by Kendra Ashe
I pushed the door open. At the back of the dimly lit room, Kieran sat in a large chair that resembled a throne.
It had been a long time since I’d set eyes on Kieran. I tended to avoid the old ones and their vamps as much as possible. It had been my experience that the ancients were nothing but trouble.
Kieran hadn’t changed at all. Vampires never really changed.
They might change their hairstyle and some might even push themselves to change their fashion, but real change never happened.
Kieran had no hair. His scalp was as bare as if he’d shaved his head with a razor. Like usual, he was wearing a long black robe. There was a disk-shaped medallion hanging from his neck. It was embellished with strange symbols that I hadn’t seen anywhere else. In the middle of the disk, there was a small crystal that created prisms of bright color whenever the light hit it just right.
The black robe and the medallion were like Kieran’s trademarks. The ancients had always resisted change. Kieran’s sense of fashion was a good example. He reminded me more of an ancient Egyptian pharaoh than a vampire.
Scanning the room, I searched for signs I was being set up. Of course, there would be nothing obvious. Kieran was too smart for that.
He leveled cold gray eyes on me. “I don’t see the girl.”
“What do you want with her?” I demanded.
Kieran clucked his tongue. “Mason, you fail miserably as a vampire. Such concern for a human will be your undoing.”
“I have not come to listen to your critique, Kieran. What do you want with Claire Benolt?” I asked again, returning Kieran’s hard, impassive stare.
“How dare you speak to me in such a way!” Kieran bellowed.
I stepped forward, not in the least intimidated by Kieran’s anger. “Why do you want the girl?”
“She knows too much.” Kieran’s eyes cut right through me.
“Who is she going to tell? Who will believe her, even if she were to say something about what she knows?” I tried to reason with him, in spite of the fact I knew it was more of an excuse than an actual reason.
Kieran didn’t respond. He continued to cut me to shreds with his cold eyes.
I couldn’t help but wonder if he’d ever been human at all. If Kieran was one of the originals then he probably wouldn’t know what it was like to be human. That theory would actually explain a lot.
“I don’t believe that’s the reason you want the girl.” I knew my statement would be considered a direct challenge but I didn’t care.
Instead of erupting into a fit of fury, Kieran continued to stare at me, almost speculatively.
“Tell me, Mason, what is your interest in this girl? She isn’t your progeny. Why should her fate concern you?”
She’s my feeder,” I lied, hoping Kieran wouldn’t detect my deceit.
Kieran laughed out loud. “You don’t really expect me to believe such nonsense? If that were true, you would have no qualms about giving her to me.”
“What do you want with her and why can’t you just go get her yourself?” I answered his question with one of my own.
This was something that had me puzzled. I’d hidden Claire as a precaution but I was no fool. If Kieran seriously wanted Claire dead, she’d have been dead already. He could have easily taken the girl by now. He’d sent someone to scare her. What better way to scare her than murder? If she were frightened, she’d be much easier to handle.
So what did he really want with her?
Kieran jumped to his feet, obviously agitated by my outright defiance. “What I want with the girl is none of your concern. I’m your elder and you are to do as I command.”
I smiled, not in the least moved by Kieran’s wrath. “Tell me about the secret of what we are. It isn’t a curse at all, is it?. Am I right? There are ways that even a turned vampire can live in the light. Feel free to stop me anytime, if I’m wrong,” I told him before continuing. “But the vampire is forbidden this luxury so that the ancients can better control them.”
Kieran was stunned. “You know these stories are myths, perpetrated by the rebels. You should be aware of that by now. Only the elders can withstand UV light.”
I offered a cold smile. “I don’t believe you. You’re keeping something from us.”
Kieran turned his back to me and stared at the throne he’d been sitting on. “I’ll make you a deal, Mason. If you bring me the girl, I will tell you what you want to know, and I’ll release your bandmate.”
Now I was the one shocked.
Kieran wasn’t exactly known for being fair or making deals. It was either his way or death. He desperately wanted to get his hands on Claire, and for some reason, he couldn’t do it himself.
Chapter Five
There was a loud splash outside the shack that sent shockwaves over my already frayed nerves.
Damn! It wasn’t like the old place wasn’t creepy enough. Now I couldn’t get my mind off the slithering swamp creatures and the fact they were just outside the door. If I let it, my imagination would have me scared witless.
The lantern provided enough light inside, but outside it was pitch black. The canopy of trees and Spanish moss that covered the shack kept away any light the moon might have provided.
Partly to keep my mind off the gators that might find their way inside, and also because I was thirsty, I picked up the lantern and went into the bedroom where the water was supposed to be stored, according to Mason.
The room was cramped, though it appeared as if the old lady had kept it neat and clean. Although the entire room was covered with a layer of dust, everything had its place. It was obvious the previous occupant had taken pride in her home.
Just like Mason had said; there were bottles of water stacked neatly in one corner. I hoped whoever was responsible for storing the water had remembered to add chlorine so it didn’t go bad.
