Chapter 9

Elijah - Chapter 9

Helenia was sure that she'd never hurt this badly, and felt as if every time she moved, she'd find another place that hurt. Noah was going to pay for this. He'd hurt her and no one got away with that. Not and lived to talk about it.

She could no longer hold her other form. Going out in the daylight didn't burn her as it did a vampire, but it did weaken her. The sun could help her when she needed a little extra power, but right now it felt like it was cooking her flesh. Holding to the shadows, she tried to keep an eye out for any fool that was looking for her.

When she'd returned to her lair last night to rest and to recuperate, ten men had been there waiting for her. The Board had found her place of rest. She watched them from a distance, trying to decide if she could have taken them all, when she smelled it. Olive oil. They were killing all chances of her ever being able to stay in her lair again.

Olive oil, unknown to most anyone that hunted vampires, and herself included, would kill them. Not just the oils from the nasty fruit, but also the fruit itself. Just one touch to one of them would burn through their flesh to the bone, and then make it so fragile that it would no longer support them. Helenia could not believe that they'd do this to her.

As she watched, her anger getting stronger by the minute, she saw the flame just before it was tossed at her home. It was old and made of wood, so it went up quickly. The red flames ate at the only resting place she'd ever known. The only one that she could ever use.

Helenia wondered if Noah had seen where she lived in her mind and had sent them here to do this to her, knowing, as few did, that without her stone and her soil to replenish her, she'd begin to lose her power. Like the lore of vampires, she did need her home soil to survive. And the large stone she'd been put upon when born.

Helenia thought of how she'd come to be, how her power had come to her, and what rituals had been done to make her as powerful as any other being in the world. Few knew what it had taken to make her what she was, and those were long since dust in the ground. Killing them had been her greatest triumph.

Her mother had been a witch of the darkest path, her father a vampire that had long ago turned rogue. They created her, a babe, and had taken her to the sacrificial altar that they'd fucked on to make her. Even as her body, still damp from her birth, cooled her, they were pulling out the things needed to make her what she was today.

After summoning the demon from the other world, he blessed their blade and what they were about to do. He'd only asked for one thing…their own souls in return for helping them with their child. Then he looked at her, and Helenia knew him for what he was, and what he was going to do for her.

"You will be strong, my child. Your magic as powerful as I can give you. Once you are matured, your body no longer of this earth, I will come to you and give you it all." Even as a babe newly born, she knew his words and what they would do for her. "I will help them with this, but you will owe me still. A boon that I will collect when you have been destroyed."

She wanted to tell him that she would never be killed, that destroying her would be impossible. But he moved away, and Helenia had felt calmed by the things that were coming.

The blade was taken by him to finish what her parents had started. He dipped it in his own blood before it was plunged into her heart; the power of it, of his blood and magic, gave her small body so much. Helenia hadn't screamed, her body accepting of what was to come. And when the blade was pulled from her chest, the blood that had sustained her all those months in her mother's womb covered the stone she had been on until it was stained with it.

The screams of her parents had sounded like music to her ears. Helenia was sure that they had thought they would be around for a long time, that they would see their creation run the world. But he took them both, killed them, then sent them to hell to serve him. Helenia smiled at the demon when he picked her up from the stone and laid her upon the soil at his feet.

"The ground here will accept you like no one ever will again, save me." She felt it covering her, the soil as hot as the breath of the demon. "When you are mature, your body ready to come forth, I will brand you as my own and you will be free to do as you please for a period of ten thousand years. After that time, I will come for you, if you are not harmed by anyone in any way."

Just as the soil was at her neck, the heat of it burning at the flesh she'd been born with and replacing it with something more, he leaned to her once again and spoke. Helenia had forgotten the words he'd said to her until she'd woken after Noah had hurt her.

"A man will come to you. If he should wound you first, then you are finished. Your powers will go to all that surround you and you will wither and be gone if I am not there to take you. You will not die, for you are no longer living. And the power that you have now, it will no longer be yours. Do you understand me, Helenia, my child?" She had no way of answering him, but he seemed to understand that she had said yes. "If you allow this to happen, for this man to harm you, then I will expect you to be my slave, a slave like none other for the rest of eternity and beyond. Do you take this deal?"

Again, she had no way of answering him verbally, but he nodded once and stood. The darkness took her then. The soil cradled her into its depths for one hundred and one years. And when she rose up, her body as it was now, he came to her. The magic that he gifted to her was nothing compared to what she had gained as the years went by, but it had been a good start.

