Born in the Shadows (In the Shadows Series Book 1) (32 page)

Hooking her leg around the back of his knee and pushing off the floor with her shoulder, she rolled them over. When she had him pinned under her, she grabbed his ears and slammed the back of his head against the floor, wanting to keep him immobile.

“Get me a weapon,” she called out to Remy.

Armand continued to struggle against her like a wild animal, his eyes unseeing as he snapped viciously with his fangs and she fought to keep him down. She glanced back to see where the hell Remy was with a weapon and blanched. Remy was coming with a weapon all right, the broken leg of the table and he was aiming for her back.

She screamed as the wood pierced through her stomach, the pain lancing through her entire body and that damn darkness was back to take her down. She fought it, she couldn’t blackout, not yet, not until she knew he was really dead. She looked down to see the wood sticking out from her stomach and into Armand’s chest.
Straight through the heart.

“Hold on, I’ll pull it out,” Remy’s voice floated up from somewhere behind her. She tensed when she felt his hand on her shoulder, preparing for the pain. Even being ready for it this time, it hurt like a son of a bitch and if she had eaten anything in the last day, she would have thrown it up all over the floor.

Despite the pain and the nausea, she still managed to roll herself off Armand, not wanting any part of his foul body touching her. Remy knelt beside her, breathing just as heavy as she was now, the two of them fighting to stay in control of their beaten and broken bodies.

“Sorry about that,” Remy panted, “Couldn’t get a clear shot.”

“You know, I’m getting really tired of being stabbed,” she said when the pain had finally gone from sharp and demanding to a dull ache all over.

Remy turned his head to look at her, wincing at the pain from the movement. “You get stabbed often?”

“More often than you’d think. ”

He tried to laugh but it turned into a painful coughing fit.

“Sorry to add to the tally,” he said when he gained his breath. “Hell of a way to introduce myself to my new sister.”

“A ’nice to meet you’ probably would have been better,” she replied before groaning painfully. “Are you sure I’m going to live through this because it really hurts.”

“You’ll live as long as we get you some blood.”

“Any ideas how to do that because I didn’t exactly drive here so I’ve got no wheels for us to take.”

“You just have to call out to Nicky. I’d do the honours but this thing on my head jams my psychic abilities,” he said, pointing at the metal ring bolted to his head. “Call out to him and he’ll come get us. Just let me get the lights.”

He grabbed the bloody table leg and hurled it at the light bulb hanging from the ceiling, smashing it with a sizzling pop. When the room plunged into darkness, she dropped her shields and reached out for their sire.

He was right there, having been searching for her since she had left the manor. She didn’t have to say a word before a gale of wind rushed through the cabin, signalling Nicky’s arrival.

“My God, children.”

She felt Nicky’s warm hand on her cheek and then the distinct shift in reality that she was beginning to identify with shadow walking.

Overhead lights flicked on moments after their arrival and she had to blink a few times before her eyes adjusted. She was back in the infirmary, being laid out on a bed next to the one that Remy was being put on.

Now that she was home and safe, the adrenaline rush that had been pushing her began to peter out and the full extent of the damage done to her body began to register.

Anne’s face filled her slowly narrowing line of vision and Cordelia tried to fight off unconsciousness and focus on what the doctor was saying.

“You’re going to be fine, Cordy, I promise you. Just hold on a bit more, there’s something I have to tell you.”

“Sorry, you’ll hafta wait,” Cordelia slurred before finally allowing the darkness to take her away.

Chapter 20

Cordelia came awake slowly, trying valiantly to fight off consciousness. She wanted to stay in this dark world where there was no pain. It was so much better here where there was only a vast expanse of nothingness. Unfortunately, reality could not be put off forever and her eyes fluttered open of their own accord to reveal the white tiled ceiling of the examination room.

Her mouth was bone dry and she struggled to swallow, a throaty moan croaking from her lips. She heard movement beside her and a bleeding wrist was pressed to her mouth, warm blood rushing over her tongue. She latched on without any preamble, her body demanding the strength the blood provided. She zoned out as she fed, instinct taking over and drawing the sustenance into her body to jump start the healing it required.

Too soon the wrist was pried away from her lips and she was pushed back against the thin mattress of the gurney. She lay there, riding out the high that came from the blood, her eyes trained on a hairline crack in the ceiling tile while she waited for her heart to stop racing and the buzz that filled her ears to fade away.

When she finally felt more like herself, she turned her head to see Nicky and Marcus sitting next to her bed, both of them watching her intently. She looked down at where Marcus held a tissue against his bloody wrist.

“Thank you,” she whispered to him.

