Life's Blood (The Cordelia Chronicles) (31 page)

“Oh, but it can’t,” he said. “You need to hear this now.”

James crossed the cemetery to where Chaseyn and I were sitting. Sitting on the ground beside us, James tucked his hands into his front pockets and crossed his legs at the ankles. I could tell he was settling in to tell us something big. I motioned for him to get on with it.

“A few years ago, I was the victim of an unfortunate incident,” he explained.

“What kind of incident?” I asked, my words dripping with curiosity.

“I thought you’d never ask,” James said, a smile creeping across his face. “Well, it was a few years ago, before I turned. I was at a club in the South of France, and the party got a bit out of control. Well, as you can imagine, one thing led to another, and I found myself in a precarious situation with a buxom blonde. Of course, you know better than anyone what that’s like, don’t you brother?”

Chaseyn let out a low grunt at the accusation. He and I had worked through whatever issues I had with his past, but it still hurt to have it thrown in my face. Chaseyn had been less than chaste in his youth, but it was a long time ago. He wasn’t that man anymore. Still, I resented being reminded of his earlier indiscretions.

“Right, where was I? “ James asked rhetorically. “Ah, yes. I think I’ll skip the details of our carnal savagery, and get to the point.”

“Please do,” I urged.

“Those were wild, carefree times, you see, and we didn’t take the kind of precautions required of humans.”

“What are you saying?” Chaseyn hissed.

“Let’s just say there’s a James Jr. running around out there,” he chuckled.

“If you’re done passing the proverbial cigar, Cordelia and I have more important matters to attend to,” Chaseyn said, his voice a mere whisper.

He was growing weaker by the minute, so I pressed the vial into the palm of his hand, passed a gentle kiss across his chapped lips, and waited for him to do the rest. Chaseyn gave me a slight nod, and lifted the elixir to his mouth. Tilting his head back, he was poised and ready to drink when James made his move.

“I don’t think so,” he said, grabbing the vial from Chaseyn’s grasp.

“No,” I shrieked. “You can’t do that.”

“Oh, but I can,” he said. “Which one of you are going to stop me? You’re a mere human girl and him…he’s a washed up wannabe immortal who doesn’t have enough life left in him to save his own existence, whatever that might mean.

“Do you really think I can have a mini-me following me around for the rest of my life? I mean, seriously. I need this more than you do.”

And then, James pressed the vial to his lips, knocked his head back, and emptied it’s contents into his mouth. This was it. It was all over.

***

The empty vial fell from James’ hand as he staggered backward against a tree. He clawed at his throat with his hands and gasped for air as though his life depended on it. His skin turned a lighter shade of pale, and his eyes--which were now the color of raw coal--bulged from their sockets.

“What’s happening to me?” he cried. “Help me.”

I watched in terror as James’ hair began to fall from his head and his veins took on a maroon hue. Writhing in pain, he fell to the ground, flipping and flopping like a fish out of water. After a moment, his skin began to shatter, and I wondered how much more his body could endure. It wasn’t long before I got my answer. James let out a mind-searing howl before spontaneously combusting right before our very eyes.

“Are we too late?”

I spun around to see Balthazar and Mina running down the path toward us. When Mina was near enough, I threw myself into her outstretched arms, and she tugged me into a tight embrace. I melted into her chest and began to bawl. I had never been so scared, disappointed, and relieved in all my life. In the period of a few short moments, I had been attacked by blood-thirsty vampires and watched while my hopes and dreams for Chaseyn’s future were washed down his brother’s throat.

“It’s gone,” I sobbed. “It’s all over.”

“I’m so sorry, sweetheart,” Mina whispered against my hair.

Balthazar helped Chaseyn to his feet and guided him to my side. He was weak--weaker than I’d ever seen him, and I knew it was time.

“We tried to stop James, but he was one step ahead of us,” Balthazar explained. “Alina knows my weaknesses, how to get to me. He knew that and used it to his advantage. I should have known better.”

“Seeing what happened to James, I’m glad Chaseyn didn’t have a chance to drink the elixir,” I said. “That would have been an awful way to die. I was so sure it would work, too.”

“Chaseyn’s body wouldn’t have reacted the same way,” Balthazar explained, shaking his head. “The elixir wasn’t meant for full-blooded vampires to drink--it would only work on a half-vampire, like Chaseyn.”

“So it would have worked?” I asked, tears falling freely from my eyes. Knowing the truth--that we were so close to saving Chaseyn--made the pain in my heart worse.

“It’s okay,” Chaseyn whispered.

“How can you say that?” I asked, staring at his glossy eyes. I could tell by his labored breathing and the way his body shook with tremors he had moments at most before his heart would stop beating forever. But I wasn’t ready. Not yet.

“You still don’t get it, do you, Cordelia?” Chaseyn asked softly as he held me in his arms.

“Why aren’t you more upset? I thought you wanted this. Isn’t this what we’ve been working so hard for all these months?”

“I don’t know any more,” Chaseyn whispered. He pulled back ever so slightly so I could see his furrowed brow. His hands clutched at his once-raven locks, which were now a salt-and-pepper grey.

“What do you mean?”

“I just--I mean there’s so much to consider. It’s all happening so fast.”

“Chaseyn, you’re scaring me.”

“Is the room spinning?” he said, bracing his hand on my shoulder.

“Maybe you should sit down.”

“No. No, I’m okay.”

“You don’t seem okay.”

“I just think we should take a few minutes to think about this rationally. You know--make sure we’re not rushing into anything we might later regret.”

“What are you talking about? There is no
later
, Chaseyn,” I shouted at him. “You’re dying, and this is it. It’s time to say goodbye, and you’re just talking nonsense.“

“I’m not sure it’s over yet, love,” he said, staring me straight in the eye.

“But we have to face reality. It
is
over. This was your one chance to spend forever with me, and now we have nothing. James took it all away from us. Our forever ends now.”

“Forever? Is that what you think this was about, because from where I’m standing, it was the exact opposite.”

“Huh?”

“Think about it, Cordelia. You were asking me to sacrifice forever--eternal life--to be with you for however long our human bodies would allow. What if I were hit by a car tomorrow? Or, worse…what if you were? What then? Did we really think about this? Maybe James gave us exactly what we needed.”

“What are you saying, Chaseyn? You don’t want to be with me forever?”

“I’m not saying that.”

“Then, what are you saying? We don‘t have much time left--you‘re getting weaker by the second.”

“I think…I think I’m asking you to consider the alternative.”

“What alternative? We’ve exhausted all our other options.”

“Have we?”

We stood in silence a moment while I contemplated Chaseyn’s words. I sifted through my thoughts, all of our conversations over the past few weeks--the weeks since we knew Chaseyn’s life would end soon. At first, I simply couldn’t focus on any other options. And then, it came to me. It hit me like a ton of lead, stealing the breath from my lungs, leaving me breathless the way Chaseyn had so many times before.

“Are you asking what I think you are?”

Chaseyn looked at me with wide eyes. A single tear rolled down his cheek as he nodded slowly.

“I’m asking you to let me kill you. I’m asking you to spend forever--a true immortal eternity--with me.”

She looked so young so scared at the very prospect, but there was no time to waste. As I breathed what we knew would be my last breath, Cordelia nodded her head ever so slightly, and I knew she was giving me permission--permission to give us both eternal life. Now, we would truly be together forever.