Dangerous Love (21 page)

“Looks like he wasn’t expecting us,” Jeran said as the three made their way inside the office. The only light in the room came from a giant fireplace burning off to their left. It made seeing a little difficult for Sage, but the vampires could see perfectly in the dim light.

“Vayna,” Brade said as he took a few careful steps backwards and pulled a long sword off of the wall. He held it loosely in his hand as he eyed all three of them closely, “I didn’t expect you to come here tonight.”

“Something tells me that that isn’t quite true,” Vayna said as she took steady, sure steps through the room. Her hatred for the man increased at the sight of him and she clenched her dagger in her hand as she glared at him.

Brade shrugged innocently and smiled at her as he said, “Alright, I’m lying. I had expected you to come at some point. I just didn’t expect it to be this soon.”

“Well, I’m here, and I’m going to make sure you die once and for all,” she said in a quiet, angry voice as she advanced toward him. She wanted to tear him apart limb by limb and watch him burn.

“Please, Vayna,” he said as he shook his head and tsked lightly, “You haven’t fought for years. I doubt you have the courage to even take a life anymore. The humans have made you soft.”

He sneered at Sage as he said this and Vayna growled angrily as she made to rush forward at him. Before she could move, Jeran stepped out of the shadows behind Brade and said, “She may not, but I do.”

He lifted his stake and plunged it downward toward Brade’s heart. Before it could even get close, Brade moved out of the way and tossed Jeran across the room with all of his might. Jeran slammed into the wall with a sickening crunch and fell to the floor unconscious. Sage’s heart leapt in her chest and she rushed over to him, bending down to check and see if he was still as alive as a vampire could be. She sighed softly when she realized he was still breathing, “He’s okay, just unconscious.”

“Oh, look,” Brade taunted Vayna as he watched Sage move Jeran into a more comfortable position, “Your human whore actually cares about our kind.
How pathetic.”

“She
’s not a whore!” Vayna growled as she rushed toward him. The sound of metal clashing upon metal filled the air as she thrust her dagger at him.

Brade easily deflected the attack and swung his sword back at her with an angered snarl. He couldn’t believe it came down to this. He was fighting with his Pharaoh all because of that stupid human. It would be better off if she’d never existed in the
first  place! He looked over at her and snarled in anger. Shoving Vayna hard with his sword he ran over to Sage, moving faster than she could escape. His arm came around her neck as he held his sword to her stomach, ready to plunge it in her. He gave Vayna a twisted grin as he said, “You left your whore unprotected.”

“Let her go, Brade,” Vayna said as she cautiously made her way toward them, “She has nothing to do with this.”

“She has everything to do with this!” he exclaimed as he jerked her back against him roughly, “This witch put a spell on you and turned you against your own kind! It’s because of her that you’re killing those you created. She turned you against us, against me, and made you go soft. But I can fix that. Come back to us, agree to be mine, and I’ll let her go. I may even let you keep her as a pet if you still wanted her around. What do you say, Vayna? Best of both worlds.”

“Never,” Vayna snarled as she glared angrily at him. She would never sacrifice her human or herself for such a power hungry fool! She would rather die before she let that happen.

“Then she dies,” he said as he lifted his sword and brought it down. Before it could slice into her body, Sage made her move. She twisted herself and thrust her own dagger into his side as deep as she could. He cried out and his sword cut into her shoulder instead of her stomach. She stumbled backward as the pain shot through her and caused her to cry out. She raised her hand to press against the wound as he turned on her and threw her hard against the wall with an angry cry, “You bitch!”

Vayna stared in horror as she watched her love slam against the wall
and  sag down onto the floor. She wasn’t dead yet, but if Vayna didn’t end this soon, she would be. Her inner vampire came roaring out and she launched herself at him. Brade barely had time to turn before she landed on top of him. The two tumbled to the floor and fought with clawed fingers, their weapons sliding along the floor. Vayna’s eyes were a furious crimson as she slashed at his face with her claws. He hissed as he clawed at her body and rolled over on top of her. He tried to reach her throat, intending to rip her head from her body, but she was much faster.

Using
a strength she didn’t know she possessed, she threw him from her body and stood up. Hissing at him as he landed not far from her, she raced at him and tore at every part of his body that she could reach. Brade tried to fight her off as best as he could, but he was no match for her. With a vicious growl, she plunge her hand into his chest and tore his heart out.

Brade gave a gasp of shock before his body collapsed on him without his heart to keep it going. He died in an instant and Vayna threw his heart away from her, disgusted that she had his blood on her hands. Her
inner vampire receded as she ran over to her human and gently picked her up in her arms. Tears coursed down her cheeks as she whispered, “Sage… Sage, please… don’t die on me… please….”

