by P. A. Warren
“Darling, what is your name?” she asked.
“Claire,” I replied, biting my lip nervously.
She pulled out a cigarette and lit it blowing out a puff of smoke into my face.
“Say hello to your grandmother, Claire.” She took another deep inhale from the cigarette.
“Hello Grandmother,” I repeated.
Pointing towards the boy with the cigarette, she took a drag releasing her breath before speaking, “This is Mikail; I know that means nothing right now, but one day it will. He’s just like you.”
Crinkling my nose, I moved away from her, waving the smoke away with my hand. Who was this woman that came in here like she owned the place? And what does she mean that this boy, who stands there awkwardly watching us, was going to mean something to me one day?
Looking at me, she beckoned me to her, staring me straight in the eyes and I watched as her eyes turned completely black. “Come closer to me, Claire.”
Shaking my head no I backed away from her.
All of a sudden she laughed clapping her hands and said, “Well, this is greatly unexpected.”
“What is unexpected?”
“Why you my dear. You. You!” She exclaims excitedly. “Your father is going to be so proud of you one day.”
My stomach did a crazy dance, “My father? Will I ever get to meet him?” I asked her as the excitement at the mere thought coursed through me.
“Right now it’s best you don’t. Maybe one day, although I’m not sure even then if it will be a good idea.”
I watched as she leaned down and carefully pulled a brown leather book from her purse. She lovingly caressed before handing it to me gently and clasped my hands under hers. She whispered something in an unintelligible language before letting go of my hands.
“This is yours to keep, It’s called a Maji don’t let anyone but you touch it or take it. It’s a prized possession of your father's and will be of use to you when you are older.”
Snuffing out the cigarette, she pulled me close and gave me an awkward hug, “I have to leave now before your mother comes home.”
Grabbing her bag she took another look at me and stopped, “Always know that your father has his own agenda, and always keep one eye open with him, he is doing what has to be done and will find you when the time is right, whether that will be a good thing or a bad thing we have yet to know.”
I simply nod, not knowing what else to do. My mind was filled with everything she had said in those past few moments. My dad may or may not find me and when he does it may or may not be a good thing. That was a lot to wrap my head around.
Before exiting she turned towards me, “One day I will send Mikail to you. When I do, trust him. There are many evil forces out there and you cannot trust those that play the foe all the time. Remember that and you will survive in this world.”
***
A door slamming somewhere in the dorm shakes me out of my stupor of memories and I quickly put the book under my pillow and get into pajamas settling in for the night with my only link to my dad and grandmother an old leather book, the Maji. Just as my head hits the pillow, a shiver runs through me and I can’t help but feel as though something unpleasant is about to happen. Burrowing under the covers and pulling them up to my nose, I close my eyes for another long dreamless sleep. Only this time, I dream.
Breathing heavily I’m trapped in a dark room chained to a wall, and somewhere water drips that would drive a sane man crazy. Something fuzzy runs over my foot and when I kick my leg out it squeals and runs away. How did I get here? Lifting my hand in front of my face, only I can’t find it. It’s so dark in here it’s as if I were blind. Hearing heavy footsteps in front of the door and I start having a panic attack. My heart starts pounding in my chest uncontrollably; I’m having the hardest time breathing as I hear the key turn in the lock. Wide eyed I stare as the door hits the wall and there’s a man standing in the doorway, only able to make out his silhouette, until he switches the light on and what I see terrifies me and I know what’s going to happen. Shaking I start whispering “no…no—“
I wake with a gasp looking around realizing I’m still in my room. It was just a dream. Sitting up I scoot closer towards the wall. In the process of scooting over, I manage to knock over some things on the shelf next to my bed. Trying to calm my breathing down I stare into the darkness, it was just a dream, but it felt so real. Taking a few more deep breaths still trying to calm my racing heart I lift my hand to my chest and pull it back noticing my shirt is soaking wet from sweat.
Standing up I grab a clean shirt and slipping that one on, I toss the old one carelessly onto the floor. Staring down at the bed as if it were responsible for my dreams wasn’t going to help me get to sleep. Knowing I have an early day tomorrow, I turn the light on and lay down. I don’t care how old I am, the light is staying on. Adjusting my pillow, I feel for the Maji under it, and when my hand touches the leather it burns my fingertips. Pulling them back quickly, I lift the pillow up and put my hand over it and notice it’s radiating heat, something it’s never done before. Not wanting to touch it I move my pillow to the other side of the bed. Yawning, I lay down, not sure what to make of the dream or the Maji, but before I can contemplate, it further I’m sucked into the lost oblivion also known as sleep.
Chapter 2
Jason Dumont
I stand staring with a small grin as Claire runs away. It takes everything in me not to chase after her. After what her father did to me she’s lucky I haven’t snapped her neck, like I could easily do. Rubbing my knuckles as I catch a glimpse of her walking past the corner, I quickly turn away, checking for any bystanders that may have observed the interaction. Thankfully I see none.
