Chapter 17: In The House of the Rising Sun
Michael sighed with extreme frustration; afterthree hoursof traffic jams, he finally was making good time. It took him far too long to get to this point. He grunted as his cell phone rang, grabbing it out of his pocket and flipping it open.
"Corvin."
"Michael, it's Amelia."
"Hey. What's up?"
"Look, I got the test results back on those vampires. You're not going to believe what it was."
"Amelia, to be honest, I'm really not in the mood to guess what that shit was, so please, no games right now."
"I'm sorry."
"Its fine, I'm just…not in the mood."
"Okay. Well, there was trace amounts of blood, mostly broken down tissue from the rugae. However, there were extremely high levels of the hemophagia vampiri virus."
"How's that possible? If they were vampires, the virus would have been assimilated into their bodies."
"Exactly what I thought. I hacked the Coven's database and found out that these girls had been killed during a fire fight in Los Angeles nearly ten months ago. They were already dead as vampires and as people. The virus in their body was the direct strain, one that could only be found within Marcus himself."
"But that still doesn't make sense. Even the prime strain wouldn't be able to bring them back."
"Right, but the virus in their bodies was altered genetically, probably through a quick bombardment of radiation then pumped straight into the stomach for assimilation. I guess they figured that since their blood no longer moved in their arteries, the still active acids in the stomach would jump start when the virus came in contact with them. The decay of tissues was halted for a while, but I bet if they figured a way to pump it into the bloodstream, it would stop it completely."
Michael took a deep breath, touching the phone to his temple. The uses for a mutated virus are never ending. He could resurrect an entire army with his own blood if he figured out how to get the blood stream jump started.
"Michael, I think I know why they want Nyssa." Michael paused immediately in his thoughts, waiting for her to continue. "If my calculations are correct, these girls were infected with this virus nearly six months ago. They probably already figured out a way to get the blood moving through the body again. And there is that thing with William-"
"But you said it yourself, they need a pure strain of the virus in order to create this form of the virus. And Nyssa is the end result of two secondary bite parents." A heavy silence filtered through the phone. "Amelia?"
"Michael," she faltered slightly before taking a deep breath. "I've been analyzing Nyssa's blood..."
Selene woke up to Nyssa's soft mumbling as she curled closer to her. Her cold nose pressed against Selene's jugular and sent a chill up her back. Smiling, she pulled the blankets up around them tightly, snuggling into the warm sheets and her daughter. The peaceful silence made this moment so perfect. The small neighborhood slept, a few more of the houses empty this evening with people returning home after weekend stays. The moon, struggling now as it grew fuller and fuller, shone through the window in patches as clouds quietly whooshed in front of it.
Selene kissed Nyssa's cheek sweetly, blinking a few times before closing her eyes again. As much as the waking world of the vampire called to her, the tiny fingers gently twirling her hair kept her away from night's kiss. She took a deep breath and sighed as her body relaxed further to the scent of her child. The perfection of the night, the comfort of the bed, and the warmth of her daughter made everything just right.
Until she picked up on a scent.
Selene's eyes flew open completely, her senses coming alive at a furious speed. The air seemed perfumed with a musky odor. It was something familiar, something so close to being recognized it made her slightly agitated that she could not place it.
Oh no.
Selene quickly picked up her sleeping child in her fleece blanket, moving silently off the bed and across the floor. Despite its ancient structure, few of the floor boards actually creaked; those that did, she avoided as she made her way to the bathroom. Once inside, she opened a towel and laid it on the bottom of the tub to soak up any dripping water. Carefully, she laid Nyssa in the tub, adjusting the blanket around her.
"Momma?"
"Its okay, angel. Just go back to sleep for a while longer. I have to clean up the bedroom," she lied convincingly. In a state of half consciousness, Nyssa nodded and went back to sleep, curling up in the porcelain structure.
Selene reached out the door and grabbed her back on the nearby table. Quickly, she slipped on a pair of leather pants and boots. She slapped the clips in her twin pistols for good measure then moved out of the bathroom, shutting the door softly before moving on. The walls of the house were quite sturdy and solid; hopefully any noise would be muted even further by the thick tile and the bathtub.
