Blood Spirit (4 page)

Nodding,
Carlie smiled. "Terek has been vampire since the 1300s. But don't let the
number discourage you. He cares about each and every one of us. Why just
tonight he gave Serena permission to sire."

"Sire?"

"Yes.
The right to make her own vampires. I have only a few myself because I live
here. You'll get to sire when you learn how to be one of us. For now, we're
just happy to know you feel better."

Ilona
looked away and frowned at the thought of learning how to be one of them.
"I don't want to sire. I don't want to be a vampire."

"Oh,
don't say that! I know for some it's a hard thing to get used to, but you have
all of us to lean on. We're your family now."

Ilona
hung her head. "I had a family. Now I have nothing."

The
mention of family made the memory of her own flood into Ilona's mind. She
imagined her mother pacing the floor and worried sick when she didn't return.
The image of her sad face staring out the window as she waited for her to come
home made Ilona's heart ache, and she turned away from Carlie.

"I'd
like to be alone."

A
soft touch on her shoulder and a quiet "Okay" was all Ilona knew as
the misery of her new life washed over her again.

But
she found Carlie's kind nature wouldn't allow her to wallow in pain alone, and
she returned just a few minutes later with Terek. Behind her, she heard him
send Carlie away and then there was silence.

As
if she were drawn to him, Ilona felt like her body had a mind of its own as she
rolled over to face him. He seemed to have some strange power over her as even
her eyes refused to close, forcing her to meet his stare.

"Carlie
tells me you're unhappy," he said in a low, smooth voice that instantly
soothed her.

"I
can't be like her. I don't want to be a vampire."

Terek
moved around the bed to stand next to her. Again, her body seemed drawn to him
and she turned to look up at him. Green eyes stared down into hers, eyes gentle
and at the same time piercing.

"I'm
sorry, Ilona, but you don't have a choice. What you can choose to be is
happy."

"You
took my life, my family, my everything, and now you say it's my choice to be
happy? Where was my choice when you made me this?"

Ilona
felt torn between what her mind told her to say and the craving she felt to be
near him. Both seemed to fight for control of her very being.

Terek
knelt at the bedside and took her hands in his. "Ilona, I want nothing
more than your happiness, but you must want to be happy."

His
touch relaxed her, and she looked up to see his eyes, now so gentle and kind,
looking back with an innocence that surprised her. As she gazed into them, she
heard him speak softly to her, but his words made no sense even as they calmed
her heart.

***

Terek
watched as Ilona's eyes glazed over, telling him she was under his hypnotic
spell. He knew it wouldn't make her any happier, but without hypnosis, she
wouldn't take his blood. As a new vampire, she needed the blood of her sire to
ensure her connection to him and the rest of their kind.

That
she'd not craved it yet concerned him, but he sought to fix that problem now,
before it grew into something larger. Lightly, he ran his fingertip over her
cheek and was pleased to see she didn't recoil from his touch.

Thank
God for the power of hypnosis.

"Ilona,
what does your body tell you?"

In
a soft voice, she answered, "To be near you."

Her
candid answer touched him, and he traced the lips that had just spoken such
sweet words. So soft, so yielding...

The
tip of her tongue grazed his finger, and a jolt of desire shot straight to his
cock. Under hypnosis, her body ruled her mind, and her body wanted him, if the
sensual look on her face held even a shred of truth.

Terek
fought the urge to take her into his arms and make love to her, even as his own
body called out to make her his completely. That he wanted her didn't surprise
him. She was beautiful, and he counted the privilege of making love to his
vampires as one of the best things about being a sire.

What
did surprise him was how much he wanted her so soon.

"Terek,
I need..." Ilona left her plea unfinished and gently sucked the tip of his
finger into her mouth.

Closing
his eyes, he let the feeling of her soft tongue caressing his skin flow over
him. He ran his finger over her teeth and soon found what he'd expected.
Ilona's fangs had dropped, showing what she needed was his blood.

