Deny Me If You Can (12 page)

The hospital in front of her was huge. In her hand
, she held the vial that was filled with Jaromir's blood. It was more valuable to her than gold or diamonds would ever be. She cared for it as if it were the most fragile thing. Megan had wrapped the vial inside several plastic bags. That way nothing would happen to it if she accidentally dropped it.

The hunt hadn't ended the way she had expected it to, but it didn't matter. What did matter was that she could save her sister, and that filled her heart with pure joy.
Megan couldn't remember when she had last been this happy.

She was going to save her sister
's life.

It was a satisfying feeling.

Megan looked at the entrance to the hospital. She knew what giving the blood to her sister meant. She would save her, but Megan would also have to say good bye. After tomorrow, she would no longer be a human, if things went as she hoped. This time, there would be no Jillian in the way, and by the end it wouldn't matter who won. She would have to say good bye to her sister either way. Megan knew she wouldn't turn Jaromir's offer down. She would become a vampire and his queen. She wanted it, and she wanted it badly. That was something she never expected to feel the minutes before she approached Jaromir's club almost a day ago. So many things had changed since then. The attraction between her and Jaromir was real, she hadn't imagined it like Jillian had made her believe. It was the most powerful thing she had ever felt. He was quickly becoming as important to her as having air in her lungs. They belonged together and she looked forward to getting to know his world. Together they would be able to change many things. For instance, all the bad rumors about vampires had to be dealt with, but right now she had to take care of something else.

Megan entered the hospital and took the elevator to the third floor. There were fewer people there
, and when she exited the elevator a silence greeted her. It shut out the sounds of voices and walking people from the entrance. But it was a silence that carried sadness and a suffocating pressure. She could almost feel death in the air. Many cancer patients stayed here, and many didn't leave alive. Last time Megan visited Stacey a few days ago, Stacey had told her that she had seen one too many people leave the floor with a blanket over their heads.

Megan swallowed and slowly approached her sister's room. Every time she walked these few
steps from the elevator, she expected the worst. She expected to find her sister's bed empty even if she knew that a doctor would call her when that moment came.

Megan opened the door to Stacey's room and saw her sister lying on the bed with closed eyes.
Megan relaxed and closed the door. She walked closer to the bed. Stacey was thin, pale and looked a lot older than she was. The cancer was everywhere now. All the doctors could do was to ease Stacey's pain while she waited for the inevitable. Ten years of fighting, surgeries, radiation and more medicine Megan than had ever seen, only to end up like this. At first it had helped, but the cancer had soon blossomed in other places, and now there was nothing anyone could do. Only Jaromir's blood could save Stacey now.

Megan sat down on a chair next to Stacey's bed and gently grabbed her hand. She sho
t a fast gaze toward the window. It was getting dark. Her game with Jaromir would soon begin again. These last few minutes was all she would get with Stacey.

Stacey slowly opened her eyes when Megan's hand touched hers. She smiled toward Megan and Megan smiled back.

“Hi,” Megan said.

“Hi, sis,” Stacey answered with barely a whisper.

“How are you feeling?”

“I'm ready to rock.
Just give me a few minutes to dress and we will make this night one we will never forget.”

Megan could barely hold back her tears, but she tried to remain smiling. Stacey was unable to hug Megan's hand back
. She was too weak, and yet, she was strong enough on the inside to joke about the whole situation. Stacey kept her hope up, no matter what.

“That's good, sis. Within a few
minutes, you will be able to do just that.”

Stacey studied her. “What do you mean?”

Megan took out the vial from her bag and showed it to Stacey. Stacey looked at it with surprise in her eyes.

“What's that?” Stacey asked.

“It's medicine.”

“It doesn't look like medicine. It's red.”

“Trust me, it's medicine. It's nothing you have ever heard of before, but it will save you if you drink it.”

“What do you mean? How can that thing save me when nothing else ha
s?”

Megan swallowed. The worst thing that could happen was if Stacey refused to drink it, and by the look on her face Megan suspected
that Stacey didn't want to touch it. At least at first. Then Stacey looked at the blood filled vial and slowly realization struck her. Megan knew that Stacey understood the same moment that she heard Stacey gasp.

“Megan, what have you done?”

Megan tried to hold back her tears. “Everything I could to save you.”

“Did you get that from some kind of black market?”

Megan shook her head. “No, it's nothing like that.”

“Then what did you do?”

Megan hesitated. Should she tell Stacey everything or not? If she didn't, Stacey would suspect that something was wrong, and considering what was to come, Stacey deserved to know the truth.

Megan lowered her gaze. “Do you remember the rumor that stated that the Vampire King's blood ha
s healing qualities?”

Stacey nodded
, and if she could have screamed out her next questions, she would have. “You went to the Vampire King?”

“Yes, he agreed to give me some of his blood to save you if I ...” Megan interrupted herself. The memory of what happened last night made her blush but also sent an unpleasant chill through her
when Jillian crossed her mind.

“If you what?”

Megan hesitated again.

“Megan, you better tell me or I will never talk to you again.”

Megan snorted. She knew it was an empty threat. “He ...” Megan took a deep breath. It would be better if she just said it and get it over with. “He wanted me to be his prey for one night.”

Megan met Stacey's gaze. Her sister looked at her with her mouth wide open.

“Don't worry. I'm fine,” Megan assured her. She didn't want to go into details. Her sister didn't need to know the graphics of it all. “I played his game, and when it was over, I got the blood.” She handed the vial over to Stacey. “Please, drink it.”

Stacey stared at it as if she couldn't believe what she was holding. After almost a minute she looked up at Megan again. “He didn't hurt you, did he?”

“No, he was a gentlemen who just needed an adrenaline kick.”

