Innocence and Evil (The Arcadia Falls Chronicles #6) (11 page)

After examining her and quizzing us on the
when she was bitten he turned to us. “Does she wish to continue
through the change?”

I faltered, she said she didn’t want to be a
vampire, but Chloe and I had asked her to try … to see what happens
after. I didn’t want to lie to Anthony about what she wanted.

“Your silence tells me all I need to know,”
he told me.

“Yes,” Christina croaked from the bed. “I’m
going to do it. Dammit.” She closed her eyes and breathed in
deeply. “This is crap.”

“As long as she wishes to continue, I will
help you. I only had to know with certainty it was what she wanted.
Now, as for the pain, she seems to be going through all of the
normal symptoms of a transition, however …”

“However what?” I demanded.

“Anthony threw a glance over his shoulder to
where Luke was sitting with Christina. “It should be much
worse.”

I let out a sigh of relief. “Is that
all?”

“I did not mean to alarm you, it is only
that her condition surprises me. I have seen a lot of people go
through the change and all have experienced far more pain than our
young Hunter here.”

“Don’t call me that.” Christina choked out
from the bed. “That jerk off who did this called me that.”

I eyed Anthony. “He won’t say it again,” I
told her.

He nodded. “I do apologize, Christina, I
meant no harm.”

“So, do you think that this is minimal
because she is a Hunter?”

“Perhaps,” Anthony answered.

“See baby,” I called out. “The blood of
angels and gods!” She only groaned in response.

“It is still the beginning.” Anthony
informed me. “Her symptoms could still worsen. Right now, they
might only be delayed.”

By nature, I wasn’t a very patient person so
waiting for something like this to happen was not going to be a
happy time for anyone. Christina released a painful cry and moaned
against the pillow she was holding. “Okay, everyone out,” I
ordered.

“I shall stay with her as well, if you will
permit me.” Anthony directed his request to me. “She will begin
growing stronger as her body changes. You will need my
assistance.”

I really didn’t want him to stay, but I knew
that he would be a big help if things with Christina went south.
“All right, you can stay.” Luke and Chloe left, although
hesitantly.

As soon as they were gone I rushed back to
Christina’s side. Anthony said these were minimal symptoms for a
change, but it seemed to me like she was already in a lot of pain.
How much worse could this get?

Sadly, it wasn’t long before I found out
just how much worse. Anthony had brought a bowl of ice water and a
washcloth from the bathroom. “Here, use this to cool her skin.”

I was sitting on the bed beside her, wiping
the sweat from her face and arms, when she cried out. It wasn’t a
moan or a cry of pain like before, this time she screamed at the
top of her lungs. Her voice was filled with so much pain, I could
feel it puncturing my heart.

Her body seized, growing stiff as her chest
lurched upward.

“It’s beginning,” Anthony informed me softly
as he moved to my side.

“What do we do?”

“There is nothing we can do for her, except
let it run its course. Hopefully hers will be swift.”

Yeah, hopefully.

For twelve hours I watched the woman I love
thrash about on the cotton sheets of our bed. She screamed and
screamed and then screamed some more. Her pain was so much that
even I didn’t know if I would be able to stay with her.

At one point I turned on Anthony. “You told
me this was minimal! That she wasn’t experiencing a normal
change.”

He stared at me with a static expression
while I got in his face with my accusations. “Zander, please,
remain calm. This is considerably less pain than I have seen most
endure. She will be fine when she fully comes through it.”

“Argh!” I grabbed my hair and pulled on it.
I wanted to help her, but all I could do was sit there and watch.
In a moment of weakness, I grabbed the bottle of whiskey off the
top of my dresser. I twisted the cap off and took a long pull
straight from the bottle.

Anthony took it like a champ. I could be a
real ass when I wanted to be and sometimes even when I didn’t want
to be. When I mouthed off, he ignored it or gave me an encouraging
reply. In the end, I was grateful for his company and help.

