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By the time they reached the car, Sebastian’s beautiful alabaster skin had charred black, his green irises cloudy and unseeing. Serenity could barely bring herself to look at him, but at the same time, couldn’t tear her eyes away. She feared the next time she glanced at him he’d have turned to dust.
“Open the trunk!” she yelled at Ryan, praying it would in fact open. The back of the car was dented from where the Suburban had ploughed into it by the underpass.
Though the boy had reacted quickly to the sight of Sebastian burning, the reality that he’d just watched his father—however crazy he might have been—killed in front of him must have sank in for he just stood, unresponsive and blank-faced.
“Now!” she snapped.
Ryan blinked, seeming to regain some of his senses, and he hurried around to the driver’s side to lift the latch to open the trunk. Nothing happened and Serenity’s heart was in her throat. If the trunk didn’t open, she had no idea what she would do. He yanked at it again a couple of times and finally the latch gave, and the trunk popped.
“Oh, thank God,” she breathed. “Now help me with him.”
Sebastian was over two hundred pounds of solid vampire and it took all of Serenity’s strength, together with Elizabeth and Ryan’s help, to lift him into the trunk. He landed heavily on one shoulder and rolled to his back. He groaned in pain, but didn’t seem conscious. Serenity couldn’t even bring herself to consider the sort of agony he was in. Crusted burns covered all of his exposed skin, smoke pouring from his body.
“I’m sorry,” she mouthed at him before slamming down the lid. She didn’t have time for delicacies, speed was of the essence. She needed to get him away from the deadly effects of the sunlight and she had a feeling being shut in the trunk wouldn’t be enough, especially not with the damage. Some faint shards of sunlight would surely filter through somewhere. All her focus was on getting him to a place of safety. Away from the increasingly stronger rays of sun.
She needed to get him home.
Oh, God, please don’t die, she begged in her head. They’d only just gotten him back. She couldn’t stand the thought of losing him again, especially not permanently this time.
Ryan opened the back door of the car and let out a yell of alarm. Liam’s body slid from the back seat, half falling out onto the road, though his feet remained in the foot well. The boy stared at the body, his face as white as any vampire’s.
Serenity rounded the car and her heart sank. “You have got to be kidding me!”
They couldn’t just leave the body on the street. Though there was a chance the police might put the man’s injuries down to an accident sustained in the storm, she still didn’t want to leave the corpse out here. She remembered only too well what happened to bodies after a vampire’s bite. Sometimes they came back.
“You have to help me again,” she told Ryan.
Tears streamed down the boy’s face. “I ... I... can’t touch him.”
“Yes, you can. Unless you want me to leave you here with him, you will help me.”
Together, they lifted Liam by the shoulders and dragged him down the pier to the point where Sebastian had thrown Conner off the side. She could only imagine what sort of horrors were going through Ryan’s mind, but she didn’t have time for sympathy. Her priority was with Sebastian.
Ryan stepped back, allowing her the awkward, awful task of tipping Liam’s body off the edge. The body slipped into the ocean and sank below the gray water. Though the waves had calmed, she hoped the currents created by the storm were enough to carry both bodies far away from here. When she looked behind her, Ryan had already run back to the car.
She ran after him, around to the driver’s door and jumped behind the wheel. Thank goodness Conner had left the keys in the ignition. If they’d been thrown into the ocean, still in Conner’s pocket, they’d have been screwed.
Elizabeth had already strapped herself into the passenger seat. Serenity didn’t intend on arguing with her about where she could or couldn’t sit. Ryan had climbed in the back, though Serenity had no idea what she was supposed to do with the boy.
Though the storm had vanished, the carnage it had created remained. Traffic lights were out. The sidewalk was littered in tiling torn from the roofs of houses. Foliage lay in the middle of the road. The streets were still waterlogged, foam from the ocean settling in every nook and cranny.
Spray flew up from under the wheels as she drove. People began to emerge from their houses, confusion and disbelief written all over their faces as they surveyed the remains of their damaged property and tried to rationalize what had happened.
