The Black Rose Chronicles: Deceit and Lies

by Michaels, A K

  “That’s exactly what I want.” Basilius didn’t even bother to look at Seth. “I’ll double your payment. Think of that, two full trucks filled with food and water, as well as the gas. It’ll keep you two going for years.”

  Rose thought about their stocks, which were severely depleted, and nodded. “Okay. Come back here in four hours.”

  Basilius grinned, again the smile not reaching his eyes. “I’ll see you then.”

  With that, he disappeared as Seth stalked over to her, grabbing her shoulders and shaking her. “What the fuck? Rose, what are you thinking? This is too dangerous, you have to say no.”

  “Seth, I’m not saying no. We need supplies, and this is going to make it much easier, safer even, for me. If I get in under the pretense of working there, then I’ll be able to move around freely. It’ll make it simpler for me to do what I gotta do and get out in one piece. Please don’t argue with me. I want us to have a nice meal and relax a bit before I have to leave. You can make your way up to New York as we’d planned and contact me when you’ve arrived. I’ll try and get out to see you, but if I can’t, then we’ll still be in contact.”

  “I don’t like it, Flower. I’ve got a bad feeling about all of this. Had it from the start, and now it’s even worse.”

  “We’ve had bad vibes before and got through it. This time will be no different. I’ll have one of the long range walkie-talkies, as well as my satellite phone so we can keep in touch once you arrive.”

  “If anything happens to you, I’ll hunt that bastard down and send him right back to Hell.”

  Rose laughed as Seth stormed away. “That’s it, get all that anger out.”

  He turned to throw her a filthy look before disappearing inside. “Guess I better pack,” she said to herself as she returned to her room.

  Tugging her long hair up into a messy knot, she stuck a couple of ornate silver sticks through it to hold it in place. They weren’t just for decoration, a present from Seth, she’d spent hours sharpening the points to make them deadly in the right hands, her hands. She would definitely be taking them with her. If she was going to be living within a horde of Vampires, they may just come in handy.

  She grabbed her travel backpack and started to fold clothes into it, mostly jeans and casual t-shirts, underwear, and thick, fluffy socks she wore with her biker boots. A couple of old and comfortable baggy tees to wear in bed joined the clothes, along with a pair of brand new sneakers. The only jacket she’d worn for more than two years lay on a chair, the one she wore while riding her motorbike, leather, softened by use and feeling like a second skin.

  The last thing she put in was her toiletries and she hoped if she got inside Allarde’s hotel, she’d have a room with hot running water. She always missed her showers when away on a mission, as most places had no power, far less the luxury of bathing. A simple pleasure she craved whenever it was unavailable.

  Picking up her walkie-talkie and phone, she went to the bathroom and pulled out a large box of tampons, emptying it and placing them in first before packing the tampons back inside. She’d been searched far too many times to count when out on an assignment, but never had a man actually open her tampons and look inside. Usually, they would pass over it as quickly as possible, sometimes blushing as they did.

  Men. So easy to manipulate.

  Once she’d packed the tampons inside her pack, pushing it down so it lay about halfway, she looked around to pack one of her prized possessions. A book. A real book, and one she’d started before the last mission. Reading was her escape, a way to wind down after taking the life of yet another despicable being. This particular book she’d found the previous year while sleeping in an apartment in a small midwest town. The person who’d lived there obviously loved reading and there were several books still in good condition, so Rose swiped a couple to bring home. This one had drawn her attention because of its title—Halfbreeds. Exactly what Rose was. She vaguely wondered if the author, someone called Eden Elsworth, was even still alive.

  She hoped so because she would hate to think of someone so talented no longer being in this fucked up world. The only problem was this was book one in a series, and so far Rose was loving it and dreaded reaching the end because she wasn’t sure how, or if, she would be able to get her hands on the next one. Damn. She’d need to keep that in mind and see if she could find a library. One that hadn’t been looted or burned to the ground. Maybe, just maybe, she’d get lucky and find the rest in the series.