It was mid-morning when Christina’s pain
finally subsided. I stood at the foot of the bed, watching her
after she finally was able to let slumber take her. She looked
beaten and worn, like she had fought a long battle. She had though.
What she went through I don’t know if I could ever do. It amazed me
that every vampire who was ever turned had to go through that.

While she slept, I snuck off to the kitchen.
I’d asked Anthony if he wanted anything but he declined. He refused
to leave the room just in case she woke up. Because when she woke,
she was going to be hungry and the only blood in this house were
people she cared about.

So I grabbed a snack, filled everyone in on
what was happening and then ran back to the bedroom. I found
Anthony sitting in the chair by her bedside with his legs
crossed.

I paced the room and ate an entire box of
granola bars while doing it. Finally, I couldn’t stand the silence.
“So, realistically, what are we going to do?” I asked him.

Anthony tilted his head and looked up at me.
“I have been pondering the same question and have only one
conclusion that will be best for everyone.”

He paused and I spread my hands out. “Well,
what is it?

“I do not normally consider taking young
vampires under my wing, but I think it may be for the best interest
of everyone involved if I take Christina with me for a little
while.”

“What? No. You can’t take her.”

He shook his head. “I give you my word, it
would only be for a short time and then she will return to you if
she is able to. I do remind you, however, there is the chance that
she may not be able to return. If this change has taken her too far
into the dark, I will not let her come back to you.”

“Let me come with you then.” I heard the
plea in my voice and knew already that this was what was best for
her.

Anthony shook his head. “That is not a good
idea.”

My heart sunk. “What if she thinks we did
this to her and then abandoned her?”

“My dear boy, you will still be able to
write letters and speak on the telephone. I’m not going to keep her
prisoner, I just want to keep everyone safe. She will be able to
leave me at any point, I simply do not want her to be around so
much fresh blood while she is so young. Not until she has some sort
of control.”

“I don’t know.”

He stood, looked from me to Christina and
then back at me. “I think you do know. This is what is best. I will
take care of her and she will be treated as if she were royal. Have
no worries.”

I didn’t answer because I didn’t want to
give permission for him to take her away from me.

“It has to happen quickly,” Anthony warned
me, with another glance at Christina.

I closed my eyes, surprised when I felt
tears spill over onto my cheeks. “Okay … okay.”

***

“Zander!” I heard Chloe yell at me, but
ignored her. I was in the gym, beating on the heavy bag hanging
from a steel post. “Zander, stop!” She stepped over behind the bag
and grabbed it to keep it from swinging.

“Get out of my way, Chloe. I just need some
time.”

“You’ve had time. It’s been two days. You
even got to talk to her.”

“We did this. I did this.” I stepped away
from the bag since she was in the way. Sweat poured off my forehead
and into my eyes. “It’s like picking up a puppy at the pound and
then deciding you don’t want it because it bit you.”

“This is nothing like that scenario.” Chloe
scoffed. “She’s fine, she even told you she would rather be away
right now. She doesn’t want to hurt anyone.”

“It’s still not right. I feel like I gave up
on her.”

“We all feel like that. This isn’t a feeling
that is going to go away anytime soon. But you have to stop beating
yourself up about it.”

I glared at her. “I’m not beating myself up,
I was beating on that bag until you stopped me.”

“Smartass.”

“Better than a dumbass.”

She shook her head. “We have reduced
ourselves to juvenile comebacks.”

I began unwrapping the tape from my
knuckles. “I just need some time to process this whole thing.”

She nodded. “I understand. Anthony will take
good care of her though.”

I didn’t doubt that. I knew he would because
he promised me that he would. I was having more issues than just
Christina. It made me feel like a selfish jerk even thinking about
myself with her being gone … and a vampire, but I had somehow
spiraled back down into the depression that had plagued me before I
went to see the Warrior Angel.

I’d done what he said. I went out and found
the Dragons, in turn finding the vampires, and then this happened.
How in the hell was this supposed to help my problems. I was
worried about hurting innocent people and the one person who got
caught in the crossfire was the person I cared about most in this
world.

