Redemption (Waking Up Dead) (6 page)

I was more like a pressure, and urge to stay where I was from other person other than myself.

The whispering voices called to me, wanting me to stay and I stood there frozen.  They were childlike in tone and comforting to my soul.  It was nothing short of being scary, but soon that feeling changed the more that I focused on their voices.

Their words eased my fear and, soon, I knew that I wasn’t in any danger. 

The vampire in me protested and the instincts that were associated with that part of me begged me to keep moving forward to exit the room.  The witch inside me felt at home, like this was natural and pleasant as anything good could be.

I swallowed hard and fought hard against my vampire nature, taking small steps back inside the kitchen.

That is when the pain and confusion started.  It was worse than what had happened to me as I was getting my full power.  The vampire inside me screamed with pain and I fell to the floor, hitting my head hard on the floor.  I couldn’t move.  I couldn’t speak.  I wanted to beg my father and Max to help me, but that was going to be impossible.

The rusty metallic smell of blood invaded my nostrils, but it was not as tempting as human blood.  It was my own.  My head was throbbing and I could feel the wound that I had received from hitting my head against the floor.  The blood was pooling beside me and I was scared that I was not going to live through this.  How much blood can a vampire lose before they die?  And even worse than that, is the bloodlust going to set in soon?

If that happened it will be all over for me.  Max and my father would not allow me to get close enough to them to bite them.  They would kill me.  It would be stupid for me to expect any less than that.

This is all wrong.  Panic filled me and I was certain that this was the end.  My body had become so weak that it was getting hard for me to think.  All I could do is see the faces of the people that I love.  My mother, father, and Max were all there, glowing in my memory. 

I could see Alice as she made her transformation and how beautiful being a vampire had made her.  I saw her love for Caleb and how her need for him surpassed everything else in the world, even blood.

Hot tears escaped my eyes and I whispered a feeble attempt of an I love you before everything went dark.

CHAPTER 5 Alzar

I ran to Laynie, but her body was lifeless.  There was no way for us to know if the spell had worked or not and I wanted so desperately for her to wake up.  Max was at my side in a flash.  His actions soon became reckless as he stared at her body on the floor.  His panic soon invaded my own body and it was hard not to think that something had gone terribly wrong.

There was just so much blood on the floor around her that I couldn’t tell if her heart was even beating.  I had prayed so hard for this to work.  All I wanted was my daughter.  I wanted my family to finally be together like it should have been, but the only cure for her could have been exactly what kills her.

I lifted myself from the floor and raised my arms high in the air.  My chant was consumed with fear, but it was still strong and I could only hope that the higher power could hear me. 

My body and will had been weakened by the spell we had cast to make her human again.  It had taken so much from me.  The weakness was almost sickening and I found it hard to stay on my feet, but I was not going to call to Aria on my knees.  Although, that would have, likely, been the best option.  I just couldn’t force myself to do something like that.  To me, it showed weakness and I may be many things, but weak is not one of them.

“Please!”  I screamed to her, praying that she would take notice.

I felt the connection instantly.  The power from it surged through me and gave me just enough strength to try to accomplish what I needed to do.

“
Yes, my child
” the voice spoke to me and I could not hold the tears back any longer.

“What did I do wrong?” I pleaded for an answer.

“
Nothing, just have faith.  The decision to live is hers and you have to respect that, Alzar.”

Max was looking at me, clearly shaken by something, but I could not risk breaking the connection to find out what it was.  He walked forward and held his hands in the air just like I had done.

“I beg of you!  Save her!” he screamed.

In seconds he was back on the floor beside Laynie’s body and I knew right then that he had heard Aria speaking.  That was uncommon for such a young witch to be able to do.  It takes years of practice and dedication to be able to interact with that amount of power.  Max is nowhere near ready for that.  But somehow he had managed to make his guilt stricken plea and to my amazement, it had been heard.

I could feel the connection growing fragile.  I had to keep my focus on it.  Gathering the tiny amount of power that was left inside me, I tried to strengthen the connection.

It worked.  I could hear her voice more clearly now and I tried to arrange my thoughts.

“
He’s a strong one,”
she declared. 
“And I am proud to have him with me.”

“Is there anything that I can do to help her?” I begged for an answer.

