Resurrected (19 page)

Pulling her body away from
his lips, her head fell backwards like a rag doll. No life was in
her; it was now sustaining him. He dropped her to the ground,
shocked at the depth of his hunger. He had silently vowed to
himself earlier that night he would not kill in the name of his
bloodlust. And now he had. He felt he had no control over himself
anymore. Stone’s epiphany was realizing the beast within him and
how strong it really was, how demanding his hunger had become.
Knowing that this was what was going to drive him, Stone recognized
that he had to learn how to tame it, but feared he did not have the
willpower.

Left with a foul taste in
his mouth, he had learned yet another lesson. Stepping away from
the girl, he spat out the blood that lingered in his mouth.
Laughter echoed down the back alley. Turning on his heels, Stone
lost his balance, and embarrassingly, it took him a moment to
regain his proper footing. Finally able to look up and away from
his feet, he saw Brian at the opening of the alley.

“Not only are you drunk on
her blood, her dope-riddled blood is affecting you too. Ah, you
have just made my night!” Brian said. His fangs appeared huge
hanging from his immense grin, which seemed to be the only thing
visible other than his blue eyes. Stone knew he was right. Her
drug-infected blood had affected him and he hated the feeling of
it.

“This is too amusing!”
Brian blurted out. “Well, it will be a kill you’ll never
forget.”

The
word
kill
resonated within Stone’s head. Shooting a look at Brian, a
different kind of concern filled him.

“What about her body? What
do I do?” Stone asked. Brian’s grin faded and he walked towards him
and the body of Alyssa. Leaning down onto one knee, he reached out
for her and turned her head to reveal the wound. With one swift
movement he sliced her neck with his finger nail to disguise the
bite mark with what looked like a knife wound. Grabbing her purse,
he tossed it to Stone.

“Take the
money.”

Without any thoughts of his
own, Stone did as he was told. Shoving the cash into his pocket, he
dropped the purse where he stood.

“Make it look like a mortal
crime if you are unable to hold back your thirst. We must always
keep any form of evidence of our existence hidden.” Wrapping his
arm around Stone’s shoulder, he guided him out of the alley and
together they wandered Old Montreal.

Time seemed to pass slowly.
Stone sat with Brian near the gas fireplace of a small
independently owned café. Stone used to frequent the place every
night after fulfilling his duties at Chantonnay. With a coffee and
his school books scattered across a vacant table, he would study
for his midterms. But this night was different and every one
thereafter.

With Brian sitting across
from him, Stone held onto the warm mug of coffee and placed it so
the steam and aroma would rise and linger around his face. They had
been in the café for hours now and Stone left no question
unasked.

“Do you know your… sire?”
He asked, pausing before saying sire, not sure if he should use the
word or not. He had heard Mylana and Deirdra use the word
before.

“I was
with him for only a short while. The bastard was much crazier
than
I
ever was.
I’m only delusional and well, maybe a wee bit of a homicidal
psychopath, but that’s part of the demon in me.” Brian’s face was
momentarily serious before being broken by his sudden jovial
laughter.

“But really, what is sane
and do we really want to live in a so-called sane and normal world?
Look at how boring life would be if you were normal.” He paused for
a moment. “You wouldn’t be here with me, pretending to be human in
a coffee shop filled with these delicious walking, talking vessels
of blood doing everything in your power to hold back your thirst…”
Brian let out a long sigh.

“So, you never get the urge
to be with him?” Stone asked ignoring the ranting and raving, which
he was quickly learning to be typical of Brian.

“Oh, yeah, I used to. But
every time I was with him, he’d try to kill me. So, I figured
enough of that shit… ‘I’m leaving for good, you crazy old bastard.
Take that!’ I said and that was that. It’s been a good hundred and
sixty some odd years and I don’t need him, never did–the crazy
bastard…” Until his voice trailed off in thought, Brian’s Irish
accent became more evident as his agitation grew. Stone watched him
in awe. He had never met anyone like him–mortal or
immortal.

