Roses for Rachel

Chapter 37.

I waited with bated breath for him to say something but so many emotions kept playing across his tense face, yet no words passed his lips.

"Calvin?" I prompted him, the suspense making it only that much worse on my nerves.

He sighed for the billionth time. "I don't know how to say any of it out loud." He admitted, turning his face to the fireplace that now housed nothing but glowing embers, giving the room an eerie orange glow.

I put my hand in his lap, rubbing his knee gently. "Well, what did you tell Pedro when you briefed him on everything?"

"A much nicer version of the truth."

I nodded my head, chewing on my lip with my nerves running rampant. "Ok, so maybe start with what you told him, then give me the parts you left out, or that you changed."

He leaned his head back, looking up at the ceiling and his shoulders shook. "Alright." He breathed. "Well, you know I had to go to Germany." He started slowly. "All of the information we were getting was that the main force behind the rebellion was gathering there, so we infiltrated the settlement there." He paused. "It's a lot like it is in Castrum de Petra, just smaller." He explained. "The rebels were hiding in a blocked off area, and they had humans who were helping them to keep us out by lacing the areas with juniper, making it nearly impossible for us to get to them. We made a lot of negotiations, but every time I thought we'd been getting somewhere, getting closer to resolution, then they'd come back and deny the deal we'd made hours before." His expression changed, and I felt the chills run up my spine. "They attacked us while we slept, which is against all of our codes and laws of war anyway, to battle so underhandedly. I lost tons of men, and I was badly hurt." He said titling his head to his scared shoulder. "A vampire with a special ax, laced with juniper...he hacked away this whole section." He told me, running his hand around his scar.

"How did a vampire use juniper?" I asked in horror, pulling him to me protectively as if the threat were still around and I could protect him.

"They wore special gloves and clothing to protect themselves from it." He whispered, then stood up, walking towards the fire to add another log, the flame billowing upward. "I almost died." He said to the fire. "He hacked off my shoulder, then two others converged on me, pulling me apart..." His words ran out and I felt the tears coming down my cheeks. Knowing he had been so close to being gone from me forever was like a thousand blades to the heart. "A human from there side, he didn't want me to be killed, he wanted what the less manic rebels wanted, so he intervened. He threw a vile of pure juniper on them, giving me and my men enough time to take the upper hand in the fight." He kept his back to me, hiding his face. "His name was Daniel, and he saved my life. He was the only reason I made it home to you."

I got up and went to him, trying to hold him, but he pulled away, leaving me standing alone while he sat back down on the rug. "Calvin?" I whispered, feeling a little offended that he'd blown me off.

"Rachel, if I don't get it out now, I won't." He said gently, turning his face back to the fire. "Daniel convinced some of the humans fighting against us to switch sides, he didn't want to see the carnage any more than I did. They told us who was behind the revolts and where the bastard was hiding in Belgium." His voice was angry. "We'd been keeping our camps separate, mine and the one with the humans because our blood supply was dangerously low and I was afraid of an incident, so I left the camp of vampires to go and tell the human troops about the plans we'd finalized, but while I was gone the rebels bombed my camp with gas grenades made with juniper, and it was a total loss." He sighed. "That's when I talked to you last, when the humans and I were under attack."