Forget Me When the Sun Goes Down (Forged Bloodlines Book 11) (24 page)

I waited until the gentle rise and fall of his chest stopped, and he’d gone as still as death.  Only then did I slip out of his embrace and get dressed.  I paused for long moments at the door, fixing the picture of him lying there in peaceful slumber deep into my mind.  It was this picture I intended to focus on at the end. 

“Goodbye, Bishop.  I love you,” I whispered.  It might not be the grand sweeping love I remembered feeling in the past, not yet.  But what I did know about him, I loved, and it broke my heart not to have a chance to spend eternity with him.  It was for the best to leave now.  If I recovered even one more memory, it might be enough to rob my courage and make me not want to leave his side ever again. 

I blew one last kiss before I slipped out to meet Nell. 

Bishop wasn’t sure what it was that made him startle awake, but one moment he was peacefully drifting, and the next he woke to realize he was alone.  It wasn’t quite dawn yet, though the sky was already beginning to lighten.  At first, he assumed Anja had started feeling guilty again and went to sit with Jakob.  It made him smile to think about how tenderhearted she was toward a guy she barely remembered.  But it was getting late, and he’d promised to come and collect her by dawn. 

Padding barefoot across the hall, he rapped gently on the door before pushing it open. 

It was empty. 

Frowning, a sinking feeling swept through him, and he ran through the house throwing open doors.  The bathroom was empty. 

Mason barely registered the entrance, but his instincts had him reaching for the gun on the bedside table before he realized who it was.  “Fuck, dude.  I almost blew your head off.  Didn’t you ever hear of knocking before?”

“I’m looking for Anja.”

“Well, she’s not in here,” he scowled, his head hitting the pillow again, the gun disappearing beneath it.   

The living room was empty and so was the kitchen.  By the time he made it to the root cellar, the sinking feeling had turned into a gut churning panic that sent him outside in the pre-dawn hours with no protection, no weapons, not even any shoes.  There was only one place they could be, he just hoped he’d make it there in time.

Bishop burst into the hall, frozen as he took in the scene.  Jakob lay naked on the ground, surrounded by a circle and the same runes he recognized from the house in Montana.  Another circle was drawn around that one, and Anja stood on one side of it and Nell on the other, chanting. 

Anja’s head swiveled to face him, guilt written all over her features.  Before he could move, she took a deliberate step forward, into the circle.  Unstuck, Bishop raced ahead to stop her, only to come up against an impenetrable barrier separating them. 

“What are you doing?” Bishop yelled, his fist beating on the unseen wall. 

Anja regarded him with sad eyes, her voice muted, as though she spoke from a much farther distance.  “This is the way it was supposed to be.  I was supposed to be the one under the knife, not Jakob.”

She had to be kidding, didn’t she realize what she was doing?  “Anja, you’ll die!”

“This is my choice to make, my sacrifice.”

“The hell it is.  You have no right to do something like this, you belong to me!” he yelled, his panic rising when her face twisted with pain from whatever the spell did to her.

“This is the way it has to be,” she said, going down to her knees as the strength left her body.  “I’m... grateful for... the time...”  Her words gave out as she drew in a labored breath. 

“Anja?  Anja!” Bishop shouted when she didn’t look up.  “Don’t you dare do this!  Don’t you dare leave me!”  He had to stop this, and the only way he could think of was to try and break his way into the circle.  His arm cocked back and he struck the barrier as hard as he could.  The only good it did was cause a shower of bright blue sparks that sent him flying back on his ass. 

“
Hva er dette?
” Maeja demanded, stumbling into the hall in her nightdress, her golden hair loose and tumbling about her shoulders.  

Bishop pushed himself up, sucking in a painful breath.  “They’re doing the spell to restore Jakob, but it’ll kill Anja.  You have to do something.”

“This can not be borne.  Nelleke, I command you to stop this at once!”

Nelleke’s eyes flared wide with panic, but she didn’t stop chanting. 

Recognizing an ally, Bishop appealed to Maeja.  “I can’t get past the barrier, can you?”

Her eyes swept over the room, taking in the runes, the circles, the words tripping from Nelleke’s tongue.  “Yes, yes I can,” she murmured.   

