After Sundown: Redemption (36 page)

Alyssa felt disturbed and relieved at the same time. But in the end, she knew her aunt would be happier not remembering.

* * * * *

Christian sensed the moment Bazhena entered the room. He had lost consciousness a couple of times while she was gone. During that time, he had dreamt about Alyssa. Pictured the time they spent together from the first time they met until tonight. But now he was totally aware of Bazhena’s presence. Despite the pain that now pounded at him endlessly, he felt her evil immediately. Gritting his teeth, he lifted his head and faced her. Her eyes glowed with rage.

She stopped inches from him. Without warning she slapped him across the face. The force of it caused him to almost lose consciousness. Somehow he managed to stay standing.

“Do you know what your friend Vlad has done?” Bazhena didn’t wait for his answer. “He’s killed my loyal minion. A creature that stood by my side for ages, dutifully doing all I commanded. Your friend killed him. This is personal now.”

“And it wasn’t personal when you tried to kill his father?” Christian asked mockingly.

She slapped him again. Consciousness was slowly slipping away. Pain was becoming all he knew. He could barely keep his head up.

“Vlad will not live to see another sundown. Neither will your little human girlfriend.”

Bazhena’s voice was soft, like a gentle caress. Christian wasn’t fooled. She was furious. The underlying tremor in her voice was caused by her effort to control herself. Christian saw her hands curl into claws. She would kill him now. He could see it in her eyes.

He pulled at the bonds once more. It was no good. His efforts only intensified the burn of the metal against his skin. He wouldn’t break free this way. He had to think of another plan. His mind quickly ran over his available options. There really was only one left. It filled him with disgust and self-loathing, but it was the only thing that might save Alyssa.

Once Christian was truly dead, Bazhena would kill her. He had no doubt of that. Bazhena’s search for power was insatiable. Whatever it took to make that come true, she would do. Alyssa’s face rose in his mind like a beacon in the dark. Yes, she was his apples and his sunshine. She was the guiding light of his existence. And Christian loved her with everything he was. Without her his life would not be worth living. If he had to end his own life to preserve hers, then so be it. He would have to do whatever it took to save Alyssa.

Even reliving his worst nightmare. Belonging to someone. Tying himself to someone so completely that he didn’t know where he ended and she started. Losing the power to even decide if he lived or died. That’s what life with Bazhena had been like before. And it would be like that again. This time for the rest of his existence. She wouldn’t let him out of her clutches twice.

But Alyssa would live. She would have the life she deserved. He didn’t deserve anything but pain. Though he had tried to save human lives. Tried to pay for all the killing and pain he had caused others. But he always knew that it would never be enough, that his debt would never be paid. That redemption could never be his. He was the undead, a creature of darkness. There would be no happily ever after him. He understood that. Had always known that.

He met Bazhena’s gaze squarely.

“I offer you an exchange.”

Bazhena’s eyes lit with interest and wariness.

He struggled to stand upright.

“An exchange? What do you mean, Cristobal?”

“I offer you my servitude in exchange for Alyssa. I will give myself completely to you without a fight and will stay with you as long as you wish. In exchange, you will not kill Alyssa, or Vlad. And you will leave Arizona.”

“Hmm, interesting. What about the legend? What about the last key?”

“I know about the legend. As you know, there are other ‘Lights’ in the world. Alyssa is not the only one.”

Christian watched Bazhena carefully as he spoke. Her eyes became inscrutable when he mentioned Alyssa. She turned away from him and began pacing the floor in front of him.

“So, you’re willing to become my slave again just to save Alyssa and Vlad? Interesting. Such devotion from you, Cristobal,” Bazhena said mockingly.

She stopped pacing. Stood right in front of him. Grasping his chin, she studied his face. Then she looked deeply into his eyes.

“You are still a very desirable man, Cristobal. But could you give me the kind of devotion you show the human girl? I wonder. Can you forsake all others and do my bidding, regardless of the cost to you, or them?”

Christian didn’t hesitate. He knew what was at stake here. Ignoring the fear and repulsion that crawled over him, he nodded his head.

“Yes. I will live for you, only you. And I will do all that you ask of me.”

Bazhena smiled. She looked delighted by his words.

“I like the sound of that, Cristobal. You will live for me, only for me. Yes, that sounds just right.” Bazhena slowly released his chin. “And I suppose I can find another ‘Light’. We will leave Arizona tonight. Vlad and your human will keep their precious lives.”

Christian wanted to sag forward and drop his head. His strength was almost at its end. Alyssa was safe. Now if he could only rest. Escape the pain for a little while. But he knew it wasn’t possible. He needed to follow through. Make sure Bazhena followed through with her word. He squared his shoulders once more.

“I request a blood exchange to seal our deal.” His voice sounded weak, even to his own ears.

Bazhena looked surprised by his request.

“You know what that means, don’t you? Once that’s done, there is no going back. No changing your mind. You will be fully and completely mine, Cristobal.” A blood exchange between vampires to seal a bargain was considered irrevocable. Once done, neither vamp could renege on the deal. It was an unwritten law.

“I understand. Just do it.”

“I would truly love to, but I can’t.”

Christian snarled at her.

