Awakening - Book of Fire (Blood Heritage #1) (32 page)

Wait, how has Rissa let her humanity go, was there some kind of accident, had someone taken it from her, or had she taken it herself? The truth hits her like a slap across the face. It must have been about Dawn, whatever happened was after Dawn died. If Dawn died then she too should would have had her awakening, she is a child of the Father, she must have been reborn into her power. Maybe like the crucifixion it will take a while. Maybe if the body is destroyed the child cannot be reborn, but Amber knows Dawn is not dead, somewhere inside she knows Dawn is out there somewhere, watching and waiting. Though the connection has been lost and she can no longer sense anything related to either woman, she knows.

Amber must speak to Rissa about this, must find out how much she knows. Something is really wrong, but she doesn't understand it fully yet. She thinks about fire, and the possibility that it causes a true death, there are stories of the vampire that say fire can kill them permanently, is there a grain of truth in that? Or perhaps it's a mistake, and is written about the shifters instead. Perhaps it is the reason animals are all instinctually afraid of fire.

Amber is not afraid of her friend as Rissa feared she would be, she understands; she only wants to know how it all happened. Rissa walks her through the events of that night, her agony, her suicide, the way everything in her world changed. She never actually meant to end everything, she felt heart and soul it was time but she wasn't sure what it was time for. She felt no fear and understood what she was doing. She felt guidance through the process. The instructions had been encoded into her DNA. Amber told her about the passages in the book about her and Dawn, about her theory that Dawn must be alive and awakened somewhere, and that her gifts would be different. She explained the story of the crucifixion and the rising, as well as the golden light that people saw around him as he exited the tomb. She explained that it was the same way that Rissa looked with the sunshine filling her outside the store. The idea that Dawn could be alive fills Rissa with hope, she truly wants the emptiness to be filled with the beauty of her lover's smile. She does not know what Dawn's awakening might look like, that side of the gift seems to be much more deeply cloaked in secrecy and mystery, but if Dawn is still alive, she must find her.

Amber invites Rissa over so they can discuss the details of the strange book that seems to have found a way to define their lives. Rissa agrees they should delve into it as soon as possible. There is still something keeping Amber from allowing the book to leave the protection of the house. The girls spend the afternoon in intimate conversation and by the end of the day are back to their usual closeness. Amber is relieved she now understands what is going on with her friend and Rissa is thankful she still has a friend she can talk to about anything and everything.

The afternoon takes an exciting turn when the man who once came to see Rissa about his wife shows up. It seems as if that situation occurred so long ago, so much has happened since that horrible vision. Amber can't look him in the eyes as he asks in a gruff and angry tone to speak with Rissa. He is here to place blame on the local witch for killing his wife, he has made himself believe it was the amulet and not his own actions that killed her. He believes Rissa poisoned his wife. He's angry and he's going to make her pay for her part of things. Amber feels his intentions, his guilt and his rage eating away at him. Rissa walks out of her office placing a reassuring hand on Amber's shoulder. "
Don't worry
,
I will see him."

The angry man follows Rissa back into the room. There isn't a sound to be heard, no screaming or yelling. Amber wants to be a fly on the wall for this conversation and the curiosity is eating her up inside. Rissa however has no intention of showing Amber this side of her power any time soon. The man begins spouting his words of blame and Rissa quietly and calmly looks him in the eyes. She barely has to push his mind and his story changes. He has to tell the truth, the veils have been removed from his eyes, he can no longer protect himself with lies. He can see every horrible thing he has done to her, in vibrant detail. He can feel the pain he inflicted on her. He can feel her despair, her conflicting emotions of love and hate for him and he knows now what he has done. The burden of his guilt, her suffering and the knowledge that she truly loved him even after all he had done to her. He can no longer pretend she asked for the beatings, that she was cheating behind his back. He knows without any doubt that she was true, faithful and devoted to her very last breath.

When he walks out of the store, he is a different man, defeated, broken and alone. He walks the streets to his home, where he goes directly into his bedroom and pulls out the handgun he keeps beside the bed. He slowly loads the weapon and intentionally prolongs his suffering by turning on the video of their wedding. He watches as she smiles and laughs and as tears of joy roll down her face. He sees himself watching her, sees the seeds of doubt and insecurity swirling behind his eyes as he realizes how beautiful she is, how everyone looks upon her with love, she is so special and so perfect and he has crushed this beautiful flower beneath his heel. He puts the pistol in his mouth and pulls the trigger. The back of his head cracking as the bullet impacts deep into his brain. Blood and brain matter on the wall are the final mess he makes of this life. He is no longer anyone else's problem. His son will be adopted and he will never be able to hurt anyone again. Rissa sighs as he takes his final breathe knowing the world now holds just a bit less darkness.

Amber sees his end clearly, she feels relief. The world seems as if there is some kind of justice to be found. One murderer meeting his end, and no one else had to dirty their hands on him. He punished himself by his own guilt and remorse. That is justice. That is balance. That is the way things should be. He is every man that ever laid a hand on her, that hurt her, and her soul rejoices at his removal from this life. The visions feel so natural now, the discomfort and fear that used to accompany them are fading as her understanding grows. She enjoys this one a bit more than she feels comfortable with. Shouldn't she feel some sadness or guilt as she watches a man suffer and die, as if she might reach out and take the gun from his hand. She smells the blood and the hot metal, she feels the reverberation of the shot echo through her.

