Chapter Fifteen

"Action springs not from thought, but from a readiness for responsibility."

- G.M. Trevelyan

___

Izzy didn't have time to consider modesty. Standing in the middle of a dense forest, completely naked and pinned to a tree by a vampire…it sounded like something out of a romance novel.

Or a horror novel.

"I won't ask you again." Parn pressed her even harder to the tree. "Where is my lifemate?"

"Like I would tell you," she snapped, struggling against his hold. Those blazing eyes bore in on her. She could almost feel his influence trying to invade her mind. Did Serenity feel the same way whenever he spoke to her? "What do you care where she is? If she mean anything to you, none of those wo—"

Parn snarled, digging his fingernails into her throat. "Be quiet, you little bitch! I can't feel her at all! I haven't felt her for days! I know she isn't dead, and you are her sister! Now where is she?!"

Izzy hissed, unable to hide the pain he was causing her. She looked towards the trees where Marach was thrown. "Are you all right?!"

He wasn't answering her, and that only caused more worry. She looked back at Parn. And froze. She realized the hand that pinned her to the tree was his right hand. She looked at his right shoulder, and the whole length of his right arm. The last time she saw the appendage, it'd been blown apart from the rest of his body.

Now it was reattached to him. And in obvious working condition.

"So you did heal," she grunted, trying to sound casual, even with the hand around her throat. "Did Neve do it? She probably sent you after me too…" her voice trailed off and a cold, horrible feeling overtook her.

Parn growled dangerously, digging his fingernails deeper into her skin. "I don't need to take orders from a pathetic woman! Especially THAT woman!"

"And yet you do," Izzy growled right back at him. Not knowing if Marach was all right or not, she tried to measure their close distance, see if she could kick or knee him in the groin. "Yet you're here right now, doing her bidding!"

"I want my lifemate!" Parn roared, shaking her by her neck. "Now tell me where she is!"

"She has a n-name!" Izzy's words were starting to gurgle. "S-S-Serenity! Serenity is her name! Don't treat her like a p-possession!"

"She is MINE! And you will tell me where she is or I'm going to rip open your throat!"

His fingernails seemed to get sharper. They finally pierced her skin and her blood trickled out and down her neck. It spilled over his fingers and he suddenly hissed in pain. Izzy could've sworn she heard a sizzling noise as Parn jumped away from her, frantically wiping his hand on his filthy pants. "I'd forgotten what your blood does to us."

Izzy nursed a hand to her throat, and her body curled inwardly slightly, the first sign of her modesty. "Then why do you want Serenity? Drinking her blood will hurt you. Then…" she swallowed thickly before she continued. "Then it's true. You aren't after her for yourself!"

"What the hell would YOU know?!" Parn shrieked. He rushed forward, swinging his right arm.

Just as something burst from the trees. A body slammed into Parn, knocking him to the ground. Still, pain exploded through Izzy's body. She gasped, and fell hard to her knees, cupping a hand to her left side. A whimper of shock escaped her bruised throat as she felt blood gushing out at a fierce pace. She pressed both of her hands over the wound, trying not to panic. Panic would increase her heart rate, and increased heart rate would speed up the flow of blood, and the flow of blood…

"Calm down, Isabel. You will be fine."

Marach. Izzy realized it was him who had tackled Parn. She whimpered again, but not from her own pain. Marach was covered in blood—most likely his own—and his body was twisted at an odd angle. It looked like his spine had snapped in half.

"Once I have access to the healers, I will be healed properly. But for the time being I do not have motor functions in my legs."

Izzy could see it too, to her growing horror. Marach had Parn pinned, and was subduing him with his mind, but his legs were immobile outside of slight jerks made by his body.

"You never fail to give up, do you Marach?!" Parn hollered. He suddenly screamed in pain and grabbed at his own head.

"And you don't think," Marach snarled savagely. "You never have. Maybe a little brain scramble will set you straight!"

It appeared that Marach managed to land a severe mental hit on him. He climbed off of Parn, who was still holding his head.

Izzy leaned against the tree, hugging her side. She was losing too much blood; she knew that much. And it terrified her. She'd never bled very much her whole life, and the one blood test she'd ever gotten yielded an unreadable blood type.

