A Destined Death (31 page)

Yes. He arrived in time to––

“Thank him for me,”
he said quickly as if he couldn’t bear to have me finish my sentence.

I will. Please trust me, Draven. I’m going to marry you if it’s the last thing I do.

Draven released a pained chuckle.
“If you marry me, I will swear to you, it
will
be the last thing you do.”

I giggled.
Sweet talker.

“I may pass out again,”
he warned as his voice grew softer.

Don’t worry, Draven. Conserve your strength and dream sweet dreams about our wedding day.

“What are you going to do?”

It’s my turn to save you.

He didn’t reply, but I suddenly became aware of Tina, Candy, and the stewardess. They stood in the aisle of the jet, staring at me. I smiled awkwardly. “Sorry, I had to make a call.”

“Will she be all right?” the stewardess asked.

“Oh yes,” Candy assured her. “She’ll be much better now.”

After we made it through airport security, Ben led the way while I held Candy and Tina’s hand to share the necklaces protection. The sun had just risen but my new fear of the country hadn’t waned.

Once inside the limousine Candy had commissioned, she immediately rolled up the privacy glass. “Two stops and then Coty.”

I didn’t ask. I marveled at Candy’s cleverness and trusted implicitly that she would always be three steps ahead of any enemy. When the car pulled into a large warehouse, she exchanged a black duffle bag for a thick envelope. She waited until we were back on the road to explain. “Just in case, Milady.”

Tina, who hadn’t said anything since we left, suddenly burst out in tears. “I wish I could talk to him like you do. I wish I could hear his voice so I know he’s all right.”

“I swear he’s all right. Concentrate now, Tina. Coty’s first. The monks have to believe that we’re relatives and believe the papers we give them are real.”

She nodded and resigned again to silence.

At our next stop, a motel room, Candy gathered up the free cups and sat down at a small round table. She went to work immediately, pulling bullets and small vials of chemicals out of the black bag she’d bought. “You guys can watch TV or something. This will take a while.”

“Tell her the green liquid goes on first.”

Draven’s specific comment startled me for a second, making me stop to think in confusion.
You can see what I’m seeing?

“Sometimes. I think your image opened up a whole new channel for us. Please be careful, Elizabeth.”

“Draven said the green liquid goes on first.”

“Thanks,” Candy replied. “For a minute I was afraid I was going to have to wing it.”

“Explain this to me,” Ben said as he sat down with her. “What’s the purpose and what do these do?”

Candy grinned proudly and went into a detailed explanation of the methods Draven had taught her.

“I don’t understand.” Ben’s face filled with confusion. “Why go through all this trouble when you can just kill them?” He pulled a wooden stake out of his coat. “Wood, Candy, think wood. Carry a steak, hit them in the heart, and they’re ash.”

“They’re not all bad,” she said lightly.

With a grumble, Ben returned the stake to his coat and walked the length of the room. He leaned against the far way appearing deep in thought when Tina let out a wail.

“I have to know he’s all right!”

I rolled my eyes and spoke out loud to Draven, “Is Armando all right, Draven?”

“Same as me, weak, but determined. He’s as worried about Tina as I am about you, and he isn’t pleased that you brought her with you.”

But I…

“Relax. He knows you couldn’t have stopped her if you tried.”

I turned to Tina. “Draven says he’s fine, and he’s thinking about you.”

Tina beamed happily.

“That’s not exactly what I said but it’ll do.”

Draven, is it possible that Damion Kern is the man who put out the bounty and not the Elders at all? Could that be why those men asked if I was your wife?

“I think so. This room looks familiar but I can’t say for sure. We haven’t seen anyone since they put us in here.”

We’re going to get Coty today, and then Tina and Charles will take him back to the mansion first. So if anyone shows up, you have to stall them, okay?

“I’ll do my best.”

Then I’ll find you, and we’ll prove to that Damion that I’m here and alive, and we can get married right in front of him if we have to.

“Just stay safe, Elizabeth. If something happens to you…well, I guess I’m in the right place,” he said lightly.

Don’t talk like that. I’m going to marry you!

“Relax. It was only a joke.”

Okay. All my love, Draven.

“And all mine.”

Tina laughed. “You look funny when you do that. Your face squishes up like you have a headache.”

“Well, at least I can do it,” I mocked.

“Ouch,” Tina shot out. “Did he really say Armando was all right or are you just saying that to make me feel better?”

“He said it.”

“That’s it! I’ve had it!” Ben huffed. “I can’t take this any more of this shit.” In three long strides, he opened the door and walked out, slamming it behind him.

After the reverberation, I stared at Tina and Candy, wondering what just happened. When they shook their heads, I rushed outside to catch him. “Ben,” I called, catching his arm before he made it two doors down. “What’s wrong?”

“You’re all crazy! Candy doesn’t believe in killing vampires, two of you think you’re in love with those things, and now you let him into your head? I can’t stay here and watch this. It goes against everything I’ve been working toward for years.” His blue eyes pierced mine. “Don’t you see how hard this is for me?”

