by Kendra Ashe
The room was spinning.
No matter how I tried, I couldn’t focus on any one thing. The dizziness was nauseating. I fully expected that at any minute, I would lose my stomach and vomit.
The nausea was bad but not nearly as bad as the pain in my head. I felt as if my brain would explode.
“She’s waking up.” The female voice sounded as if it were coming from the end of a long tunnel.
Opening my eyes, I forced the pain back. At first, my vision was so blurred that it was like looking at everything through water.
The first thing that penetrated my fogged-mind was the chains. My wrists were bound and chained to the ceiling. While I’d been out, my entire weight had been hanging from my arms.
Now my arms were aching like hell. Pushing onto my tiptoes, I tried to take some of the weight off my arms.
The woman with the long black hair was standing nearby and there was also a man.
The man was large, and like Ax, he was bald. But unlike the other vampires I’d seen, this one wore a medieval-style black robe instead of normal street clothes.
“Welcome back, Claire,” he said, a sadistic smile adding to the evil vibe he gave off. He leaned closer. “You’ve been a difficult one to get a hold of.”
He seemed to be waiting for some kind of response, but I said nothing. I didn’t have to ask why I was a prisoner. I already knew.
“I do apologize for our archaic methods but I had to find some way to get your attention,” he said.
“What have you done with my mother?”
“Nothing.” He smiled. “They merely took her phone, but that could easily change if you decide to be difficult.”
I swallowed the lump forming in my throat. It was obvious that Kieran was prepared to go to great lengths to get what he wanted, even if it meant involving innocent people.
“Do you know who your father is, Claire?”
“No. Who is he?” I decided it might be best if I didn’t let on to what I knew, at least not yet.
“He is my brother and you are a natural vampire.”
“I don’t believe you,” I said with as much force as I could muster considering my throat was as dry as Death Valley.
“Do you know what’s wrong with a born vampire?” he asked, ignoring my outburst.
I glared at him but remained silent.
“Vampires born of humans are forbidden!” Kieran’s voice thundered through the room.
“Why?” I asked, not just in a show of insolence but because I really wanted to know.
What possible reason could the ancients have to forbid this?
“Because human-vampire hybrids are freaks of nature!” he thundered.
“Well, aren’t all vampires?”
Fury leaped into his eyes. “You are a sassy little girl, aren’t you?”
“You haven’t seen anything yet,” I said, forcing a wicked smile.
“Where is your father?” His voice was so loud that it vibrated off the walls.
“I don’t know, dear uncle,” I told him, my voice dripping sarcasm.
Kieran stepped forward and raised his hand to strike me. I refused to look away or even so much as flinch.
“He will destroy you,” I said in a calm, even voice.
Kieran laughed. “Your father is weak. He chooses to mate with humans and hide like a rodent.”
I gave him a scathing look. “If I were you, I would not be too confident of that.”
Turning away, Kieran made his way to a small, ornate table. He then picked up a gold chalice and a knife. Slicing his hand, he let the blood drip into the chalice.
When he’d filled it with a small amount of blood, he pulled his hand away. Right before my eyes, the wound healed in a matter of seconds.
“You must become one of us, Claire.” He turned back to face me. “If you don’t, I will be forced to destroy you.”
“I have no intention of drinking your blood,” I informed him, betraying none of the fear or revulsion I was feeling.
“I am your uncle, Claire. I do not want to kill you but I must if you choose not to join us and embrace what you were born to be. Your very existence is forbidden.”
Closing the distance between us, Kieran lifted the chalice to my mouth. I clamped my lips tight, hoping that he wouldn’t manage to get any in my mouth.
“This won’t work, Claire.” Kieran shook his head in disapproval.
When his threats failed to intimidate me, he turned his attention to the woman.
“Helena, bring in Wren.”
My heart did flip flops. How could Wren have gotten himself into trouble again?
Helena left the room. She returned a moment later with Wren in tow. I barely recognized him and was repulsed by what I saw.
He was bound with chains. As he walked, he pulled the chains with him. Wren’s face was pale and sunken. My boss looked like a skeleton that had been covered with a thin layer of skin. His eyes were yellow and lethal. When he saw me, he growled and drew back his lips so that his fangs were visible.
The thing I was seeing wasn’t Wren. It was a monster.
“He’s starving, Claire. Your friend has been deprived of blood for so long that he is a danger, even to us. Vampires that become blood deprived turn into true monsters. Did you know that, dear niece? If we let him loose, he will tear into the first human he sees, and I’m afraid in this case, you are the closest thing to a human within reach.”
“You are deranged!” I screamed.
“I am the same as your father,” he mocked. “I am also just like your lover. You hate us so much, but yet you have taken a vampire for a lover.”
Shock rippled through me. How could he know about my relationship with Mason?
“Oh yes, I know Mason is your lover. If you don’t care for Wren’s sad fate, then perhaps I’ll have to kill Mason.”
“You couldn’t!” I said, glaring at him through narrowed eyes.
His laughter was hideous. “I most definitely can and will, if you do not cooperate with me,” he added.
