Life's Blood (The Cordelia Chronicles) (29 page)

“So, how is it that we’re here now?” I asked.

“Alina finally found a way to balance who she was as a human with the special gifts she’d been given as a vampire,” Chaseyn explained. “She helps those of us who have lost their way find their path. She helps newborns whose makers have left them alone learn how to live as immortals. And she helps those of us who need a safe haven find respite.”

“You’re saying the fact that she’s helping us now has nothing to do with the fact that she’s Balthazar’s sister,” I said in realization.

“No. She’d help us no matter what. It’s just convenient that he knew where to find someone who could help us so nearby,” Chaseyn replied.

“What do we do now?”

“We wait.”

***

Chaseyn and I dozed for a few hours. We were awakened by a knock on the door well after darkness had shrouded our room. I looked at the clock on the bedside table--eight thirty five. We’d slept the better part of the afternoon away.

When Chaseyn didn’t stir, I crawled out of bed and opened the door a crack--even though we were in a safe house, I knew I needed to be cautious. Who knew what dangers lurked outside our door?

“Lia, would you care to join us for dinner?” Alina asked.

I looked back at Chaseyn in bed asleep and thought it would do him well to rest a while longer. I nodded my acceptance and followed Alina to the main house and into the dining area. Before I even entered the room, I knew at least one other vampire was there--I could feel the cold chill of his presence as we opened the door.

Sitting at the table was a young boy--no more than ten years old I’d wager to guess--with soft blond curls, big blue eyes, and the whitest, purest skin I’d ever seen.

“Jonathan, say hello to Mrs. Lear,” Alina instructed as I took a seat in the same chair where I’d eaten my lunch earlier in the day. “This is Chaseyn’s wife.”

“Hello, Mrs. Lear,” Jonathan said.

“Please, call me Lia,” I said with a smile.

“Jonathan is my son,” Alina explained, taking the seat across from me.

“Your son? I thought vampires couldn’t have children of their own.”

“They can’t, Mrs. L…I mean Lia,” Jonathan replied. “Mother helped me get well.”

“Jonathan and his birth mother were staying as guests in the bed and breakfast when they both caught pneumonia,” Alina explained. “His mother died quickly, but she begged me to get her son help. But I knew there was nothing any doctor could do, and I couldn’t bare to watch him suffer.”

“I understand,” I assured, gently squeezing her hand to show my sincerity. “Did this happen long ago?”

“Only about a hundred years or so,” Jonathan said, and I looked at him in awe.

Looks can be deceiving, I thought. Moments ago, I was sure this boy was no more than a decade old, but it turns out he was more like a century old.

Alina filled my bowl with stew while she told me about some of the guests she’d helped over the years. She even shared some fond memories of Balthazar as a child and others of when she helped Chaseyn through his wayward years.

About an hour had passed when Chaseyn burst through the back door. His face was creased in panic, until he spotted me seated at the table.

“Don’t
ever
do that again, love,” he said, kneeling at my feet, his head in my lap. “I thought you were gone.”

“Don’t be foolish, Chaseyn. I would never leave you,” I said soothingly.

“I know you wouldn’t intentionally,” he rationalized. “But someone could
take
you.”

“I’m so sorry you thought that.”

“My apologies, Chaseyn. I should have known what you would think and told your bride to leave a note,” Alina said. “But I am glad you joined us.”

Chaseyn nodded then took a seat beside me. He told me that Addie and Eli had texted earlier to let us know they hadn’t been followed--at least as far as they could tell--and that they had enjoyed a lovely day taking in the sights before returning to our suite at the hotel. I was relieved to hear they were alright and relaxed a little with the knowledge.

“Addie’s still hoping they can hit the Ethnography Museum in Campulung, but I‘d just as well avoid that one anyway,” Chaseyn added, and Jonathan’s eyes widened. Chaseyn laughed, which turned into a hacking cough.

“What’s so funny?” I asked.

“That museum is full of wooden…utensils,” Jonathan gulped, and Alina petted him on his back. I shrugged and looked at the three of them inquisitively. “You know--like objects that could be used to stake a vampire.”

“Oh,” I giggled.

“Glad you think it’s funny,” the boy said, baring his fangs.

“Calm down, son,” Alina advised. “Lia didn’t mean anything by laughing--just a nervous gesture is all.”

I smiled, but the boy glared at me in a way that made the hairs on my neck stand on end. I was distracted from his gaze by the wheezing sound that suddenly came from Chaseyn’s chest.

“It looks like it may be time for you to drink,” Alina said to Chaseyn.

“Not yet, Alina,” Chaseyn said, shooting daggers at her with his eyes. Every muscle in my body tensed--I knew exactly what she meant.

“You are growing weak, son. You cannot wait much longer.”

“It’s okay, Chaseyn,” I said. “If it’s what you need, I’m willing to do it.”

“But we have to hold out as long as we can since it’s our last chance before I’ll need the elixir,” he said. “You’re the only human I’ve ever had a drink from, and I want it to stay that way.”

My heart sang. Chaseyn had answered my earlier question--even during his darkest hours, he’d never had blood straight from the vein before me. I was
it
for him. His virgin experience--at least in this way. And, if everything went according to plan, in a few short hours, Chaseyn would never need to drink blood again.

I stood from my chair and wandered to the window a few feet away. I pulled back the curtain to take in the view. There wasn’t much to see--a high cement wall, railway tracks, and…a horse? I was sure my eyes were playing tricks on me so I squinted them against the darkness. But they hadn’t betrayed me. In the soft glow of the streetlight I could make out the shape of a wild horse sipping from a puddle of water beside one of the train tracks--the same place I‘d seen the stray dog earlier. The sight was beautiful, and I was about to call Chaseyn to my side so we could share this moment together when the old-school phone with a rotating dial hanging on the wall next to the fridge began to ring.

