Read Online Calling for a Miracle [The Order of Vampyres 2] (Siren Publishing Classic) by Lydia Michaels - Free Book Online

red bled down her clean walls and onto the floor.
    Somewhere in the distance a door opened and closed, but Abilene seemed to be struck dumb and deaf at the hypnotic way the blood seeped into the pores of the plaster and ran tiny rivers over the cracks of the wood-planked floor. Like a poison seeping into her life, she watched silently as the liquid collected into a small puddle and slowly crawled to her toes peeking out from beneath her dress.
    The sound of Annalise’s voice in the hall had her eyes jerking to the door. What had she done? Quickly she scanned the room for something to clean up the mess. Galvanized into action by the sound of her daughter-in-law’s footsteps approaching, she pulled the pitcher from her dresser and doused the wall where the cup had crashed. Realizing the stupidity of her solution before the arc of water even touched the plaster wall she watched as crimson faded to pink and diluted, creating more of a mess. Her lace apron became speckled with dots of watered-down blood. She was utterly hopeless and in a matter of seconds her state would be humiliatingly exposed. She wanted to run and hide. Seventy-eight years old and she actually considered hiding under her bed. What was happening to her? She was losing her mind.
    “Mom?” she heard Anna call from the hall.
    Abilene began to panic, her breath coming in short, hysterical pants. Were immortals known for psychotic fits? And if she were truly losing her mind, would she possess the humility needed to stand idly by and watch it go?
    There was a soft scratch at the door. “Abilene?”
    She stood motionless as the door opened and Annalise stepped in. “There you are. I wanted to see if you…oh.”
    Abilene watched as Anna’s eyes finally spotted the bloody state of her room. “I’ve made a mess,” Abilene mumbled lamely. Anna looked at her as if trying to understand what had happened. Abilene felt tears prickle her eyes. Her body began to quake as the reality of it all suddenly became too much, the silence of her life finally too heavy to bear. “I’ve made a mess of everything,” she said as the back of her palm pressed over her lips as if she could quiet the pain of her words.
    Annalise rushed to wrap her in her arms just as Abilene collapsed to the bloodied floor and began to sob. “Oh, Mom, no. Don’t do this to yourself. Whatever it is, whatever has happened, we will fix it.”
    Abilene sobbed like a babe. Her shift and apron slowly faded into pink as the puddle seeped into the fibers of her gown. Anna continued to hold her and whisper soothing words. She felt atrocious for being too weak to remain silent. It was as if she could actually see herself breaking into tiny pieces, parts of herself fragmenting and falling into spaces she could not collect them from. She felt as if she was dying and no one, save her daughter-in-law, would care.

    * * * *

    Cain watched as the blackness of sleep flickered at the waking of his subconscious. He was being pulled into a dream.
    “Cain?” He heard Anna’s distant voice calling to him.
    His dreaming world flickered as if trying to locate the exact frequency they connected on, as if there was one specific plane of existence that belonged only to them. First appeared the expansive grass, then a satisfying sense of nostalgia overcame him. This was his home. He knew he lay on a bed, sleeping in the noisy suburbs of Pennsylvania beside a lovely naked mortal woman, but his mind was elsewhere. Anna had called his sleeping mind home.
    He smiled as the sporadic trees took shape, building the world around them. There was a flicker of light and the scent of fresh air and the always-present honeysuckle fragrance that accompanied Annalise. And there she was. Always beautiful, with her fiery-golden hair and soft, loving smile. His brother was a lucky male to have the love of such an incredible woman.
    He looked toward her belly. The child in her womb was growing and this pleased him to no end. He smiled.