“No need for thanks,” he smiled at her fondly, reaching out to squeeze her hand gently before rising from the chair. “Feel better, darling.”

He then exited the room, leaving her alone with her sire. She looked at Nicky expectantly, knowing that he would have some choice words for her considering her actions tonight.

“Oh there are many words I could say to you right about now,” he told her, reading her mind again. “Do not doubt for a moment that I am angry with you for going after Armand on your own. You should have let us help you. But I’m also grateful that you brought Remy home to us. So I guess we can call it even.”

“Remy!” she cried out hoarsely, having momentarily forgotten all about him. “Is he okay?”

“Yes, Anne is with him right now,” Nicky reassured her. “You saved him.”

Cordelia smiled half-heartedly at that bit of good news. “I’m glad I was able to save at least one person tonight. I hope Anne will be able to help him. He’s in pretty bad shape.”

“She has already worked one miracle tonight, I’m sure she can pull off another one.”

“What are you talking about?” she asked cautiously. There was a gleam of excitement in Nicky’s eyes and he smiled widely.

“She saved him. Gabe is alive.”

His words had her instantly struggling to get out of the bed. Pain from her stomach wound knifed through her body but she ignored it.

Could it be true? She had felt him die but why would Nicky play such a cruel joke on her?

“Cordelia, you need to rest,” Nicky said, taking hold of her shoulders to try to settle her down but she pushed back.

“I need to see him! I have to know if it’s true!”

“Fine, fine, but at least let me help you.”

Nicky wrapped his arm around her waist and she let him take most of her weight as she leaned into him. He guided her out of the room and, though the other room was only a short ways down the hall, their slow pace made it seem like an eternity before they reached the doorway.

She was cautious as they rounded the corner, keeping her eyes on the foot of the bed, terrified of looking up and discovering that it was all a lie. She had hope now and she didn’t want to lose it.

But then she heard it, the steady beep of the heart monitor registering a heartbeat.

His
heartbeat.

She looked up to see him there in the bed. His eyes were closed and his face was grey against the fresh bandage over his neck but she could see the steady rise and fall of his chest and hear the sound of his heart beating in a calm, steady rhythm. He was alive.

“He is stronger than we thought. Your blood helped him fight. Anne never gave up on him. She was able to bring him back just after you left.”

Nicky helped her to the chair beside the bed and she collapsed there, any pain from her sutures ignored as she watched Gabe’s heart beat on the machine. When she was sure that it wouldn’t suddenly stop, her eyes went to his hand where it rested on the bed with an IV line taped to it. She hesitated, wanting to reach out for him but afraid that he might slip through her fingers if she did. She still couldn’t believe he was really alive.

But Nicky was there, as always, taking her hand and placing it over top of Gabe’s. She slowly curled her fingers, grasping his hand and squeezing lightly. He really was here.

A sob bubbled up and she dropped her head to their joined hands as she began to weep with relief. He was alive. He was going to be okay. All of them were going to be okay. 

Nicky stroked her hair soothingly and a sense of catharsis came over her as she wept. She had experienced so many emotions over the last hour, finally letting go of her grief and anger was like dropping a heavy weight she had been shouldering for too long.

As the last tear fell from her eyes, she lifted her head up, a cleansing breath filling her lungs as she felt lighter than she had in weeks. She looked to Gabe, still laying in the bed, heart beating steadily and then to Nicky, who sat on the arm of her chair, a comforting hand resting on her shoulder.

It really was over and they were all safe.

But for how long?

The wayward thought surfaced in her mind and she realized that there was truth in it. Armand may be dead but there were still his followers and there was no guarantee that they would not try to get payback for Armand’s death.

Seeing Gabe here, having almost lost him, she realized exactly how vulnerable he truly was in her world. He had made it through this intact but what if it happened again?

“I just realized that due to all the commotion lately, our lessons were put on hold,” Nicky spoke up, pulling her out of her hopeless thoughts. “I never got a chance to tell you how we decide who to change.”

“There are many reasons a Shadow Walker may change a human,” he told her. “Wanting to save them like you and I or because we see something familiar in them like Anne and Demetri. And then there are those we fall in love.”

He squeezed the hand that was entwined with his. “When it comes to those we fall in love with, the choice isn’t only in their hands. We have to make a choice too. We will live forever and so we must choose those we change out of love carefully. It’s not about finding someone you can spend eternity with, it’s about finding someone you can’t spend eternity
without
.”

“I know that I could not live if I lost him again. I want to be with him for eternity and more,” she confessed, “But I don’t think I can change him.”

“Why not, child?”

She looked at Nicky, her sire, the one who had given her this life and the always-present wave of gratitude swamped her. Though she knew in her heart of hearts she loved the male who had become like a father to her, she also knew that those emotions were magnified by their blood connection.

