Blood Life (24 page)

“No,” Devendra said quietly. “Please don’t say that.”

Without intention, Alethea’s eyes burned into Devendra’s distraught expression. The more she toyed with the new information, the more Alethea felt used, like bait to catch a great big fish in frigid, white-capped waters.

Devendra shot Alethea a new look, one of apprehension and contempt.

“Darling, Alethea, you must try to understand what I have gone through.” Her eyebrows rose and she took a few steps closer to her debater. “Yes, I did make him; in fact, I bore him from my own self. From a union with whom I believed to be my ‘one’ for a few hours in time. I was seduced!” She pounded her fist into her chest, leaving a pink mark behind on her alabaster skin. “After realizing the devastation of my mistakes with Lokee, I was offered no help in correcting it and destroying him. Until now, it didn’t even seem possible. But the two of you can assist me.” She paused, dropping her head and rubbing her forehead agitatedly. “I want nothing but his death, believe me, I do,” she insisted.

Roman faltered, unable to truly turn his back on Devendra, despite her past. She had been good to him. He loved her no matter what, even though he was hurt by her admission to them, and the fact that she had waited until now to tell him this very important piece of information. But he did love her unconditionally. He needed to remember that now.

He drew in a deep breath, checking his temper. “I have always believed in you, Devendra, but you have to understand that this news is like a dagger in my back. I would have never guessed you were capable of any mistakes, let alone one as detrimental as this.” Roman explained his feelings with a gentler tone than he had been using on her, but still, it was forced. “I’m going to need some time to digest this and see where it takes me. Hopefully it is by your side.”

Devendra turned her back to them both. Roman’s words pounded her like a million stones. She felt like a whore for a moment; like Mary Magdalene getting stoned by her own people, people who themselves apparently enjoyed her, for the “sin” of bodily pleasures.

Alethea felt Devendra’s sadness and it broke her heart. She walked over and placed her hand gently on Devendra’s shoulder. “We will do all we can for you. It is us who needs your help, and we have no right to point fingers, make assumptions, or place blame of any kind on you. It happened a long, long time ago, and now we will come together in order to fix it. No more harsh words, Roman,” Alethea said, taking his hand. “We must be strong and become one. If we do not, we will die, not Lokee.”

“The face is the mirror of the mind,

and eyes without speaking confess

the secrets of the heart.”

–St. Jerome

Thirty Five

Devendra left them for a while, so that they could come to terms with her confession. Alethea could see that Roman was clearly having a hard time accepting the news, but doing his best to deal with it in his own way.

She figured he was partly in shock about Lokee being Devendra’s son, but also the fact that she had only just admitted the whole thing to him. In the centuries that passed, Devendra never led him even to consider the possibility. But now, looking back, he remembered surefire hints.

There was a time when they had located Lokee and Devendra said it was especially hard to kill your own and they needed to prepare themselves for it more. Roman released that as her meaning one of their own kind, not one she had herself birthed or created. Thinking back on the look in her eyes, the reluctance in her heart, he understood what she had meant.

The connection between Roman and Devendra was precious and unbreakable, but he was afraid, for the first time, that he would not be able to fully trust her anymore, although he wanted more than anything to be able to.

To Roman, Lokee had always been the evil one; incomparable to any mutants he had come across. Devendra was a Saint, an Angel of Light on the vampires’ dark side of reality. To believe she could be any part of Lokee’s iniquity was sacrilege. Inconceivable.

Blasphemy!

Alethea tried to explain that in Devendra’s heart, she was no part of Lokee, not to any degree. Devendra wanted him destroyed as much as anyone. In immortal death, Lokee was cursed and would undoubtedly pay. But Roman wanted to know the price. Would Devendra protect her son in the end or would she choose to save them all? Unfortunately, the doubt now existed in the depths of his mind.

“Roman,” Alethea attempted, but the quick wave of his hand cut her off.

“No,” Alethea persisted, “you cannot shut me out! I have feelings about this and you must listen to them.”

He made no attempt to budge or acknowledge her in any way.

“Roman, for Christ’s sake, will you please—”

“Christ? Now you’re about to bring
him
into this? Who is he? Where is he?” He mimicked hunting for somebody that wasn’t there. “No, Alethea, not now. Just leave me alone for a while.” His sarcasm cut deep, too harsh for him.

“I won’t,” she insisted as she stomped across the floor and swung him around to face her. She took his face into her hands, forcing him to look directly into her deep emerald pools. “Look,” she snapped, needing him to let her in, “please don’t resist me. Just listen for a moment. That’s all I ask.” She barely waited for him to nod. “Thank you,” she sighed.

