Hyde (34 page)

Marcus's eyes slanted, "What is the
occasion?"

Aleks ignored him and looked at Henry. He didn’t
need to speak aloud to Henry. He could just think what he wanted
and Henry would hear him.

'His chest Henry. It's in his chest.'

Henry's eyes opened wide.

Marcus looked at Aleks and then Henry,
"What?"

Aleks grinned, "How's the heart?"

Marcus's smile faded, "What heart?"

"Yours?"

Henry's arm shot out ripping Marcus's chest
open. A small blue light sat inside of him in between his ribs. It
was encased in glass like an orb that was covered in blood.

Marcus's face paled as Henry pulled it from
him.

Marcus laughed as blood dripped from his lips,
"Henry, lets chat about this. I've always obeyed the rules, I've
never mistreated you. I was a child Henry. FOR GOD SAKE I WAS YOUNG
AND FOOLISH. You took my heart."

Henry smiled taking the orb and placing it in
his teeth. He bit down breaking the glass. The blue light filled
his mouth and face, making him glow in the midday sun.

Henry opened his mouth looking like he was
screaming. Nothing came out but air for a moment and then instantly
the area around them filled with noise. Henry's scream shook the
ground they stood on.

Chapter Fifty-Four: Heart and Soul

Hanna

She heard the scream, it was god-awful. The
floor shook as it would in an earthquake. She gripped her bed,
ignoring the tears that fell from her face. She looked at the
manacle and chain. She felt her rage building. No one had come, she
didn’t know what was happening. She sat on the floor feeling
lost.

"HANNA!"

She lifted her face from her hands calling out,
"I'm here."

Sam ran into the room. He ran at her lifting her
into the air wrapping her legs around him.

"Hanna. You're okay."

She sobbed into his neck, "We have to hurry
before he comes back."

Sam placed her on the floor. He looked at the
chain. He ripped it from the wall.

"How did you do that?"

He winked at her, "Hanna my mother is a Siren.
My father is an archangel. I'm not a regular nephilim. I have no
human in me. I can't take the manacle off though."

She furrowed her brow, "You have parents
still?"

He nodded, "I do but I don’t know where they
are."

"How did the government capture you? Aimee told
me you were captured."

"I was charged with watching the children. I
couldn’t get them out so I stayed with them. It's not important
now. We need to get the hell out of here."

He grabbed her hand and carried her chain out of
the room. She ran confused at how he pulled it out of the wall if
Henry spelled it.

She padded along after him, letting him drag her
through the halls. Her white gown was ridiculous and she tried not
to think about how see through it was.

She worried about where Henry and Marcus were,
until she stepped out into the sunlight. It nearly blinded her
sensitive eyes. The muted light of the castle had made the midday
light nearly unbearable.

She saw something she never expected to see.

Marcus on his knees with blood pouring from his
chest. She stopped running as everything moved in slow motion.
Henry looked at her and then back to Marcus.

Marcus cried out as he saw her, "Hanna no. Don’t
leave me."

She closed her eyes as Henry's hand came down
ripping Marcus's throat. She heard the gurgling sounds.

Sam's huge warm hand covered her face instantly.
She felt him dragging her back as Marcus's scream was silenced.

Tears poured from her face, she expected to be
overjoyed when he died but she never imagined she would be
upset.

She felt her legs buckle as her knees hit the
concrete.

Sam held her against him trying to soothe her,
"It's okay Hanna. Its over now."

She broke from his grip desperate to see what
happened.

She pried his fingers from her eyes as screams
and sobs exploded from her mouth.

Marcus lie on the ground, his neck torn and dark
blood pouring from the wound. His eyes twitched. Around the wound
on his throat the edges were burned black.

He blinked whispering, "I loved you every
second, every moment." He exhaled harshly.

In his twisted way he had believed he loved her
just as she had thought she loved him. Relief filled her but she
feared the dirty feelings that had covered her wouldn’t ever go
away.

Aleks looked at Henry, "We made a deal Henry. I
need your help."

Henry nodded while he maintained his fearsome
expression.

Aleks stripped his sweater off as tears dripped
from his eyes in the struggle. Hanna gasped seeing a bandage
wrapped around his entire back. String looking black spider webs
shot from the bandaged area.

