Marked

by A.N. Meade

than a game between the two men. Both of them had a healthy competitive streak. They had rare opportunity to match themselves against one another. Their interactions were always bound by rules and regulations, and even that was compounded by all the things that they didn’t speak of.

  “Alright Marcus, you want to have some fun? Let’s have fun then. I’ll race you to the car.” Liam was already taking off his leather jacket, his well-muscled arms flexing tightly as he pulled the sleeves down behind his back. He never stopped moving forward.

  “What are the stakes?” Marc had learned from all his years as vampire that you always clarify the details before making an agreement, no matter how seemingly small.

  “No time jumps, everything else is fair game. First one to the car wins.” Liam was being very lenient with the conditions.

  Marc knew that there must be some reason why, but his blood was already flowing faster, and he wanted to run. “Aimee, will you be okay?”

  She was surprised that they remembered she was even there. Things were getting heated between them, as things tended to do when two men were out to prove who the better was. It never mattered what they were competing for, at, or why. Men are men, of any species. “Sure, I’d rather you two work it out now, than to have to listen to you in the car.”

  Marc gave her a quick kiss and let go of her hand. His attention was on Liam, and the stakes. “Okay. So, what are we playing for?”

  Liam took a second to think, and then answered, “One question. No boundaries. No lies.”

  Marc smiled back, “Fine. On your call.”

  “See you at the car.”

  Their eyes flashed fiercely. Competition between them had obviously been a tradition of sorts. Marc ran as fast as his two legs could carry him, and then he dropped to four. He had shifted into a large black panther. Sweat covered his muscles and their surface reflected the light of the moon as they entered an open field. A few feet to the side of him, Liam was not far behind. Marc could hear the sound of something approaching fast behind him. He tried to push himself harder and pull out a greater lead. It just kept coming, faster. Suddenly, a shadow was cast over him, blocking the moonlight all around him. He looked up and gliding overhead was something he had never seen. Its wings spread out at least ten feet. Its body was difficult to decipher, but it had the shape of a man. It hovered a moment, the force of its wings pushing him back. Then, it pressed forward with such force that the wind cast from its wings was so forceful that it nearly knocked Marc over. In a few moments, Marc made it to the car. He walked over to Liam who had just put on a shirt that he pulled from the trunk.

  Liam looked up, still grinning. “So there you are. I was wondering if you had fallen asleep along the way.”

  Marc was angry that he had lost, and embarrassed. He was also completely amazed and curious. He had never seen Liam take that form. “What the hell was that?!”

  “You have misunderstood the rules, my friend. I am the one who gets to ask the question.”

  “Yes. So it is.” Marc was dying to know the answer to his question, but a deal was a deal. He had lost. The question was Liam’s to ask.

  Liam tossed some clothes to Marc and sat down on the ground beside the car, facing the woods. “I’d like a minute to think about this.”

  ‘Take your time.” Marc got dressed, and sat down beside Liam.

  After a few moments sitting there silent and slowing their breaths, Liam began “There is one thing that I’ve wondered about.”

  “Go on.” Marc tried to ready himself. He knew that Liam was going to ask a hard question.

  “What ever happened between you and Damian?”

  Marc let out a deep sigh. They had spoken of a lot of things. There were still things between them unsaid. He tried to think of exactly what it was that Liam wanted to know. “I’ve told you that he turned me after a battle between my tribe and his army. We lingered a week in France for the change to be complete, and to give me time to honor those who fell. I did not have long to mourn. We headed to Romania. Damian wanted me to understand what it was that I had become. What I noticed most on the journey was in the mist, and the darkness. The sun never shines on that side of the world. It was dawn when we got within sight of the castle. We fought our way through the twisted branches. The horizon was glowing red. It was fitting, the air was heaving, and being there I began to realize that I had made a terrible mistake. I had left the woman who I loved above all else to become something that I had never dreamed of in my worst nightmares. I began to envy my brothers, those whose bodies were resting, joined with the earth we had loved and fought to defend. Their spirits were free. They were free to move on to their next life. They were blessed. I had spared Aimee no sorrow. I saw her, her tears, every time I closed my eyes.

