by Pace, Pepper
“Yes.”
“Tyler. Take the car and go back to the villa. Julie and I will join you there.”
Tyler didn’t respond, but I knew that she would follow my instructions.
“How much further?” I asked.
“Just another mile or two.”
“Let’s roll.”
We sprinted as only Vampires can, jumping over branches and bushes and dodging trees. We were moving so fast that it reminded me of the old National Geographic show where panthers chased down their prey. I loved the feel of the wind against my face.
In moments we stood on grounds of a compound at Epic Cu, which looked like a great old church with stained glass windows and huge stone arches.
Julie and I stood and stared at it for a long time. There were no fences and no guards that we could see, yet we could sense danger.
“They know we’re here,” Julie said.
“Yes.” It felt as if unseen eyes were watching us.
“Walk slowly,” Julie said.
“You watch the front and I’ll watch the back.” And I didn’t mean with my eyes. If someone tried to transport toward us, I’d sense it.
“Alexis?” I called, seeking his link. It was here. I could feel him!
Alexis was here.
“He’s here somewhere,” I said.
“Yes,” Julie said. “Kim!” She blocked me with her arm. “Do you feel that?”
“Feel what?”
She stared at me with dark eyes. “You can’t feel it because holy items don’t affect you.” She looked around. “This place is built on consecrated ground.”
“Does that mean you can’t continue?”
“No, it’s old. Much evil has been done here. I believe Epic Cu actually was a holy place at one time.”
“But then how did Vampires take it over?” Oh right. I knew the answer to that—secrets and the fact that holy items would not affect Vampires who would gain a position on the Elder Council.
“This place is shrouded in mystery,” Julie said. She moved forward cautiously. “Let’s go.”
We had to climb down a hill to reach the beautiful building. Up close it was breathtaking. I knew I was looking at something a thousand years old, but it was obvious that someone was taking care of the place. The grass was cut back, and there was a stone walkway leading to the front door.
Julie and I looked at each other one last time then stepped onto the walkway of Epic Cu.
~***~
The stone felt strange under my shoes after running so far in the woods. I considered Marcelle’s warning not to come here. I considered the warding spell that kept humans from getting close. No, we weren’t wanted here, and because no one had leaped out at us with swords drawn didn’t make it any different.
Julie walked one step ahead. When she reached the landing that led to the door, she froze. “Kim, don’t you feel that?”
I shook my head. “No. I don’t feel anything.”
Julie braced herself. “I can’t go any closer to the door.”
I nodded. “Stay here then. I’ll be careful.”
It was a heavy wooden door at least fifteen feet tall! Heavy iron hinges that probably weighed more than me were more utilitarian than ornate. I strolled carefully to the door, reached up, and grasped a large knocker.
Zing! A shock of lightning threw me back three feet and I landed on my ass. Julie flashed beside me while I held my hand and stared at the door.
“What happened?” Julie asked.
“Silver,” I said. I shook my injured hand and fingers. I hadn’t put on my gloves. Dumb. The skin was blistered and swollen already. I stroked the burn with my free hand until the pain subsided and healed. Some Vampires would have gone all hissy-faced, but burns and I were next of kin.
I stood and straightened my clothes. I held up my hand and shrugged as if someone was watching me. No biggie. Not leaving.
Julie stayed where she was while I walked back to the door. I noticed a silver doorknob. Uh uh. Fool me once …
I used my fist to knock on the wood of the door, and again I was blown backwards onto my ass. This time my knuckles were seared. My eyes welled up with the pain. The skin on my knuckles was more tender than the skin on my palms and I saw that they were burned through to the bone.
Julie’s eyes turned red and she glared at the door.
I dusted myself off and frowned at my nemesis; the door.
I walked up to the door again and then chuckled. It was completely silver but painted to look like wood. A master artist had done this.
I removed my sunglasses to examine my burned fingers. Seared onto the flesh of my middle finger was a tiny little crucifix. I showed it to Julie, and she hissed and shielded her eyes. I looked at the door closely.
A slow smile spread across my face. Millions of teeny crucifixes were hidden in the painted grains of the metal door. Very H.P. Lovecraft.
Julie looked at the ground. “Is it what I think?”
“If you think crucifixes on the door and the door isn’t wood then you’d be thinking correctly.”
“You know I can’t look at it now.”
“I know.”
Julie began cursing like a sailor, saying things that made even me blush. “Kim, this would have killed the average Vampire.”
“All of this silver means that I wouldn’t have been able to transport inside anyway.”
“Did you call Alexis?”
I nodded. “He didn’t answer. This is why, isn’t it? We can’t telepathically link through silver. But what about that time I sought him out? He had looked at me before turning away and blocking my link.”
Julie suggested that we walk the circumference of the building. I was a bit wary considering the traps on the door, but I guess traps would have been pointless since we couldn’t get in past the front door. We couldn’t bring any humans to get past the magic ward. The damn place was safe unless someone dropped a bomb on it, which I doubted would even put a dent in it.
When we got back to the front of the building, we discussed our options. Julie couldn’t think of any way that we could get into the place.