Stepping closer, he leaned down and whispered. “Mason and Wren are mere vampires. We are the Lords and can do as we choose with them.”
I continued to slice at him with my eyes. He’d managed to get me to the point that my anger was overriding common sense. “You are pathetic,” I told him. “My father is noble. You are no better than the rest of these bloodsuckers.”
This time when he lifted his hand, he struck me on the side of my face. I felt my lip split and the blood dripping down my chin. Both Wren and the female vampire started growling.
Helena lunged toward me but Kieran knocked her out of the way with a swipe of his arm.
“You see, it is only me that stands between you and a horrible death.” Kieran took a tissue from a nearby box and dabbed the blood from my face.
“You are wrong, Kieran! It is also me that stands between her and death.”
My heart leaped at the sound of my father’s voice.
Kieran swung around. “Well, if it isn’t my brother! He decided to crawl from his hole in the ground.”
“If you strike my daughter again, I will tear you apart and scatter your remains to the vultures,” Nicolas spoke through clenched teeth.
Kieran flew at him, but my father easily managed to maneuver out of his way. Mason and Ax stepped forward to stand on each side of my father.
“You dare to defy me!” Kieran bellowed at Nicolas’s companions.
“I do,” Mason said, looking him right in the eye.
“I am your lord and master,” he yelled.
“You are not mine,” Ax shrugged.
Helena sauntered up to Mason. Lifting her hand, she gently ran her fingers through his hair. “My sweet Mason. It has been such a long time.”
He did not respond.
“I am your maker, Mason. You should obey me.” Her voice was harder now.
Mason shoved her hand away. “All you are to me, Helena, is the one that took me to hell. I owe you not
hing.”
“This insolence is unbelievable.” Kieran bellowed.
Smiling, Nicolas shook his head. “Times are changing, Kieran. You will not control forever.”
Before anyone realized what was happening, Wren broke free of his chains and was lunging at me. Screaming, I lifted my legs so that I was hanging by my arms and kicked at Wren to keep him away.
In a flash, Mason attacked Wren, bringing him to the ground.
Kieran went for Mason but Nicolas grabbed him by the throat and they both flew through the air, smashing against the wall. The two ancient vampires hovered above the ground; their eyes alight with rage and bloodlust.
“No, Kieran! You will step aside and leave my daughter be,” Nicolas said through clenched teeth.
“Or what?” Kieran asked, sarcastically.
“I will destroy you.” There wasn’t the slightest hesitation in my father’s voice.
“You know what that would mean, don’t you.” Kieran smiled. The light was gone from his eyes.
“Yes, but it will not matter.”
Slowly, the two vampires descended until their feet were on the ground.
“Get Claire free and make sure Wren is secure,” Nicolas told the others without taking his eyes from Kieran.
“I forgive you brother, this time,” Nicolas said. “But next time, forgiveness will not come so easily.”
Kieran glared at him but made no move to stop our escape.
“I will be watching over her, Kieran. I better not see any sign that your vampires are stalking her,” Nicolas warned his brother as he was backing away.
“You’ve always been a pathetic bleeding heart, Nicolas,” Kieran yelled. “It will be your undoing.”
With his bare hands, Ax broke me free of the chains and led me out of the room. Mason was struggling with Wren, pulling him by the chains he was wrapped in.
We entered a small hallway. I could hear music coming from the front of the building. Apparently, they’d brought me to the nightclub Mason had spoken of.
“Go through the back,” Mason said, motioning toward the end of the hall. “We don’t want to draw unneeded attention.”
“What about your bandmate?” I asked.
“We released Eddie as soon as we got here,” Mason told me. “He’s in the trunk, sipping on blood bags.”
“Eew,” I said, making a sour face.
“At least he’s alive.” Ax shrugged.
We slipped out the back exit without being seen. Of course, the other vampires would be alerted at any moment, but I hoped we would be long gone by then.
My father wrapped his arms around me and we lifted into the night sky. The old warehouse grew smaller and smaller. Already, vampires were pouring out of the building.
But they wouldn’t come after us. They were under Kieran’s control and my uncle would not defy my father, at least not yet.
I was under no illusions. Sooner or later, Kieran would make his move, but next time, I would be ready.
Chapter Twenty-One
It was only a short time before we came down in front of Mason’s Garden District house.
A few minutes later, Mason came barreling up the road, practically skidding into the driveway. As soon as the car screeched to a halt in front of the house, Ax jumped out of the driver’s seat. The back door flew open and Mason hauled Wren out and put him on the ground.
“Hold him down,” Mason said to Ax.
Ax took over while Mason ran into the house. When he came back, he had two bags of blood. Lifting one of the bags, Mason opened the valve so the blood was dripping into his mouth.
It wasn’t long before the blood was gone and Wren started on the next bag.
“Where do you get that stuff anyway?” I asked, wrinkling my nose.
“Sometimes from the black market but mostly from donors,” Mason informed me.
Wren was beginning to resemble his old self, though he still looked ill.
“Are you okay now? Can we let you go?” Mason asked.
