Blood Life Page 15

  “Comprehend it. I will destroy you the same way.”

  He gasped and then tsk’ed with his tongue. “Such harsh words from a mother, don’t you think.”

  She didn’t answer him, instead concentrating on not making the mistake of starting their fight prematurely.

  “What have you been waiting for all this time? Do I need to make the first move? I’m growing bored of your waiting game!” He unleashed a piece of his magic, sending the fire poker crashing through his bedroom window. She didn’t flinch. She smiled at him, her chin tilted down and her sapphire eyes looking up at him from beneath her long lashes, crucifying him where he stood.

  “I wait for Lillith’s word. She will tell me when the time is right; until then, you are safe, but do not push your luck, Lokee. I warn you.”

  He laughed. “Or you’ll do what? I’m so scared,” he said, biting his fingernails and giving her a feign look of horror.

  She was unmoving.

  “I’m not afraid of you, mother, and soon I will tire of playing this game. Alethea will be mine,” he tested. “But you already know that, don’t you? You are a witch, after all, and witches are smart.” He tapped his temple hard. “They can see into souls, can’t they?” He narrowed his eyes at her. “Just like you could see into my soul when I was a child, couldn’t you, mother?”

  Devendra was stricken, but used all of her will to remain calm and unresponsive to his prodding. “When I gave birth to you, you held a glimmer of light within you. I meant to nurture that light.” She paused, reflecting, but refusing to let her heart ache in the wrong way. “Your father’s blood was too strong—I could not have known beyond my heart. I was only half of what I am today!”

  She looked away, stung from the memories of that night. Abel, Lokee’s father, had tricked her into bed with him and planted his seed deep within her womb. The seed had rooted so fast, it was instantaneous, and she was unable to do anything about it. It was only a matter of time before her motherly instincts took the better of her judgment, despite warnings from Lillith, who Devendra had only just become aware of.

  “Oh, but then if you were able to read my father’s soul or intentions, I wouldn’t be here today, would I?” Lokee said, simply.

  Ignoring his attempt to make her want to fight with him, she swallowed the lump of frenzy in her throat and held his stare.

  “Our Mother,” she started, slowly moving toward him, “the one who bred and chose us all, has many negative intentions for you. You have created nothing but harm for Fate.” She stood upright again, crossing her arms over her chest. “Fate will tolerate your behavior no longer.”

  Studying his body language, Devendra felt he might pounce on her. With a sudden swiftness, she ordered him restrained. Shocked, Lokee struggled against the bindings which were attached to the cast iron bed posts, giving up after only a few moments.

  Although Devendra knew she could beat him, there was dread in her heart. She hated him with all her being, but he was still made up of her own flesh and blood. Lokee was her son, and now Roman’s brother in immortality. That, along with the fact Roman had Alethea, gave Lokee even more reason to want to destroy the man’s life—jealousy.

  “You disgust me,” he growled, looking at the rampant flames in the fireplace, wanting to kick Devendra into them for not loving him completely. He really only wanted to please her, but was instilled with too much evil and hatred, making him the most dangerous immortal since his father.

  She realized long ago that she needed to “correct” the problem, but so much time had passed that he had become almost as powerful as her. With her blood as well as his father’s swimming in his veins, he possessed super-strength that only ripened within one of the Combined with age.

  She could no longer destroy him with a simple wave of her hand. Lillith would have to assist, but She still frowned on Devendra for bringing him into the world against Her wishes. Devendra would have to manage alone, but she didn’t feel it was the right time! For some reason, that tore at her every time she faced him—Not.The.Right.Time.

  Would it ever be the right time? she wondered. How many lives will have to be ruined for her to just get it over with?

  But it wasn’t her and she knew it. Lillith was behind Devendra’s uncertainty, even though She never voiced it. It was Her signal that Devendra awaited all the years that Lokee walked among the Combined, plotting his schemes and interfering with Fate as much as he could.

  Besides, when it came time to destroy Lokee, Roman and Alethea were all she had for help. She wasn’t sure that would suffice. Roman was Combined since it was Devendra who gave him the blood-kiss, and Alethea through Roman’s blood-kiss; but she was only a newborn—definitely too vulnerable to assist. Lokee would easily kill her.

  So, how would it be done?

  “Lokee, is there any reasoning left in your tainted soul?” She walked around the side of his bed to stand beside him. Again, he fought the restraints, but her spell kept renewing itself against his struggle, making it impossible for him to use magic against hers.

  “You are despised by all of our kind,” she continued. “You have no followers and no children to support you.” She said this to hurt him. She really had no idea who followed her son’s blood wake. “You will die sooner or later, and I will make sure it is as soon as possible. You have made your decision, and I will protect them with all I have.”

  She moved closer to his face and stared coldly into his eyes, making him frown a little. Then she moved slowly to his ear and whispered, “You will die a most painful death and I will be the cause it.”

  She vanished, leaving him restrained until she was well out of reach.

  Thirty Three

  Devendra had done everything she could to abort the child that grew in her belly, save from killing herself. Abel was a terrible man, and even though he was long dead, there was the issue of the insidious offspring who happened to be half her own.