The sun was almost fully up now.
Elizabeth rolled down her window and stuck her bare arm out into the direct sunlight. “Look, Mom.” She wiggled her fingers. “No burning.”
In her frantic horror at what was happening to Sebastian, Serenity realized she’d forgotten about Elizabeth’s change.
“That’s great.” She forced a smile. “And how are you feeling?”
“Okay, I think.” She gave a shrug. “It’s hard to ...” Her words trailed off and her face went blank, her lips slack as she seemed to stare into nothing.
Serenity’s stomach dropped out of itself. She looked across at Elizabeth, eyes flicking between her daughter and the road. She reached out and shook her knee, fresh panic surging through her. “Elizabeth! Are you okay?”
As quickly as she’d gone, Elizabeth snapped back into focus again. “Iona!” the girl declared. “We can’t leave Iona. She’s still hurt.”
Serenity slammed her palms against the steering wheel. “Shit!”
She hesitated for a moment, not wanting to have to make the decision to veer off course and collect Iona; every second seemed vital to Sebastian’s survival. But if the girl was lying hurt and frightened, all because she’d tried to help Elizabeth, Serenity couldn’t bring herself to abandon her.
Sebastian lay curled on his side in the cramped, dark space. How he was still alive and still conscious, he didn’t know. He’d been certain he’d die out there on the pier, that he’d be reduced to no more than a pile of ash. Only Serenity’s quick thinking had gotten him where he was now, though he knew his chance of survival was still slim. Even so, he was thankful for the lack of light. The rising sun had felt like someone scoring every inch of his flesh with razorblades.
Though being out of direct sunlight was a relief, riding in the trunk was torture. Every bump and turn the car made slammed him against the side, roof or base of the trunk, sending bright sparks of agony through his whole body. His smoldering body filled the air of the confined space with smoke and the scent of burning flesh. Part of his mind wanted to deny that the acrid scent was him, but he couldn’t deny what had happened. His mind tried to pull away at the edges, withdrawing from the agony. When he tried to move, his skin cracked like brittle paper.
Conner was dead, he reminded himself. Elizabeth and Serenity were safe. Nothing else mattered to him. He didn’t want to die, but not because he feared for his own afterlife—or lack of it. Instead, he simply didn’t want to miss them, couldn’t imagine never seeing them again.
They went over another bump, his head hitting the metal side of the trunk. He felt his skin splitting, searing red-hot shards of agony flooding through his skull. He heard himself cry out in pain, though the sound was distant, as if it came from someone else’s mouth. His consciousness pulled away again, withdrawing deeper inside himself to escape the agony taking over his whole body. He’d never known a pain like this. He wanted to stay in the present, to fight for his life, but the pain was just too great.
Take care of Elizabeth, he willed Serenity as he let go of the world around. Love her for me, as much as I’ve always loved you.
And he gave into darkness once more.
With her stomach in knots, Serenity took the road away from their home and drove back to where she’d last seen Iona. The scent of burning filled the car and when Elizabeth went to do her window back up Serenity stopped her and hit the button to slide down her own. She tried not to think about Sebastian being the reason for the air inside the car being redolent with smoke, telling herself it was due to the fires in the city.
They reached the small underpass. A chunk of concrete from the flyover forced her to leave the road for a moment and mount the bordering wasteland. The other, older car was in the same position they’d left it, skewed against the broken fence, but there was no sign of Iona or of the woman they’d left unconscious on the road. Had the woman taken Iona? Her heart twisted. Surely that wasn’t going to be another battle they’d need to fight? Already exhausted, she didn’t think she had it in her.
She and Elizabeth climbed from their vehicle.
“Where is she?” Serenity asked, turning a circle with her hand locked in her hair, unable to hide the desperation in her voice.
“There!” said Elizabeth, pointing at the car.
Serenity saw a small white palm pressed against the back windshield. Of course! Sebastian told me he’d left her in the car. With everything going on, she’d completely forgotten. She raced over and pulled open the back door to find the girl lying on the back seat. Iona’s jeans were shredded and she could make out damaged flesh beneath the hole.
