Sacrifice (6 page)

“I’ve
got a plan,” he said, after he’d rushed back to Clive’s side. “But we’re gonna
need some help.”

Thirty
minutes later, Ethan walked into Silas’s club leaving Clive and a friend he’d enlisted
to help him at the back of the building. He checked his watch. At twelve
fifteen, he had to make his move, ready or not. That was the moment they’d
agreed on when Ethan would cause the distraction and Clive and his pal would smash
the window and rescued Hallie. Clive didn’t like the plan. He thought it was
too risky and argued as long as he could against it, but Ethan’s mind was made
up.

They
didn’t have time for long goodbyes but Ethan hugged the old man as fiercely as
he’d dared before walking away. If what he knew of vampires from ancient books
were true, Silas’s death would also mean his own.

Anger
tore through him at the cruel joke. He’d just found the love of his life and
now it would come to a bitter end. But if he wanted to save her, he had no
choice. He would die willingly to make her safe…he just wished they’d had more
time together and a chance at a normal life.

Silas
gave him an insolent smile when he noticed Ethan leaning against the bar. An
imperceptible jerk of his head told Ethan that he should follow as he walked through
a door leading to the corridors behind the club. Ethan kept his distance,
swallowing down his burning frustration that the last time he would ever see Hallie
would have to be shared with a vile creature like Silas.

Starting
at a sudden movement through his peripheral vision, Ethan recognized the
beautiful young woman who’d bit him, fall into step behind. His body reacted to
her nearness, as if remembering the pain she had inflicted on it, and he spun
towards her, teeth bared. The woman grinned, crouching in a predatory stance.

“Enough!”
Silas roared. She backed off instantly and stood to one side, allowing Ethan to
follow Silas through the doorway.

Ethan
knew he couldn’t react on his instincts when he saw Hallie. He needed Silas to
be as far away from her as possible. If the cruel bastard was forewarned of
Ethan’s plan, he might order someone to hold her down. The smell of her fear
and sweat reached him seconds before his eyes found her, crumpled and terrified
on the dirty stone floor.

She
cowered against the wall, afraid it seemed to look at the people standing
around her. The desire to gaze into her beautiful eyes one more time warred
with another that wanted to protect her from further horror. Ethan figured as
soon as he spoke, she’d know he was there anyway, so he decided to make the
most of what might be his last opportunity to talk to her.

“Hallie…don’t
be afraid, honey.”

She
peeked through her hair, as if afraid to believe her ears. “Ethan?” She tried
to get to her feet but the young boy guarding her, pushed her back, laughing as
she slumped to the ground.

A
rage like he’d never known before tore through Ethan, and for the second time that
night, he wanted to kill somebody. But he knew Hallie’s fate wouldn’t be good
if he reacted on his anger. Instead, he satisfied himself with the mental image
of slamming the youth through the brick wall—knowing that if he lived long
enough after Silas’ death, he’d be coming for the kid next.

“What
do you want?” Ethan directed his question at Silas, while gazing at his watch, covering
the fact he was checking the time by acting like he was in a hurry to get this
over with. Two minutes left. Ethan prayed the plan would work and hoped
fervently that God would still listen to a sinner like him if it meant Hallie’s
innocent life would be saved. He sure hoped so.

“Where’s
your colleague?”

Ethan
ignored the question, playing for time as his gaze slid around the room. The
bookcase against the far wall had thin struts holding up the shelves and he
cast a closer eye over them to assess how easily they’d come away.
No, too thin,
he decided, looking around
for something better. A hard-backed chair in the corner seemed a sturdier
choice, with curved legs carved out of thick pieces of oak. He’d have only one
chance to do it…and he had to do it right if Hallie was to get out of this
alive. He checked his watch again. Sixty seconds. Ethan spun around and walked
over to the chair, turning as if to sit on it.

“Have
you no more touching words for your woman?” Silas mocked him but Ethan refused
to take the bait.