Maybe the Warrior Angel was wrong about me.
I was not a warrior in my own right. I was a loser who couldn’t
save his own girlfriend from becoming a vampire.

Loser.

“You still with me, Zander.” Chloe’s voice
brought me back from my thoughts.

“Yeah, I’m fine.”

She smiled gently and took my hand in hers.
“No you’re not even close to being fine … but you will be.”

TO BE CONTINUED IN

THE ARCADIA FALLS CHRONICLES 7

~READ AN UNEDITED EXCERPT~

I have become what I was born to kill.

I am tainted.

The blood that flows through my veins is no
longer pure and good.

I am now a vampire.

***

When I opened my eyes, I expected to see
Zander hovering over me. But, he wasn’t there. What I did wake to
was a burning in my throat and the overwhelming urge to quench it.
The intensity of the thirst was unlike anything I’d ever felt
before.

I launched myself forward into a sitting
position, grasping at my neck. I knew why this was happening to me.
I had turned … I wanted blood.

Panic began to set in even more when I
realized I wasn’t in my bed. I wasn’t even in my room. I sat in a
king sized bed beneath a soft, light blue comforter. Pillows were
piled high behind me and the sheets felt softer than any sheets I’d
ever slept on.

Where was I
?

The walls were white and fans hung down from
the high vaulted ceiling. A dresser and an armoire were the only
other furniture, aside from a comfortable looking chair by the
window. A window which was heavily covered, I might add.

The sight of that window which blocked out
the light set off an entirely new feeling. Fire traveled a spider
web through my body, spreading out wider and wider until I could
feel it in my fingers and toes. Unknowingly, I flexed my fingers
and then clenched the comforter into both my fists. I would never
see daylight again. No more sunrises or sunsets. No more swimming
in the lake or playing at the falls on a hot summer day. It was the
end of my human life.

I pushed the blanket aside and swung my legs
over the side of the bed. My feet sunk into the plush white carpet.
I wiggled my toes. It was as if every fiber of the fabric tickled
against my skin. I’d never really paid attention to what carpet
felt like before.

Silently, I thanked the heavens that at
least I was wearing my own clothes. I had on a pair of loose black
shorts and matching tank. It was nice to have one thing that was
familiar since nothing in this place, so far, was mine.

Did I look different now that I was a
vampire? How much of a change would there be in my appearance?

I pushed away the burning in my throat and
searched the room. I found an open door on the far side of the room
where white tile flooring could be seen through the opening, so I
assumed it was a bathroom. The short walk felt a bit like walking
on clouds. It felt like I didn’t weigh a thing.

I entered the bathroom, expecting the tile
to be cool against my bare feet and was surprised when I didn’t
feel any chill. It was soft and slick, but not cold. Gliding across
the small room, I made my way over to the mirror above the bathroom
sink.

For a miniscule second, I hesitated, maybe I
didn’t want to see what I looked like. Maybe I had turned into
something hideous and disgusting. The thought didn’t last long
though, I was entirely too vein to not want to know.

I closed my eyes and turned toward the
mirror.
Here we go
, I thought as I lifted my lids and peered
into the glass.

The woman staring back at me was the same
woman who I’d been before, only with a few minor changes. By minor,
I mean not the same at all. The most obvious difference was my
eyes, which used to be dark brown, but now they were red.

I snapped my eyes shut to block out the
sight of myself.

READ AN EXCERPT FROM BEARYTALES

BY JENNIFER MALONE WRIGHT, WILLOW CROSS AND KB MILLER

O
nce upon a time,
something wicked was woven. A magic formed by darkness and pain, a
magic that only the victim of a broken heart could have
created.

This story—like any other—has a beginning, a
place where the heart now broken once held love. It begins with
Goldalynn.

Goldalynn was a true beauty, born in the
south along the banks of the bayou. Her mother brought her into the
world in the midst of a hurricane, screaming to those assisting her
that she could feel the magic of her child within her, and she
would live to be more powerful than the winds which destroyed the
world around them.