Blood Haze (12 page)

He
exhaled deeply as he recalled his terse conversation earlier with Karmyl. She’d
been upset over what had transpired with Arabella. She’d sought him out the
instant she’d gotten home.

“She
was devastated. You should have seen her face. I’ve never seen anyone look so
destroyed. I mean, my God, Lynx, she’d just lost everyone she held dear. It was
so horrible. Can you even imagine it? Her boyfriend of forever breaks up with,
then he runs off with the first woman he comes in contact with, and that her
brother, not only died, but was the one who caused the accident which killed
another person. It was tragic. I didn’t want to leave her, but she insisted. I
hope I did the right thing.”

His jaw
tightened at Karmyl’s words, but he refused to give in to those feelings. He’d
been there before… never again! So, he’d been an asshole. “If she wants to be
alone, then you should leave her alone,” he’d said harshly.

Karmyl
had been wounded, but he hadn’t relented. Softly, she’d said, “Arabella isn’t
Celeste,
Lynx.”

His
jaw had hurt from clenching so tightly. “No, she’s not,” he returned with quiet
warning.

“I
think you should go see her. She really seemed to connect with you,” she
continued.

“Enough,
Karmyl! I’m not interested in the human. Let it be!” he’d snapped.

She’d
flinched at his words. He’d never in all their many years together, ever yelled
at her. She’d withdrawn without another word. So, here he stood… alone again. He
threw the rest of the drink against the back of his throat and welcomed the
fiery burn.

He’d
just turned to refill it when Karmyl once again burst, unwelcomed into his
room. He glared at her… not as angry at her, as he was at himself, for giving a
damn about another human. “It’s not a good time, Karmyl,” he snarled.

“Lynx!
You need to get to Arabella’s right away… someone’s breaking into her house.”

“How
do you know that?” he demanded.

“She
called and said as much. You have to hurry. Please Lynx. Go now!” she beseeched
him.

He
stood in indecision, trying to think of all the reasons he shouldn’t go. “Did
she call the police?” he asked, in a tone which he hoped didn’t give away any
of the turbulence going on in the inside.

“That’s
what she asked me to do, you jerk! This is not a ploy by her to get to you, if
that’s what you’re thinking! The police won’t ever get to her in time. You need
to go. Please, Lynx! You’re the only one who can get to her in time. I’m
begging you!” she cried.

Still,
he hesitated, torn between his need to run to her, and his need to protect
himself by avoiding her.

“Forget
it! I’ll go myself!” Karmyl declared.

With
a curse, he threw his empty tumbler against the stone wall of the balcony,
shattering it into a million pieces. “Damn it all to hell! I’ll go,” he yelled,
as he swept by her.

Contrary
to myth and legend, vampires don’t fly. And while they could exhibit greater speed
than mere mortals, they would never be as fast as a Suzuki Hayabusa motorcycle,
which was touted to be the fastest motorcycle in the world. Sliding onto the
sleek, black machine, Lynx turned the key and hit the electric start-button.
The sleek bike went from 0 to 110 in seconds. Within minutes, he was outside
Arabella’s house and running toward her front door.

He
bounded up the steps and stopped when he saw the door had been splintered at
the lock. Bursting through the door, he was stopped short, yet again, at the
sight before his eyes. Arabella… his Arabella, was standing looking at him,
resignation in her eyes and in her demeanor… defeat hung heavy on her
shoulders. Behind her was another vampire with his teeth hunkered down into the
vein in her neck. He could only hope the other vampire hadn’t released any
venom yet… or all would be lost; at least for Arabella. The vampire lifted
fevered eyes up to Lynx’s cold ones. He growled but didn’t relinquish his bite.
In an instant, Lynx was on them. The younger vampire was no match for Lynx’s
strength, and Lynx was able to break the other’s hold on Arabella’s neck very
quickly.

“This
one’s mine!” the younger vampire spat.

“Like
hell!” Lynx roared.

