Life's Blood (The Cordelia Chronicles) (30 page)

“Yes, and he needed to disappear before anyone realized there was truth to the rumor,” Chaseyn explained.

“So who’s buried here?”

“Your guess is as good as mine,” he replied. “But I don’t believe for one minute it’s Vlad the Impaler.”

Just then, we heard clapping just outside the open door of the monastery. We’d been crouched on the ground looking at the tomb on the floor in front of us, but now our attention was drawn to the door. Someone was outside. Someone who couldn’t come inside.

“Very good, son,” a man’s voice called from the shadows. “Or shall I say
grandson
?”

Chaseyn tried to push to his feet, but he stumbled to the side. I urged him to stay put while I investigated the situation.

“Whatever you do, don’t step foot outside, Cordelia,” Chaseyn pleaded. “Remember, no vampire can touch you so long as you remain inside the monastery.”

I nodded my understanding then grabbed one of the candles from a stand illuminating the tomb. Slowly, softly, I made my way toward the entrance. The sky was dark, save for a few stars poking through the clouds.

“Mina? Balthazar?” I called out into the darkness.

“Oh, you won’t find them here,” the man said in reply.

“Who’s there?”

“Why don’t you step outside and see for yourself?” the man urged in a voice laced with a thick eastern European accent.

“I may not know who you are, but I know what you are,” I replied. “So if you think I have any plan to leave the sanctuary of this monastery, you’ve got another thing coming.”

“I have no problem waiting. After all, I have nothing but time,” the man said, and he stepped out of the shadows.

I had no idea who he was despite the fact he was standing no more than two feet in front of me, separated only by the stone brickwork step that, if I were to cross, would put me in the gravest danger of my life to date--which was saying a lot given the circumstances I’d survived before. I contemplated my reply for a moment--what could I say, after all. He’d undoubtedly lived a few centuries so a few hours--or even days--would seem like mere moments to him. And, Chaseyn didn’t have time to spare. Sooner or later, his time would be up, and judging by his current state--barely standing, slumped against a wall--it would be a lot sooner than I wanted to admit.

“So, what will it be, little girl? Will you come to me?”

“Not on your life,” I said.

“That’s no challenge at all,” he quipped. “I haven’t been alive in nearly a millennium.”

There was a loud bang from the back of the monastery, and I turned in time to see Chaseyn fall to the ground. He’d knocked over several candelabras on the way down, and as the candles fell to the ground two of the tapestries hanging from the pulpit caught fire on their flames. Chaseyn was fanning at them wildly, but it was no use.

“Aha, it looks like I will be seeing you soon,” the man on the other side of the step called before disappearing into the darkness.

“Mina? Are you out there? Help us,” I cried out as I ran to Chaseyn’s side.

“I’m so sorry, love,” he said as I wrapped my arm around his waist. “This is all my fault.”

“You didn’t mean to do it,” I said as the room began to burn around us.

“That’s not what I’m talking about,” he blurted. “You’d be safe at home right now if I hadn’t insisted on being with you.”

“Shhh…you’re talking nonsense,” I replied, pressing a finger to his lips in an effort to silence him. “You must be delirious.”

“I love you so much, yet I’ve put you in such danger. What kind of man am I?”

“Where do you think we’ll find Mina?” I asked to change the topic.

“We won’t, love,” Chaseyn replied. “Like Vlad said--she’s not here.”

“Vlad?”

“Yes, Vlad--the man you were talking to. Alexei’s maker…my grandfather, if you will.”

“Oh, Chaseyn. This is our chance. He has the blood we need to make you human,” I replied excitedly, seeing my opportunity. “But what do you mean Mina’s not here?”

“I should have known better,” Chaseyn said. “I’m such a fool. It wasn’t Mina who called Alina.”

“Who was it?”

“I can’t be sure--Emil, perhaps? Someone who wants to hurt me…makes the most sense since he would know Alina could be easily manipulated to turn against her brother. And, it would hurt Balthazar to see Mina in pain, and what would be more painful to her than the loss of her only son--her only child? Emil would have tipped off Vlad, letting him do the actual dirty work. He’ll be very upset with us for taking Alexei from him.”

“We have to do something, Chaseyn. We can’t just stay here and let them win.”

“I don’t know what other choice we have.”

***

Smoke filled the tiny monastery, and it was becoming harder and harder to breathe. Soon, the walls would begin to crumble, and we would be exposed to the outside world. I wasn’t sure what effect that would have on the “no entry” policy for vampires, but I figured it wasn’t good.

When we could no longer take the heat and there was no clean air left, we decided it was time to take our chances and exit the what remained of the building. As we crawled along the floor to the door, wooden beams feel from the ceiling, and the walls began to cave in. This ancient monastery was not much longer for this world, and judging by Chaseyn’s pallor, neither was he. I wanted to collapse into myself at the thought of losing him, but I knew I had to stand strong. It was our only hope.

“Well, well, well, look who we have here?”

I spun around, searching for the source of the question, but it was no use. My eyes burned with the dust and smoke of the fire, and though I squinted into the darkness, there was no way for me to see.

“Fancy meeting the two of you here,” the man said. But it was a different man this time--his voice was deeper than Vlad’s.

“Emil,” Chaseyn spat, and I followed the direction of his gaze. Somehow, even with his failing health and the impossibilities of our current situation, Chaseyn had located Emil standing about ten feet away near a stand of trees. “What do you want?”

“Why, the same thing as you, of course,” he replied, and he held out his hand to expose a vial no more than one ounce in size resting in the palm of his hand. “If I could just get my hands on a drop of Vlad’s blood, I could complete this elixir.”

“How did you get that?” I shouted and thrashed at the darkness. “That’s ours.”