“She won’t die,” Jeran said as he slowly stood up and crawled over to them.
He very gently coaxed Vayna to let go of her and lay her down on the floor.

“Please, Jeran…” Vayna murmured as she sat there helplessly looking at her human, “Help her.”

“Don’t worry,” he said as he tore off part of her shirt and studied the wound carefully, “I won’t let my daughter die.”

“Your daughter?!”

“Not right now, Vayna,” he growled firmly as he bit into his hand. One of the abilities he ended up with was the ability to heal any wound without the need of the moonlight. He was thankful at that moment for that ability as he let his blood drip down onto Sage’s wound.

The pain from the vampire blood dropping onto her wound forced Sage back into consciousness and she fought to get away from the pain. Vayna held her down as best as she could as she murmured softly to her. Jeran’s blood mixed with hers and slowly the wound began to seal back up. Skin reformed and muscle all but sewed itself back together. The pain was almost unbearable and the darkness threatened to swallow Sage again as she writhed on the floor.

As soon as it started, it stopped and she gasped for breath. The pain in her shoulder was fading and she looked over to see it completely healed. Vayna didn’t hesitate one moment as she pulled her human lover into her arms and held her as tight against her as she could. Both women
had tears coursing down their cheeks as Jeran spoke softly as he waited for his hand to heal, “I didn’t find out until this morning when Sage cut her hand. You know I can tell what a person’s life has been like based on their blood. She is the daughter of Elizabeth, the vampire hunter I dated for a while and I.”

“He tells the truth,” Sage said weakly as she lay in Vayna’s arms. She gazed at him, her eyes seeing him for who he truly was the first time that she could remember: her father. She turned her gaze up into Vayna’s face as she murmured, “I
remember. I remember, my love. From the moment I was born until now, I finally remember who I am.”

“It must’ve been the slam against the wall that triggered her memory,” Jeran said as he lay down on the floor with a tired oomph.
He lay there sprawled out as he said, “Can we go home now?”

After Vayna made sure that Brade was dead, the three made their way back down the building. They were relieved to find out that none of their group died duri
ng the fighting, though Bryanna and Kaunan managed to sustain heavy wounds. Jeran was able to heal them for the most part and the group made their way out of the building. They all stood in the shadow of it as Vayna murmured, “It’s over. It’s finally over.”

Chapter 19

A little over a year later, Vayna and Sage walked through the woods toward a small cabin. Ever since that fateful night, Sage and Jeran managed to grow closer as father and daughter. It was a little weird at first for both of them, but they grew used it in time.
Sage changed her last name from her mother’s name of Loveren to Jeran’s last name of Nikodemus. Vayna was happy to see her human love finally remembering everything about her life that she forgot. Even though she remembered who her mother was, she never once contacted her. It wasn’t until 6 months after she regained her memory that she told Vayna why.

It was her mother who struck her upside the head with a rock, hoping to kill her.
She detested the “creature” she gave birth to and she wanted to get rid of Sage. Apparently the hunter family she was a part of hoped to use Sage as a way to destroy more vampires, but her mother wanted nothing to do with her or the man who helped create her.

It was a shock to all of the vampires, Jeran most of all, that a vampire was able to create another living creature. It was assumed that they would never be able to procreate in that way because they were undead. Both Jeran and Dracula were working together to see if it was a freak accident or if it really was possible for their kind to have children of their own.

Sage revealed that it was only because of the vampire DNA in her body that she survived. For once in Vayna’s undead life, she was grateful for being a vampire. Without Sage, she wasn’t sure if she’d even still be alive at that moment.

A few days after the death of Brade, Mirie called and let Vayna know that every vampire around the world knew of his death. Many were glad that he was gone since they knew the torture he put their kind through. Talks of a new council arose, along with mention of Vayna taking control of the Vampire Nation again, but she put a stop to
them. She made sure everyone knew that as long as she lived, there would be no vampire council and no single person ruling them again. No one would have the kind of power Brade tried to take.

The two entered the cabin with a happy sigh. It as a gift from Dracula, who made them swear that they would disappear for a while and take some time out for
themselves. This tiny cabin was set in the remote wilderness of Romania and was the perfect spot for them to relax after all of the chaos that came before. The vampire world, he said, would take care of itself without them.

“You never told me how you became a vampire…” Sage said as she
padded over to the cabin’s refrigerator and pulled out a soda. She turned around and leaned against it as she gazed at her vampire with a small smile, “But you don’t have to. I know what happened.”

