Resurrected (25 page)

“Why are you down here,
Brenna? What happened?” Stone asked, raising his head and fixed his
eyes on her.

“It is
because I lacked the strength to
not
give you eternal life. It is
because I had the desire, the love for you, to not let you
go.
That
is why I
am here. Because I made you my fledgling is why I am here. Does
this make you happy?” she asked her words sour. Stone let her
question penetrate deep within his soul before he answered
her.

Standing inches away from
her, he leaned in, grazed his cheek against hers and said, “Yes, it
does.” He said coldly, surprised at his inhumanity. Deep within his
wretched soul he was pained to find pleasure in seeing her like
that. To know that she had a taste of her own medicine, he
delighted in it. Straightening his posture, he looked at her for a
moment then leaned in again, giving her a gentle loving kiss upon
her forehead.

“Mother, lover–whatever you
may be to me now and in the future–I will always have these
feelings of contempt and devotion to you. For you are the one who
gave me this new life. Unwanted at the time, I will admit to you
now that I am quickly becoming enamored with it all.” Stone
confessed, revealing to her his true feelings. Brenna was taken
aback by his honesty. Stone knew she was not angered by his words,
but oddly touched.

“She’s gone, you know.”
Brenna blurted out.

“Who’s gone?” He
asked.

“Deirdra.” Brenna paused,
choking back her sobs before they overwhelmed her. Brian gasped,
but held his tongue. He didn’t want to believe what the battered
vampire was saying, so in his delusional mind, he played it as if
she were wrong.

“I have been down here for
two nights now, listening to them argue over her dead body–my sire,
my companion–whether they should resurrect her or not. Adam gave
her final death and now his twin brother Malachi wants to raise her
from the dead. A devil in an angel’s guise if you ask me…” Brenna
rambled on but Stone was confused. Not knowing who Adam really was,
Stone had no idea of what Malachi could be or the back-story of it
all.

Finally,
Brian could take no more of Brenna’s rambling and horrific words
about a dead Deirdra. He had carried the desire to find her for so
many years that Brian felt a growing fear that his time with her
would never come to fruition. Brian had hated her for so many years
as a mortal man. All those years spent in the Cambridge hospital
ranting about her, obsessing over her turned into desiring what he
had originally feared the most about her. He
wanted
to have her drink from him
again.

In a fog, Brian was trapped
in his manic thoughts. Turning, he walked out of the room and into
the hallway without speaking a word. He was going to find
Deirdra.

“They don’t know you.
They’ll see you as a threat and kill you if you don’t wait for
either Stone or I to accompany you!” Brenna yelled out to him as he
made his exit. Brian paused and Stone laughed.

“No, you’re staying here,”
he said, walking away from her and over to Brian.

“He’s more my sire than
you’ll ever be,” Stone added his words full of hatred. As they left
his lips, he wished he hadn’t said them at all, but it was too late
and the damage was done. The silence between them was awkward and
when Brian turned and began to walk away, Stone was grateful for
the exit.

Following Brian down the
darkened hall Stone was beginning to fear what they were about to
encounter. He could feel the tension, animosity and sorrow hang in
the air like the uncomfortable summer humidity in Montreal–so thick
you could cut it with a knife. Nearing the room, Brian and Stone
could hear the vampires arguing about resurrection spells. They
quarreled over the fact that with using black magick there was
always an unforeseen and unknown consequence of summoning such
power.

Once standing outside the
door, Brian walked in audaciously, fearless in his need to know the
truth. Meanwhile Stone stood motionless in the hallway, his fear
holding him steadfast. At once, the quarreling vampires turned
their attention to the new immortal standing in the doorway. Brian
could tell that they had not even sensed Stone him approach. They
shot their irritated stares at him. Brian knew they were angry at
themselves for not realizing he was in the house. However, not
willing to take the blame, they placed their guilt on
him.