Just as
Stone’s own thoughts began to wander, Brian broke the silence. “So,
tell me ‘bout the vampires you lived with. Now this I have
never
seen or come
across–ever! Vampires taking in a mortal? Shit, they must have damn
good self-control!” A string of boisterous laughter escaped Brian’s
lips. He smacked the table in his amusement which caused the
contents in Stone’s mug to slosh around.

Stone shrugged his
shoulders as if the whole thing were no big deal. “Yeah, well now
we know why you’ve never seen it; look at me now!” He said his
words dripping with sarcasm. Brian let out another string of
laughter and nodded in agreement.

“So how many vamps lived in
the house?” Brian asked, his curiosity getting the better of
him.

“It fluctuated a lot, from
seven to maybe one or two at a time. It’s Mylana’s home and she is
the one who gathered those closest to her like Deirdra who is her
fledgling and Brenna who is Deirdra’s and others she had come
across…” Stone stopped in mid-sentence. The look of shock and
horror on Brian’s face worried him.

“What is it?”

“You said, Deirdra? Deirdra
O’Dea?” Brian’s eyes scanned Stone’s for his sincerity.

“Yes. You know her?” Stone
asked carefully. Brian stayed silent and sat there eerily
motionless. Finally after a long moment of silence, Brian
spoke.

“You have to take me to
her. Now!” Brian demanded.

“But I am
not sure where she is and I am
not
going to take you to Adam’s…” Stone’s words
trailed off. Fear engulfed him. Although it was more a fear of
running into Brenna than it was of seeing Adam. Stone looked at
Brian and prayed that he understood; that he wouldn’t force him to
do this.

“You have to take me to
her. Get over it man. I’ll be there, isn’t that comfort
enough?”

“No, I can’t! I won’t.”
Stone declared, his voice beginning to rise, causing the other
patrons to look his way. Noticing this, he slid in the chair,
shrinking in embarrassment. Brian said nothing, which made Stone
even more uncomfortable. Locking eyes with Stone, Brian bore into
his soul. Brian’s pupils grew and Stone was unable to break their
locked gaze. Stone felt numb and light headed.

“You
will take me to Deirdra, wherever she is, and you will not be
afraid of Adam or Brenna. You want and need to confront Brenna. You
can move on after talking with her
.”
Brian’s words floated around Stone’s brain and like having a
revelation, Stone woke from the trance and blurted out. “Yes! I…
I
will
take you to
Deirdra. I have to, if not for you, for me…” Stone rose to his feet
and placed aside the mug while waiting for Brian to join
him.

“Now that’s better.” Brian
smiled. Together they walked out of the coffeehouse and hailed the
first cab they saw.

Chapter 16

(Mylana & Elijah -
December 22, 1999)

After a fruitless attempt
at sleeping, both Mylana and Elijah woke early. Mylana, hating the
fact that she feared Deirdra, swallowed her pride and asked to
spend the day with Elijah, which he accepted readily. Neither of
them wanted to be alone.

Sitting in the living room
for hours, they sat in silence, listening to the clock tick into
the early morning hours. As it chimed three a.m., only moments
passed before the ring of the doorbell filled the air. Mylana
looked at the door but did not rise to her feet. Waiting for only a
moment, Elijah was unable to stay still any longer. Mylana watched
as he made his way to the front door. As he approached the foyer,
the door swung open and in walked Eme. Following close behind her
was Malachi. Elijah stopped in mid-stride as his eyes found this
new vampire. With regality and respect, Elijah nodded a greeting to
him.

“I’m Elijah,” he began.
Turning he pointed to Mylana and spoke again. “This is Mylana.
Please, feel welcome. Come in.” With that said, he looked towards
Eme.

“I am glad you’re home. I
feared I wasn’t going to see you again. You look much better than
when you left.”

