Chapter 20
D amien had no way of judging how long the battle had raged on when at last, exhausted and drenched with sweat, he finally found a weakness, a foothold within. He grabbed hold of Asmos’s essence and pulled. Feeling the demon break loose, he dug in with all his power, newfound and old, and pulled Asmos out of Emma and into the crystal sphere.
Exhausted, he crumpled to the ground, breathing deeply, afraid for a moment, to open his eyes. Afraid that somehow Asmos had tricked him again and when he saw Emma he’d know in his heart of hearts that he’d failed and she was lost to him forever. Unable to wait any longer, he opened his eyes. And cried out loud in anguish.
Nicholai was lying over Emma, drinking what was left of Asmos’s essence from her blood. Shocked, Damien let loose a tormented roar and launched himself onto his brother.
Nicholai easily averted him, knocked Damien back to the floor and rubbed the back of his hand across his bloody mouth. “You can thank me later, bro. You never would have got that demon out of her alone.”
Damien stared at Emma’s pale skin and couldn’t think, couldn’t talk. The all-encompassing pain slicing through him, filled every fiber in his being.
“If you love her, brother, give her life. Save her. Take a sweet taste, then give her your blood. Embrace who you are. What you are.”
“No!” Damien protested, and dropped his head into his hands. How could this have happened?
“She’s dying, brother. Slipping away right now. In another minute, the battle for her soul will be over. But you can give her another chance at life. You can give her the gift of immortality.”
Damien stared up at him through blurred eyes filled with hate. “And make her a monster?”
“Is that what you are?” Nicholai mocked. “I thought you only saw me that way.”
Pain seared through Damien’s soul; it was like nothing he’d ever felt before. “How could you do this? To me?”
“Why not? Because we’re brothers? Because we have some paternal bond that bridges us beyond the veil of what we are?” He cocked a smile. “Well, you’re right. That’s why I did it. I saved her for you. Another minute and she would have been lost, floundering in some demon dimension, or sucked into the bowels of hell. No one knows for sure. All we do know is that Asmos had her, and he wasn’t going to give her back.”
Damien stood and picked up Emma’s satin nightgown, and crunched it into a tight ball. “My fault,” he muttered.
Nicholai grinned. “Of course it’s your fault. You fell in love and couldn’t keep your pants zipped.”
“Get away from her,” Damien demanded, and pulled the sheets up over Emma’s body.
Nicholai opened his arms in a wide gesture. “Hey, I tried to warn you. I tried to stop all this from happening, but the little spitfire was stronger than I expected.”
Damien’s rage bubbled to the boiling point. He knew his brother had always been able to spin any situation to his advantage, but this took the cake. “You expect me to believe you were here to help? That what you did, everything you did, you did for us?”
“You can believe whatever you want, dear brother. But if you ever want to see blondie here open those blue peepers again, you’d better get to work. The clock is a-ticking.”
Damien looked back at Emma, who was growing paler by the moment. As horrific as it sounded, he knew his brother was right. If he was going to save Emma, he had to do what he swore to the Cadre, what he’d sworn to himself, he would never do. He had to exchange blood with Emma in order to give her the “gift” of life.
He dropped the crystal with Asmos trapped within onto the floor, then climbed up on the bed next to Emma. He pulled her limp body into his arms and held her close. Her pulse weakened, growing fainter by the minute. He couldn’t lose her. He would do anything to save her. And, like it or not, this was the only thing that could save her.
“I’m sorry,” he whispered, then, closing his eyes, brushed his lips against the delicate skin of Emma’s neck, and bit down, taking a sweet taste. Warm blood trickled into his mouth, filling him with her essence, with her sweetness, and he could feel her love for him, could feel the goodness in her soul, and it made him want to weep.
Then he pulled back and bit his wrist until the blood flowed freely, then pressed the open vein to her lips. “Choose me, Emma. Choose life,” he begged, and hoped it wasn’t too late.
Something wet and sweet dripped across Emma’s parched lips. She was so thirsty, she was just sick with it. Her stomach rumbled and turned as the liquid sluiced down her throat. Her headache and lightheadedness were dissipating, and she was beginning to feel a tad stronger.
Suddenly she was just starved, and nothing could fulfill her but the sweetness flowing into her mouth. She reached up, pulling the source closer and drank greedily, feeling herself change once again, but this time the darkness and fear within her were gone and all she felt was love and the absolute joy of being loved in return.
Soon, she was strong enough to be aware of her surroundings. She was still lying on Damien’s bed. She cracked open her eyes, almost expecting to see him lying beside her, sleeping. As if everything that had happened had just been a terrible dream.
