NightFall: Book One: Bloodlust Is the Cure for the Immortal Soul (38 page)

*

Van saw Zane and Saldivar in a lock, one not besting the other. It looked to be a stalemate. Neither was gaining or losing ground. He wondered how long this could go on. Zane was much older and stronger. How long would it be before he weakened Saldivar, giving him t
he perfect chance to finish him?

Van had to find a way to distract Zane. So, he did the only thing he could think of.
“Zane!”

For a moment, Zane tore his gaze from Saldivar, thus loosening his grip, giving Saldivar the chance to free himself.

“You!”
Zane pushed Saldivar harshly and in angry steps, made his way to Van. He laughed with no humor. “Van, I take it? And just what do you think you can do against me? You’re nothing but a weak immortal baby. A mere three centuries? What could you possibly do against me?”

Van took advantage of Zane’s overconfidence and kneed him in the stomach. Zane double over, fighting for breath. Van moved in once more but Zane lifted up and his fist landed on Van’s left temple, causing Van to stagger and fall. Van touched his head and felt the sticky warmth of his own blood.

Van managed to stand and go at Zane again.

Simone, Raven and Indea stepped out into the night. Simone’s eyes filled with fear as she saw Van go for Zane.

Zane concentrated on Van and using only his mind, he lifted Van off the ground
. Higher and higher Van went. Zane shook his body like a rag doll. It seemed Van was about two hundred feet in the air when Saldivar came at him from behind and tackled Zane to the ground, making Zane release his hold on Van.

Simone screamed as Van’s body landed with a loud thud. She heard bon
es crunching and she cringed then
shook uncontrollab
ly. “No!
Van!”
She ran to him and
fell to her knees, mindless of the
pain shooting through them
. She shook Van motionless body. Tears were spilling onto his cheeks and closed eyes.

“No. Please. Oh, God,”
she prayed. “Please let him
live
. Please, Van. Don’t leave me. I can’t live eternity without you.”

Saldivar saw what had transpired and was now filled with a white hot rage. This time, it wasn’t blinding
,
but crystal clear. He went for Zane. He didn’t see Indea and Raven go for
him, as well
. They pounded h
is body mercilessly, refusing to let up, knowing that if they gave Zane an opening, he would kill any one of them.
Zane growled and lashed out like a wounded lion but he could not do much against
the
three
of them
in his weakened state.
It seemed like forever but only a couple of minutes had passed and Zane’s body lay, broken and bloodied
,
on the ground. He was not able to move. He knew that he would need rest to recover but he would have to do so in h
is home, away from the sun. H
e knew none of these immortals would lift a finger to help him. They would leave him to the sun.

Saldivar stood over Zane.
“It is over, Zane.” Saldivar’s voice boomed with a power so fierce, all Zane could do was cower. “You are not my father. I disowned you centuries ago. You may have transformed me but that’s where any similarity ends with us being connected.” Saldivar shook with both sadness and anger. “Why? Why do you want to destroy the very thing you are? The very thing you made? How is it that I came from you? We are nothing alike. You would kill the very being that you are. What made you turn on your own kind, Zane? It couldn’t have been the money. It was too easy. I know how hard you worked to be the man you once were over two thousand years ago. You certainly didn’t need the money. You will never spend the money you have earned even in eternity. Tell me–”

Zane spat near Saldivar’s now battered
shoes, his eyes narrowed.
“Don’t pity me, neophyte
. I cannot stand this sick sympathy you have for
all
vampire and human
life. Why do you cherish vampires
? Why do you
even want to cherish humans
? You are weak, Saldivar. You are nothing without me. You would ha
ve been nothing without me and
my intervention. You would have been dead. I should have let you die
d
. It would have saved you from turning into this piteous, sorry excuse for an immortal.” Zane’s eyes seethed with a red hot rage.

“To love is not weak. You must have loved once, Zane. You have had many centuries of chances to fall i
n love. You had never really discussed your life.
You transformed me, told me of what was to be expected of me and when to change others. You never once told me about yourself.” Saldivar squatted down to meet Zane, eye to eye. “Could it be that you have jealousy for me? I am capable of something you yourself cannot muster? To lov
e someone so deeply
it hurts? But the pain of losing that one would be a curse worse than death itself?”

“
I do not care for your
sad
attempt at poetic prose. I, perhaps, should pity you, neophyte. Where is your backbone? Could it be that time has softened you?” Zane smirked nastily.

