The Vampires of Soldiers Cove (6 page)

“The blame is mine,” Gavin spoke up.
“I was on my way to get her and go hunting when this happened. I thought we were safe to wait one more day. I was wrong.” I didn’t want to think about what he meant by hunting but I’m sure it didn’t involve deer and a rifle.

“So we punish
him
too,” James whined.

“No
!” I screamed. “If you kill him you may as well kill me along with him. If he dies I don’t help you.”

“That’s hardly a loss,” James shot back.

“It might be more of a loss than you realize brother.”

Angus seemed to sense the impending revelation and leaned forward.
  “What do you mean?”

“The fire that consumed that car, the one which I might remind the council covered up the evidence of how the innocent died, I believe she started that, and not with a match.”
Now they were all leaning forward along with Angus.

“She controlled fire with her mind last night when I asked her to.
I think her mental abilities are far beyond any vampire that’s ever been recorded.” He finished and lowered his head.

“Is this true?” Mariah asked.
  Even though I doubted my ability to do it again I didn’t want to tell her that. If it was going to save us I at least wanted a chance to try.

“Yes,” I said.

Ellie was looking at me with a mix of what was perhaps wonder with a little bit of fear mixed in. “Show us,” she said.

I looked around the room quickly for something that I could use. A pile of papers was sitting in front of James.
I fixed my attention on the paper and closed my eyes.  I was struggling under the pressure however.  Emptying my thoughts like Gavin had suggested I tried once again. Then there was a crackling sound and when I opened my eyes everyone was staring at the flames. Everyone except for Gavin who was trying to cover up the fact that he was smirking by lowering his head even further.

James seemed genuinely frightened which I can’t say I didn’t find amusing. He slid back from the table to be as far away from the fire as he could.
Fortunately he got out of the way just at the last second because it was then that the table exploded.

The council members dove down onto the floor.

“Pull it back,” Gavin said calmly grabbing my hand. I closed my eyes again and pictured the fire dying down and smothering out. When I looked again the table was a pile of ash.

Silence filled the room as the council members eyed each other.
Finally Mariah spoke once again; her calm and steady voice more rattled this time. “I believe we should take twenty four hours to decide what to do. After all we want to be sure the right decisions are made to benefit all of us.”

“Agreed,” said Angus standing up and brushing himself off.
  He motioned to a vampire that had been standing by the door to the room. “Take them to holding and return them to us in exactly twenty four hours.” The vampire bowed to the council as Gavin and I rose to our feet. He opened the door backing up just a little when I walked toward him.

We were led
down a long hallway until we got to a large rounded door that opened with a skeleton key and stepped inside to wait out the long day and night that was ahead of us. There were blankets and pillows laid out on the floor and a pitcher of water with two glasses on a side table, but not much else.

Sitting
on the floor cross legged we looked at each other for a long moment, neither one of us wanting to speak first. “What do you think will happen?” I asked finally. I knew he could give me an answer that I wouldn’t like but I wanted to hear it anyway. If death was coming I wanted a chance to see it and face it head on.

“It’s hard to say for sure, but I think you scared them a little bit.
That’s either really good or...”

“Or?”

“Or really, really bad.” Gavin laid back on one of the pillows and ran his long slim fingers through his curls.

“Gavin I have to ask you something,” I said.
“It might not be the right time to ask it but I may never get another chance.”

He sat
up and regarded me intently, “Ask me anything,” he said. “You may die because of my stupidity so I at least owe you that much.”

“I don’t know quite how to put this,” I began.
“It’s just that everything I’ve ever read about vampires says we are damned. That we go to hell automatically or something. I mean I know that I probably will because of what I did to that woman, even though I really and truly would give anything to undo it. Are we...”

“Damned?” he finished my thought.
“I don’t know Rachel. Nobody knows. It’s possible. I think a lot of this ‘damned’ stuff is just something started by the church.  Vampires have existed in nature for thousands of years. I’m not sure how or why but we’re here, and I’m not sure it makes sense that we’d be damned for that.”

He reached out, touched my shoulder and with all the sincerity inside of him he said, “I don’t have the answer.
I’m sorry.”

“It’s ok.
It’s not your fault.” I lay down on the blanket and stared up at the ceiling. Gavin lay back down as well and put his arm around me. This was going to be the longest day of my life, and perhaps the last.

Chapter Nine

I lay with my back to Gavin for hours not saying
a word. We didn’t sleep or talk in what seemed like forever. During the last few days I had so many things I thought about asking him. So much I wanted to say, but now there was nothing. I ran through a list in my mind of all the things I was going to miss. It occurred to me that I had never really begun to live my life. I had never dated or finished school, travelled or even been with a man. So much left undone. My life had been stolen by this ‘gift’ and I felt cheated.  A wave of emotion rushed over me and all at once my tears filled the silence.

Gavin reached over and put his arm around me again as all of my sorrow drained out. Time didn’t have any meaning in this dark room.
How long we had been here and how long we perhaps had left to live was unknown.

