7. My Love Is Like a Red, Red Rose

SEVEN

my love is like a red, red rose

No one has said much since we've returned to the beach house. The thought of infiltrating a horde of immortal children terrifies me. I won't be held captive, but Thorne's right when he says I'll be right back where I started. It's funny how life turns and sends you back to the place you've spent your life trying to escape.

"Are you okay?" Thorne asks as he wraps his arms around my waist. I've been standing on the edge of the deck, staring into the Gulf for the past hour. Why? I have no idea.

"Do you want the truth?"

He turns me around, facing him. "You don't have to do this. We could leave and be back in Charleston by the afternoon."

Tears fill the corners of my eyes. "I can't leave them there. "

"Who?"

"The children." My mind flashes back to Gretchen in the basement. "They don't deserve this."

"Aye, they don't. But neither do you."

"I'll be okay," I reassure him.

"You don't know that."

"I'm stronger than I was when I was with Kragen."

Thorne crosses his arms over his chest. "You heard Amelia. Immortal children are unpredictable…out of control. What if one of them overpowers you?"

"It's a chance I have to take," I answer.

"Elsie?" Amelia's voice calls through the door. "Micah has some information for all of us."

I sigh, grabbing Thorne's hands. "You have to let me do this."

"I won't stop you," he whispers. "But I don't have to support the idea."

I open the door, finding Amelia standing against the wall on the opposite side. "I'm sorry to interrupt, but he says it's important."

We follow her downstairs, finding the rest of our crew lounging across the furniture in the living area. Micah stands as we enter.

"Elijah arranged for a meeting," he announces.

"Did he magically find a way to contact her?" Luna's voice is laced with sarcasm.

Micah laughs. "My father can be very convincing ."

"What's the plan?" I ask, not sure I want to know.

He turns toward me. "Elijah's going to contact Patrice and tell her he's met someone with the same…the same taste as her."

"Same taste? What the hell does that mean?" Luna asks.

"The same taste in children." He won't look me in the eye as he speaks.

I close my eyes, understanding his words. "You mean, someone who wants to turn innocent children into vampires?"

"What is the expected outcome?" Thorne asks.

"Elijah believes that Patrice will jump at the chance to find someone like her. Especially if the recommendation comes from him."

"This is fucked-up," Amelia announces. "I thought this was a good idea, but damn. I…we understand if you don't want to do this."

"No. It was my idea to start with, and it's the only way to save them. I've lived in much worse conditions." I take a deep breath, pushing memories from my mind.

"You can stay here as long as needed," Fynn announces to the group. "If Patrice is in the area, I doubt you'll want to go far."

"Thank you," Micah answers for all of us.

Thorne wraps his fingers around mine protectively. I'm not the only one with memories flashing to mind. I squeeze his hand, hoping to offer comfort. "I'm taking Elsie for a walk," he announces to the group.

I don't argue as he leads me down the deck stairs to the sand. It's not until we're standing side by side, staring into the sea that he speaks. "This is going to sound so selfish." He closes his eyes. "But I don't know if I can do this." He wipes a tear from his cheek. "I just found you."

I turn, facing him. "I have no intention of being lost."

"I know, but what if…"

"No," I interrupt. "We can't do the what ifs." My mind flashes back to Francis's words when we were going after Kragen. "This is my chance to save them. To make up for the humans that I've killed over the years."

"You don't need to make up for that, Elsie."

"Yes, I do. I've killed so many people, Thorne. Innocent humans who did nothing wrong except carry the very thing that sustains me in their veins." It's my turn to wipe a tear. "I turned into the monster I escaped from."

"You're nothing like him," Thorne argues.

"Every human I killed is one step closer to becoming him." My fingers glide softly over his cheek. "I'm going to be okay."

"You don't know that."

"No, I don't. But I have to believe it." I pause. "If I can save a child, it's worth it. If I can save another group of humans from becoming their food, it's worth it."

Thorne closes his eyes, allowing the tears to cover his cheeks. "I love you, acushla."

"I know, and I love you, too. "

"We have contact!" Luna yells from the sliding glass window.

"That was quick." I laugh awkwardly.

"I will rip her limb from limb if one hair on your head is damaged." The energy pouring off Thorne is something I've never witnessed, and in any other situation, it would be hot.

"I would expect nothing less," I say, wrapping my arms around his waist and pulling him close. His lips are on mine in an instant. The intensity of the kiss says more than words ever could. His tongue separates my lips, making contact with mine and sending chills down my spine.

I pull away from the kiss, out of breath. "We'd better stop, or this is going to turn into a spectacle for the tourists." Thorne doesn't laugh at my weak attempt at humor.

Lacing my fingers through his, I lead him up the stairs and back into the house. "What has happened?" I ask the crowd staring at me.

"Patrice wants to meet you," Micah answers.

"Where?"

"A home off the bay," he answers. "In an hour."

"Hell no," Thorne answers. "She's not going to be ready in an hour."

"I'll be ready," I lie. I pull Thorne's hand to my lips, kissing the back of it. "We have to make Patrice believe for this to happen. If I truly wanted to join her, I would be ready to jump when she says jump. I wouldn't make her wait."

"The bay is almost an hour away," Fynn says. "We need to leave now to get you there on time."

"You can't come with me." I look around the room. "None of you can. I don't need to be dropped off like a child at daycare. I have to do this on my own."

"I'm coming," Thorne interrupts.

