Blood Bond (PULSE, Book 5) (20 page)

“You're not sure?”

“I know I care about you,” Kalina said, trying to put into words her long-held fear. “I just don't know why my heart isn't listening to my blood. Because whatever my blood says I'm supposed to feel,
I
don't feel it. I'm tired of letting whatever weird things my blood does define my choices. I want to pick who I want to be with, not let my hormones decide for me!”

“I see,” Stuart said. “And you don't pick me.”

“I don't want the same things you want, Stuart,” Kalina said. “You should stay at this vineyard you love. Go to seminary, like you've always wanted. Get married and have kids right away. But you should do those things with someone who wants to do the same things as you at the same time you want it.” She sighed. “Think about it this way – if you had to pick between all those things with someone else, and having me but none of those things – what would you decide?”

There was a long pause before Stuart spoke. “I don't know,” he said. “Right now I love you more than anything else in the world. But I've waited for my dreams for so long – I'm not sure I want to wait any longer for them.”

“And if I went back...” Kalina said. “To college, maybe. Or to help with the Life's Blood search with Max and Octavius. There's this box I found – this box I really think they should see. It belonged to the doctor who discovered Life's Blood. I think it could be important in the search. You wouldn't want to go with me, would you?”

“I'd want to protect you,” said Stuart. “And to be with you. But no – I can't think of anywhere I'd want to be less than with vampires.”

“You've got one right here,” said Kalina, pointing at her fangs. “Stuart, I'm sorry. So sorry.”

He forced a smile. “What's to be sorry about?” said Stuart. “You gave me the greatest gift you could possibly give. You turned me. You gave me my dream back. Right now, it feels like I'll never love anyone else – but I know human beings have felt that feeling many times, and sometimes they move on.”

“You
will
move on, Stuart,” said Kalina. “I promise.”

“But I will wait,” said Stuart.

“Not too long,” said Kalina. “Your time is short now. Make the most of it. If someone comes along, you know. Some girl at seminary or whatever – I  want you to take that chance. I want you to find her.”

“I can't imagine that,” said Stuart.

“And maybe I'll come back one day,” said Kalina. “Who knows? Maybe you'll have kids by then. Maybe you won't.”

And yet what Stuart had said about Jaegar was burned in her brain. If she really had turned Jaegar last time – who was to say she couldn't turn him again? Or Octavius too, for that matter? Her heart beat faster. What if it wasn't over – what if her choice hadn't really been made? What if she could turn more vampires?

“We'll have to see.” Stuart pulled her close one last time, wrapping her in a great bear hug. She felt his warmth and smelled his musk, and for a moment – only a moment – she held back. But deep down, she knew, her decision was right and true.

“Who knows?” said Kalina, pulling away. “It's pretty hard to make plans when you're as far from normal as we are.”

With that, she left the house, leaving Stuart sitting before the fireplace. She walked out into the night – for the first time, without fear – the moon shining high above her and the stars glittering in the inky sky. The whole world was at her feet. She had the power to turn more vampires; she had the power to fight off even the most invincible of vampires. Everything was before her – all her choices were yet to be made.

She had her whole life – and it was only waiting to begin. For the first time in so many months, Kalina felt like a child once again. She was so young. There were so many choices to make.

She had so much still to do.

H

PULSE continues in

Blood Legacy- Book 6 of PULSE

2012

Sneak Preview of the New Fantasy Series

The Fire Wars

Book 1

kailin gow

Prologue

T
he stones glowed brightly, seeming in their otherworldly light to mirror the gleaming of the stars. The night was black, as black as a squid's ink, but she was not afraid. She had the stones – their ancient power calling to her as she held them in her hands. She had the book, its pages seeming to grow warm upon her fingers as she turned them. And she had her love – and she knew that he would keep her safe.

The crimson sunset had vanished into the black waters, and now all was still. They stood at the top of the volcano, a volcano that had not erupted in many centuries – since the old days. Since long before the Erosion had come to change the shape of the world.

But she felt its power. She knew that deep within the volcano, the power of flame lay waiting, like a dozing beast, waiting for her to harness its strength, to let the force of the fire take over. She knew that she had the power: she would connect with the molten lava, with its heat, its beauty. She would make its strength her own.

            She was beautiful; she knew it now better than she had always known it. The stars and stones alike shone down upon her, casting her dark face and flashing eyes in their milky pale light. The stones were piled high – green and blue, yellow and red, precious gems from all corners of the island. She had found them all herself; they had called to her, each one, since she was a child. She had felt a connection with each tiny gemstone as she held it in the palm of her hand, pocketing it for her collection. Now, staring at the circle of stones she had made, she knew why. It was for this purpose that she had been chosen. It was for this purpose that her abilities had been formed.