Now not only was she now without her home and her place of rest, but her plans to take over the entire world were put on hold. Moving closer to the buildings that held the most heat, for her body was freezing all the time now, she thought of what she was going to do to Noah when she found him. And find him she would.

Have they found you as yet, Helenia? The Board was most happy that I was able to give them specific directions on not just where to find you, but how to destroy your lair as well. Noah's voice made her pause. But it was his laughter that made her anger spiral out of control again. I would like to tell you about the man that you thought to take as your own. He is safe from you. You will never take from him what you planned.

You think not? Well, I have marked him first, and as such, he is mine. She laughed when he said nothing. Can you see what I did to him, Noah? The dreams that I have given him so that he'd be weak when I took him? The way that I tainted his blood? When he is hurt, does he not heal as he should? I have heard that he has no will to have a child. I will have many by him, monsters as I am. They will do my bidding and eat the one that sired them for his blood.

The last time I saw him, which was only a few hours ago, he was hale and hearty. His mind cleared of your dreams and his body as whole as mine. I wonder now if you are as strong as you think you are. I mean, the man has nothing at all wrong with him. Helenia didn't believe him and said as much. You can or not, I don't care. But I do have to ask when you're coming here. You are, aren't you, Helenia? Oh, I so hope so. When you do, you had better be ready. Oh, I just realized that you won't be as strong as you might have been. Taking that information from you was very helpful.

You think you hurt me by burning my things? I have many houses with many things in them that I care nothing for. She was sure he didn't hear her fear. But when he laughed again, she felt her temper take hold of her. Noah, when I find you I'm going to enjoy killing you. And when I do, I want you to know that I will take my beast with me to my bed and let him create many children with me.

He knows what you are. He also knows that you cannot create anything with him, not even so much as a selfie. You cannot bear a child any more than I can. She had no idea what a selfie was, but decided that she'd make him create one with her just to prove Noah wrong. I will enjoy watching him destroy you.

She refused to talk to him any longer. Her temper drained her, and she couldn't afford to lose any more of her strength sparring with a fool. When he laughed again, telling her where to find him, Helenia used some of her magic and turned herself to air and moved along the current to him. Noah was going to die, and she was going to kill him. It was all she could think about as she was tossed along the air like a bobber in water.

~*~

Elijah was worried. Not about what the small test results gave them, but how she was going to react to them. Noelle was afraid that they'd all shun her or turn her out. And no matter what he said to her, she steadily believed that they would. Myra came into the room just as they were all seated around the big living room. Doug and Jack had left for their hotel not an hour ago.

He was sure that Myra found the most hideous colors and smashed them together into some sort of dress. Tonight she was covered from head to toe in the most brilliant shade of purple he'd ever seen. It was almost neon, but not. Her hair, also purple, hurt the eyes when she moved, and looked as if it had a life of its own. When she winked at him, he was almost afraid to ask her.

"I understand that congratulations are in order." It took his mind a moment to catch up to what she was saying. While he'd been watching her, her color palate changed from the purple to a green just as blinding. "The plant will be here. It will give the area a much needed boost. So you know, my cat friends, the Bentley men, said to tell you that should you need any help they'd be more than happy to do so. I have told them all about my new friends, the wolves. Micah Bentley, he's the leader of their leap. He was most pleased that you are doing so well."

"Tell him that I'll keep that in mind." Myra nodded at Trent and sat down. "We were just talking about this test and what it might tell us."

"It will tell you wondrous things, I think." She looked at him again. "Elijah, are you taking the job working with Mr. West? I'm to understand that you won't even have to relocate, that you and Noelle can work for him from here."

"We have to talk about it together first. We're not sure. I have a job that I love, and Trent needs Noelle here to help with this plant and things with it. For now, we're working on this thing with Sterl and Helenia." Myra nodded, and they all looked at Noah when he appeared in the room. "We're ready when you are, Noah."

"Now, as I have said before, this will not only tell me if you are the child of a vampire, but if I know him, I might be able to tell you who he is as well. At the very least, I'll be able to know if he has passed on or not." Noelle nodded and held Elijah's hand tightly in hers. "I promise you, this will not hurt at all."

"Before you do this, I want to thank you." Noah asked her for what. "This thing with my stepfamily. Had you not helped me that day, there is no telling what might have happened to me should he have left me by the side of the road. You saved my life, I think."

