Shadows of Eternity

Chapter Thirty-Five

L eia might have thought she was in hell if she wasn’t so cold. She couldn’t see anything but blackness, hear anything but her own rapid breathing. Worst of all, she couldn’t move. Was she tied down? Paralyzed? Dead? Where was Rohan?

She froze when she heard scratches on the floor. Rats?

With a sob, she closed her eyes and tried to pray but she couldn’t speak, couldn’t think coherently.

Rohan. Rohan. Rohan. In her mind, she screamed his name. But there was no answer. Had he abandoned her?

Her eyes flew open as light flared. Afraid to look for fear of what she might see, she squeezed her eyes shut again. And heard coarse laughter.

“Wake up, sleeping beauty,” urged a familiar voice. “I feel like a snack.”

She shuddered at the sound of Josiah’s voice. In the faint light, she saw that she was tied to a bed in a small, dark room made of concrete. There were no windows, no furniture other than the hard cot beneath her.

Josiah stood beside her, his lips parted in a wolfish grin that revealed gleaming, white fangs. In a sudden move, he was bending over her, his fangs at her throat.

Please , she prayed. Please let me die.

Lifting his head, the vampire shook his head. “No death for you, girl, at least not the kind you want.”

Leia stared at him. “Wh … what do you mean?”

He licked her blood from his lips. “There’s death,” he said, with a wolfish grin. “And then there’s death.”

Her eyes grew wide as she grasped the meaning of his words.

“I’ll give you the same choice I gave Rohan. Life or death? It’s up to you.”

I’m dreaming , she thought . Having a nightmare. I’ll wake up in Rohan’s arms soon and we’ll have a good laugh.

But she wasn’t dreaming. There was no pain in dreams, she thought, as Josiah sank his fangs into her throat once again.

She must have fallen asleep or passed out, because the next time she woke, she was alone. A small candle provided a modicum of light. Best of all, she was no longer tied to the bed. Sitting up, she saw a wooden tray on a stool. Her mouth watered at the scent of fresh coffee.

She rose stiffly and walked toward the tray where a cup of coffee waited, along with a tuna fish sandwich, a small bag of potato chips, and a banana.

Ravenous, she gobbled down the sandwich, took a breath, and ate the chips and the banana. She saved the coffee for last. It was lukewarm and black. She preferred hers with sugar and cream, but she was in no position to be picky.

With her hunger assuaged, Josiah’s proposition jumped to the forefront of her mind. Life or death? How did anyone make a choice like that? she wondered. Josiah said he’d given Rohan the same choice. Rohan had obviously chosen life as a vampire. But that wasn’t really life, was it? Just a different kind of death. One she didn’t want to think about it.

Was it day or night? How long had she been here? Was Rohan looking for her? If so, why couldn’t he find her? He always had before. Why was this different? What if he’d stopped looking? Her parents must be frantic, wondering where she was, if she was dead or alive. She would never see them again, she thought sadly, no matter what choice she made. They would never accept having a vampire for a daughter. She remembered Rohan saying he’d had no control over his hunger when he was first turned. Would she prey on her own parents?

Lost in a mire of despair, she threw herself on the cot and cried herself to sleep.

Rohan stalked the night, his fear for Leia like a living thing inside him, clawing at his vitals as one day turned into two. Where the hell was she and why couldn’t he find her? He had known Josiah was powerful, but he’d never known a vampire who could block a blood bond between vampire and mortal. He refused to admit she might be dead. Why would Josiah kill her?

He came to an abrupt stop as a new thought crossed his mind. What if his sire had turned her? As Josiah’s fledgling, the blood bond between Leia and himself would be destroyed, replaced by the new bond of fledgling and sire.

The idea that she might have been turned by Josiah was beyond bearing. He groaned deep inside. Not that , he thought desperately . Never that.

Once again tied to the bed, Leia stared at the ceiling. Was it day or night? And why did Josiah insist on tying her up? Even if she were free, she couldn’t escape. She didn’t even know where she was, although she had the feeling she was deep underground. No sound penetrated the room. The air was cold and damp, musty. There were no windows, no door that she could see. Tears leaked from her eyes and she couldn’t wipe them away.

Life or death? The words played over and over in her mind. She had to give him an answer tonight. Rohan had told her only old vampires could be up and about during the day. One hundred years of never seeing the sun. What would it be like? She imagined sleeping all day, existing on the blood of others, alienated from her friends and family. Never teaching again, always hiding the truth of what she was.

Maybe death was better.

She froze as she sensed she was no longer alone. Hopelessness and fear enveloped her as she caught Josiah’s scent. How she hated him. She blinked against the pale light when he lit the candle.