“No.  She has to do this on her own.”

I knew that she was right, but there had to be something that I could do.  At any given point, I would happily give my life for her.  She deserves to live, to know love, to have a family and to become one with her power.

If Laynie was anything, she is a fighter.  For years I had watched her grow up.  I had seen what she is capable of.  She is honest and trusting, but that has proved to be a problem for her in the past.  She has made some wrong decisions, but everything about her was worthy of what the higher power had given to her. 

Had I not lost all that I had once?  Only to be teased with the idea that I was going to be able to get it back?

Never had I questioned the higher power, but in this moment, I could not stop myself.

“Aria, please!” I yelled at her as my hurt turned to anger.

My child’s life was hanging in the balance and with every minute that passes, she was getting dangerously close to the point of no return.

“NO!”

Aria’s words thundered in my head and I knew, at once, that I had crossed the line.  I fell to my knees, not knowing what else to do.  I had begged for Laynie’s life, but my request had gone ignored.

Maybe it was up to Laynie to save herself, but how could she?  Not an ounce of life seemed to remain in her and I couldn’t understand what had gone wrong.  Was the spell defective?  Had we somehow added the wrong herbs?

Maybe it was the chant, I said to myself.  I searched my mind, trying to think of what it could have been, but the only difference was that Laynie had been in the room as we performed the spell.

The last time was not that way.  I had made the potion and gave it to the vampire.  When he drank it, he passed out and slept for three days before waking.

Even then, I could tell that he was alive.  His heart would beat steadily and his breathing was even and relaxed.  With Laynie, I couldn’t tell if she even had a heartbeat left.

Aria and my connection had been severed.  I could no longer feel her presence here and I could only hope that she could find it to forgive me for disrespecting her authority.  I had not meant to, but this was different than anything else.  This was Laynie, my daughter.

With my head in my hands, I allowed all my emotions to spill out.  I let go of all the hurt and anger, letting them flow from me.  The only way that we were going to be able to help her was going to be with a clear mind.  Nothing could be allowed to cloud our judgment in any way.

When I was sure that I could continue, I crawled across the kitchen to Max.  He was lying beside Laynie with his head on her chest.  The pain that he is feeling has to be so vast that I could not understand how he was able to hold it all in.

I had felt what he is feeling once.  The only woman that I had ever truly loved had been taken away from me for nothing, but the only thing that was different was that I knew deep in my soul that she would be fine. 

We don’t know if this is the end for my precious daughter and as I looked at her I could remember all of the times that I had hidden just to get a glimpse of her.  Through the years I had watched her grow into the young woman that she is now.  Her beauty unfolded before my eyes, but I could not approach her and tell her who I was.  Mine and her mother’s life depended on me keeping my distance.

I could feel every heart ache that she had as she got older.  I could feel her anger in myself each time something happened to her.  Our connection had remained resilient even though we were forced to be apart.

The day that I had met Max, when they were hiding below ground, was no different.  She was frightened that I was going to kill her and that was not the case.  I was never there to cause her harm and now she knows that, but would it be enough to make her come back to me?

Before we had started the spell, I had made her mother leave the house.  There was no reason that she should be here while we worked.  Her power is as strong as mine.  Maybe even stronger at times, but no mother should have to witness their child go through what Laynie was going through now and I was proud that I had made the decision for her not to be here.

Max shifted his weight and I thought that I had seen Laynie shiver, but it was only Max’s weight moving her body.  My hope, in that moment, had been crushed.  My daughter is going to die and there is nothing that I can do to stop it.

“Alzar, we have to do something” Max’s voice was only a whisper now.

“There’s nothing that we can do.”

Max shot up to a sitting position and if I had not known better I would have said that he was going to attack me.  He had been known to be a very volatile witch when he was hurting and I was certainly going to have to be careful around him now.

“So you’re giving up on her!” he screamed.

“No, I’m not giving up, but Aria said that it was up to Laynie whether she wants to live or not.”

“Oh hell, I heard what she said!”

“You did?” I asked bewildered.

“Yeah, I heard everything that she said except for once and her voice sounded like she was trying to talk under water, but other than that…yeah.”

His response amazed me.  He was most definitely going to be an incredible sorcerer one day.  I just hope that Laynie will be here to see that.  She has to.  I won’t allow her to not be.

