chapter 26
Amber stared into the hateful eyes of the vampire who'd created her mother’s killer. She waited for him to flash his fangs or snarl like the monster he was, but he did neither. Sympathy—and something akin to resignation shone in his dark eyes.
“Let go!” She twisted her arm in his vice-like grip. He didn’t release her.
“You mustn’t interfere,” he said in an accented, almost reverent voice as deep and smooth as honey.
Tension drained from her body. Her fears abated. For some reason, she just couldn’t work up the indignation the situation deserved. She was consciously aware of being under his control, but she felt emotionally detached as she watched Gerard and Weldon battle.
Her interest was piqued when the air around her stirred and Nicolas appeared as if from nowhere. Amber had a vague sense of seeing his blurred form rush in from the hall. When Gerard grabbed Weldon by the arm and spun him around, Nicolas stepped behind him, blocking his retreat when Weldon would have escaped.
Gerard slammed his fist into Weldon’s face. His head snapped back, hard enough to snap a mortal’s spine. He shook his head as if he’d bumped it. Blood flew from his mouth and nose, spattering the walls and floor. Nicolas jumped back, avoiding the spray.
Weldon was unable to evade Gerard’s next punch. Or the next. Gerard pummeled him until his face was nothing more than a pulpy mass of blood and bone.
Choking and gurgling, he slid to the ground in a boneless heap. Exposed brain matter sizzled before his body evaporated in a puff of ash and smoke.
Gerard rubbed his knuckles against his palm, smearing them with blood. Then he turned. His eyes went wide, the red draining away.
“Don’t hurt her,” he said, his voice tight with fear.
Surratt nodded once and let go. Released from his grip, Amber’s thoughts and feelings returned, relief the dominant emotion.
“Gerard!” She hurled herself against his chest and wrapped her arms around his neck, holding him close as she rained kisses over his bruised face.
He kissed her back. Deeply. Thoroughly. Then without warning he broke free, staring into her face with his heart in his eyes.
Grazing her cheek with his abraded knuckles, he whispered. “Are you all right?’
She nodded, unable to speak. He tucked her under his arm, shifting his gaze from Surratt to Nicolas.
“I don’t know whether to thank you for blocking Weldon’s escape or beat the shit out of you for leading him to Amber.” He pointed to Surratt.
Nicolas arched his brows and looked at Amber. His gaze was so intense, she couldn’t hold it. “Amber’s my daughter. I wouldn’t let Surratt within a mile of her if I thought he posed a threat.”
Blood roared in her ears. Greg Buckley wasn’t her father.
She raised her chin, meeting Nicolas’ warm brown gaze. “Did you rape my mother?” she asked, knowing the answer before he gave it.
“No.” His answer lacked heat or anger, as if he’d expected the question and understood her need to ask. “I loved her. She was my wife.”
Amber felt as if someone had pulled the rug out from under her. The world tilted. Her knees buckled. Gerard pulled her closer.
“Wife?” How could her mother keep something like that a secret? Why had she never guessed Greg was her mother’s second husband?
She’d never seen any pictures of her mother with another man—just that one picture of her father—of Greg—with the mysterious soldier she now knew was Nicolas.
“We eloped right after graduation,” he said with love in his eyes. “I joined the army and we moved to Germany. I was stationed at Grafenwoehr. We lived in Eschenbach, and everything was going great until that explosion ripped open my gut. By the time I got to Landstuhl, I knew I wasn’t going to make it. My one desire was to see my wife one more time. Surratt granted me that wish on the condition that I erase her memory afterward. Neither of us knew until later that I’d gotten your mother pregnant.”
“He turned you into a vampire.” She glared at the musty-smelling old man who looked like a gaunt version of Christopher Lee’s Dracula. “He created the blood-sucking-bastard who killed my mother—your wife.”
The hurled accusations didn’t faze Surratt. He merely inclined his head as if in agreement. “Claus was a mistake. But he was a descendant of sorts. I thought he would be a benefit to the cause. He was an uncontrollable zealot. I’m sorry about your mother.”
Fury mixed with grief prevented Amber from speaking.
Gerard had no problem voicing his opinion. “I don’t know how the two of you found her or why you’re following her, but she doesn’t pose a threat to vampires. At least not to those who don’t pose a threat to humans.”
Again Surratt dipped his gaunt chin. “Precisely why I’m here.”
“What the hell is that supposed to mean?” Gerard’s fangs descended. His eyes blazed red.
Surratt smiled. “I had to see for myself that she isn’t a threat to our kind. It’s my job.”
“Your job?” Amber asked, her voice so tight it hurt to speak. “Who the hell hired you? And exactly what is your job?”