“Oh, my God, are you all right?”
Iona winced as she looked down at her leg. “Yes, it was worse earlier. A couple of healing spells have helped, but I’m still not feeling strong enough to put any weight on the leg.”
Serenity put out her arms to help Iona from the car. The sorceress put an arm around Serenity’s shoulder and Elizabeth took the other side.
Iona offered Elizabeth a smile. “Considering you’re still alive and the storm has vanished, I take it we won.”
Elizabeth grinned back. “We won.”
“But not without casualties,” Serenity warned. “Sebastian got caught in the daylight and he’s badly burned.”
“Where is he?”
She nodded to the back. “In the trunk. We need to hurry.”
The implication of Serenity’s words must have sunk in. “Oh! But you came here for me anyway.”
“You helped us. I couldn’t leave you here alone.”
“Well, thank you, I mean it. Not everyone would have done that. I promise to do everything and anything I can to help your vampire.”
A sudden painful ball formed in Serenity’s throat and she couldn’t speak. She blinked back angry tears and nodded instead.
They helped Iona in beside Ryan, who sat silent and sullen in the back.
Iona started back in surprise. “I wasn’t expecting to see him.”
Elizabeth twisted around in her seat. “He helped save me in the end.” She pulled out the pendant, still hanging around her neck.
Iona’s eyes widened. “Tiger stone. I wish you had told me you had that.”
Elizabeth shrugged. “I didn’t know. I thought it was just a pretty necklace my dad had given me for my birthday. How was I to know it had some kind of special power?”
“Tiger stone is most powerful. Wards off evil magic.”
She grinned again. “Yeah, I know that now.” She slipped the pendant beneath her shirt. “I guess I’ll hang onto it.”
“There won’t be any more black magic,” Serenity interrupted, unable to keep the warning tone from her voice. No matter what happened with Sebastian, she refused to allow any more sorcery into their lives.
She drove through the streets toward their home. The big gates stood wide open, the electronics broken, she assumed, in the storm. At a high speed, she swung the car into the drive and then did a three-point turn, crunching the gears and causing gravel to spray up from under the tires.
“Hang on,” she told her passengers.
Putting the car into reverse, she stamped on the accelerator and, twisted around in her seat so she could see the front door of their house looming bigger in the rear windshield. She drove the car hard at the low set of steps which led to the front door. With several, bone-jarring bumps, the car mounted the steps before coming to a rest. The car was on a slope, the front wheels spinning in the gravel, but at least they’d gotten as close to the front door as possible. She didn’t know how much it would help, but she figured every second she could avoid Sebastian being exposed to the sun might go some way to helping save his immortal life.
“Elizabeth, get inside and lower all the blinds and drapes in the kitchen and living room. We need to keep as much light out of the house as possible.”
“We’re just going to take Dad into the house?” she asked, anxiously chewing at her lower lip.
Serenity shook her head. “No, we need to take him down to the cellar. But I want to keep him away from all possible exposure as much as I can. Okay?”
Elizabeth nodded and jumped from the car, running inside.
“Ryan. You need to help me carry him. I know it’s not going to be easy, but we need to move as fast as we can.”
The boy nodded his understanding, still not speaking.
“I’ll come back for you as soon as I have him somewhere safe,” she told Iona.
“Don’t worry about me,” the sorceress said. “I’ll manage. Just take care of your vampire.”
She nodded. “Thanks.”
Elizabeth returned, the throw from the back of the couch clutched in her hands. “All done, and I thought this would help.”
Serenity smiled at her. “Good girl; smart thinking.”
Serenity and Ryan climbed out of the car and made their way around to the back, so they stood together with Elizabeth beside the trunk.
“We need to move him as quickly as possible. Are you ready?”
She could hardly believe she needed to trust a couple of kids to help her save the life of the only man she’d ever truly loved. Solemn-faced, they both nodded. “Okay, on my count of three. One ... Two ... Three.”
