Dead Awakenings (26 page)

Evaine felt her mental hold slip, and as everyone turned to look at her, the female doctor grabbed the empty syringe off the floor and bolted.

Luca yelled her name; he was on her in an instant. He rolled her over, cradling her in his arms.

“What were you thinking? How could you do that? Why would you do that? Evaine, Evaine, do you have any idea what you have done? Look at you. Aron, Aron, get over here!”

She stared at Tristan across the room. He was still on the floor. “Not Evaine. Not my Evaine. I didn’t mean to. Wasn’t meant for her.”

Victor rushed to Tristan, his knife out. Just as Victor was about to plunge the knife into Tristan, Evaine sent out a mental push. Victor’s hand stopped midair.

“No, Victor.” Her words were barely a whisper. He turned to her, his eyes burning.

“Do it!” Luca commanded. Victor tried again, but Evaine pushed harder, and he was unable to move his hand.

“Stop it!” Aron yelled to them both. “You are going to kill her by making her use her ability while she’s injured. Let the boy go, Victor. Luca, give her your strength.” Luca looked down at her and they locked eyes. His anger was overwhelming. She smiled at him and then grimaced as Aron felt around her chest area.

“Why did you do that?” Luca whispered, a tear leaking out of his eye.

She laughed. “Don’t you know why by now?” She tried to wipe the tear from his eye but her hand fell into his lap instead. It felt like a ton of bricks.

“The bullet went clean through, but there’s a lot of tissue damage. It’s a good thing she fed before coming. It will help,” Ronan said.

“She wouldn’t feed. She refused.”

“What?” Victor almost yelled. “Luca, how could you be so irresponsible? How could you let her come on a mission without feeding?”

“I couldn’t force her,” he shot back.

Aron ran his hands through his hair. “She’ll have to feed now. It’s the only way. If she doesn’t feed she won’t heal before infection and rot sets in. Then…” He couldn’t finish, and he didn’t need to, Evaine knew what he meant. She would meet second death.

She pleaded with Luca silently. She didn’t want to feed here, not in front of everyone.

“Clear the room,” he said quietly. Quinten and Raze were the first to go, followed by Ronan and Jeff, who was staring wide-eyed at the scene. Aron didn’t move and neither did Victor, who still held onto Tristan’s jacket collar.

“Go,” Luca said to Aron. “I can handle this.”

For a minute she thought Aron might protest. “I’ll wait outside in case you need me.” He looked down at Evaine. “You need to feed on the organs, not the tissue. You need as much as you can get.”

She nodded, understanding. Finally Victor pulled Tristan upright to drag him out of the room. Tristan wrenched himself free of the grasp and ran to Evaine’s side. At the sudden nearness of him Luca let out an inhuman growl. It made Tristan flinch, but not back away. Tristan knelt on the floor at Evaine’s head.

“Baby, I’m so sorry, I would never do anything to hurt you. You need blood, take mine. Take as much as you need, take it all, only don’t die. Please, Evaine, don’t die!”

“Tristan.” She was gasping. “You should go. Don’t…want you…see this.”

“No, I want to be here, I want to make this right. If you want to be with him instead of me, fine, but I need you to live.” He ripped off his jacket and pulled off his shirt exposing his chest and neck to her. “Here, drink from me.”

She was confused; Evaine couldn’t understand what he was offering her.

It was Luca who spoke. “She isn’t a vampire, you idiot! And we don’t have time for this crap. What’s about to happen isn’t easy to see, even for those of us who have to do it.”

Tristan didn’t move.

“Tristan, please. I don’t want you to.”

He shook his head. Luca motioned to Victor, who stalked forward and pulled Tristan to his feet again.

A thought struck her. “No. Let him see. Let him understand.” She looked at Luca and nodded. “It’s the only way.”

Luca watched her for another moment and then looked up at Victor and nodded. Victor let go of Tristan’s arm, but pushed him as hard as he could. Tristan hit the wall with a bang, but didn’t move. He stood against the cement wall, his eyes locked on Evaine. Victor’s rage was palpable. Evaine knew he wanted to rip Tristan apart. She didn’t have the energy to stop him again if he tried. Finally, Victor nodded and walked out.

