Moonlight Calls (Demon's Call Series Book 1) (20 page)

There was a soft
whimpering sound from somewhere close by.  I sat up, pushing the covers away. 
I was startled by the scene that met my eyes.  Christian was seated on the
couch across from me, and Ailis straddled him.  One arm held her, while the
other gently stroked her fiery hair.  His glowing eyes met mine over her
shoulder as I sat up, blinking in confusion.

I heard the
whimpering sound again, and realized that it was coming from Ailis.  She was
feeding from him urgently, her head bent to his neck, her fiery curtain of red
hair hiding her face.  Her hands clutched his upper arm and his shoulder,
digging in to leave deep dents in his flesh.  He grimaced slightly.  She had
lost control.  She was hurting him- and he was letting her.

I stood and
quietly moved toward them.  Ailis sensed the movement and tightened her grip on
Christian, probably thinking me a threat to her meal.  I put a hand to my
stomach and glanced down in surprise, noting that the huge rent in my side was
gone, completely healed.  I could feel the smooth skin through the long tears
in my shirt.  Fear pulsed through me.  What had she done?

I squared my
shoulders and forced myself to be calm.  Freaking out would only make it harder
for Ailis.  Glancing at Christian, I eased myself down on the couch next to
them.  I knew he could stop her if he wanted to, but she was strong and her
hunger had taken over.  He would have to hurt her.

“She is well.” 
Christian’s deep voice was calm and soothing.  He was gazing into my eyes, but
I knew he was speaking to Ailis.  “You did well,” he continued.  “You did
right.  She is alive.”  Ailis let out that heart-wrenching whimper again and I
clenched my teeth.  It was haunting.

Christian nodded
at me and swept her hair from her face.  I leaned closer.  Reaching out
tentatively, I caressed Ailis’s cold cheek.  Her lips were still pressed to
Christian’s neck and her eyes were clenched shut.  A single tear escaped to
course down her icy cheek.

“Ailis,” I
whispered, “It’s okay.  I’m here.  You have to stop now, you’re hurting
Christian.”  I felt as if I was addressing a child, albeit a rather feral one.

She shuddered
and slowly withdrew her teeth from his neck.  Her eyelids fluttered open and she
stared at me.  Her silvery eyes had a faint red rim around the iris and the
sight raised goose bumps on my arms.

Christian let
out a sigh and dropped his head against the back of the couch, closing his
eyes.  His breathing was slow and heavy and his arms dropped to his sides,
limp.  I spared him a glance of worry before returning my gaze to Ailis.

She seemed to be
returning to normal, her eyes were losing that glazed look and she was
breathing now.  The red around her irises faded until I was sure it was just my
imagination.  Ailis glanced between Christian and myself, looking suddenly
embarrassed.  She climbed off his lap and sank to her knees in front of me. 
     “You’re alive,” she said breathlessly.  “I thought I killed you.”  Tears
flowed freely down her cheeks and she brushed them away with the back of her
hand.

“Ailis, what in
God’s name is going on?”  I glanced around the room again, looking for the
source of that dim light.  Ailis looked at me questioningly I shrugged, pushing
the matter aside for now.  “What happened?  What did you do to Christian?”

She bent her
head, averting her eyes as she spoke.  “You lost a lot of blood.  I just helped
you to heal your wounds a little more quickly.”  A masculine snort came from
Christian and he spoke in a slow, measured voice, still without opening his
eyes or sitting upright.  His accent was stronger than usual.  His arms still
hung at his sides, and I really didn’t like the way he looked- as if he
couldn’t quite move his body.  I focused on Ailis, since she was obviously a
little unstable right now, but I watched Christian out of the corner of my eye
just in case he toppled over.

“You were dying
Mya,” Christian said softly.  Now
that
gained him my full attention. 
“We couldn’t make made it to a hospital in time.  You were bleeding out.”  He
shifted his head a little, winced, and stilled.  “I think we both forgot how
frail humans are.  You always seem so strong.”  He sighed deeply, “Ailis saved
your life by giving you her blood, but it took too much.”

