Blood Spirit (20 page)

"Terek,
we need to look for the others."

Scooping
Serena's lifeless body from the blood soaked floor, he carried her as Ilona
hurried toward the moans. Each step filled her with more dread. As she drew
closer to the sounds, she heard more than one voice moaning in pain. Entering
the family room, she staggered as she took in the massacre in front of her.

"Oh
my God!" Ilona covered her mouth in horror at what lay before her. Those
kind women who had welcomed her into their home—Terek's family—lay slaughtered
by some unknown attacker.

Quickly,
she turned to stop him before he saw, but she was too late. He stood stunned at
the scene, his expression wracked with pain, as he clung to Serena in his arms.

"Terek,"
Jasmine cried softly. Tears streamed down her cheeks, and Ilona hurried to
untie her hands and feet.

Nearby,
a voice whispered, "Ilona, help me."

On
the floor, Carlie lay in a pool of blood, still alive, but barely. Dropping to
her knees, Ilona struggled to look at her friend's wound. Slit across the neck
like Serena had been, her attacker had fortunately used a lighter touch. Ilona
saw she might be able to save her. Her fangs slammed into her mouth, and she
quickly cut open her wrist to feed Carlie. Pressing her arm to her friend's
mouth, she held Carlie's head and prayed her blood would be enough.

A
few feet away, Terek did the same for Sika, a vampire who had enchanted Ilona
with a story just nights earlier about how she was one of his first vampires.
Just as he had with Serena, he held Sika in his arms, tenderly whispering his
apologies, as she drank from him.

Before
her, Ilona watched Carlie's wound heal and the life come back into her eyes.
Slowly, the horrible gash in her skin drew together, and Ilona cried in joy as
she heard Carlie's kind voice once again.

"I
knew you'd be a good vampire." Smiling, she added, "And a good
friend."

"Carlie,
what happened here?"

Behind
her, she heard Terek thank God as Sika grew strong in his arms. His blood
worked even faster than hers, and the woman was soon strong enough to sit on
her own.

When
he was done, he knelt in front of Jasmine and held her hands in his. Looking up
at her, he said quietly, "I'm so sorry. When you needed me most, I wasn't
there."

"It
was an Archon hunter, Terek. He wanted Ilona, but we never told him a thing. He'll
be back." Jasmine stopped and looked around the room, her gaze finally
stopping on Serena's lifeless body. "Oh, Serena! Is she...? I thought she
left just before the hunter came."

Terek
hung his head. "No."

The
anguish in his voice pressed painfully on Ilona's heart. He blamed himself for
what happened.

"You
need to go. Take Ilona and go before he comes back," Jasmine pleaded as
Terek shook his head.

"No.
I need to take care of this first."

Silently,
Terek took each dead body away and collected the remains of his staked
vampires. Ilona watched with sadness as he returned one last time for Serena.
Taking her into his arms, he carried her away, clutching her to his heart.

With
Carlie next to her on the floor quietly sobbing, Ilona looked at Jasmine.
"Where is he taking them?"

"To
say goodbye."

She
found him alone in the courtyard as the soft breeze began to scatter the
remains of the women he loved. Jasmine had explained that it was a sire's
responsibility, if possible, to make sure a vampire was given the ability to
leave this Earth. To do that, Terek had to stake the women who had bled to
death. His entire form told of his devastation at the loss. His shoulders
hunched as if he held the world on top of them, and he knelt as if overwhelmed
by sorrow.

Placing
her hand on his head, she stroked his hair gently and whispered, "I'm
sorry," wishing she could comfort him so much more.

He
said nothing but hung his head. Ilona lowered herself to her knees and wrapped
her arm around him. The strength in his body pressed against her, even in the
depths of his misery. As the last of the dust that was his family lifted in the
wind, she heard a deep rumbling inside him that came out of his mouth as a growl
more vicious than any wild animal's.

He
jerked himself to his feet and when he looked down at her, she saw something
dark in his eyes.

