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

16: Blood Sacrifice

Jane stood up and looked out the window of her bedroom, just to confirm that she was really there. The terrace outside, the gardens, the graveyard beyond and the sound of a nearby church bell tolling were all there. It was a regular Sunday in Italy. She turned to face Aro.

"What happened?" she asked.

"Caius and a few other members of the coven went to find you, as it was obvious that you would not be returning of your own volition." His lips twitched in irritation.

"We were attacked. There was a fire! Where is he?" Jane asked. "Did you leave him?"

"We were forced to bring him back with you, because you just... would not let go," Aro said through a clenched jaw. "He is in the mausoleum." Jane moved towards the door and Aro blocked her way. "Where are you going?"

"To see him," she said.

"Not so much as a 'thanks' from you," Aro hissed. "After I paid a necromancer to bring you back. I should have left you in that nothingness!" Jane swallowed. Caius and Marcus stepped into the room.

"Ah, she's with us again," said Marcus.

"You left desperate to prove yourself to me and you return as a simpering, love-struck girl!" Aro shouted. His red eyes were burning with anger. "I should finish the job and incinerate what is left of his corpse! Give me one good reason why I shouldn't kick you out of the coven this instant."

"I won't give you one," said Jane. "I don't care if you kick me out. I was free out there and I preferred it." Aro drew back as if her words had hit him like a punch. His expression was that of utter shock, and then his face contorted with the same anger and disgust as before.

"Then get out," he said.

"Aro," Caius gasped.

"Out!!" he screamed.

Jane shoved past the Volturi leaders and ran downstairs. She found the old woman smoking in the courtyard, the guide dog lying at her feet.

"Who are you?" Jane asked, approaching her slowly. There was a heaviness surrounding the woman that she couldn't explain, or maybe it was the dog. Jane sniffed the air and smelled the old woman and her cigarette, but not the dog. It had no smell.

"I knew you wanted something from the moment I pulled your soul back into your body," said the crone with smoke escaping her lips. The dog whined and looked up at her with unearthly eyes. That was no dog. "You want to bring the other one back? You stayed for him."

"Do you know where they put him?" Jane asked. The crone nodded. She tossed the cigarette and her dog stood up to guide her. They walked through the garden, dying in the winter, and into the cemetery. Jane moved the heavy door and they stepped into the mausoleum. Jane could smell charred flesh when she stepped inside. She approached the unmarked tomb and shoved the stone slab off of it. She gasped when she saw his remains. It could have been anyone; she couldn't tell. No hair, no eyes, no skin. Just a black human shape with fingers, ears, and even a whole foot missing.

"Can you do it?" Jane asked.

"The dog will need a large sacrifice if you want him to fetch the soul," said the crone. "And I will need a new body to put him into."

"No. He needs that body," said Jane. She knew Himmler would rather die than inhabit someone else's remains. The crone shook her head.

"That vessel is no longer capable of life. Yours was because you are vampire. Already living without living. He needs a new body with minimal injury."

"You're a necromancer, aren't you?" said Jane. "You can use cadavers worse than that. Just tell me how!" she demanded. The dog barked, snapping his jaws with teeth bared. The crone put her hand on his head and he quieted. She lit another cigarette and took a deep breath in, then exhaled.