I turn toward the man I've loved for three centuries. "I love you and will always love you, but you can't come with me either. If she senses another vampire, it could destroy any chance we have of saving them."

Thorne turns away from me and punches a fist-sized hole through the drywall. "Shit!" he shouts.

"Elsie, I told you I sense something inside of you. I know what it is." Amelia moves in front of me. "Your strength. Your power lies in your heart and courage. Use it to your advantage." She pulls me into a hug.

Luna lines up behind her, copying her movements. "Take some of my blood before you go." She hands me a water bottle full of red liquid. "You'll need your strength." Before I realize it, everyone, even Fynn, has formed a line, coming in for hugs.

"Thank you, everyone." I turn toward Thorne, who's standing against the wall with a solemn look. "Take care of him," I ask Amelia. She nods at my words. "Don't let him do something stupid."

Without another word, I move to the front steps and the road at vampire speed, stopping at the mailbox to take one last look at the house that holds the only friends I've ever had. I turn, running into the hard chest of my captain.

Without speaking, he pulls me into his arms, holding me tight to his chest. "Check in with me every hour through this." He points at my head. "If I don't hear from you, I will kill every last one of them."

I nod with a silent promise. Thorne is strong but not strong enough to kill a horde of immortal children. "I will."

I turn, leaving the man I love alone on the street, fighting the tears threatening to fall. I continue moving faster than the human eye can track, following the coordinates Micah dropped to my phone. I have to stop several times while the GPS catches up with my speed. Less than thirty minutes later, I'm standing in front of an abandoned building that matches the address. What the hell? In front of me is a once beautiful wooden structure with a tall steeple and two columns on the front—a church. It's nestled between several live oak trees covered in Spanish moss that dwarf the dilapidated remains. There's no turning back now. Everyone in that building knows there's a vampire outside.

"I'm here," I send to Thorne through our connection.

" Be safe," he repeats his words from earlier.

I step up on the porch and take a silent breath. "Hello?"

Seagulls caw in the distance, answering my greeting .

The door is slightly ajar, seemingly welcoming me inside. The moment I touch the doorknob, the overwhelming energy of a vampire fills me from head to toe. Whoever or whatever is here is strong. "Hello?" I call again.

I push the door open to a large room. Long wooden pews are still lined up in perfect order as I work my way closer to the front. A large stained glass window colors the room in bright pink and blue hues as the sun lines up perfectly, casting a colorful glow into the room. In any other situation, this room would be beautiful. In this one, it's terrifying.

I move to the stage area in the front. An old pulpit is still standing and holds several pieces of yellowed sheet music that look to have been torn from an old hymnal. Soft movement behind me grabs my attention. I turn, seeing something from nightmares.

"Hello?" a young boy greets me. He's standing in the doorway that leads to another part of the church. "Who are you?"

The dark suit and tie he's wearing accentuate his pale skin perfectly. His dark hair is perfectly combed, and a drop of blood covers the bottom portion of his lip.

"Elsie," I answer. "Who are you?"

"Alexander." He sniffs the air in front of him. "What are you?"

"I'm a woman."

"I know what a woman is. You smell like Mother."

"Where is your mother, Alexander? "

He moves closer, bringing the hair on my arms to attention. "I asked you a question." His accent has a hint of another time.

"I'm the same thing as you," I answer truthfully.

"What do you want?" he asks, moving closer still.

"I would like to meet your mother."

He cocks his head, reminding me of a dog at the sound of a squeaky toy. "Why?"

"Because I love children and have dreamed of becoming a mother." I pause, looking at the boy. "Your mother and I have a mutual friend."

"We don't need another mother," Alexander argues.

"I'm not trying to replace your mother. I would love a few children of my own."

"Who's this?" a female voice says from the other side of the room. "I can smell her from here."

I turn, seeing a little girl dressed in clothes from the '50s. She doesn't look any older than nine or ten. "She's mine," the boy answers. "Stay away." He hisses at the girl.

"I'm here to see your mother," I answer.

"Mother?" the girl repeats. "What do you want with Mother?"

"A mutual friend of ours asked me to come." The girl moves completely into the room, giving me a glimpse at her angelic face. The innocent child depicted through her smile is instantly hidden by her eyes…eyes that hold the look of death .

"Tell her I'm here," I say, using a sterner voice. "She's expecting me."

"Mother doesn't accept visitors." The boy is standing next to me in an instant. Even with my vampire eyes, I didn't see his movement. His face changes from the innocent child he was moments earlier to that of a monster. Black eyes replace the blue, and fangs protrude from his mouth.

"Stop!" I demand. "Don't make me punish you."

"Punish? You're not Mother." The girl's face contorts as the two children move even closer.

"Amelia says to sing," Thorne's words echo through my mind. Sing? Was that my imagination? "Dammit, sing, Elsie!"

A song I used to sing to my siblings when we lived in Scotland is the only song that comes to mind under pressure. I begin softly, then crescendo as the verse continues.

My love is like a red, red rose

That's newly sprung in June

My love is like the melody

That's sweetly played in tune.

The children freeze in place. Both stare at me.

As fair art thou, my bonnie lass,

So deep in love am I

And I will love thee still, my dear ,

Till all the seas gang dry.

Their faces return to normal, and their eyes soften. "That was beautiful," the girl whispers. "Sing more."

Loud clapping echoes off the walls of the wooden church. I turn, finding a woman with dark hair standing in the corner. "Well done, my dear. Well done."

"Patrice?"

She bows grandly. "The one and only."