She swung open the trunk, trying not to gasp at the state of Sebastian, the smell of charred flesh bursting from the enclosed space. Every muscle in her body froze, her brain struggling to comprehend that the blackened, charred mess in the trunk was the same man she’d loved for so many years. He groaned, his eyelids flickering, revealing red, raw rims around his eyes.
Before she had the chance to think too deeply, Elizabeth threw the blanket over his body. She was thankful, not only for the protection, but for the removal of the sight of Sebastian’s face, the sight of which had frozen her into inertia.
Will he make it back from this? Is such a thing even possible?
Serenity gritted her teeth and pushed the thoughts from her head. Now was not the time to wallow in doubt and misery. She needed to focus on getting him to a place of safety so he could heal.
She realized both Ryan and Elizabeth had scooped Sebastian’s body into their arms, both leaning into the trunk, waiting for her move. She wrapped her arms around his waist and hoisted him up and out with every ounce of strength she had left.
“Go, go, go!”
With Ryan at his head, Serenity in the middle and Elizabeth holding Sebastian’s feet, they carried, dragged, hauled and wrestled him through the front door, along the kitchen floor and finally down toward the cellar.
In immense relief, they got him through the small door and into the total darkness. They dragged him down the stone stairs, each of them wincing every time his body made contact with the unforgiving stone. Awkwardly, the three of them tried their best to carry him down. Serenity thought she was going to lose her grip and they’d all end up in a pile of broken limbs at the bottom of the steps, but somehow they made it down in one piece.
Serenity laid him out on the cold, damp floor and carefully removed the throw from his face and body. What she saw brought tears to her eyes. His thick, luscious hair had grown brittle, flaking away from the scalp. His eyelids fluttered and she caught a glimpse of milky eyeballs and vicious raw flesh. Where once there had been perfect, smooth skin, there was a now only black crust, like the surface of a desert.
Movement came at the top of the stairs and Serenity looked up to see Iona gingerly trying to hobble down the staircase. She’d found a broom and had the brush end wedged under one armpit, using it for balance.
Elizabeth shot to her feet and went to help her down into the cellar.
“Help him,” she begged of the young sorceress.
“He needs blood.”
Serenity looked back to Sebastian. He wasn’t even conscious; he would never be able to bite anyone. “I’ll have to ...” She was about to finish with “get a knife” but something else dawned on her. She glanced behind her to where the refrigerator filled with vampire blood stood against the wall.
She jumped to her feet. “I have blood!”
True, the blood wasn’t human, but would that matter? If anything, she thought, vampire blood should be even better. After all, how many times had she been fed vampire blood to help her survive?
She ran over to the fridge and yanked open the door, dragging out polystyrene sleeve after sleeve filled with tubes of blood. She started to unplug them. “Here, help me!”
Elizabeth, Ryan and Iona all took a handful of the glass cylinders and began to pull out the stoppers. Not bothering with the pipette as she did with herself, she simply took Sebastian’s head in one arm, nestling it in the crook of her elbow to support him, and then lifted the tube to his lips. She tipped, but the blood ran down his chin and he made no attempt to swallow.
“Drink, damn you!” Tears burned in her eyes.
“Keep trying,” said Iona.
She blinked away the tears and picked up a fresh vial. This time, she tipped his head back as she dribbled in the red fluid.
His throat moved.
“Oh, God, more! We need more.”
They handed her more blood and she repeated the process, over and over.
“Mom, look!” Elizabeth pointed at the skin on the backs of his hands. Where there had been only burned flesh, the black began to recede, revealing pink, new skin beneath.
“Oh, thank God,” Serenity breathed in relief. “Give me more blood.”
As she fed him, he grew stronger, starting to swallow. Then he reached up and clutched at the hand holding the blood, drawing it toward his own lips. The hand that held her wrist was strong, the fingers clear of burn marks.
His eyes fluttered open and he saw Serenity and tried to smile.
“Dad!” cried Elizabeth. Tears welled in the girl’s eyes and she looked around at the others. “He’s going to be all right. Everything is going to be all right.”