She remembered how excited her doctor had been, and that he'd wanted to run tests on both Serenity and her. But the following day he called them and subdedly told them he'd changed his mind. It hadn't made sense to her, just as the memory didn't make sense to her now.

But she was losing blood. And no human blood could replace it…

No, no…Izzy closed her eyes. I'm not ready…I can't decide! This is life and death…it can't come down to this to make me choose conversion!

Something warm fell over her. It was a thick blanket that covered her completely. She opened her eyes, and it worried her at the difficulty of doing this. Marach was laying on the ground in front of her. Blood beaded on his forehead and poured down like sweat, but he looked at her with an expression of worry. She wanted to reassure him, to tell him she was all right. But she tasted blood in her mouth, and she was afraid to open it. With a shaking hand she reached for him, grabbing his shoulder and trying not to notice the dark blood covered her hand.

Suddenly, there was shouting above them. Both of them looked skyward to see several Carpathian males flying towards them. Parn was still writhing in agony on the ground, no longer screaming but moaning pitifully. Cassander didn't seem to be around. There was nowhere for him to run.

"…Serenity…"

Izzy snapped her head around and looked at Parn.

"Water vapors in the air/

For the weather, have no care/

Freeze the area of the dense forest/

Cloak the presence of those who reach daylight rest."

A thick, white fog suddenly filled the air, consuming the forest and everything in its path.

"Neve!" Izzy shouted, though it caused the blood she'd held back to spill forth. She collapsed against Marach, shivering against the cold. Fear stabbed through her. Neve had to be the one behind this, but…it wasn't her voice chanting this spell.

It was a man.

"Air is not the slave to man/

Fight against the binds as you can/

Focus on the elements you trust/

Return to your natural form, you must."

This voice Izzy did recognize. It was Gregori, and it gave her some relief.

And the spell worked. As quick as the fog appeared, it was gone as though it hadn't been there. But she noticed an obvious absence. Parn was gone. No doubt the fog had been conjured to fetch him.

Gregori landed on the ground smoothly beside them. He looked both of them over, noting their lack of attire, and across the spread of forest and saw the scatter of their clothes. He arched an eyebrow slightly. "…Do I need to ask?"

___

Marach felt sharp pinpricks as the feeling return to his lower body. Gregori and the other healers were meticulously healing his back injury, even though he could feel the fury behind it. There was no helping it, though. He'd acted recklessly when he took Izzy away for their moonlight 'stroll'. More so, he hadn't sensed Parn's arrival at all.

It didn't help that he'd been 'distracted' when Parn arrived, but that was a very pathetic excuse.

"There, you're done," Gregori said irritably when he returned to his body. "Though if it were up to me, you would've sat on this back injury for days before being healed!"

Marach winced, and his legs trembled as he tested them. "I understand, Dark One." He'd known that motor and sensational functions would return, but it'd been a truly scary moment for him. When he'd hit that tree he hadn't expected his spine to snap. Or to lose consciousness.

But he had, while his lifemate was at the mercy of a vampire. He'd fought as hard as he could against Parn, but that hadn't stopped the vampire from injuring her. Breaking one of her ribs with her impact against the tree, and tearing open her side and making her lose a lot of blood. Blood that couldn't be replenished with a simple blood transfusion, as it happened with Gary.

They'd almost died…and it was all Marach's fault.

"Mikhail is too soft," Gregori grumbled. "Letting you off with a warning…you acted recklessly and for what?! For outdoor sex! Think with your head for once and these sorts of things wouldn't happen!"

"I am sorry, Gregori," Marach said sagely. He carefully bent and unbent his knees. "You might not believe me, but I am repentant."

Natalya snorted with disgust, folding her arms over her chest. "You men are only driven by your libidos. That seems to come first above all things!"

Vikirnoff gave her a hard look. "Are we now? I know I wasn't the one reciting pornography during a vampire fight!"

"Pornography?! The last time I checked, The Thomas Crown Affair was not a porno!" Natalya scoffed. "This is exactly like I said!"

"Since when did dialogue from The Thomas Crown Affair come accompanied by heavy breathing and erotic moaning?" Vikirnoff asked her blandly. "Because as I recall, you recited Faye Dunaway's part as though Steve McQueen were making love to her in every scene."

