Night Walker (Undeadly Secrets Book 1)

by Aaron L Speer

  Dante stopped as a phone rang, his private phone. Only two people in the world had this number, Michelle and Vincent Kent. He picked it up and knew who it was before anyone spoke.

  “Bring them all to the estate.”

  “Now?” Dante asked, looking at his watch.

  “Now,” growled the voice. “Send the newborn first for evaluation. Then present yourself and your humans in two hours.”

  “No. Take me instead. Leave them out of this.”

  “Don’t you dare try and dictate terms to me. You involved them in the first place. Two hours, or they all die. Make your choice.”

  Dante put the phone down and lowered his head, thinking.

  “Who was that?” Lauren asked.

  “Vincent Kent, the vampire king of Sydney.”

  “There’s a king?” Lauren asked. “Holy shit. What does he want?”

  “He wants you to go to his estate for evaluation, tonight.”

  “What’s evaluation?”

  “It’s like a register of a birth. Everyone is required to report to the king after you have become a vampire. It is both a sign of respect and also that they can monitor numbers correctly.”

  “So what will you do then?”

  “I’m not going with you.”

  “What?”

  “I’m not going with you. I have to bring Alex and Michelle in along with myself two hours after you. This makes me think you will be held and questioned.”

  Lauren suddenly stood rigid. “Questioned?”

  Dante grabbed Lauren’s shoulders. “Listen to me, this is very important. Whatever you do, do not lie. Whatever questions they ask, tell the truth. They are not the police where you can try to get away with little things. They will have mind readers in the room questioning you. Nothing you have done would matter to them, only that we have made a public display of power tonight, something expressly forbidden.”

  “Dante I won’t let you—”

  Dante closed her mouth with his fingers. “We don’t have time for this. Get dressed in the clothes you wore tonight. They appreciate evidence of violence. Tell Justin at the bar that I want him to drive you to the Kent estate in Darling Point,” Dante said.

  Lauren took a fleeting look at him before drawing Dante in for a hug.

  “I’m scared,” she whispered. “I didn’t think vampires did get scared.”

  “Everyone does. Just remember what I said. Don’t lie and you’ll be fine.”

  Dante let go quickly but she still held his hand. “What about you?”

  “I’ve done this before. I’ll be fine,” he smiled.

  Dante left the room having to lie to Lauren, the very thing he told her not to do. Dante did not think it would be fine. He remembered Julian’s last words to him, weeks ago, that there would be consequences for his continued defiance. This had obviously been the last straw. The personal battle between Dante and Julian would come to a head, he could sense it.

  Dante stepped into the parking lot, where he was met by the long black limousine that would take him to Vincent via the hospital. He wondered who would pay for his choices out of the two women closest to him, Michelle or Alex?

  Chapter Twenty Seven

  Home Sweet Home

  The doors to the Royal Prince Alfred Hospital slid open and Dante passed through. He approached the desk with all the dignity he could muster. With blood covering most of his face, his shoulder hanging out of place, clothes ripped to shreds, he tried to ask through a severely swelling jaw where he could find Matt Carrington. The young man sitting in reception didn’t even realise a question had been asked.

  “Randal,” he hollered, bolting around the desk to grab Dante. “I need a wheelchair now!”

  “That is not necessary,” Dante croaked.

  “Sir, just sit down here, ok…” He led him gently toward a waiting chair and shrieked again over his shoulder. “Randal! Where’s that wheelchair?”

  “Thank you but I…”

  “Do you know where you are? Has someone attacked you? It looks like you have a fractured cheekbone. Can you see? You look like you’ve been in a car wreck.”

  “Something like that. Please, just tell me—”

  “Mate, I have to let a doctor see you. Let me get you an admissions form.”

  “Enough of this,” Dante said, calmly pushing the receptionist away. Even weakened and barely standing, Dante could easily move the young man back. Perhaps it was his strength that caused the receptionist to pause his frantic diagnosis. Dante stood slowly, adjusted himself, and gazed directly into the young man’s eyes. “Your concern is noted, but as I said, unnecessary. I’ll be fine. Now, Matt Carrington?”

