Authors: Cassandra Gannon
“Please!”
Dawn pulled on Jane’s arm again. “I haven’t much time in this realm. Listen
to me and I can fix her!”
Slade’s
attention sharpened, finally processing her words. He needed a miracle and his
grandmother held untold power. Although Jane scoffed at the idea, Dawn’s
people really did come from some distant world beyond the stars. His
grandmother was one of the most powerful women in the universe. Surely she
could save a tiny human girl.
“Fix
her.” He implored, allowing his grandmother to tug Jane closer. “I’ll do
anything. Just bring her back to me.”
“She’s
not breathing.” Roland interjected, as if maybe they
hadn’t fucking noticed
that
. “It’s hard to fix dead.”
“She
is not dead yet, Grandson.”
Slade
wasn’t the one who’d said such a pointless thing, so why was Dawn addressing
the answer to him? To offer reassurance, maybe? He couldn’t be sure, but it
didn’t really matter. He barely even heard her. Everything was a meaningless
roar of white noise in his head. All he could hear was the echoing silence
where Jane’s heartbeat should’ve been.
She
was still alive, though. His grandmother was right about that. Slade could
feel it, too. Some small part of Jane was hanging on. She wanted to stay with
him.
Dawn
picked up Jane’s limp fingers and dropped them into Slade’s palm. “Your bond
will be what saves her, Slade. She does not want to leave you and her will is
strong.” She pressed their hands together, chanting the strongest healing
spells of her ancient people. “Reach for her and guide her back. She will
follow you out of the darkness.”
“That’s
not going to work.” Roland complained. “I’m telling you, we need to figure
out the CPR thing, because…”
Slade
tuned out the rest of that gibberish. All his life he failed when it was
important, but he would not allow those doubts to weaken him now. Not when
failure meant Jane would die. His closed his eyes, reaching for her. All his
powers were concentrated on the tiny sparks of life still within her body. She
was fighting and he threw all of his strength into helping her. If Jane faded
from the world when they were fully linked, she would take him with her. Slade
didn’t care. Ever since he’d met her, the woman had been trying to slip away.
If she was determined to leave, he would go, too. There was nowhere he wanted
to be, except beside her.
He
was so deep that he could feel the all the invisible strings that tied them
together. The millions and billions of tiny ways they were Eternally-Bonded. It
was beautiful. Like looking into the heart of magick itself. Their blood and
the mating had completed the ritual, but their true connection was so much
deeper than that. What he felt for Jane went down to the core of everything
Slade was.
She
truly was his soul.
Jane,
this is not the way our story ends. Come back to me or I will follow you
wherever you lead. You are my partner. My home. I will be by your side, in
this world or the next.
For
a moment there was nothing.
Then,
Jane gave a gasp, her heart resuming its rhythm. She was back!
Slade’s
eyes popped open, relief flooding his system and making him dizzy. “
Jane!
”
He wasn’t through panicking, quite yet. Not until he knew she was safe. “Look
at me! Open your eyes at look at me, Jane!”
Her
gaze fluttered up to his and he saw recognition light the perfect, fathomless
gray. Her mouth curved ever so slightly. Then, her head slumped to the side
and she was unconscious, again.
Dawn
grabbed his shoulder before he could experience a full breakdown. “Your Eternal-One
will be alright. She’s survived the hard part of the transition. Now, her
body must heal. You must allow her to sleep.”
Slade
gave a jerky nod and forced himself to sit back from Jane’s still form. His gaze
stayed focused on the steady rise and fall of her chest. “She is so small.”
He whispered. “But, she is the biggest part of my world. I am her fate and
she is mine.”
The
sound of trumpeters sounded in the distance, signaling that Fang had regrouped
and was advancing. Perhaps he planned to circle around and use whatever route
Roland had taken, or perhaps he was just forcing his troops to charge across
the field, again. The Werewolf had lost at least half of his force, but he
would sacrifice every man if that’s what it took to reach Jane.