Her heart pounded in her ears and she tried to slow it down. But nothing would bring down the anxiety that danced through her veins like the tango. She had no back up, no way to get more help, and a four year old daughter hidden in the upstairs bathroom. Michael had obviously not arrived yet and she knew counting on him to come in just in time was wishful thinking. This her fight alone.
She stepped to the side of the doorway leading into the hall, aiming in several directions. The upstairs remained still and deathly quiet. She moved silently to each room and found no one. Carefully, she rounded the stairs, aiming down into the dark living room. Taking each step at a time, her now vibrant blue eyes pierced the thick darkness. Once at the landing, she surveyed the room carefully, back to the wall.
Nothing.
A review of the bottom floor revealed no one as well. She stood in the middle of the living room, guns still in her hands and ready, trying to figure something out. There's no one here. But why did I smell that scent? That ancient, bloody-
Selene gasped as something pierced through the skin of neck, stinging horribly. She yanked the object out and realized it was a tranquilizer dart. Within seconds, she collapsed to the floor, unable to move herself at all. Everything went numb and no matter how hard she concentrated, nothing would move.
The front door opened, spilling moon light across the room.
"Forgive me, Selene, for waking you so soon. You see, I opened the window in order to get a clear shot when you woke up eventually." Marcus knelt down beside her limp form, a wicked grin across a face clearly of the Corvinus family. "I guess I will not have to wait as long as I thought."
Selene managed a growl from her numb throat as Marcus caressed her cheek with a mock tenderness. So much anger and rage pumped through her veins, but everything fought against her burning desire to tear him limb from limb. Marcus just laughed lightly and leaned in close to her ear. If she could, she would shudder from his icy breath on her cheek as he whispered in her ear.
"I told you once, quite a while ago, that your daughter was worth more to me alive than dead." He pulled back far enough to look into her eyes. Those beautiful blood-lust blues flickered with sudden fear. "It is still true...for now. You must understand, Selene, that your daughter will bring about a new age. We, the immortal races, will rule. All because of her. And in that respect," he pressed his lips to her forehead, kissing her lovingly, "I must thank you..."
Michael pulled into the driveway and turned off the SUV. Despite a long, sleepless flight to Pest and moving non-stop for nearly 72 hours before and after it, he was not tired. He relaxed back into the seat for a moment, stretching out, fully prepared to join his mate and child for a night of rest. Even if Amelia is correct, they would need one of the most advanced OR set-ups in the world to pull it off, he thought, the conversation from earlier still throbbing in his mind. Corvin, you can't reason anything out right now. Go get some sleep.
He took a deep breath and froze.
"Shit," he cursed, throwing the door open and flying out of the vehicle. "Selene! Nyssa!"
He burst through the already open door and ran towards the stairs. "Selene! Nys-" He stopped when a choked sob reached his ears. Looking down, he felt a surge of primal rage as he beheld Selene laying on the floor. He quickly reached her side, lifting her into his arms. "Selene, what's wrong?"
Her body felt limp but she was wide awake. Tears streamed out of her eyes and her body shook gently with crying. He looked her over briefly, touching a finger to the obvious stab mark on her neck. Tranquilizers. Son of a bitch. She can't even move.
"Mi...Mi...Michael," she gasped out as her vocal folds finally decided to break free of the strong drugs.
"Selene," he responded, lifting her head up to look into her eyes.
"Ny...Nyssa...I...I...fail..ed." Her chest shook hard and Michael pulled her close as she cried.
A/N: My apologies for taking so long to write this chapter. I've been reviewing my story and finishing up the storyline corrections for the rest of it. (Yes, I have already planned this baby out til' the end. You'll love it, I promise.)
Thank you to the wonderful people over at Bloodfeud for their support and encouragement as I rewrote and edited those chapters (some of them were a bitch to redo!). I hope we don't have to revisit THAT again anytime soon.
til' next chapter,
anthestria