Aleks turned. Henry saw the bandage. He sliced
it with his fingernail letting the bandage drop to the ground. His
eyes lowered. His face dropped.

Hanna looked at Dorian whose face fought to
maintain his composure.

She didn’t understand what was happening.

She watched as Aleks's face fell.

He nodded, "I understand."

Dorian shook his head, "There must be something
you can do?"

Henry shook his head.

Aleks turned to face Henry making Hanna gasp
again. His entire back was burned, charred with blisters and black
veins.

"He can make it short and painless."

Dorian heaved a sigh, "Aleksander, brother what
can I do?"

Aleks looked at Henry, "You will fulfill my debt
to Aimee then, if you please? Help her get her sister back?"

Henry nodded slicing his fingertip with his
other hand and holding it up. Aleks did the same and pressed his
bleeding finger to the tip of Henry's.

Hanna felt disgusted. Was it all her fault? How
had they not gotten Aimee's sister back? What had happened in her
absence? Was Aleks dying because of her?

Hanna looked at Henry whose dark eyes shot at
Sam for a second and back to her. Sam nodded, "Thank you
Henry."

She was gone from the driveway and sitting on
Lydia's living room sofa before she could say goodbye to Henry.

Lydia rushed at her. She touched the manacle
making it fall off. She hugged Hanna tightly, "Oh my sweet
girl."

Hanna had no tears left. She was too
confused.

Sam never let go of her fingers. Ari dropped to
the floor hugging her as well.

Hanna could see Lucas leave the room. Aimee came
rushing in, her face was puffy from crying. She had a man with her.
He was the human from her birthday as far as Hanna could tell.

Dorian appeared in the room suddenly carrying
Aleks.

Lydia left Hanna's side. She put a blanket down
on the couch where Dorian placed Aleks down.

Aimee rushed to his side. The human looked very
upset but never moved from his spot in the hallway.

Chapter Fifty-Five: Home Again

Aleksander

Aimee gripped his hands sobbing.

He felt the poison reaching his slowly beating
heart. His chest was cramping severely.

"Henry will help you. He will give you aide in
one thing. Be careful what you ask of him." He coughed tasting his
own blood in his mouth. "Dorian, brother, you will help her in her
choice?"

Dorian nodded not meeting his eyes.

"Aimee I'm sorry for it all. I'm sorry for
everything."

She shook her head, "I'm not. I'm only sorry I
ever was a friend with someone like Blake. I'm sorry I never saw
him for the monster he is."

Giselle came running into the room screaming,
"Aleks!"

She skidded along the floor on her knees. Her
beautiful face was soaked in tears.

His heart broke seeing her devastated.

She gripped his hand. Aimee kissed his forehead
and let Giselle say goodbye. She walked across the room to Shane.
Aleks smiled at Shane. He returned the smile with a nod.

Aleks looked at Giselle, "Take care of yourself.
Don’t fall in love too easily. Try to still be you, be chatty and
silly and funny. Don’t let this all ruin the person you are. Try to
remember your more than a beautiful girl. You're smart and
sexy."

She nodded sniffling, "I should have said yes,
I'm sorry Aleks."

He shook his head, "No, you were right. It would
have been a mess. I want you to know I loved you."

She sobbed over him clutching him.

He squeezed her hand and looked at Dorian, "You
know where I want to go, brother."

Dorian nodded, "Anyone who wants to come better
hang on."

He touched Aleks and suddenly cold air
surrounded them. Hanna threw up making Aleks laugh. She had never
been a good traveler.

He felt the cold wind off the Nærøyfjord coming
up the hillside of his family's graveyard. He looked out at the
view. One last time he was able to see it. The sight of it all made
his heart soar. The moonlight made it even more special. His
fingers began to tremble.

Giselle kissed him once on the lips, and stood
up.

He looked at Dorian, "You have to find my
dad."

"I will. I will make sure I give him the proper
send off."

Aleks laughed, "Don’t bury him near me." He
coughed again seeing dark blood stain the patchy snow in front of
him.

"Wouldn’t dream of it."

