Resurrected (30 page)

About five feet from the
entrance, Stone made his footfall heavier, alerting them to his
approach. As he did this, the voices stopped abruptly. Entering the
room, they all stared at him. Their expressions ranged from
annoyance that he had interrupted, to pleased to see that he had
come. Turning to look at Brian, Stone stood in the
doorway.

“I’ve brought my friend,
Brian.” Stone said as he returned his gaze to the others, looking
each directly in the eye. When no one spoke a word, Brian stepped
forward and together they walked into the room and over to Mylana,
Elijah and Brenna.

“He was once very dear to
Deirdra and he wishes to be here for this.” Stone added since no
one had said a word, making him feel rather
uncomfortable.

“I guess that will be fine
then.” Eme said her voice cold. Stone knew her mind was elsewhere
and that she was concerned about greater things than Brian. The
look that Malachi gave Stone sent a chill through him.

“If it is alright with
them, he shall stay.” Malachi added. His voice sounded eerily
sincere but his gaze seemed so harsh. At his comment the others
nodded in agreement. It was then that Stone noticed Brenna
examining Brian. He could see her mind reeling with questions about
him. About him and Deirdra, for she had never really talked about
Brian with her. Deirdra kept that part of her life to herself and
only shared with Brenna that it hurt too much to relive those
memories.

As Brian’s eyes locked with
Brenna’s, he spoke in a soft but playful manner, “Now, now–you
don’t want to take a glimpse into my troubled mind, do you?” Brenna
got flustered and looked down, unable to keep her gaze on
him.

“We have everything that
the spell requires except something from the body. The ashes will
not work. So her remains will do us no good.” Malachi began,
looking at each of the vampires. “We need something like a
fingernail, hair, flesh… anything like that, or I fear that our
plan will not work at all.”

Stone could sense his
disappointment, they all could. Feeling rather awkward and useless,
he had to distract his wandering thoughts. Looking about the barren
room, he saw Adam still bound and chained with iron shackles at his
ankles and wrists. He was virtually in the same spot as earlier
that night. He was awake and lucid, and the hatred that burned in
his eyes was a fiercely frightening thing. Dressed in the same
white shirt and pants, his clothes were stained with blackish-red
around his collar and at his sleeves.

Adam sat silently with his
legs crossed and his hands resting neatly around his bent knees. He
seemed to be in a trance but also fully aware of his surroundings.
Despite putting on airs of strength, Stone could tell that the lack
of blood kept him weak, which angered him just as much as his
children defying him.

A few feet in front of Adam
an altar had been assembled. On it was a large wooden bowl and
around it three candles had been strategically placed–brown, black
and white. The bright flames flickered from the breeze in the room.
The brown candle was placed above the bowl, the black to the left
and the white sat on the right side. Strewn about the altar were
stones with rune symbols and a dagger with a slightly curved blade
and a beautifully jeweled hilt. In a nearby small clay dish,
cone-shaped incense burned. One was frankincense and the other
myrrh to ward off any evil spirits.

There were objects in the
bowl, but at the distance Stone was, he could not tell what they
were. As there was not much more to examine, he looked at the
others then turned his attention to Malachi.

“Yes?” He said, as Stone
looked at him in an unusual way. “What is it?”

Reaching into his pocket,
Stone pulled out the lock of blond hair, placed it in his palm and
with a small voice he asked, “Will this work? I took it from
Deirdra when I was left alone with her.” Stone said lowering his
head. “I just wanted to have something from her to remember her
by–you know?”

Immediately a wide grin
crossed Malachi’s face. He was delighted at the new turn of events
for he knew the spell would have never happened
otherwise.

“Yes! Yes, this is
perfect,” Malachi said walking over to Stone. Grabbing the hair
from Stone’s hand, he took it with him to the altar. Stone followed
quickly behind leaving Brian with Mylana, Elijah and Brenna. Once
hovering over the small altar, Malachi tossed the hair into the
bowl and turned to address Eme.

