Leo fell first. With haze-covered eyes, Mia focused on the tree in front of her. She had to laugh at the irony as the tree’s energy filled her mind with images. It was the same tree Vincent had used to kill the girl from the morgue.
Drums began to beat loudly in her head, calling to her. She placed her palms on the tree, the feeling of the rough bark becoming faint as numbness took over her body. The rhythm of the drums lulled her into the darkness.
Her dream carried her once again as the moon was shining down on her face. The vision got clearer with each fading breath she took: A man carried her, the baby cried and then she fell.
Her eyes fluttered open, and the tree bark ripped off in her hands as she collapsed back into a set of arms. She faded in and out of consciousness.
“Shit. Cole!” Nancy’s voice pulled her back, and she peeked out between the slits of her eyelids.
Cole bent over her. “Nancy, get John. Call for a medic, now!” His eyes frantically searched her body, trying to find all of her injuries. When he slightly turned her to her side, she cried out in pain.
“Just give her your blood, Cole,” Nancy said, matter-of-factly. “Heal her, or turn her.”
“No, I promised her I’d… I would let her die. She’s had enough pain caused by me.”
“You’re one stubborn-ass human, Mia. Have it your way. I’ll get the medics. Good luck healing the human way.” Nancy looked up as a light rain-shower began to sprinkle down out of the clear night sky. “Where the hell did that come from?”
Mia felt herself fading. She couldn’t feel the raindrops on her skin, but she knew her skin was wet. Her eyes slowly blinked, and each time they stayed closed longer.
“No, you stay with me. I’ve been around enough dying people to know that closing your eyes is not good.” Cole shook her shoulders. She found the strength to lift her lids, and as she locked onto his gaze, the pain from his internal struggle was evident. He wanted to break his promise, she could see it as his eyes searched hers, waiting, wanting some sign that he could do this for her. She flinched as he bent toward her face. Images from the night flashed through her mind, and she couldn’t hide her fear.
“I just wanted to kiss you. It pains me that you’re afraid of me. You think I’m a monster for what I’ve done. You think I’m evil, Mia.”
The only thing she knew for certain was that she grew up tonight. She was no longer naive to the reality before her. She faced it and was still torn between loving him and fearing him. Her chest rose as she took a deep breath and lifted her hand in an attempt to touch his face. It wasn’t her place to judge him. He’d been a cop for over one hundred and forty-six years, had faced unspeakable pain and had seen such hatred and destruction. Yet, he tried his hardest to control the beast within him. A lesser man would have turned, like Evet Bass.
Cole helped bring her hand to his face.
“You frighten me, and I’m afraid of you, Cole, but I don’t think you’re evil. Blessed are the peacemakers for they shall be called the children of God, and God has a purpose for everything—at least, that’s what my mom says. I’m still undecided on that, because really, I’m fucking dying, and where is the purpose in that?” She winced through a painful smile, and he tightened his hand around hers as she forced herself to continue. “Maybe there is more evil out there than I know, and that’s why you’re here. I’m not going to judge you, you’re a vampire. I fully understand that now, and this is who you are. Now, how about that kiss?” With her strength exhausted, her hand fell, and her eyes closed.
She could still hear muffled voices discussing a plan when the drums started to beat.
“Cole, we need to get her out front to the medic’s so they can take her to Sector 13.” The sheriff spoke in a consoling voice.
“That means we have to carry her, and she’s wrapped herself in silver,” Nancy said.
“I’ll carry her. She is mine.” Cole stood with Mia draped in his arms, the sound of his flesh burning echoed through her body. Her eyes fluttered open to see the anguish in his face.
After a couple of feet, the sheriff stepped in front of Cole. “She’s going to be one of us soon. Let me carry her, Cole.”
Mia’s thoughts ran with his words. What did he mean by one of them? The vampires formed a line, and one–by-one they handed her off until she reached the rescue truck. The pain from the silver was marked in their murmuring voices. As Cole gently laid her down onto the gurney, she felt the wetness from her back.
“Why isn’t this fucking truck moving yet?” Cole’s anger flared. One of the men jumped from the back, and he growled at the other one, “Get out! Leave us.”
“But… what if something goes wrong, and she needs attention?” The medic’s voice was sympathetic.
“Stay, but over there.” He pointed to the corner of the truck, and the medic moved away from him after attaching Mia to machines and IVs.
“Her heartbeat is very faint. Are you prepared for her not to make it to the hospital?”
Cole glared at him. “Are you prepared not to make it to the hospital?”
Mia’s eyes flickered fast as she floated quickly toward the sound of the drums.
She was laying on the ground, feeling the dirt under her skin as a scream rattled in her ear. The people who chased her now stood over her, looking down into her eyes and chanting. A hand touched her head, speaking to her. Although it was in his Native-American tongue, she understood his words. “Forgive me my child. I will right what I have wronged, and you will lift the shame that I have brought to my people.”
His hand slipped off of her. The beam of light from the moon captured her eyes, pulling at her spirit. She floated up toward the moon, and when she looked toward the ground, she saw herself wrapped in an animal-skin blanket. I’m the baby?
“She’s flat-lining! I need to use the defibrillator.”
Mia was stuck in her vision and a bolt of lightning struck out, running through her infant self.
The man yelled clear, and Mia jerked on the gurney, her eyes opened as the monitor beeped again. Cole turned and looked at him. Noting the man’s reaction, he knew how he must look, his fangs were fully extended, and his eyes were at a full glow.
“Damn it, Mia.” Cole tore into his arm like a savage, not caring about his promise any longer. He had been emotionally alone all these years—unfulfilled, lonely. Now that he’d found her, he couldn’t let go. He grabbed the back of her neck and put his arm in front of her lips. “Drink it!”
She turned her head, her eyes telling him no. He growled, flipping her to her side, and it was then, in the light of the truck, that he could see her wound. Rage engulfed him. I should have been there for her. “If you don’t drink it, I’ll pour it over your wound—every last drop I have in me until you’re healed.”
With a shocked expression, Cole stared in disbelief as his blood beaded off of her like rain on a waxed car. He gently flipped her back over and stared into her eyes. “Why, Mia? You could do so much good in this world.” His blood was useless unless he poured it down her throat.
She reached for his torn shirt and tugged. “Don’t want to be a vampire. I’m trying to… have an idea. I don’t know.” Mia’s voice was shallow as her words ran together. “Cole, the moon—I need the moon.”
His chest welled at the sound of her voice. She wants to fight. He lunged at the top of the truck, bowing the metal out. The truck swerved, the force of his blow knocking them to the side. He looked down at Mia. The beam from the moon was tiny and weak. As he pealed back the metal, a jagged piece cut into his skin and blood poured from his arms and his hands. A finger dropped to the floor, and Mia gasped.
“It will grow back.” He couldn’t care less about his finger. He would gladly give up all ten just to know that she’d be okay. He looked down as the beautiful blue beam cast across her. He lifted her side and peeked at the wound.
“Mia, what did you hope this would do?” His tone was defeated.
“Save me… thanks for trying.”