“We can go back to the villa,” Julie said. “It’s still early enough for me to make some calls and find out some more information about Epic Cu.”
I looked at the building. Alexis was here. I was so close.
“Kim, there’s nothing more that we can do tonight.”
“Julie …” I whispered. “Remember when you said that this would have killed the average Vampire?”
“Yes?”
“There’s nothing we can do tonight because the average Vampire is limited to night. The average Vampire.”
“What are you talking about?”
“I can’t tell you. I especially can’t tell you here. Julie, I’ve moved from a Third Generation to a Master. I’m a Council member who went against the Council’s to save my sire. Do you trust me when I say that I have a plan but can’t tell you what it is?”
Julie nodded. “I trust you. You don’t think like a Vampire.”
“Sometimes it’s good to think like a Vampire, but at times it’s good to think like a street smart sista. I’ll always be that.”
“What do you want me to do?” Julie asked.
“Go back to the villa and make those calls.”
Julie reached up and hugged me. “I’ll see you later.” She walked backwards until she disappeared.
I put on my sunglasses and brushed dirt from the black pantsuit and duster. I wished I had gloves and a hat.
I stared into the sky.
The sun would be rising in less than an hour.
I was a day-walker.
Well, we’ll just see about that.
CHAPTER 6
I went back to the stoop and sat Indian style well clear of the lethal door. As I waited for the sun to rise, I relived Alexis and my time at the little beach house. It had been many months since I had allowed myself the pleasure of that memory. But now that I understood I h
adn’t been abandoned, that someone else had tried to control our destiny, it didn’t hurt to think about him.
Of the three men I had loved as a Vampire, Alexis was the one who gave me the most doubts. He was dangerous, and I should have been afraid of him, but an undeniable attraction had overpowered any fear.
While hidden away in our little beach house, I learned that Alexis the dangerous Elder wasn’t much different than Alexis the human.
He had lived during the Byzantine Empire. Not that I’m much of a historian but curiosity had caused me to read up on that period of time. It was when the Roman Empire had split into two factions; the western half was called Byzantium or Constantinople and the eastern half Alexis called the Barbarian Kingdom.
Alexis had worked for the Catholic Church, collecting alms and learning secrets … He used his power to benefit his every craving and desire until the day he was taken out by a powerful female Vampire. Athena.
I would not have wanted to know that human Alexis because he was far from the loving and caring person that I had gleamed from our time in his mysterious little beach world created by his own thoughts.
To see him in human form was to see an extremely handsome man with dark sun-browned skin and thick curly brown hair. His medium height was accentuated by sleek, hard muscles in his upper body that tapered down to rippling muscles along his abdomen. He was so damn beautiful to look at. His lips were pouty and kissable, and his brown eyes would hold me, watching me as if I was something new and wonderful.
I loved the way he looked in human form but he was equally as stunning in Vampire form. His skin was alabaster because he was so old. His eyes were like black orbs, and the dark hair haloing his head was a striking contrast to his skin. When he was still, he looked like a statue with a Mona Lisa smile. Some were chilled by that smile.
I was turned on by it.
He had shown himself to me as a human to entice me with his human beauty. His brown skin and golden brown eyes did not make me love him more. His total commitment to my safe being did that. His calm control despite his longings broke through my doubts. And the time that we spent at the beach reaffirmed my belief in him.
Everyone saw the monster in Alexis.
I saw the man.
As the sun rose higher, I pulled my knees up to my chest and folded my arms around them. The duster’s sleeves were long enough to conceal my hands. I pulled up my collar to protect my tender neck. I felt fear prickling into me. Death wasn’t something that I feared. I feared burning. I didn’t want to burn anymore.
My limbs grew heavy. I peeked past my arms at the horizon. It was still black, but soon there would be the tiniest streak of pink—and then it would be too late to flash away.
“Alexis,” I whispered.
The sun rose even higher, and I could feel my skin beginning to burn. “Alexis!” Before it became unbearable, I passed out.
~***~
I felt the now familiar burning sensation even before I awoke. My hands and face stung, and it brought on the memory of my horrible recovery.
I sat up with a jolt and sucked in a breath. I was suffocating! I couldn’t breathe. Hands gently pushed me back down.
My eyes! They were burning! Everything was so bright! I reached out blindly to shield my face. My sunglasses were on. Why was it so bright?
“Why …” I tried to ask. My lips felt cracked.
Cool hands touched my lips, and the pain eased. I strained to see but the brightness caused me to tear up. In fear I tried to sit up again, but gentle hands forced me back down. My hands touched the cushions that I was resting on.
Cushions?
I relaxed and tried to use my other senses. My body was so heavy that I felt as if I were underwater. I was having trouble breathing, even though I knew I shouldn’t be breathing. What was happening?
I tried to calm down. “Alexis?” I called.
Hands gripped mine, and a familiar voice answered, “Kim, sleep. Heal.”
I felt even more tired. “No,” I said. I tried to say that I wanted to see him and touch him, but the power of his suggestion made anything but sleeping and healing impossible.
I relaxed.
And I slept.
~***~
My second awakening was more like what I was used to. I swept off my glasses and sat up on a red velvet chaise.
