The Vampire's Redemption, A Paranormal Romance (Undead in Brown County #3) (12 page)

Then his words sank in. There was somebody who would be alarmed and probably deeply hurt by what I’d just done. I suppose I should have felt like some kind of emotional whore, after having become so close to Jackson and wanting him so badly, only to fall into bed with Michael shortly afterwards. But my need for Michael had existed before Jackson had come into my life. My desire had burned me on the inside and haunted me every time that Michael had turned his eyes on me.

“What about Jackson?” his rumbling voice crashed through my thoughts.

I moved away from him then. I had to. The sharp, serrated edges of regret were cutting through me, and I couldn’t let him touch me when Jackson’s face was swimming in my thoughts. It felt wrong and made me shiver with distaste at my thoughtlessness.

Picking up the shredded remains of my shirt, I avoided his gaze. “I don’t know if this was such a good idea.”

He had risen from my bed and was pulling on his clothes, quickly and efficiently. I watched him from the corner of my eye when he sat down to put his boots back on. When he came and kissed me one last time, I felt empty. When the door closed silently behind him, I sat down on the bench at the end of my bed and stared at the picture on my dresser.

Right then, I had a suspicion that nothing at all had changed. I was wrong.

CHAPTER 20 – Jackson

He that will not apply new remedies must expect new evils; for time is the greatest innovator.
- Sir Francis Bacon

I hadn’t intended to go very far. What I really wanted was to get away from the house. I knew what was happening upstairs. The idea of it filled me with some unnamable darkness that might swallow me whole if I didn’t put some distance between myself and the place where it was happening.

When Michael told me what he had planned, I felt instinctually that he was being honest. He wanted to save Sarah from any further pain or danger, and he understood that the depth of my feelings for her would make me an ally in that endeavor. Even if it meant turning my back while he had his way with her. Michael had also warned me that the entire plan would be shot to hell if Victoria got wind of it. That meant that I had to keep a certain distance from her as well unless I could effectively mask my thoughts.

So I saddled up Messenger and headed towards the woods, trusting her to find her footing in the dark. Sensing my frustration, she strained at the bit and fought for more speed. I held her back until we got to the long fence line that ran from the western side of the property to the north. Once we’d cleared the trees, I let her go. She moved from her smooth four-beat gait into her gentle rocking canter and then into a full tilt gallop that nearly dragged my hat off in the wind.

Sarah had to be kept safe. All the churning, chaotic emotions inside me had to be held back until I was positive that she would be alright. By then, I knew that my feelings for her had grown into love. I knew that I would do almost anything for her, especially if there was a possibility that we might have a real future together. I felt positive that I could make her happy.

Messenger had begun to slow when we reached the northern fork of the creek. I could barely see the inky outlines of the trees there, but again I trusted her to find our way. She snorted, the sound of it carrying through the cool air around us and breaking the soothing silence of the countryside.

She came to a halt suddenly, her head high before me and ears tipped forward towards the trees. There was something there. I felt her stiffen under me in fear and couldn’t help but think back to that day on the ranch when the vampires had overtaken me while I was riding Luna. I could still remember the sound it made when they had snapped her neck. It definitely wasn’t something I wanted to go through again.

We turned back the way we’d come. I wasn’t eager to find out exactly what it was that had begun to frighten the mare after everything I’d been through. Surprisingly, Messenger held steady and refused to move for a moment, even with my heels touching her sides.

“Come on, girl,” I whispered.

She flicked one ear back towards me, then sighed and turned back towards home. I checked behind us once or twice to be sure we weren’t being followed. I still had a bad feeling about whatever was in those woods, but it wasn’t something I was willing to check out in the dark with only a high-strung mare for backup and no flashlight.

Thinking back to a conversation I’d had with Sarah about the boundaries, I realized that whatever had been back in the woods was very likely outside of the border of the containment field. That made me feel a little better and I was able to get back to the barn without looking behind us every hundred feet or so.

Victoria was waiting outside of the barn doors, looking worried. I tried like hell to block out any thoughts of Michael and his plans the moment I recognized her. I could only hope that it would be enough of a distraction for me to concentrate on the horse.

I drew Messenger to a halt about twenty feet away and dismounted. She was a little stiff and nervous with a vampire so close, so I murmured to her gently and stroked her face to calm her down before attempting to lead her past Victoria.

Once I had the saddle and bridle off, I put Messenger back in her stall. Victoria stayed a safe distance away, but even Lenny was snorting and kicking at his stall door in agitation. I put the saddle, blanket and bridle back into the dusty tack room, and shut off the light.

“You need to tell me what’s going on,” Victoria said.

“I can’t.” She watched me pull closed the sliding barn door and followed as I made my way slowly up towards the house.

“I’m worried about Michael.”

I didn’t even look at her, afraid of what she might see in my face. “Don’t be. He knows what he’s doing. And don’t try to read my mind. I don’t like it.”

She paused when we reached the back porch of the house. “I won’t. But I need to know what he has planned. I have a feeling he’s keeping things from me.”

Glancing at her, I nodded. “You’re right. He is keeping things from you. But he’s doing it to protect you and Jones. It’s just better that way.”

“You’re doing this for Sarah.”

It was too much. I lost my temper.

“Of course I’m doing it for Sarah!” I yelled. Startled by my own change in tone, I took a deep breath and gave her a long look. “I’m in love with her. I want to be with her. Not just now, but for the rest of my life.”

“Oh.”

Sighing, I sat down on the porch steps and pulled my hat off. “I’m sorry for hollering at you. But I don’t like the way things are playing out right this second. I’m worried about her and really want her to come through this without too many scars. And it really pisses me off that in order to make sure that she’s safe, I have to pretend like nothing is going on between her and Michael.”