“I’m leader of the Shedu, a benevolent breed of what Mesopotamian folklore call the Utukku. Europeans call us Vampire.”
Amber’s pulse jumped. “How damn long have you been around?”
“Since 4000 B.C.”
The truth—if it was the truth—staggered her. Her knees buckled. Nicolas stepped forward but Gerard drew her closer. She felt pinned between the two immortals—drawn to both.
“Jesus!”
“Long before him,” Surratt said with a wan smile. “But not as long ago as some vampires believe. Neither Lilith nor Cain was a vampire, but fear of the wrath of Cain has kept many murderous vampires in line.”
“Is that your job too? Too keep vampires in line or destroy them?” She pulled away from Gerard, stepping in front of him as if she could protect him from the ancient vampire.
Gerard pulled her back, placing her beside him—not behind him. Her heart melted as their minds briefly connected. They were equal partners in the tenuous relationship they’d formed.
“Surratt protects mortals from the Ekimmu,” Nicolas said. “He’s been watching over you since you were born.”
“But I’m not mortal. And he knows it.” Amber looked from Nicolas to Surratt. She didn’t know what an Ekimmu was and she didn’t care. Surratt was the enemy.
But what about Nicolas? If Surratt wanted to destroy her, would he stand in the way? Or stand aside?
“I am not your enemy,” Surratt said. “I am a benevolent Utukku known as the Shedu. I lead the Brotherhood.”
Gerard stepped away from her like an earthbound spirit drawn to The Light.
“You have the answers I’ve been seeking for two centuries,” he said in a voice filled with awe.
Amber wanted to grab his arm and call him back but her feet wouldn’t obey her. She couldn’t move and she couldn’t speak. It was if her voice had frozen in her throat.
Surratt nodded as if granting Gerard permission to speak.
“Is there a cure for what I am? Am I damned?”
“I am not God,” Surratt said. “I can neither redeem nor damn you. But since you have chosen to follow the way of the Shedu, you are in no immediate danger of eternal damnation.”
“I don’t know the Shedu,” Gerard said, his voice as desperate as his desire for redemption. “But I need to know if I’m cursed, or if my condition is the result of a disease the way Megan says.”
Again Surratt nodded, speaking as if he were a sage who knew all the secrets of the universe. “It is no curse, though many see it as such. It is an ancient disease that originated in Mesopotamia.
“The ancient Sumerians ruled Mesopotamia. Their culture brought the earliest cities, civilization, and religions. But war, death and disease were rampant. Young men died suddenly and unexpectedly on the battlefield or from diseases caused by war and destruction. Legend claimed that by dying under such extreme circumstance, the spirits became conscious in the grave, their desire to live so strong they rose up, roaming the night seeking blood to maintain their existence. In truth, it was a deadly virus that killed the body but not the soul.
“The soul survived but the body suffered a wasting disease. Without the consumption of blood, those affected withered and died. They became known as the Utukku—a spirit or a demon that could be either benevolent or evil. They were still men—men afflicted with a disease. Some were good. Some were evil.
“To hide their sickness, the Utukku only ventured out at night. The sun quickly became their enemy, draining them of life and strength. Once they discovered that drinking blood reversed the signs of wasting, they began taking small doses from loved ones while they slept. In the beginning, no victim was murdered. They left their donors with pleasant dreams and a sense of peace to ease the guilt and remorse they felt for taking the blood of those who’d meant so much to them in life. They soon discovered killing the enemy was a more efficient way of getting blood. Some didn’t stop with killing just the enemy.”
“That sounds pretty damn evil to me,” Amber said. She’d found her voice, but she still couldn’t move. Invisible shackles seemed to pin her feet to the ground.
Gerard gave her a look filled with such hurt she wished the floor would open up and swallow her whole. Didn’t he know she didn’t count him among the undead? Didn’t he realize she loved him regardless of what he was?
The chasm between them seemed to open wider—a breach too wide to cross.
Surratt looked at her with pity. “As the Utukku regained life and vitality, they tried to rejoin the living, but the sun scorched their skin and they still needed blood to survive. They’d adapted to darkness and living in the shadows and for a time, they were happy. But then some became lonely, deliberately infecting old friends and loved ones, after which, the thirst became so insatiable, the only way to appease it was to drain a body completely of blood. The division between the Utukku became broader. Much like the divide you now feel.”
Amber wanted to cover her ears and scream. The bastard was in her head, reading her thoughts. But she couldn’t move. Or speak. She felt trapped between the evil Surratt and the man she’d loved and hurt. Nicolas had even taken a step away from her as if he too were abandoning her.
A tear slid down her cheek. Her throat tightened.
