“Our kind,” Anna sneered. “What did you do to Cristian?” Sage asked. “He was rehabbed,” Jillian stated. “He was cured of his vampirism.” “How?” Sage asked. “He was given a drug that can take away the vampire symptoms.” “I’ve never heard of a vampire being cured,” Anna said. “That was something I wanted and longed for,” Sage thought to herself wistfully. “I wanted to be cured of this curse and to live as a human again.”
“How do you know that he was cured?” she asked. “What if the symptoms are dormant?” “My son is no longer a vampire,” Jillian said firmly. “The symptoms won’t return.” “You sound so sure,” John said. “I was always under the impression that a vampire stays a vampire after being turned.” “You’re a human,” Jillian said astonished. “Why are you living with these ungodly creatures?”
Daniel shook his head in disgust. “Because these people have shown me more kindness than a human ever has,” John said defiantly. Billy smirked. “They took me in, never judged me, and made me feel welcomed and a part of the family. Sage smiled slightly at his impassioned speech. “I pray for your soul,” Jillian said, undaunted. “You’ve been deceived.” Lisa frowned.
“No,” John said with indignation, “You’re the hypocrite. I get really tired of people like you with your holier-than-thou attitudes trying to constantly shove your beliefs down my throat, and if I disagree, then I’m going to hell. You’re so quick to label people who don’t believe the same as you as being immoral, or not like you.” Jillian sighed as though she was bored, rolling her eyes. John mumbled under his breath, while Lisa stared at him, amused.
“You forced Cristian to take a drug that you have no idea what the side effects will be by deceiving him,” Sage said.
“You were in the stairwell with Pearson.” “You helped him all along, didn’t you?” Anna glared at her, while the others looked on scornfully. “So what if I did,” Jillian said unapologetically.
“Cristian will understand why I had to deceive him, because he would’ve never left you willingly.” “I did what I had to do…,” she stopped. “He refuses to let you go,” she said with irritation. “I need for you to convince him that he will have a better life without you, but that can’t happen as long as he holds you in his heart. I need for you to help him to forget you.”
Anna turned to stare at Samuel. Azure eyes met with violet ones. “This is an opportunity that has presented itself to you,” she said telepathically. “Seize it.”
Samuel stared at her, then turned his eyes toward Sage. “Did you know that Cristian nearly died?” Cody asked. “If Queen V hadn’t turned him, he would be dead right now.”
“She saved his life.” “I would’ve preferred that I lost my son to death than for him to lose his soul,” Jillian said. “I liken it to a drug addiction.” John dropped his mouth in incredulity. “He needed to be cured of vampirism and your hold over him.” “You don’t even have the slightest idea what drug addiction is like, lady,” John said angrily, “to even try to compare the two is beyond ludicrous.” “I’ve heard enough,” Sage said. “I’d like you to leave now.”
“I want you to think about it,” Jillian said. “If you were in my shoes, you would do the same thing if you were a mother trying to save her child. Do you have children?” she asked. “I can’t have children,” Sage said softly. “Well,” Jillian huffed, “Thank God for small mercies.” Sage’s eyes smarted.
“Get out,” Anna yelled. Jillian smiled, still holding the crucifix in her hand. “I’ll come back tomorrow to know your decision. I can find my own way out,” she snarled as Anna went to escort her out.
“The nerve of that woman,” Daniel said. “She’s a piece of work,” Billy said. “She barges into our home and demands that Queen V make Cristian forget her.” “The only reason I think any of us restrained ourselves was because she is Cristian’s mother,” Lisa said. “That explains what happened to Cristian,” Anna said coming back into the living room. “You were right, Sage.”
“This was an intentional setup to achieve two things.”
“First, destroy you, and second to separate you and Cristian.”
“From the first moment I met her and her severe reaction toward me, I knew she would never accept me in Cristian’s life,” Sage said. “Her dislike for me was instantaneous.”