"I think you would have done well no matter what else might have happened that day. You're brave and very smart. And today you were begged by not one but three men to work for them. I knew the moment I met you that you were something special." Noah looked at Elijah as he continued. "I don't have to tell you what a precious thing you have here with her. You will take care of her as she deserves, I know this. I'm very proud of you, Elijah."

"Thank you."

When Noah pulled her wrist to his mouth, Noelle dug her nails into Elijah's hand so tightly that he felt the trickle of blood as it raced over his hand. And when Noah lifted his head and leaned back, it was all he could do not to pull his hand from Noelle's and shake off the pain of it. His dad laughed and patted him on the back.

"You are the child of Roman Gallegos. Roman was a great and powerful vampire, and a man that I called friend. He is, sadly, passed from this world." Elijah let out a breath he'd been holding. "I do not believe that he knew of you. If he had, I think he might not have met the sun like he did. He was, like a lot of us when we get older, bored with his life, and ended it rather than turn rogue."

"So I'm part vampire." Noah nodded and smiled. "I guess my next question to you is, what happens to me now? I mean, can I be changed into a wolf like the rest of the family?"

"I'm not the one that can answer that." He looked at Myra, who smiled at them all. "She's been looking into a few things for me. In addition to Helenia, she had a lot of information about this sort of thing as well."

"Yes, there is no reason that either of you, Joe or you, cannot be converted. However, that being said, I would think on this for a little while. First of all, Joe would be able to be a wolf, but with the power that she received from Noah, she would also be able to shift into other animals as well. And so would Trent. As the alpha, that could be a good thing so long as the pack doesn't care." When she looked at them, he knew whatever she said to them wasn't going to be as easy. "Roman and I were friends as well. He was a kind and generous man, and if he lay with your mother, then he did so out of love, not as a one-night stand. They more than likely came together at a time in his life when he was low and her otherwise committed. He would not have taken her from her life if she had a husband. He ended his life not long after you were conceived. I would imagine, as Noah has said, had he known about you, he would have lived."

Myra stood up and came to them, her dress black now, as was her hair. Elijah wondered briefly if her moods, and not only her magic, changed her clothing. When she handed an envelope to Noelle, he looked at the logo on the front. The Board of Vampires.

"When he passed away, his things were put into a trust. The money, as with the other items that he left behind, were set aside in the event that someone, a child, came forth to file a claim against it. The money would be kept for a period of two hundred years. Then at the end, the money would be put in a vault with his name on it and be used should the need ever arise. I have talked to the Board and they have asked me to give this to you." Noelle looked at Elijah before putting her hands behind her back. "You must take it, child. Your father would have wanted you to have it."

"But I don't want it." She looked at Elijah again, and he waited for her. Whatever was in the envelope was hers, and he wanted her to have it. But if she didn't, then that was fine with him as well. "It should go to some sort of fund for someone that needs it."

"You can do that should you want to." The envelope was suddenly in her hands. "There. Now that that's settled, let us move on to Helenia."

"She's on her way here. I had a conversation with her just before things started to come together for your family." Noah got up and handed each of them a sheet of paper. "I had Joe make a list of the things that I found in her mind. There was a great deal to sort through, but this is the most important thing. The conversation she had with a demon just before she was turned is what is going to end this for her. And for you, Sterling. And so you know, this is the only creation of a she-devil that I have ever known."

"This man, this is you?" Noah shook his head at Sterl. "Then who is this person that is going to take care of her? I'm assuming that it must be someone powerful."

"He is. Very much so. I don't think he believes himself to be, but he is the only one that can take her down." Elijah got it right away, but Sterl took a bit longer. And when he stood up, the paper falling from his fingers, Elijah felt his wolf moving along his skin.

"No. And I can't say this enough, no fucking way no." Sterl looked at their mother. "I'm sorry, Mom, but I want him to understand that I can't do this."

"And why not?" Everyone turned to Scott when he asked. "Why do you think that you're not strong enough to take this woman out? She already thinks you're an alpha. And so you know, you are. You might not be as strong as Trent is, but I think that the only reason you aren't is because you've never tried to be. I not only think you can do this, but I think you should be the one to end her life."

"I can't do it." His dad stood up when Sterl started pacing. "I'm just getting my strength back from the last time she came at me. And that was almost five years ago. If you think I can do this, then you might as well have left me broken as I was before."