Natalya smirked. "And you make fun of my love of movies."

"What's wrong with knowing the actors in a movie?"

"Actually, there was a remake. And there was a lot of sex." There was a delicate purr to her voice.

"…Really?"

"Yes. In every room in the house."

"If you're trying to give me ideas—"

"Catch me if you can." With that said, Natalya disappeared into the air.

Vikirnoff cursed violently. "Excuse me." The 'me' was barely spoken before he too was gone.

Leaving a room full of confused Carpathians. "…What point was she trying to make again?" Savannah asked.

"I don't know." Marach tested the strength of his legs before he carefully stood up. "Where is Isabel?"

"She has been healed," Gregori said. "But you must go to ground soon."

"I want to see my lifemate. She lost a lot of blood."

"Yes, there is that too. You have mentioned her reluctance to convert. However, Shea has told me she had no identifiable blood type. We don't know what sort of effect her blood loss will have on her body, or if it can be replaced."

"So you're saying we will have to convert her to order to ensure she recovers fully."

Gregori's lips thinned. "I won't tell you how to handle your lifemate. But at this stage, it would be in the best interest of her health."

"Wait." Marach grabbed his arm. "You said she needed blood but doesn't have a blood type. But there is someone who matches her."

Gregori's eyes narrowed. "Marach, I don't think—"

"If she won't allow us to convert her, then Serenity's blood will do just fine."

___

Francesca smiled down at Izzy. "The healing ceremony went wonderfully. Both your rib, your side, and any other lingering injuries are healed."

"Thank you." Izzy tried to return the smile, but she had to fight down nausea. She knew the symptoms of blood loss, psychological nausea being one of them. It was something she could deal with, but it was very uncomfortable.

She closed her eyes, wondering at herself where her life was going. Was this really her? Just a month ago—no, it was longer than that—she was a med student. Her life was normal. Everything was normal.

But tonight…the very man who ruined her sister's life—and changed Izzy's life—tried to kill her. Tried to kill Marach. There was no doubt he worked with Neve. And since he was rescued by a mage…

"I need your help."

The tight feeling returned. Throughout that whole ordeal, Parn only referred to Serenity by name once. The rest of the time she was just 'my lifemate'. The possessive behind those words was evident, but it made Izzy's skin crawl. He talked about Serenity as though she were a piece of property he owned.

Being around Serenity caused him pain, and so he surely wouldn't do it voluntarily. It was starting to make sense. Neve needed something from Izzy but didn't get anything. Would she look to Serenity for the same thing?

And who better to get Serenity than her very own vampire lifemate?

"Serenity…"

"Mmm…" Izzy wanted to plug her ears. She didn't want to remember his tone of voice while he was in pain. The pleading sound…the lonely sound…

He did it to himself, Izzy, and he did it to Serenity. He doesn't deserve any ounce of pity.

"Dragă."

Izzy opened her eyes and looked up, as did Francesca. Marach was standing in the doorway, his face unreadable. But he was standing. "M-Marach…you're all right!" she didn't bother to ponder anymore why she was so relieved by this. It gave her too much to think about.

"I told you I would be." Unmindful of Francesca, he swept into the room and brushed his lips against her forehead. "But I must take you somewhere."

"Marach, I have no interest in outdoor sex—"

"No, no, iubita mea. This is for medicinal purposes."

Marach carefully lifted Izzy up into his arms and looked at Francesca. "Shea is ready."

"Good," Francesca said. "When they told me not to give her blood, I was worried. But I'm glad she'll be fine now."

"Then who's giving me blood?" Izzy asked.

Marach didn't answer her. In a flash they were nothing but a blur, flying through the air towards their destination. It was very abruptly that they stopped in a brightly lit room. The first thing Izzy saw was professional medical equipment used for blood transfusions.

Then she saw Serenity. A very awake Serenity.

"Sere—" Izzy's breath caught in her throat as she saw her sister relaxing in the upright chair. Her complexion was so pale, and dark shadows had formed under her eyes, but Serenity looked back at Izzy calmly. "Serenity…"

"Hey, little sister." Serenity's tone was very quiet, but she sounded pleased to see Izzy. Izzy would've been a little more relieved if Serenity cracked a smile, but her sister didn't do so. "I understand you need a blood transfusion."

