Frailty: The Darkshine(40)

“You don’t need to fear me.”

Slowly her fear started to dissipate. It was as if warm water was being poured all over her, bathing her in a calm, serene feeling. Her mouth and brain wouldn’t work, a fog of tranquility filling her whole body. She wanted to do what he told her, wanted to obey anything he said.

“Do you love him?”

She didn’t hesitate, didn’t even think about anything but telling him exactly what he wanted to know. “Yes, very much.” Her words were spoken softly but clearly. He ran his hand over his skull and breathed out deeply. His eyes broke from hers in that instant and she felt her body becoming her own again.

“That’s good, that’s real good. Would you do anything for him?”

Her mind started to clear and the calm she had just felt was replaced with bright rage. “How dare you! I know exactly what you were doing!” She couldn’t remember what Gaijryc had called it, but she knew that their kind could control humans, could make them do what they wanted. Why didn’t he just kill her? Why give her a sense of serene calmness?

“I’m sorry. I just didn’t want you to feel frightened by me.”

All the fear she had previously felt vanished. “Why did you do that? That was a total invasion!” She could feel the blood rising to her cheeks as her anger raised another notch. His lips tilted upwards slightly and he dropped his head—the smile still there as he looked back at her a second later. It had completely changed his face. He no longer looked hard and menacing. It faltered slightly, his eyes roaming over her face.

“I’m sorry, I truly am, but please, we don’t have much time.” He looked sad, as if the man he once had been was now just a hollow shell. “He loves you, so deeply. He is going to do something tonight that he will forever regret, something that will make him forever changed. I don’t want him to be like me. I don’t want him to wander this planet with no hopes, no dreams.”

His voice faltered on the last word. She looked at him with a stunned expression. Helina wanted to know desperately what he was talking about, what Gaijryc would do tonight that would forever change what they had. “Is it another woman?” Her voice cracked as she searched Ryce’s face. All her fear and anger dissipated when she thought of Gaijryc holding another woman, being with another woman. His next words stopped the words she was about to speak.

“I didn’t kill her.”

Her breath caught and her heart stopped. “What?” Her mind felt as if it were about to explode, all the fear, anger, and confusion were about to burst through her body. “She’s alive?”

He held up his hand and shook his head. “You misunderstand me. She asked me to end it for her. That her life was ending anyway. She said her death would be slow and painful, but that if I helped her she could go peacefully.”

Tears started streaking down Helina’s cheeks. She didn’t know what to say, didn’t know how to feel. Her sister asked to die? She didn’t want to believe him, couldn’t believe that Lizzy, her own sister, had asked to die. The doctors said she wouldn’t live past the age of twenty. They had said her body had already been through so much. The cancer had worn her body down to the bone and it was inevitable that it would shut down on itself. Of course, she had surpassed that by several years.

Was Helina so blind that she hadn’t seen what was happening to Lizzy? That she was slowly withering away? Helina sank to her knees right in front of the vampire that had taken Lizzy’s life. She covered her face with her hands as she cried hot tears. Pain wracked her body and she absorbed it, grieving all over for her beloved sister.

Lizzy had always been stubborn, had always wanted to do things her way. “I can’t believe she asked you to end her life.” She dropped her hands and looked up at him. “I can’t believe you did it.”

Ryce slowly moved toward her and dropped to his haunches. She pressed herself against the wood and held her breath. His expression was grim as he reached up as if he meant to touch her. She shrank back, not truly knowing his intentions.

“I’m sorry. I’m so sorry. She begged me, pleaded with me to stop her pain.” He dropped his head as he spoke the last word.

“Please, tell me what she said, make me understand.”

He lifted his head slowly, his eyes haunted as started to speak. “She said her time was ending. That she didn’t want her sister to watch her die. She told me she wanted to say goodbye, but couldn’t bring herself to do it.”

“I don’t understand. What were you doing there to begin with?”