Chapter 17
“Here it is,” Carson said, setting a crate filled with wine and beer on the ancient picnic table.
Leaning over, Remy kissed his mate’s cheek before picking up a beer and frowning. “You do know, I selected the finest wines ever made here to serve tonight.”
“Uh-huh, but beer is the preferred choice back home.”
Eyebrows raised in disbelief, Remy asked, “In California? The home of many great wineries?”
“Yeah, well…beer is better for wolf shifters.”
“I never knew that,” Remy said, uncorking some bottles of wine before setting them down next to the glasses. Scanning the table, he checked the number of napkins, plates and utensils, making sure there were plenty on hand. Satisfied everything was in order, he asked, “What time is everyone coming?”
“I told Hunt five.”
“Any minute, then…” Remy murmured, rearranging the flowers in the middle of the table, yet again.
Watching his mate fuss with the table for the umpteenth time, Carson frowned slightly before realizing Remy was trying to cover up his nervousness.
Pulling him into his arms, Carson held him tight, running his palm slowly up and down Remy’s back.
When he felt some of the tension ease, he murmured, “Babe, what’s got you in such a tizzy? You know most everyone who’s coming.”
Sighing, Remy tucked his face against his mate’s neck. “I’m trying to impress your brother and his mate.”
“Why? They already like you, especially Kieran. He’s incapable of disliking anyone. And Logan? He’s already told me the Fates gave me a fantastic mate.”
“He just met me and that was for all of five seconds!”
Chuckling, Carson said, “Five seconds…five years…it doesn’t matter. My brother’s no fool. He knew instantly what kind of person you were.”
“How?” Remy asked, glancing up at his mate.
“His spirit…or to be correct…their spirit. According to Logan, their spirit will tell him if someone is a threat to Kieran. You, my sweetheart, got their spirit’s stamp of approval.”
Shaking his head, Remy muttered, “Spirits…don’t let the boys know or otherwise they’ll start seeing ghosts.”
Smiling, Carson brushed Remy’s forehead with his lips. “Relax, they’re still focusing on Hunt’s winged wolf.”
“CAAAARRRRSSSSOOOO!”
Hearing the sheer terror in Eamon’s voice, fear lanced Remy’s heart, freezing him in place.
“CAAAARRRRSSSSOOOOOOOO!”
Before Remy could respond, Carson was racing toward the sound of Eamon’s voice, rounding one corner of the house and heading for the front yard. Following his mate, Remy heard Galen screaming farther away, filling his mind with horrible images of what might have happened to his brothers.
Carson finally spotted Eamon running toward him, crying uncontrollably. Scooping him up, he hugged him to his chest, whispering soothing words to calm him down.
Joining them, Remy quickly checked his brother for injuries but, finding none, asked, “Where’s Galen?”
“With the zombie,” Eamon said, his voice muffled by Carson’s shirt.
Eyes widening, Remy exchanged glances with Carson before asking, “What zombie?” Before Eamon could answer, Remy was suddenly hit from behind, causing his knees to buckle.
Grabbing his mate’s arm to keep him upright, Carson looked down, finding Galen’s arms wrapped tightly around Remy’s legs.
“CARSSSOO!” Eamon wailed. “It was an accident!”
“The dead man’s moving!” cried Galen. “He’s gonna eat me and Eamon!”
Bending down, Remy hefted Galen up, hugging him. “No one’s going to eat you.”
“Galen,” Carson said, his voice low and soft, “Remy and I will never let anyone hurt you or your brothers…I promise.”
“Carson’s right, sweetie,” Remy crooned, gently wiping Galen’s tears away while waiting for his brother’s fear to subside.
Taking big gulps of air, Galen hugged Remy tighter, remembering the dead man’s hand moving. Shaking his head, he said, “If a zombie wanna eat you, nothin’ can stop him.”
“How do you know it’s a zombie?” asked Remy, keeping his voice level.
Galen lifted his head, looking at Remy with big, frightened eyes. “Cuz he was dead but then he spoke and moved.”
Eamon turned his head toward Galen. “I didn’t see him move.”
“He did it after you left,” Galen said, hiccupping as he tried to stop crying.
“I told you he was a zombie,” Eamon said, smugly.
“Whoa, guys,” Carson said. “Can you start from the beginning?”
“We were huntin’ dragons…”
“Eamon tripped…”
“I murdered him with my sword…”
“No, you didn’t…he was already dead!” exclaimed Galen.
“You don’t know that,” Eamon said, pouting.
“Where’s the dead man?” asked Remy, attempting to hear the whole story before his brothers got sidetracked by another one of their disagreements.
Galen pointed. “Over there.”
Carson stared in that direction, but saw nothing. “What did he say to you?”