“Cristian will never forgive her for what she’s done.”
“Sage, I don’t want to sound unsympathetic towards him,” Anna began, “But the bugger brought this on himself when he refused to let Billy, Daniel, or even Samuel go with him, because of his pride and his wanting to be your knight in shining armor.” Anna turned her eyes toward the others, speaking to them telepathically.
They glanced over at Samuel and at Sage nodding their heads and excused themselves so the two could speak privately. “Hey, John, how about a game on the Xbox?” Billy said, patting him on the back as they exited the room. “We’ll talk later,” Anna said, leaving the room.
Samuel sighed and sat down on the antique chair while Sage took a breath. “Okay, Samuel,” she said.
“What happened while I was gone, and why didn’t Cristian want you to help him?” “He found out about the night we had together,” Samuel said. “How?”Sage asked.
“I don’t know how, but somehow he knew and he confronted me about it.”
“I didn’t confirm or deny his suspicions and he was very troubled by it. He was defensive about your relationship, telling me that you chose him and that I had to accept it.” He lowered his voice. “He asked me if I loved you, and I couldn’t deny it.”
Sage nodded her head, sucking in her bottom lip. “He told me that we shouldn’t keep secrets from each other, and I’m sure he wasn’t happy to know I had indeed kept another secret from him. It was something that happened before he was born and before you even knew he existed,” Samuel said. “Why should we feel guilt for something that happened before he entered your life?”
“He was hurt,” she said, closing her eyes imagining the sting Cristian felt at the discovery. “He said that it was more than just a physical connection between us,” Samuel said. “I can see now why he was so adamant in not wanting your help to find me, but his stubbornness ended up leading him right into the trap his mother and Pearson set up for him,” Sage replied. “You did have regret for turning him,” Samuel whispered gently.
“I did,” she acknowledged. “It was beginning to come between us, and now the choice has been taken out of my hands. Once again, I have another difficult decision to make,” she uttered the words so softly that, if not for his sensitive hearing, Samuel wouldn’t have heard her. He clasped her hands, remembering something from the other night.
“Sage, while you were resting at the cemetery, I scanned the gravestones and I saw one that I know will be of interest to you. It was the grave of Cristian Thomas,” he said. “Cristian’s grave,” Sage said, welling up. “I wanted to tell you when you awakened, but I… he stopped, seeing the tears in her eyes. “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you sooner,” he said. “Cristian’s grave,” she repeated. “Please show me where it is,” she asked.
After being repeatedly questioned by the police, Randi was cleared to go home where she swiftly undressed and showered. Wearing her bathrobe, she stared downcast at the couch where Rafael slept and saw his duffle bag sitting on the floor opened with his change of clothes inside. “I still can’t believe he’s gone,” she thought. “Just a few hours ago, I spoke to him on the phone, and now I’ll never hear his voice again.”
Noticing a message on her cell phone, she picked it up to retrieve it. It was the funeral home telling her that she would be able to pick up the urn containing Rafael’s ashes in the morning. Hanging up the phone, she remembered the kiss they shared and the strength of his hands while they were gripped around her waist. “I’d give anything to have that moment back,” she thought. “I will honor your memory,” she vowed, wiping her eyes. “I won’t let your death be in vain.”
“He’s still asking for her,” Christopher said plainly, as Jillian came through the door of the abandoned warehouse, rubbing her temples soothingly. “So what happened?” he asked. “I went by the vampires’ lair,” Jillian said. “Just as we suspected, she was still alive.”
“So Rafael failed in his attempt to destroy her,” he said. “It gets better,” she said. “He’s dead,” she handed him the afternoon newspaper. “Even a trained vampire hunter couldn’t destroy her.” “Then she won’t agree to our request,” he said. “Yes, she will,” Jillian said, “For one reason.” “What reason?” Christopher asked. “Something she can never give Cristian that she wants more than anything.
A family.”