My mouth fell open to respond but nothing came out. When I closed my eyes in defeat, his hands gripped my cheeks before his lips pressed against mine, and his tongue entered my mouth angrily. My heart beat faster from the shock, and in the quickness of the moment, all I could think about was keeping my eyes closed for fear that Draven would see.

Ben pulled away from me, but held onto my cheeks. “It’s not right, Elizabeth. You can’t marry him, he doesn’t have a heart.”

My breath came in pants when I shook my head and opened my eyes. “He has more heart than any human I’ve ever met. You said you heard the story. You heard what he’s done for me so how can you say that?”

Ben dropped his hands and handed me a card from his inside jacket pocket. “If you need a vampire killed, darling, I’m only a call away,” he said before he walked toward the street.

Pocketing his vampire hunter business card, I sighed and leaned against the building with my arms crossed.

“What’s wrong?”

I let someone kiss me, Draven. I’m so sorry.

He chuckled.
“Are you trying to make me jealous?”

No, I feel horrible!

“Elizabeth, we are one soul and no one will come between us, but honestly, I’m more worried about you dying. Please be careful after sunset.”

I will.

“Was it Ben?”

How did you know?

“He’s a vampire hunter. Consider it his way of trying to protect you from me. Besides, did you really think he traveled all the way to South Dakota to hunt vampires?”

I was just about to explain the information Ben had found about the cross necklace when Candy peeked her head out the door and waved me into the room.
I have to go Draven.

“Stay safe. I love you.”

Tell me you forgive me so I can concentrate.

“It was only a kiss, Elizabeth. It changes nothing.”

With a sigh of relief, I turned. The curtains moved in the room next to me, and a blond head appeared for only a split second. I thought it looked like Johnny. Curiously, I knocked on the door but no one answered. Shaking my head, I returned to my own room to find Tina sitting on the bed, her arms crossed and a pout on her face. 

“I’m done,” Candy announced before she stood beside the table full of upright bullets. “They’ll have to dry until we return from the monastery, but like I told Tina, I don’t think she should go.”

“Why?”

“Her wound isn’t healed, it might look suspicious.”

I sat down beside Tina. “It’ll be okay.”

“That’s not really why I’m upset. I…I was just thinking that I’ve never been good with kids. Even the couple of times I tried babysitting, the kids hated me. If Coty hates me, Armando will see that, and then he’ll hate me. The engagement will be over.”

“Tina Tarkson,” I started sternly. “When have you ever doubted yourself?”

She sighed and put her hand over her eyes. “Every minute for the last three days. I had it, Elizabeth.” She peeked over her hand. “I had everything I’ve ever wanted, and I was happy. Even if it was only for a day, I’ve never been that happy before.”

I squeezed her hand. “I bet you’ll feel the same way when you meet Coty.”

Her eyes watered, but a slow smile touched her mouth before she returned to her private thoughts.

“We’ll be back before sunset,” I hoped out loud.

****

“Le Nuit Motel, room 156,” the informant whispered into the phone.

“My my, aren’t you an eager little snitch all of a sudden?” Fate asked suspiciously.

“The stakes have risen.”

“How so?”

“A dress was ordered from his residence in Seattle.”

“What else?”

“She possesses a necklace which gives her protection from vampires.”

Fate smirked as she hung up the phone. “That won’t save her.”

The closer we got to the monastery, the more nervous I became. “Tell me how to act like an aunt.”

“Don’t act,” Candy said. “Just be yourself. You love him even though you’ve never met him, and they’ll pick up on that.”

“I hope it’s that easy.”

“It will be.”

Repeated symbols of a cross inside of a circle, both painted on and burnt in, covered every inch of the three-story church, including the roof. Green tank-like devices surrounded the building, forming a wide perimeter around the grounds. On the top level of the monastery walls, I noted large star shaped blades sticking out of the wood––misses, apparently.

A pleasant man wearing a long, black robe greeted us at the door. “Good afternoon,” he said in English, though his French accent was very strong.

“Hi. I believe you’re expecting us,” Candy said with her confident businesswoman personality. “Elizabeth Tarkson is here to finally be reunited with her nephew. As his only living relative, she wishes to take him back to the United States to live with her at her estate. We’ve brought all the necessary paperwork.”

His smile held while he gestured us in. “Come in, friends. We’ve been expecting you, but if you do not mind, the abbot has requested a word with Miss Tarkson first.”

“Of course,” I agreed, trying not to appear distressed.

Inside, I was greeted by the scent of vanilla and the sight of more plain wood than any building should show; hard wood floors, paneled walls, and plank ceilings. Wooden picture frames encased large photos of monks from different eras.

He led us down the long hallway. Pausing at a bench, he asked Candy to sit and opened an adjacent door. When I didn’t move, he pushed me into an office and closed the door behind me.

Jarred from the quickness of the act, I found myself standing uneasily in front of another man. His robe matched the monk’s but he wore a small hat on top of his head. He appeared much gentler than the militant commander I expected.