Knocking her down was a total accident. I’d left my window open so I could climb in the dorm room after following her home, just hearing her succulent heartbeat, its pace giving her nervousness away made my mouth water. Normally I hide in the alcoves so I can make sure she gets to her room only tonight I was held up by some girl. Everyone thinks I’m this huge player with the girls around here, which is exactly what I want them thinking and let’s face it; it does help with the ladies. It’s what I compelled them to think and say. I have to keep my cover somehow, and not to sound conceited, but I’m pretty good looking. At least enough that if I didn’t play the field they would think I swung for the other team.
Finally hearing the door shut I quietly move from the middle of the hall, and head back to my room. I grab a towel, soap, and shampoo and head to the showers, anything to get that girls cloying perfume off of me. Turning the knob, I slide the curtain back and step in adjusting the nozzle so it sprays directly on my head. I let the warm water run down my face and I think about what brought me here in the first place.
When Antony gave me the life or death ultimatum I angrily took the job. I don’t get what the big deal is; I’ve met hundreds of girls prettier than her and yet she’s something more. For some reason though, I can’t pinpoint what it is. Clenching my fists so hard around the metal bar on the side of the shower, I don’t realize until I pull away that I’ve bent it. The fact that I’m here to protect this girl pisses me off, I don’t get why Antony is forcing me to do his bidding. Why me? Hitting my palm against the tiled wall, denting it, I let the water flow over my head and down my tense shoulders. The whole situation with Antony is confusing. He’s lucky someone hasn’t bonded with her yet.
I’ve always been told that once we find our bond mate we are mated until that bond is broken. In order to start the bonding process we would have matching tattoos that appear over our hearts the first time we kissed. Completing the process requires switching of blood, and the last stage is the actual bonding together that is part of the mating process. To break the bond we would have to either kill one of the bond mates or have a witch take off the tattooed name, which would diminish the spell. It is easier to kill the bond mate than find to find a witch, witches are sneaky creatures and don’t really like vampires, for go
od reason though. They will never forgive us for the Salem Witch Trials and all that pesky mess. Growling, I turn the shower off, wrapping a towel around my waist before I head back to my room.
Taking another long look towards her dorm room, I shake my head at how pathetic I’m being. The fact that it’s taking everything in me not to break down the damn door and have my way with her is maddening. What the hell is it about this girl? She’s nothing to me, less than nothing to me, and yet I can’t turn my mind off of her. Slamming my door in anger, I grab a donor bag of blood, ripping the top off with my mouth greedily sucking its contents. I wince as the cool blood hits my throat. I was in too much of a hurry to warm it up. Feeling the blood flow in my body, I find myself relaxing, becoming less tense. I don’t care for blood bank food but finding live food isn’t doable right now. Explaining a dead dorm student is something I’m not about to do.
Sitting at my laptop I turn the screen on and watch Claire lying in her bed reading. I installed cameras in there one day while she was in class; I thought it was brilliant on my part, although if anyone found out they would think I was some psycho stalker or something, which wasn’t too far off the mark. Grabbing another blood bag, I quickly down it while staring at the screen closely for anything out of the normal. I text Antony, yes, text. He’s finally figured it out and it’s easier than having to explain who is calling. Sliding my finger down the contacts list I find his; The King of Hell, yeah original, I know.
Me: All is fine here. Claire is sleeping like a log.
The King of Hell: Good. Any issues?
Me: Nope.
The King of Hell: Good. Talk to you later.
Staring down at the phone I shake my head. Man of many words right there. I turn the phone to vibrate and let myself fall back onto the bed and eventually drift off into a restless sleep.
Chapter 3
Jason
The following day I’m pretending to mind my own business, heading down the sidewalk towards the grassy commons area, when I focus in on Claire’s presence and turn. I paste a smile on my face and walk towards her, pretending to be unaware that she was there. Cutting through the commons, I find her sitting on a blanket reading some old leather book which she promptly drops as she feels my shadow invading her sunlight.
Yeah, that whole vampires will die if they are in the sunlight thing, a myth created by some fool to keep vampires away during the day, giving people a false sense of safety. Sadly, the idiots believed him. When she looks up, I recognize a small sparkle in her green eyes and it startles me, which never happens. I’ve been around girls for years and I have never experienced anything like this before; puppy lust. I can’t help but stare at her loveliness, her brown hair has just the right amount of curl and her green eyes are so bright. They remind me of the grass when I visited Ireland back a few years ago. Her feet are bare and crossed under her with her shoes sitting on the grass near her.
Stop it, Jason. Stop. You are here for a reason, and that reason is not to make her yours, no matter how badly you want it. She’s the spawn of Satan, and yet Satan’s spawn never looked so good.
Rocking back on my heels, I look down at her grinning. “I just wanted to make sure you were okay when I accidentally bulldozed into you last night.”
She looks up at me, squinting in the sunlight as I move to the left. She shields her eyes, and as she takes me in, I catch them widening slightly. Her lips part and I sense the attraction is mutual. I can’t help but feel a spark of pleasure from knowing that. I hold myself back from sitting down on the blanket and pulling her into my arms, letting my teeth—
My thoughts are suddenly interrupted when I hear something whirring near my head. I reach my hand out with lightning speed, catching the Frisbee that almost hit me in the head. Glancing around, I play off the swiftness of how I caught it. I notice her looking up at me in amazement, and this thrills me, though I’m not sure it should.