She feels the stirrings of her power, of her desire to make things right. She feels the warrior within straining at the boundaries of her humanity, and she pushes it inside. She is not ready to release that part of herself for fear she will lose all she has so recently gained. Humanity is precious to her now, love has made it so. She would have gladly embraced power over emotion before she met him, but now she is not willing to take the risk. She has to keep that part of herself hidden, she is not ready to lose herself. She is not ready for the fight, though she knows someday she will have no choice. She will hold onto each precious moment and treasure it for what it is. She will never take his love for granted as she knows how fleeting their time together may be.

James gets the call when reports start coming in of shots fired in a downtown apartment. There was one shot heard, and as no one has seen or heard anything else, the overriding presumption is that of a suicide or murder. James directs the team to be prepared for his call if he needs forensics and coroner services. The EMT has already been sent to meet him at the site.

When he arrives at the apartment he knocks hard announcing his presence. There is no answer and he has confirmation from the neighbors on both sides that this is where the shot came from. He instructs the neighbors to go downstairs and wait in the lobby as he kicks the door in. He is ready for whatever may come at him from the other side of the door, his partner covers him from slightly down the hall. There is not a sound. He walks through the living room, feeling the stab of fear as he notices the photos of a pretty couple on the walls. There are a variety of baby items still in their boxes in the corner of the room. He believes the wife must be pregnant and gunshots associated with a pregnant wife never end up pretty.

He makes his way through the apartment, carefully pushing open doors and looking for any signs of trouble. The first door on his right is a nursery, the walls painted a lively blue, the baby is going to be a boy. Sailboats and starfish are painted on the crib and the wall. Someone has taken a great deal of time and care to prepare this room.

The bathroom on the left is empty, clean and organized. Definitely the hand of a woman has decorated and immaculately maintained this residence. The level of cleanliness and perfection set his mind buzzing. He senses the underlying chaos of this home from a mile away. This is the residence of a control freak, an abuser, and he would place a major bet on it. He is pretty sure that he will find the husband with a gun in his hand staring at the body of his dead wife. He can only hope he has not actually managed to kill her. There has only been one shot fired giving him some small chance of a possible happy ending.

When he pushes in the bedroom door, he is shocked, and a bit taken off guard when he finds the man alone in the room. The woman is nowhere to be found. A video of his wedding is still playing on the television. He was watching it when he fired the gun. The suicide is clear as day, there will be no need for any major investigation. The gun is still in his hand, the bullet trajectory consistent with the proper angle of penetration. The splatter on the wall behind him evidence that he died very quickly. Something must have happened to his wife and child. This was a suicide born of loss. James feels a little sorry for the man..just a little, he hasn't forgotten the signs he noticed earlier.

He sends word to Joanna and the EMT crew leaves without even checking vitals. There is no doubt in anyone's mind that this man is dead. As soon as Joanna arrives, James and his partner prepare to leave. Joanna actually recognizes the woman in the photos and fills them in on the rest of the story. It was a wonder he wasn't arrested after the death of his wife. When she had came to the hospital there was no question in anyone's minds he had hurt her, but she refused to corroborate their suspicions. He claimed she had fallen against the corner of the coffee table, of her own clumsiness and he had simply rushed her to the emergency room. The appearance of huge bruises on her side led Joanna to believe otherwise but there was not enough to press charges against him for her murder. The autopsy had been a roadmap of abuse spanning the course of many years, in her mind the end had been inevitable.

Now no one will have to worry about it. The mood of the crew is one of relaxed finality. This is one case that has ended without any loopholes or bad judgement calls in the courtroom. This is the kind of justice James likes the best. Clean, final and without complications. He opens the door to the nursery one last time thinking a few words of respect for the loving woman that would never get to share this beautiful space with her child.

As he drives back to the office to write up the reports and prepares to go home, he wonders how the contractor is doing with the back room. He has given explicit instructions to ensure the place is spotless before they return and not to forget to close the door again so she won't see the work in progress. He really wants it to be a surprise only when it has been completed. He wants to unveil it in all of its glory for her, especially after she made his day by revealing the stunning automobile he now gets to drive home. He had no idea how much fun it would be to have a girlfriend sharing all of his craziness. He can do or say anything around her, she just gets him.. understands him on every level.

When James arrives to pick Amber up, she informs him Rissa will be coming over this evening when she closes up the store. She excitedly talks him into making a run to the grocery store so she can make a nice dinner for them. James agrees and they wander anxiously picking up the whole week's worth of groceries because she can't decide what she wants to make. Amber has completely forgotten what Rissa said about not eating. James is happy for the diversion, he hopes it will make it easier to keep his secret from her. Amber is really excited to have her friend coming over, even if it is under some strange and awkward circumstances.

As they walk up the drive with their arms full of groceries, Amber drops a bomb on James: "If it gets too late before we are done going through the book she can just stay in the guest room"!

He nearly drops the bags as his mind scrambles to come up with something he can say to dissuade her going in there. Setting the groceries on the counter they begin putting things away.

"I have an even better idea," he says. "I’ll give you girls the bedroom so you can have a slumber party and stay up all night talking and I can sleep in the guest room! It even already has sheets on the bed because I set it up the first night I was here just in case you weren't ready to share your space completely."

"Oh," she says excitedly, "Would you mind? I've never really had a girlfriend like her before." That might just be the understatement of the year.