HAPTER NINE

 

 

Darius’s boots slipped and sloshed through the blood soaked earth. He scrambled past the dead bodies littering the ground, making short work of the distance to the pyre and the terrible silence emanating from Carolyn. The dry snaps and crackles of burning wood filled his ears. Terror churned in his heart until it was nuclear, but he refused to let the thought that he had lost his soulmate take root. The heat and flames were no more than a spark in comparison to the crazed panic in his body. He breached the blaze but stepped back when logs gave way and threatened to topple Carolyn into the heart of the inferno.

Hope was vanishing with the smoke on the wind when he heard the voice of Quin Le Beau. Arms stretched wide, the wolf shifter called to the heavens. “Goddess Luperca, the mother of all wolf shifters, heed my request. Send the rain to tame these flames.”

Lightning forked across an angry sky. Thunder crashed in glorious answer to Quin’s call. Then blessed rain fell in torrential sheets. “Thank you, Goddess,” Darius whispered as he paced at the base of the pyre, impatient to cut Carolyn free.

“No!” Darius yelled as the compromised half-burned logs collapsed in upon themselves and Carolyn disappeared under the weight of the pyre. He grabbed the nearest smoldering hunk and tossed it aside. It sailed across the bloody battlefield, instantly forgotten.

Shoulder to shoulder, the vampires and shifters disassembled the pile. The mangled mess had to be taken apart with care. One wrong log and it would crash again like a bad game of Jenga. Until they reached Carolyn, they played it as if she still lived. Regardless, her body would be retrieved and laid to rest with reverence and love.

Not a single man was willing to voice their doubt, though their worried glances at one another didn’t go unnoticed.

“She isn’t dead!” Darius growled at them, grabbed another log, and tossed it aside.

“Of course she is not,” Etienne assured as he pulled one that was still aflame.

“Here! She’s over here,” Nick yelled from the opposite side of the heap.

Darius flashed to Nick’s side. Of Carolyn, only her fingers could be seen. In rapid succession, logs crashed against tree trunks and headstones. “Quickly!”

Tears created tracks through the soot on Darius’s face. “Carolyn,” he croaked, his voice that of a broken man. He extended a trembling hand toward her motionless form, so still that Darius’s heart froze in terror as his eyes took in her tortured, burned body.

Etienne gripped his shoulder and whispered, “Allow me. I will take the utmost care with your Muierimei.”

Darius gave a jerky nod. Everything in him rebelled at the thought of another man touching Carolyn. But he knew if he tried to move her, his unsteady hands would damage her further.

He watched closely as Etienne lifted a chunk of charred hair from her neck, carefully peeling it from her skin without damage to the underlying tissue, then both felt and listened for a pulse. Shock and a sliver of hope jolted his heart when Etienne’s eyes flashed to his.

“She lives but barely. Darius, sit on that stump. The rest of you will help me clear the area around her so we can extract her with as little damage as possible,” Etienne barked orders like a drill sergeant.

Darius’s bones rattled like a maraca as he watched Etienne and the others rushed to clear the area around his Muierimei. He had to steady himself if he was to pull Carolyn from the brink of death. He sucked in a breath, a jangled series of stuttered starts and stops that did little to fill his lungs. Damn it. Determined to get control of his body, he closed his eyes and visualized Carolyn alive and well. Then he took another breath. A steady even flow of air, in and out. He could do this.

His eyes popped open at the sound of Etienne’s next order. “Nick, help me lift her from this mess. Take care. Her flesh is fragile.”

Both Etienne and Nick reached for Carolyn’s horribly burned and broken form but hesitated. Neither could find a place to take hold that would leave her undamaged. They tried again and pulled back.

“Nick, this is not going to work without magic, please step back.”

“I agree.” He retreated to Darius’s side and watched as his maker carefully levitated her body. The process required intense concentration to hold her entire body level while avoiding contact with the logs around her. Slowly, she rose from the ashes. Her flesh burned beyond recognition. Her hair and clothing—gone.

“My God, how is she alive?” Derick whispered to no one in particular.

Darius stiffened, and his heart struggled to beat at Derick’s words. He was right. How was she holding on? He was thankful when Nick shot his brother a reprimanding glare. He had to believe she would make it through this and live.