“Who are
you? And who is the one that cowers in the hall?” Malachi asked his
voice assertive and commanding. Brian stood there silent, letting
his eyes scan the room and those vampires in it. He first looked at
Malachi, then Elijah who stood nearest to him. Turning he found
Mylana sitting on the cream
coloured
chair. Her curly
red hair appeared to Brian like fire against the lightness of the
back of the chair. With her hand on Mylana’s shoulder, Eme stood
there regally. They were all beautiful to Brian. Even Malachi with
the deformity of multiple scars, was alluring. He could feel the
tension build as he stood in silence.

He wasn’t ready to speak
yet, he wasn’t done scrutinizing everything. He was there after
all, to find Deirdra. Searching some more, Brian found the weakened
vampire, bound with metal cuffs around his wrists and ankles, lying
on his side on the floor. Brian concluded that he was the vampire
who had been giving the others such grief. It was obvious they had
been feeding from him continuously to keep him weak. The bite marks
on his neck were still visible; one of them had just had their
thirst quenched.

After examining the fiend
in question, his eyes scanned the shadows near and around the
couch. Suddenly something caught his eye–a pile of soiled clothes
and a mass of matted golden hair in a mound of ashes. Staring at
this mess before him he was horrified and instantly anguished.
Brian felt violated by those in the room. They had taken her from
him.

“I ask only once more: who
are you? And who is your cowering vampire for a friend?” Malachi
was losing patience with Brian. Even with knowing the importance of
having to answer, Brian was speechless. He could not rip his eyes
away from the remains of Deirdra.

Knowing he could no longer
tremble in the hallway, Stone took a deep breath and exhaled before
entering the room to stand beside Brian. Elijah and Mylana gasped
in surprise as they looked upon the vampire Stone. Stone
immediately felt a kindred connection with them. Overwhelmed, he
was bombarded with silent words of love, admiration and lust. To be
like them now, Stone no longer had to wonder what they were
thinking–he had a clear understanding. Stone smiled broadly showing
his nature to them. He was unable to hold back his delight as his
family’s affection washed over him.

As soon as Malachi began
walking towards Brian and himself, Stone’s smile faded. Wanting to
keep a distance from Malachi, he raised his hand gesturing for him
to stop, signaling that they have no quarrel with him.

“My name is Stone. I am the
one Adam kidnapped weeks ago and I am Brenna’s fledgling.” Stone
said calmly. Reaching out to Brian, Stone touched his arm hoping
his contact would wake him. He then informed Malachi and the rest
to who Brian was.

“This is Brian.” Stone
began. Mylana’s head jerked upwards and she looked between the two.
“He was kind enough to take me in and help me through my first
night as a vampire.” Stone now looked at Mylana. “He appears to
have known Deirdra, although I don’t know the circumstances.” Stone
looked at Brian as he stood there stupidly, engulfed in his shock
and dismay. Before anything else could be said, Stone could feel
Brian begin to back away, slipping out of the gentle grasp Stone
had on his arm.

“Where
are you going?
” Stone asked him
silently.

“I can’t
be here any longer
,” Brian answered. His
voice, although spoken telepathically, sounded as though it was
choked with tears. Brian managed to sustain a façade of calmness
and appeared to be unaffected by what had happened to Deirdra. His
face was an eerie mask of coolness. He revealed none of the
emotions that Stone knew he was experiencing. Dumbfounded, Brian
just kept backing up. He had to get away from it all; it was too
much for his demented brain to fully grasp.

Stone said nothing more to
keep Brian there with him and the others. He assumed they didn’t
find him to be a threat as they did nothing to stop him either. Now
he was left standing at the doorway alone, feeling rather
uncomfortable and fearing for his life. He looked at Adam as he lay
on the floor shackled. Adam stared back.