“There is a reason. Despite how you’re feeling right now, your blood is starting to rejuvenate itself. Past experiments have shown that it will return to its normal state within the next hour. That’s why I made these special bonds for you. I knew your strength would come back and I needed something else to restrain you,” Bazhena explained. “Until then, I can’t taste you, or the mixture will enter my bloodstream.”

Christian looked at her in disbelief. He felt like his body was slowly tearing itself apart inside. Could she be telling the truth?

“I see the doubt on your face. Believe what I tell you. I’ve enjoyed the death of many men to get the proportions just right. I even made sure I used vampires who were of the same age as you. As you know, the older we get, the more powerful our blood is. With enough time it can overcome almost anything. Dying will not come so easy to you, Christian. I have big things in store for you before that happens.” Bazhena chuckled as she strode towards the door.

“I’ll return in one hour to make the blood exchange,” she called over her shoulder.

Christian stood stiffly upright until she left. The minute he lost sight of Bazhena he sagged forward. The image of Alyssa swam before him. A smile curved the corners of his mouth up as consciousness slipped away.

* * * * *

Alyssa finished writing the note for her aunt. She propped it up on the coffee table by the couch where her aunt was sleeping peacefully. Jonathan had joined her there. He sprawled his upper body over Aunt Joyce’s chest and his lower body on the couch. She couldn’t help but think he looked like he was trying to protect her or watch over her in that position. She softly scratched his head.

“You watch over her, Jonathan. And I’ll buy you a great big bowl of Teriyaki Chicken when I get back,” she said tenderly.

Jonathan meowed softly, then started to purr. He looked up at Alyssa and she could have sworn he winked. She was sure they had a deal.

Neither spoke as they left her apartment and Vlad led her to his car. It was a sleek and smooth-looking black Jaguar. It suited Vlad perfectly. Smooth and put together, but also dark and mysterious at the same time. She got in the car and enjoyed the luxurious feel of the interior.

Vlad turned to her before starting the engine.

“Please tell me more about your empathic ability.”

Alyssa sighed. She really wasn’t comfortable talking about it.

“Please, Alyssa. This is very important.”

“It’s really nothing. I can pick up on strong feelings from other people or large groups of people. It sometimes aids me when I talk to my clients and more recently it’s helped me gauge the audience at my motivational speeches.

“What did you feel tonight?”

“I already told you.”

“Tell me again.”

Vlad’s voice brooked no argument.

Alyssa sighed.

“I was getting ready to leave. Suddenly I heard Christian’s voice in my head. He kept saying, ‘beware’ over and over again. Then it just stopped.”

“That was it. All you heard was his voice in your head. No feelings?”

Alyssa suddenly remembered the terrible pain that had engulfed her. It had been so intense. She had thought she was going to die from it.

“Pain.”

“What?”

“I felt intense pain. It hit me first, making me double over. Then his voice rang loud and clear in my mind, telling me to beware.”

“How long did the pain last?”

“It lasted until Christian’s voice stopped. That was the strangest thing about it. The minute his voice was no longer in my head, the pain stopped.”

Vlad said nothing.

Alyssa glanced at him. He looked worried.

“What is it?”

Vlad hesitated.

“What?” she asked again. She didn’t like this. Not one little bit.

“Has Christian taken blood from you?”

Alyssa suddenly felt embarrassed. She didn’t want to answer his question. It was none of his business what Christian and she did.

“This is important, Alyssa.”

“Yes! Okay? Christian drank my blood more than once.”

Alyssa folded her arms across her chest defensively and glared at Vlad.

“Thank you. That explains it. You and Christian share a strong physical and mental connection. That’s why you could feel what he was feeling and read his thoughts.”

Alyssa’s jaw dropped.

“You mean Christian is the one feeling that excruciating pain?”

Vlad slowly nodded.

“I think so. I haven’t been able to reach him by phone or pager. I believe he’s in trouble. He was going to gather as much information as he could about Bazhena last night, after he left you. We came up with a plan. I was supposed to take you to your speaking engagement, some of my men would do surveillance and Christian would stay in the background. He was setting a trap for Bazhena. And you were the bait.”

“Me—Bait? I don’t understand.”

“Yes. Bazhena wanted to use you for an ancient ceremony she’s trying to recreate.”

Alyssa nodded in understanding.

“I remember her talking about this last night in my office, something about being the most powerful woman in the world. But what does that have to do with me?”

“Bazhena needed someone whose life was totally devoted to helping others. A person who felt it was their duty to make people’s lives better. Someone like you.”

“I see,” Alyssa said, but she still didn’t understand what was going on.

“So, what do you think happened to Christian?”

Fear and worry engulfed Alyssa. She had thought of Christian as all-powerful. She couldn’t imagine anything happening to him. What had Bazhena done to him?

“I think Bazhena discovered him snooping around and managed to capture him somehow. He thought she was too weak from their encounter at your office, but she obviously wasn’t. Either that, or she had some of her friends help her out.”

“That creature actually has friends?”

“More like groupies who will do her bidding for a chance to better themselves. Vampire society is made up of a hierarchy just like any other. The most powerful vampires, usually the oldest ones, are at the top. And it goes down from there. Bazhena is quite old, so if she visits a city and demands help with something, lesser vampires jump at the chance to help her. The best example of this in human society is to compare these lesser vamps to social climbers.”