He should’ve realized that Maeja’s agenda wasn’t the same as his.  Bishop only realized her plan a split second before she moved, and by then it was too late, the dagger was already flying through the air.  While the barrier kept him from stepping into the circle, it did nothing to stop the dagger, which hit its mark, sinking into Anja’s chest.

Nell’s yell of protest, Anja’s scream of agony, the way she crumpled to the floor, it was as if it happened in slow motion, with Bishop powerless to stop it.  The barrier collapsed as the spell was broken without a viable sacrifice, and Bishop crashed through it, stumbling over Anja’s body. 

The dagger was embedded deep in her chest, definitely piercing her lung, but not her heart, as near as he could tell.  Still, it was bad.  If only it’d been wood she would’ve gone into torpor, her body preserved from the damage, but the wound bled profusely.  Bishop dragged her away from the circle, trying to decide if he should remove the dagger or leave it in place until he had a ready source of blood to heal the wound. 

Anja’s blue eyes were wide and staring, a look of astonishment frozen on her face.  “Bishop?” she whispered, but didn’t have enough air to be heard. 

“I’m here.  You’re going to be fine, you just need some blood.”

With great effort, she dragged in a labored breath, her voice a little stronger.  “Jakob...”

“Will never live to see another day if I have anything to say about it!” Maeja roared in triumph. 

Nelleke’s eyes narrowed in defiance, and she stepped into the circle, taking Anja’s place as she began to chant again. 

“No!”  Maeja beat against the barrier just as Bishop had, her eyes wide with fear.  “I command you to stop this.  I command it!”

Nelleke deliberately turned her back on her mother, the incantation flowing smoothly from her lips, though muted to those outside the circle.  Bishop felt the tingle of magic in the air, and cradled Anja close, not wanting her to be struck by any wild magic if Maeja found a way to interrupt the spell this time. 

But the demi-goddess appeared to be without any tricks up her sleeve, unable to hurl another object at Nell without risking her life.  “Nelleke, stop!” Maeja demanded, tears streaming down her face.  “I forbid it!  I am your queen!”

Nell turned, the words barely audible now as she fought to get them out in her weakened state.  Her hand came up to press on the other side of the barrier where her mother’s rested.  Tears fell freely down her cheeks, but she couldn’t say a word beyond the incantation.

“No...” Maeja wept.  “My daughter.  My heart.  Please...”

The last word of the incantation fell from Nelleke’s lips, and she toppled to the ground even as Maeja screamed, her voice breaking, stripped raw.  Nell’s body caught fire, consumed by the power of the spell, even as Jakob took in a mighty breath.  His eyes opened just in time to see Nell’s body crumble into ashes.

“What have you done?” he cried, his voice throbbing with misery. 

“You!  You did this!” Maeja screeched, hurling herself at Jakob.  Her fists pummeled his chest with little effect, and he caught her wrists easily. 

“I didn’t wish this.  I didn’t wish anyone to die in my place.”  Stricken, his gaze swung around the room to find Bishop and Anja, staring at them in accusation.  “How could you let this happen?”

“It was Nell’s decision,” Bishop replied.  “Maeja stopped Anja from carrying through with it out of spite, and I guess Nell decided to go through with it herself.” 

Maeja wrenched her arms free and whirled on Anja.  “This is your doing!”  She launched herself at Anja, and Bishop shielded her with his body, the best he could, prepared to take the wrath of Maeja’s attack.  His body tensed for the blow that never came. 

Instead Jakob caught hold of Maeja, his vigor clearly restored by the sacrifice.  It made sense; descended of two
Ellri
, his daughter’s strength was definitely enough to heal him.  “Enough,” he barked, easily maintaining his hold on Maeja.  “Nelleke would not have sacrificed herself if not for your spite. 
You
are responsible for this, not Anja.  You will heal her.”

“I will not.”  Her chin thrust out stubbornly, her hand cocking back to slap his face. 

Jakob easily caught her hand and forced Maeja down to her knees.  “If you wish to strike me down, so be it, but you will not visit your vengeance upon my Anja to slake your anger against me.  You will offer your healing blood.  Now.”

“Oh fine, take it then.  I care not,” Maeja cried, producing another vial of her blood.  She flung it in Anja’s direction, and Bishop dove to catch it before it shattered on the ground.  “Take it and be gone.  Leave me to my agony.”

“It is my agony as well, Maeja,” Jakob said, his grip on her easing.  “Let us end this hatred in our daughter’s name.”