She lowered herself gracefully to sit beside me on the step and looked off into the night with clear hazel eyes that seemed full of memories. “He loves her, too. But he realizes that she doesn’t want his kind of life. She won’t consent to being turned into a vampire. And he doesn’t force the change on anyone. He never has.”

“Do you really think that he’ll give her up, though?”

She turned to me with a frown. “If it means that she’ll definitely stay safe, then yes. I think he will. But, I don’t like what that means for him. Giving her up means that he’ll need to leave here and not come back. This really is the safest place for him to be. There are too many vampires out there who want to use Michael to gain power. It’s not just Isaiah.”

That was something I hadn’t thought of. “What do you mean?”

“The social circles between vampires have been buzzing about Michael and where he is. Everyone knows how powerful he is. They think that if they can control him, they will become invincible. The Council fears him because they think he could take control of the whole system if he truly wanted to do that. There was a short period of time when Michael was considered to be the Heir.”

“The Heir?”

“The Heir of all control. He was a prince. It was decided that until Michael was fully trained to deal with all the issues involved in that kind of a position that Teddy and Isaiah would retain control. Isaiah didn’t like the idea of handing his power over to Michael. When he realized that he wouldn’t be able to control Michael once the power changed hands, he began to make plans to see that Michael did not inherit the throne.”

“Are you saying that Michael is rightfully the King of all vampires?”

“Just for North and South America. We leave the Europeans and Asians to handle their own problems.” She shrugged lightly. “Our Council needs a strong leader. But more than that, they need someone who isn’t constantly seeking power for themselves. They need someone who is fair and just and isn’t afraid to ask the elders for suggestions when necessary. Isaiah has always wanted the power for himself.”

I thought about the meeting Sarah and I had been to with the Council and how disjointed their system seemed to be. “What about Vincent?”

She sighed and shook her head. “Vincent McGrath is only a member of the Council because they had run out of options. He wants out. Charlie is too flighty to be King. Teddy prefers to work behind the scenes, even though she’s an excellent leader.”

“And the girls?”

An amused smile made its way across Victoria’s perfectly white face. “They still have a lot to learn, but they are powerful allies. Shapeshifters of any kind are coveted in vampire circles. Michael found the two of them eighty years ago after Meekah discovered them through a vision. He treated them like his own daughters. I was their nanny for several years before he handed their care over to Teddy.”

“Weren’t they too young to become vampires?”

“Physically, yes. In fact, Michael didn’t feel comfortable with the idea until he consulted Teddy about it. She was hopeful that the two would develop quite well if brought around the right way. The problem with turning them when they’re that young is making sure that they really understand what they are agreeing to. Michael explained everything to them. He talked about the blood, the power and the fact that they would never really grow up. They had just lost their mother to cancer, and their father was nowhere to be found. They adored Michael from the first moment they met him. They would have agreed to the change immediately, but he made them wait several months before accepting their answer.”

“Sounds fair of him,” I mused under my breath.

She smiled again. “He would have given them the moon if they’d asked for it. But he didn’t treat them the way he had treated Meekah before she left him. He didn’t look at the girls as a business asset. He considered them to be family.”

“What about you? Does he consider you to be family?”

There was a distant look in her eyes when she answered, “I’m more of a glorified secretary and security officer. Also a friend. Michael saved me from a horrible life. I will owe him my gratitude for a very long time.”

“You weren’t jealous of the girls?” I teased her.

“They were like my little sisters. Samantha was constantly getting into trouble with her shifting until she learned to better control it. Anne is a very accomplished artist and has excellent control over herself. Except when Samantha’s around. Separately, they were easy to manage. When they were together, they never failed to act like silly girls with no manners.” She laughed in spite of it. “If what I’ve heard is correct, Teddy has made some progress with them, but it’s been slow.”

Someone opened the back screen door and Victoria and I both turned to see.

Jones stood there with a mocking grimace on his broad face. “You’re not trying to steal my woman, are ye?”

“No, Captain. Just having a chat about politics,” I answered, standing up.

He hit my shoulder lightly as I passed by him onto the back porch.

The camaraderie between the three of us, despite my reluctance to divulge Michael’s plans, would continue to grow. Whether it was a transfer of their leader’s trust, an extension of their affection for Sarah or just my own personality, Victoria and Jones had accepted me as a part of the team. It felt good to be a part of something again.

I just wish I knew if I’d picked the winning or losing team.

CHAPTER 21 – Michael

“
Self-sacrifice is the real miracle out of which all the reported miracles grow.”

I had to make sure I wasn’t being followed. No one could see what I was about to do.

The plastic bag with the syringe and glass bottle was in the pocket of my black jacket, which I’d left hanging in the laundry room behind several other coats. No one was in the kitchen when I breezed through, but I sensed Jones was in the house. I flew through the back door and narrowly missed being spotted by Victoria and Jackson as they were coming back from the barn.

When I got to the far northern edge of the field perimeter, I doubled back to make sure I was still alone before I pulled the instruments of my demise out of my jacket. One little needle and one harmless-looking clear liquid. I stared at them both, trying not to think about the look on Sarah’s face when I left her.

I had almost hoped she might put up some protest when I kissed her. Knowing her as I did, it was likely that she would feel a little lost and sad once it was all over. But that initial feeling would go away eventually, and it would be far less painful for her to miss me than to see her whole world shattered by Isaiah and his schemes.

I had to trust Jackson to make it right for her and to make sure that I was in the right place at the right time. He had a big role to play in my plan. He was the only one I could trust to pull it off, because I knew how much he loved Sarah and how little he cared for me. The same could not be said for Victoria and Jones. They would give up their own lives to save mine. That’s what real friends do. But that’s not what I wanted. The two of them deserved some happiness after having spent so much time apart and yearning for each other.