Marked

Marked (Book 1 in the Marked by the Vampire Series)

Copyright 2012 A.N. Meade

Published by A.N. Meade at Smashwords

Smashwords Edition License Notes

This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your enjoyment only, then please return to Smashwords.com or your favorite retailer and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

Table of Contents

Chapter 1: Bittersweet Dreams

Chapter 2: C'est La Vie

Chapter 3: Homecoming

Chapter 4: Blood Red

Chapter 5: Never Let Go

Chapter 6: A New Day

Chapter 7: Run Away

Chapter 8: Princess and the Priestess

Chapter 9: Just Walk Beside Me

Chapter 10: Along Came a Spider

Chapter 11: Friends in High Places

Bonus Chapter 1: Something Borrowed

Bonus Chapter 2: Life and Death are One

About A.N. Meade

Other Books by A.N. Meade

Connect with A.N. Meade

Bittersweet Dreams

Marc wasn’t as relieved to hear her answer as he had hoped he would be. He wanted Kate with him more than anything, but he was unsure if he was asking her to do what was right. He had found her the night before, as she sat alone by the pond with the snow falling on her hair like hundreds of diamonds in the moonlight. She was twirling a blade in her hand, and he knew her intention. Life had pushed her too far, and she was staring directly into the pit of despair. He had chosen to step out from the shadows and take her. It was a selfish choice, but it was no more a choice to him than breathing is to a human. He loved her. He had always loved her. In his own life, he had sidestepped his destined death and he still carried guilt for that choice and the consequences it brought. Then, as he did now, his spirit needed to be near hers. He was unwilling for either of them to leave this life and enter the uncertainty of the next.

Tenderly, his fingers brushed back the hair from the right side of her neck. He loved her, but above his love for her was a selfish need to have her again. He would kill her. He would bring her back, and he would never let her go again. The fangs as they pierced her skin were not nearly as painful as the pressure of his bite as she felt her life slipping away. Kate had no strength left, and her body fell limp and lifeless into his arms. He laid her down carefully on the floor and supported her head with his left arm. Then, he bit deep and fiercely into his right wrist. The blood poured steadily and he watched it stain her lips. A single tear fell from his eyes. He was damning her. Even still, he could not let her go. That night, the pleasure he felt at knowing that inside she was there sleeping finally in his bed, was bittersweet.

The next day, her metamorphosis was well under way. He covered her up with a light satin sheet. In moments of partial consciousness, just the touch of the denim and cotton that she had over her tore across her flesh painfully. Her body ached and pained like a thousand tiny needles rested just below the surface of her skin. For now, she was resting. She was exhausted from her latest bout of agony. Marc sunk deep into the armchair, but could not let himself sleep. He needed to be there, alert, in case she needed him. Her screams had awoken Enric and Natasha who were sleeping down the hall.

They tapped on the heavy mahogany door.

Enter.

Trying to be as quiet as possible, they knelt down near the bed. Kate looked so sick.

So it has begun?

Yes.

I thought you would be happier. Marc had talked about this for years. All he lived for was to find her.

The change is not without risk. My blood is toxic to her body. See the veins beneath her skin? They’re rising, full, and fighting. Her body will submit to it and be reborn, or she will die.

Marc dipped a cloth lightly into a wash basin beside the bed, and used it to wet her brow with cool water. He had done this to her. He had lived for centuries with every intention of finding her. He meant to find her, and make it so they would never part again. He lied to himself when he tried to believe it was curiosity and a desire to make sure she was okay, that drove him to hunt her down time after time. It wasn’t about any of that really. He wanted her, and he waited for the chance to have her. He wrestled with these thoughts. His motives were questionable at best. She was suffering, and he had done this to her.

Enric could see that Marc was struggling. He tried to find words that would be comforting. She is strong Marc. She’ll fight through this.

I don’t want to lose her, Enric. I cannot lose her, not again.

They watched her eyes moving. Violently, they darted from one side to the next. Her skin was quickly losing its pale flush of color. Pain was written in her expression. Her jaw clenched, and she threw her head back as if she could not get enough air.

Marc continued expressing what he was feeling. This was such a rare occurrence that Enric and Natasha gave him their full attention. I hate knowing that her spirit is there, caught in the middle and I cannot be with her.

You are right here, touching her. How is it that you are not with her?

Her body rests here, but her spirit is there. It won’t pass because of what I’ve done to her. Though she will be spared from Ifern, she must travel through the underworld alone. She has to find her way back to this body, this life.

She looked so small to him lying there on his bed. He wasn’t used to worrying about her strength in this way. Would she navigate this labyrinth? Marc was so close to having her back. It was almost more than he could bear, watching her in so much pain and torment.

Life is gone from her then?

Yes. Her body is only a doorway now. It lives because my blood transforms it into a vessel for her when she finds her way back.

