The Dominion Series Complete Collection

by Lund, S. E.

  “Why is he even working for the SCU then?”

  “So the Council can keep an eye on him. See what his game is.”

  “I don’t get it.”

  “The SCU is the front line against Dominion. Once we found out that Vasquez was for Dominion, we wanted him close so we could use him to get inside Blackstone. I’ve compelled him to comply. He thinks he’s this big double agent, working for Blackstone and the Council. He thinks he’s fooled us all. It’s himself he’s fooled. That’s OK. He gives us an in to Blackstone. He’ll lead us directly there. You watch.”

  "I thought you weren't interested in fighting Dominion," I say as we drive through the streets to the building near the waterfront.

  "I said there are more ways than one to fight it. Blackstone thinks they'll subvert our defenses from within and strike at us that way. Michel's obsessed with Soren, but he's nothing. I'm after Blackstone." He glances at me. "I have my reasons…"

  "They betrayed you." I remember reading journal entries about our trip to Virginia after Michel went to Pittsburgh.

  "They turned me into a day-walking vampire super-warrior and then tried to kill me. Besides their role in bringing about Dominion, they're responsible for the deaths of my fellow operatives. It's time for payback."

  * * *

  I have no memories of the SCU but it feels perfectly right to sit at my little desk by the window. I touch my things – the computer I must have used, the files, and pens in the drawer.

  Vasquez is a tiny man with beady eyes and sparse graying hair on his head. He's dressed in civilian clothes – a suit and tie, suspenders and a photo ID around his neck. He looks like a real cop and not a bishop, but he has no idea he's been compelled. I watch Julien with him and Julien seems to enjoy treating Vasquez with extra deference. Nodding when Vasquez speaks, his face all serious. But Julien glances over to where I sit and has this look in his eyes that speaks to me of barely-suppressed mirth. Because I'm his blood slave, I can feel his mind at a distance when he lets me, and I know what he's thinking.

  He loves this game.

  "Come here, Eve," Vasquez says. "We've got a case to investigate."

  I join him in Ed's old office and Julien and I sit side by side in old wooden chairs in front of the desk.

  "A new River Man case." He hands Julien the file. Julien flips through the papers inside and I lean closer and look at them. Grisly crime scene photographs of a decapitated and drained body, the head in the shackled embrace just like all the others. What does that mean? What is Soren telling us?

  It's then I realize that we aren't really investigating Blackstone if we pursue this case and these murders. We're really going after Soren.

  "I've already said that it's Soren behind these murders," I say to them both, unable to keep frustration from my voice. "I touched him when we were alone and I held his hand on the plane. He's the murderer."

  Julien reaches out and takes my hand, squeezing it and a current of lust from him goes right through me. He looks at me, and deliberately licks his bottom lip. What?

  Vasquez looks at me as if I'm a child. "Eve," Vasquez says and I can hear impatience in his voice. "Soren's a bit player in this. He has his own agenda and it's not the main problem we face. We're after Blackstone. These are Blackstone killings of Adepts in their control. This is the third adept to be killed in this community and we suspect there is a cell there, operating out of the town. We have to find the killer and he or she will lead us to Blackstone. I'm sending you and Julien to investigate. The fact that there's another murder in this small town suggests that whoever is killing Adepts lives there. In fact, our geographical profilers suggest that the killer may actually reside there but has been expanding his range to kill others where they live, returning to his home base."

  I sigh, and give in. Neither Julien nor Vasquez are able to hear what I'm saying so I might as well shut up.

  * * *

  Later that night, as Julien and I pack our bags for our trip tomorrow, I sit on the bed and try one more time to get through to him.

  "Come here," I say and pat the bed beside me. He smiles and sits, his arm going around my shoulders. When he tries to kiss me, I put a hand up between our lips to stop him. "No," I say. "Not that. I want to talk to you."