  Once she’d placed the treasured book into her bag, she started to dress. Comfy jeans, sleeveless tee, then a plain black shirt, her favorite socks on her feet as she pulled on her boots. Her critical eye seeing how scuffed they were and knew she’d need to replace them soon. That would be a trip with Seth to attempt to locate a pair and could take days. It wasn’t as if she could pop online and get them delivered, even if Seth said that’s what folks used to do.

  Damn, but that would be great if she could.

  Lastly, she put on some mascara and lip gloss before putting her small make-up bag on the top of the clothes, pulling the top closed with the drawstrings. “Just a couple more things,” she spoke aloud as she retrieved two short swords from her closet and tied them to the side of her bag. Her longer katana would be where it always was—on her back.

  She was sure she’d be able to get away with having it when she explained how dangerous her imaginary journey to New York was. Nobody in their right mind travelled in this war ravaged world without weapons of some sort. Not if they were sane and wanted to stay alive.

  Picking up her jacket, bag, and katana, she made her way outside, leaving them lying on the table. She saw the barbecue already aflame but no sign of Seth. Sitting down to relax for a few moments to give him time to calm down. He’d been angry and upset and she hated to see him like that. He was usually cold, calm, and collected in just about every situation, but this job had him on edge, and she didn’t like that at all.

  His past training in what he’d called “Special Ops” was where he’d gained a lot of his experience, in fighting, electronics, explosives, and a ton of other things he’d passed on to her. His martial arts training was a mix of just about every one out there, but she enjoyed the Krav Maga most. He’d explained his mastery of the fighting technique and how he’d become an expert. Staying in a place called Israel and learning from the Master himself, Imi Lichenstein. The meaning of Krav Maga quite literally meant Contact Combat in Hebrew, and Seth made her study everything about it he had.

  She’d spent many hours reading about the man who Seth was so fond of and their training regimes were hard and brutal. Seth taught her well, the first rule being: if safe to do so, run like hell and get out of the situation. If that wasn’t possible, and let’s face it, most of the times, for her, it wasn’t, then you deal with any and all threats with lethal force. The emphasis being on lethal. She was a package of lethal from head to toe.

  Rose shook her head, focusing on the here and now, and not on thinking back to times gone by. Sighing, she got up and went in search of Seth. She could sense his unease, his worry, and she would try and ease that as best she could in the time they had before she left. He was her rock, her lover, and she didn’t want to leave on a bad note. If she had her way, he’d be a happy man by the time she was finished with him.

  Seth had other ideas. Refusing to allow her to soothe him, and being surly and uncommunicative for the next few hours. He made their steaks, but his usual care while cooking wasn’t there, which left the meat overdone and tough. She ate it though, every last bite, as she tried again and again to get him to talk. Unfortunately, his responses were usually one word and he refused to look her in the face.

  She finally snapped, snarling out across the table, “What the fuck is wrong with you? I’ll be leaving soon and I don’t want to leave things like this, Seth.”

  His eyes raised and she could see the concern in them as he shook his head. “I’m sorry, Flower. I’m worried about you and this assi
gnment. I’ve got a weird feeling about it, and I feel as if I’m going to lose you.”

  Rose gasped, knowing he sometimes got visions of future happenings. They were rare, but when he had one, it usually was right. “You think I’m going to die?”

  “No.” Seth moved his head to the side, cracking it, then did the same the other way, before he carried on. “It’s not death I feel. It’s something else, but I can’t quite put my finger on it.”

  “That’s good to know.” She tried to laugh, but it came out weird as she almost choked. “I mean, that I’m not going to die.”

  “I can’t see clearly enough to give more information, but I’ll be leaving as soon as you go, to start the journey up there.” Seth sighed heavily, his shoulders drooping. “I don’t like this plan of you going up there alone. Won’t you change your mind?”

  “I need to take advantage of this opening.” She reached over, her hand covering his. “You know it makes sense to push this easy way inside.”

  “I know it makes good tactical sense, but I still don’t like it. Something feels ‘off’ about this, but I’m not sure what.”