Alexis was standing across the room watching me.
The room was dark, but my eyes easily drank him in.
He wore white linen pants and a white shirt exactly like the ones we wore at the beach house. He hadn’t changed at all. His alabaster skin still looked like marble, and his eyes were still totally black with no whites to them. His curly dark hair still appeared silky and luxurious.
We were in a windowless room. Stone walls, floor, and ceilings completely encased us. Torches lit the large room, but there was absolutely nothing else in it, a narrow wooden door leading to God only knew where.
“You shouldn’t have come here,” Alexis thought.
His words crushed me. “I wanted you to be happy to see me.”
“Happy? I barely remember that word. Yes, I am happy to see you.”
I rolled my eyes. “Gee, don’t get all giddy about it.”
He smiled, and I felt instant warmth. “Alexis, I’ve come to rescue you.”
He walked to me, and my chest tightened in yearning. Alexis’ eyes flashed gold before they turned black again. He sat next to me. “Malarias put his hands on you. Did he hurt you?”
What? I touched my neck in shock. He was reading my memories. He hadn’t been able to read them before because of the silver encasing the building.
“Why? Do you care? You never answered when I called.”
“I heard you call. But I could not answer.”
“If you could hear me, then I would have been able to hear you. Why didn’t you say something? Anything! Even if it was to tell me to go to hell?”
“Kim. I could not answer. I was being judged on my crimes. You and I both were being judged. My Elders said not to communicate with you, and I did not. Malarias … Did he hurt you?”
“No. He just wanted to scare me away from this place. That’s all.” I was so hurt by his lack of emotion that I wanted to go somewhere and bury myself in a hole. “My Elders said not to so I didn’t.” What a crock of shit!
I stood and walked a few steps away from him. “Do me a favor and just satisfy my curiosity. Then I’ll leave.” I turned to him. “What exactly did you do to be punished?”
Alexis watched me silently. I knew he was trying to get inside my head to view my memories. Fuck it. Two could play that game. I went into his.
Looking into someone’s memories was not like watching a television screen of someone’s actions. Being inside someone’s head is like sharing that person’s body. You become them.
I traced his memories backwards. Through his eyes I saw him open the great door to see me folded on the front stoop. His still heart jumped in fear because the sun was frying me. Alexis gripped me, lifted me into his arms, and carried me down into the coolness …
Alexis roamed these rooms night after night. His memories were mostly of us, of me. For months I had thought he’d forgotten me, and it turns out that his thoughts were always of me. I felt so bad that I’d turned so easily to Tony. I shouldn’t have doubted Alexis.
I pushed further and saw the familiar Council chambers. It was the ethereal place where Alexis had taken me before my punishment; his Council. This time I could hear the argument against Alexis and the accusations cast against us for conspiracy. Malarias was the most vocal in his contempt for Alexis’ behavior, the black woman was the only one on Alexis’ side, and Alexis and I were deemed guilty. Despite Alexis’ efforts, the Council sentenced me to yet another death—but this one was to be permanent.
I felt fear creeping along my skin. All of this had happened many months ago, so the danger was over, wasn’t it?
Alexis argued that She-Who-Is-First saw the inconsisten
cy in their ruling, and She-Who-Is-First was the creator of the law. “Put her in the sun and watch her not die, and everyone will know your secret! Give her the original punishment instead of the one who serves your purpose. But if you would be self-serving, then let her benefit from it, too.”
That speech got their attention.
“She was been burned beyond any recognition,” Alexis continued. “There has never been a punishment that has been so long-lasting. Death is instantaneous. This is worse than death. She will be stronger for the Elder Council if she is allowed to live.” And that was the deciding factor. The Elder Council wanted my strength.
Through Alexis’ eyes I saw the entire Council turn red eyes on him. Malarias, who had never liked Alexis, said, “Your closeness to this woman has made you the self-serving one. You cannot serve her and serve us. Alexis, you are too strong for the Council to cast you out. Therefore, you will cast her out. You will have no more contact with Kim Russell until such time that you are no longer exiled.”
I felt Alexis shivering while I explored his memories. He inhaled a great breath. The black woman tried to stop him. Then another man saw what he was going to do, but no one had enough time--or perhaps not enough power to stop him. He blew out that breath, and it went through Malarias. I saw the old man scream, and to hear an Elder scream is not a pretty thing. He glowed from some inner light, and I could see his shriveled heart and other internal organs. His eyeballs burst and blood squirted from the holes.
The room grew cold, and a beautiful woman appeared. While everyone was dressed in white, this woman wore an evening gown of pale sea foam green with jewels embedded in it. She looked as if she might have been to the opera. Her hand was bejeweled, and her dark hair was swept up high. She was beautiful, and I knew that she was the one who had sired Alexis. She was his first. She was so old. She belonged to a different Council. Through Alexis, I knew what few Vampires knew, that there were hundreds of Councils, each with different levels of power. These Vampires who stood on the sidelines and watched the world develop governed the Elders. There was so much more power than what the Elder Council wielded. The woman who had sired Alexis was one with such power.