"It's
time to go."

***

Terek
led Ilona back to the family room where Carlie, Sika, and Jasmine sat quietly,
still in shock over the loss of their loved ones. He knew they needed him to be
the sire he'd always been, so that's what he'd be, no matter what he felt on
the inside.

"Jasmine,
I need to know everything you can tell me about who did this."

As
she described what the hunter looked like, he knew it was the one who'd killed
Sampson. The Archons intended on wiping out all his vampires. But did they know
they'd made a mistake and found a real Son?

"Did
he know who I am?"

Jasmine
shook her head. "No. But they know Ilona is here with us, Terek. You need
to get her away from here."

"All
of you need to come with me."

Taking
Ilona's hand, he looked at her and the three women. "I'll take you where
you can be safe. Join hands."

In
seconds, they'd left their home and stood at the door of the monastery in Romania. A far cooler wind blew over them as they waited for someone to answer. They'd be
safe here with his fellow Sons to protect them.

Vasilije
opened the door and with a look of understanding on his face let them in. Terek
saw the fear on Ilona's face and saw all the women shared it as they looked
around the monastery's main hallway.

"You're
safe here. This is where you'll stay while I'm gone."

"Gone?
Where?" Ilona asked.

Sasa
approached them, and he knew she felt their sadness and fear. They'd lost their
friends, their home, and now had to stay with strangers. It wasn't a perfect
solution, but he had to be sure they were safe when he was gone. He couldn't
make the same mistake again.

"Terek,
let me take your friends to get cleaned up and have some food."

Ilona
turned to face him. "Terek, I want to stay with you."

"No."

The
hurt on her face was unmistakable. "No? But we..."

"No.
I need to know you're safe while I'm gone."

"That's
the second time you've said gone. Where are you going?"

Pulling
her aside, he said, "Ilona, I don't have time to fight with you. You'll
stay here while I track down that hunter."

"No!
You saw what he did. Terek, I know you're one of the Sons of whatever, but
you'll get killed. You sire women. You were a monk."

Terek
bent down to kiss her before she could say another word. What she said was all
true, but he was more than that. "Ilona, I need to know you're safe. I can
trust the vampires here."

Her
eyes filled with tears. "Terek, don't go. We just...I don't want to lose
you."

"He
killed them because they want you dead. I won't hide and hope I can keep you
and every other one of my vampires safe forever. I love you all too much to let
them win."

"But
we need you."

"And
I need you. But even more, our world needs me to be a Son. This is who I am,
Ilona. I'm sorry that this is the world you live in now."

Taking
his hands in hers, she raised them to her mouth and softly kissed them.
"I'm not. I have a life with a man who would give anything for those he
loves. I doubt any Archon or hunter can hold a candle to a man like you,
Terek."

"Stay
here. Be strong and know that if I don't come back, the time we spent together
in Morocco was the happiest I've been as a vampire."

Ilona
looked up at him and smiled through her tears. "You come back to me.
Understand?"

Vasilije
and the rest of the Sons at the monastery waited for him in the study. If they
intended on trying to convince him not to go after the hunter, they were
wasting their time.

"It's
nice of all of you to see me off, but it's unnecessary."

"What
happened?" Vasilije asked.

"I
let my guard down and the hunter who killed Sampson found my home. He tortured
my family and killed seven of them."

"Fucking
hunters!" Dante said angrily. "And the ones with you are all that
survived? Serena?"

Terek
fought back the pain from just hearing her name and shook his head. "No.
He slit her throat and she bled to death before I could save her."

Dante
choked back tears at the news his friend was dead. In the time he'd spent with
him in Spain, he'd become closer to her than any other of his vampires after
she'd spurned his romantic advances.

"We'll
kill them all, Terek."

Vasilije
tried to keep the group in check and raised his hand to calm Dante down.
"We need to keep our heads. We don't help ourselves by going off
half-cocked."

Dante
laughed and stepped forward. "Fuck that. I'm going with him. I'm sick of
sitting around here waiting to see some action."