Ailis dropped
her head, resting her forehead against my knees and hiding her face.  “You were
dying,” she whispered in a tiny voice.  I almost brushed off the apology- who
apologizes for saving someone’s life?  But then I remembered her urging me to
drink the blood flowing from her arm. 
Ah hell
.

She lifted her
head and looked into my eyes defiantly.  “I thought you were dead.  You were so
still, and I couldn’t hear your heartbeat.”  She glanced at Christian with wide
eyes.  “I couldn’t hear her heartbeat.”

My thoughts were
jumbled, and I stared at her, trying to sort it all out.  Meanwhile, my vampire
friend hung her head in shame and looked as if she expected to be punished.  Of
course, she was right to think that I would have been furious if she had
actually succeeded in turning me, but I couldn’t be mad at her for trying to
save my life.  I had never realized how fragile Ailis was.  She always seemed
so strong and capable.

Christian sat up
slowly and reached out to touch Ailis’s hand, where it rested on my knee.  “You
didn’t do anything wrong,” he said soothingly, but Ailis only shook her head. 
It wasn’t his approval she needed.

She turned to me
with a pleading look in her eyes, and I realized that she thought she had
disappointed me- and that doing so was significant.  “I lost control, Mya.  I
wanted to turn you, but you wouldn’t take my blood.”  She actually sounded
offended- hurt.

“I gave you too
much, but it wasn’t working, you were so pale, so quiet.  I’ve never turned
anyone before,” she whispered.  “I should have just forced you to drink more. 
I thought I killed you.”

Tears trembled
on her lashes as she rushed on.  “I couldn’t help myself; I just gave in to
it.  I could hear
his
heartbeat.”  She fluttered a hand, gesturing
lamely toward Christian.

She dropped her
head against my leg.  “Oh God, Christian, I’m sorry.  I haven’t lost control
like that in years.”  She had been close to complete bloodlust, the survival
instinct that kicked in when a vampire was badly wounded.

Christian only
shook his head.  “What happed to Mya tonight was as much my fault as yours.  I
should have protected her.  I never should have let her walk in there.”  He
stroked my hair gently as he looked into my eyes, regret etched on his face. 
“You saved her life, almost at the cost of your own, Ailis.  I could do
nothing.  I deserve the pain.”

I shook my head
in disbelief.  I had almost died.  And both of my friends had been willing to
give their lives for me- one to save me, and one because he
couldn’t
save me?

I resorted to
anger to cover my fear and discomfort.  “Don’t either of you
ever
do
that again,” I scolded.  But my voice lacked heat.  “What the hell makes you
both think that your lives are worth less than mine?”  I was
not
going
to cry.

Christian was
silently laughing at me, and Ailis was staring at me in disbelief.  I snuffled
loudly and glared at them.  “And just what the hell did you
do
to me
anyway.”  I had just realized there
was
no source for that dull light. 
No lamps or candles.  It was pitch black, but I could see just fine.  “I’ve got
fucking night vision.”

Christian drew
me to him and kissed me thoroughly, then stood and wandered toward the kitchen,
still laughing.  I was relieved to see that he was able to move again. 
Apparently, werewolves recovered from blood loss pretty quickly.  That made one
of us.

Ailis slipped
onto the couch beside me.  “The vision is because of my blood.  I had no idea
if it would really work.  You healed quickly!  I think you will be stronger,
and you’ve gained some of the benefits of being a vampire.”  I looked at her in
horror as that soaked in, but she rushed on, patting my leg in reassurance. 
“It’s not permanent; it’ll wear off within a day or so at the most.  I think.”

I sighed and
sank back into the couch cushions, closing my eyes in defeat.  “If you say so.”

“You’re really
okay?”  Her voice wavered anxiously and I nodded.

 I couldn’t
believe that Ailis had tried to turn me.  If I had been a little less stubborn
I might be a vampire right now.  I opened my eyes to find her staring at me.  I
could see her make up her mind about something.  Then she leaned forward and
kissed me.  I was so shocked that I didn’t react.  She pulled away and wrapped
my arms around her, hugging her close for a moment before settling back against
the cushions again. 