He lay back letting the warmth of the sun hit
him.

"Aimes remember when I told you I was married
before?"

"Yeah."

He held his hand off to the left of him, "This
is her. Her and my children. I finally get to join them."

"No one deserves to be going home more than you
brother." Dorian spoke softly.

Aleks reached his hand up into the air for
Dorian to take. He squeezed him hand.

He remembered everything all at once. The
moonlight grew too bright, he closed his eyes against it but the
light permeated through.

He sighed feeling the most freedom he'd ever
felt. He relaxed against the ground letting the light take him and
exhaled one last time.

Chapter Fifty-Six: Goodbye Ben

Hanna

Sobs filled every throat on the hillside.

Even the ever tough and dark Dorian cried. He
held his friend to his chest, not letting him go.

Lydia heaved out a sigh, "Lets start."

Dorian nodded laying Aleks down on the
ground.

He dug the grave with his bare hands.

Hanna watched in silence, guilt ravaged her.

Sam put an arm around her, "It wasn’t your
fault. Marcus tricked us."

She nodded, not wanting to take away from Aleks
moment. She didn’t want pity. She wasn’t ready for them to know the
extent to which he had tricked her.

Dorian sniffled lifting Aleks's arms and Shane
lifted his legs. They placed him on a white sheet Lydia had
brought.

Aimee kissed his lips once. Giselle bent over
his face kissing it over and over.

"I can push someone. I can bring him back." Ari
sobbed clutching Dorian.

Lydia shook her head, "Too dangerous Ari. Like I
told you with Ben, you don’t know which of us will end up in his
place."

Hanna crawled along the cold ground in her white
nightdress freezing as the bitter wind pushed and pulled. She
kissed Aleks once on the cheek. She lingered trying to get a slight
waft of the smell she always got from him.

His smell had left with his spirit. She pressed
her face against his warmth.

"Goodbye my friend." She whispered ruffling his
dark blond hair.

Everyone took their turn saying their goodbyes.
Hanna snuggled into Sam. She couldn’t bear to watch as Dorian said
his. It broke her heart to see such a frightening man so weakened
and vulnerable. She knew someone great had left the world but
seeing Dorian distraught somehow made Aleks more worthy. Dorian
gave his heart and compassion to no one. He wiped away a tear and
closed the sheet wrapping Aleks like a mummy. He lifted the huge
body and stepped down into the grave. He kissed the head of the
wrapped body and gently placed him on the ground. He picked up a
handful of frozen dirt and kissed. He placed it on the mound and
stepped away.

Everyone took a turn placing a small amount of
dirt on top of him.

Hanna hated seeing the dirt cover Aleks. She
wanted him to burst through the sheet, he was unbreakable. Nothing
could hurt him.

But he did not.

Dorian gave the service in a language she could
only guess was Norwegian and pushed the dirt over his body.

They gathered stones and piled them on top of
him.

The sun started to set and Hanna noticed how
frozen her body was. Sam took his shirt off pulling it over her
head. He stood in nothing but a thin white t-shirt. She smiled up
at him trying not to jump into his arms.

Dorian looked at her and winked. She nearly
laughed knowing she needed her bracelet back.

Sam picked her up and suddenly they were back at
Lydia's. They were in Sam's room. Hanna looked at her surroundings
and shook her head, "I need to go home. I need to see Roland." She
couldn’t bear the thought of him touching her filthy skin.

He flashed and suddenly they were standing in
her bedroom. She hobbled grabbing her robe. She pulled his shirt
off and smelled it once. He laughed taking it. She pulled the robe
on and opened her bedroom door.

Roland walked along the hall to her room
instantly, "Hanna my dear you're home. Aleksander told me you were
being held by Mr. Dragomir."

She fell into his arms.

"Roland this is Sam."

Roland stiffened, "Yes I've met the young man
before. I knew his mother a long time ago."

Sam blushed, "Hello sir. Nice to see you
again."

Roland nodded, "Two Sirens. How unbearable."

He looked at her ankle and grimaced, "I see the
beast has returned."

She shook her head, "Only when I needed it and I
was able to control it. This is from Marcus." Her throat thickened,
"Marcus and Aleks have both passed."