“We
have to get out of here.” Slade said. The sun was rising and Fang was
approaching. He needed to get Jane to safety.
Roland
ignored that, squinting down at Jane. “So, is she a Vampire, now?” He asked
in confusion. “‘Cause she still looks the same.”
“Humans
who transition do not physically change, they just gain Vampiric powers.” Dawn
paused. “I think.”
Slade
glowered over at her. “You
think?
You just said she would be fine!”
“And
she will! But, so few humans survive the transition, it is difficult to be
sure what will happen when she first awakens.” She touched his shoulder. “The
important thing is that she is alive, Slade.”
He
closed his eyes. “I know. I do. And I will do whatever it takes to ensure
she adjusts to this change.” Jane was the only thing that really mattered. He
reached over to hug his grandmother. He had been wrong to ever doubt her
love. In the end, she had given him
everything
. “Thank you for helping
her. I can never repay you for all you’ve done.”
“You
don’t have to. Your woman has a great destiny, Slade. Even if she refuses to
acknowledge it.” Dawn smiled. “Besides, to help her is to help you. And I
will always help my grandsons.”
Grandson
s
?
Plural? Dawn had only
one
grandson. Unless…
“Is
To’kel back?” Damien had killed Slade’s evil cousin, but there was always a
change that traitorous bastard had found a way to return. He automatically
glanced around preparing for attack.
“No,
not To’kel.” Dawn looked over at Roland. “My
other
grandson.
You
Roland.”
Slade
and Roland exchanged a sideways glance. “What?” They chorused.
“It
is a long and fascinating tale.” Dawn assured them. “Possibly suitable for a
prequel of some kind. You see, I was married to Adonolo, King of the Enchanted
Realm of Melody. Our daughter was your mother, Harmony, who married Stone,
King of the Vampires, and had you, Slade.”
“I
know all that, but…”
Dawn
kept talking. “When you were a baby, Harmony was lost in the Sea of Silence
and it swept her to Infinia. Here, she met Roland’s father and, knowing her
old life on the Vampire Isle was lost to her forever, she moved on. She
eventually married him and they had Roland. Then, they were killed by the
Werewolf. I saw it all in my crystal ball long after it happened, but I know
it is the truth.”
Slade
blinked at that ridiculous story. Not only was it unsupported by all
previously known facts, chronological infeasible, and mystically impossible, it
also meant that this moron next to him was his…
“Brother!”
Roland turned his huge eyes on Slade. “At last, we have been reunited!” He
flung his arms around Slade, hugging tight. “This is the happiest day of my
life.” He mumbled into Slade’s shoulder. “I’ve always wanted a big brother.
You can totally beat the hell out of everyone who’s mean to me. Like this
asshole Orc names James.”
“Get
away from me.” Slade shoved the boy aside, glaring at Dawn. “This is
preposterous.” In his head, he could already hear Jane mockingly saying
something like, “Of
course
the kid is your long lost brother. Fantasy
movies
always
have some magical person show up and do a long lost
brother reveal.” And thinking about Jane meant thinking about the fact that
this little shit almost
killed
her. “I will never accept this.” He
shook his head. “Roland harmed my Eternal-One! I have a duty to decapitate
him and then chop his body into as many pieces as possible.”
“But,
it was a total accident!” Roland insisted. “The Wizened Enchantress gave me
the Vampire blood to stop you from stealing…” He stopped mid-word, his eyes
cutting back over to Dawn. “Hold on.” His brows compressed in deep thought.
“You look different, but the voice is the same. I recognize it.” He spun back
to Slade. “
She’s
the Wizened Enchantress.
She’s
the one who
gave me the blood, in the first place.”
Slade
gasped in outrage. “
Grandmother!
”
Dawn
winced. “Well, I knew it would all work out in the end.” She defended. “This
is your path, Slade. I was just doing my part to move you along it and bring
you boys together.” She patted his cheek. “Now, I love you, pumpkin, but I
have to go. Traveling between realms is hard work for a Were-cat and I have
fencing club in the morning.”