“It’s time to make your decision,” he said. “If you choose death, I will oblige you. If you choose life, I will make you my fledgling and you will love me.”

“I’ll never love you! Never!”

“Oh, yes, you will. You will have no choice in the matter. You will do whatever I wish. I will treat you well, give you anything you desire. And when I tire of you, I will let you go. So, what will it be?”

“I’d rather be dead than spend another minute with you.”

“I feared that would be your answer,” Josiah said, with a shrug. “And I fully intended to kill you, but … ” He took a deep breath. “You smell so damn good, and your blood is so sweet. Death will have to wait another day.”

She cringed as he bent over her, shivered as his eyes went red, flinched when he sank his fangs into her neck and drank and drank. As she felt herself slipping into oblivion, she screamed Rohan’s name.

Rohan’s head jerked up as Leia’s desperate cry broke the barrier between them. In an instant he knew where she was, and that Josiah was going to turn her.

Praying that he wasn’t too late, he transported himself to the ancient graveyard behind an old Catholic church in England, and flew down the broken, stone stairs that led to the forgotten crypt that lay far below the earth.

“What the hell?” Josiah sprang to his feet when Rohan materialized inside the tomb.

“What the hell is right!” Rohan snapped, his gaze darting momentarily to Leia, who lay on a cot, her face deathly pale, her heartbeat barely audible.

“Get out of here,” Josiah demanded. “She’s mine now.”

“No way in hell. I’ll see her dead first.”

A wide smile spread over Josiah’s face. “She is almost there now. Such a tasty little morsel. You’d better get a drink while you can.”

Fury erupted inside Rohan. Loosing a Lakota war cry, he flew at his sire and slammed him against the wall. Before he could rip out his sire’s heart, Josiah sank his fangs into Rohan’s throat. There was an ugly tearing sound as Rohan broke free. Blood sprayed Josiah’s face as Rohan darted back. Grabbing the candle, he drove it into his sire’s eyes.

Josiah let out a bellow as the flame scorched his skin and singed his eyes, temporarily blinding him. The stink of burnt flesh soured the air.

Knowing he had only moments before Josiah recovered, Rohan lifted Leia, cot and all, and transported the two of them to her parents’ home.

Brian Winchester sprang out of his easy chair when Rohan suddenly materialized in the living room carrying a cot, which he gently placed on the floor. Winchester gasped when he saw Leia, her neck stained with blood, her face deathly pale. He couldn’t tell if she was breathing.

“What the hell have you done to her?” he asked, barely able to speak for the fear burning inside him. “And what the hell happened to you?”

“There’s no time to explain now,” Rohan said. “Hopefully, I saved her life.”

Winchester moved closer. Reaching down, he checked his daughter’s pulse, which was barely discernable.

“Lock all your doors and windows,” Rohan said, his voice sharp. “And then bring me a wet rag and some whiskey if you’ve got any. Dammit, Winchester, do it now! I’ll explain later.”

Spurred by the urgency in Rohan’s voice, Brian hurried to do what he’d been told.

Pulling his phone from his jeans, Rohan made a quick call to Frumusanu. “I’m at Leia’s parents’ house. Stop whatever you’re doing and get here as fast as you can,” he said curtly, and ended the call.

While waiting for Winchester, Rohan untied Leia’s hands and feet. Speaking to her softly, he removed her clothing down to her underwear, smoothed the hair away from her face. After wrapping her in a blanket pulled from the back of the sofa, he lifted her into his arms and carried her to the sofa where he cradled her in his arms. Biting into his wrist, he held it to her lips. “Drink, love,” he murmured.

Compelled by the power in his voice, she suckled the wound.

Rohan watched, pleased when a little color returned to her cheeks. He wondered idly where her mother was. A moment later, Winchester returned with a wet washrag, a bottle of Jack Daniels, and a shot glass. “What the hell is she doing?” he exclaimed.

“She’s drinking my blood.”

Winchester stared at him, mouth agape, eyes wide.

After a moment, Rohan withdrew his arm. He took the rag from Winchester and wiped the blood from Leia’s neck and offered her a little whiskey. Gaining his feet, he carried her upstairs to her room and tucked her into bed.

Winchester trailed behind him, stood in the doorway as he watched Rohan make Leia comfortable. “What’s going on? What happened to my daughter? Why was she drinking your blood? Who the hell are you?”

Rohan turned to face Winchester. “You said it. I’m a vampire. Another vampire kidnapped her and held her prisoner. He drank from her. She was near death when I found them. I gave her my blood to strengthen her. Now, she needs to rest.”

He didn’t tell Winchester how very near death she’d been, or that she wasn’t yet out of danger. If she started to slip away, he was going to have to make a decision that would change her life forever.