking far more serious. “Though I agree that a personal reply would have been more dangerous, I believe this will be trouble.”

“It was trouble that was due anyway.” Razvan countered. “And I
don’t like
her thinking she can take what is mine.” He placed a possessive hand on Jayden’s shoulder. “It is getting late. We shall discuss this further tomorrow. Good night.”

“Thank you,” Jayden said when they were downstairs.

“For what?” Razvan asked with a frown.

“For not giving me up to that crazy woman,” she replied. “I mean, you hardly know me and—”

“You are mine,” he said simply and cut off her reply with his kiss. From then until dawn, he went about proving to her how true that was.

Selena gaped in stunned disbelief as she read the email from Razvan. With every scathing word on the screen, her temples throbbed with unbearable pressure. How dare he? Not only was Lord Nicolae completely unrepentant for his invasion of her lands, but his refusal to relinquish the girl and his insults to her and the Order of Eternal Night went beyond the pale. And his mode of reply, an email!
Email!
As if they were mere mortals discussing a luncheon!

Her fingers crept up to grasp a lock of her hair. Her teeth clenched as she tugged on the strands, feeling the satisfying pain in her scalp. Such rudeness was not to be borne.

Her eyes darted back to the computer screen, unable to stop rereading the offensive words. An inhuman shriek of fury escaped her lips as her fist flew out in a blur to shatter the offending piece of technology.

“Jessica!” she screamed, oblivious to the blood dripping from her hand onto the white carpet.

A moment later, a scrawny vampire with short brunette hair peeked through the doorway. “Yes, my lord?”

Still tugging on her hair with one hand while the other oozed blood and broken glass from the touch screen, Selena hissed. “You have failed me.”

Jessica’s eyes widened in terror as she stammered, “No, my lord, I delivered the message as you asked, I promise!”

“Then why have they refused to give me the woman? Why didn’t you persuade them?”

“I left your note on Lord McNaught's doorstep because I couldn’t speak to them, they have immunity, remember? They would have killed me!” The vampire stepped back as Selena advanced towards her. Her mouth went dry as she struggled to speak, then she remembered the one thing that may persuade the high priestess to spare her. “Lord Nicolae Marked the clairvoyant!”

Selena stopped as if a switch was thrown in her brain. She remained still for an interminable moment. Jessica shivered. Her lord resembled a coiled snake ready to strike. Finally she blinked.

“He
Marked
her? But he’s never Marked any of his other psychics, not even me.” For a moment she pouted, looking like a child with a broken toy, then her features shifted to a mask of unadulterated malice. She looked down at her bloody hand, still full of broken glass, noticing it for the first time. Her lips curved into a smile that would have been winsome, if not for the coldness in her gray eyes.

“We must have a meeting, but first, attend my wound.”

Jessica approached her cautiously. The sight of the blood made her stomach churn in hunger. It had been so long since she’d fed. Selena was a firm believer in fasting. But something about the high priestess’s generosity gave her pause.

“First I must get something to remove the glass, my lord,” she said.

“No,” Selena said. “You will be rewarded for delivering the message and for the information, but you will have your punishment as well.”

“B-but, my lord,” Jessica stumbled back.

“I can think of other punishments.”

Jessica dropped like a stone to her knees. She had seen Selena tear a vampire’s heart out once and suck out the blood until it became a dry husk. The scene still gave her nightmares.

Reverently, she took her master’s hand in hers and lowered her trembling lips to the wound. A moan escaped her lips as the powerful blood touched her tongue.

But the pleasure soon dissipated as she encountered her first shard of glass. Her tongue screamed in pain as she used her teeth to pull it out. Gently she nudged it inside her cheek, cutting her tongue further. If she could put it all in one place, maybe it wouldn’t be so bad.

“Swallow it,” Selena commanded as if reading her mind. For all she knew, she probably had.

Tears streamed down the vampire’s face as the glass cut her throat, her belly. Her insides were on fire. She had made the wrong choice. Having her heart torn out would have been so much quicker, and perhaps would have hurt less.