“I want him to love me free of blood or psychic bonds,” she said. “I want us to be together of our own free will.”

Nicky nodded in understanding. “If you both will permit it, I can change him.”

She looked at him, her face lighting up with gratefulness. “You would do that?”

“I would do anything to make you happy,” he said, smiling fondly at her. “You can discuss it with him when he wakes. For now, I’ll leave you two alone. I must go check on Remy.”

She nodded and he placed a kiss on her temple and patted Gabe’s hand before leaving the room.

She reached out and brushed the hair off Gabe’s forehead, letting her hand trail over his stubble-covered cheek tenderly. His skin was warm and color was coming back, changing him from a sickly white to a soft pink.

“I was so scared when I thought I lost you. It felt like a piece of me died with you,” she told him. “The second you wake up, I’m making you promise me you’ll never do something so stupid again.”

She felt a flutter of movement against her palm and she looked down to watch his fingers clutch her own.

“I promise.”

She looked up to see his eyes open and a faint smile playing across his lips. Which immediately had her bursting into tears.

“Oh hell, don’t cry, I’m okay, I swear,” he croaked, his voice rough and dry.

“I’m not crying b-b-because you were hurt,” she spluttered through her tears.

“Oh well that’s good news then. We wouldn’t want that,” he said, cracking another smile. 

She shook her head as the tears continued to spill out. “What I meant was I’m crying because I’m sorry that I got you into this mess.”

He sobered immediately and his hand gripped hers with surprising strength considering he was laid up in a hospital bed.

“No, you’re not gonna blame yourself. This is my fault. You told me not to go and I did it anyway. I should have trusted you.”

She leaned over and kissed him softly, letting him know that all was forgiven. When she pulled back slightly, he smiled and brushed a hand through her hair, letting his fingers tangle in the locks.

“I promise you that from here on out, I will do whatever you tell me to do.”

She couldn’t help but laugh. “I could take advantage of you with that kind of promise.”

He wiggled his eyebrows salaciously. “Just give me a couple hours and I’ll let you take advantage all you want.”

“A couple hours? I think you are definitely overestimating your healing ability, human,” she joked, her tears drying up. She pulled up her gown to show him her bandaged stomach. “Even with my super awesome Shadow Walker healing, I’m going to be out of commission for a few days.”

“What the hell happened?” Gabe growled his face coloring with anger and the heart monitor began to beep at a faster pace.

Christ, he was going to pop a stitch
.

“Easy there, I’m going to be fine, I promise,” she reassured him and it said a lot about what he had learned tonight when he relaxed and laid back.

“As for what happened, I went after Armand.”

“Please tell me he looks worse than you,” Gabe said, eyes narrowed with a wrathful hatred.

“Oh yeah, he looks much worse, like a corpse in fact.”

Gabe smiled hearing that. “Good. That means we don’t have to worry anymore. Now come here.”

He carefully rolled on to his side and scooted over to the edge of the bed, making room for her to join him there. She was definitely on the same wavelength as him. She didn’t care how narrow the bed was or how uncomfortable it might be with their injuries, she needed to feel his arms around her.

She gingerly laid herself out on her side next to him, his chest pressing up against her back as he spooned her. He draped an arm over her, taking her hand and threading his fingers through hers, burying his nose in her hair and sighing happily.

“This feels nice,” she said as the warmth of his body began to seep into her own.

“It feels right. I want it to be like this forever.”

“I know a way that could happen,” she told him, figuring now was as good of a time to tell him what she could offer him. “If you want, Nicky said he would change you. It would be our best chance at forever.”

“Cordelia Reese, are you proposing to me?” he asked, his tone teasing and she laughed along him. She supposed that was exactly what she was doing.

“I guess I am,” she replied, before looking back at him. “So what do you say?”

“You are the only woman I’d want to spend eternity with,” he said before leaning over to press a kiss to her lips. It was soft yet demanding and she could feel him pouring all of his love into that one kiss.

And that started her crying again but for once, they weren’t tears of sadness. She pulled back to stare in his eyes and she could see his love for her reflected there. It was plain as day and she would never tire of seeing it. 

“I’m glad were on the same page because you are stuck with me,” she said and he laughed.

“I wouldn’t have it any other way,” he told her and hugged her to him, her head resting on his chest so she could hear his heart. Her own heart gave a flutter as she was hit with an epiphany.

She had thought becoming a Shadow Walker and joining her clan had been the moment she found where she belonged but she had been wrong. Being here in Gabe’s arms, pledging their lives to each other, she knew that she had now found her true home.