Alethea let go of his face and stood casually beside him at the bay window. His cottage sat on a spectacular cliff that overlooked the dazzling shores of outer Bleu. Alethea remained silent for an instant, now that she had Roman’s partial attention, and watched the waves crash violently against the rocks below.

It was marvelous how the waves receded for only a second, waiting for the next surge of energy to push them up into the air again. Then with incredible force, they would crash down, spraying water up into the air, spilling luxuriously over the rocks. The sight filled her with serenity even though her heart picked up speed and pounded dangerously in her chest from the overwhelming anxiety.

Knowing she would lose Roman’s concentration if she did not tell him what she so badly needed to, Alethea turned from the view and rested her bottom against the windowsill.

“Roman, Devendra has done nothing wrong,” Alethea started, speaking slowly and quietly. “She is our savior, our heroine. To think you hold anything against her is what you should be ashamed of. She bears the shame of her deeds, and the grave mistake she made centuries ago has been paid for three-fold. Fate has forgiven her and now wants her to make things right. We are here to assist. Don’t you see that?”

Alethea waited for a response, but could only read deeper thought in his eyes. She crossed her legs and folded her arms across her chest. “Devendra has done nothing wrong by teaching him about his gift. She only did what was natural for a mother to do!”

She felt her face flush at her own words, spoken firmly, yet with the utmost respect. “She has been against him for years, Roman. Devendra has no domination over him and he holds none over her. They are two completely different individuals now. There is no bond or the slightest love left between them; only pure, insatiable loathing.”

“Alethea . . .” he started.

“What?” she snapped, standing up from her relaxed position, not in the mood for his inevitable debate. “What don’t you understand, Roman?” Alethea threw her hands in the air dramatically and then let them fall to her hips. “How could you be so quick to judge someone who brought you where you are today? This woman who brought us together again and made life together possible? Devendra needed us to unite in order to fight him. It is the only way; telling us the truth was imperative. I’m sure she didn’t mean for you to react as terribly as you have.”

“I am sure she didn’t expect me to serenade her, Alethea,” he bit back.

“Sure, she didn’t expect you to throw her a party and celebrate, but think about it, Roman,” she tapped her middle finger against her temple, “do you honestly believe she would have ever told us if she did not feel that we would embrace it in the end? She very well could have denied the whole thing, but she didn’t; she was honest with us. She trusted us with this horrible secret.”

She stared at him, waiting for him to respond. He only looked at her, blankly, lost in his own thoughts. “Think about it Roman, think about it first, then judge her if you must.”

His face was dark and grim. The sadness permeated from him, carrying a hint of regret. In his pride, he found one more way to justify his actions. “She created him,” he whispered hoarsely, blinking against tears. “Had she not, we would never have suffered all the grief we had then and will face in the near future.”

His eyes were red-rimmed and puffy.

“What do you think would have happened, Roman?” Alethea asked, amazed by his doggedness. “Do you think that asshole King would have allowed us to marry with his best wishes and be on our way to happiness? Is that what you think?”

“No,” he shook his head, closing his eyes. He put his hands up in front of him to fend off Alethea’s growing resentment. “No, I just wish I could have seen how it could have turned out.”

“No, trust me, you don’t want that. You cannot live that way, thinking of how things might have been. Go with how they are now, in the present.”

He turned away from her, walking to the spot at the window, overlooking the water that she loved so much. “Yeah,” he sighed. “We would have never been accepted; our love would have been torn apart either way.”

“Yes, it would have.” Alethea’s voice had a softer edge and she was kinder to him. She joined him at the window and put her arm around him.

“Alethea, what have I done?” His voice was calm, but stricken with grief at the same time. She turned and walked over to the fireplace, placing her forehead on the mantle to quiet her mind. “I see what you’re saying, and I am in debt to you for making me open my mind,” he said.

He paced the floor behind her. For the first time, she could feel his thoughts. They were of Devendra and how he must have made her feel. Rejected, or perhaps banished from their lives. After going over it with Alethea, he was willing to confess his error in judgment to Devendra, as well as to himself. He wanted nothing but to find her and listen to her tale whole-heartedly.

“Let’s go down to the beach and call her back?” Alethea suggested, knowing he had just thought of it. She did not hear it come from him; she just knew it was what he was thinking. Did that count as reading his mind?

He looked up at her and smiled broadly.

“I’m catching on, huh?” She smiled proudly at his approval. Why shouldn’t she? This was a part of the life she hadn’t been able to grasp yet.

“Yes.” He stretched out his arms to invite her in. She walked over and fell into his arms. Soon, they were on the floor, releasing the stress and tension of the afternoon with feverish passion. Making love to Roman was the most fantastic gift of all she had experienced. The caresses and love filled her to the point of combustion and she was willing to let go for him, the only man in the world to her.