Carpathian 03 - Dark Gold

protested, appalled.
    
    "Not for a Carpathian. Do it if you want to save him. Your saliva contains a clotting agent.
    Quickly, Alexandria."
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    "Dispose of the bodies, Stefan." Aidan issued the command without opening his eyes. He found himself floating in a dream world.
    
    "Will you shut up?" Alexandria admonished. Spitting was more Joshua's talent than hers, but she did her best, making mud patties while Stefan dragged the vampire bodies to the edge of the curving dirt road and, using the gas can from the car trunk, began a fire.

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    
    The stench made Alexandria gag. She closed her mind to everything but what she was doing.
    She did not have time to examine why she was saving Aidan, why it mattered, but her every bone, every cell, her very soul cried out to her to do so.
    
    Aidan appeared unconscious as Alexandria meticulously packed his deep wounds and lacerations. She knew he wasn't, though, that he was aware of her every movement; she could feel him in her mind. Somehow he had slowed his heart and lungs to impede the seepage of blood to give her time to seal the wounds with soil and saliva. But his hunger was a living thing, crawling through his body with slow, torturous intent. It gnawed at him relentlessly; she could feel it through their mind link. He was very much aware of her living, surging blood, hot and beckoning, so close to him. The demon in him crouched just below the surface, threatening to break free.
    
    Stefan returned to her side. "You must talk to him. Tell him he can't leave you alone. You won't be able to live without him."
    
    "No way! He's arrogant enough as it is. That's all I'd need, to simper like some besotted idiot over him. He'd hold it over my head forever. And he's so egotistical, he'd probably even believe it." Even as she said the words, her fingers were tenderly pushing back clotted strands of hair, wiping the blood from Aidan's face.
    
    Stefan frowned at her but refrained from expressing his opinion. "He needs blood. I will give it to him. You must drive us home. This fire will attract attention from the authorities soon, and we need to be away from here."
    
    No . Aidan's voice was strong in its protest, but only in her mind. She realized he was too weak to attempt speech. It is too dangerous. I would kill him. I cannot take from Stefan .
    
    She believed him. It was in the purity, the honesty of his voice. It was in the alarm in his heart and soul, his mind a raging protest. "No, Stefan, you drive. Aidan refuses to allow you to donate, so I guess it'll have to be me." She brushed back Aidan's hair again with gentle fingers. That's what you're trying to tell me, right? I can donate but not Stefan. Don't say no; it isn't as if you haven't helped yourself before. Just do it, and don't argue with me, or I might lose my sweet nature . And my courage, she added silently to herself.
    
    I am not certain you will be safe .
    
    Big deal. I told you, I don't have a lot to lose. This really isn't my kind of life. Go for it, Aidan. Just don't hurt me, okay?
    
    Never , cara, he assured her. It took both Stefan and Alexandria to get him into the car.
    
    His face was gray and etched with pain, but he didn't make a sound until they had him settled with his head cradled in her lap. "The spilled blood must be destroyed," he said. Only Alexandria caught the words. He was so weak, he could barely whisper.
    
    "He wants you to clean away the rest of the blood, Stefan." Her heart was beating fast. This was it. She would die this night, giving her life for this man. She didn't know what he was, only that he was the most courageous being she had ever known. She wasn't certain that what she believed about him was true, or that she even liked him, but this was right. She knew it in her deepest soul.

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    
    Stefan swore softly. "We are bound to be seen, the longer we stay," he groused, but he hastily went back to the gas can he had left for the investigators and set to work on the pools of blood.
    It was necessary to remove any trace of Aidan's participation in the battle, and they had little time to do so.
    
    Alexandria laid her head over Aidan's. "You can't wait. Do it now. But promise me you will always look after Joshua. That this insane life will never touch him. Promise me."
    
    Always , cara mia. The