Maeja slumped to the ground, the fight gone out of her.  “You stole my child.  You took her away from me.”

Jakob’s voice was full of wounded regret.  “She was my child as well, Maeja, and you kept her from me for nearly two centuries.  I have only the past year of memories to cherish.”

“No, she was my only constant, my only love.  My darling girl.”  She collapsed into sobs, weeping into her hands.  “Now I am utterly alone.”

It was her own fault as far as Bishop was concerned, but he kept his mouth shut, carefully moving Anja to the edge of the room before Maeja decided to lash out again. 

Jakob gathered Maeja into his arms with surprising tenderness.  “No, I am here,
älskling
.  I am with you,” he crooned into her hair, rocking her gently.

Ignoring their tearful reunion, Bishop focused on the gruesome task at hand.  “Anja, can you hear me?” he asked gently, brushing the hair away from her forehead.  Her shirt was soaked with blood, and he’d left a dripping trail from where she first fell.  Her lips moved, but no sound came out, and he tried to take it as a good sign that she was still conscious, closing his heart to the fact that it meant she was in unbearable pain. 

“I’m going to pull the dagger out, and it’s going to hurt.  But then I’m going to give you Maeja’s blood, and that’ll fix you right up.  Do you hear me?  It’s only going to hurt for a few seconds.”  He had no way of knowing if that was true or not, but he wanted to give her something to cling to when it got real bad. 

Anja’s lips twitched, but that was the only response he got. 

There was no way to be gentle, so Bishop went for fast, firmly grasping the dagger and pulling it out as straight as possible.  Anja’s mouth opened in a silent scream as blood gushed from the open wound.  Immediately, he emptied the contents of the vial into her mouth, holding her jaw carefully so she wouldn’t lose the precious elixir.

While he watched, the flow of blood lessened, the gaping wound closing far faster than a vampire’s accelerated healing would allow.  The wild look in her eyes gradually faded, and her death grip on his hand eased.  In the space of a few moments, the wound was nothing more than an angry scar, and Anja took in her first unlabored breath.

“Thank you,” she whispered, her whole body shaking as she coughed.

“Are you alright?” he asked softly, squeezing his hands against the tremor of adrenaline aftermath.    

“I... I think so,” she frowned, taking in a deeper breath and swallowing.  “I think I’m okay.  What about you?”

“Me?” he laughed, fighting against the edge of hysteria.  “I’m not the one who got skewered or had half the lifeforce drained out of me.”

“The curse,” she reminded him.  “How do you feel?  Is there any sign that it’s back in effect?”

Bishop took in a deep breath, testing his muscles, but everything seemed to be in working order.  “I feel fine.”

“But that might change at any moment if Carys remembers that she loves you.”

“We’ll deal with that when we come to it.  What about Rob?  Do you want me to try and get him on the phone?”

She shook her head, pushing herself up to a seated position.  “I don’t feel any love for him now.  That might change when I get the rest of my memories back, but for now...”

“I can easily ensure this is the case.”  Jakob was suddenly there, and Bishop realized that Maeja had left the hall.

“I didn’t ask...” she started to say, but Jakob didn’t hesitate. 

“You don’t love Rob, and you never shall,” he said, his will easily overwriting hers.  “There, it is done.  I will compel the same of Carys the next time I see her, and we will be done with this.”  The
Ellri
looked weary, despite the glow of good health.  He reached out to brush Anja’s cheek with the back of his fingers.  “Rest well, petal.  I thank you for your efforts.”

Bishop stared after him, the anger banked deep inside him simmering to the top.  “He had no fucking right to do that,” he growled, as soon as Jakob was gone. 

“What’s the matter?  I’d think you’d be relieved that he compelled me not to love Rob,” Anja frowned. 

Didn’t she get it?  “No one should have the power to take away love like that.  What’s to stop him from doing it to someone else?  To us?  I’m starting to think it might’ve been better to...”

“To what?  Let him die?”  Her voice dropped to a whisper.

“It might’ve simplified things,” he shrugged.  He was done letting Jakob dictate the course of their lives.  As soon as night fell, he was going to take Anja out of there and hopefully never see the
Ellri
again.  Bishop stood, offering her his hands.  “Come on, let’s get you back to Nell’s house, it’s after dawn.”