Survive the Dawn (20 page)

“She was insane and murdered one of her children. The prince was forced to kill his wife. He beheaded her.”

“Well,” Grayson said with a dramatic sigh. “That’ll put a damper on the homecoming.”

“No cake for her,” Sebastian said and nodded in agreement, while Grayson chuckled.

“The ritual has never been tried again as the legend goes.” Corky took off his glasses and sat back.

Sebastian frowned deeply, trying to take this in. “So why did Kendra ask you about this chalice and the ritual?”

“I can only surmise that she wants to bring someone back. I would assume another vampire.”

“Tatiana?” Grayson asked.

Sebastian shook her head. “She can’t be brought back. Tatiana was beheaded.”

“Sebastian, this is a very risky, if not dangerous, ritual. Let me tell you more.” Corky slipped his glasses on again. “It says here the ritual can only take place in the forest of this Red Lake.” He looked up with a grin. “You’re gonna love this part.”

Sebastian raised an eyebrow but said nothing. Grayson groaned.

“The forest is in the homeland of
Vlad
Tepes
, traditionally the vampire Dracula.”

They sat in silence for a moment.

“A relative of yours?” Grayson did not hide her grin.

Sebastian glowered at her. “A distant cousin.”

Grayson seemed extremely amused as she drank her tea. Corky was not. “Gray, please take this seriously. Ya know you believe this now, after what’s happened here with you.”

With that, they heard it—an animal baying in the distance. Sebastian looked from Corky to Grayson. The howling continued. “Is that a wolf?”

“For now,” Grayson said dryly and rubbed her temples. “Corky finish with this, will you?”

“Right,” Corky said. “Now, as I said, this ritual can only take place there and under specific conditions. It must be done under the residual moon.”

“What is a residual moon? I’ve never heard of it.”

“Something else we have in common,” Grayson said.

Again, Sebastian heard the sad resignation in this immortal’s voice but said nothing.

“The residual moon is the lingering effect of the new moon. We thought it was only pertinent to Grayson’s prophecy. However, Gray is right, you two are more connected than you realize.”

“So when is this residual moon?” Sebastian was trying to think of a reason why Kendra would want such knowledge about this ritual. She still was no closer to finding out the location of Tatiana’s box and amulet.

Corky leafed through another book and stopped at a page and read. Sebastian and Grayson watched him but said nothing. In a moment, he leaned back and took off his glasses. “From this almanac, it would appear that the new moon is now in effect. The residual moon will be at its height tomorrow night.”

Grayson let out a deep sigh. “That doesn’t give you much time.”

Sebastian nodded. “No, it doesn’t.”

Corky rubbed his forehead. “Ya still don’t know what vampire is being brought back from the dead—”

“Again,” Grayson said and glanced at Sebastian.

“If not Tatiana, who then?” Corky asked.

Sebastian stood and looked out the window into the darkness. Who would
Nicholae
want to resurrect from the dead? Who could possibly help him? Who…? It then dawned on her; she let out a deep angry growl. “Leigh.”

Sebastian turned back into the room and saw the curious glances from Grayson and Corky. “Leigh was an old companion of mine for many centuries. She chose
Nicholae
over Tatiana and was sent to Chicago to destroy me. She did not succeed.”

“So you think
Nicholae
would do something this dangerous? Was Leigh that strong?” Corky asked.

“She was handpicked by Tatiana and
Nicholae
. But she was not sired by either one.”

“So she doesn’t have your strength and power,” Grayson said.

“No, but she had enough to be quite bothersome. And if she is unleashed, once again…” Sebastian’s voice trailed off.

Corky leafed through his book. “How was Leigh destroyed?”

“Why?” Grayson asked before Sebastian could.

“There are certain criteria that need to be followed for this ritual.” Corky looked up at Sebastian.

“She was impaled to a wall and the sunlight destroyed her,” Sebastian said, her voice void of emotion.

Grayson raised an eyebrow. “Remind me never to get on your bad side.”

“Her remains?” Corky asked.

“What about them?” Sebastian asked with a curious look. “She was reduced to ashes. I left them there.”

Corky winced and sat back.

Grayson shook her head. “Don’t tell me. One criterion is to have the ashes.”

“Exactly,” Corky said. “So if somehow
Nicholae
retrieved Leigh’s ashes, and…” He stopped and looked at the book before continuing, “…has the blood of an innocent. And one who has been sired by whomever is being brought back.”

Sebastian stood in front of Corky, who looked up in surprise. “What did you say?”

“
Th
-the ashes—”

“No, no,” Sebastian said. “Who has been sired?”

“Oh,” Corky said and swallowed with difficulty. His body trembled and his hands shook as he tried to find the passage again.

Grayson now stood beside Corky and put her left hand on his shoulder. Sebastian watched with amazement as a calmness seemed to visibly spread throughout his body. He closed his eyes for a moment and breathed deeply. Sebastian looked at Grayson, who was watching Corky; the affection and kindness on Grayson’s face was undeniable, even to Sebastian.