  “I understand, Seth.” Rose tried to placate him. “I think it’s because that Demon’s just been appearing here whenever he feels like it. I don’t trust him, but he is the new Head of the Council, so we’ll have to deal with him.”

  “I just think we need to find out more regarding this so called ‘plot’ he says Allarde’s got cooking before we decide anything further.” Seth looked deep into her eyes. “The fact that Basilius has seen you here, in your true form, also means you can’t use magic to change your appearance.”

  “I know, that’s something that’s annoyed the hell out of me. I hate carrying out a mission like this.” She waved a hand up and down in front of her. “I like the anonymity of looking like someone else, but if I can get inside the target’s home under the pretense of working for him, it’ll make things much easier for me.”

  “Promise me.” Seth rose, coming around and hauling her up into his arms. “Promise you’ll be careful and on alert at all times.”

  “I promise.” She smiled up at him, reaching up on her tiptoes to kiss him softly. “When am I not?” she mumbled as his fingers pinched her ass.

  “Don’t get me started, Flower.” Seth bit her bottom lip, tugging it gently as a cough pulled them apart.

  “Ready?” Basilius lounged against the wall, barely three feet away.

  “You have got to stop doing that,” Rose snapped angrily.

  “Are you ready?” Basilius asked again, standing up straight and looking amused.

  “I said four hours. You’re early.” Rose stayed in Seth’s arms, refusing to move.

  “We need to go now.” Basilius shrugged. “It’s dusk there, he’ll be up and around, and I’ve got other things to do.”

  “Damn.” Rose looked up at Seth, who was clenching his teeth, his jaw looked as if it would break from the pressure. “I’ll be careful. Just get up there as soon as you can.”

  Seth gave a curt nod before kissing her deeply. “I love you, Flower.”

  “I know.” Rose hung onto him for a moment longer. “I love you, too.”

  “See you soon.” Seth released her and she clearly heard him whisper, “I wish you did.”

  Whirling around, she saw sadness in his eyes as Basilius snapped his fingers. “Hurry, Black Rose, I’ve got somewhere I need to be.”

  She scowled at the Demon as Seth retrieved her precious bike. “I’ve filled it up with gas and the battery’s been charged, too.”

  “Thanks.” She stared at him, but he’d closed down his face, looking impassively at her as she slung the leather holster with her katana around her back. Settling it in front so it hung more comfortably, she then tied her bag to the bike before giving Seth a small smile. “See you up there.”

  Seth only nodded as she took hold of the bike, Basilius coming to stand next to her. The Demon waved Seth away with his hand and she took a deep breath in as she waited to see what would happen. She told herself she wasn’t scared. No. Those butterflies in her stomach were due to her mission and nothing at all to do with the thought of being transported by this Demon.

  Rose kept her eyes trained on Seth, her savior and anchor. One minute, he was clear and the next, he was gone. Her stomach lurched as she felt as if every atom in her body was ripped apart at the same time as falling rapidly from the sky. Her eyes closed as she felt her feet hit solid ground a moment before her stomach. Her heart beat wildly in her chest as she sucked in a deep breath and looked around.

  “We’re here.” Basilius grinned down at her. “Feeling a little sick?”

  Rose straightened her back. “I’m fine.”

  “Yeah, sure you are.” Basilius raised an eyebrow as he continued to stare at her. “Okay, have it your way. So, the hotel is about five minutes away, go to the end of this alley and turn right. Stay on that road and you’ll see it. It’s the only building that’s lit up and there’ll be guards stationed at the front doors. Take it nice and slow when you arrive so they don’t look on you as a threat. It would be a pity if you were killed before you even got inside.”

  “I’ve fought Vamps before, so I’m sure I’ll be okay.” Rose started up her bike and got on. “But I’ll play the role of the person looking for work and not spook them. You’ll be hearing from me, but it’ll probably be through Seth. That’s my safest form of communication.”

  “Whatever,” Basilius said a second before disappearing.