Luca stared at Tristan, every muscle in his body tense with rage. “If you want to live through this, stay there and don’t move. Don’t scream. Don’t even breathe. And most of all, whatever you do, don’t run.”

Tristan nodded but didn’t speak.

Her chest felt dry and tight. Luca caressed her face. “Evaine, don’t be scared. I’m right here.”

“What if…I can’t stop?”

“I’ll help you stop.”

“I don’t want you to see…don’t want to hurt you.” Her eyes drifted to his left arm where she had bitten him.

“You won’t hurt me, and I’m not leaving.” He kissed her softly on the lips and lay her down on the floor. Walking over to one of the guards that Victor had killed, Luca jerked him close to her. Pulling out a giant serrated hunting knife from his boot he plunged it deep into the man’s chest. She could hear the bones crunch as he ran the knife through the rib cage and down into his abdomen.

The smell hit her in a wave of ecstasy. Her mouth watered and everything came into sharp focus. Thick blood poured out of the wound on to the floor. Luca turned and pulled her onto his lap. He bent her over the man’s exposed body. She remembered what Aron had told her she needed to do. She went for the heart. It was soft beneath her teeth and still warm. With every bite she could feel strength flow into her body. Her body tingled, the human high hitting her in waves. After several minutes she no longer needed Luca to support her and she knelt over the food on her own. A moan escaped her lips from the feeling of euphoria.

She had been feeding greedily when she heard Luca’s voice in her head. Talking to her, distracting her.
“Slow down.
You’ve had enough
.
”
He wasn’t being forceful, only consoling. But she didn’t want to stop; she wanted to keep the feelings rolling inside her. If she could just get a bit more than she would feel even better.

She felt light pressure on her shoulders, someone touching her, pulling on her. Trying to force her out of her state of bliss. She pushed the hands away, but they became more persistent. Finally she was lifted off the cooling food. She didn’t want to be taken away, she began to struggle. Giving a mental shove she fell to the floor, Luca sprawled on the ground next to her. She sprang to her feet; he was up just as fast. Evaine took in every inch of him. He was hard and strong and his eyes burned like flames. She couldn’t help but feel waves of desire flowing through her. How was it that she had said no to him? How could she have not seen Luca for what he was? He was glorious. He was the most beautiful man she had ever seen.

He must have read what she was feeling because his pupils went to slits and she could feel her desire mimicked in his own. He walked to her slowly, inches from her. He reached up and touched her face. She moaned with pleasure, his caress soft and light. He ran his thumb across her lips where she still had some blood from feeding and then stuck his finger into his mouth. She could hardly contain herself. A growl grew deep inside her chest. He pulled off his black T-shirt and wiped her mouth and chin. She ran her hands over his abdomen and bare chest, feeling him quake beneath her touch. She had never felt so close to another person. Finally, when he’d cleaned her face and neck he leaned ever closer to her, his eyes still slits, his breath on her skin.

“Luca.” Her voice was hoarse with desire as she whispered his name. “Luca, take me. I’m yours.”

He kissed her neck softly, and she thought she was going to burst.

“Luca, I need you.”

He continued to kiss her neck, her forehead, her eyelids, her chin, her cheeks. She couldn’t take it anymore; she didn’t want him to be soft. Grabbing his face she attacked his lips. Pressing herself into him, she used her metal ability to hold him to her. He kissed her, over and over. She tried to lift her shirt, but his hands were on hers, holding it down. She stopped kissing him.

“Luca—”

“Evaine, this isn’t you. This isn’t what you want or the way that you want it. This is your body talking. It’s the feeding.”

“No, you’re wrong. This is what I’ve wanted since the first time we kissed. It’s what you want too. I know it. Take me.” She pressed her lips to his again as she ran her hands over the hard planes of his torso. The desire within her, to make love to him, was all-consuming. His scent filled her nostrils; his taste lingered in her mouth. She needed him. She reached for his belt buckle, and he pushed her away from him. She could feel him straining to keep control. The thoughts running through his head were clear as day.

“I want you more than anything,” he said. “But not here, not like this, and especially not with an audience.” Luca’s eyes shifted away from her face.

She snapped her head around. Someone stood against the wall. His fear hung in the air and she tasted it; it made her hungry again. She took a step forward but Luca caught her by the arm. She looked at the tall, handsome man. She knew him. Her rage began to boil.

