Authors: Maya DeLeina
Brynne was hysterical as she spoke, “This is not normal! Look at how much blood there is. What the hell is she?”
“Pure evil,” Anya stated matter-of-factly.
“Anya, look!”
Madeline shook violently in the chamber, her eyes sinking into her body until they were nothing but hollow orbs. Then, her body came to an abrupt standstill, lifeless and motionless.
Suddenly, her lifeless body burst into flames.
The heat was unlike anything they’d experienced before, and the two women scrambled for shelter.
The flame danced in the chamber, weaving in red, orange, gold, and purple. At once, the flames escaped the chamber, igniting the surface of the spilled blood.
The fire swirled and climbed high into the air as Madeline’s figure was recreated in the flame.
There, deep in the heat, she danced in the orange glow, without a care, unruly and forbidding. The flame fell back to the ground and acted like a vacuum, sucking all of the blood back up into the chamber.
As the last river of blood was extracted from the floor, the flame extinguished, leaving behind a pungent aroma.
“Where did she go? The chamber is empty!” Brynne said as she peered in through the window. A small cloud of smoke escaped the chamber as the latch unlocked on its own, sending the door wide open.
“I don’t know. But what’s with that smell?” Anya said, her nose crinkling with the scent.
“It’s like rotten eggs!” Brynne said.
“Steffan!” Anya scrambled to Steffan’s side. He remained entombed in the chamber, his lifeless body propped up by the spikes that ran straight through. “Come here, Brynne. Let’s do this. Bring him back to me!”
The two women focused their newfound energy on Steffan.
The drain in the floor started to rumble, and the women took a step back.
Red liquid seeped out from the tiny holes and rolled backward up on the concrete floor.
“It’s working!” Anya exclaimed
The pools of blood vibrated as the outspread fluid eerily narrowed, flowing unnaturally against the grade in the floor, back into the cavity of the steel chamber. Gravity, physics, all the forces of nature were nonexistent in that moment. The chamber rattled and rocked, though Steffan’s head remained listless, hanging to one side. Suddenly, the locking mechanism broke its hold on the door, sending shards of metal across the room.
The door burst open.
Steffan stood motionless, his hands still handcuffed behind his back in the chamber. His chin pressed into his chest. His eyes remained shut.
Anya walked slowly up to his body and rested her hands on this chest.
His body was unscathed, but he remained unresponsive to her touch.
She pressed her face against his chest.
His body was rigid and still. No sound of a heartbeat could be heard.
Anya pulled her head from his chest and searched his face for any flicker of response.
“Steffan?” Anya called out to him in a desperate whisper. “Please come back to me.
Without warning, Steffan’s chest expanded and he let out an unnerving sound.
His eyes flew open, frightened and alarmed. “Anya?” Steffan said as his gaze settled on Anya’s face.
“You’re back!” Anya burst into tears and buried her face in his chest.
Dazed, Steffan asked, “What? What happened?”
“Steffan, Anya and I brought you back!” Brynne cried as Anya worked feverishly to release Steffan’s handcuffs.
She stepped down to the concrete floor, holding Steffan’s hand and steadying his shaking body as she freed him from the chamber.
“Back from where? Where was I?” Steffan looked down at Anya. “Why couldn’t I find you?” Steffan embraced her tightly, kissing her forehead.
“What do you remember?” Brynne asked.
“It’s a little hazy,” Steffan said as he looked around the room.
The room was a disturbing scene.
All of the council members were in a deep sleep. Some remained propped precariously on their chair while others had made their way to the floor. A heap of twisted metal and plastic chairs stood toward the back of the room.
Steffan looked around slowly, surveying his surroundings. “What in the hell happened here?”
Steffan’s gaze centered on the Eilian’s motionless body. “What’s going on? Is everyone all right here? Why are they all like this?” Steffan asked frantically as he braced himself against Anya.
“They’re fine. Everyone is fine. They passed out with the Submission gas, but they’ll come out of it soon. Come here. Sit down.” Anya helped Steffan walk while Brynne pulled a chair from the tangled mess.
“You don’t know what happened here?” Brynne asked.
“No.” Steffan turned around looked at the death circle. His heart sank as the realization settled in him. He had just walked out of an empty steel chamber.
“Did I…?” Steffan trailed off, pointing to the open chamber.
Anya shook her head in response to his unfinished question.
Steffan’s breath was rapid. He stumbled over his words. “How–how did you guys do this? You said I came back. That you both brought me back.”
“Anya and I, the unique DNA patterns we both share from our human lives—this is what saved you. Somehow, these altered strands are a link to extraordinary abilities once we turned.”
“I don’t get it. Brynne, we tried testing your abilities when we heard of the myths. There was nothing. We even tested Rhys. He didn’t capture abilities even though he drinks from you as your mate. I thought this thing with your blood was just an urban legend.”
“No. It is real. But it takes both of us. I drank from Anya, Steffan. And she drank from me. That’s what triggers it, our blood sharing.”