Corky opened his eyes and looked up at Grayson, who smiled. “Go ahead and read now, Cork,” she whispered kindly.

“Right then,” Corky said and continued. “For this ritual to work, they need one who has been sired by whomever they are seeking to bring back. So if you’re correct and Leigh is the one being brought back, they need a vampire she sired.”

“Nina,” Sebastian said; she felt her anger rising.

“Nina? The Nina who has the box? That Nina?” Grayson shook her head. “You really have your work cut out for you,
Seb
.”

“It would appear so,” Sebastian said.

“And you only have one day,” Corky said hesitantly. “I guess you’re going to Romania.”

“I guess,” Sebastian said in a tired voice.

“Sebastian,” Corky said and rubbed his face. “I must tell you. This ritual, what little we know of it, is again very risky. Now that vampires are thrown into the mix…” His voice trailed off.

“What is it, Corky?” Grayson asked.

Corky looked up at Sebastian. “This ritual has only been done once as far as I can tell, and it was used to bring a human back to life. We have no idea what will happen when trying to resurrect the undead.”

“To my knowledge, which is limited, I can’t recall a ritual of this kind,” Sebastian said.

“Well, my knowledge of vampires is practically nonexistent, but I thought once you behead them or drive a stake through their heart, they can’t be brought back.” Grayson looked from Sebastian to Corky. “Right?”

Corky shook his head impatiently. “We’re talking black magic, Grayson, the blackest of magic, I think. Apparently,
Nicholae
believes, or hopes, this ritual will resurrect Leigh using all the criteria for human resurrection. It’s all too fantastic to comprehend really.”

Grayson scratched her chin. “Hmm. What was this Leigh like?”

Sebastian shook her head in frustration. “Somewhat unstable.”

“H-how somewhat?” Corky asked.

When Sebastian hesitated, Grayson jumped in. “She was nuts, wasn’t she?”

“Eccentric, bordering on the insane, might be a kinder way of putting it,” Sebastian said.

“This is not good,” Corky said.

Grayson raised an eyebrow. “Which part? I don’t know what scares me more. That an insane vampire will be resurrected or that someone actually devised a way to do it.”

Sebastian said nothing but felt Grayson’s eyes upon her and looked up. Their gazes locked; Sebastian looked deep into the violet eyes, visions flashed through her mind of ancient ones, robed figures surrounding an altar, a woman wrapped in white linen lying in a chapel. Grayson, Corky, and another woman, a redhead, standing in solemn silence. Sebastian sensed love all around Grayson
MacCarthaigh
, and in that moment, Sebastian envied this woman. However, in that moment, as she watched the three of them standing by the altar, Sebastian also felt malevolence. It was as if something evil was trying somehow to find a way into Grayson. Sebastian had no idea what this was—she had other things to worry about right now.

Sebastian was the first to break eye contact and wondered if this immortal saw anything of Sebastian’s past. She looked down at Grayson’s hand and saw one gold and two silver bands on her ring finger. She looked at her own hand and touched the ring that Tatiana had instructed her to wear and never remove. She looked up to see Grayson studying her ring.

“We have much in common,
Seb
,” Grayson’s said in a grave voice.

“As time goes by, I believe you will find out just how much,” Corky said. “But for now, you need to get to Romania, yes?”

Sebastian nodded. “Yes. I need that box.”

“You need to stop
Nicholae
, as well,” Grayson said.

Sebastian heard the concern in her voice. Grayson looked at Corky, then back to Sebastian. “Maybe I could help,” she said.

Sebastian regarded this immortal with complete curiosity. She did not know the extent of Grayson’s powers; Grayson did not appear to know, nor did Corky. She was curious of this woman’s past, of what brought her to this point of being both mortal and immortal. Grayson’s birthright, as Corky put it, was perhaps the reason.

She watched the forlorn look on Grayson’s face; Sebastian realized this woman would not have chosen her current path, just as Sebastian. They indeed had much in common. Yet this immortal offered her assistance to a vampire. Though she could not accept her help now, Sebastian couldn’t help but think their paths would cross again.

“I appreciate the offer, Grayson, but you need to practice. Until you can leap tall buildings as I can, I think I’ll go it alone.”

Grayson shot her an angry look but said nothing.

Corky laughed. “At least Grayson isn’t afraid of a nun.”

Grayson now laughed outright. Sebastian let her fangs drop and glowered at Corky, who immediately stopped laughing.

“Be careful, mortal. You I can bite,” Sebastian said and turned to Grayson.

“You wish,” Grayson said with a devilish grin.

Chapter 17

Gaylen
appeared in the library, stunning Alex as she read. “Damn it! Don’t do that!”

He smiled lazily and picked up the book Alex had dropped. “Sorry. I just wanted to make sure you were here and not at the lab.”

Alex sat forward. “Why?”