  "Oh, damn," he says and grins. "I was hoping you were finally overwhelmed with lust for me and couldn't wait until after your feed…"

  "Julien," I say, unable to keep a straight face because of his leering one. "I'm serious. We have to talk."

  "OK," he says and plays with my hair, making a mock serious face. "What is it you want to talk about?"

  "Soren has compelled you."

  He keeps smiling, twisting a lock of my hair in his fingers, bringing it up to his nose to smell. He looks in my eyes, tilting his head to the side.

  "You are so cute," he says and touches my nose. "Have I told you that I love your freckles?"

  "Stop!" I say and push his hand away. "Julien, Soren has compelled you to think he's innocent."

  It's like he can't hear anything I say about this. Instead, he leans in closer.

  "Just a few of them over the bridge of your nose, like you've just been out in the sun. Makes me want to ravish you."

  I take his hand and try again. "Julien, Soren has compelled you to think he's innocent."

  He doesn't hear me or ignores me, smiling broadly. Then he nuzzles my neck, licking his bite mark. He tickles my waist and I can't help but giggle.

  "Stop!" I try to push him away.

  "Oh, that smile…" His voice is thick with lust and he pushes me down on the bed, his weight holding me down, my hands trapped in his over my head. "When I see you smile, I want to fuck you, Eve. Hard."

  "Julien! Soren's compelled you!" I say, almost shouting.

  "God, Eve, you're driving me crazy…" He's breathing deeply as if my words arouse him. Then he kisses me passionately, his tongue insistent, and with his free hand, he starts to explore my body.

  What – has Soren compelled him so that if I try to reveal what I know, he gets aroused and takes it as an invitation to have sex? The harder I try to convince him of Soren's guilt, the harder he tries?

  What a bastard…

  "Julien, Soren's compelled you to think he's innocent," I say once more to test my theory.

  "God, Eve, what are you doing to me?" Julien says, the need in his voice almost anger. "Fuck," he says exhaling heavily. "I need you right now."

  "Soren's compelled you," I say once more, swept up in his desire. Part of me almost laughs at how Julien is responding, but it's not funny. Each time I say it, he's more desperate.

  "Julien, Soren's compelled you," I say again, barely able to speak from the overwhelming need I feel from him.

  In response, he lies on top of me, breathing deeply, his lips pressed against his bite mark.

  That bastard.

  * * *

  Later, after we've had a shower, we sit in our towels by the window, me on his lap, his arms around me and I feed from his neck the way he likes.

  "I don't know what got into you tonight," he says to me, kissing me, brushing hair off my cheek. "But it was good."

  I shake my head and run my fingers over his mouth. "You got into me. Twice."

  He grins that characteristic de Cernay grin and my heart does a little flip flop. When we lie down, he's asleep in moments and I lie awake, my mind unable to shut off from the effects of the blood.

  I wonder what game Soren is playing with us. Whatever it is, I can't even talk to Julien about it without him getting all randy and shutting me up with his mouth. I realize that was Soren's intent. He's probably smirking to himself, knowing that I'll be unable to convince anyone of what I know to be the truth.

  I sigh and snuggle into Julien's embrace, closing my eyes in the hopes that sleep will finally claim me, wondering what this trip will bring.

  Chapter 62

  "The heart was made to be broken."

  Oscar Wilde

  * * *
>
  We take the interstate up the east coast, on our way to a small town near Salem where the most recent murder took place.

  While Julien drives, I’m in the back seat, reading files on the Blackstone Group that the SCU has amassed over the years. The file contains bits and pieces of intelligence they’ve been able to glean from captive Adepts and humans who worked for Blackstone and were either turned to our side or were killed.

  Julien yells something from the front seat, but I can’t hear because Joshua Bell is playing Vivaldi on my iPod, giving me shivers. I pull out my ear buds.

  “What did you say?”

  “We’re almost there.” He points to the GPS screen on the dashboard. “Just making sure you’re ready. I have enemies everywhere and so we have to be on guard. I don't expect trouble but you never know.”