“I have had a heart the minute I was born to my true father. He had taught me more in my mortal life than you ever had in my many centuries that I have known you.”

“You can’t and could never handle my way of life. You would never have had agreed to my teachings. You still would have ended up an irresolute being.”

Saldivar knew
that
Zane
at least spoke some
truth. He didn’t see life and eter
nity the way Zane did. Zane had
a vend
etta against the world. He saw
the world as a place tha
t wanted
nothing more t
han to destroy him. So, he cut
off the emotional part of himself and in the midst
of all his loneliness, he lashed out at whoever came
n
ear to him or any one who got
much too close. Zane is somewhat like a cobra or a badger. Stay at a distance but get close enough to make
him feel cornered and he would attack
without thought or provocation.

Saldivar stood up. He would go see to his friends. He was positive that Zane would not be able to do anything else for he was too broken to move.

Saldivar walked over to Simone and put a hand on her shoulder. She jerked away. She faced
Saldivar angrily.
“Do something, Saldivar. You’re supp
osed to be able to help him,” she cried, tears staining
her face.

Tears glistened in Saldivar’s eyes. He assessed Van. “I don’t think there is anything I can do right now, Simone,” he said regrettably, his voice cracking with emot
ion. He tried, unsuccessfully, to
blink away the unshed tears.
“I’m so sorry.”

Simone howled at the top of her lungs, pounding at Saldivar’s chest.
“No-o-o-o-o!
Not without Van. Saldivar, there must be something you can do. I don’t want to live an eternity without Van. I would rather walk into the sunlight. Please, tell me you can do something.”

Saldivar
was only silent as he
reached down and picked up Van’s
limp
body. Indea and Raven followed.

“What of Zane, Saldivar?” Raven asked.

For the first time,
Saldivar felt no pity for Zane. He would only hound thei
r every step if they helped him. And if they did, the next time, he might have become successful in destroying them all.
“Let the sun take care of him.”

Raven nodded but walked over to Zane anyway. “You brought this on yourself
,
you know? Now you will feel the hell I have
felt all these years that I’ve slaved
for you. But don’t worry. It will all be over soon.”
She grabbed Zane’s arm and dragged him away from the streets, just to make sure that no one came across him and decided to help him. She would let the sun do with Zane what it will.
Like Saldivar, she could not find it in her heart to feel the smallest amount of pity.

EPILOGUE

Nigh
t fell on Van’s house in a strange calm.
Simone was already up, pacing back and forth on Van’s carpet. She almost bit her nails to the quick. She ran her f
ingers through her hair so much
she had left it in a mess. She had forgone makeup or worrying about feeding.
What did it matter if she didn’t have Van with her?

But when Indea and Raven saw the state she was in, they insisted on getting her to feed and to help her in any other way they could.

Simone hugged Indea.
“Oh, Indea.
What am I going to do? I can’t lose Van. I love him so much.”

Indea squeezed
Simone. “Don’t worry, Simone. Everything will work out.”

“I t
hink everything will be fine,”
Raven put in. “Van was pretty broken but a night of rejuvenating sleep should
‘ve
do
ne the trick
.” She put her hand on Simone’s shoulder in a comforting gesture. “Don’t lose hope, ok?”

Simone wiped away tears and nodded. “Thanks, you guys.”

Raven and Indea left the living room
to speak to Saldivar, which
is the excuse they gave Simone
. Maybe they thought she needed to be alone for a while.

Simone sat down heavily on the ottoman. She put her head in her hands and cried.

A hand touched her shoulder. “Don’t tell
me you were worried about me?”
Van stated in a teasing tone.

Simone jerked her head up and shock over came her. Sh
e threw herself so forcefully into Van’s arms that
it almost knocked him off his feet.

“Oh, Van. I thought I had lost you. I thought Zane had killed you.” She cried into his shoulder.

“Come now, Simone. It’s all right. I am here with you. You don’t
have to cry any more for me,”
he said into her hair. He
then looked deeply into her eyes with concern.
“I heard from a reliable source that you would rather walk into the sun than live without me. Please say you won’t ever think like that again
?”
he implored softly
.

“I won’t, Van. I won’t.” She accepted Van’s soft kiss and wrapped her arms around his neck tightly, afraid to let go.

*

The five of them came together in the living room, talking of a future.
A future together.
A future filled with laughter and love.
A future not filled with the evil shadow of Zane hovering over them but of a peaceful tranquility.

Together in darkness.

Together in shadow.