  The hunger had begun to grow within me, and Damian could not wait to share with me the pleasure of feeding it. He had developed quite a reputation there. His wealth had grown as he commanded legions for his brothers. There were a few hundred proven warriors who he had turned that fought by his side to help him achieve it. They fought for power and for riches, the Order of the Dragon. Here, I learned the history of my kind before going on to Spain. Damian had spent much time there at the bidding of his brothers. He loved everything about that country. Damian’s own rage and disregard seemed most intense in Romania at the castle, so I was glad to be away from that place and my own memories there. Spain was beautiful, and I was often able to break away and watch Aimee. Damian demanded more and more sacrifices of me, my time, my killing. I resisted him for the most part, until Aimee passed away. It was centuries before I found her again. That was the darkest time of my life.

  Living according to Damian’s whims was hell. I could never rest, not even during the day. I saw the faces of each person I had killed. They haunted me every time I closed my eyes. The battles were endless. Damian and the Order had a thirst to conquer that was unquenchable. They sold us out to the highest bidder. We were mercenaries, all of us vampire, all of us strong, all of us owned. Some men loved the life. We had more than we could ever spend, women begged us to take them, and blood flowed from an endless cup. To me though, I was still a slave. I made a deal with Damian to buy my freedom. I did whatever he asked of me, unspeakable things, and just when I thought the torment would never end, he let me go. He had no choice. I completed my end of our bargain. As awful as he is, Damian is a man of his word. You know the rest of the story.”

  Marc’s account had been more complete than Liam expected, but another question stood out to him after hearing the story. “What do you mean by your end of the bargain?”

  Marc was finished speaking about this. “I’ve already answered your question, friend.”

  “Yes, so you have.” A deal was a deal, and Liam had asked his single question.

  They both looked out toward the woods. They were watching for Aimee to reach the car. She had started walking in that direction. It was cold and the night had fallen around her. She had never been very afraid of the woods, having grown up in such a rural area herself. The wind was still and crisp. The hooting owls were soothing. It was peaceful. She had always liked going for walks at night. There is something about a clear night sky that just helps to clear your mind as well.

  She had walked quite a distance, calmed by the sound of each step made, crunching into the cold ground. She was alone with her thoughts. It was good because there was so much to think about. Her connection with Marc was growing continually. She was adapting well now to her physical changes, and on a spiritual level, Aimee was becoming more and more comfortable with herself. Along with that acceptance came a thirst for understanding. She wanted to know more about who she was, and to do that she needed to learn more about who she had been.

  Aimee was deep in thought when she became aware that the moonlight suddenly seemed to dim. A low rush of air swept up and around her, sending a chill to her core. She looked back down the path she had been following. There was nothing ther
e. Strange, she was sure that she had heard footfalls. Aimee wrapped her jacket a little more tightly around her body. Her mind quickly fell back into thought. “I need to know more about my other lives,” she was thinking to herself, “then, I will better understand this one. But who can I go to? Enric has told me all that he knows. I’m afraid to question Marc too much more about it. It always makes him seems so sad.” Then, she remembered that Natasha had mentioned a friend of Marc’s who had helped him on his quest to finding her, Elsie, the priestess. Maybe she could talk to her. She would surely know more.

  “Come to me.” Aimee heard a low voice whisper from the trees. The voice was male, and strong. It was also soft, and alluring.

  “That’s not possible,” she told herself. “You’re out in these woods and you’re psyching yourself out.” Though she knew that it must be her mind playing tricks on her, she still quickened her step just a bit.

  “Come to me.” The voice whispered again, lingering on the words a little longer. “I can tell you what you need to know.”

  Aimee glanced back again behind her. There was nothing there. “You’ve got to stop it!” she told herself, “There is no one there. It’s just the wind.”

  “Come to me.” The voice was sterner this time. “Don’t