  Abel, a simple vampire, had seduced her, a powerful witch, the one night they spent together. She had been especially vulnerable, suffering from dreams of love lost. Abel, being the trickster he was, used his strongest gift on her: his charm.

  He was not the man she dreamed of, but he was able to mesmerize her enough to believe he could be. He might be.

  His interest in immortality was to preserve a legacy of bitterness and hate. When he heard of the Combined, he sought out to find one he could seduce into incubating a spawn that would possess the immense power of the greater race. Devendra happened to be the closest and most vulnerable to him. Without much effort, he planted his seed to be warm and safe within her potent and eager womb. And she felt his vile essence fill her; she almost understood instantaneously how horrid of a mistake, a misjudgment she had made allowing him in her bed.

  Not only that—Abel was from Grey.

  Grey was very close to Black, and Black shared fog with Nothingness.

  Nothingness was where the lost, forgotten souls ended up.

  Nothingness was where Abel feared he would go if he didn’t do his job soon, if he didn’t ensure that his precious genes, his abominable genes, lived on, surpassing his own immortality which he knew was in danger from his evil deeds.

  Infecting good blood, creating monsters, became Abel’s sole purpose of existence. Vampires weren’t exactly innocent to begin with, but they had a conscience; the Kriestos did not.

  The Kriestos were the group of rogue vampires who had no morals, no restrictions, and worst of all, no conscience. Nothing like the Combined, who were the equivalent of the “good guys.”

  Abel needed to bring Devendra over to Grey before he could mature to his full vampire abilities and be protected by the Kriestos. He was not willing to be any less, and further not willing to end up in a miserable place like Nothingness for an eternity of isolation.

  The constant reminder of his not-so-important status among the Kriestos taunted him even in sleep. There was no peace. When he had heard of the witch named Devendra Noelle Dom
ergue, the striking and prevailing one who had escaped burning at the stake with her magic in front of hundreds of sets of eyes, he immediately set out to find her. She was perfect, and made into a vampire, would be Combined, possessing the status he sought.

  Abel had chosen her of all the women in the entire Spectrum and he wasn’t willing to let her get the best of him. Not him! He couldn’t rest until he single-handedly turned her over to the Kriestos’ unparalleled gift of eternal life with their unquenchable thirst for blood.

  The magic clouds above Grey were not themselves gray, but rather a deep purple-red. This was quite appropriate for the town’s existence and evil population—an infected wound that would not heal, festering in filth, bordering between Black and White, good and bad. A Purgatory of sorts.

  Growing used to the thought of having the baby that grew inside of her, Devendra forgot all about the potential threats its birth produced. A mother’s maternal instincts, unavoidable even by the most magical creatures, overtook her completely.

  Instead of attempting to abort the new life, she sung to him softly; she rubbed her belly, cooing to him lovingly; she planned his arrival carefully. Devendra anxiously awaited his first look into her eyes with such excitement at times that the mere thought would overwhelm her.

  That fact that Abel had turned her into a vampire while he bedded her did not displease her—she embraced it without regret once she realized her new potential and strength in magic, honed beyond mortal comprehension. She felt it, the blood of being one of the superior race, the Combined, before it was ever drawn out for her. She knew, in her new heart, the power which she possessed. She used that power to destroy Abel, the only correct decision she made that night.

  Her son was born under the sign of Sagittarius. Their relationship turned out to be all Devendra had hoped for in a mother-son bond. However, when Lokee turned 15 years old, she decided to call on the assistance of her darker patron Goddesses to help teach him about his inherited magic, and more in depth about the weapon of blood that coursed through his veins.

  In preparing Lokee for his intense studies, Lillith made herself known to Devendra, warning her in dreams about Lokee’s future if given his full knowledge, and instilled with any dark energy that he could transform into the malevolence that had not yet awakened within him. She spoke of his attempts to bring down the Combined; to nurture the Kriestos into dominance, and the negative, irreversible effects it would have on the Spectrum.

  Lillith urged Devendra to strip him of his immortality before it was too late; that She would show Devendra the intricate ritual which would do this—an ancient secret to disarm a known enemy, one that only few sorceresses could ever accomplish. Something Lillith Herself could not do without inhabiting an earthbound form, which, unfortunately, She chose not to.

  Devendra refused to comply, not believing it possible for her son, her own flesh and blood, which she raised with love and affection, to do any harm to their race. She would not accept that he could ever turn on her.

  Not ever! That would never happen, she insisted.

  That was when Devendra turned her back on Lillith and gave Lokee lessons based on the Lamia’s instruction. The Lamia, being an entity under Lillith’s reign who possessed the cunning side of immortality, infused too much negativity into her teachings and helped Devendra develop a monster.

  Lillith had repeatedly spoken of the Karma Lokee’s soul was in debt for from his first and only previous lifetime, one in which he ravaged villages and killed for pleasure. She warned Devendra, over and over, but Devendra would not listen. She scoffed at the Mother Goddess’ words. She mocked Lillith’s wisdom.

  It wasn’t until years later that the truth surfaced in Lokee’s behavior. Devendra, revolted by her blunder, begged Lillith for forgiveness and assistance in destroying the ghastly error.