“So ... he what? Chased you around for a few hours?”

Megan shrugged. “More or less.”

“And then what?”

“And then he gave me the blood, and here I am. Now drink. It works. Trust me.”

Stacey became more suspicious than ever. Megan had never been able to fool her. It was almost as if Stacey had a sixth sense. Megan knew she couldn't hide the sorrow in her eyes. Stacey saw it. She had always been able to see when
things were wrong.

Stacey looked at the vial once more before she nodded.
“I will never see you again, will I?”

Megan
winced. How Stacey had figured that one out, she could only guess. She opened her mouth to answer, but no words came out.

“You don't look like one of them,” Stacey said after studying Megan.

“I'm not a ...”

“Not yet.”

Megan bit her lip. “No, not yet.”

Silence filled the room for a short while. The sisters watched each other. Their smiles said more than words ever could. The sisterly love between them would always be there, even if they would never meet again.

“I can't believe you did all this for me. I could come with you, you know,” Stacey said.

Megan's heart made almost a flip. To have her sister by her side would have been the greatest joy.

“You could,” Megan said, but she knew what Stacey would say. Stacey had never had anything against vampires, but she had stated many times that the last thing she wanted from life was to become one.

“But you know I won't.”

Megan sighed and nodded. “I know.” Megan gently squeezed Stacey's hand. “Live your life, sis. Be happy. Find you prince charming and have a bunch of kids, and who knows, maybe one day, when you least expect it, we will meet again.”

Stacey snorted.
“We better.”

Megan smiled
. “Now drink.”

Megan helped Stacey open the vial and watched
Stacey pour the blood down her throat with shaky hands. Megan held her hands close by just in case Stacey would need her help.

Stacey laid her head down
on the pillow with a sigh once the vial was empty. “I feel warm on the inside.”

Megan's hope awakened. “It's working. Soon you will feel even better, but keep this to yourself. Don't tell anyone about how you got healed.”

Stacey grinned. She looked better already. “The doctors are going to flip out.”

“Let them.
When the right time comes, people will know the truth.”

Stacey nodded. “What's he like?”

“He is ... wonderful. I'm drawn to him in the worst kind of way, and I don't want to run anymore. Stacey, everything we know about the vampires is wrong. Don't listen to the rumors anymore, and Jaromir is not a monster. Believe me when I say that you would have loved to meet him.”

Curiosity awakened in Stacey's eyes.
“Alright, sis. I will not listen, but you better come back one day and tell me all about it.”

“Stacey, I can't ...”

Stacey hugged Megan's hand back and Megan felt that Stacey's grip was firmer compared to how it had been just a few minutes ago. “I know you can't promise, but at least promise that you will try.”

“It's too dangerous, Stacey. If someone finds out that your own sister has become one of them and that you spend time with me, you could get killed. Peop
le aren't fond of vampires. They haven't been accepted among humans yet.”

“Not yet, but one day.”

They looked at each other for a long while. Finally Megan nodded and straightened her back. “I understand. When that day comes, I promise I will do everything I can to see you again.”

“That's good enough for me.” Stacey sat up and hugged Megan. Tears ran down her
cheeks. She wasn't that pale anymore and she didn't seem aware of how strong she was now. That she could sit up without help was a miracle in itself. “Then I will see you soon, right?”

All Megan could do was nod. “Soon.” That soon could mean days, years or maybe even never. Only time could tell.

“Thank you for everything, Megan. Thank you for saving my life and please tell Jaromir how grateful I am.”

“I will.”

Megan didn't want to let go of her sister, but when she looked out through the window, she saw that the night had fallen. Jaromir's game was about to begin and she had to leave. Megan knew that everything would be alright with Stacey now. It became obvious with each passing minute that the blood had worked. Megan promised herself, while she gave Stacey one last hug, that she would always keep an eye on her and make sure that she was safe. That was the least she could do.

Something was wrong. Something was very wrong. Jaromir hadn't showed up and that worried Megan. She knew that he wouldn't just ditch her. She had felt his desire for her from the first moment the bond had been put in place. She meant too much to him. She still felt it in that tiny little string that remained of their bond, but it frustrated her out of her mind that it wasn't stronger. If the bond would have been stronger, she would have known if something had happened to him, but there was no indication whatsoever of that. Not even Shane had showed up. No phone call, no text, no nothing. They had exchanged phone numbers, and when she called there was never an answer. Instead, there was a death silence that scared her.

She waited for one hour, for two hours and then a third hour. The only thing that happened was that her worry grew stronger. Over and over again she tried to determine what was happening through the string of the bond that remained, but it grew harder with each passing minute.

The darkness outside the window to her apartment didn't promise nice things, but Megan knew what she had to do. She couldn't wait any longer. She would go crazy if she stayed here without knowing what was going on. She had a sick feeling in her gut and she knew it was there for a reason. Something was going on. She just didn't know what.

Megan put on her jacket and within minutes she left her apartment. Like the night before, she went to the club, but this time for another reason. It took her almost an hour to get there and it felt like the longest hour of her life.

The silence she had experienced in her apartment seemed to be here as well. Everything was too quiet. She still had a block to walk to get to the club, but everything felt so different to how it had felt the night before. Yesterday there had been vampires everywhere. Now she didn't see anyone. Just silence, darkness and a fraction of light from the street lights. All she heard was her own steps echo against the house walls. A lonely bird sat on an empty bench. It turned its head toward her when she came closer, made a sound and flew away. The birds sudden movements made Megan flinch, but she controlled herself. She had to admit to herself that she was more nervous this time than yesterday. There was something in the air that hadn't been there the day before. It wasn't death, but it was a silent threat, almost like a promise that stated that if she came too close, she would regret it for the rest of her life.