“It is time, are you
ready?” He asked, his voice soft and gentle which surprised Stone.
Everything about him puzzled Stone.

Gracefully Eme made her way
over to Malachi and the altar. Nodding her head solemnly, she
reached for the dagger, the blade shining as the light from the
candles hit it in just the right way. Next she reached into the
bowl, pulled out a sprig of herbs and set it aside. Eme grabbed the
bowl which contained the lock of hair and a piece of birch bark
with Deirdra’s name written on it. Walking over to Adam she stood
before him her body unearthly still. Stone could sense her
trepidation. Standing there, she dug deep within to find the
courage and strength to perform the dark magick.

As she stood before Adam,
Malachi summoned the others to stand in a circle around the altar.
As Eme began the spell he walked over to help her.

“Harken well ye Elements of
Air, Fire, Water and Earth. By this blade and blood I summon thee.”
Eme began and as she said this Malachi reached for Adam’s right arm
and turned his palm up, revealing the deep purple-blue veins.
Swiftly, Eme swung the dagger down. The blade sliced Adam’s
preternatural flesh with ease and his blood began to flow freely
from the cut at his wrist. Eme placed the large wooden bowl under
the streaming blood to collect the crimson liquid.

When the
wound began to heal and no more blood would come forth, Eme
signalled
for the other wrist. Malachi let the right hand
drop, only to have it land in Adam’s lap causing the chains to
clatter. Grabbing hold of his left hand, he exposed the
wrist.

“Harken well ye Elements of
Air, Fire, Water and Earth. By this blade and blood I summon thee.”
Eme said again and the same ceremonial cutting began. The blood was
collected within the bowl, which was now just over three quarters
full.

Once the second wound
healed, Eme took the bowl over to the altar. Setting it down she
began to summon Osiris, the dead king who watches over the nether
world, for the second part of the ritual.

“Osiris, lord of the nether
world, I summon thee. I offer to thee blood from a man of ill will
and devil’s bane. I ask thee, Osiris, to accept my sacrifice and
with this exchange grant me the soul of Deirdra O’Dea for the soul
of Khalid, son of Rahotep. So mote it be!” Eme began and as she
spoke, she picked up the sprig of herbs that had been set aside and
placed it in the bowl with the blood, lock of hair and birch
bark.

“I cry out to thee, Osiris,
my faith in you is strong and steadfast. Bring forth to us Deirdra
O’Dea. Accept my offerings. So mote it be!” Eme bellowed. The blood
within the bowl began to bubble and the rune stones and candles
trembled. The temperature in the room began dropping and painful,
sorrowful moaning filled the room. It began soft and eerie then
grew to an deafening level that caused Mylana, Stone and Brenna to
cover their ears. Despite their alarm, they kept their stance, not
breaking the circle.

Eme knew it was working.
She had contacted Osiris. Before his spirit would leave, Eme made
her way out from the circle and over to Adam. Turning she looked
over at Malachi and without a word spoken, he knew what she wanted.
Reaching into his pocket, he reached for the keys that would unlock
the metal cuffs that kept Adam bound to the room. Malachi tossed
the keys at Eme. Catching them with ease she went over to Adam and
released him from the chains. Dropping the locks and the keys, she
grabbed onto him and dragged him over to the altar. Mylana and
Elijah stepped to the side to allow them through.

Eme now kneeling before the
altar, with Adam in her grasp, she wiped at the blood sweat at her
brow. She was becoming weaker. The magick had begun to take its
toll on her. Eme looked at the vampires that surrounded
her.

“Call her name repeatedly…
Call out her name!” She repeated when they didn’t begin chanting.
She then turned back to Adam. Reaching for the bowl Eme poured the
contents across the altar as the vampires in the circle began to
chant softly.