  I smile and hold up my stake and pistol loaded with silver bullets when I see his reflection in the rear view mirror, doing my best to channel Will Smith in Independence Day.

  “Locked and loaded, and whatever it is you say when you use a stake.”

  “Sharp and pointed?” Julien says. When he sees my smile, he shakes his head, smiling back.

  He’s listening to jazz on satellite radio. "What is this?" I say, pointing to the radio on the dashboard.

  "The Köln Concert by Keith Jarrett."

  I’m not much of a jazz fan but I turn off my iPod. This I like.

  I stuff a handful of bullets in my vest pocket. I never saw myself as a gun-toting vampire killer. I thought I'd be more like my mother – research scientist searching for a medical silver bullet, but this is fun.

  While Julien sits with one arm out the open window, the wind blowing his dark hair around, I check my pistol. We’re entering into some other vampire’s territory and if confronted, will have to make a show of obeisance despite the fact that Julien is perhaps the second most powerful vampire out there next to Michel. Above him, there are only Ancients. I lean forward onto the seat and wonder how it will go when we meet our first vampire.

  "Won't the local vampires know you from your car? It's not very forgettable."

  "Any vampires in town will know who I am no matter what," he says. "What they won't know is where my loyalties lie. Always keep them guessing, I say." Then he frowns. "Put your seatbelt back on."

  I knock him on the shoulder and sit back, strapping myself in.

  We pull up to a motel on the edge of Davis Cove just after nine. Julien registers us, and hauls our suitcases and file boxes into the room. We get settled in, and then Julien takes off his boots and jacket before pulling out his laptop. I brush my teeth and get into my nightgown, the local paper in hand to read over the news coverage of the series of murders that the SCU is investigating. They’re part of the same case as those in Boston. Soren’s really shaking things up.

  We'll visit the local Sheriff's office tomorrow and meet our Council contact – the Sheriff himself – and look for potential cases. Tonight, Julien will check around in the bars and backstreets, looking for vampires who might be connected to the Blackstone Group and he’ll meet up with his contacts. Then we’ll decide what our next move is.

  While Julien works on his laptop, downloading information so he can check out the most likely hangouts, I read the paper about the murders. There are several articles covering the coroner's report and on personal safety. If this latest death is a vampire kill, officials will claim it’s due to the sick serial killer in Boston.

  I read over the file Vasquez prepared. This case is different because the victims are all female, decapitated, drained and dumped on the beach. Soren is sending a message loud and clear. They were all young Adepts, same age as me, part of the new batch the Council created. He’s picking them off because he knows we’re meant to fight against Dominion.

  Why hasn't he killed me? I can't talk to Julien about this unless I want to get him all excited. I have to figure this out myself.

  “Anything in the paper?” Julien leans back in his chair and cranes his neck to see me on the bed, his blue eyes intent.

  “Lame coverage of the serial case,” I say and shake my head. “They’re calling him Vlad.”

  Finally sleepy, I put the newspaper down, pull the covers up to my chin and turn my back to Julien, who’s checking something out on the web. If I feed now, I won't be able to go to sleep for a while but I have an early morning. I wonder how long I can go without his blood. Maybe I'll wait for him to return from his stalking and feed then.

  "You going to sleep for a while?" he says, glancing over at me.

  I nod. "Wake me when you get back in."

  I don’t even hear him leave.

  * * *

  Some hours later, it’s still pitch-black out, but I hear him return and open my eyes. With my night vision, I watch him move around the room, taking off his jacket and scarf, his sweater, his shoes and socks. Then, I hear him washing his face and then brushing his teeth in the bathroom. He comes to the bed and stands beside me for a moment, as if listening for my breathing. Finally, he reaches down and pulls the covers up over my shoulder and goes to the bar fridge to get out a bottle of blood. He likes to drink before he feeds me so he doesn’t feel as tempted.