“They
are not in awe of you. They do not love you. You are a sorrow to
them. They pity you and know that you should never have been. You
should have grown old and your death would have eventually released
you from your bodily prison. They never treasured you enough to
give you their gift. Ever wonder why? You’re damaged. You only
received immortality from vengeful and ludicrous Brenna because she
is weak. You poor fool…
” Adam’s hateful and
poisonous thoughts filled Stone’s head. Even though they were
simple emotions given by Adam, those feelings were felt too deeply
by Stone.

Stone raised his hands to
his ears and cried out, “shut up!” He knew it was his own voice he
heard echoing in his head and not Adam’s. Nevertheless the power of
his aura alone was frighteningly strong against Stone.

Everyone looked at Stone
with a questioning look in their eyes. Immediately he was
embarrassed and to his surprise, his cheeks flushed. His flesh was
still able to respond as a human’s would to this mortal reaction.
Saying nothing, he looked to those in the room and with an
apologetic look.

Mylana rose from where she
sat and walked over to him. Standing before Stone, her vibrant
green eyes examined every bit of him. Without thought, she reached
out and let her fingers graze his cool skin. Mylana needed to touch
him to help register his change as being real. He had been with her
for so long as a mortal boy and young man. Within that time she had
fleeting moments of curious wonder as to how beautiful he would be
if brought across. But it was never more than a fleeting wonder.
She would not rob him of his life. Yet, there he stood before her,
a vampire. The beauty he had always possessed was now emphasized.
His dark hair was luminous in the dim light and his dazzling brown
eyes had the capability to enthrall man or woman and human or
vampire easily.

“Oh, Stone.” Mylana said
her voice barely audible. She was conflicted. She loved seeing him
as he was, but she also grieved for the loss of his human
life.

“Enough of this.” Malachi
blurted out. “Elijah put Khalid in the basement then we will rid
this house of Deirdra’s remains. There is no need for these cinders
and bones to continue littering the floor.” His voice was cold and
calculating. Mylana turned and glared at Malachi.

“How dare you give such
orders?” Mylana spat at him. To hear him speak of Deirdra with such
disregard infuriated her.

“Mylana, he is right. We
should at least end our torment. To see our beloved Deirdra like
this, it’s not right to continue doing this to ourselves.” Elijah
began, his words expressing his pained heart. Mylana knew that it
should be done but knew she could not be part of it. Mylana turned
and gave Stone a weak smile. Walking past him she exited into the
hallway and paused.

With her back to them she
quietly replied, “do it then,” and continued down the corridor to
the kitchen.

Malachi walked over to
Adam. Without any further deliberation he roughly picked him up.
Elijah was quick to aide him and together they carried Adam to the
basement. Doing so, they passed through the kitchen only to find
Mylana sitting in the dark, the light of the moon cascading its
white light against her legs. She spoke not a single word. Neither
did Elijah.

To Elijah’s surprise, as
they enter a darkened room in the basement, he paused as he saw
Brenna. Battered, bleeding and hanging from the metal cuffs, she
appeared dead. He was horrified.

“What the hell?” Elijah
blurted out. The whole time he had been in the house he hadn’t
sensed her at all. Elijah felt ashamed that he hadn’t and began to
rush past Malachi and over to her. Malachi quickly dropped Adam to
the floor recklessly and addressed Elijah.

“Who is she? Why is she
tied up like that?” He asked firmly.

“I have no clue why she’s
bound. It’s Brenna. Either way, we’ve got to get her out of those
metal cuffs.”

“No. If that is Brenna, the
same one that made Stone a vampire, then she has good reason to be
tied up.” Malachi’s voice was cold.

“No, we are taking her
down. If you won’t, I will. I think she has paid enough!” Elijah’s
voice expressed his anger and disgust. He was not going to let
Malachi stop him. He had enough of being told what do to and where
to go. This had to stop. Malachi said no more and did nothing to
stop Elijah as he continued making his way to Brenna. Once by her
side he then began examining the chains and locks. With melancholy
eyes, Brenna locked her gaze with his and without her saying a word
he knew what she asked.