Wren nodded.
When they unwrapped the chains from Wren’s arms, there were scorch marks where the metal had come into contact with his flesh.
“How did he get burned?” I asked.
“The chains are made of silver. This is a metal that vampires are allergic to,” Nicolas explained.
Wren sat up slowly and looked at me, his face flushed with embarrassment. “I’m sorry,” he said. “If I had been myself -” Wren stopped before finishing.
“I know.” I offered a smile.
My father draped an arm around my shoulders. “I must be going. There are issues I should attend to.”
I nodded, knowing exactly what those issues were.
“Do you think she is still angry?” he asked.
“Well, yeah,” I said. “Maybe a little, but it could also be a lot.”
Nicolas frowned. “I guess that’s to be expected.”
“You probably should have told her why you had to leave,” I scolded.
He shook his head. “If I’d done that, she would have worried constantly about your welfare. I wanted you to have a normal childhood.”
“What about my sisters and their childhood? Do you even know anything about them?”
“I confess, I know little of your sisters. One disappeared when she was a baby and the other when she was a little girl. They are both younger than you.”
I couldn’t get over the feeling that my father knew more than what he was letting on. To just let two of his children disappear from the face of the earth and not bother to look for them, seemed out of character.
“What do you mean younger?” His words sparked my anger. “I thought you said you loved my mother? Did you go right out and find someone else?”
“I do love your mother more than I have loved another woman, but I also loved their mothers,” he said, placing his hand on my shoulder.
“How is that possible?” I asked, finding no comfort in his words.
“I am a vampire, Claire. My craving for pleasure is just as strong as my hunger for blood. I much prefer human women. Vampires are too cold for my liking,” he explained. “I’m sorry, but I am what I am.”
“A vampire player.” I rolled my eyes.
“Let’s not forget, according to the prophecy, there will be three of you. So it was meant to be,” he added as if that was supposed to excuse everything.
“Prophecy?” I echoed. “Speaking of prophecy, why don’t you tell me about it … all of it?”
“You and your sisters were always meant to be. It is your destiny to defeat the darkness. It is Kieran’s wish to bring back the originals so that the Immortals will once again rule over humanity. This would not be a good thing.”
A shadow fell over Nicolas’s face. “I believe that you and your sisters are the embodiment of both darkness and light. You are meant to defeat Kieran and to be the bridge between the two. I believe that you were meant to bring together the two worlds.”
Wow! I thought this seemed like one heck of a heavy burden for someone who barely knew anything about the situation.
“Is that what you meant by we had to come together?” I asked.
He nodded. “It is the only way to stop the coming storm. I am convinced of that.”
“How will I find these sisters?”
“When the time is right, you will find each other.”
It was obvious he wasn’t going to give me any information that would help me find them.
Nicolas turned his attention to Mason. “Will you see my daughter home?”
The two of them looked at each other as if they were communicating some kind of unspoken message. As soon as I saw this, my stomach knotted up.
Mason nodded.
“I’ll do it,” Ax cut in.
“Mason will see Claire home.” Nicolas left no room for argument.
“Well, I just thought, you know, since it’s on my way,” Ax shrugged his shoulders.
My father turned back to me. “I wi
ll see you soon.”
“For sure this time?”
He nodded. “Yes, for sure.”
After my father was gone, I turned to Ax. “Thank you for all of your help.”
“Sure.” He grinned. “But when are we going to Wyoming? We’re still going to do that, right?”
“Yes, I have a feeling we’ll be going there sometime in the near future,” I told him.
Mason took my hand in his and we started walking toward his car.
“We aren’t flying?” I asked.
I was really beginning to like flying.
Mason shook his head.
Once we were in his car, he sped away. He seemed preoccupied, barely saying two words.
This wasn’t a good sign.
When he pulled up in front of the apartment building, he got out and opened the door for me.
Still, he said nothing all the way up the stairs. When we reached the door, I asked, “Would you like to come in?”
He hesitated but then nodded. “Sure.”
As soon as I closed the door, I turned to him. “Okay, Mason. What’s wrong?”
“You shouldn’t have gone off like that. Not alone.” He frowned.
“I thought my mom needed help. How did you know where to find me?” I asked.
“Followed that beacon,” he said, his features softening. “I suspected Kieran had you and that he’d taken you to the Hole,” he added.
“I should be thankful you are so in tune with my signals.” I sensed there was more to Mason’s dark mood than just the fact that I’d gone off on my own.
I was right.
He pulled me into his arms and started kissing my face, his lips traveling to my neck. “I have to leave you, Claire,” he said, softly.
Wiggling out of his embrace, I backed away. “No, you can’t leave!” I shook my head. “There’s no reason for you to leave.”
“Love, it is best. We both know that.” The pain I heard in his words added to my own devastation.
“No,” I said, tears rolling down my face. “This is my father’s doing. I know it. You’ve been acting strange since we got back from New York.”
“Yes.” Mason nodded. “It’s true that this is what he wishes, but I would have left anyway. I love you, Claire, and leaving is the only way I can truly express that love.”