Lynx
lunged toward the vampire at the same time he jumped forward and they collided
together. Lynx grabbed the vampire and by the throat, at the same time the
vampire pressed his distended canines into his neck. Lynx shrieked and threw
the vampire away from him. The vampire slammed into a china hutch, causing pieces
of china and glass to fly in every direction. Stunned, the vampire lay there
for several seconds before jumping to his feet. Pointing a finger at Lynx, he
snarled, “This isn’t over.” Turning, the vampire sprinted out the back door.

Lynx
took several deep breaths to calm his enraged senses. When he felt calm enough,
he turned back to Arabella. She lay sprawled where she’d fallen. She looked
like a broken china-doll. She stared up at him sightlessly, not even blinking.
He knelt beside her and tenderly gathered her up and held her against his body.

He
pressed his lips against her temple. “Don’t be afraid. I’m here. I’ll take care
of you. Everything’s going to be okay.”

She
stared up at him with that same blank stare. He shifted his gaze to glance
quickly around the room. Spotting her purse, he lifted her in his arms and
rummaged through her purse for her keys. Finding them, he moved quickly to her
garage and placed her carefully down in the front seat. He climbed into the
driver’s side and pulled her head onto his lap. He hit the garage opener and
gently brushed the hair away from her face as he waited for it to lift.

Placing
the car in reverse, he held her close to him as he drove smoothly through the
dark streets, praying, he’d gotten to her in time. Fury rolled through him at
the thought of the other vampire drinking her nectar. He should have been with
her, then this would never have happened. This thought made him angry all over.
She was NOT his concern. She was NOT!

He
pulled up to Night Shade and carried the comatose woman up the stone stairs. He
swung open the heavy door and bellowed for Karmyl. She appeared quickly from
the library. It was apparent she’d been waiting for him.

“What
happened? What’s wrong with her,” she asked.

“It
was a vamp that broke in. He… he bit her,” he answered grimly.

Karmyl
stopped in her tracks. “Is she infected?”

He
shrugged. “I don’t know, I just don’t know. Go up to my room and turn down the
bed.”

“Your
room?” she questioned softly.

“Yes!”
he growled. “Just do it!”

She
nodded and swept up the stairs with him close on her heels. After she pulled
back the gold silk sheets, she stepped aside to allow him to place Arabella in
the bed. With extreme gentleness, he pulled the duvet over her and tucked it
snuggly around her.

“Get
me a basin of warm water and a cloth,” he said to Karmyl.

She
went swiftly to get what he needed.

Lynx
sat down beside the incoherent woman and brushed his fingers against her
cheekbones. “Oh, Arabella. What have you done?” he whispered.

A
lone tear slid down her cheek. He brushed it away with his thumb. “Can you hear
me? You’re okay now. You’re safe here. I’ll protect you,” he promised.

Karmyl
returned with a white basin and cloth. Lynx took the cloth and dipped it into
the warm water. With gently swipes, he brushed against the punctures on her
neck. She whimpered at the touch.

“Shhh.
Arabella,” he crooned to her in his lusciously-accented voice. He continued to
speak in this same soft voice and stared down into her liquid blue-eyes until
he watched her body relax and her amazing eyes slowly close.

“Well?”
Karmyl asked, apprehensively.

His
lips thinned. “I just don’t know. It can take several hours to totally infect
someone.”

After
he finished wiping her wounds and cleaning up her face, he handed the cloth back
to Karmyl. “I’ll stay with her tonight. You go on and get some rest.”

“I’d
rather stay.”

Noting
the worry in the other woman’s eyes, he slowly nodded his head. “Okay.”

They
pulled chairs up to the side of the bed and sat quietly together… watching… and
waiting.

~X~

The
dreams were endless… they were nonsensical… they were freeing… they were
constricting… they were joyous… they were tear-jerking… they were comforting…
but mostly they were confusing, frightening, chilling, and often petrifying.
They were filled with brilliant colors which continuously swirled for the
backdrop of the scenes played out behind her eyelids.