  There was no mercy.

  Several more years passed. Finally, Lillith pulled Devendra up to her place in the clouds and offered her forgiveness, but refused to solve the situation for the grieving mother. Devendra would live with her mistake and correct it herself.

  Lillith did, however, offer the ritual instructions. She also offered guidance along the way, clues that would help Devendra stay on the right path, which was put in place to attempt to save the Combined from extinction at the hands of the Kriestos.

  With all the new information, Devendra was sent home, finally ready to do what she should have long ago. She planned to leave Lokee and begin the cycle of his destruction which was destined to be long and drawn out, according to Lillith. Correcting her errors was not meant to be easy.

  According to the ancient ritual instructions, she would have to retrieve his heart, rip it out of his chest, and suck out the blood life that pumped through it. Then, she was to feed it to him and join in the feast upon the carcass. This would not only defeat Lokee, but the Kriestos would diminish as well.

  In the interim, before the ritual could be completed, Devendra would fulfill other parts of the plan as per Lillith’s instructions, and Lokee would become the leader of the Kriestos. Lokee would become the only one who could instill enough fear in the rogue army to command them.

  Devendra found that she was the only one, aside from Lillith, who could end it, not only because of her immense power, but because she had helped created it.

  Lokee understood Devendra’s intentions and turned on her completely, leaving to find himself a starting point. He set out to live his own eternity and claim his status among the Kriestos, to begin their journey of destroying the Combined—of destroying Fate.

  There were little bits of knowledge Lillith bestowed upon Devendra to help her set the trap for Lokee’s ultimate destruction. She was told to not outright use her magic to destroy him at any given time, but to wait until the time was right. Other things needed to be done before she could effectively demolish him.

  Lillith offered one very important piece of information, though incomplete, to Devendra. She told Her witch to protect Roman. That it was believed that Roman possessed the key to saving the Combined from the Kriestos. Lillith also believed that Roman’s chosen soul-mate, Alethea, must be sheltered. That protection would be the first step in destroying the Kriestos.

  Finally ready to set things right, Devendra sought out to find Roman and their rich history began.

  Thirty Four

  It was nearing sunset. Beautiful pink and yellow-orange hues hung like a delicate tapestry across the sky over Bleu. Alethea obediently followed Roman as he tore his way through thick shrubbery and weeds to a clearing.

  When she wondered if they’d ever get anywhere, he reached the area he was headed for. Alethea took in a deep breath of the crisp, forest air. A chorus of birds sang out cheerfully from the trees adding to the refreshment of the scenery.

  Roman stood for a moment with his back to her, contemplating. He turned to meet her gaze. The setting sun caught a glimpse of reflection in his gray eyes.

  “This is where Devendra will come to meet us.” His face made Alethea shiver for a moment, the pure loveliness of it. Then he took her hand and motioned for them to lift their arms to the sky in silent prayer to Lillith. Alethea didn’t know what to do; her family never practiced any religious rituals so all of this magic was foreign to her.

  When he was finished, Alethea opened her eyes and gave him a sideways glance. His expression was hard to read. He seemed to be communicating mentally, but she could not hear him. He turned away from her.

  “Devendra,” he called out to the open air.

  His only answer was silence from the birds. He yelled for her again, even louder and more desperate. “Devendra, please come to us. We need you now.”

  He sighed. “I know you can hear me! Please come!” He lowered his arms and bowed his head in anticipation for what would come next. Perhaps she would come from behind a tree, or maybe even from the sky above.

  Letting go of Alethea’s hand, he sunk to his knees. Lokee was too close; they needed Devendra’s guidance and
protection. Frustrated, Roman dug at the soil in wrath as soon as the thought of Lokee entered his mind. Incoherent mumblings crept up from his bowed head as he dug, covering himself in dirt and grass.

  Alethea dropped slowly to her knees beside him. She draped her arm across his back, nuzzling her mouth in between his neck and shoulder. She whispered to him softly.

  Clasping her hands in prayer position, Alethea silently asked Devendra to come to them. To grant them some of her great knowledge and shelter, for they felt doomed and afraid. They were being stalked and did not feel they could protect themselves against Lokee’s wrath without her.

  There was a rustling sound behind her. She jolted to her feet and spun around to find Devendra standing in between the locks of vines and leaves of an enormous willow tree. The wind blew through her hair and pushed at her garments, making her figure look like nothing but an apparition.

  Roman stood from his shallow grave and rushed passed Alethea, running to pull Devendra into his arms. Alethea took hesitant steps toward the reunion, not wanting to interrupt them. She felt a little stab in her heart as she watched Roman hold another woman so warmly. It wasn’t that she was afraid of losing him, but Devendra was stunning and powerful and intriguing.

  Devendra looked up over Roman’s shoulder and released herself from his hold. She locked eyes with Alethea, who smiled and walked toward her, waiting to be invited in to greet her. “Hello, Devendra.”

  “Darling!” Devendra flashed a dazzling smile as she moved swiftly and grabbed hold of Alethea graciously. “You are more precious than I imagined.”