"You were never broken, son. You were down, but not out. That woman, she hurt you in more ways than we can ever know, I understand that, but there isn't any reason why you can't get her out of our lives."

"Dad, you have no idea what kind of things she did to me." He said that he did. "No, you can't know. You don't know the horror I felt whenever I thought of her. Whenever I closed my eyes at night." His dad nodded. "She took everything I was from me."

"Only if you let her, son. And we did know the horror she put you through. We saw it in your face and eyes every time we looked at you. When we saw the way you hid from us, keeping away so that you'd think we'd not notice. You're our son, our family. We hurt when you did. We ached with you. Son, we were hurt because there was little to nothing we could do to help you. But we can now."

"I don't want to do this." Noelle stood up and said she would then. "You can't do this. You're mostly human. She'd kill you right away."

"I'll be beside her." Joe stood up then and held onto Noelle's hand. "I'll be there with her when she takes her on."

Elijah stood and took Noelle's hand into his. "I will as well. I give you both what I am and what I have to help."

Scott winked at him as he took his other hand, claiming that he'd be beside them as well. Each of them stood, giving their strength to Noelle. When she moved toward Sterl, Elijah wondered what she'd say to him. When he backed from her, Noelle took him into her arms and held him.

"I love you, Sterl. You're like the annoying brother that I always wanted. But if you don't want to do this, we'll do it for you. We'd gladly do this for you. But honestly, and I think you'll agree, you'll feel a hell of a lot better if you do this, take her on." He held her and sobbed that he was afraid. "So am I. Every day I get up, I'm terrified that my family is going to come for me. That once they find out about the money, then they'll beat me until I'm dead to take it. But you've been there for me. Every step of the way, you and the others have been there for me. This she-bitch? She doesn't stand a chance with all of us behind you."

"What if she hurts one of you? Then what will I do?" Noelle looked up at Sterl and grinned. "I don't think I like that look on you. It's sort of scary."

"If she hurts one of us, then we whoop her ass, but good. But you only have to hurt her, Sterl. There is nothing that says you have to kill her." Elijah looked down at the paper that was given to him and saw the words there he'd not thought of before now. "The demon only says that a man will cut her first, and then she will be finished."

"I don't understand. I only have to cut her and she's dead?" Elijah looked at Noah when he cleared his throat. "Please tell me that it's not that simple."

"It isn't and it is. You must cut her before she does you. And I assure you that she'll be trying her best to cut you as well. But the good news is, when she cuts you, you're dead. If you manage to cut her first, she becomes the plaything for a demon for the rest of eternity and beyond." Noah smiled at him as he continued. "I've been working with the Grand Witch and Myra. We have a way to weaken her even more than she already is. Helenia won't know what hit her until it's too late."

"Well, that makes me think this is going to be a walk in the park then. Just cut a woman who tears people in half for fun. Oh, and let's not forget that she can also levitate, as well as has these freaky powers that make her pretty much invincible to most anything I can dish out to her." His mom patted him on the cheek before she slapped him. "What was that for?"

"You want to live? Or do you want to sit around sulking about what she did to you?" Sterl told her that he wanted to live. "And how do you expect that to happen if you whine and moan about how you can't do this or that? Huh? Do you think this woman is just going to stay away because poor Sterling doesn't think he has it in him to win? You think she's going to say, ‘Oh well, let me go easier on the poor man, he's being such a baby.'"

"I'm not being a baby." Elijah laughed and his mom turned to him. When she seemed satisfied that he wasn't going to laugh again, she looked back at his brother. "She's a she-devil, not anything that we've encountered before."

"She's a woman after one of my pups. Do you think that she's ever come across anyone like me before?" Sterl shook his head. "You're damned right she's not. And don't you think I'm going to let you stand up to her alone either. She hurt you, and in my opinion, she's going to pay with her life. And you're going to do it. Now, I'm going to go and see if there is any pie left from dinner and have myself a piece. I, for one, could use a little treat."

When she left the room, Noah turned to him. "Remind me to never piss your mother off. I'm pretty sure if she were to run the Board of Vampires, we'd have no more problems like we have with Helenia."

"I'm pretty sure that if she ran the country that there be no more wars or fighting. She'd have some heads roll if there was." Noah nodded. "But you gotta love her. She's got Sterl thinking he can do this now."

"I know that he can."

Elijah hoped so. There was a lot riding on this.