“There is still more,” the high priestess whispered.

A pathetic animal whine escaped her lips as she returned her attention to Selena’s wound. The blood was no incentive any more. She couldn’t taste it over all of her own.

By the time it was finished, Jessica collapsed onto the floor, curled into a shrieking ball of agony.

“Michael! Lionel!” Selena shrieked.

Almost immediately, her two favorite apostles filled the doorway.

“Yes, my lord?” they chorused obediently.

“Take her to her room.” She pointed as Jessica’s sobbing form. Then she gestured at her shattered monitor. “And see that I get a new one of those.”

Jessica screamed as Lionel threw her over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes. “Yes, my lord.”

“Michael, please schedule a meeting after first hunt tomorrow. We must discuss our enemies as well as the upcoming
Rage of Angels
concert.”

Her body tense with anticipation, Jayden waited until Razvan’s breathing settled into the even rhythm of deep sleep.

I’m ready, I think.
Another voice countered,
but what if it doesn’t work?
She shoved the doubting voice aside.
So what if it doesn’t? He won’t know either way.

She placed a tentative hand on Razvan’s shoulder, momentarily luxuriating in the silken feel of his skin. Then she took a deep shuddering breath and let down her shields. At first nothing happened.

Jayden bit her lower lip, and for the first time, she closed her eyes and intentionally reached into that wayward part of her mind that nearly drove her insane and flipped on the switch…actually it was more like turning a dial.

As she was swept from her body and into another place, another time, another world, she had a split second to think that perhaps she had turned the dial too far.

***

Two identical boys on the brink of manhood lounged indolently in velvet covered chairs. The stone walls lined with torches and the embroidered tapestries on the walls indicated that they were in a medieval castle. They were speaking in another language, but for some reason Jayden could understand them. One boy had a mischievous twinkle in his eyes that was achingly familiar. This was a very young, more carefree Razvan.

“I’m bored,” the other boy complained. He had to be Radu.

Jayden felt Razvan’s lips curve into a smile of fondness for his twin. Suddenly it was as if she were one with him, hearing his thoughts, feeling his emotions, and experiencing his senses. She could even smell the rushes on the floor and the burning tallow candles nearby.

“Let’s go into the village,” Razvan suggested.

Radu’s eyes widened. “But Father says that we are forbidden until we are older.”

“Father will not awaken until dusk. How is he to know?” he asked his twin with impish challenge.

“He has his ways.”

Razvan tried another tack. “Come now, Radu. Someday we are to be
Voivodes
of this
ţări.
Surely it would please Father if we proved to him that we are ready, and what better way to become ready than to become familiar with the people we shall one day rule?” When his twin still appeared reluctant, he added, “I am sure there will be many pretty girls.”

Radu’s gaze turned speculative, “Well, perhaps we wouldn’t get into too much trouble…”

At seventeen, Radu’s weakness for the opposite sex was an object of great amusement for his twin. As many serving wenches dreaded being caught alone with him as the ones who sought him out. Razvan appreciated the pleasure that a comely woman could offer, indeed he’d enjoyed wenches of his own, but he could not fathom why they would merit such obsession.

The twins crept through the corridors of the castle, ever wary that the head housekeeper, or worse, their aging nursemaid, would spot them and question their destination. They made it outside without detection and breathed in the fresh spring air. The sun sparkled merrily on the fishing pond to the west.

“I wonder why Mother and Father can’t go out during the day,” Radu said sadly, gazing at the pond. “They are missing such beauty.”

“You have the sentiments of a poet,” Razvan chuckled as he hitched the horses to the steward’s wagon. “Whatever the reason, it must be important. Father said he would tell us when we are old enough.”

Radu sighed impatiently. “He’s been saying that for years. I wish he’d get on with it.” He climbed up to the wagon seat and sat down with a huff.

The mystery was forgotten the moment the wagon began its trundling path to the village. When the first cottages came into view, Radu nearly fell off his seat as he twisted and turned in all directions trying to see everything at once. Razvan smiled and held his dignified posture as he flicked the reins softly to urge the horses to a canter. However, he was just as excited as his brother.