            She sat cross-legged in the center of the circle, her book on her lap. It was the book of the Fire King, the god of fire, its ancient tongue intelligible to the Fire's children alone. She knew what her destiny was. She would bring back the Sacred Fire, its purifying force, its flames. She knew what the scientists knew and did not say – that the Erosion was getting worse, that soon the whole earth would be engulfed in water. The ice caps would melt; the tides would grow stronger. The people did not know; the Earth did not know. But she knew.

            And she knew it was her duty to stop it. The Sacred Flame would come, at once creator and destroyer, push back the waves and call from its molten depths new lava, new earth.

            And she was doing it with her love at her side. She gazed at him, her heart beating faster. She knew his beauty; his beauty floored her, as if she were seeing it for the first time. It was always like the first time. She knew the source of his flashing eyes, his powerful animal muscles, his broad shoulders. The power of the flames rushed through him. He drew his beauty from the source – like her, he called upon the volcano and its ancient ways.

            He was the Fire King, and for thousands of years he had been searching for his Queen, the goddess from whom he had been separated. The goddess who had more power even than he to destroy and to rebirth. The true power of the twin ways of flame – death and resurrection. And only she could regenerate the earth. Only she could rebuild its lost lands. He had searched for her, evermore frantic – knowing that he had to find her before it was too late. Before the Erosion grew too dangerous. Before the Calypticon. For the gods of Water would submerge the earth to suit their own ends – if the fire gods did not strike back.

            The girl knew the legends well. After all, she had grown up on the island. She had not mingled with the other outsiders, the generations of new settlers who peopled the island with fast cars and shiny beach homes. No, she was one with the Veteri – she sought them out. She knew their hiding places. She listened to their stories. And she knew the Fire God sought one born of a mortal, who would from her flesh reveal her powers. And she would win the love of the Fire God. The Fire God who had spent centuries seeking her, who had assumed human form, who sought out the one who loved him above all else. The one who loved him so much she was willing to die for him, and to be reborn. The one who would past the test.

            And she was that goddess. She knew that now, her heart beating faster with proud certainty. From the moment she had met him she had known him – seen past his brilliant blue eyes and cruel charm to the flame burning within. And she had wanted it so badly – for the tales to be true. For the legend to be real. To be his goddess. And it had been proven true. She had not run from him, from the danger of his desires. She had stood by him, borne his passion, burned to his touch.

            And now she would summon the Sacred Flame.

            It was time. She would fulfill her destiny. The great task of the stones – from these small, hot gems she would make the fire.

            But first she had to pass the test. A bonfire had been prepared for her in the basin of the volcano, drawing its strength from the volcano below. She would walk through the flames. She would stand in their heat.

            But she would not be burned.

            She would simply be reborn, her goddess form made clear.

            “Stop!”

            She whirled around to face him, and her face crumpled with compassion. She knew this man – she knew he was the enemy of her love. His ways were not her ways; he belonged to the realm of water. That shadowy cool force that only dampened her flames. She had loved him, once – but she could not think of that now. That was before she had learned who he was – that was before she had discovered her destiny as Queen of Fire.

            “Don't do it – it's too much a risk  I can't save you from these. Even my power won't extinguish these flames. It's too much a risk.”

            The Fire King scoffed. “Some faith you have in her, cousin! Be off with you!”

            “Please – it's too dangerous. You're risking her life.”

            “I have found my love,” the Fire King said. “She has found me. She is the Goddess. Let not your petty jealousy blind you to that fact. She is mine now.”

            The girl's eyes were wide with sorrow. “I'm sorry,” she whispered to the man. “I'm so sorry.”

            But she did not hesitate. She turned and walked proudly towards the bonfire, which set the night blazing with its light. Flames licked at the hem of her dress; she could feel its scalding heat. But she knew it would not burn her. She knew it would not hurt her.

            She had to prove her faith. She had to prove her love.

            She had to jump in.

            No sooner was she in the midst of the flames than she knew something had gone wrong. Her skin was blistering; agony beat in her blood. She screamed and could not scream, for her mouth was filled with smoke, with fire.

            “Help!” The cry escaped her lips. “Somebody help me!”

            But there was nothing they could do. The greatest oceans in the world could not have put the fire out. She heard them yelling, screaming, calling her name – she saw, between the licking of the flames, them running towards her, repelled by the magic that guarded the bonfire, thrown upon their backs. Her screams choked into nothingness; her pain became nothingness too. She heard them screaming her name as she died.

            And then the flames were gone, carrying with them her body, turned to ash, and the ashes blew forth over the silent night. All that was left of her – scattered to the winds.

            “No...” The Fire King was doubled over. He felt her pain. He felt her burn. Tears were stinging at his eyes. “No!”