“I have amazing reflexes,” I tell Claire modestly as I try to gently throw the Frisbee so it doesn’t end up in the next county.
“Apparently,” she says laughing, motioning for me to sit down on the blanket.
“So…” she smiles, looking over at me. “I feel like we’ve never actually introduced ourselves, other than me hearing about you around school,” she says as I pull myself back to the present. She doesn’t appear to realize I wasn’t paying any attention to a word she was saying.
Holding out my hand in front of me with what I hope is an award winning smile, I say, “Well let’s do this the old fashioned way then. I’m Jason, nice to meet you, again.”
Giggling, she holds out her hand. “Claire. Nice to bump into you again.”
As I sit next to her, I peer over her shoulder at the book she’s been reading, and when my eyes zero in on it I’m slightly alarmed. It’s the Maji. I gaze at it in awe. It’s something I’ve only heard about but never seen, and here she’s reading it out in broad daylight where anyone could take it, like me for instance. The Maji is a vampire history and spell book. It’s only given to those of great power and here Claire, who has no idea that she is part vampire and part human, is holding it in public. Trying to be nonchalant, I point to the Maji. “What are you reading?”
She tilts her head and holds up the brown leather bound book. “My grandmother gave this to me one day,” she says rubbing her hands almost reverently over the pages. “She said no one else was to touch it but me. She didn’t tell me what it was about only that it’s very special.”
“So I guess that means you won’t let me borrow it, huh?” I say with a shrug, pretending not to care.
Shaking her head, she looks over at me, “No… I’m not sure why, but I feel such a connection with it that I wouldn’t want anyone to ever borrow it.”
That means her grandmother, The Great Queen, who was supposedly killed by the Western Clan, may not be as dead as everyone thinks, and by giving this to her of her own free will she just acknowledged Claire as her granddaughter, thus ensuring her a place among royalty. I wonder if Antony knows about this. I look over at her and wonder what would happen if I just grabbed the book and ran. I soon find myself bored as I continue listening to her talk. It seems when she gets started on something she talks a lot. It’s really annoying how girls go on and on about things sometimes. The Maji is so friggin’ close to me, yet so far away, the irony isn’t lost on me here.
Would a kiss shut her up? Leaning forward towards her, inhaling her sweet human smell, I find myself looking straight at her lips and watch as her pupils grow darker. I lean in to touch her lips, and just as I’m about to place mine on hers, I remember the rules. Stopping myself a few inches away, I let a rush of air leave my lips. Suddenly I don’t care about the rules.
“Screw the rules,” I mutter under my breath before I pull her face towards mine and press my mouth down onto her moist and waiting lips. Once our lips touch it’s nice but not like the fire, the utter and complete magic I had pictured in my head. I know we aren’t meant to be bond mates, and I can’t help but feel a bit relieved, just because of who she is. I’m still a guy, so when a pretty girl kisses me the sensations swirl around me making me hard, causing my fangs come out. This gives me motivation I need to pull away, since she has no idea I’m a vampire, or that she is part vampire, and this is not the way she needs to find out.
Scanning my watch, I pretend to check the time and stand. “It’s getting kind of late. Can I walk you to the dorm?” I ask holding my hand out, which she promptly takes and a flash of something runs through my arm as I wrap my hand around hers. I help her to her feet and together we fold the blanket. I watch as she protectively puts the book in her purse without letting me look at it again. She smiles sweetly and hands me her blanket to carry. Gaining her trust is going to be easier than I thought.
Chapter 4
Griffin Dumont, Ruler of the Western Clan
I step quietly out of the black Navigator and swipe at any wrinkles that may have made their way onto my sharp black
suit. I’m followed by a younger just-as-sharply dressed brown haired man. Riley, who’s my good-for-nothing son and unfortunately the next in line. That is, if he’s able to prove himself. I received a request from someone who said it was in my best interest to meet them tonight. They went through a lot to contact me, so I thought meeting them was the least I could do, even if it is an annoyance.
When a four door Mercedes pulls up to our meeting place, apprehension fills me, not knowing who or what to expect. Lifting my head and taking a deep sniff of the air, I nod to Riley, who’s staring at the car, confirming no others are near. The car door opens revealing a woman dressed in clothing to make her look half her age. Disgust instantly invades my spirit. She steps out of the car gracefully and looks me up and down appreciatively.
“Well, you haven’t changed much have you, Erika?” I say.
“So good of you to join me, Griffin,” she says in a bored tone, her eyes taking in both of us. “What exactly is Riley doing here?” she asks sniffing in disdain.
I cross my arms and look down at her disdainfully. “He’s my son, and I have my reasons, none that include telling you why. So what’s the big deal about needing to meet, Erika? Why couldn’t you just give me your name over the phone?”
“I think my phone is tapped or something,” she replies flippantly. “How goes the Western Clan these days? Still trying to find the Maji?”