The twins had been isolated from the world, with only their parents and the servants for company. The occasional visitor to the castle was a cause for extreme celebration and gossip that would last for months.

To their disappointment, the cottages were mostly empty. The inhabitants were still out working in the fields, their forms barely visible in the distance. Radu slumped in his seat, his displeasure evident in every line of his body.

Razvan patted his shoulder. “Don’t worry, brother, I am certain the market will be full of interesting sights.”

His words were confirmed moments later. The market was a bustle of activity with an endless array of things to look at.

“Look, Radu.” Razvan pointed. A man was standing on an overturned bucket and somehow making four balls spin in a circle through the air. “How does he do that? Why is he not dropping them?”

Radu was not paying attention to the juggler. He was watching a woman with a garishly painted face who was lifting her skirts to show passing men the charms that lay beneath as she called out her price.

“I’ve got that much!” he said, digging through his pockets.

Razvan grabbed his brother by the collar before he leapt from the wagon. “She’s a harlot. I’ve read about them. They have a sickness that’ll shrivel your prick if you fuck them.”

Radu’s face turned the color of rancid cheese. “Do you think that’s true?” His gaze narrowed as a man handed the harlot a coin and followed her into an inn. “Then why is that man going with her?”

“Because most commoners can’t read,” Razvan explained patiently.

“Oh.” Radu’s face filled with disappointment.

As the wagon made its way through the market, many people stared openly at the twins in awe of their fine clothes and identical looks. The twins stared back in equal fascination at their first taste of civilization.

Their initial impression was the utter noise of it. Shouts of vendors hawking their wares blended with customers rattling off orders among the endless hum of bleating sheep and clucking chickens.

“I want to get down and look around!” Radu said, nearly squirming with excitement.

It was just as well, for they reached a point where the market was impassable by wagon. Razvan held out a coin and called loudly for assistance. In moments, he paid a boy to take the wagon to a stable and feed the horses. He was feeling quite sophisticated.

The boys walked now, nearly tripping over heaps of refuse in the road because they were too busy craning their necks to see everything. Booths, pavilions and tables were all around, covered in trinkets, fabrics and tools. It seemed anything a man desired could be purchased here. There were even crates and pens full of chickens, hogs, geese, and dogs. The stench of animal excrement hung heavy in the air.

But soon another scent overpowered the unpleasant odors: food! The twins eagerly reached into their pockets. There were stalls selling meat pies, cheeses, breads, stews, and even tarts. For once their formidable appetites were satisfied.

Razvan was wiping berry juice from his mouth when he noticed a woman staring at them. Only this stare was unlike the others they had received. It was as if she knew them. Her black eyes met his and his heart skipped a beat.

Radu had noticed her too. “Look at that woman. There’s something odd about her. Her eyes look like ours.”

Before he could ponder that statement, the woman rushed forward. “My boys!” she cried, “God’s mercy, I never thought to see you again. How you’ve grown!”

“Madam?” Razvan asked.

Tears brimmed in the woman’s eyes. “And you have your father’s voice!” Finally she seemed to notice their confusion. “Come join me for supper. I shall explain everything. And there are some people you will like to meet.”

The twins followed her down narrow twisting roads. They exchanged questioning glances that deepened with worry the further they went. Razvan didn’t know if they’d be able to find the place where their wagon was kept.

They were now in a nicer part of the village. The streets were cleaner and the houses were larger and made of wood instead of the small wattle and daub cottages they’d first seen. The woman led them into one of the biggest houses and Razvan and Radu both froze in place when they saw a man who looked like an older version of themselves, only taller and broader of shoulder. The man stared back at them with mirrored astonishment.

The woman smiled, “Boys, this is Dorin, your older brother. And I am Ihrin, but you may call me Mother.”

“You’re not our mother!” Radu said, brimming with outrage. “Crina Nicolae is our mother.”

Ihrin smiled and shook her head. “Crina was sent to the Voivode nearly eighteen years ago because she couldn’t bear children.”