Ailis gave me a
wry smile.  “My master always told me I should never care for a human.  Now I
know what he meant.”  I wanted to tell her just what I thought of any advice
given by Argenou, but I didn’t say anything.  We were all alive.  That was what
mattered.

Christian
appeared in the doorway with the orange juice carton and sloshed it
enticingly.  God knew we could all use some fluids after all this.  Ailis
headed to the kitchen with a tentative smile on her face and I followed.  I
found them at the kitchen counter, his dark head bent near her fiery one as he
poured out the orange juice and listened to her terrible joke.  I stood in the
doorway watching them with a fist pressed to the center of my chest.

Their animosity
toward each other had vanished into easy camaraderie.  I think I had liked it
better when they were arguing.  I sighed, resigned.  At least now I didn’t have
to worry about how I was going to decide between them.  See.  Maybe we could
all just get along.

I defiantly
switched on the kitchen light before shuffling to the table with my glass of
orange juice.  Ailis and Christian were eyeing me warily.  I didn’t know what
they were looking for, waiting for me to tear them to pieces most likely.  I
had barely finished my thought before I began to shake.

My orange juice
sloshed out of the cup, spilling over my hand and I quickly set it down.  I
avoided eye contact with both of the supernatural beings in my kitchen as I
mopped up the juice with a pile of napkins.  I had been so wrapped up in our
little drama that I had almost forgotten how we ended up there.  My memories
were starting to come back, and it scared the living shit out of me.

I would have
welcomed the stupor and fatigue that I knew I’d earned, but thanks to Ailis’s
little rescue effort I was wide awake and jittery, everything in hyper focus. 
I closed my eyes and forced myself to take slow deep breaths.

I began to
hyperventilate while the image of my hand ripping through that vampire’s chest
replayed over and over in my head.  I could feel the soft give of flesh and
bone and the wet spattering sounds of blood and tissue hitting concrete.  I
suddenly scooted my chair back from the table and put my head down between my
knees.  Deep breaths.  I was
not
going to pass out.

Ailis and
Christian both took a step toward me, but I waved them away frantically.  I was
terrified.  I didn’t even know how I had killed those vampires.  What if it
happened again on accident?  What if I hurt Ailis or Christian?  I sat up and
tossed my frizzy cloud of hair back over my shoulders.  “Stay back.  Don’t
touch me.”  My voice was high pitched and it sounded hysterical, even to me.

Ailis was
shifting anxiously from foot to foot in indecision.  She clearly wanted to come
to me, but was afraid of pissing me off.  Christian had no such qualms.  He
paced over and knelt down in front of my chair so that he was looking directly
into my eyes.

 “Mya…”  He
reached out to touch my shoulder and I flinched away.

“I said don’t
touch me,” I shouted at him, tears coursing down my cheeks and blurring my
vision.  “I don’t know what I did.  I don’t know what I am… this is not
normal.”  I glanced down at my hands, looking for any trace of that red glow. 
“I’m some kind of …monster.”

Christian
reached out again, this time resting his big hand on my shoulder.  I was
gasping and shaking.  I felt everything start to slip away into that dark
numbness, just like it had in the woods.  I met Christian’s eyes, panicking…
and froze.  His green eyes had lost all semblance of normalcy.  They were glowing
like fire and his entire body was rigid.  He was breathing slowly and
precisely, but when he spoke, it was him in control and not the wolf.

“Mya,” he said
in a soft rumble.  “Calm yourself.”

I glanced at
Ailis and felt all the blood leave my face.  The numbness receded, giving way
to good old-fashioned fear.  Christian was still in control, but Ailis was
braced against the counter, her eyes completely lost in silver.  When I glanced
at her, she smiled slyly, carefully showing me her sharp teeth.  She pushed
away from the counter and began to pace back and forth along the table behind
Christian.  Her movements were odd- a strange combination of fluid speed and
jerky control.  While I was freaking out, I had been pumping the room full of
some serious fear and adrenaline, and my companions had already been on the
brink once tonight. 
Shit
.

I tore my gaze
away from Ailis to look at Christian for guidance.  He stood quickly and turned
to face Ailis.  I jumped when he let out a harsh growl.