Max needs her like he needs his magic.  They are one now, even if Laynie doesn’t quite understand that yet, but something was telling me that she knows.

A spark of power jolted my mind.  It was her.  She was trying to connect with me, but it was clear that she was too weak.

I looked at Max and pointed to Laynie.  She is still with us and that was the flash of hope that I had been praying for.

Max had his hands on her face, holding her, begging her to fight.  His tears fell, dropping onto her face and I could have sworn that I saw her eyes flutter for just a second, but I could not be sure of anything right now.  I wasn’t sure if my mind would try and deceive me in this situation.

Closing my eyes, I asked for power from Aria once more and thankfully, she rejoined me.  Her gift rejuvenated my power, giving it just enough strength to form the connection with Laynie.

Her soul was still there.  That much I was certain about.  Waves of pain and weakness mingled with each other as I found my way to her mind.  And as soon as I arrived, I knew that I had made a mistake.  I was trying to join with her mind, but, in all reality, it was not her mind that I need to get to, it was her heart.

When I was there, I could feel her, my sweet girl.  Her heart was warm and full of love.  It was as pure as pure could get and I knew then, that we had a chance.

Inside her, the feelings were intoxicating.  They made me want to stay connect to her this way forever, but I knew that the borrowed power was not going to last much longer.  I could feel myself growing weak again and I needed to accomplish what I had set out to do.  I needed to tell her how much I love her and that she has to come back to me.

As I whispered those words to her and, instantly, she spoke to me.

“
I love you too Daddy, but something’s wrong.  I can’t find a way out
.”  Her voice became more erratic and panicky and the only thing that I could say to her before being forced out of the connection was, “
Please, Laynie… fight!”

When I opened my eyes Max was staring at me, hardly being able to wait for information.

“She is still in there.  She said she was trying to find a way out, but she can’t.”

A small hint of relief washed over his face and he moved closer to her.  As he put his head back down to her chest, it was like he was speaking directly to her heart and the sight of it hurt me deeply.

“Laynie, please come back to me.  I love you and we have to be together” he said sobbing uncontrollably.  “Please.”

I watched his hands ball up into fists and I knew that I had to do something to distract him from his pain.

“Max, I want to take her up to her room.  It seems wrong to me for us to leave her on the floor.  It might help her to be comfortable.”

He sat up, still looking at her as if he had been expecting her to answer back.  “I guess you are right.”

Max and I carefully picked her up and started carrying her up the stairs to her room.  Her hair dangled like lace flowing in a light breeze.  I can’t believe that this is happening to her.  The worst part about it is that it is my fault.  I was only trying to protect her from what the other witches and sorcerers would do to her for her being a vampire and a witch.  I hadn’t known that my actions were going to cause all of this.  If I could just take it all back, I would. 

Max readjusted his hold on her and we finally got her to her room.  For such a small girl, she sure was heavy and awkward to carry.  Moving her took all the strength that we had left and when we finally got her safely on it Max collapsed.

He was pale and looked as if he had aged ten years from the stress that the spell and Laynie’s condition had put on him.  It was like his body was giving up, unable to move forward in our attempt to help my daughter.  What he needed the most was rest.

I took a throw out of the top of the closet and covered my daughter’s still body.  As I walked around the bed to make sure that Max had not hurt himself when he fell, a sense of calm came over me, one that was slightly reassuring me that everything was going to be fine.  Would it be?

Max was heavier than I thought and picking him up from the floor and moving him to the bed drained me.  There was no other place in this world that he would rather be than beside Laynie.  I couldn’t see any reason why he should not be given that right.  He loves her with his whole heart.  How could I come between that?

I whispered a prayer to Aria, asking her to give me the strength to get through this.  I turned to look at the two of them just to make sure that they were comfortable before leaving the room.

The air was thick and heavy downstairs and I knew that it was because of the remaining power that the spell had called.  I was going to have to cast a purifying spell in order to release all of it.  It needed to go back to where it had come, but I knew that I didn’t have enough energy to do it.  Rest is what I need more than anything right now.

Flashes of Laynie and Max filled my mind as I walked up the stairs and into my room.  As soon as I had taken my shoes off and lay down, I was out.  Only my dreams can comfort me know.