“She has to be telling the truth.” Razvan seized his brother’s arm. “Look at her, look at
him
!” He pointed at Dorin. “Only blood could be the reason for such a resemblance.” He turned back to Ihrin. “Please explain this to us.”

She nodded. “Come into the kitchen. Talking is thirsty work.”

Once they were settled at the table with mugs of cold cider, Ihrin began her story.

“I was not as well off as I used to be. My husband and I were serfs. Poor ones at that, for our crops did not always perform well and we had many children to feed. I already had five when I delivered twins.” She regarded them both solemnly. “It was a difficult pregnancy and we did not have the means to care for two babies. I feared I would be unable to provide enough milk for even one in my weakened state. A difficult, painful decision was made.

“My husband took one of you outside to be exposed to the elements or carried off by the wolves, I don’t know which of you it was; you look so similar.”

Radu and Razvan sucked in startled breaths at the news.

“You tell us that you are our mother in one breath,” Radu said with an accusing glare, “and then in the next, you tell us that you cast one of us out to die?”

“It was our only choice!” Ihrin cried. “We had to give up one in hopes that the other would survive.” When they did not answer, she took a shuddering breath and continued. “But the fates must have smiled upon you both. When I awoke in the morning, there was no baby at my breast, and the cradle was full of gold. My husband went to the place where he’d left the other, but there was no dead baby, nor any blood that would have given sign that it had been carried off by a wolf. And when the news was heard that the Voivode took Crina to wife and they now had beautiful twin baby boys, I had my suspicions. From that day on, I kept my eyes sharp when at market, hoping for a glimpse of you, but after all these years I had given up.” She burst into tears then.

Dorin took her into his arms and looked at them with a slight smile. “I am glad to finally meet my little brothers. What are your names?”

After introductions were made, Ihrin sent Dorin to fetch their other brothers and sisters. Their mother insisted that they stay for supper.

Razvan couldn’t bear to refuse her. “But we must be home before dark,” he admonished.

While Dorin was gone, Ihrin insisted on hearing every detail of their lives with the Voivode. Radu and Razvan took turns indulging her and were thrilled with her interest.

“I am so happy that you are treated well,” she said. “It seems they love you very much.”

Dorin returned then accompanied by two beautiful dark haired women and an older man with red hair.

The women rushed the twins, covering their faces with kisses and embracing them fervently. Razvan’s mind spun with the affection. These were his older sisters. He couldn’t believe that he had sisters.

Dorin frowned as he addressed their mother. “Stela couldn’t make it. Her back is aching dreadfully. I think the baby will come soon.”

“Did you hear that, brother?” Radu said, “We’re soon to have a niece or nephew.”

The younger of the sisters laughed. “You already have several!”

More excited introductions were made until their birth mother interrupted, “To the table with you all before the food gets cold!”

The meal with their long lost family was a revelation to the twins. Never before had they experienced such warmth and cheer. Their adopted parents never ate with them and until now, Razvan believed that was the way things were done. He didn’t want this time to end.

Unfortunately, just as they were about to dig into a heavenly smelling pie, the sun began to dip toward the horizon. If they didn’t hurry, they would be too late.

Radu looked out the window with alarm and leapt from his seat as if it were on fire. “We must go now.”

“What is the hurry?” Anica, the youngest of their sisters, asked with a teasing smile.

“Our father has forbidden us to go to the village. We must get home before he discovers us gone,” Razvan explained.

Anica giggled. “You naughty boys. You will come back and visit again?”

Razvan bowed and kissed her hand. “I swear it!”

***

The vision faded into gossamer threads no matter how hard Jayden tried to grasp it. As her eyes fluttered open, her mind raced with all she’d seen. Razvan had been so young then! So full of life and optimism which the centuries must have eroded away, leaving behind the cold, cynical man she now knew.

And Radu… Jayden sighed, feeling the bond between the twins. No wonder Razvan continued to search for him. What had happened to separate them? She closed her eyes once more and focused on Radu. Maybe she could find him now.