Blood Mother. A Vampire Tale

Chapter 33: A New Dusk

Dimitri backed away at vampire speed dropping Hoyt's body in the process. Hoyt managed to moan with the impact and Tessa stopped her scream of rage and ran to his side. She kept her father's dagger in her right hand and kept her eyes scanning for Dimitri.

"I didn't do this. I found him like this next to Luka's dead body. I'm not who you think I am Tessa."

As he spoke Dimitri slumped to the floor into a sitting position under the rim of a small awning.  His skin still blistering from the exposure to glaring evening sun. He watched Tessa's tears fall onto Hoyt's body and somehow it made his pain seem less. He closed his eyes to seal in the memory of all that was good about human nature.

Tessa felt a pulse from Hoyt's neck. Weak but there. She couldn't stop her tears from streaming as she wiped the blood from his face with her open palm. She kissed his cool lips and for the first time in her adult life asked the God of her childhood for help. As she looked around for anything to cover him or place on the bleeding gashes she saw a blur cross her vision. Dimitri lay in a doorway and she wiped her eyes to clear the tears.

A bloodcurdling scream blocked all other sounds and Tessa felt herself thrown through the air and land on the warm fiberglass with a bone jarring thud. Her mind raced and she struggled to get her breath and stand ready for whatever had attacked. The dagger, still present in her hand had sliced her own thigh and now contained both bright and black-red blood dripping from its blade.

Calina appeared in front of Tessa. Her skin black and peeling smoked in the fading sun. She seemed unaware of pain and her face was contorted in a snarl of rage. Tessa held the dagger in front of her. Fully aware of its insignificance to a vampire in a frenzy.

"Calina? I'm Tessa. Let's talk about this."

She didn't expect a conversation to work, but her mind struggled to avoid a fight. Her adrenalin pumping gave her some strength but she knew she was already weak from battle and blood loss. Her naked body would take very little for Calina to end her life.

Calina laughed as she slapped Tessa who again was thrown. She grabbed the hot metal side rail to prevent going off the deck and into the water. Her eyes searched for Hoyt. If she were going to die she would die with him where she belonged. She limped back to his body and resolved herself to not give up.

Calina appeared in a flash and Tessa again thrust the knife this time making contact with Calina's forearm which was extended to strike. The rage filled vampire shrieked as the metal caused dark blood to drip from her fingers. As Calina recoiled Tessa stood ready to strike again. Seeing her blood strengthened Tessa's belief that perhaps she could stop the rampage of death that was Calina.

In a flash Calina grabbed her from behind. Tessa felt fangs sink into her neck and she wrenched her body side to side to break away from the bite despite feeling the skin ripping. Calina hissed and let go spitting as Tessa dropped to the floor. Her hand released the knife as the sun finally sank to a warm dusk glow.

Tessa felt cold and weak. She crawled again to Hoyt and lay across his torso. The knife abandoned in her weakened state. Too much blood loss had left her noodle like and she no longer felt pain. Calina flipped Tessa over and sniffed her. Looking into her eyes.

"A dear one?" She asked through a rough hoarse voice.

Tessa had no idea what she meant. She lifted her neck in surrender. No longer to keep her vision clear. She had lost blood, broken bones, battled vampires, but she had not given up easily. And was still laying next to the man she loved. She smiled that she still believed in love. Her dying this way was almost poetic.

She felt Calina's rough hands on her abdomen. She opened her eyes and saw Calina's face just inches from her own. A questioning glance in her face made her almost look human. Tessa squinted to try and understand what was happening just as Calina's head flew from her shoulders and landed in the water with a splash. Her body collapsed slowly like a tree falling after being cut and landed in a heap on Tessa and Hoyt. Dimitri stood a over her. Grabbed the oozing body of Calina and tossed it into the water on the opposite side of the boat.

She felt his hand upon her cheek. Cool and dry. His pale face almost glowing in the moonlight.
She felt it then. Dimitri wasn't like the others. His eyes though black swam with emotion and pain. She forced her hand to cover his on her cheek and smiled.

In a flash he was gone. Tessa was left naked and bleeding on the deck of an the ship. The moon was making its journey toward the sky and pale yellow light illuminated the water. She rested her head upon Hoyt's chest. She had no strength to check for a pulse. She closed her eyes and her brain began to imagine the sounds of sirens in the distance.

Tessa awoke in a dimly lit room with the sound of beeps and machinery. She opened her eyes which was amazingly hard to do. Hoyt's face looked down on hers and as painful as it was, she smiled.

"I thought we were gonners." Her voice sounded rough and dry.

She lifted her head and drank from the cup he thrust in front of her.

"We should have been. What the hell were you doing on that ship! You have a death wish I don't know about?" He rubbed her arm as lifted the mechanical bed to sit her up.

"Such a long story, and so much time to talk about it. Is it really over Hoyt? Calina, the killings?"

He lay in the bed next to her and she rested her head upon his shoulder.

"It's over. For now."

Dimitri lay in belly of the small ship in blackness. His hum had started immediately upon Calina's death and his leadership began with taking out vampires who had no ability to feel. It would be a long task but he had a sizable number of new vampires trained and ready to lead the new world. He would increase his numbers and it wouldn't be long before his kind ruled.

He again found his thoughts returning to Tessa. He knew she was alive and getting stronger. He would wait to contact her until she was home and well. He listened closely and could still hear the small audible hum coming from her womb.  As foreign as it felt to him, he smiled. A new dusk was approaching.

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OMG it's over!  For now. Thank you so much for being on this journey with me. If you see updates in the future that's the major editing I need to do!  Also I have many dedications to put into place. Thank you. Thank you. I appreciate each and every read, comment, shout out and silent supporter. It means so much to me.