Page 99 of Love Lives
"It's been quite some time since a soul found its way to me," the spirit said. "You roused me from my slumber."
Was he supposed to feel sorry for that? The spirit's voice didn't sound accusatory, at least. A little amused, if anything. Amusement that mixed with a deep exhaustion.
"You're one of mine, aren't you?" the spirit asked. "I believe these days they call you vampires."
Aldrich tried to nod, then remembered that he couldn't.
"But you didn't die in the usual way," the spirit mused. "And you're not..." he trailed off as if he was lost deep in thought, studying a difficult problem from all angles.
Aldrich, meanwhile, thought back to his death. It had been unusual, all right. But he'd seen Vlad let go of Remy before he'd collapsed. Remy would be all right. That was worth a little sacrifice, wasn't it?
If Aldrich had still had a voice, he might have laughed at his own idiocy. When had he become so damn mortal?
It had been his undoing, in the end.
"Not your undoing," the spirit murmured. "Your salvation."
Aldrich had no idea whatthatwas supposed to mean.
"I thought you weren't capable of it," the spirit continued. "Salvation... love... those were beyond what my creations could experience." His words were laced with regret now. "I wanted to make humanity a gift, you see. But they feared what I gave them and that fear... it twisted what I was trying to do into something horrifying."
It was clear from the spirit's words that even the God who had created vampires wished they would disappear. Idly, Aldrich wondered if destroying them all was within his power, if that was what he would do now that he'd been woken up.
Was this how the prophecy was going to come true?
"Maybe I should have destroyed them all," the spirit agreed with Aldrich's silent musings. "But I chose the coward's way out and hid myself away instead." He paused. "Tell me, child, are there more like you?"
Aldrich wasn't sure what he meant by that, but he thought of his new-found family, anyway. His new 'coven', which was so much better than the one he'd had with Zenon.
"Vampires capable of love," the spirit murmured. "If you are, maybe you can be saved. Maybe you can still become what I wanted you to be."
Aldrich couldn't even begin to imagine what the spirit was talking about, but it wasn't like he could truly respond anyway.
"I won't keep you here," the spirit said. "You can find your way home, can't you?"
Aldrich wasn't so sure that he could. He had no idea how to get back from here. Hell, he didn't even know where 'here' was. He couldn't see anything, and he couldn't move.
But now the spirit was gone too. Aldrich knew it not only because he didn't hear him anymore, but also because the spirit's presence was gone. He was alone now.
Or... maybe not alone.
There was another voice calling out to him. Too far away for him to hear it clearly, but there all the same. A familiar voice. Warmth bloomed in the center of his chest, spreading throughout the rest of his body. He had a body again. And eyes that he could open.
When he did, he looked straight up into Remy's face, as he'd known he would.
Tears were rolling down Remy's cheeks. "I thought you were dead."
"Nope. Still undead." Aldrich thought about telling Remy that hehadbeen dead, but there would be time for that later. When Remy wasn't crying anymore. "Did you really think you'd get rid of me that easily?"
"I..." Remy stared down at him as if he still couldn't quite believe what he was seeing. "I don't want to get rid of you."
Aldrich smiled. "I know you don't." And with that, he pulled Remy into a kiss, ignoring all that was going on around them. It didn't matter. He was safe, Remy was safe. That was all that counted.
It was only when they parted again that Aldrich noticed the unusual quiet around them. Hadn't people been fighting just a moment ago? He sat up and looked around. A few feet away from him and Remy, Leandra's body had been enveloped in a strange light, and not only hers. Vlad's too, and when Aldrich looked around the battle field, it was the same for every other vampire.
"The prophecy," Remy mouthed. "Are they...?"
"I don't know," Aldrich admitted. "But I think I kicked something off."