Etienne floated her across the eight or so feet to where Darius waited. “Keep your arms at your sides. I will hold her steady. Do not touch her other than to pierce her flesh and take her blood for the third exchange. Then score your wrist and drip your blood into her mouth.”

Darius clenched his fists. It was killing him to see her so destroyed and unable to cradle her to his chest. But he could sense his blood in her body, hear her thin pulse echoing weakly in his veins. Faint though the connection was, it gave him the strength he needed to do what he must.

He leaned forward with his fangs extended a breath away from her neck and hesitated. Though she had agreed to be his, could he impose the final exchange on her without her conscious knowledge? This felt so wrong. For a vampire to force a blood exchange was tantamount to sexual assault. If he didn’t convert her completely, she wouldn’t have the healing ability of a vampire. He would have to watch her die, helpless to save her.

Unacceptable, he couldn’t exist if she was gone. He had two choices. Do the exchange and deal with his actions later or follow her in death.

“Damn it, Carolyn. I’m sorry. I can’t let you die. Please, forgive me.” He closed that sliver of a gap and sank his fangs as gently as possible. Only a few sips, that was all it would take. Moments later, he licked the bite wound closed. Then brought his wrist to his mouth and tore it open, no gentleness required. In his mind, he had earned the pain. Blood ran in rivulets to pool on the ground. He mumbled an urgent prayer to Artemis and positioned his wrist over Carolyn’s lips. “Goddess, please help her to swallow and heal.”

Carolyn knew she was dying. She had wondered many times how the end would come. She considered a car crash or old age, but death by pyre? That hadn’t even been on her radar. Locked in her mind, she screamed in agony, floating on a never-ending sea of pain. The escape into the next world beckoned, promising relief from her suffering. She reached for the sweet release of death, but something pulled her back from the light.

A soothing liquid slipped down her throat. A flavor she vaguely remembered but couldn’t place. Her mind refused to release the knowledge of what she knew she should recognize. She swallowed again, the comfort of the drink enveloped her, as if Darius’s strong arms protected her, and held her above the waves of pain that stole her ability to think. Before she could form a coherent thought, she sank into blessed oblivion where misery didn’t exist.

Sometime later, minutes, hours, days? Carolyn didn’t know. Time didn’t exist in oblivion. She floated to the surface of consciousness but didn’t breach the barrier completely. Muffled voices that were pitched low and concerned in tone filled her ears. She didn’t recognize the voices, but one thing was certain, Darius was with her. She sensed him, somehow pinpointed his location. He was below her. No, that wasn’t right. He held her. That wasn’t right either. He was carrying her.

She was too drained to care where he was taking her, content to drift away in the protection of his arms. Darius would never let anything hurt her again.

“Etienne, would you please open the back door for me?” Darius asked.

The vampire king nodded and opened it wide. “It might be best to hand her off to me while you get in.”

Darius stared at the interior and waffled. He didn’t want Carolyn in anyone’s arms but his own. Etienne was right, as always, there was no way to get both he and Carolyn into the car. He would have to get settled and have her handed in. “All right, but hold her gently.”

“I would do no other.” He accepted Carolyn’s broken but healing body with an air of reverence.

Darius settled himself and spread his arms to receive her. He was careful not to jostle her when he took her into his arms again. “Ah, Goddess. She’s in terrible pain.”

Regardless of the care they took, the transfer roused her. He heard her soft, rasping gasp. The sound that escaped her charred lips was slight, so reedy. The wounds on her body were hideous, her beautiful skin seared away. He brought her hand to his mouth and kissed her slack fingers, only touching his lips to her fingernails, the one place he felt sure wouldn’t cause her further agony. That was when he noticed she still wore the daylight ring. It didn’t surprise him that a magical item created by a goddess would survive the fire that burned everything else away. “Hang on, leannan. I’ve got you.”

Darius cradled Carolyn in the backseat of the SUV, her head on his shoulder, his jacket covering her nakedness. His heart a frozen lump of ice in his chest from fear and rage wouldn’t thaw until she was whole again. “Get a move on. We need to get her to the safe house where I can care for her.” The rough order was given through gritted teeth.

“I know what she is to you,” Derick assured, his voice gravelly with concern. “I’ll get us to there as fast as I can, but the road is rough, and I’m sure you don’t want to jar her.”