A
soft moan escaped from her mouth as he slowly stroked her right fang from base
to tip. The point, razor sharp, pierced his skin, and she instinctively began
to suck, eager for his blood to nourish her.

"No,
not that way."

Terek
watched as a frown marred her beautiful face when he took back his finger.

"Please,
don't deny me what I need."

Gently,
he pushed aside the hair that framed her face and stroked her cheek. The desire
that burned in her eyes made him wish for the time when she'd want him without
the haze of hypnosis.

For
a time when she'd want him as he wanted her.

"I'd
never deny you for the world, Ilona. Take from me and feel the love of your sire
as it courses through your veins."

Pressing
his wrist to her lips, he felt the points of her fangs push into his skin. In
seconds, she was sucking desperately, her hands holding his arm to her mouth.
It had been ages since a vampire had taken their first blood from him, and the
feeling of her lips and tongue as she fed for the first time made him realize
how much he'd missed this.

Tenderly,
he cradled her head, his fingers touching her silken blond hair as she eagerly
accepted the role of vampire. Terek's heart filled with happiness at the sight,
even as a tiny voice in his mind reminded him that when he said the words to
bring her back the beautiful haze would be lifted and Ilona would once again
hate what he'd made her.

Desperate
to stave off that inevitability for even a few precious moments, Terek pulled
his wrist from her mouth, instantly missing the feel of her on his skin.

Ilona
lifted her face and licked her lips stained a shiny crimson to catch the last
drops of his blood at the corner of her mouth. He wanted to kiss that mouth,
feast on those red lips, devour that pink tongue of hers that seductively
peaked out of that luscious mouth.

"You
said you would never deny me."

Her
tone was teasing, but the dark look in her eyes accused him of doing what he'd
promised never to do. That stare pinched at him, but he'd suffer a lifetime of
pain to extend the happiness he found with her like this.

"Never.
I merely prolong our time together."

Her
hand reached up to grab his collar and tugged him toward her until they were so
close he felt her warm breath on his skin. She closed her eyes and sighed
before softly pressing her lips to his.

The
act was full of tenderness and uncertainty and utterly charming. Terek lightly
swept his tongue over her lower lip but held back from going any further. Much
more, and he'd give in to what his own body was begging for.

"Show
me how to be your vampire," she whispered into his mouth. "I want to
learn."

"Soon."

For
now, he gave in to his desires and kissed her long and deep. His tongue sought
out hers, and he pulled her to him to feel her body molded to his. But that
little voice never stopped whispering the truth, no matter how much he ordered
it to.

Finally,
that voice won out and he reluctantly pulled away from her. "Ilona, rest
now."

When
he'd finished the chant to lift the hypnosis, he stayed on his knees next to
her wishing the sweetness wouldn't end. But when she opened her eyes, he knew
the magic they'd shared was lost, replaced by a mixture of sadness and anger
that showed in her eyes.

Ilona's
gaze moved from his face to his wrist where the puncture holes her fangs had
made still remained open. A look of horror crossed her face.

"What
are those?"

Terek
ran his tongue over the skin to close the holes. "How do you feel?"

"Don't
answer my question with one of your own. What happened to your wrist?"

Reaching
out, he stroked her hair. "Ilona, you must feed. Without blood, your
connection to our world will weaken. As your sire, I'm responsible for caring
for you."

She
pushed his hand away in disgust. "No! I would never want that. Never! What
did you do to me?"

For
the first time as a sire, Terek felt defensive. Her words cut him inside, and
the sneer she wore made him feel wrong. For the first time in seven centuries,
he felt guilty for doing what came naturally to him as a vampire. Standing, he moved
away from her and toward the door to avoid the fight he knew would ensue.
"I did what a sire may."

Before
she could answer, he stormed out of the room, hating himself, her, and how she
made him feel. Never before had one of his vampires been so unwilling to accept
what they were. On top of everything, his ability to read minds didn't work on
her either.