"You…" Izzy looked at Marach, and then looked back at Serenity. "You'll do it?"

"I've gotten as far as I have because of you. I don't see why I can't return the favor."

Tears stung her eyes and she pressed a hand over her mouth. "Oh, Serenity…"

"If everyone's ready," Shea announced, though her eyes shined at this scene. "Let's get started."

Izzy wanted to hug Serenity and not let her go. She'd slept by her side nearly every day, but Serenity had been in a compulsion sleep for so long. That Mikhail and Gregori let her wake up when they believed she posed such a danger, just to help Izzy, was very touching.

"We did get approval for this, right?" Izzy asked Marach.

"Of course, dragă. I did some mental damage to Parn's brain, which should incapacitate him for a few days. He can't communicate with her or influence her in any way."

"Good."

The transfusion went quicker than Izzy thought it would. Shea had a lot of difficulty forcing the needle to stay in Serenity's arm, and Shea herself had a difficult time handling Serenity's heavily scarred arm. But Serenity took it all without complaint.

Izzy faced the same problem, and it gave her a measure of relief that her healing capabilities were slowly but surely coming back to her. She closed her eyes, not really saying anything to her sister but basking in the glow of her attention. Serenity was here. She was far from all right, but she was conscious and helping her.

"You both did good," Shea said proudly, pulling the needles from their arms. She produced cookies and juice boxes from thin air and gave them to the sisters. "Take it easy for a while in here, okay?"

"Can I speak to Serenity alone?" Izzy asked.

"I will stay," Marach said firmly.

"But—"

"I will hear your conversation regardless, iubita mea."

"All right, all right." Izzy waved a hand. "But don't interfere. Can we, please?"

The Carpathians gave them this grace, although Marach got a clear message from Gregori. "Watch her carefully. The first sign of abnormal behavior and I'm putting her out."

"I understand." Marach didn't like that Gregori was taking such command over Serenity, but Serenity had broken his sleep compulsion before and not Gregori's. There was no denying the healer's skill.

Izzy sat down in front of Serenity and got the hug she'd wanted. "I'm so glad to see you!" she hung on for dear life. She loved feeling Serenity's steady heartbeat, her even breathing. And she loved feeling Serenity hug her back.

There was hope for her. She just knew it.

"I feel like I've been in a coma," Serenity said, pulling away slightly. "How long was I asleep?"

"Um, uh…just a few days." Izzy squeezed her hands. "I got in contact with Mom and Dad."

"Really?!" Serenity was showing enthusiasm. Light lit up in her lilac eyes, though she still didn't smile. Izzy felt like crying all over again. "How are they?!"

"Oh, they're fine. They miss us, though, but they understand we need to stay here for a little while until you get better."

Serenity winced, and the light left her eyes. Izzy felt her heart twist and she quickly hugged her sister. "I'm sorry."

"No, no, it's fine. There's no denying something's wrong with me." Serenity looked at Marach, and then looked at Izzy. "I have a feeling there's something else you need to tell me."

"I…" Izzy looked at Marach and blushed. She couldn't look back at Serenity. "Well…we…"

"I am with your sister, Serenity," Marach said evenly. "And I cherish her with my very life."

"S-Stop!" Izzy shouted, ducking her head. "People don't talk like that in real life!"

"I knew it," Serenity said just as evenly. "There's something about you two…almost like you weren't meant to be apart."

Marach smiled kindly. "Very keen of you, sisar."

Serenity looked back at Izzy. "But I was really surprised when they woke me up and told me you needed a transfusion. Then they told me you were injured. Who would hurt you, Izzy?"

"I…" Izzy quickly looked at Marach. "Should I tell her?"

"Do you want to lie to her?"

"…No."

"Serenity, I…" Izzy took Serenity's hands into her own very carefully. "Serenity…it was Parn."

Serenity's expression changed. Shock registered, and then horror. And then…disbelief. "That can't be."

"I'm so sorry, Serenity. But he…" Izzy swallowed before she continued. "We were outside, and he attacked Marach. Snapped Marach's spine in half—"

"Izzy, that's impossible!" Serenity cried. She motioned to Marach. "He's standing right there, just fine!"