“Plenty,
but we’re not performing for your amusement. In fact, why is she here at all?”

Silas
laughed. “She’s here because she lied to protect you. I knew then you were more
than just friends and would do anything to save her life.”

“Well
now you have me, so you can let her go.”

“Ah,
if only it were that simple…”

He
left the sentence hanging but Ethan had no time left to ponder its meaning. A
sound outside the window alerted the young man guarding Hallie. Time seemed to
stand still as Ethan gazed into Hallie’s eyes once more, trying to project his
love for her, and sending up a silent prayer for Clive to get her out in time.

He
spun, grabbing the chair by one of its legs and smashed it against the wall
just as the glass in the window shattered. Ethan leapt forward before a single
shard hit the ground and jumped high, hands aloft, with a piece of the chair
leg aimed at Silas’s heart. Ethan caught a brief glimpse of Silas’s bared teeth
before he drove the stake into his chest.

Ethan
was thrown across the room, his body smashing into the stone wall before he hit
the floor. A pain, compared only to the one he’d suffered after he’d been
bitten, tore through him and he fought the darkness threatening to drag him
under. He lifted his head to look for Hallie, just as Clive and his friend
yanked her through the hole.

Silas
stood as if in shock, his hands clutching at the stake…blood beginning to seep
from his eyes, ears and nose. The woman and the youth dropped to the ground,
wailing and writhing, probably consumed with the same burning agony raging
through Ethan.

With
one last hair-raising scream, Silas crumpled, his flesh and bone turning to
dust. Only then did Ethan allow his eyes to close, determined that Silas would
not be the last thing he saw as he succumbed to the blackness of death.

Hallie’s
beautiful face swam into view, so real he could swear she was right there with
him. “I love you,” he said to the hazy image. A searing pain tore through his
heart when she smiled at him, tears and love glistening brightly in her pretty
green eyes.

“I
love you too, Ethan…so very much.”

The
warmth in her voice and the love shining in her eyes chased away his fear of an
eternity without her. As the last breath left his parted lips, and the vision
of Hallie faded away…the vampire accepted his fate with a smile.

Chapter Four

Hallie
slumped onto Ethan’s chest, sobs wracking her body as she realized he was dead.
She wanted to scream and beat at him for sacrificing himself for her. She
wanted to hurt Clive for stopping her running to Ethan sooner.

When
she was yanked from the room with a violent jerk, finding herself out on the
street and in the arms of two men she didn’t know, her first instinct was to
get back to Ethan. But they’d managed to hold her off until the blood curdling
screams filled the air and she was able to break free.

Hallie
ran to the window just as Silas disintegrated into a pile of dust but her gaze
didn’t linger on him long. Ethan lay a few feet away, his body writhing in
agony. She’d leapt through the jagged hole and raced to his side, dropping to
her knees. As she cradled his head in her lap, he’d opened his eyes and smiled
as if he’d been woken from a pleasant dream, but Hallie didn’t think he could
see her. He told her he loved her as his eyelids fluttered closed and she bent
her head to whisper that she loved him too. Then his smile faded away and his
mouth opened on a final gasp…and the man she would have given her soul to save,
died in her arms.

Hands
grabbed at her shirt, trying to pull her away, but she held on to Ethan’s body,
screaming for them to leave her alone. “Why?” she shouted, turning to look up
at Clive who had tears in his eyes. “Why is he dead, too?”

Clive
let go of her and sank to the ground beside her. “We didn’t know until this
very minute if it was true. Legend says that when you kill a vampire, the
undead he created die as well.” He sniffed and wiped his eyes, pushing himself
to his feet. “It’s my fault he’s dead. I should never have gotten him involved
in all of this.”

Hallie
couldn’t offer the old man the comfort he needed, not when her heart and mind
were consumed with Ethan. She pressed a kiss to his cold, firm lips, tears
running down her face. Then she placed her head on his chest and curled into
his side, her fingers bunched in his shirt.

