A Chance for Charity (The Immortal Ones) (28 page)

“
I guess,” I shrugged. “I
didn’t think I was that tired.”

James stepped forward, concern filled his
face. “Your body needed to recuperate. It was working overtime to
replace all the blood that you... um, donated to Link.”

“
Did anybody else sleep? Or
am I the only one wasting away Christmas Day?” I shook my
head.

“
I was up there with you
for an hour or two. But it was just getting too bright, with the
sun coming through the window and all. So, I came downstairs and
started throwing knives. Then these three joined me a little while
ago,” Link explained.

“
Actually we all got a
couple hours of sleep in. It was a long night,” Marcus assured
me.

“
Where are the girls?” I
asked.

“
They decided to walk
around in the snow. Lizabelle needed to get out. She doesn’t like
being inside for too long,” Cozmo answered.

“
Do you want to go outside
too, now that I’m awake?” I asked Link.

“
No. I like it in here.
There’s no sunlight. My eyes are still oversensitive for some
reason,” Link shrugged.

I looked at his eyes and realized the
sunglasses were gone. The bright lights in the room didn’t seem to
bother him at all. So, he was oversensitive to sunlight – but not
light in general.

“
Did you eat?” I
worried.

“
I made a steak while
everyone was still asleep. I’m good. Don’t worry about me,” Link
smiled and wrapped his arms around me in a great big bear hug.
“Look how good I’m getting,” he pointed to the target directly in
front of him.

His aim was improving. He was getting closer
to the center than he ever had before. “Much better,” I smiled,
snatching the knife from his hand and sending it toward the target
with a deft flick of my wrist.

“
Show off,” Link whispered
into my hair as the knife hit the bull’s-eye – dead
center.

And the competition was on. Cozmo, not one
to be outdone, tried to match my throw. He came fairly close too,
but I still had him by at least a half an inch. Marcus and James
instantly joined in, and we were soon lost in the rivalry...
although James, and I, continued to closely study Link. I watched
the slight nod of his head as he made a mental note of all that he
observed.

I don’t know how long we remained in the
Game Room. I hadn’t bothered to note the time when I roused from my
sleep. My internal clock finally registered and I let out a
gasp.

“
It’s after five,” I stated
with wonder. The day had slipped away from me.

“
I know,” Link replied and
shot another knife toward the target. “My eyes are starting to feel
much better now that the sun is going down.”

“
Weird,” I whispered,
looking around our windowless room.

Link’s head snapped around the second the
word had escaped my lips. He smiled – and winked.

The door swung open and Catherine stepped
into the room. “Okay, we’ve been home for about an hour now.”

“
We gave you extra time to
play because Marcus sent me a message saying he was having too much
fun to come upstairs,” Eve added.

We all turned to look at Marcus. “Didn’t I
mention that?” Marcus shrugged, sounding quite guilty.

“
I swear darling, I knew
nothing of it,” James crossed the room to wrap his arms around her.
“But we were having fun,” he smiled.

“
Lizzy, my girl,” Cozmo
murmured as he slid to her side.

It was odd, looking around the room. I was
so used to the three of us – James, Catherine and I. But now there
were four seemingly perfectly matched couples. I had found my
counterpart. Cozmo, possibly had as well. It felt good – and it
almost made me forget my worries about the changes that were taking
place in Link - and in me.

“
Someone’s on the
property,” Catherine interrupted my train of thought.

“
Yes,” James agreed, “a
Dark One – a male.”

“
Do you know him?” Eve
asked. Her brow furrowed with worry.

“
What’s a Dark One?” Link
sighed, shaking his head.

“
A Vamp,” Cozmo offered, as
Lizabelle positioned herself directly behind her newfound mate’s
back.

She began to tremble.

“
A Vampire is... is... is
coming in here,” Link stammered.

“
It’s a familiar scent,”
James noted.

“
Yes,” said
Catherine.

“
I agree,” I nodded. I
inhaled deeply through my nose, absorbing the scent, trying to
identify its owner. It came to me clearly then. “It’s Lulach,” I
smiled. “He’s a friend, Link, don’t worry.”

I bounded up the stairs to open the front
door. He had been patiently waiting outside, to be sensed and
invited in.

“
Lulach, welcome to our new
home,” I gestured for him to enter.

“
Charity my dear, you look
as lovely as ever,” he nodded his head in greeting. He spoke with a
slight trace of an ancient Scottish accent – somewhat similar to
Catherine’s.

Lulach is a striking being. He stands over
six feet tall. He has deep rust colored hair that just barely
grazes his shoulder blades. His eyes are a piercing green color and
his skin is quite pale – even more so than James, Catherine, and I.
I think he began his Vampire life in the dead of winter, when his
flesh hadn’t known the warmth of the sun in months. Time had simply
erased any traces of color that had remained from his human days.
He probably looked, to the human world, like a man in his early
thirties. But he had hinted once that he was close to three
hundred.

The Dark One glided into the room, his
movements so smooth that he seemed to almost drift along the
surface of the floor without touching it - which he actually does.
As with the Witches, Vampires are not able to fly.

My Link detector got an immediate rise in
action as soon as Lulach entered the house. I reached behind me, to
grab onto his hand. After a moment I could sense his pulse slowing
just a little. I leaned back into his chest, “It’ll be okay,” I
whispered.

“
James, Catherine, it has
been a long time,” Lulach tilted his head for another brief nod. He
ended most of his sentences this way.

“
About twenty years... if
memory serves. You have a new driver I see,” James
remarked.

“
Seumas passed on, a few
years ago. This is his grandson Christopher. They are a loyal
family,” he said.