“Choices must always be made,” Surratt said, and she didn’t miss his double meaning. She had a choice to make. Did she want to defend vampires or destroy them? She could never hurt Gerard, but would destroying vampires destroy the friendship they’d formed. Could she choose to leave vampires in peace, knowing what they were capable of?
Surratt met her gaze. He looked for all the world as if he understood her dilemma. “Some Utukku resisted killing innocent mortals in order to live and the hunger faded. They learned to control the cravings. They learned to live in harmony with mortals. Those unable to resist the blood lust doomed their souls to eternal damnation and a thirst that never ceased. And soon, a new group of Utukku emerged. They called themselves ‘The Seven Demons.’ Samarian and Mesopotamian mythology referred to them as Ekimmu. The Ekimmu inspired vampire legends, giving the Utukku a bad name.”
“I don’t need a history lesson!” Her head ached, confusion making her nervous and defensive.
Gerard looked at her as if she’d driven a stake into his heart. “But I do.”
They stood no more than three feet apart. It might as well have been a continental divide.
“And so you shall have it,” Surratt said. “For a thousand years the Ekimmu were feared by the Mesopotamian Empire. The Ekimmu were angry spirits unable to find peace, but they continued to gain strength, youth, and vitality through the lives they took. Their numbers grew beyond the original seven. They recruited more Utukku to their ranks, luring them to the demonic side of their nature. They learned how to deliberately infect mortals and their numbers grew along with their increased powers. But soon, they began to fear the wrath of the gods. They feared even the image of the Sumer gods and the temples in which most of the gods’ images were kept. All churches and temples became holy ground they could not enter. They became afraid of their own images and soon, they no longer cast reflections—or at least none anyone could see.
“Those who resisted the lure of the dark side of the Utukku became known as the Shedu.” He stood taller. Prouder. “And I am the leader of the Shedu.”
“Is that why you recruited Nicolas?” Amber asked, unable to call him father. “Are you still fighting a war that started 4000 years before Christ was even born?”
How much hatred and animosity must exist to maintain a battle that lasted so long?
Infinity. A voice whispered from somewhere inside her head. The battle between good and evil was never ending.
“Surratt didn't recruit me, "Nicolas said. "I was already dying when an Ekimmu showed up in my hospital room to feast on what remained of my blood. The Ekimmu fled when Surratt arrived. He then offered me a choice between a painless death and the chance to see your mother once more. I chose your mother and willingly joined the Brotherhood. The Shedu have taken vows. They don’t kill mortals or the Ekimmu, but I forfeited my membership when I killed Claus.”
Surratt released his mental hold on her. She could move as easily as she could speak, but her feet remained rooted to the floor. “But you didn’t stop Claus from killing my mother,” she said in a voice so raw she could barely get the words out.
Nicolas flinched as if slapped. With downcast eyes he said, “I was too late. I’m sorry.”
“But you let Claus get away with murder. And he killed Andrew. Andrew didn’t have to die too,” she said, tears streaming down her face.
Gerard took a step toward her but halted when she held out a hand. If he touched her now, she’d collapse in a weeping hot mess from which she might never recover. She had to learn the truth. As painful as it might be, she had to know every detail of her mother’s death.
“I was trying to honor my vows to the Brotherhood,” Nicolas said, his voice as raw as Amber’s felt.
“Choices,” Surratt said, in his sage-like voice. “We must all make them.”
“The Shedu are only able to protect mortals from the Ekimmu because they remain hidden. If mortals knew Utukku—vampires existed, they wouldn’t consider if we were Shedu or Ekimmu. They would destroy us out of fear. And if an Ekimmu finds a lone vampire who isn’t a member of a clan or one who has been abandoned by his creator, he will seduce him to the demonic side.”
“Sonja protects Vincent. He protects me,” Gerard said as if he’d been in the dark and someone had just flipped the switch, turning on the lights.
Amber still wasn’t ready to drink the Kool-Aid. “Why don’t the Shedu destroy the Ekimmu?”
“Violence begets violence,” Surratt said. “It is why we must honor our vows not to kill. It is why your father can no longer be a member of The Brotherhood. He killed Claus.”
“And I would kill again,” Nicolas said. “To protect my daughter.”
“Am I the reason my mother is dead?” Guilt sat so heavily on her shoulders that she didn’t resist when Gerard stepped forward and wrapped her in his arms.
“Claus is responsible for your mother’s death,” Surratt said. “Not you. She was protecting you. She knew what you were as did your father. Because Claus and Nicolas shared my blood, Claus knew. Unfortunately, he’d been seduced by the Ekimmu. And there is nothing an Utukku fears more than a dhampir. The Shedu watch over them. Since we have taken vows not to kill, we protect dhampirs so they might one day rid the world of the Ekimmu. The Ekimmu hunt them.”