As Derick pulled onto the dirt road that would take them away from the cemetery and back to town, Darius scored his wrist open again and held it to Carolyn’s charred lips. He monitored the amount she took closely. He had to be careful to feed her in small doses while she was in transition. “Thank you, Derick. I’m sorry if I was gruff.”

“No apology needed. I can’t say I know what you’re going through, but I can imagine.”

Nick flipped down his visor and glanced at Darius in the mirror. “Why the hell did she leave the ballroom? You told her it wasn’t safe.”

“I don’t know, and at the moment I don’t care,” Darius hissed in anger at Nick’s audacity.

Nick nodded. “I’m sorry. This is the wrong time to ask the why of it. Forgive me.” Then he pulled his phone from his pocket. “I’ll call the men at the hotel and have them transfer the witches to the safe house.”

Rafe leaned forward in the third row of seats. “That’s a good idea. The Guild members that escaped may make a strike against them.”

Etienne nodded but kept his face turned away. “Not only that, but we may require their services for Carolyn. I want them to be on hand in case we need them.”

Darius was thankful when Nick flipped his visor up giving him the privacy he required with his vulnerable Muierimei so exposed to the eyes of others. He listened to Carolyn’s breathing. Air moved easier in her chest. Her lungs still sounded like they were smoke damage, but they would heal. Thank Goddess, his blood was helping.

She moaned and writhed in his embrace. Then her eyes opened for the first time. The most beautiful olive colored eyes he’d feared he’d never see again gazed into his.

“It hurts…” Before she could finish the sentence, unconsciousness overtook her again. She slumped against his body and turned her face into his chest.

“Shit.” Darius licked his wrist to close the wound before he smeared blood on the upholstery. Then he cradled Carolyn, her skin was beginning to heal, and he was finally able to hold her as he had been dying to do. That’s when he realized he was shaking from the fear and adrenaline rushing through his veins. He took a deep breath to calm himself. He needed to hold her steady, not shake her to bits. He thanked Artemis over and over that he had gotten to her in time.

He lifted her from his lap, absorbing the jolts of the SUV bouncing over ruts and potholes. Anger rushed to the surface, but he tamped it down. He knew Derick was doing his best to achieve a smooth ride on an impossible road.

He inhaled her scent, tamping down the arousal that came from his Muierimei taking sustenance from him. Having her alive and in his arms was all he needed. Carnal desires were unwelcome until she was whole again. He smiled to himself, not even the stench of burned flesh and hair could wipe away her patchouli fragrance.

She lay still as death against him, but her chest rose and fell with each rattling breath. He drank in her beloved face, grateful he’d gotten to her in time. They hadn’t violated her, he would have detected it, and for that, he was enormously relieved

The Guild was known for unsavory treatment of a witch before killing her. But the fire had done so much damage. Fourth-degree burns covered over half of her body. If he hadn’t found her when he did? No, he couldn’t think of what the outcome could have been.

He closed his eyes and shuddered, the vision of her falling into the pyre chilled him to the bone. Then a second scene of her buried under logs, broken and dying flashed through his mind. Darius knew she would heal now that she’d completed the third exchange. But she needed his blood to accelerate the process. He would give her every damn ounce, drain himself dry to keep her alive.

Darius gnashed his teeth. The drive to the safe house took an eternity. Though in reality, Derick cut the time in half. He navigated his way to the gated entrance of the estate like a NASCAR pro. He sent Artemis and prayer of thanks when the gate came into view.

Unwilling to wait a moment longer, he threw his door open before the SUV came to a complete stop, and lifted Carolyn into Etienne’s waiting arms. The vampire king hadn’t waited for Derick to stop either. The instant he was on his feet, Etienne returned her to his arms.

She remained unconscious, but out of the woods and she would survive. She had taken only enough of his blood for the final exchange and a little more on the drive back. Now that she was safe within the estate, protected by both vampires and witches, he would feed her again in the privacy of his suite.

The magical ties of their completed bond converted her fully to vampire, but his connection to her was something stronger. It went deeper than the maker to made link. She was his soulmate, the woman created to complete him. He loved her and would never give her up, even to death.

He gazed at Carolyn’s ravaged face and felt an acute pain drill into his chest. Without looking at Nick who had taken up residence at his side, he whispered, “I was almost too late. A few more moments….”