As James moved to close the door to the
house, I peered through the severely darkened windows of the sleek
black limo that was now parked in our driveway. Sitting in the
front seat, keeping his eyes diverted from the house, was
Christopher. This twenty-something mortal man, who belonged to the
family that had faithfully been in the employ of Lulach for many
generations, appeared to be the soul of discretion. He was
obviously well aware that the occupants of this house would never
want to be identified.

“
These Witches are your
friends?” the Vampire questioned.

“
Yes. May we introduce
Marcus, Eve, and Cozmo. The shy one behind him is Lizabelle,”
Catherine smiled.

“
She is a Shape-Shifter,”
Lulach stated matter-of-factly. “What can you shift into my
dear?”

“
Eagle and fox,” Lizabelle
answered quietly, peering around Cozmo’s shoulder, maintaining her
distance.

“
And who is your
companion?” he settled his gaze on Link.

“
I’m Lincoln Knight,” Link
started to extend his hand and then quickly returned it to his
side, sensing that Lulach wasn’t one for shaking hands.

“
Your heart rate is
elevated. Don’t fret Mr. Knight. There is no thirst in this ancient
body... at the moment,” the corners of his mouth twitched slightly
– Lulach’s version of a smile.

Link gave a small sigh. “Good to know,” he
replied.

“
I’m afraid I have come out
of necessity, this isn’t a social call. I have been keeping a
secret from you my dear,” Lulach gazed at me. “I never deemed it
necessary to tell. But last night I was made aware of something
that prompts me to now divulge some truths that you have been kept
unaware of.”

I glanced uneasily from James to
Catherine.

“
They know nothing of it my
dear,” Lulach nodded. “You were in quite a predicament last night.
Which concluded with a sizeable quantity of your blood being passed
to Mr. Knight it seems,” he continued.

“
How do you know that?” I
asked, incredulously.

“
That is why I am here...
to enlighten you. Let’s sit.”

We moved to the living room. Lulach stood by
the fireplace. Link and I sat down. I waited.

“
Do you remember when you
met me, for the first time?” Lulach asked.

“
I was about twenty-three,
I guess. It was a few years after I came to live with James and
Catherine,” I looked to them for confirmation.

“
That sounds about right,”
Catherine said.

“
That is the first time I
visited you at
their
home. However, there was another time. Do you still have no
earlier memory of our acquaintance?” Lulach pressed.

“
How could I have met you
before I met them?” I shook my head, suddenly confused.

“
You never regained memory
of the accident then it seems - the one that killed your
parents.
That
is
the night that I first laid eyes on you,” Lulach said with his
small nod.

“
I’m afraid I don’t
understand,” I shook my head again.

“
I was on my way to visit
with James and Catherine that night, traveling through the trees.
It was a night to be out in nature, thick with mist, perfect
conditions for a Dark One passing through alone. But not so perfect
for a mortal family to be out driving.

“
I came upon your parent’s
car, sometime after it had rolled down an embankment. On impulse, I
stopped to investigate. I found your parents first. They were gone,
bled out, of no use to me. Excuse me. That was a bit cold wasn’t
it? But you had been thrown from the vehicle. I found you quite
injured, but still alive. You had several broken bones, bruises,
and a deep cut to your head. It was bleeding. You smelled
delicious... and I’m sorry to say... I immediately wanted to drain
you. I bit into your neck my dear, and started to drink. You tasted
as exquisite as I knew you would. But something stopped me. I
stared into your lovely face and found myself compelled to try to
heal you instead.

“
I bit into my wrist and
put it to your lips. Vampire blood is quite healing, as you know,
much more so than Immortal blood. I would either heal you, or turn
you, depending on how much your supply had been depleted. I truly
wasn’t sure what would happen. But I was willing to take the
gamble,” Lulach paused, with a nod.

“
I drank from you?” I
whispered, with a shake of my head.

“
Yes my dear. I realized,
as you were drinking my blood, that yours – though delicious – had
a tinge of the supernatural. It was then that it struck me, you
were an Immortal One. My blood had quickened the process, but you
would have healed yourself shortly,” Lulach paused again. “You
received a large portion of my blood, my dear girl.”

“
Am I connected to you? Do
you feel my heart beat? Do you hear my pulse race, the blood flow
through my body?” I demanded.

“
Why yes, my dear, your
pulse is quickening as we speak. I can hear you from miles away,
across continents. My blood still flows in you. If it had been a
mortal that I’d healed, the Vampire blood would have found its way
out of the mortal body. The effect would have worn off. But the
opposite happened, somehow my blood found a way to combine with
your blood. I always know where you are... how you are.

“
It was that connection
that made me aware of your deep distress last night. I sensed the
danger and made arrangements to come to you. Soon after departure,
I became aware of another presence. It was faint, but it was there.
You had shared your blood, and in turn had shared mine,” Lulach
nodded.

“
Why didn’t you tell me
this before? Why don’t I remember?” I wanted answers.

“
At the time of the
accident, you didn’t seem to be aware of your situation. I stayed
with you all night, and found shelter during the day. When I came
back the next evening you were still sleeping. Your body was
working hard to recover from all of your injuries. Your blood and
my blood labored together, to repair internal damage, and slowly
you regained consciousness. But you wouldn’t remain awake for long,
and you seemed frightened of me each time you woke.

“
I didn’t want to scare
you, my dear. But most importantly, you had no blood-lust when you
woke. So instead of keeping you with me, I found a way to leave
clues to your whereabouts. I picked up a few parts from the car and
left them on the highway. Soon, you were discovered, and I
continued on,” he told me.

“
You showed up at our home
right after that then,” James said. “I remember a conversation
about human frailty and Immortal strength. You said you had met
another Immortal, but you never gave me any details.”