But he wasn’t lying there, and he wasn’t sleeping. He was looking at her with a haunted look of regret filling his eyes.
“What is it?” she asked, at once afraid for him. “Is everything all right?”
He smiled, but it was a look sad enough to break her heart. “How much do you remember?”
“About what? Damien, you’re scaring me.” She sat up, and then noticed the shambles of the room, noticed Lucia lying on the floor. “Oh, my God.” She jumped out of the bed and ran to her. “Lucia!” Lucia stirred slightly, as Emma pulled on her shoulder. “She has a nasty gash on her head. What happened in here?”
“Get dressed. I’ll carry her downstairs,” Damien said as he bent beside Lucia and felt for her pulse. “It’s strong.” He picked her up and carried her down the stairs. Emma donned her robe and hurried after them. Once she had Lucia settled, she pulled Damien into the kitchen. “Tell me what happened to her.”
“We had a scuffle with the wolves. We—” his voice broke, and he turned away. “We almost lost you.”
Dread dropped a sickening thud to the bottom of her stomach, and Emma knew she hadn’t been dreaming. “Asmos?” she whispered. “The Curse?”
He nodded.
She turned toward the sink, and grasped the tile. “I remember I was on the edge of a hole. I don’t know where it came from, or where it went, but I almost fell in.” She turned and looked at him. “I would have fallen, but at the last minute, I was yanked out of the darkness. You saved me. You brought me back.”
He shook his head and turned away.
She grabbed his shoulder and forced him around. “You saved me.”
“Not me,” he whispered.
She stared into his eyes, as confusion filled her and what she saw there made her afraid to ask. But she had to know. “Then who?”
“Nicholai.”
A shudder moved through her.
“By sucking Asmos’s essence out of your blood, Nicholai weakened him to the point that I was able to pull him out of you and into the stone.”
Emma looked around her. “Then where did Nicholai go?”
“Gone. With the stone.”
Her eyes widened. “He left with the demon? What will the Cadre say?”
“It doesn’t matter. Nothing matters anymore. I’m so sorry, Emma. It’s my fault. I couldn’t live without you. It was selfish, I know, to turn you, to force you into this world, into the dark. I just couldn’t let you die.”
Her eyes widened. “What are you talking about?” But as she stared at him, at the guilt and anguish on his face, the realization of what he was talking about struck her.
She’d thought it was because she was tired, because of the nightmare she’d lived through, that everything seemed different. Her vision was deeper, sharper, colors more monochromatic. Smells were stronger, and almost offensive. And she was so hungry—a yearning hunger unlike she’d ever felt.
She brought her fingers to her neck, feeling the ache, the jagged edges of the wound. Panic sliced through her. “You fed off me?” she asked unbelieving.
“I brought you back. I gave you the gift.”
She turned away from him, trying to comprehend what he was saying. “Am I dead?”
“You are no longer human.”
She moved to the kitchen table and collapsed into a chair. She’d died tonight. She hadn’t fallen down the hole, fallen into the darkness, but she’d still died.
And Damien had brought her back. Only he’d brought her back different.
“You said Nicholai sucked out Asmos’s essence.” She swallowed. “From me.”
Damien nodded.
“And if you hadn’t done what you did…” She groped, trying to understand.
He pulled out a chair and sat across from her. “Then you wouldn’t be here talking to me now.” He stared at her, then ran a finger down her cheek. “Your scars are gone.”
“So is my humanity.” A hunger cramp ripped through her stomach. She bent over, clutching her stomach as her teeth pushed through her gums. Horrified, she reached up and touched the sharp points.
“You need to feed,” he said. “And soon. Then you’ll feel better.”
“Feed? On what?” she asked horrified. “I will not hurt any animals,” she said, vehemently, thinking of Angel, still sleeping peacefully upstairs in her room, she hoped.
“You don’t have to. You’re not a monster,” he said, more to himself than to her.
Her heart softened, as she heard the anguish in his tone. “No, I’m like you. And, like you, I choose not to kill. Like you, I will work to make life better for myself, and for those I love.”
He pulled her into his arms, and held her close. “I wish I could see me the way you see me.”
“Do you believe I’m evil?” she asked.
“No,” he choked, and drew back to look her in the eyes. “Never.”
“But I’ve been touched by evil. Just like before, when I was human. It was my choice whether or not to embrace it.”
“But you’re not human. Not anymore. It will take a while to adjust, to forgive.”
“That might be true, but I still have a choice. And I choose you, Damien. You kept me from falling into the abyss. You saved me. You brought me back. And with your blood, you’ve given me a new life to live and explore. I choose you, Damien. I choose love.”
24-11-07, 09:45 PM
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