“God damn Guild,” Nick growled as he raked a hand through his hair. “Tell me there’s a way to raise them from the dead, so I can kill them again.”

Etienne’s lips were a tight, grim line. “Sadly, there is not, or I would have done so already. Repeatedly.”

“I’ll find an empty bedroom,” Derick offered.

“No!” Darius caught Derick’s flinch and immediately regretted the harshness of his response. “Pardon my abruptness. I’ll care for her in my suite.”

Derick gave him a reassuring smile and a pat on the back. “I’ll notify the witches that their assistance may be welcome.”

“Thank you. I can use all the help I can get.” He turned on his heel and carried Carolyn down a long hallway of doors to the last on the left, his private suite. Once inside, he gently placed her on the king-size bed. With the wave of his hand, candles flared to life. First, he must clean her. A nightgown would have to wait until her skin healed a bit more. Covering her naked form with a bed sheet would have to do for now.

With a second wave of his hand, the tub’s drain sealed, and the faucet gushed warm water. He ached to feed her again, but it was best to do so in small doses while her body adjusted to the vampiric changes happening within and healing without.

Her burns were raw, and an abomination on her flawless skin, but her internal injuries worried him most. Undoubtedly, she had sustained broken bones or worse when the logs fell on her. Her vampiric healing would fix any damage she had suffered, but it couldn’t diminish the pain.

As gently as he was able, he lifted her from the bed and laid her in the water. He reached for a washcloth and frowned. Setting it back on the edge of the tub, he glanced around. He needed something to clean her with that wouldn’t be abrasive to her already raw flesh. Then he spied a shampoo bottle with a squirt top. He kept his eye on Carolyn to ensure she didn’t slip beneath the water as he emptied the shampoo. Thankfully, there was a bottle of liquid body wash on the shelf beside the vanity. He poured a little into the shampoo bottle and added water before replacing the cap. He took a moment to test his theory. Giving the bottle vigorous shakes he popped the tip open and squeezed a hand full of suds into his palm. Pleased with the results he rinsed the soap from his hand and moved to Carolyn’s side once again.

Darius knelt beside the tub and squeezed the suds over her scalp. The soap removed some of the ash and dirt but not all of it. He put a little soap mixture in his hands and rubbed them together until he had a mountain of bubbles. Barely touching her flesh, he smeared the soap around. The scarcely there touch was enough to clean the ash and debris from her scalp. He sent a prayer of thanks to Athena when Carolyn’s clean head showed tiny hairs emerging. It wouldn’t be long, and her hair would look as if it had never been burned away.

Sure that his method would work, he washed her from head to toe. It took a while, and he had to add warm water twice when the tub cooled, but in the end, Carolyn was clean. That was both a blessing and a curse. The removal of the ash made the cuts on her chest and belly much more evident. The bastard must have used a silver blade. Mature vampires such as he and Etienne had the ability to heal wounds made by silver, but a newly made vampire didn’t have that kind of magic. He had to find a way to erase the symbols cut into her body before she woke. There had to be something he could do.

Throughout the hour or so that he’d bathed her, Carolyn’s burns had improved from fourth degree to somewhere between second and third degree. He plunged his arm into the water and released the plug to allow the tub to drain. As the grayish black water receded, he grabbed the hand held shower wand and rinsed Carolyn with warm water to remove any remaining dirt. Satisfied with the job he'd done, he reached for a bath towel and paused. Her skin wasn’t healed enough to be toweled dry. Air-drying on the soft Egyptian cotton sheets of his bed would have to do. Once he’d settled her and covered her nakedness with a sheet, he glanced at the clock on his bedside table. Enough time had elapsed to feed her again.

Something warm and silky wetted her lips. Still floating in a haze of semi-unconsciousness, her instincts took over. Her tongue peeked out to lick at the moisture. The enticing fragrance and flavor were too delicious to deny. The liquid tasted like a rich wine, better than she could ever dream of affording. Her lips parted with a low moan and the tasty drink rushed to fill her mouth. The first swallow warmed her blood. She latched onto the source of the amazing elixir, drawing from the source with strong pulls.

As if from a great distance, a voice murmured her name. A frown creased her brow, and she flinched away from the pain the movement caused. But she thought she knew the voice. The scent that bloomed around her was familiar too.