“
You know?” Vayna asked as she turned her head and looked at her human suspiciously, unsure of what the young human meant. No one, not even Jeran knew the story of her creation as a vampire. She never told a single person, so how could Sage know?

Sage
closed her eyes and gave a small sad smile as she sighed deeply and said, “I told you that you were going to change the future of vampires and humans as we know it, my Pharaoh.”

Vayna froze
shock as her mind tried to comprehend what it was that her human just said. It was impossible… there was no way that Sage could know those words. No one absolutely no one knew those words... How could she know?!

“Cleo,” Sage whispered as she
opened her eyes and smiled at her, tears swimming in her eyes. She sat the soda on the counter as he moved forward to embrace her vampire. She hugged her tightly around the middle as she whispered, “I missed you so much.”

“Sheba…
” Vayna asked as she hugged her human close to her body, her own tears welling up in her eyes as she buried her face into Sage’s hair. Her mind couldn’t figure out how it was possible that her long lost love from so long ago would be here, in the flesh, with her, “How is this possible?”

“I don’t know, my love,” she said as she held onto her tightly, clinging
to her body as she murmured, “When we first met in this life, I couldn’t figure out why you seemed so familiar to me. It was like I knew who you were even though we’d never met before. It was only a few days ago that I finally remembered who I was and why you seemed so familiar. I remember
everything
, Cleo.”

“Oh, Sheba…” she whispered as she pulled her head back and stared down into loving grey eyes. She absently wiped at her eyes and said, “I’ve missed you so much. I never forgot about you.”

“Nor I you, my love,” Sage said as she tenderly brushed her tears away. She kissed her on the lips softly as she murmured, “Deep in the back of my mind in all of the lives I’ve lived with you, I never forgot who you were. I’ve always been searching for you.”

“It was you,” she said with a note of aw in her voice. She cupped her human’s face as she said, “You we
re the one the few times I fell in love with another. It was always you, wasn’t it?”

Sage nodded her head with a smile, her own tears starting to well up in her eyes. She wrapped her arms around her vampire’s neck and hugged her tightly, burying her face into Vayna’s neck as she sniffled. It felt so wonderful, being able to hold her Pharaoh in her arms once more. For over 3,000 years her soul had been searching for the other half of it, and now she found her. Found her and actually remembered who she was. Losing her memory was perhaps the best thing that happened to her. She was able to find her vampire and her long lost love.

Vayna clutched at her human, desperately keeping her close. It was so long since she last felt her sweet love in her arms… the young servant girl that she got when she was a young Pharaoh became her soul mate, and now she found her again. She found the one person on the entire planet that she loved more than anyone else. Everything began to make sense. Why Sage felt so familiar to her, and why she fell in love with her so quickly. It all made sense to her. She nuzzled her face into her hair as she cried softly, overwhelmed with emotion.

Sage thought of something and she slowly pulled back enough to be able to see u
p into Vayna’s face. She gently brushed her tears away as she murmured curiously, “Back during the meeting… you called yourself Pharaoh Sheba… You used my name…”

Vayna had the grace to blush as she pressed her face into her human’s hands and said quietly, “I became
the Vampire Nation’s Pharaoh less than 1,000 years after I lost you. I missed you terribly and I wanted something that reminded me of you. So I used your name when I became Pharaoh again.”

Sage smiled at that, feeling honored to have her origi
nal name be used like that. She tilted her head as she frowned lightly and said, “So am I the only one who knows your real name?”

Vayna nodded her head as she pulled her human closer. Her original name, Cleopatra, was unknown to everyone but her and Sheba. When Cleo “died” that day, so did her name and past. The Pharaoh remade herself that day and whenever anyone asked, she called herself Sheba. It made her miss her dead lover, but she kept going. If only because Sheba said that she would be needed. And the Gods decided to give her human back to her.
She frowned softly at that thought and looked down at Sage, “You said that I would change the vampire and human worlds… What we did didn’t affect the human world, though.”

“Actually, it did,” Sage said as she intertwined her hand with her vampire’s and lead her over to a nearby couch. The two settled down on it and she turned to her, “The Gods foresaw that Brade would become a vampire either way. In his quest for more power, he would’ve destroyed both the human world and the vampire world. That’s what your dream was about that you had that day before we fought Brade.”

“How do you know about that?” Vayna asked with a puzzled look. That was something else she never told anyone. She briefly entertained the notion that Sage had the ability to read minds.