It made sense to Enric now that she looked so pale and ill. She was essentially dead. He had never contemplated how someone became a vampire. He had never dared to imagine what it was like to transform. It looked horrible and painful. It was slow, so slow and painful. One question was strong in his mind. How long does she have to find her way back?

The sun will raise twice more before the door is shut. It will be a difficult journey. I must stay vigilant. My words will guide her, if she can hear them.

The air was thick with tension, making the large bed chamber feel like a tiny, cramped closet. It was clear in Marc’s voice that the risks were profound. All he could offer was his presence if it was needed. If there is anything we can do, call for us.

As Natasha and Enric walked out, they were full of concern for their friend. It was strange for them to see Marc like this. He was beginning to look weak. He sat over her, reopening his would and pouring his blood over her lips so carefully. Enric and Natasha began to wonder if Marc’s life was in as much danger as Kate’s.

The next day was worse. Kate’s voice echoed through the halls of the house. Everyone it seemed was in a state of unrest. They had all watched Marc put everything he had into finding her. For hours, he would sit in his room beside the cedar chest at the foot of his bed. He searched for something unknown through the trinkets that he had kept from their time together. Inside the chest were pieces of breacan, taken from the tiretaine that he was wearing. There was one piece of cloth from a kerchief that belonged to his beloved Aimee. There was also a broach that she wore on special occasions, and a pewter hair pin that had a trinity knot with an eternity circle at the top. There were many belongings besides, all pieces of his history together with her. Marc refused to leave her side. He tended to her constantly as she slept.

Natasha remembered how he had made many trips to New Orleans before he had at last found Kate. He would go down to New Orleans and see Elsie who was a voodoo high priestess. She was a vampire, like him, but she had a gift of foresight. Her knack for communicating with the spirit world was amazing, almost as strong as her affinity for dark magic. He would leave for days on end to go and consult with Elsie so that he would know where Kate was and what he could do to find a door into her life once again. Natasha wished so much that Elsie was here to help Marc through this. She would know what to do.

The pierce of Kate’s screams jolted Marc into action. He walked over to her and wiped her head, face, neck and shoulders with the cool cloth. He was careful and gentle. As dawn approached, Enric and Natasha returned to Marc’s room with a platter of food and a glass of cabernet franc.

Enric knew from the intensity and frequency of her screams, that things were bad. How is she today, Marc?

She rests less and less now.

You look weak. Here is some food, and if you need me I am here. Natasha could no longer hide the worry in her eyes. Marc was so tired. She could see it in him.

His answer was short. I cannot feed until tomorrow morning. He downed a piece of roast beef and the wine in seconds, obviously hungry for something more. I can’t risk introducing her body to so much of someone else’s blood, not when we’re so close to making progress.

Enric walked over to the side of the bed. The ribbons of purple had faded under Kate’s skin. He noticed that her body had begun to take on a kind of otherworldly glow. Her skin and hair were radiant, like a woman with child. She was saying something as if she were reading from a text, low, and methodically under her breath. It was a text they knew, from the 240 BC writing, the Egyptian Book of the Dead.

She repeated the phrases over and over again. The words seemed to give some measure of comfort to Marc. She is finding her way back. Marc stroked her face as she spoke, his words in sync with hers.

Natasha recognized the words from a book she was familiar with. That’s from the book of the Dead?

Marc had always found the moniker insufficient in some way. He grinned in amusement. Well, that’s what the English call it.

Natasha was confused. This text was significant historically, but she could not fathom how it had anything to do with what was happening now. What significance does the Book of the Dead have to this?

Marc began to explain as best he could. The Egyptians possessed great wisdom. The information in those scrolls is the key to understanding a large part of what we must face in the underworld. It’s like a wilderness, vast and confusing. There are many paths that can lead in many different directions. One set of choices leads to reincarnation on this earth if your soul’s learning is complete. One leads to paradise and the other to torment.

What about the immortals?

Well, that’s something else altogether. For Vampires, it is a journey backward against the raging river, back to our bodies, a gateway quickened with unnatural life.

One more day, that’s all they had left. Kate was so close to reaching the end of her journey beneath. Marc had found that his grief had subsided, and in its place was fierce anticipation. He wondered if she would reconnect with who she was in their life together so long ago. He wondered if she would love him, or if she would come to regret her choice and resent him for what she would become. Either way, Marc was pleased that she was resting so calmly now. The sun broke through the heavy velvet drapes and danced across her face. She was so beautiful. Then he noticed it, the gash in her arm had begun to heal. He took off the bandage just to be sure. The cut was fading like it had never been there at all. She was changing. She was becoming a Vampire. Marc rested a moment, knowing that she would awaken soon. He leaned his body against the thick post at the end of the bed. Natasha and Enric had joined him again to keep vigil over her. He was pleased to tell them the worst had passed. Her wounds are healing.