  “Charming,” Rose spat out before taking several deep breaths to ease her queasy stomach. “Guess I better get going.” She looked around the dirty alley and shuddered with revulsion as she pulled on her helmet. “I fucking hope I get a shower in my room,” she muttered as her bike tore out of the alley.

  Rose’s eyes wandered all around, looking for any sign of a threat as she rode down the wide street. On her left was an immense park area, with buildings on her right. “Must be Central Park,” she mused as she saw the hotel coming up, all lit up as the Demon had said it would be.

  Her Wolf sight saw the two large guards stationed at the entrance doors, with two more standing at the bottom of the stairs leading up to the doors. All of them had their heads turned towards her as she approached. Slowing down, she lifted the face guard and pasted a smile on, hoping they wouldn’t think her dangerous. Her attention focused on the guards she didn’t notice, or expect, the threat to herself until it was too late.

  A heavy body thudded into her, causing her and the bike to fall heavily to the ground. Her head only being saved from splattering across the tarmac by her helmet. Letting out a curse, she fought to release her leg from underneath the heavy bike as a foot connected with her shoulder, pain lanced through it as she shook her head, trying to clear it. “What the fuck?” she shouted as her leg popped free, jumping up quickly as anger filled her. Her head throbbed and her sight was a little fuzzy as she saw what appeared to be a male Fairy.

  She knew Fairies, had trained with them, and never had she known one to attack for no good reason. The one before her snarled and pounced, a fist connected with the arm she’d swung up to protect herself with. In that instant, she was certain of one thing—this was no Fairy.

  It looked like a Fairy, dressed like a Fairy, but it most definitely was not a Fairy.

  The power behind its blows caused her to stagger and yelp in pain as she felt something snap within her arm. She reached over and quickly pulled her katana free from its sheath, swinging it before her to hold off the thing that had the strength of ten Fairies. The thing had intense power and appeared to be a Fairy, but it did not have that species’ speed and agility. Using that to her advantage, her katana hissed through the air and caught it on the upper left side. A glancing blow only, but enough to draw blood and have the thing step back. She took the chance to take a steadying breath as pain lanced through her arm and head.

  She could feel blood dripping down her forehead and she had a fleeting
thought of hoping the injury didn’t scar. She hated scars. As the warm fluid ran down the side of her face, she fought to focus on the threat before her. Unable to use any magic, she had to make sure it didn’t land any further blows. If it did, she’d go down and that wasn’t something she was going to let happen, because if she fell, she knew it could finish her. Rose had no intention of ending her life on a dirty road in Manhattan. Not going to happen.

  Shouts of alarm from behind her had her heart beating almost out of her chest as she guessed there were now Vampires rushing toward her. Surely they’d seen she’d been attacked without provocation? She fucking hoped so or she was in deep shit.

  As the noise behind her grew louder, the thing in front dashed off towards the park, disappearing inside the dense greenery that it met as it jumped over the metal fence. Rose let her arm fall, her blade resting on the ground as her injured arm lay useless at her side. Taking great gulps of air, she fought to stand upright, and waited to see if the Vampires thought her friend or foe.

  Strong hands grabbed her shoulders, spinning her around, a soft groan escaped her as her injured arm sent pain jolting through her. Her head spun and she guessed she had knocked her head harder than she’d thought. Her eyes looked up and saw a tall Vampire standing before her, dark, brooding, and with the most incredible eyes she’d ever seen.

  “Are you hurt?” he asked as he stared down at her.

  Rose nodded, grimacing as she looked to her useless arm hanging at her side. The Vampire spat out orders to those gathered in a defensive position around them.

  “Get after him and don’t come back until he’s found. Draven, get her belongings inside and get the bike somewhere safe.” The Vampire looked around, raising his voice. “Valentine! Make sure they find that fucker and get him in front of me as soon as you can.”

  Rose felt sick again and she wasn’t sure whether it was down to the Demon’s method of transportation or the damage done to her arm. She guessed the latter when she tried to take a step and felt as if she was going to throw up. “Shit,” she managed to get out, pushing up her helmet’s face guard, just before she bent over and vomited on the ground.