  The receptionist backed away. He didn’t looked intimidated, just intrigued. “Sure mate… Here we go,” he said, scanning the computer screen, with a patronising air. “7 South…but you really need a doctor—hey!”

  Dante didn’t wait around for Randal or the wheelchair. He wasn’t certain he had the energy to deal with them both.

  *

  The lift doors opened and Dante checked the signs before staggering down the left corridor. He turned into the room and saw only Michelle and Alex sitting in the visitors’ chairs. No Matt and no other beds. Alex had her head to the side, leaning on her palm. Michelle was thumbing her other hand. It was she who spotted him first.

  ”Jesus!” Michelle looked him up and down, taking in the damage. Alex looked at Michelle and then in the direction she was staring.

  “Oh…my—”

  “Are you all right?” Dante interrupted her.

  “No, I’m really not.” Alex took a deep breath and let it out. There was pain in her eyes.

  “How is he?” Dante nodded toward the currently empty bed.

  “He’s been in surgery for over two hours,” Alex said.

  “Alexandra, I am so sorry.”

  “I don’t want to hear it,” Alex snapped, flinging her fingers upward.

  “Well, you are going to have to. I have several things to say and very little time. Firstly, I’m sorry for not letting you know I was alive. By not telling you, I was trying to keep you safe, as were Michelle and your mother.”

  “I watched you take a fucking stake through the heart! The one thing all the stories say is a sure way to kill a vampire. Why didn’t any of you tell me?

  “More fantasy theatrics. Our hearts don’t beat, therefore they do not pump blood through our veins. Piercing the heart does nothing but cause us to lose consciousness until it heals, though we require blood before sunrise to ensure it does. It’s easier to let people think it will kill us. A safety mechanism, you might say.”

  “So are you here to finish the job Lauren started?”

  “What? No! Matt was under the orders of someone. That someone told him where to be and what to do, but the information was deliberately wrong. You may have been in danger if you’d known I was alive. Whoever was pulling Matt’s strings was simply playing with him. And me. This whole thing was a game. I wasn’t even sure if I was even the real target. It could’ve been you they were after.”

  “There was someone there.” Alex looked up at him. “Right after you fell, a guy was there, ordering me to come away. That’s why Dougie wanted me to leave with you, wasn’t it?”

  Dante considered this. “I suppose. Dougie could see something happening to me. He wanted you in the spotlight so no one could snatch you away in the commotion. He explained his interpretation of the night’s events and warned me to take care.”

  Alex noted the way Dante finished the last sentence. So did Michelle and it was she who spoke up.

  “His interpretation? What do you mean?”

  “We have to leave tonight. All three of us.”

  “Tonight? Where are we going?” Alex looked confused.

  “The royal vampire clan of Sydney,” Dante replied.

  “What?” Michelle snapped, her eyes wide.

  “We have been summoned to appear before the King. Lauren too—she is there now.�
��

  “No!” Michelle sounded panicked. “Dante, no, please! I refuse to step back into that place. Not after what he did to me.”

  Dante closed his eyes. “I’m sorry, Michelle. It’s not my choice. You won’t be alone this time, though. I promise you that.”

  “Julian is going to be there?” Alex asked, putting it together. Even the sound of the vampire’s name brought a flame of anger to her.

  “Prince Julian? Of course he is,” Michelle said softly, loathing in her tone. “Fucking hell.” She leaned forward in her chair both wrists on her forehead, defeated. Dante knew she realised there was no choice.

  Alex clasped her hand. “Dante is right. You’re not gonna be alone this time.”

  “Uh, excuse me, Ms Hensley?” A surgeon stood in the doorway, looking from Michelle to Alex.

  “Yes, that’s me.” Alex jumped up. “How is he?”

  “Are you the girlfriend?” he asked.

  “Yes, well no. I mean I was, but…we aren’t together anymore.”

  “I see. Is anyone of the immediate family here?”

  Alex swallowed. “I, uh, called his mother but she isn’t here yet.”