“There’s still hope,
” he whispered in my ear lightly stroking my hair as he did. I closed my eyes and turned toward him hugging him close. He embraced me so tightly I thought that if he just didn’t let go we could go on living like this for a century. Once again he took my face in his hands and pressed our foreheads together. This time it felt like there was something he was trying to convey, something he wanted to say but couldn’t find the words.  He was about to speak when we heard the key in the door and sat up. The same vampire who had guided us to the room motioned to Gavin to follow him.

“No!
” I screamed as he stood to leave me. Gavin simply kissed my hand and let go, and with that they were gone. I fell back onto the floor falling apart as I did. I thought surely that if they were going to let us live they would have taken us both back before the council at the same time.  I was certain Gavin was being taken first to be told his fate and perhaps be executed ahead of me.

Remembering
my promise to refuse them help if they killed Gavin, I strengthened my resolve. If by some chance they were going to let me live after killing him I would have no part of it. The gates of hell could open up and rain down blood on Cape Breton Island, and so help me I’d stand and watch every one of them die, myself included. I knew Gavin’s absence would leave a gaping hole in me, bigger even then the death of my parents. If they wanted my help or cooperation for any reason, even if they tried to torture me for it, I’d refuse.

Time passed and I began to pace.
What was taking so long? Surely it could not take that long to execute one and then come for the other. I wanted this over with. The anger in me was rising like a vicious storm and I felt as though the next person to open that door was going to have their head torn off the moment I got the chance.  There was a violence in my soul that both disturbed and thrilled me. They would be judicious to execute me; otherwise I was going to give into this new pleasurable murderous sensation.

I stood in the corner hugging the wall and trying to get control of my emotions when I heard the familiar click of the lock once again.

Finally!

The guard motioned
for me to follow him just as he had Gavin, and we walked in silence back to the council room. The enormous door creaked open revealing the members sitting there just as they had the day before, a new table in place of the old one. No Gavin.

“Take your place.”
Angus motioned to the floor and I kneeled in front of them.

I lowered my head as Mariah spoke once again.
I didn’t meet her gaze this time; I was too busy trying to maintain my hostility. If they were going to tell me that Gavin was dead I wanted to brace myself and try to prevent from lunging at the table. It would have been a futile attempt because they were all so much older and stronger, but a part of me was ready to try it none the less.

“You have to understand,” she began
, “that our rules are in place for very good reasons. We need for our kind to remain a secret and if one of us is discovered it is detrimental to us all.”

This is it
I thought,
my life ends here.

“However,” she added, “under the circumstances we have decided to show you mercy.
You have many unique talents but in addition to that you also have an exceptional need for supervision.”

Raising my head I finally met
her eyes. “Supervision?” I asked.

“Yes. It has been decided that until we are satisfied you can control yourself and have demonstrated an understanding of this way of life
that you must remain here with us in the sanctuary. Your training will be completed here as well.  It is possible that we will need your talents soon and we would like to see how you develop.”

So they were going to let me live, for now anyway it sounded like.
How long, I wondered, until they would be satisfied. If vampires really did live for centuries I could be hold up here for a very long time.

“And Gavin?” I asked.
  She tilted her head toward the door as it creaked open. Gavin was standing there all dressed in black. The light from a window just outside of the door illuminated him slightly and I could see his blue eyes bright and blazing with his immense smile. In that instant I was so happy to see him that I wanted to bolt for the door and wrap myself around him.

He held out his hand to me.
  “We better get started,” he said, “time is wasting.”   Gavin took my hand and led me down a long corridor. “Let me show you your room.”

“If it’s anything like the one I just spent twenty four hours in I don’t think I’m going to like it.”

“Oh no, much better. You’ll be more comfortable here,” he smiled. After climbing an enormous set of stairs we reached another large door at the end of the hallway and he pushed it open. “Here we are.” Inside was a large bed in an ornately decorated room, complete with a dining area and sitting room. I was taken aback. The word sanctuary made me think of something that resembled a convent. This room could not have been more the opposite. It was more like a suite in an opulent hotel that I only saw pictures of in magazines because I could never afford to go there.

“It’s huge.”

“Yes, and all for you.”

“Gavin, what happened back there?
I was sure they had killed you and were coming for me next.”

“It seems the situation with Samuel might be coming down on us more quickly than we’d anticipated.”
  We sat down on the bed together. Suddenly it was all I could do to keep my mind on the business at hand. I closed my eyes and tried to focus on what he was saying. But he picked up on my unease.   “What’s wrong?” he asked.

I couldn’t hold back anymore. I felt the tears stinging my eyes. “I really thought I was never going to see you again.”

He opened his arms to me and we held each other for a long moment.
  I was like a child clinging to a parent after a long garish nightmare.

“I’m sorry,” I said w
hen I’d regained my composure. “I don’t know what’s happening with me.”

“
It’s the blood bond.  The threat of that loss can evoke some powerful emotions.  I feel it too, it’s normal for you to feel this way.”  He squeezed my hand and then let go changing the subject.  “There have been a string of murders from New York to Maine. We suspect Samuel and whoever he has with him are behind it.”

“Why do you say that?”