“Osiris, king of the nether
world, we are at your mercy, at your will. Grant us the soul of
Deirdra. Take from us this impure soul that is Khalid in replace of
hers. Bring forth Deirdra! Deirdra! Deirdra!” Eme’s voice cried
out, over the mournful sounds of the souls that lingered at the
opening she had created to the nether world. She then slit Adam’s
throat, his blood instantly pouring from the wound. It gathered in
a pool that slowly merged with the blood spilt from the bowl. As
Adam’s blood began to slow and less flowed from the wound, Eme
tossed him aside and out of the circle, causing Elijah to move out
of the way.

Eme suddenly cried out in
pain. Her head shot upwards, her eyes were wide as she stared at
the ceiling above. Without warning, a bright white light came out
of nowhere, inches from above the altar. At first the magical
illumination was small and only about an inch around. As the spot
of light grew, the temperature in the room began to rise, becoming
almost unbearable. The light itself seemed to swirl. At this
spectacle, the vampires stopped their chanting, in awe of what was
happening.

“No! Keep calling her!” Eme
managed to say but was unable to move her body. Again, they called
out to Deirdra. The light grew more intense, growing larger and
larger until they were unable to keep their eyes open any
longer.

With a sudden explosion of
light and sound, the vampires were thrown back. Landing hard on the
floor, they slid to a stop against the walls. The room was now
silent. The vampires stayed still, lying on the floor trying to
contemplate what had just happened. Were they rejected? Did it just
not work?

Mylana was the first to
make a sound. Her quiet sobbing filled the air. Stone sat up,
shaking his head in an attempt to clear his blurred vision. As his
sight came back to him, he looked around the room. Spotting the
others laying on the floor scattered about, they were slowly coming
to. All the vampires moaned in pain from the explosion. Mylana was
the first one on her feet and stood where the altar had been, which
was now strewn across the room. Stone rose to his feet and walked
over to her. It was then that he noticed that there was no evidence
of the blood that had pooled on the floor. As he came up behind a
weeping Mylana, he wrapped his arms around her. His gaze drifted
over her shoulder and gasp escaped his lips.

“My God!” Stone uttered.
Lying on the floor was Deirdra.

Chapter 22

(Deirdra - December 24,
1999)

With each blink, my vision
cleared enough for me to see who hovered above me. Three women and
four men, their ages ranged from early twenties to late thirties.
Their expressions alone frightened me.

“My God!” One of the men
said. His eyes were wide with what I could only distinguish as
shock. Unconsciously his right hand came up and brushed the dark
brown hair from his eyes, which were alluring and sparkled with
fierce life. He himself was alluring. He exuded a sensuality that
made my heart flutter. He was beautiful. As I examined the others,
I was to find the same conclusion about all of them.

The woman who had been
weeping, the one with the long mass of wavy red tresses, was the
first to come closer and kneel before me. Wiping at what looked
like blood that trickled from her eyes she turned away from me and
addressed the others.

“Get her a blanket,
clothes, anything,” she said, her voice expressing her frantic
emotion. For several minutes no one moved or said a word. Finally,
the young woman with black hair and eyes seemed to wake from her
stupor and began walking away from the group then out of the room.
She seemed to have silently agreed to do what was asked of no one
in particular.

“Where am I?” I asked again
while trying to sit up. Instantly the redhead wrapped her arms
around me. Her touch was cold, causing my skin to break out in
goose-bumps and I shivered uncontrollably from fear and cold. I
ached, my body felt so heavy and my limbs defied any
command.

“Hush
now. It’s all right. You’ve come back to me, Deirdra.” The redhead
said on the verge of weeping. However she held firmly onto whatever
strength she grasped onto and did not to give in to it, which I was
grateful. I did not want to see blood trickle from her eyes
again.
My god, it was
blood
!
What the
hell is she
?

Wrapping my arms around
myself, I realized that I was sitting before all of them naked.
Instantly I wanted to run. Run from embarrassment. I did not know
who they were and being naked and vulnerable in front of them made
me very uncomfortable. Even though they seemed to know me, this did
not settle my nerves any.