Morgandy inched closer to Vaughan and his charges. “I’m tired of waiting!” he barked, his face beginning to transform. “So I’m taking matters into my own hands.”
This was never supposed to be like this! Years ago when he had crossed over and become a vampire, Vaughan had thought it would bring him an eternity of luxury, wealth, untold adventure. He had never thought he’d have to be a bodyguard. “But that’s against David’s orders,” Vaughan cried, his voice desperate.
Standing directly in front of Vaughan, Morgandy’s face and body were no longer human. “He isn’t capable of giving orders any longer,” Morgandy seethed. “So I’m making up my own.”
Taking a step back so his body was now flat against Ciaran and Saoirse, Vaughan reluctantly allowed his own form to change. He didn’t want it to appear as if he was agreeing to do battle, but he had to be prepared; the two lives behind him were counting on it. “I ... I hear there’s a water vamp settlement in Cyprus!” he said, trying to reason with Morgandy. “Let’s leave at sunset. They’ll never suspect an attack!” But the boy was beyond reasoning.
“No,” Morgandy said flatly. “I want to kill these two.”
“But ... but they’re not even water vamps!” Vaughan cried.
Revolted, Morgandy had had enough of Vaughan’s resistance. “You’re a bigger faggot than your kid!”
Morgandy hit the ground before Vaughan even realized he had punched him. He hit the ground so hard that he didn’t get back up for quite a while. If Grace had still been present, she would’ve applauded Vaughan for defending Michael’s character. She wasn’t, so Saoirse clapped instead. “That was brilliant, Mr. Howard!”
Brilliant, but not a permanent solution. Jumping to his feet, Morgandy was prepared to attack Vaughan for striking him. He wasn’t prepared for Saoirse to attack first. Michael was her friend, she loved him like a brother, and no one was going to get away with talking about him like that. Grabbing the back of Morgandy’s skull, Saoirse didn’t even notice how soft his curls felt. She just hurled his body through the air with more power than she knew she possessed. Twenty seconds later they heard the shattering of glass and knew his body had finally landed. Dumbfounded, Vaughan turned to the girl. “What in bloody hell are you?!”
“Honestly,” she replied, “I’ve given up trying to figure it out.”
“Just be thankful she’s on your side,” Ciaran said, unable to conceal a smile.
So now Vaughan was on the side of his longtime enemy. Yes, it would seem that way. Well, if he wanted to keep peace, he couldn’t just stand there. Peering into the distance he could see Morgandy almost a mile away, not moving, but chances were he wouldn’t stay like that for long. Looking toward the left, he could see a group of kids filing into the gym. “Go to St. Sebastian’s,” he ordered. “I need to make sure Morgandy doesn’t get himself into any more trouble.”
David found his second journey of the day to be much more rewarding. “I’ve done it, Zachariel!” he exclaimed, his voice bellowing throughout the underground cave, startling Edwige, who had just finished her monthly offering of blood. Speechless, she ran to the other side of The Well to conceal her naked body. “Hello, Edwige,” David said. “I hope you don’t mind company.”
“As long as the feeling’s mutual, David,” Michael added as he and Ronan entered the cave.
It was a historic moment. Never before had there been so many people gathered in front of The Well at one time.
Unfortunately, it was not a moment that made The Well happy.
chapter 29
The vibrations started slowly. The movement of the ground was almost imperceptible. In fact, David didn’t even notice anything was happening. How could he when he was so elated that he was finally here? Finally standing in the presence of the godforsaken Well, the legendary being that had eluded him for so long. And look at it! It was nothing more than stone. It looked like something you’d find in a country field, used by an illiterate laborer to fetch water. This was their deity?! Watching Edwige cower and hide her hideous flesh from the others, David thought it was a fitting god.
“I must say how appropriate this foul-smelling place is,” David remarked. “For such primitive, naked beasts, of course.”
Ronan handed his mother a wet clump of yellow and black material. She let the fabric fall to the floor and stepped into it; it was the long dress that she had left on the shore of Inishtrahull Island before making her way to The Well. “Thank you,” she said.
“Oh no, thanks be to Zachariel,” David corrected. “It’s because of his guidance that I’ve accomplished what you never thought I could.” Spreading his arms out wide in front of him, David shouted, “I have found The Well’s elusive hiding place!”
This time when the ground shook, David felt it. He even teetered off balance a bit. The sensation didn’t invoke fear, but rather joy. “You
Even though David was addressing his tirade to The Well, Michael felt that every word was meant for him, and he felt his stomach fill with anger. He was the only one who was an outsider; he was the only who had been brought here, summoned to this part of the world. And he was the only one whose destiny was to be The Well’s next guardian. “You’ll never succeed!” he roared. “NEVER!”
Flying through the air and transforming at the same time, Michael didn’t notice David had reacted even more quickly and had moved to the side until there was nothing before him but empty air. He dove onto the ground, and by the time he stood up and turned around, David was holding Ronan by the throat. A small piece of Michael’s heart died as he watched Ronan’s body flail and convulse uncontrollably a few feet from the ground and his hands clutch at David’s fingers that were squeezing tighter and tighter around his neck. His boyfriend was being assaulted, and Michael was just staring at him. What the hell was wrong with this picture?
Once again David proved that his reflexes were just a bit more honed. Age and experience did sometimes triumph over youth and bravado. Just as Michael soared forward, David flicked his wrist and sent Ronan flying into The Well. He struck the wall so hard two stones were dislodged and fell off, one of them hitting Ronan on the side of his head, slicing off a bit of flesh before crashing onto the ground.
By the time Edwige and Michael ran toward Ronan, flanking him on either side, two new stones had grown in the empty space. The Well was rejuvenating itself. “You see!” Michael cried. “You can’t destroy The Well, and you can’t kill us!”
“Just like I could never find my way here?!” David replied. “Don’t you remember, you stupid, little boy, that rules are made to be broken?”
“Just like truces?” Edwige asked. She was kneeling beside Ronan, holding him in her arms, but she was looking directly into David’s eyes. “You swore before your goddamned Zachariel that you would uphold peace between our two races!”
“I lied,” he said simply.
Edwige wanted to strike David herself for going back on his word, for wreaking havoc and endangering the lives of so many innocent people, but just then Ronan stirred in her arms and she forgot about global salvation and focused entirely on her son. “Ronan,” she whispered. “Can you hear me?”
“Yes,” he replied softly. After Michael helped him stand, Ronan whispered, “Thank you, love.”
Enough sentiment! It was time for the animal to be released from its cage. After ripping off his shirt, David tossed it to the ground, and his massive chest began to heave. He felt his shoulder blades splitting apart, and even though the pain was less excruciating than it had been the first time the metamorphosis had taken place, the feeling was still bone-chilling. Clenching his fists, David raised his arms, his biceps bulging, his neck resembling the trunk of a tree, and he howled. “Ahhhhhhh!!!!!”
No one knew what to make of the scene. They were horrified and transfixed, and it looked as if David was going to explode. They never imagined he was going to sprout wings.
Slowly two feathered wings, the color of midnight, emerged from David’s back. They were majestic, about eight feet in length and several feet high, and took up more than half the entire length of the cave. When the transformation was complete, David’s breathing returned to normal, and his wings fluttered lazily behind him. The