“Now, now, dear, whatever gave you that impression?” Emil replied, closing his hand around the vial and placing it on a tree branch out of my reach. “I worked hard to gather these ingredients.”

“You’re lying. You stole them from Mina and Balthazar,” I shouted. “I know you did.”

“Sweetheart, I did nothing of the sort. You can call me a lot of things--killer, vagrant, manipulator, but thief is not one of them.”

“Then how did you get it?”

“I simply observed,” he laughed. “It was so obvious when I met you back at that campy tourist hotel that you were up to something, so I decided to make it my business. It didn’t take long for me to gather all of the information I needed. And when Mina, so naïve that one, and Balthazar started telling the priest at Voronet they would be meeting her son in Snagov, I pieced it all together. It was very clever, really. She’d figured out that Vlad--
our
Vlad--was none other than Vlad Tepes. Of course, I’d always known, but I had no idea of the elixir that could restore me to my human form. That’s when I put my plan into action.”

The flames roared behind us, and I could feel the heat searing my skin. We shuffled farther from the door and deeper into the darkness. We were completely exposed now, but it wasn’t the thought of being attacked by ancient vampires that worried me, it was the knowledge that
this
was Chaseyn’s last stand. If we couldn’t get that vial from Emil, he wouldn’t make it out of this mess alive…or even undead for that matter.

Chasyen, who had been clinging to my side like he couldn’t stand another minute on his own, surprised us both when he lunged at Emil, clawing at the branch where the vial sat. The two men fell to the ground, wailing on each other. As they rolled around in the grass and dirt, the monastery continued to crumble into a pile of jagged wooden beams, broken bricks, and stained glass shards.

“There is no way I will ever let you get your hands on this elixir,” Emil proclaimed boldly.

“You sound awfully sure of yourself, old man,” Chaseyn retorted, mustering all of his remaining energy to grab one of the massive fallen beams so he could swing it at Emil’s head. “Take that, old man.”

“Is that all you’ve got?” Emil laughed, but it was clear Chaseyn was wearing him down.

“Is that a challenge?” Chaseyn huffed, hoisting the beam and swinging once again.

“Over my dead body,” Emil slurred, blood trickling from his mouth.

“If you insist,” James shouted as he jumped from a treetop and into the battle.

I had no idea where he had come from, and I didn’t care. He was here to help. In the blink of an eye, James pulled a pointed object from the inside pocket of his jacket, leaped across the tombstone separating him from the fight, and plunged it into Emil’s heart. We watched in stunned silence as the ancient one’s body disintegrated into dust.

“Where did you come from?” Chaseyn gasped, still recovering from the exhaustion of the fight.

“You’re welcome,” James replied, evading the question. “Now, help me collect his ashes before a wind gust whips them away.”

I knew the drill all too well. If we didn’t bury Emil’s remains at the four corners of the Earth, he would one day return with a vengeance. I grabbed a vase holding flowers on one of graves in the cemetery just beyond the steps of the monastery, dumped its contents, and handed the vessel to James so he could do the dirty work.

“Seriously, brother, why are you here?” Chaseyn asked again.

While we awaited his reply, I helped Chaseyn to a bench in the cemetery where he could rest and conserve whatever life he had left. Once Chaseyn was comfortable, I made my way to the branch where Emil had placed the vial. I carefully cupped the precious potion between my hands and carried it to my beloved.

“If only we had Vlad’s blood,” I whispered, my mind working hard to find a way we could get our hands on what we needed.

“Right, that,” James said, tugging at his collar to reveal a small glass bottle tied to a black leather cord around his neck. “Mina wanted me to give you this.”

“How?” I asked. It was the only word I could manage, I was so in awe of our good luck.

“She and Balthazar arrived in Snagov shortly before sunset this evening. Vlad was still at ground for the day, and they infiltrated his grave, siphoning a small amount of blood while he slept. It was all very well timed. She’s very smart,” James explained.

“But where are they now?” I asked.

“Let’s just say they were
detained
,” he replied. “They had a bit of a run in with Alina and a wooden stake.”

I gasped.

“Oh, Lia, don’t worry. As much as Alina hates her brother, she doesn’t have the heart to do him any real harm in the end,” he said, smoothing a stray hair behind my ear. “She’ll release them as soon as we’re all done here. I’m fairly certain. She just wants to toy with Balthazar a bit. She‘ll make him watch while she tortures Mina a while--nothing she won’t recover from.”

Chaseyn was furious, but there was little he could do now. He’d expended the last of his energy in his fight with Emil. Now, we just needed to mix the elixir with Vlad’s blood and wait for it to take effect.

***

Chaseyn sat statue-still. This was it, the defining moment. As he contemplated his next move, the move that would ultimately save his life, I waited with baited breath. I knew this had been a hard decision for him to make, but I also knew it was the right one. I said a silent prayer he still felt the same way.

There was no time to waste. With every moment that passed, I could feel Chaseyn slipping further and further away from me. His breathing was shallow, and his skin was a grayish-green. These past few weeks had been all his human body could bear. If he didn’t drink the elixir now, he wouldn’t have another opportunity.

“It’s okay, Chaseyn,” I whispered, kneeling at his feet. “Drink.”

Silence.

“You’re going to drink, right?”

A blank stare.

“Right?” I pleaded.

“I don’t know,” he said finally.

“What do you mean you don’t know?” I asked. “I thought this was what you wanted.”

“I know it’s what you want, and I want you,” he replied.

“You can’t do it just for me. It’s going to be
your
life. You have to want it too.’

James, who had been sweeping up Emil’s ashes in silence, chose this moment to break his silence.

“I almost forgot to tell you why I’m here,” he said.

“Maybe this can wait a minute,” I replied, looking over my shoulder at James. “We’re kind of in the middle of something.”