“‘Help me’,” Eamon whispered, “but Gally said it was the wind talkin’ to us but it wasn’t…it was the zombie.”
Raising an eyebrow, Carson glanced at his mate. Something clearly scared the boys, but it was impossible to make any sense out of their answers. “Babe, do you mind staying here with the boys while I go and see what they found?”
“Noooo,” Eamon whimpered. “Carsso, don’t go.”
“Hey,” Carson said, looking at Galen, “I need you to do something for me.”
Wrinkling his forehead, Galen studied Carson, before asking, “What?”
“Will you take Remy and Eamon into the house and protect them for me?”
“What about Rune?” Galen asked. “Do I protect him, too?”
“Yup…he’s up in his bed, napping right now and I need you to protect him, too,” Carson replied.
“What if the zombie wants to get in?”
“Make sure you lock the door…that way he won’t be able to get in.”
Nodding, Galen squirmed out of Remy’s arms. He waited until Carson transferred Eamon over to Remy before tugging on Remy’s shirt. “C’mon, Remee, Carsso said you got to obey me.”
Holding back a smile, Remy said, “Your wish is my command…lead the way.”
Remaining where he was, Carson watched his family until they were safely inside the cottage.
Then he headed in the direction Galen had pointed to.
He wasn’t sure what he’d find, but if he had to guess, it would turn out to be nothing, knowing the boys’ fanciful imaginations.
Before taking a dozen steps, he paused, hearing the approach of several cars.
Carson smiled as their guests drove up and waited until everyone spilled out of the vehicles. “Hey, just in time.”
“For food, I hope,” drawled Logan, approaching Carson.
“Nope…well at least not right now. I’m on my way to find a zombie…want to join me?”
“Not really.” Logan smirked.
“Did you say a zombie?” asked Hunter, holding Fionn’s hand.
“Something scared Galen and Eamon and I was just on my way to investigate,” Carson said.
“Are they all right?” asked Kieran.
“Yeah…they’re in the house with Remy,” Carson said. “I won’t be gone long…beer and wine are in the backyard, so help yourselves.”
Listening to his spirit, Kieran gasped at what it was telling him. “Macushla, I have to go with Carson.”
“Why…” Logan stopped to listen to his mate’s explanation through their mind link. “Oh shit!”
“What?” asked Carson.
“C’mon, he’s dying,” Kieran implored.
“Who’s dying?” asked Carson, following Logan and Kieran as they stumbled through rows of grapevines.
Spying the prone man, Logan rushed over to him, kneeling down by his side. Pressing his fingers firmly against the side of man’s neck, he felt for a pulse before rolling him over to check for wounds.
Joining his mate, Kieran placed his palm on man’s thigh, drawing out pain buried deep in the vampire’s body.
Standing behind his brother, Carson stared at the pale man, seemingly dead except for the blood-red tears running down his cheeks. “Holy shit!”
“Call Colton!” Logan barked. The man’s pulse was weak, dropping out totally from time to time.
“Helppp…”
“Macushla, he needs blood.”
Putting his phone on speaker, Carson said, “Here…he’s on the phone.”
“What’s up?” Colton asked.
“There’s a man who’s unconscious with a very weak pulse. His skin is pale and cold. We’re in the middle of a vineyard with no medical facility close by. Tell me what to do.”
“Macushla, he needs blood!” Kieran interrupted, anxiously.
“Help…me…please…”
“I understand babe,” Logan said, “but I can’t…”
“Move aside so I can help him, macushla.” Lifting his wrist to his mouth, Kieran sliced it open with one of his fangs before pressing it against the man’s mouth. “He’s a vampire,” he murmured, watching the man’s mouth latch onto him.
“A vampire? What the hell is he doing here?” asked Carson.
“Turn the phone around so I can see him!” demanded Colton.
After complying, Logan said, “I don’t know if you can see it, but it looks like his eyes are crying blood.”
“Fuck! Logan, take over from Kieran. It’s too dangerous for his pup for him to continue. Carson, get ready to follow Logan. We have to stop the bleeding or he’ll die.”
“What’s the matter with him?” asked Carson.
“My guess is he hasn’t eaten in a very long time,” Colton said.
“Why not? I thought there wasn’t any way a vampire could refuse to eat,” Carson said.
“Obviously that’s not true,” Colton murmured, studying the man on his phone’s screen.
“How much blood does he need?” asked Carson.
“A lot,” Colton muttered. “More than you and Logan can give.”
“Hunter’s nearby, too,” Kieran said.
“Call him, babe,” Logan said, watching the vampire slowly swallow the blood trickling from the cut.
“What he really needs is a transfusion,” Colton said.