Picking up one of the jugs, I unscrewed the cap and sniffed the contents. It smelled clean, though there was a slight odor of chlorine. Replacing the cap, I took it into the kitchen and found a glass in one of the cupboards. Holding it over the little sink, I cleaned it by pouring water into the glass and swishing it around.
Just as I was ready to repeat the process, I heard a creaking noise coming from behind me.
I froze.
Holding my breath, I slowly turned to see what was making the noise.
The rocking chair in the corner was actually moving. It rocked back and forth, the floor beneath it creaking as it moved.
But the chair was empty!
The door was still closed so it was unlikely someone had started the chair moving while my back was turned. Besides, I would have heard them come in.
I set the jug of water on the kitchen counter and made my way to the rocker. Holding up one hand, I checked for a draft, but there wasn’t one.
Creak – creak, the chair continued to rock.
I placed my hand on the back of the chair to stop it from rocking. When I removed my hand, it remained motionless.
Sighing with relief, I turned back to the kitchen but as soon as I did, I heard the creaking. Spinning around, I saw that the chair was rocking again. A chill traveled up my spine, bringing on a shiver.
Could it be a ghost?
A few months ago I’d have scoffed at the idea. Of course, I thought vampires were a medieval myth too. All that was before I met Wren and our office ghost, Marie.
Clearing my throat, I called out, “Who is it? Who’s here?”
There was only silence, apart from the continuous creaking noise from the chair’s movement.
I wasn’t left with much choice but to shrug it off. Sharing the old shack with its ghostly resident was probably the least of my worries at the moment.
“Well, whoever you are, I’ll only be here for a while. I hope you don’t mind,” I spoke out loud, though it made me feel a little foolish.
Returning to the kitchen, I did my best to ignore the creaking as I finished cleaning the glass.
Sudde
nly, the sound of cackling laughter filled the room.
I refused to turn around. My hands started trembling so I had to set the glass down. A chair that rocked by itself was one thing, but this was something else altogether.
Just as I was getting ready to face whatever or whoever might be sitting in the chair, the laughter faded and the creaking stopped.
Holding my breath, I waited for something else to happen, but all was still. When I could finally breathe again, I forced myself to go back to what I’d been doing.
I didn’t mind going into hiding, not too much anyway, but the ghost part wasn’t great.
Several minutes went by with no further disturbances so I relaxed a little. Passing the time wasn’t going to be easy. I’d been completely unprepared to hide out someplace, so I hadn’t brought a book to read. There was no internet reception, so reading on my phone wasn’t an option, even if the battery hadn’t been almost dead.
Brushing as much of the dust from the couch as I could, I decided to try and get some rest. There was no telling when Mason would return so I figured I might as well sleep.
My exhaustion got the better of me. I was out within minutes, but it wasn’t a normal sleep.
My subconscious knew I was dreaming but that didn’t make it any less terrifying. I was drifting through a thick haze. When the fog cleared, I was a child again, only five years old. My mother was there too.
Mom was sitting on the park bench, watching me play. I was trying to swing from a rope that was attached to the playground’s jungle gym, but I had blisters on my hands. The bars always gave me blisters.
When I looked up from my sore hands, I noticed that it was getting dark.
I was confused. We never visited the park at night. Mom always told me that it was too dangerous after dark.
Ignoring the darkness, I again tried to grasp the rope, but the painful blisters on my hands caused me to slip and fall into the sand below. My scraped knees were stinging so bad that I started whimpering.
Suddenly, there was a man kneeling beside me - someone I’d never seen before. The stranger wore a long black coat and had dark hair that hung to his shoulders, which was a style I didn’t see too often.
The really scary part was his eyes. They were almost completely black, and his skin was so pale that I wondered if he might be a ghost.
“Hello, Claire,” he said, a smile tugging at the corners of his mouth.
“Hi,” I said, stealing a quick glance at my mom.
My mother was still on the park bench and she seemed to be watching us closely.
I wasn’t supposed to talk to strangers, but since my mom could see what was happening, I thought it must be okay.
“Are you hurt?” he asked.
“Just a little,” I told him, getting to my feet and wiping away the tears that were still rolling down my cheeks.
The stranger’s eyes strayed to the small amount of blood on my knees.
“You’re a very pretty little girl,” he said, raising his eyes until they locked with mine.
“Thank you,” I replied, my words sounded strange because I was missing a front tooth.
Then the man took my hand in his. I was instantly repelled by the coolness of his touch, but I didn’t pull away. That would have been rude and Mom always said that I shouldn’t be rude to others.
“I will come back and see you another time,” he promised.
Then the man led me to the park bench where Mom was waiting.
Frowning, my mother studied my scraped knees. “Did you hurt yourself, Claire?”
“Only a little,” I told her, shaking my head.
I turned to look for the stranger so I could ask Mom who he was, but he was gone.
That’s where the actual memory ended and the strange images took over.
Right where the man had been standing, there was now an old lady. She was sitting in a rocking chair, staring at me. Her caramel-colored face was deeply lined, but it was her dark eyes that showed her age. They seemed to reflect several lifetimes of wisdom.
She was such a tiny woman, and so frail that I was sure the slightest gust of wind would blow her away.