  The doctor sighed. “We saved him, he’s alive. But the damage to his spinal cord was severe. We have had to induce a coma. Now I don’t want to alarm anyone, as this is all preliminary until the wounds settle down and we can run some tests—”

  “Doc, please just spit it out,” Alex said.

  The doctor sighed heavily again. “Preliminary signs are that he won’t be able to walk again.”

  Michelle drew a breath. Dante saw Alex gaping, stunned and lowered his eyes to the floor.

  “I’m really sorry. Look, you might as well go home and get some rest. We can only let in immediate family right now. But maybe when the swelling is down…” The surgeon gave a look of apology once more and then turned and left the room.

  Alex stood completely still, focussing on her breathing. “Can you heal him?” she asked Dante.

  “I really don’t know. It generally can only heal external wounds like bite marks and cuts. There is no telling what vampire blood will do to him when in a coma. Right now it could leave him, for want of a better word, a zombie.”

  Alex wiped a tear away. “When he wakes up?”

  “Even then, I don’t know if it would heal anything but his more superficial wounds?”

  “What if the only way to help him is to turn him? Would you do it?”

  Dante stared at her. “No. Absolutely not.”

  Alex gave him a cold glare. “What if I begged you? You fall to pieces when a woman begs, right?”

  “Look, Alexandra. Morality aside, to the best of my knowledge, he would be a vampire without the ability to walk. Turning him would not save him; it would damn him. I should know.”

  Alex continued to glare at Dante until she finally made a move for her bag.

  “Alex?” Michelle asked.

  “We are off to see the wizard, aren’t we? I have to get out of this place. I also want to meet this King and Prince Julian, now that I know who he is. I’ll shove my demanded presence up his undead arse too.”

  *

  The limousine pulled into the estate and Alex felt for the first time as if she were looking at something that fit her idea of something vampiric. The mansion was huge, looming. The backdrop of a very dark night against the brightness of its many lit windows gave it an intimidating aura. Three towers with pointed roofs stood stark against the night sky, the central one the largest. She could imagine vampires beneath those turrets, hanging upside-down like bats inside them, when the sun came up.

  She and Michelle followed Dante toward the main doors. The bodyguard snickered as the group approached.

  “Something funny, Raul?” Dante snapped.

  Raul shook his head slowly. “Oh dear, aren’t we in trouble?”

  Dante smiled…slowly. Raul burst through the main doors and smacked into a bookcase. It tilted before crashing down on top of him.

  “I guess we are now,” Dante said, still standing in the doorway, wringing his hand. “I’ll just let myself in shall I?”

  They entered the main hall and found it empty. There was a fire crackling in the fireplace, giving a homely appeal to an otherwise sterile setting. Dante’s ears perked up to the sound of approaching footsteps. Tiny ones.

  “Mummy, it is him. Dante’s here!”

  Alex and Michelle looked up the curving staircase to see the top of a blonde head appear at the top of the stairs. The owner had jumped up to see what the commotion was about, and was now racing down as fast as it’s legs could take it. When she finally could make out who it was, Alex was shocked to see a boy of no more than four years old sprint over to Dante. Fast.

  Dante could not help but grin. “Hello, Nathaniel.”

  “Where you been all dis time? It’s been decals,” Nathaniel asked as he jumped into Dante’s one good arm.

  “Decades. You know me, pal. Dante gets busy,” he replied, tickling the child and bringing delighted shrieks from him.

  Even though Dante seemed happy, Alex got the feeling he was heavy-hearted holding this particular boy.

  “Hey, Dante, my fangs have gotten bigger! Wanna see?” Nathaniel didn’t wait for a response. He widened his mouth and the fangs dropped down. Alex could not look away. She was staring at a vampire toddler.

  Dante set the boy down and gave him a tentative high five. “Wonderful, Nathaniel—”

  Suddenly Nathaniel turned towards Alex, flicking his eyes towards Michelle and back again, sniffing.

  “They’re pretty…”

  Nathaniel’s eyes widened and clicked over to black. His knees straightened, his head was at an angle. Alex looked at Michelle with horror.