Clive
cleared his throat, whispering, “I’ll leave you alone for a minute,” and faded
into the background.

She
closed her eyes and snuggled into his chest. The heat from her cheek seeped
into his skin from the opening of his shirt. Hallie remembered the time a few
days earlier when she’d tried in vain to find a heartbeat. Her hand smoothed
over his ribcage, resting where it had before. His skin felt warm there too…

A
sudden groan from the other side of the room dragged Hallie’s attention away
from Ethan. Fear clutched at her throat. One of them was still alive. She
looked for Clive, wondering if he’d made it outside safely…when a gentle thud
underneath her palm brought her attention sharply back to Ethan.

Hallie
looked down at her hand, her eyebrows knitting together as she realized his
chest grew warmer with each passing second. The thud came again, stronger this
time, and repeating almost instantly. Her gaze flew to Ethan’s face just as his
eyelids fluttered open and a tiny glimpse of sapphire blue appeared.

She
stayed frozen in place, afraid to breathe or move lest she break whatever spell
may have brought Ethan back to life. More sounds echoed around the room, this
time distinctly female, but Hallie couldn’t drag her attention away from the
man lying beside her, whether she feared for her safety or not.

Clive
rushed back in, skidding to a halt at her feet. “Well I’ll be damned…” he said,
when Hallie looked at him for an explanation. Clive looked as stunned as she felt.

“If
you’re damned, then we all are.”

Hallie
shifted her shocked gaze to the sound of the familiar voice. “Ethan?”

He
smiled at her, then craned his neck around to look over his shoulder and
struggled to sit up as if suddenly remembering they were in danger. “What the
hell?”

“That’s
what I was about to ask you,” Clive said.

“You’re
alive?” Hallie couldn’t seem to move her hand away from the strong heartbeat
pounding beneath it. “I mean…
really
alive?”

Ethan
stared back at her, appearing to have trouble understanding her words. He got
to his feet and his hands went to his face, pulling and pressing at his skin as
if checking that it was really his. Hallie got up too and grabbed his wrist,
dragging his hand away from his jaw and placed his palm on his chest.

Ethan’s
shocked expression made it clear he’d felt what she had minutes earlier. He
looked from her to Clive. “How?”

“What?”
Clive shook his head, unsure what Ethan was asking him, apparently still in
shock that he wasn’t dead.

“My
heart…it’s beating again.”

“What?”
Clive repeated, this time reaching out and pressing his palm to Ethan’s chest as
well. The three of them stood quietly for a moment, all of them focused on the
gentle but vibrant heart beat.

Ethan
sucked in a shaky breath and started, as if waking suddenly from a nightmare.
He grabbed Hallie’s shoulders and gazed intently over her face, apparently
making sure she was safe. “Oh God, are
you
okay? I’m so sorry you got dragged into this, honey.” He crushed her to his
chest. “What did that bastard do to you?”

“Nothing
much…besides scare me half to death.” Ethan didn’t return her smile. “I’m fine.
Just stunned and relieved you didn’t die.”

His
lips locked with hers and she didn’t care that Clive stood only inches away, or
that the ashes of the being who’d almost taken Ethan from her lay at their
feet. When Ethan’s arms locked around her even tighter and she felt him grow
hard against her abdomen, she pulled away. They had a lot of making up to do,
but that needed to wait until they were alone. Then she’d show him how happy
she was he’d survived this horrific ordeal.

“Where
am I?”

Hallie
turned at the sound of the plaintive, frightened voice coming from the woman
struggling to her feet. The young man got up as well, turning to Ethan, Clive and
then Hallie, as if looking to them for guidance.

Clive
rubbed the back of his neck. “I don’t know why… or how… but for some reason you
guys seem to have come back to life.” He turned to Ethan, gesturing over his
shoulder to the young couple standing in shock on the other side of the room. “I
guess we’re gonna need to help them.”