Enric and Natasha could not help but smile. There had been so much tension over the last couple of days. This was good news. Her body had at last stopped fighting, and Marc’s blood would begin to strengthen her. They watched him bite deeply into his wrist for the last time, and gently tilt back her head.

She’s getting stronger, it won’t be long. When Marc glanced back at them it was frightening at first. His skin was shadowed, and his eyes gleamed, bright and piercing. They looked a lot like a kaleidoscope. They were predominately green in hue and as wild as any animals. His fangs stood out dramatically. Even the way he carried himself was different, dominant, and more aggressive. He wiped Kate’s lips with a white kerchief, and bound his wrist carefully with gauze and a heavy leather cuff watch. He glanced down and then met their eyes to explain what must be done next. It will be a few hours before she awakens. I must go. I’ll be back as soon as I can. Take care of her until I return. Then he paused, there was one more thing he needed to know, Enric, are you certain you still want to do this?

Enric’s response was immediate. Yes. We have seen how much she means to you.

Good. With that, Marc closed the door.

Natasha had never seen him like that before. He had remained perfectly composed, but underneath it was plain to see that his hunger had grown intense. Day hunting was very dangerous. He would make a good choice, she knew that. Marc liked to choose someone who was disconnected and cruel. He often chose criminals. Still, it was hard to know what was happening. It was terrible for the mortal, no matter what Marc’s skill was. As fast and skilled as he had become at killing, it was still bad for Marc too. He had never really enjoyed hunting men. Even though he needed to at times to survive it never seemed that simple. He had always viewed it more like murder. There was no other choice; if he didn’t hunt he was far too hungry to control himself during a feeding. He had to let the beast inside grow hungry, so that he could be there like he needed to be for Kate. Now, he needed to quench that hunger so that he could be logical and strong for her to lean on after her awakening.

It was dusk before Marc returned to the house. His eyes were calmer. With the storm inside him abated, Natasha could not help but wonder for a moment about the specifics of his hunt. Who was it he chose? Were they afraid? She knew that their face would always be with him. He remembered every human he killed, every single one. He had told her so once. He even remembered the faces of the warriors he bested in battle before he was immortal. Marc had not hunted since they made their agreement, until now. It seemed so terrible from a human point of view, but he was not human after all. Natasha told herself that what he had to do was natural, no matter how terrible it seemed.

Marc did not rush to Kate. Instead, he went first into the bathroom. He didn’t utter a word as he passed Natasha and Enric in the hall. He dared not meet their gaze with the blood still dry on his lips from his kill. He turned on the hot water and stripped off his clothes. They smelled like death. He dipped his hands into the water and rinsed his face, letting his fingers run along the side of his head. It never got easier as strange as it was. He had killed dozens of men in battle as a mortal. He had killed hundreds more as an immortal, and not one of them haunted him like now. The stream enveloped him, beginning to release the tension in his muscles. He used his shirt to wipe clean a space on the mirror. He had cleaned away the blood and bits from his body, but his teeth were stained a sheer red. What have I done, he thought, this has been such a curse and here I have given it to the soul I love above all else.

He knew he did what he needed to do. He did what had to be done. There was no way that Natasha would have survived his brutality. He was far too hungry, and he would have killed her. Though it was necessary, Marc found it difficult to accept at times.

It was well into the night, before the final traces of his deed were washed down the drain. Marc found Enric and Natasha sitting in armchairs beside Kate’s bed, deep in conversation with one another.

Are you ready then? Natasha beamed a satisfied smile at Enric. This would be one more thing that they could share together. Natasha had been waiting for this, for Enric to commit fully to this life. She wanted him to have what she had with Marc. Their friendship had changed her for the better.

I am, Enric replied in his typically collected tone. He smiled back at Natasha and then lifted his gaze to Marc as he entered the room.

I’m glad to see you are ready, dear friend. We’ve only a couple of hours now before she wakes. Just saying it out loud made Marc’s heart race. He was so close to having her back.

How soon will she need to feed?

The faint tremor that Marc detected in Enric’s hands was the only give away that his composure was crumbling. He was afraid. It was good. New vampires were often overly eager. It was not unheard of for a willing donor to become injured or even to die if the feeding were not monitored closely. She will need blood almost right away, but I would like a few moments in private with her at first.

Of course.

It is well past time for dinner, I have asked Edward to prepare a meal for you. It is important that you eat and have your strength, especially you Enric. Marc had been gentle in his guidance and he could see that the idea was readily accepted by Natasha. She could no doubt remember the fatigue that she felt at the beginning of her arrangement with Marc.

Thank you, Marc. Do you wish to join us?

No, excuse me please. I want to be here when she opens her eyes. Kate was in a deep sleep now. Her body had been utterly exhausted by the journey. Marc felt responsible