She swallowed another mouthful of the delightful drink as she searched her memory for a clue as to why she knew that aroma. When had she smelled that before? A niggling memory teased her mind but remained just out of reach. Between swallows, she breathed through her nose. The enticing scent filled her senses and coaxed another moan. The elusive memory drew closer and began to take shape.

Slowly, recognition pricked her mind. Darius. He’d come for her. Had he saved her or was he dead as well? She tried to open her eyes, and when that didn’t work, she attempted to lift her arms, but pain speared through her like a red-hot poker stabbing her brain. Before the answer came, she was pulled below the surface of a churning sea of pain to soothing bliss.

When Carolyn’s lashes fluttered, his heart leapt with joy. He was sure she was waking. But after several pulls from his vein, her mouth had gone lax. A sad sigh escaped his lips as he licked the wound closed and pulled a chair to the edge of the bed. He was prepared to wait for however long it took.

Darius narrowed his eyes. His lip curled in a silent snarl at the ugly burns that marred his Muierimei’s body and face. The anger he’d tamped down while caring for Carolyn flared in his heart. If it were possible, he would kill her attackers all over again. He would take his time and torture them slowly. He wanted them to suffer for days before he gave them the sweet release of death. He prayed they burned in hell for eternity.

Darius’s fingers flexed and balled into fists with every breath he drew. The need for violence seethed through him. When his sight colored everything red, he knew he had to dial his emotions back. Until he could leave Carolyn’s side and hunt the remaining Guild members, he needed to maintain control if he was to be any help to his woman. On second thought, Carolyn was the one who deserved retribution. When the time came, he would give her the option of taking vengeance on the Guild.

He took a breath and reminded himself that she was safe and would eventually heal. The rustle of the sheet freed his mind from his dark thoughts. Carolyn moved again, and the sheet slipped below her breasts. The reaction he had to her body was natural between blood-bonded soulmates but inappropriate given the circumstances. He would always desire her, but the sight of her injuries kept his reaction at a low simmer.

His gaze shot to the door when footsteps halted in the hallway. A tentative rap sounded, but the knock was much too soft to belong to anyone other than one of the witches. His family would have been polite but more forceful.

“Darius?” A female voice whispered through the wooden door.

He cracked it open to see a curvy woman in a bohemian skirt and blouse waiting. “Aye?”

“I’m Jacqueline, one of the witches your group is protecting. The others and I made an ointment that will help Carolyn’s wounds heal without scarring. May I come in?”

He glanced to the bowl she held in her hands and breathed in the scent of its contents. He scented nothing that would harm Carolyn and sensed no deception in the woman. The power emanating from the ointment was strong and yet gentle. “Thank you. Please, join us.” He stepped aside and waved her in.

She gave him a little smile that failed to hide the sorrow in her gentle gray eyes. He pulled up a second chair for Jacqueline, and then took a seat to continue his vigil.

“She looks better than I expected. From what Nick told me, she was near death when you rescued her. He also told me your blood, and vampiric healing were the only things that saved her.”

Darius nodded. “I had no choice but to complete her conversion. Although she had agreed to our union, I wanted the final exchange to be private and romantic.”

Jacqueline placed her hand over his and gave a little squeeze. “I’m sure she’ll understand. The important thing is, you came for her when she needed you. You saved her. I don’t know any woman who wouldn’t appreciate what you’ve done.”

“I hear what you’re saying and know you’re right, but I still want to hear it from her lips.”

“And you will. Now, let’s begin. I’ll need a little assistance. If you would remove the sheet and turn her body when I ask, we’ll have her wounds healed in no time.”

“I can do that. Just tell me what you want me to do, and I’ll do it.” He steeled himself in preparation of seeing her burned body again and lifted the sheet.

Jacqueline sucked in a sharp breath. “My Goddess. How did she hang on long enough for you to get to her?”

Darius shook his head. “That’s a question only she can answer. When we lifted the logs from her body, I was certain she was gone from this world.”

“These symbols are an affront to a witch. Non-practitioners stupidly believe these will negate a witch’s power. In reality, all they do is piss us off. I have herbs and potions that will erase them. When we finish with her burns, I’ll collect them from my room.”

“Thank you. She wouldn’t have wanted to wear them on her skin for eternity. The sight of them would remind her of what she’d gone through. I never want her to feel that kind of pain or helplessness again.”