She
whimpered and thrashed about as she both ran toward those she loved, and away
from things that frightened her. She dreamt of familiar things like past
memories of her mother, father, Ian, and Drew. She dreamt of things she hadn’t
known – her mother on the stage as a young girl, and her father’s sad face
right before he pulled the trigger that ended his life.

She
tried to turn away when she saw the familiar dream of who, she now knew to be, Drew
and Maggie in the backseat of his car. And she whimpered as she watched Drew’s
car tumble over and over, then cried when she saw her poor brother with his
face mangled by the force of slamming into the windshield. She was comforted
when she saw her beautiful brother walking toward her, whole and unbroken,
flipping his dark hair away from his face, in that familiar trait of his, his
face breaking into a timeless grin. He saluted her before fading slowly away.

Her
dream began to shimmer and change. She shivered when she saw Lynx Rogan
strolling toward her, his devilish grin, sultry and warm. She struggled to
catch her breath, mesmerized by him with his dark looks, dressed in a
fashionable tuxedo. He offered her his hand, and she took it. He twirled her
around the dance floor, her long, red gown swirling around her legs. She calmed
as she stared into his fathomless, pitch-black eyes. Desire flowed through her when
he lowered his head and pressed his lips against hers.

The
scene changed once more and now creatures in the darkness of the night began to
chase her and she ran and ran, and she’d almost lose them, then she’d turn a
corner and there they’d be with their long, fanged-teeth, and garishly-painted
fingernails. She found herself running down long, white halls of a hospital
trying to outrun a monster she couldn’t see, but could feel breathing on her
neck. She felt the lash of its tongue against her skin, but when she turned
around it wasn’t there.

She
calmed and saw gold flowing material draped over a bed. She felt it slide
smooth and cool, over her skin. The aroma of rose petals rose up as they were
crushed underneath the bodies intertwined on the bed. She shivered at the
sensual slide of heated skin against cool skin. She closed her eyes, when Lynx
above her, intertwined their hands and raised them over her head.

A
familiar metallic scent permeated her nose and she wrinkled her nose at the
smell. She felt the familiar roil of her stomach at the thought of blood, that the
smell brought on. Then the smooth, cool feel of the silk changed to something
thick and sticky. Without opening her eyes, she knew she was no longer covered
with a sheet, but coated in blood. She was both afraid to open her eyes, and terrified
not to.

Finally,
opening her eyes in her dream, she saw bodies lying everywhere, their eyes
opened, staring sightlessly upward. She clawed at the bindings that held her
hands and screamed… and screamed… and screamed.

She
woke to Lynx grasping her shoulders. She screamed again and struggled to break
away from him, the images of the dream so poignant and real, blood running in a
stream down her face.

“Arabella!
Arabella! Wake up! You’re safe. Wake up!” Lynx demanded as he shook her gently
but firmly, while trying to ignore the tempting allure of her blood.

Arabella
glanced around the unfamiliar room frantically, striving to make sense of where
she was and how’d she come to be there. Breathing rapidly, her body felt numb
with fear. She shifted her gaze back to the only anchor she had: Lynx Rogan.

“Lynx?”
she whimpered.

He
captured her cheek in one hand and met her gaze steadily. Almost immediately,
she began to feel better. “Hi,” he said softly. “How are you feeling?”

Her
mind seemed to war within its lobes. On one side, she was drawn to the calmness
in his eyes; but on the other, her mind quaked in fear… fear of what, she
wasn’t sure. She just knew whatever it was, it was bad. She swallowed hard and
blinked rapidly, trying to have a meeting of the minds - within her own head.

He
gasped softly and dropped his hand away from her and stepped back, a strange
look darkening his face. It was then she became aware of the blood dripping
from her nose. She wiped a hand against it and her stomach roiled at the sight
of the blood, and her head felt swimmy.

She
glanced away from him, embarrassed, “I’m sorry,” she said, indicating the
blood. “I’m confused. I don’t understand what I’m doing here… what you’re doing
here.”