“You
set all this into motion and now you just plan to leave?!”
“I
must. But, don’t worry. You’ve got everything well in hand, just like always.
I have never doubted you, even for an instant.” She smiled over at Roland. “It’s
so wonderful to see you two together at last. Your mother would be so proud of
you both.”
Roland
nodded happily. “Especially of me. So, I’m really a prince, right?”
Slade
sighed in irritation. “Grandmother, I cannot be expected to tolerate this
moron.”
She
ignored that and kept talking. “Remember, our true fate is never just handed
to us. We all must forge it for ourselves. Oh, and watch out for the Dark
Fairy. That bitch wants your cinema script and you won’t like what she intends
to do with it. Toodles, boys.” With that, she disappeared in a fog of sparkles
and magicks.
…Leaving
Slade sitting in the gravel beside the lava pits with an unconscious, newly
Vampired Eternal-One, a “brother” he didn’t know and already detested, and a
Goblin army on their tail. He had no idea what to do next. Staying there meant
death. Flying again so soon was impossible, especially with the sun rising. He
could not outrun Fang for long with Jane incapacitated and he would never leave
her behind. This was an untenable situation. Anyone with a brain in their
head would be terrified by the lack of options and…
“This
totally explains my rockingly awesome band, ya know?”
Slade’s
eyes slowly slid over to Roland. “What?” He growled.
“If
Mom came from the Enchanted Realm of Melody, it’s no wonder I’m so musically
gifted! It’s like a genetic superpower.” He smirked. “That ass hat James the
Orc is going to be soooo jealous. I can’t wait to tell him.”
Yeah…
Now was a really good time for the decapitating-and-chopping part to begin.
The
Dark Instincts took control again, howling with satisfaction as Slade lunged at
Jane’s attacker. His frustration found a worthy outlet. Slade grabbed Roland
by the neck, wanting to squeeze his bones into powder.
“Dude!”
The boy flailed around, but he wasn’t going anywhere except to whatever afterlife
awaited idiots. “Let go! I’m your little brother.”
“I
don’t
have
a brother. And even if I
did
, I certainly wouldn’t
have one for long
after he hurt my Eternal-One!
”
“What
part of ‘accident’ are you not getting, huh?! Besides she’s
fine
. Grandma
said so, remember? Don’t be a dick about it.”
Slade’s
grip tightened.
“You’re
supposed to be the hero.” Roland gurgled. “Heroes don’t pop-off the skulls of
their little bros.”
Son-of-a-
bitch
.
Slade
released the kid, shoving him backwards. Not because of Roland’s whining
words, but because of
Jane
. She should be Eternally-Bonded with the
hero of the tale, not a murderer. He would be the Eternal-One she deserved, no
matter how tempting it was to toss Roland into some magma and watch him liquefy.
“Give
me the Silver Sword and go home.” He ordered, jabbing a finger at Roland. “Jane
would not want me to kill you, so I will ignore to my better judgment and let
you leave here with your head.” He paused. “Actually, she probably
would
want me to kill you, at first. Then, she’d quickly change her mind and try to
make it seem like she was grudgingly allowing you to live as a favor to
me
,
even though
she
was the one who wished to keep you breathing.” It was
just the way the little softhearted cynic operated. “So, I will just cut to
the end of the argument and let you survive,
for now
. But, don’t.
fucking. push me.” He accentuated the final words with a deadly glare that
even Roland seemed to understand.
The
kid shrank back. “But, I don’t want to go home. I wanna stay with you.”
Roland nervously tugged on his ear and Slade recognized the gesture from the
earliest recesses of his childhood. His mother had often done the same thing.
“You’re the coolest guy in this whole kingdom. Who
wouldn’t
want to
hang out with you? That’s why I was so pissed earlier. Everyone --like--
likes
you and nobody really notices me. I mean, I get it. But…” He trailed off
with a gloomy shrug. “Whatever.”