"No.
You're too important. We need you alive. You're the only clyten among us,"
Terek reminded him.

"Terek's
right, Dante. And Sion, Thane, and Ramiel need to get through the
prophecy," Vasilije added. "I'll go."

Shaking
his head, Terek read Vasilije's thoughts. He was unsure what would happen with
Sasa if he left again. A tiny flicker of doubt about her had settled deep into
his mind. And next to it was hatred for Thane. Just a tiny fragment, but it was
there.

"No.
I go alone. This hunter killed my vampires. He wants the woman I saved the
night he staked Sampson."

"We
can call Saint."

"No.
He's needed in Greece. The Archons brought this war to my home. This hunter is
mine."

"Okay,
it's your show. What do you need us to do?" Dante asked.

"Keep
Ilona and the others safe. They've lost everything dear to them tonight but
me."

"Done.
What else?"

"What
about Sampson's vampires? Have you gotten them to safety?"

"We
took care of it. Sion and I made sure the hunters won't find them anywhere near
where they should be. You've taken care of his vampires, Terek. Now we need to
make sure yours are okay."

Terek
thought about his vampires across the globe. He hadn't had any sense they were
in danger, but then again, he hadn't realized nearly his entire household had
been slaughtered. Sadly, he admitted, "I don't know if they are. I didn't
know that the hunter had killed my family."

He
saw the concern written on the faces of the men in front of him. If somehow the
Archons had the power to block their connection to their vampires, they'd be
helpless if they were attacked.

"I
can feel all of mine," Vasilije said with relief in his voice. "Can
everyone else?"

After
a long moment, they all nodded and even Terek had to admit he could feel all of
his now.

"At
least we don't have to worry for the moment that the Archons have somehow
gained that level of control," Sion said somberly.

Dante
looked to Terek. "Any idea what happened to make you not sense what was
going on?"

Nodding,
Terek said quietly, "I was preoccupied. I let my guard down and the ones I
love paid for my mistake."

The
room fell silent, and Terek saw that none of the fellow Sons wanted to admit they'd
all been careless too. So be it. While he'd never be able to make up for his
mistake, he'd hold the memory of Serena's eyes so full of fear in his mind for
the rest of his existence. That hunter would pay with his life for taking so
much good out of this world.

Vasilije
finally spoke up. "Just to be safe, Dante and Sion, I think you should
focus on Terek's vampires. Talk to Nico and get their locations from the Order.
At least we have that on our side. The Order keeps our vampires' whereabouts
under lock and key so the Archons can't do to us what they tried to do to
Sampson."

"Then
how did they know how to find yours?" Sion asked.

Vasilije
shook his head. "I don't know."

Terek
hoped Sion wasn't hinting at a breach in security at the Order, but he didn't
have time to think about it now. He had revenge to take care of.

"Take
care of my vampires."

As
he left, he was thankful none of the other Sons had the ability to read his
thoughts. If they did, they may have tried to stop him or come along. He wasn't
going to stop at one hunter. Now he was the hunter, and he wasn't interested in
some paid lackeys. It was time to take this fight to the ones who'd started it.

The
Archons.

Chapter Seventeen

Terek
stood outside the front door to the home he'd lived in for more years than he
could count. This had been the one place in the world where he could find peace
as a vampire, and now it would only be a painful reminder of how he'd failed
the ones he loved the most.

As
he turned the knob, he dreaded what awaited him just inside the door. His guilt
compelled him to look at Serena's blood, and he froze before it as horrific
scenes played out in his mind. The memory of her kind eyes full of fear would
haunt him until the day he died.

He
forced himself to step over the pool of blood and pushed down the sickening
feeling that threatened to crush him. The time for mourning would be later. Now
he had a responsibility to ensure Serena and the others were avenged.

Down
the hallway he entered a room he hadn't spent much time in since the days when
humans hunted vampires had ended over a century ago. He'd become a man of peace
after those years.