Resurrected (24 page)

“Please, consider it. Tie
him up, keep him weak if you must, but consider it.” Malachi added,
playing on the heartstrings of those in the room.

Mylana looked up at Elijah,
his eyes rimmed with blood. He too was having a hard time with
accepting it all.

“Fine.”

“What? No, Elijah…” Eme
stopped. He would not look at her and she knew there was no way to
reach him, so she stopped.

A wide grin crossed
Malachi’s lips.

“Good.”

That was that. It had been
considered and Malachi was pleased with the results.

Chapter 19

(Stone, Brian & Elijah
- December 23, 1999)

Brian and Stone argued as
they sat in the back of the cab. They had been driving around in
circles for half an hour and Brian’s patience was wearing
thin.

“Why are
you doing this? You know where the bloody house is–for Christ’s
sake, child!” Brian complained. He knew that his mental suggestion
had worn off much too quick and Stone was back to his
uncertain
demeanour
. Brian silently cursed
Stone’s strength against his telepathic link.

“I told you, I don’t want
to go there.” The desperation was evident in Stone’s
voice.

“Dammit! I told you, take
me to Deirdra or, or…” Brian paused for a moment then continued,
“I’ll kill you!” He threatened. The cab driver’s eyes shifted to
look at them through the rear view mirror. His questioning and
growing worry exuded through his eyes.

Stone laughed, “Oh, really?
Well then do it.” He said audaciously and turned to look at Brian
with a huge grin upon his face. He did not care that his fangs were
visible to the cabby. Stone was losing tolerance for the whole
situation. With the nosey cab driver sneaking peaks at them through
the mirror, he figured he’d give him something to be puzzled by.
Brian broke their stare and addressed the driver.

“Do you mind?” he asked
snootily. The driver said nothing but was immediately embarrassed
and blushed a bright red. He returned his gaze to the
road.

“Good. Now just keep
driving.” Brian ordered before returning his attention to
Stone.

“Now, you will take me to
see Deirdra. Don’t go into the God-forsaken place if you don’t want
to, but bloody hell, just take me there!”

After a moment of silence,
Stone finally gave in to Brian’s demands.

“Fine.”

Stone directed the driver
to make a couple of lefts then a right and had him stop outside the
house. It was just like all the others; nothing made it different
or extraordinary from the next.

“There, you happy?” Stone
asked resentfully. He himself wasn’t. Stone was unsure and oddly
fearful of what he was about to encounter. He knew that at least
Deirdra and Eme were there. Their cars were parked near where the
driver had pulled in. Stone found it odd that Eme would be there
but dismissed his thought.

Brian shook his head in
disbelief. “You had us drive around the block, circling the place
for all this time? You ass.” Brian said bluntly, but soon enough a
smug grin graced his features.

Stone had remembered the
location as he fled but had not known the exact address. He was
able to picture his way back to the house. Stone couldn’t help but
be amazed with the clear recollection that made it possible for him
to find the location. He knew that if he were still mortal, he
never would have been able to find that house as he did that night.
He never would have been able to find the place again nor try and
remember what the area even looked like. His mortal mind and his
vampiric mind, he was finding out, were so different yet the same.
His thought process was much the same but he found the drive behind
it was what made it different now, the drive for blood and the need
for revenge. He still begrudged Brenna. But as the time passed and
despite it having been only two nights, he was finding himself
enjoying this new life.

Unexpectedly Brian’s voice entered his mind.
“
Shit! With all your playin’ around look
at how much it’s gonna cost us! Take care of the driver, since you
don’t want to go in and all
.” He said
silently. Stone knew exactly what Brian meant for him to
do.

“But…” Stone began to
protest but Brian reached for the door handle and exited the cab,
ignoring him. Walking away from the cab and up the snow-covered
path, Brian disappeared around the corner as he headed for the back
door. Stone still in the cab sighed. He couldn’t believe that he
had left him there but really, he shouldn’t have been all that
surprised.

Sliding across the back
seat to exit the car on the driver’s side, he reached for the
doorknob and began to open the door.

“You owe me seventy-three
dollars, man.” The cabby stated as Stone stepped out. Closing the
door, he walked only a couple of steps and stood looking down at
the driver through the window. Stone had locked his gaze with the
man and used his telepathy.

“Get out
of the car
.” Stone said. He could feel the
thirst rise in him as his excitement grew. The situation aroused
him just as it had with the girl in the alley, Alyssa. He had been
able to push aside the need, the want of the driver’s blood as they
drove around for what seemed hours. He was proud that he was able
to control his hunger, but now, the thirst grew to be unbearable.
Without resistance, the driver did what he asked. Stone delighted
in this and a slight grin crossed his lips.

The man stood before him, a
good four inches taller than Stone. He looked at the driver with
such reverence for the sacrifice the cabby was going to give.
Stepping closer to the driver, he reached up and let his cold hand
grasp the back of the man’s neck. Once the man registered the
coldness of Stone’s touch, a look of shock and horror filled his
eyes. It was not Stone’s unnatural nature that frightened the
cabby; it was the odd intimacy he felt that bothered
him.

“Look man, I am not into
men, you know what I’m sayin’? So, how ‘bout you stop looking at me
like that and take your hand off me.” The driver said, stammering.
Stone laughed whole-heartedly but still kept his hold on him. Stone
could feel the man tense as he spotted his fangs.

“You are
not my type, but what is
in
you is what I desire.” Stone said grinning like a
Cheshire cat and went in for what he could no longer hold back. As
his fangs pierced the man’s flesh, Stone moaned in delight. He
drank slow and took deep swallows of the cabby’s blood to savor the
moment. In doing so, Stone began to feel something he hadn’t with
Alyssa. He began to feel emotions that were not his own, seeing
memories that were not his own. Stone began to swoon in William’s
life. But all too soon the driver’s heart fell into that terrible
rhythm. Pulling away from him before he died, Stone looked at the
man that he held in his arms.