"I was healed, Serenity," Marach said. "But Parn did attack us."

"He's working with Neve, that mage who tried to kill us," Izzy said. "And he was rescued by the same person."

Serenity shook her head. "No, Izzy, you're wrong! Parn wouldn't do that!"

"Serenity, he attacked me!" Izzy cried, tears stinging her eyes once more at her sister's denial. "He broke my ribs and ripped open my side! He tried to KILL ME! Do I need to spell it out for you?!"

"You don't understand!" Serenity cried. "Parn wouldn't just do that! He's in so much pain, and…" her face suddenly went strange and hardened. She glared at Izzy. "What did you do?"

Izzy stared at her dumbly. "What?"

"What did you do?! What did you do to make him attack you?!"

Izzy felt her jaw drop and horror swept over her. She could tell Marach felt the same. "Serenity, Isabel did noth—"

"Parn wouldn't have attacked you if you didn't provoke him!" Serenity growled. "He knows you're my sister! He wouldn't just attack MY sister! You must have done something to make him angry!"

"How?!" Izzy shrieked. She wanted to jump away from Serenity, but her body was too weak. "How did I pissed him off so much that he tried to kill me?! He doesn't care about you! He'll only use you to hurt everyone! Just open your damn eyes and SEE THIS! I'm your sister! I have no reason to lie to you, no reason at all!"

"Maybe you don't want me to get better," Serenity fumed, clenching her fists in her lap. "Maybe you like seeing me like this! Maybe this is some sort of perverse pleasure of yours! You've had to follow in my shadow your whole life! Now you get to be the big, strong sister who's the superhero to us all! You always have to be right, and you always have to have the man! Parn is HURTING! And he means the best for me, I believe he does! YOU DON'T!"

CRACK!

Izzy didn't realize it until too late that she smacked her sister. She saw her hand raise, and she saw it impact against Serenity's cheek. She saw her head turn sharply, and remained turned.

Izzy was speechless. She'd never hit her sister before, and she knew it was wrong. But, she knew Serenity was wrong, too. Parn did attack her, she didn't imagine it.

But Serenity was hurting…

"I'm sorry," Izzy said, hugging her hand to her chest. "I didn't mean to do tha—"

Serenity's hand shot out, smacking Izzy right across the face as well. "I was right! You really don't care!"

"Sleep."

Izzy hadn't heard Gregori appear, but suddenly the healer was there and just as suddenly Serenity was asleep. "Her behavior is still too destructive. Neve must see the use in keeping Parn alive; Serenity will continue to be tormented so long as he is."

Marach was at Izzy's side, kissing her bruised cheek. Both hits had happened too suddenly for him to see. He'd been in some awful fights, but this was even worse for him. "Iubita mea…I'm so sorry…"

Izzy couldn't help herself any longer. She choked for a moment. Then tears spilled out of her eyes. "She didn't believe me! She…oh God, Marach! The things she said…" she buried her face into his chest. "My sister! My sister said those things to me! No…"

"Isabel…" Marach hugged her tightly and looked at Gregori. "Are you certain Parn isn't influencing her?"

"He's not in her head and wasn't in her head," Gregori said. "Unfortunately, she was speaking her own words."

Izzy only sobbed harder, burying herself deeper into the crook of Marach's body. "How can I help her? She sees me as a betrayer…how can I help her?!"

"Isabel…my love and my life…" Marach could feel her pain stabbing at his heart. He forced his feelings of love and comfort into her mind and heart. "She doesn't believe that. She's only upset. Give her time. This is such a difficult thing for her, but we're here for her. She might not want our comfort right now, but it's here for her."

"Yeah…" It took a long time for Izzy to calm down. When she did she looked up at Gregori. "Thank you for that."

"No need for thanks," Gregori answered. "But you'll need to consider your options."

"My options?" Izzy asked.

"Gregori—" Marach warned.

"We managed to save you this time with a blood transfusion. But we might not be so lucky again. You're running away from this issue of conversion. There's going to be a time—and I guarantee you soon—where you'll have to make a true choice to either be human or Carpathian."