Blood, Fire and Vampire Slayers: Jasper Hale love story Book #2

15: Centenary

Jane went back to the bridge when she heard the howling. She knew it was no ordinary wolf. Himmler had already left their campsite. She considered that he might have abandoned her, but he would have been direct in discarding her. And even if he had left, what could she do, but look for him? Aro was displeased with her lack of progress, to say the least, and he threatened to send someone more efficient to replace her on her mission. Jane managed to pacify him for the time being, but now she was alone, and she sensed that something was wrong. She searched for Himmler in silence, not daring to call out. If there was an enemy nearby, she wanted to surprise them.

She spotted the signs of a struggle in the darkening twilight; scuffmarks and drops of blood. The light of day faded completely, and she began to run as she got closer to the action. She could sense it and hear it, when a roar like nothing she had heard before, echoed overhead. Jane stopped when she saw fire shooting through the forest. Far ahead, she glimpsed a massive wolf running to get clear. She heard Himmler's screams and saw him in flames. Jane rushed towards the danger. The dragon swooped and a second blast of flame rained down on Himmler.

"Reinhard!" Jane screamed, her voice drowning in the fire's roar. Full grown trees began to fall and still she ran forward. Himmler was frantic, fearful of death for the first time, as Jane grabbed him to pull him out of the dragon's path. She felt her own body scorched by the dragon fire. She couldn't remember the last time she felt such an overwhelming sensation, but she couldn't leave him. She couldn't stop. She delivered pain; she did not succumb to it! They were almost clear when a huge branch crashed down on her. Himmler was face down; unmoving. Jane clawed at the ground. Her skin cracked and peeled. She felt her fingers wear down to bone. Her hair sizzled away. The dragon was coming back for the final strike. With a surge of determination, Jane pressed her hands into the ground, arched her back to push the branch up, spine touching charred wood. Her vision was lost as she pulled herself out from under the branch and searched blindly for Himmler's body. A cloud of fire came down behind them and the wave of expanding hot air pushed them forward. The only sense Jane had left was smell and the smell of water drew her towards the river. She was hardly a thinking, feeling creature when she fell down the bank; Himmler's body tumbling with her. She never let go of his wrist. The water accepted them in a cold embrace and swept them downstream with the swiftness that the last warm spell had brought with melting snow.

Miles went by underwater. Jane's sight came back, and she saw the shadows of fish passing over her. She felt the water rushing through the cavities of her body. It carried her on and on. Her wounds closed, she began to hear again, but still she didn't have the strength to move even when the river brought her to the bank. The only thing she could do was hold onto Himmler. She tightened her grip and closed her eyes.

*****

Astrid woke up on the couch in Elizabeth's living room. She remembered saddling up and some fragments of the ride through the forest, Klaus taking pictures of them in the patchy snow, Chelsea spooking, and the deer running. Everything else was blank. Elizabeth came to her side and put a hand on her shoulder.

"How do you feel, Astrid?" she asked.

"Confused?" she said. "I don't remember how I got here. Did I fall off? Where's Chelsea? Is she okay?"

"Chelsea is fine," said Elizabeth. "You didn't fall."

Astrid sat up and saw three strangers in the room. Two men and a tall woman. Jacob was sitting on the couch opposite her, Bella was next to him, and Klaus was sitting on the arm of the couch near Astrid's feet. There was dirt on Jake's trousers and his hair looked like it had been pulled out of place.

"Hey," he said, with a half-smile.

"Hi," Astrid muttered. "You look like you fell off."

Jake snorted. "She did this." He pointed to Melissa who was sitting in the armchair in the corner. She had a blanket around her shoulders and a cup of tea in her hands.