As Jonathan thrust his chair back it screeched along the hard tile floor, he was poised to pickup the receiver, but Alina beat him to the punch. She held the phone to her ear, but she didn’t utter a single word for more than a minute.

“I’ll let them know,” she said before replacing the receiver in its cradle.

Alina walked to the table and poured a tall glass of water. She chugged the entire thing before repeating her actions two more times. Odd, especially since vampires didn’t need water, and I had never seen one drink it.

“Well?” I finally asked.

“Well what?” she replied.

“Who was that?”

“Where?”

I wondered if she was just playing coy or if she really was oblivious to my line of questioning. Either way, I was in no mood to play her games while my husband was wasting away to nothing.

“On the phone, Alina. I believe Cordelia is wondering if the phone call had any relevance to our current circumstance,” Chaseyn offered. Leave it to him to know when to diffuse the situation.

“Oh, yes,” Alina said. “That was Mina. She said you need to go to Snagov.”

“When?” I asked.

“Right now,” Alina replied. “The sooner the better, in fact.”

I balled my fists and took a step forward. I didn’t care that she was an ancient vampire who could tear my throat out without so much as blinking an eye. I was furious at her for sitting on this information--even if it was only for a few minutes.

“Let it go,” Chaseyn whispered in my ear. He rested his hand on my shoulder, stopping me in my tracks. “We should get our things.”

I nodded and followed him out the door. There was no time to spare.

“Thank you--and Jonathan--for your hospitality, Alina,” Chaseyn said to our host when we were done placing our bags in the trunk of the Dacia. “We appreciate all you’ve done.”

I nodded my head in agreement--it was all I could do to muster that small gesture after the way she had behaved moments earlier. Still, I knew Chaseyn was right. If it hadn’t been for Alina, we would have been made long ago. She’d kept us safe, and I was grateful for that. I was about to take my place behind the wheel when Alina appeared at my side.

“My dear, you should ride in the back,” she said.

“Then who will drive the car? Chaseyn is too weak,” I replied.

“There is no time to waste, and you drive like a snail. I will take the wheel. We’ll be there in an hour at most,” she explained. “Besides, Chaseyn must drink now. Soon, it will all be over, but he will not make it if he doesn’t drink soon.”

As much as I wanted to believe otherwise, I knew she was right. Chaseyn was already sprawled across the backseat, so I gently lifted his head and placed it on my lap as I slipped into the seat and strapped myself in. His eyes locked on mine, and I gave him an almost imperceptible nod. Closing his eyes, Chaseyn pushed back my coat sleeve and sank his eye teeth into my wrist. I felt the dull ache as the blood drained from my vein. Chaseyn moaned as he drank deeply, and when he had taken in all he could, he fell into a heavy sleep.

After a half hour or so, Alina pulled off the highway onto a rural road. We passed several corn fields before entering an estate community.

“This is Snagov,” Alina announced. “These are summer homes of very rich people.”

I looked around at the enormous houses lining the lakeshore and wondered what sort of people enjoyed that kind of wealth, especially in a place like Romania where so many communities still didn’t have running water.

“You cross bridge to find monastery on island. Mina will be there,” Alina instructed as she pulled the car into a spot across the street from the stairwell leading to the bridge. “I stay here and wait.”

“Thank you for driving us here,” I offered sincerely.

I gently shook Chaseyn’s shoulder to rouse him from his slumber. He wiped the sleep from his eyes and stretched his arms overhead before following me out of the car.

“Be careful,” Alina warned.

***

Despite Chaseyn’s limp when he walked and his labored breathing, we made our way swiftly across the bridge. Though the monastery was only a few hundred feet in the distance, I kept constant watch for anything--or anyone--out of the ordinary.

“Do you find it strange Mina didn’t arrange to meet up with us on the other side of the bridge?” I asked. “It seems a little dangerous for us to be wandering out here alone, doesn’t it?”

But despite the blood he’d just drank, Chaseyn’s health was fading fast, and I could tell he was having trouble processing my words. I wrapped my arm tight around his shoulder and guided him along the cement path to the door of the monastery.

“They won’t be in there,” Chaseyn whispered, his voice hoarse.

“How can you be so sure?”

“It’s a sanctuary of God,” he reminded.

“Right. Churches are off limits. I remember,” I said. “I wonder why Alina didn’t think of that? She must have misunderstood Mina’s message.”

I could tell Chaseyn’s mind was elsewhere--perhaps on the fact time was running out. I only hoped when we finally found her, she would have what we needed to free Chaseyn from this curse.

“Why don’t we go inside. That way, we’ll be out of view, and at least we’ll be safe from vampires.”

Chaseyn nodded, and we made our way inside the building. It was completely empty--not even the reception desk was manned. We walked through the ornate entryway to the back of the tiny church, where several candles were lighting a small space.

“It looks like there might be something special back here,” I said as I scanned the room.

“Yes,” Chaseyn replied abruptly. “Very.”

“So, you know?”

“It’s said to be the final resting place of Vlad Tepes,” Chaseyn replied with a cough.

“You mean Vlad the Impaler?” I asked. “That’s totally cool.”

“I guess so,” Chaseyn muttered. “It’s believed he was murdered in the nearby woods, and his body was laid to rest here.”

“It sounds like there’s a ‘but’ coming next,” I added.

“But I don’t believe that’s what actually happened.”

“What do you think happened then?”

“I think he feigned his own murder so he could slip out of the public eye,” Chaseyn explained.

“Why would he do that?”

“Because he’d been turned.”

“Into a vampire? Like in the folk tales surrounding his legend?”