Adam thought he’d done hard things before. Killing Harriet Shelley had gone against everything in him he knew to be right, and it had ripped him apart to hurt her. But the curse made it impossible to deny.
Walking away from Elizabeth, no curse compelled him to put one foot in front of the other. To not look back and walked away from her and left her in the middle of a crisis. Perhaps the immediate danger had passed, but no one could protect her like he could.
He knew he was protecting her by walking away. If the Bureau wanted him badly enough, and they realized she was like him, they’d lock her away, too. They’d take her apart and put her back together all to dissect the divine.
He tried not to think about the taste of her on his lips, the way she felt in his arms, or the simple, pure joy he’d felt knowing that she lived.
The only peace he’d ever known was when she touched him.
He would find her again, when it was safe, and hope that this horror hadn’t all been a fevered dream. Adam would take all of it, all the long years, the loneliness, even the first time they burned him—it was all worth having Elizabeth.
When he exited the compound, helicopters buzzed above like shiny wasps, darting here and there, and an army of what looked like tiny ants swarmed down rappelling lines. The SWAT team they’d been promised. They were armed to the teeth and outfitted in body armor.
He watched them for a long moment and wondered if they’d notice the No Stars drifting away from the dock. If they did, he could always lose them in the sea. He could walk to the mainland if he had to, but Adam had decided maybe he had use for some human things after all. He really enjoyed his boat and, someday, Elizabeth was going to be naked in the sun on that deck.
Adam crept aboard, and it seemed all attention was on the facility. There were a few stray revenants, and they were quickly put down. He supposed he blended in, as well as a monster could, in his fatigues and combat boots. They must’ve assumed at a distance, he was one of them.
Sloppy work on their part.
He was half-tempted to turn around.
But he kept hearing her say, “Find me.”
Adam untied his boat and let the wind and waves do as they wished with him. At least until he got out of sight of the island.
He grabbed a bottle of wine he’d been saving. It was the last from his maker’s cellar. Adam knew it was probably pure vinegar swill by now, but it was the end. It was a beginning.
It was time.
“I assume you have another glass for me?” John Polidori climbed up from below deck.
“You piece of shit,” Adam said with a sigh. He didn’t bother to ask what the bloodsucker was doing on his boat. It was obvious he was trying to escape.
John waved him off. “Oh, you say the sweetest things. It’s positively poetry.”
“I should rip your arms off.”
“If you were going to, you would have.” John reached for the bottle of wine and took a long pull. “This is piss. Why are you drinking—oh. That’s why.” He inspected the bottle.
“Aren’t you even going to ask what happened to Elizabeth?”
Polidori looked up from the bottle. “I rather thought you wouldn’t want me to.” He narrowed his eyes. “You Tarzan, Her Jane?” He rolled his eyes. “I’m sure she’s fine.”
“She was bitten.”
“I know. Rather clever of me, don’t you think?”
Adam considered murder. Popping his head off like a dandelion in summer and making a wish while he sprayed the vampire’s guts all over the Aegean.
“Oh my god, you’re so boring.” He handed Adam the bottle. “Silly little Prometheus. It’s not like you were going to kill her just so you could give her your gift. You wouldn’t have been able to do it. I helped you. Now, you just have to get her bone marrow to do what yours does and it’s happily bloody after.”
“How do you propose I do that?”
“Must I do everything? You graft one of your bones to one of hers. Rib is the easiest, I hear. Downright biblical, if you ask me.” He smirked. “Ironic, isn’t it? The creation of man, bitter at his creator playing divine, must now play the game himself or lose the woman he loves. Personally, I like it.”
“You left her alone, John.”
“And is she not just fine?”
“That’s not the point.” Adam advanced on him. “You let her be afraid. That’s not something I’m willing to let go.”
“Oh, for fuck’s sake. Seriously?” Polidori put up his hands, as if that would ward him off. “Let’s be civilized about this.”
“There’s nothing civilized about abandoning a woman who trusted you.”
“I didn’t ask her to trust me. I mean, if we’re dissecting particulars.”
“Oh, but you did. When you agreed to work with her. When you signed your contract with Bureau 7. Elizabeth says they’ll put a price on your head.”
“As if that’s anything new.” He rolled his eyes. “Back up, sir. You are decidedly in my space.”
“I’m going to do a lot more than be in your space,” Adam promised.
“How rude.” Polidori sighed as Adam picked him up by his arms. “Those take forever to regenerate. Don’t tear them off.”