“You drank from my Anya?” Steffan asked, settling his gaze on Brynne. He turned to Anya. “You drank from Brynne? And the two of you, have a taste for each other, like mates?”
“Yes,” Anya said, watching him closely for his reaction.
“Anya, was drinking from Brynne not hard for you to do? You have only drunk from me. I mean, you still won’t feed from a human yet. I was supposed to ease you into that.”
Anya shook her head, not really knowing how to explain what had taken place with Brynne. “I don’t know. It was just instinct taking over I guess.”
Steffan shook his head, his eyes wide in astonishment. “Well, I will definitely have to watch you two do that to each other again. I’m certain Rhys wouldn’t mind being in the audience as well.”
“Steffan!” the women said in unison.
“So, when you say you two brought me back. Back from death?”
“Yes. I watched you die right in front of my eyes. I heard you take your last breath. We said our final good-byes to each other just minutes ago,” Anya said.
“I’m so sorry, Anya. I don’t know why I can’t recall any of this. The last thing I remember is walking down the tunnel with you and Eilian. In fact, I can’t even remember walking into the Nemesis.”
“I don’t know why that is. We only used our energy to reverse back from when the chamber door closed on you.” Brynne said, trying to come up with a reason for Steffan’s lack of memory.
“It doesn’t matter. You are here now, unharmed and with me. That’s all that matters,” Anya said, wrapping her arms tightly around Steffan.
“Wait. What about Madeline and Ryan. Where are they?”
“Madeline is dead. She literally vanished after we put her in one of the chambers,” Brynne informed Steffan.
“Vanished?”
“Yeah, and she left behind a very, very bad smell,” Brynne added.
“And Ryan?”
“I cut him deep. He ran out screaming and wailing, not out of pain, but because I scarred his face.”
“That’s probably more painful for him than death itself. Perfect punishment,” Steffan said with a sense of relief.
Steffan cupped his face in his hands and ran his fingers upward, through his hair. “So, I truly died here tonight, as I was supposed to have done in 1917.”
“Yes.”
“Then that explains a lot.”
“What do you mean?” Anya asked.
“Because of what I saw,” Steffan replied.
“You remember seeing things?”
“Yes. It was confusing, but it all makes sense now. ”
“What did you see, Steffan! Tell us!”
“I saw…” Steffan started his story of the journey his spirit took in the next world for vampires.
Chapter Thirty
Chloe walked down the stairs, smiling at all of the faces she could catch in the immediate area. She looked down at each step, carefully moving with the woven basket balancing in the crook of her arm. With each step she took, the bottom of the basket plopped against the stair treads.
The sight sent a light, warmhearted laughter throughout the crowd.
Once at the bottom of the stairs, Chloe walked slowly, counting to herself. With every few steps, she stopped, dug into the basket, and sprinkled white rose petals along the black-carpeted walking path. She rounded the foyer, heading into the living room and her eyes met Steffan’s. She was on the verge of sprinting toward him just as he caught her intention from across the room. Steffan shook his head and motioned his hands to slow her down.
She smiled wide and continued to scatter her rose petals.
Steffan watched the little girl with whom he’d played Superman earlier in the day resist her instinctive movements and continue to maintain her rehearsed gait. Her smile beamed ear to ear as she strolled down the carpeted path, her white crinoline dress swaying to each side like the motion of a bell.
Steffan’s heart melted at the scene.
Giggle monster,
Steffan mouthed in her direction as he playfully scrunched his nose at her.
Chloe scrunched her nose back at Steffan in response and continued her pace.
Steffan stood at the top level of a tiered platform in front the wall of windows alongside Eilian, Rhys, and Griffin. The men were draped in elegance. Steffan was clad in a black-on-black tuxedo. His jacket remained open, exposing his sleek black vest and tie, his white shirt radiant under the tone-on-tone dressing. Eilian, Rhys, and Griffin were clothed in the same attire, black tuxedos paired with black shirts contrasted by a pearl-white tie and vest.
Behind the men, sheer white curtains spilled down the length of the floor-to-ceiling windows, pooling gracefully on the floor. Clusters of black wrought iron floor candelabras lined the lightly dressed widows, adorned with pure-white pillar candles. The flicker of the warm candlelight exuded an undeniable romantic flair.
The invitation to the evening’s affair was completely unconventional. It was held at the midnight hour and the required attire was all white, yet every guest had answered yes to the RSVP. Mortals, immortals, Wiccans, and intuitives alike clamored for the chance to be part of the event held in
Y Castlle O Cerddoriaeth
, as dubbed by Steffan and Anya.
Their home was the talk of Colorado, a recognizable landmark in Manitou’s mountainside, serving as the new home of Heartstrings. Together, Anya and Steffan had expanded the nonprofit organization, supplying unlimited resources to offer free music lessons, award music scholarships and offering their private residence as a venue to showcase their musicians.