“Yes, I was able to get the
demon out of my head and think for myself.” Eme said, slipping off
her simple black ankle-length coat and hung it on the nearby rack.
Malachi followed suit.

Together, the three joined
Mylana in the living room. The air was filled with tension and
mistrust. Mylana’s eyes darted between Eme and Malachi.

“Who are you?” Mylana
blurted out.

A smirk crossed Malachi’s
face. “Yes, I guess appearing like this makes it all mysterious and
such, coming into your lives like this. I apologize. I will be
blunt with you and straight-forward.” Malachi chose to stay
standing as he addressed the vampires. Eme took a spot beside
Elijah on the chesterfield.

Malachi
was dressed in a simple black suit and an
aubergine
collarless shirt with a button made of mother-of-pearl that
sat below his Adam’s apple. Oddly enough, Malachi’s scars on his
face and neck matched the iridescence of the button. The severity
of his scars was alarming and somewhat disturbing to Mylana.
Despite them, he was still an attractive man with his full
cascading dark brown hair that rested at his shoulders. His violet
eyes were unlike anything she had ever seen
before.

“My name is Malachi. I am
the twin brother of who you knew as the Blood God. His given name
was Khalid. I am told he likes to be called Adam now.” Malachi
began, pausing for a moment before continuing. Mylana said nothing,
her mouth slightly agape, astonished with what news had come
forth.

“Being
the closest link to my brother, I was given this immortality, of
which I never asked for. His weakness was our demise as humans.
Being given immortality came at a high price for Khalid–the thirst
for blood and the eternal bond with myself. When he was entombed, I
was at first able to live night by night as I always had been able
to. But sooner than later it became nearly impossible to stay awake
any longer. Eventually I had to follow him into torpor. I have been
in torpor for over a thousand years now, ever since I left Eme in
Denmark in 843.” Malachi turned a loving look at Eme then returned
his attention to Mylana and Elijah who kept their
demeanour
cold and expressionless.

“Unfortunately not having
made it back to my homeland of Cairo, I fell into torpor in Rome
where Eme found me and released me from my tomb. Ever since the
year 1995, I lay there awake and aware of where I was. I was in
constant agony from hunger and having no strength, I was unable to
release myself. I thought I would turn mad.”

Looking at Eme again he
continued. “Why I manifested to you as your brother Ezra, I do not
know. Maybe you missed him so much that you created me to be in his
image. Either way, I was able to make that connection with Eme, so
here I am. Despite my untimely rising,” Malachi paused for dramatic
effect and looked at Elijah and Mylana with sincerity, “I have
nothing do with what is happening to your family. Please understand
this.”

Malachi sighed and walked
around the chair he had been resting his hands upon. He was done
explaining and decided to sit with the rest of them. The room fell
silent. The only sound came from the crackling of the burning wood
in the fireplace and the haunting tick of the clock.

Finally
breaking the silence, Mylana spoke. “Once again
Adam
is ruining our lives. What is it
that you can do for us? Do you even think you have the power or the
will to break his?” Mylana’s voice revealed her fear and anger. She
sat forward on the couch and looked Malachi in the
eye.

“Your
brother
,” Mylana began again, “has poisoned my child’s mind, has
taken her away from me not only once, but twice now and this time
is much worse. He has taken all that was Deirdra and turned her
into an empty shell and I fear she can never be returned to what
she was.” Rising to her feet Mylana’s anger was beginning to get
the better of her. “And now… now he is making demands! The bastard
is not pleased with his supposed lineage. Like the first time he
invaded our lives, he wants to rid those unworthy of their vampiric
nature and begin a new lineage. And to top it all off he wants
to–putting it simply–rule over the mortal world!” Mylana eyes
glowed with intensity.

“All I can say is that I
give you my sincere regrets. I am sorry that my brother–” Malachi
stopped suddenly, closing his eyes. He cocked his head slightly as
though listening. His brow furrowed in concentration. Without
warning, his eyes flew open and he rose to his feet.