Sage blushed softly and smiled sheepishly as she said, “
I know this is going to sound crazy, but the Goddess Ma’at paid a visit to me in a dream. She told me all about what would’ve happened. You see, that dream was one possible future. A future if Brade succeeded. A future of constant darkness, constant fear. Where vampires wouldn’t know what they were or who they were while they were forced to drink the blood of innocent humans. She told me that he would’ve found a way to enslave both races while he became an unstoppable ruler. That is the reason why they chose you to be turned long before he was. They decided that you contained the will to prevent that future from happening.”

“So that’s why I was created,” Vayna murmured as she looked away from her human lover and stared at the floor with a small frown. She suffered throughout the millenniums in order to save the world from perpetual darkness. Nice of them to let her know
that
was on her shoulders. She closed her eyes and sighed heavily as she shook her head.

Sage gently cupped her cheek and turned her head back to face her as she said, “That is how you changed both worlds. You gave both worlds a future filled with hope and light.
Figuratively speaking.”

“I would hope so,” Vayna said with a smile as she opened her eyes.
She gazed at her human lovingly for a moment before she pulled her closer, kissing her deeply as desperation took over and she felt the desire to feel her human as close to her as she possibly could.

Sage was surprised when she felt Vayna kiss her so deeply so suddenly. It wasn’t an unwelcomed surprise and she eagerly kissed back. Her hands slid into her vampire’s hair as their tongues danced together, making both women moan softly. Both were so filled with emotion and they poured that into their kiss. Love, happiness, joy, fear, sadness, amazement, and desire all intermixed into the kiss and neither woman could believe how lucky they truly were.

The kiss lasted quite a few minutes before Vayna pulled back, giving both of them time to breathe. She panted softly as she looked down at her human, her eyes shining with happiness. Sage combed her fingers through her hair as she said, “I want you to turn me, Vayna.”

“Sage… I can’t… I don’t want to subject you to my curse,” she pleaded as she looked at her human desperately. She didn’t want to turn her. Sage still had a long life ahead of her that could be filled with so many wonderful things. She was able to look forward to her death. That was something Vayna was never going to have. She didn’t want to take that away from her. She pulled away from her human and stood up as she walked away from her.

Sage stood up and took a few steps toward her, frowning heavily when the vampire flinched and hurriedly stepped back. She placed her hands on her hips as she said, “Now listen here. I’m not going to let you say no to me. I have too many reasons for this and I’ve been thinking long and hard about this. I want this to happen and I want you to be the one to turn me.”

“Sage…” she whispered brokenly, her gaze turning quickly from happiness to sadness. She didn’t want to turn her lover. It hurt her too much to think of turning her. She just wanted to be happy with her for as long as
she could be. She herself was planning on walking into the sun when her lover left this world.

“It’s becoming difficult to find you in this world,” she said as she shook her head. She gazed pleadingly up into the vampire’s eyes as she spoke, “I’ve only been able to find
you one other time, my love. Please… I don’t want to live without you.”

Vayna paused and considered that.
If she stayed alive, she would be alive for as long as the human race existed. There was no arguing that. If it was getting difficult for the other half of her soul to find her… she too didn’t want to live without her human lover. The thought of finding her soul mate and never being able to see her after this life… even if she did take her own life, the thought was still too much to bear. The longer she thought about it, the more she didn’t want to live without Sage. She sighed heavily before she nodded and said, “Alright. I’ll turn you.”

“Before you do…” Sage said
as she hesitated for a moment. She bit her lip as she shifted back and forth on her feet. A sudden shyness came over her as she looked down at the ground before turning her gaze up into her vampire’s eyes, “Is… is this body good enough for you…?

“Are you kidding?” Va
yna said as she took a step forward and held Sage at arm’s length. She looked up and down her beautiful human’s body as she spoke, “You’re beautiful! You’re just as beautiful as when we first met millenniums ago. I love the way you look!”

Sage blushed as she gave
a small smile. She stepped into her vampire’s personal space and pressed a light kiss to her lips as she said, “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome,” Vayna said as she kept the kiss light and
gentle. It’d been a long time since she last turned anyone… She gazed into her lover’s eyes as she murmured, “I won’t say this isn’t going to hurt, because it will. Are you ready?”

Sage nodded her head as she swallowed nervously. Even though she wanted this, she still felt scared. This was a huge step to take and it frightened her that she was literally going to die. She clutched at Vayna’s shirt as she took a deep breath to calm down. It would all be worth it, she reminded herself. She would get to spend an eternity with her soul mate.

Vayna brushed her fingers over her human’s cheek softly and murmured, “I love you.”