  This kid is deciding which one of us he should kill first! Before Alex could react, Dante placed a hand on Nathaniel’s chest.

  “Not so fast, little man. These are my friends.”

  Nathaniel looked confused, frowning as he whispered. “They smell weally good. Expeshally her…” he finished, eyeing Alex.

  “They are called Michelle and Alex. And I know they smell good. They are very nice girls.”

  “No!” Nathaniel said with a vigorous shake of his head. “Awex is a boy’s name. I know that. I’m smart.”

  “Yes, you are,” said Dante softly. “But Alex is just short for Alexandra. She is my friend, and will not be fed on by anyone. And Michelle is my donor, and you do not have my permission to feed on her. Understood?”

  Nathaniel pursed his lips, deciding. “No feeding?”

  “No feeding,” Dante repeated.

  Nathaniel sighed deeply as his eyes reverted back. “Otay Dante,” he replied, giving him a thumbs up.

  “I thought I would give you two some time to catch up.”

  Alex looked up to see a stunning blonde woman standing at the bottom of the stairs. She wore a sweeping satin gown the colour of fresh grass.

  “Hello, Cassandra,” Dante said as she kissed him on both cheeks. A formal greeting, rather cold compared to the way Dante had addressed the toddler. It did not take too much for Alex to decipher this to be Nathaniel’s mother.

  Cassandra looked over Dante’s shoulder to Raul under the bookcase.

  “So you still know how to make an entrance.” She said, shaking her head. “That foul temper of yours…”

  “Where is everyone?”

  “Waiting for you,” she replied. “The newborn was escorted upstairs a short time ago. She looked frightened. But I saw a slave enter her holding room, to feed her I suspect, just before you showed up.”

  “Very well.”

  “I wanna show dem da way,” Nathaniel said happily as he ran over to Michelle and Alex trying to grab their hands.

  “Remember what Dante said, darling. No feeding,” Cassandra said.

  “Muuuuum, I know! Dis one,” he said pointing to Michelle, “is Dante’s door. He don’t like people feeding on his door. And dis one,” he said pointin
g to Alex, “has a boy’s name. I hate boys.”

  “How fortunate for them both,” Cassandra whispered, giving Alex a look that made her shudder. She determined not to let herself be in a room alone with her or her child.

  The walk was not long, just through a hallway and down two flights of stairs, Nathaniel skipping part of the way. “Here we is,” he said gleefully.

  Alex looked ahead to a giant, circular steel door. The designs that faced her were mesmerising. Immaculate carvings and sculpted pieces of dragons, griffins and serpents appeared to come out at her. Nathaniel turned to go back toward the stairs.

  “Aren’t you coming in?” Alex asked.

  Nathaniel shook his head. “No, girl-with-a-boy-name. I’m not allowed.”

  With that, he took off in the direction they had come, and in an instant he was gone.

  “Are you ready?” Dante asked both of them.

  “Not really,” Michelle said matter-of-factly.

  “Doesn’t really matter, does it?” Alex asked.

  “Not to them, it doesn’t,” Dante answered. He reached for the door handle and turned it.

  Chapter Twenty Eight

  The Prodigal Son

  Alex felt as if she had just stepped back in time. The room, like the door, was circular, torches lining the darkened stone wall. Opposite her were three chairs whose occupants faced the three of them. As Alex got closer, she realised they were thrones, the middle one raised substantially above the others. Vincent, she thought. She also recognised that the slender man to his right was Julian. She couldn’t believe she hadn’t put it together last night. The long pointed face matched Michelle’s descriptions. She took the female to Vincent’s left to be Melina. Alex caught herself staring at the woman’s porcelain-like features, silver-green eyes and luscious hair that gleamed with a darker shade of the flames that burned around them all.

  The King spoke first. “Ah, the prodigal son returns. Welcome home, Dante.”

  The voice was deep like Dante’s was. It reverberated around the room, but was scratchy and coarse. A chill went up her spine hearing Vincent speak.