“Sorry, bro, fresh out of bags of blood,” Carson muttered.
“Hey, I have a great idea,” Kieran said. “Remy can magic up some for us.”
“That’d be perfect!” Colton said excitedly. “Three…no better make it four bags should do it. Also an IV kit…better make that two of them.”
“Shouldn’t he be in a hospital for this?” asked Carson.
“No time. Is there a spare bed close by?” asked Colton.
“We have one,” Carson muttered. “But…”
“Don’t worry, he’s not dangerous…at least not until he makes a full recovery,” Colton said. “Right now, he’s weaker than a newborn.”
“For how long?” asked Carson. “He’ll be in the same house as my family.”
“Given his current condition, my estimate is a day or two…but it could be less. It all depends on how well he responds to the blood transfusions,” Colton said.
“Is it safe to move him now?” asked Logan.
“You can’t risk it until the tears stop. Carson, take Logan’s place,” Colton ordered.
Sitting back on his heels, Logan watched as his brother placed his cut wrist against the vampire’s mouth. Seeing the man’s throat move as he swallowed, he wondered what had driven him to refuse to eat, deliberately starving himself.
“Kieran, have you been able to help him?” asked Colton.
“A little bit…but there is something blocking me,” Kieran replied.
“What do you mean?” asked Colton.
“I’m only able to remove the first layer of pain but I can’t go further. It’s like a huge wall keeping me out and nothing I do will allow me to penetrate it,” Kieran said, frowning.
“Sounds like…hmmm…that can’t be,” muttered Colton.
“Can’t be what?” asked Logan, worried about his mate.
“A spell…but that just doesn’t make any sense,” Colton mused. “Vampires only consort with other vampires.”
“That’s not true,” Logan said. “Oracle told Reif that the vampires who’d taken control of his people had partnered with a couple of witches who practiced black magic.”
“Carson, can Remy tell if there’s a spell that was cast on this vampire?” asked Colton.
“I believe so,” Carson said.
“Macushla, look!”
Shifting his gaze, Logan saw what his mate was pointing to. “Hey, Colton, the blood tears have stopped…at least for now.”
“Thank the gods!”
“Can I stop giving him blood now?” asked Carson.
“Yes…go get the bed ready and have Remy magic up everything we need,” Colton ordered.
Once Carson was gone, Logan asked, “Will the vampire live?”
“I don’t know,” answered Colton. “I’m not even sure the transfusions will help if there’s a spell responsible for him not eating. But, if there is, Remy should be able to remove it. In the meantime, be careful picking him up…and please move slowly carrying him back to Carson’s home.”
“What if he starts to bleed again?” asked Logan.
“That’s why I want you to be careful not to jostle him too much.”
“Would your power be able to heal him?” Logan asked his brother.
“Not sure…never tried it on a vampire, especially one who has a spell on him. I wish I had all the answers for you, but I don’t.”
Gently picking up the vampire, Logan rose, surprised at the lightness of the man. Hearing a low moan as he shifted the vampire to get a better hold, he murmured, “Shhh…I got you.”
“Kieran, keep your hand in contact with him…hopefully you can keep the pain from getting too bad. I’m gonna hang up now and try to reach Mystia. Call me if you need me,” Colton said.
“Will do,” Logan muttered, carefully taking a step, then waiting for a moment before taking the next one.
Glancing down at the man in his arms, he realized how young the vampire must have been when he was turned, causing tears to well up in his eyes.
He doubted very much it was done with the man’s consent.
And even though the vampire who turned him spared his life, Logan wondered if the young man regarded himself as lucky—his entire future had been stolen from him.
“Macushla,” Kieran whispered, “he doesn’t want to be a vampire.”
“I don’t blame him at all,” Logan murmured.
“His name is Lucius and all he really wants is to be loved,” Kieran whispered, tears filling his eyes.
“Lucius…can you open your eyes for me?” asked Logan softly.
“He’s trying, macushla, but I think he’s too weak.”
“Hey, that’s okay Lucius…we’re going to take care of you,” Logan said, keeping his voice low and soothing, while looking for signs the man heard him.
Reminded by his spirit of the songs taught to him by his Shaman, Kieran began to sing the one meant to heal a troubled person.
A breathless sigh escaped Lucius’s mouth as the melody and words swirled around him, burrowing into his soul.
He must be in the arms of an angel but why would that be?
Ever since that fateful day, he knew he’d end up in hell—it was just a matter of time.
But he wasn’t there yet. He wasn’t sure how he knew, but there was no doubt in his mind the love he felt flooding his body was expunging the worst of his pain.
A trickle of hope began to fill his soul; he prayed he might awaken from the nightmare his life had become and be himself again.