“Thank you.” Stone said to
him. Holding William’s dead body in one arm, Stone bent over and
pulled on the trunk release. Dragging William’s body to the back of
the car Stone gently placed him in the trunk and closed it. With a
sigh of contentment, his thirst now appeased, he walked back to the
driver’s side and leaned into the car. Turning the ignition off, he
pulled the keys out and placed them in his pants pocket. Closing
the car door, he stood there for a moment looking at the old brick
house. He found it odd that his once enraged thoughts had turned to
sorrow. Walking around the cab, he made his way up the snow-covered
walk to meet up with Brian. As Stone made his way around the
corner, he saw him standing there, leaning casually with his back
against the wall and his arms crossed.

“Took you long enough,” he
said. Ignoring his comment, Stone walked up to Brian and stood
before him.

“Why did
you wait? How did you know I would come?
I
didn’t even know I would come.” He
asked.

“I just knew. Despite all
the ranting and raving I knew you would have to see them all with
your new vampire eyes and senses.” Smiling, he pushed himself away
from the wall. Turning he pointed to the side door not bothering to
wait for any comment from Stone.

“No, I don’t know where
that door leads to. I exited the house from the basement door
around back.” Stone said. Walking past Brian, he took the lead and
showed Brian the way. It wouldn’t have made any difference which
way they entered the house. It just made Stone feel more
comfortable with entering the way he had escaped the first two
times. He knew what that area of the house looked like.

Reaching for the screen
door, Stone paused. He had to find his cowering nerve before going
any further. Brian said nothing to hurry him along. This was his
way of giving Stone space and he hoped the extra time would make
this venture easier for him. Brian found himself caring for this
young man. This was a feeling he had never experienced before
except in his mortal life with Deirdra.

Finding
his nerve, Stone opened the door. The dusty heat from the furnace
cascaded past him and as he crossed the threshold, a nauseating
stench hit him. He gave Brian an amusing look of disgust and
confusion. Having never smelled such an
odour
, Stone
had no clue as to what it was.

“It’s the
scent of death.” Brian said. “There must be bodies somewhere in the
house that are decaying.” At once Stone knew exactly who the
rotting bodies were. His memory of the murders was still fresh in
his mind. He had cried for them as he watched them die a painful
death at the hands of Brenna and Kristine. Stone thought he would
never forget the horrid things he had witnessed. But with all that
had befallen him, he
had
forgotten and he felt horrible for
it.

“Forgive me.” He whispered
to the air, to the family that he did not doubt haunted the place.
Brian wondered why he had said such a thing, but did not verbally
ask Stone nor did he probe his mind for an answer. As he made his
apology, Stone was overcome by his curious thoughts. He couldn’t
help but wonder, what are vampires really, other than malevolent
spirits? Souls locked in a dead body, rather than a building to
haunt and torment the living and the living to haunt and torment
them back? With a long sigh, Stone knew that his sudden mournful
thoughts were nothing other than misunderstood
contemplation.

With his swarming dark
thoughts, he took himself down the darkened hall with Brian close
behind him. There were no lights on and the moonlight was the only
illumination that seeped from an open door. It was the doorway that
led to his old prison. Stone continued, not wanting to give in to
his fear. The closer they came to the doorway, the slower Stone
walked. Coming to a sudden halt, Brian nearly bumped into him.
Brian leaned in, his hands resting on Stone’s shoulders.

“What is it?” He whispered.
Brian’s lips nearly grazed Stone’s ear. Stone stayed silent. An odd
sensation of familiarity filled him wholly and completely–he knew
it was Brenna. She was in his prison. She was alive.

With a flick of his raised
hand, Stone signaled to carry on. Having to take only a few steps
before reaching the doorway, he found himself looking upon the
utterly beat up, bloodied and dangling body of Brenna. A gasp of
horror escaped Stone’s lips. Brenna’s hands were shackled and
bolted to the wall. The cuffs dug deep into her preternatural flesh
and fresh blood trickled over the already dried blackish-brown
blood.

Trace marks of the bite
wound that Stone had inflicted upon her remained, as though the
process of healing had been interrupted. On the other side of her
neck, a fresh bite wound was present. Stone knew it had to have
been from Adam. A shudder ran though him. He had never seen a
vampire in such a dire state as this. Bruises were visible on her
bare flesh from rough handling and punches. Her left eye was
swollen shut and her bottom lip was cut from repeated
blows.

My
God
, Stone thought to himself but he would
not reveal his true emotions. Brenna raised her limp head and with
her good eye, looked at Stone, then at the vampire that stood
beside him.

“Making friends already, I
see.” She managed to say, her words slurred from the swelling. The
coldness in her voice was evident to Stone but he could also sense
that she used her nature to hide her desperation and
sorrow.

“Hmm,
yes, I guess I have.” Stone said plainly and took a step forward
now standing before her. “Not so nice being chained up, beat up
and, well, raped for one’s blood, now is it?” His voice was
coloured
with contempt. Looking at her like this, Stone
felt a sting of pity for her, for Adam’s vengeance on Brenna eerily
mirrored his time when he was held captive in that room. He
couldn’t help but feel an odd form of sympathy for
her.

“Why are you down here, in
this state and not with your Adam?” Stone finally asked, needing to
know.

“He is
not
my
Adam. He
never was and will never be.” Brenna paused for a moment, a
confusing look of humor and horror graced her features. “Nothing
has ever truly been mine,” Brenna continued, “I even failed at
making you mine. I couldn’t even do that right.” From her opened
eye, blood tears began to well then fell freely. Stone bowed his
head, feeling shame at his vengeful thoughts.