Not
that what she felt wasn't perfectly clear in every glare she shot him and every
word she nearly spat at him.

By
the time he'd made his way to the library, he'd decided it was time to return
to Romania. Sitting at his desk, he admitted to himself that's where he
belonged. Their world needed him and the rest of the Sons focused on defeating
the Archons, not pining away over a mistake.

Terek
winced as the thought crossed his mind that making Ilona one of his vampires
was a mistake. Never had he regretted any of the thousands he'd turned.

Until
Ilona.

Enough.
It's done and she'll stay here with Jasmine and the others for now.

He
worked to push any thought of her out of his mind as he dialed the monastery's
number.

"Terek,
where are you?" Dante asked as he answered the phone.

"Still
in Spain. I'll be there tonight."

"Good.
We've heard from Nico and Saint. The Archons have moved to a new policy of
killing all vampires of those they suspect of being Sons. Vasilije's have been
under attack for hours. It's bad, Terek."

Terek
remembered what the hunter had thought about the vampire meant to be Ilona's
sire. If he thought she was turned before he was murdered, he'd be looking for
her.

"I'll
be there soon. I just have a few precautions to take here first."

As
he hung up the phone, Terek prepared to do what he hadn't done since the days
when humans had hunted his kind.

Once
again, war had come to his house, and if it meant his life, he'd protect his
vampires.

Chapter Four

When
Terek finally arrived at the monastery, he sensed Dante's description of the
situation as bad had been a gross understatement. While as a rule he merely had
to focus to keep from reading others' thoughts, tonight the ideas swirling in
Vasilije's mind nearly overwhelmed him. They slammed into his consciousness
before he'd made it three steps from the front door, and with each step toward
his friend and fellow Son, the pain and torment from the attack on his vampires
bombarded Terek.

Vasilije
paced back and forth from wall to wall in his study as Sasa watched, her hands
reaching for him on each pass but failing to provide any comfort. His twisted
expression made him look like a dangerous caged animal, and Terek wondered if
he knew either of them were there at all.

"I
can't stay here as they pick off my vampires one by one," Vasilije raged.
"Motherfuckers!"

"Love,
we'll save them," Sasa said, her voice full of sadness.

Terek's
heart went out to her. As difficult as it was for him to block out Vasilije's
tortured thoughts, he imagined experiencing his pain as an empath must be
almost unbearable.

Raking
his hands through his hair, Vasilije stopped short and hung his head as he
inhaled, as if attempting to ward off some physical pain.

"Vasilije,
my friend, Sasa's right. We'll save them."

Had
he even heard him? Terek saw the look of misery on Sasa's face. He doubted
she'd ever seen him like this. The man he'd become with her betrayed no signs
of this vicious rage Terek knew had a home in his friend's soul. The effect of
the unveiling of Vasilije's true nature once again pained the female who adored
him.

Terek
laid a hand on Vasilije's shoulder and his gesture was met with a terrible
twisted sneer as Vasilije's eyes flashed the madness that was quickly
overtaking him. He said nothing but stared wildly back at Terek.

"We
will save them, Vasilije. We will. I promise. They're as meaningful to us as
they are to you."

"I
hear them call out for me—their sire—and then there's just excruciating pain.
They've been loyal, and how have I repaid that loyalty? And Brandon...gone for
nothing."

Terek
squeezed his shoulder. "You didn't do this to them. Don't beat yourself up
over this."

"I
can't wait, Terek. Every minute I wait I risk losing another one."

"We'll
leave right now, my love," Sasa said timidly, but Terek already knew
Vasilije's thoughts. The look on her face told him she knew too.

"No.
I go alone."

The
hurt from his brusque dismissal instantly registered on Sasa's face. Her pained
expression and teary eyes were ignored by Vasilije, though, who continued
torturing himself over what the Archons were doing to his vampires.

"Vasilije,
you need to be careful. It's likely the Archons will know you'll try to save
your vampires. We can't afford to lose you," Terek said hoping his friend
would see the danger in his plan.