“Now ya listen to ole Bella.” The woman’s voice was hoarse but clear. “Ya need to find that man.”
Suddenly, there was a strong blast of wind, and the image dissolved, scattering into the wind like the sand in the playground.
Gasping, I jumped up from the sofa. I was overcome with the feeling that for a minute, I’d died and then came back from the dead. It was a struggle just to get air into my lungs.
When my breathing returned to normal, I realized it was morning. I’d only meant to sleep for a few minutes, but I’d been so exhausted that I must have crashed.
Why hadn’t Mason returned?
Stepping out to the rickety porch, I shielded my eyes from the rising sun and scanned the swamp for any sign of life.
The swamp was beautiful, in an eerie sort of way. There was a gator sunbathing on the nearby bank. Not too far from the shack, I saw the head of another gator sink below the waterline.
I sure didn’t want to try to leave on my own. Even if I’d wanted to, it would have been impossible. I didn’t even have a boat. Besides, trying to find my way through the swamp would be crazy. Just the thought of running into a gator made me cringe, especially the extra-large ones. I’d rather take on an entire nest of vampires than one single alligator.
What a strange place for someone to live.
My dream came back to me in vivid detail.
I hadn’t thought of the man in the park for years, so why dream about him now?
As a child, I’d been confused, but I eventually forgot about the man. He never did return, as he’d promised.
Dreaming of Bella was somewhat understandable. After all, I was in her house.
I was sure that’s exactly who the old lady was. It made sense that I would dream about her since that’s who I’d been thinking about. Still, I couldn’t shake the feeling the woman was trying to tell me something about the man in the park?
Maybe it was time I asked my mother about the man?
Sighing, I went back inside. No matter how I tried to relax, the anxiety and fear wouldn’t leave me. I couldn’t help but worry that something had happened to Mason.
Chapter Six
Mason
There was less than an hour before dawn. It was too late to make the trip out to retrieve Claire.
I wasn’t comfortable with her being out there alone, but there wasn’t much I could do about it. The limitations put on me by the sun was one of the worst things about being a vampire. There were times when I had to admire Wren for his refusal to accept his fate, and this was one of those times.
The streets of New Orleans were dead so my trip back to the Garden District was quick. I was accustomed to darkness and emptiness, but could Claire get used to it? To love a vampire meant living life after the sun went down. I’d never been able to bring myself to pull a woman into that kind of hell.
Inevitably, this was my first thought as soon as I felt a woman wiggling her way into my heart. But with Claire it was different. She hadn’t wiggled her way in. Claire had blasted her way in.
It was the only way I could explain why her fate mattered so much to me. She’d gotten under my skin without me even realizing it.
I felt the presence of another vampire, even before I pulled up to the house. Sure enough, it was Colin. He was one of those vampires with an aura so strong it could be felt, even from a distance.
I still wasn’t sure if what I felt in his aura was bad, good, or just somewhere in between. Either way, Colin wasn’t someone I trusted, especially since he’d been working with Landry to cause a war between the different vampire fractions of the city.
Colin was leaning with his back against a tree. He had his arms folded across his chest as if he’d been waiting for quite some time. It was obvious that he was completely disgusted with the fact that I hadn’t been home when he’d come
calling.
As soon as I got out of the car, he jumped to his feet.
“What are you doing here again?” I asked, arching one brow. “It can’t be that you have another threat or warning from Kieran. I just left him and he already delivered plenty of those.”
Colin shook his head. “Nope. I was just told to watch your house in case you brought the girl back here.”
Determined to ignore him, I started for the door.
“You know, Mason, your loyalty to this girl is going to cost you,” Colin warned. “Not that I blame you. She is a sweet one,” Colin’s smile was more of a leer. “Tell me, Mason, have you done her yet? Is she as sweet as she looks?”
My jaw tightened as my anger boiled up. I was completely aware that I was being baited. Kieran wanted to know what it was about Claire that was so important to me. Someone like him could never accept that a vampire might look at a human female as more than just a food source.
Stopping abruptly, I turned to face Colin. ‘What I do or don’t do with Claire is not your concern. And if you know what’s good for you, you’ll get the hell out of here while I’m still willing to let you,” I said through clenched teeth.
“Oh come on! You can share,” Colin smirked. “I’ll bet she’s really hot, isn’t she.”
White-hot anger coursed through my veins. My fist made contact with Colin’s jaw before he saw it coming.
Colin hit the ground.
Blood spurted from Colin’s lip. Although vampires bleed like everyone else, it never lasted long. Right before my eyes, his lip began to heal.
“Hell! You didn’t have to do that,” Colin grumbled as he rubbed his jaw.
“Don’t think I’m not aware that you’re the reason for Kieran’s interest in Claire. You had to have said something to draw his attention to her,” I said, my voice laced with rage.
Colin got to his feet and brushed off the dead leaves that were sticking to his leather pants. “Kieran knows a lot more about her than what you think. Probably more than you know.”
Turning away, I made my way to the house.
“You can’t protect her forever!” Colin called after me.