“You shot me,” she spat.

Tristan opened his mouth to speak, but nothing came out.

“You shot me!” She lunged at him, but Luca held her back.

“I…I didn’t mean to,” he stammered. “Not you.”

“You meant to shoot Luca. You couldn’t have me, so no one can have me, is that it? Well, I am no one’s property.”

“I think you should go.” Luca spoke in a low, warning voice.

“Oh, I don’t think so.” Her voice was cool. “I think he should stay right where he is. I think that I’d like to see just what kind of heart he truly has. I want to see if it really is so black that he would shoot me.” She made a lunge for Tristan, but Luca was ready. He grabbed her around the waist and pulled her off the floor.

“Aron, now!” Luca yelled.

The door flew open, and for the second time in an hour, Evaine felt herself get shot.

* * *

Evaine went limp in his arms. He held her tight. Kissing her on the temple he pulled the tranquilizer dart out of her arm and threw it to the floor. He looked up at Tristan. “Have you seen enough now?”

Tristan’s eyes were wide with terror, and he looked like he might vomit. “What are you?”

“We are reanimated flesh. Deaders.”

“You’re zombies.”

Luca nodded.

“I didn’t mean to shoot her.”

“She didn’t mean to try to attack you. It’s the feeding; it causes a frenzy. It can cause heightened sensuality or heightened rage. With her it’s usually rage.”

“You mean she’s been like this before?”

“Many times. But she is better than most newborns.”

“It’s a good thing she’s so small.”

Luca let out a humorless laugh. “You have no idea what she’s capable of. She’s more powerful than any of us. If she had wanted to, she could have stopped your heart, just by thinking about it. She doesn’t realize yet that she can do that, thank heavens. She would never have forgiven herself if she had killed you. So let’s be clear: that’s the only reason you are still alive.”

“You love her.”

“Yes.”

“And she loves you.”

“Yes, though she won’t admit it.” Luca looked at the pained expression on Tristan’s face. He suddenly felt sympathy for Tristan. He’d been in Tristan’s shoes with Mya. “She still loves you too though.”

Tristan gazed at her. “She doesn’t love me the way she loves you. She’s never looked at me the way she looks at you or talked to me like she talks to you.” He was silent for a long minute. “How did you know that we were in the diner last night?”

“I knew that you’d taken her from the house. So I drove through town till I felt her. She was scared, so she projected easily. It took only a minute for me to pinpoint her location.”

“So you do have a connection deeper than love.”

“Yes.”

“I hate to break up this little Q and A,” Aron said, “but we need to get out of here. The doctor escaped, and she could come back with reinforcements at any minute. Besides, that sedative isn’t going to last forever and I’d like to get Evaine home before it wears off.”

Luca nodded and hefted Evaine into a more comfortable position, walking past Tristan out the door. He had gone only a few feet when he heard a noise behind him. Luca turned to see the newborn that had been hiding under the bed crouched over the dead man, finishing what Evaine had started.

“What do I do now?” Tristan asked.

“Go home,” Luca said.

“I want to help. I have resources and connections.”

“So do we. We don’t need help. Go home and forget us.”

“I can’t,” he said softly. “Even after everything I saw, I still love her. Would you just leave her and go home?”

Luca looked down into the peaceful pale face. He knew the answer without even saying it.

“Let me help,” Tristan begged.

“All right.” Luca produced a wry smile. “If you can get that newborn into the van, you can come.”

Tristan blanched as he looked over at the girl on the floor. Luca laughed and then carried Evaine out the door and down the hallway.

Chapter Twenty-Four

Evaine awoke in her soft cream room. She laid there and recalled what had happened. It was a bit hazy. They had been at the abandoned building, she’d been talking to someone, and then a man had come in. He had been about to shoot Luca. She had jumped in the way.

“Tristan,” she gasped and sat bolt upright.

“I’m right here,” came a voice from the corner chair. He sat up straighter as she took him in. He wore a black shirt like Luca’s and a pair of dirty jeans. She looked around. She was in her room, but he was in her room too. What was he doing there? Where was Luca? Why did they let him in? All these questions and more ran through her mind. “You shot me!”

Tristan sighed. “Like I told you before, it was an accident.”