Relinquish: Book II of the Rising Trilogy (31 page)

“It is time, brother,” Lucien growls as his gaze focuses on the moonlight streaming in through the windows.

“Time for what?” I whimper as I turn to face my new husband.

Vladimir smiles down at me, curling his finger along my cheekbone.
 “Do not fret.  It will all be over soon.”

Adela’s piercing screams tear at me as Lucien waves the silver blade before my sister’s eyes.
 She bucks wildly as his arms snakes about her chest and her cries give way to wailing pleas.

“No, please!”
 I beg as stinging tears blur my vision.  “Take me instead.”

Vladimir’s hauntingly handsome face shows no emotion.
 “The pain will only be for a moment.”

“
Roseli-” Adela’s cry gurgles in her throat as the blade slices clean through her flesh.  A thin red line appears first, and then a shower of blood cascades down from her neck, staining her pale pink dress.  Her eyes bulge as she fights from breath.  Delicate fingers attempt to staunch the outpouring.

I fall to my knees and the dagger clatters from my hands.
 My hair falls in a heavy veil over my face as I bow my head.  Salty tears stream down the curve of my cheeks, pattering against the heated floor.  Small puffs of steam rise from where they fall.  My shriek of agony weaves among the rafters of this desecrated church and up into the night.

That is when I smell it.
 The heady bouquet that clings to my skin is sweet, delicious.  My throat clenches as the scent rolls over me and I fight the urge to lick my lips.  I lower my gaze and notice fresh sheets of blood staining my corset for the first time.  It trails down from my throat and oozes into a deep, cleanly edged wound just over my heart.  The hole has already begun to mend, sealing over with a new layer of pale flesh.

Reaching up with quivering fingers, I touch the sticky warmth that adheres to my chest.
 “No, no, no!”  

I shake my head at the memory of Vladimir plunging the dagger deep into my chest, tearing flesh and scoring bone.
 The pain had been excruciating, but it paled instantly as a new pain surged through my veins.  The fires burned hotter than any mortal flame, charring everything in its path.  The darkness had come...but not fast enough.

It was all real!
 
I cannot breathe as mocking laughter draws my gaze upward and I meet the dark, maniacal eyes of Lucien Enescue perched among the charred rafters.  His long hair drapes about his shoulders, thickly matted with blood.  The flesh of his right cheek is scored deeply with claw marks.  His chin is layered red with fresh blood.  As he peels his lips back into a grotesque smile, I feel faint at the crimson that paints his teeth.  

The scent of death permeates the air around him as he leaps down to the floor before me in a billow of black silk.
 There is no sound as his feet connect with the ground.  Only the whisper of air shifting.

“She remembers.”
 His words feel like a thousand snakes writhing across my skin.  Goosebumps rise as I flail backward, scuttling away from his slow, purposeful approach.

My fingers snag in something moist and stringy as I frantically try to flee.
 I turn slowly toward my hand, terrified of what I might discover.  Tears roll unhindered down my grimy cheeks.  Lifeless blue eyes stare back at me as I untangle my fingers from my sister’s golden strands.  

“Adela!”
 I wail as the room begins to darken around me.  My head grows unusually light as I blink against my shock.  

The wooden floor trembles beneath my hands as something lands beside me, but I can only see my sister.
 A clean gash is carved into her throat, cut deep to her spine.  I can see bone protruding from the wound and realize her head is only partially attached by a thin layer of stretched skin.  The blood that spilled from her wound has already begun to congeal against her ashen chest.

It is not this wound that consumes my attention, but the semi-circle of teeth marks on the tender flesh nestled in the hollow of her neck.
 A tremor rises through my body at the taste of Adela’s blood on my lips.  
I bit her!

“Guard the door, Lucien.” A husky voice seems to call from the distance.
 “I do not want to be disturbed.”

“But the fire-”
 Lucien’s protest cuts off and I hear him move away.  

My vision blurs as a dark face appears before me.
 I try to focus as strong hands press me roughly to the floor.  I know that I must fight back, to scream for help but my thoughts splinter.

I can feel my skirts being lifted and a weight pressed down upon me.

“Congratulations, my dear.”  Cold fingers slide down my inner thigh as the hard voice of my husband whispers in my ear.  “Your first kill.”

Tears spill down my cheeks as my head rolls to the side.
 I stare into the unseeing eyes of my sister as my husband takes me for the first time.