  The clock reads 4:30 a.m. The sun will rise in a couple of hours. It feels strange not to have him in bed beside me, but for some reason, he’s staying up, talking softly on the phone to someone. His voice, deep and warm, fails to lull me back to sleep because of the ache that's building in me.

  When he ends the call, tapping his cell's screen, I sit up.

  "Julien, I need you."

  He's there, beside me on the bed in a second. I rest my hand on his bare chest and can feel his heart start to beat faster under my touch at the thought of feeding me. This never fails to arouse him, this need I have for his blood. It makes him breathless and his excitement feeds my own.

  "I wish you could bite me," he whispers in my ear when he pulls me against him. "Bite my neck."

  "Julien," I say, surprised at this admission, a little titillated by his thoughts. "I'd have to be a vampire to do that."

  "It's the most erotic thing of all, to feed another vampire. To feed each other."

  “Why?”

  “Mutual blood lust. Like sexual desire and addiction all mixed up into one. Joining with another vampire while you both feed…”

  His lust fills me, his thoughts of other vampires he's had sex with before surfacing, his memories so real they make me almost pass out just from the sensations.

  "Oh, God," I say and pull away from him, trying to block out his memories because they're too powerful. "I never want to be a vampire."

  "I know," he says, and his voice sounds as if he’s hurt. "It's horrible. The bloodlust is rarely ever fully slaked. You don't want it. Being a blood slave is nothing compared to it."

  "Don't ever let me become a vampire," I say, my voice breaking. "I'd rather die. Kill me first, Julien. I mean it."

  He brushes my hair from my cheek.

  "Okay."

  But I see into his mind – a brief flash of resistance to that idea. He won't kill me if it happens. He'll let me become a vampire and then enjoy me the way he really desires. He doesn't want me to ever die.

  I block him from my mind, shut him out.

  "Julien," I say, angered. "Never. I'm mortal. I want to stay that way, even if it means I die."

  He says nothing. Just pulls me into his lap and prepares to open a seam on his neck for me but I stop him, pulling his hand back, pushing away from him. I sit beside him on the bed.

  "Your wrist."

  "No," he says, his voice soft but insistent. "Don’t do this. I love it when you feed from my neck."

  "I don't want to be a vampire," I say, trying to sound as firm as I can. "You're going to have to promise me, truthfully, that you won't let it happen, or no more neck. Just wrist."

  "Eve," he says, exasperation in his voice. "You're so cruel. I can’t help how I feel.”

  “You can promise not to l
et me become a vampire, despite how you feel.”

  He doesn’t say anything and I can feel his frustration. “You can’t make me promise that, Eve. I can’t promise. I’d do anything to save your life.”

  “There are things worse than death.”

  “You sound like Michel,” he says. “Believe me, death is worse because it’s eternal. Pain you can tolerate because it ends. Loneliness? It passes eventually. You can always start over every day. Being a vampire? It’s bad. It’s a curse but it’s beautiful as well because you get to see so much, experience so much. But death? It’s forever.”

  He takes my face in his hands and strokes my cheek with his thumb.

  “You have to know that I’d turn you to save you. I wouldn’t let you die. I won’t let you die. Thing about vampires? We live forever, but those we love, we love forever. It’s why Soren can’t let go. He loved Marguerite. He’ll never get over her death.”

  “I didn’t think he could love anyone.”

  “You’d be wrong. He loved her. He loves Michel.”

  “Michel?”

  “Oh, yes. Soren tried to hate him, but can’t.”

  “I thought he hated Michel for killing Marguerite and staked you to torture him.”

  “No, the opposite. He staked me to get Michel on his side.”

  “Michel said Soren wanted him as his Pope.” I glance at his face to see his response. “And you as his warlord.”

  Julien nods and brushes my hair away from my neck.

  “He has plans. We’ll use those plans to get to him one day. But now, we’ve got to keep after Blackstone. I have a feeling Vasquez has sent us here for a reason.”

  I watch his face for a while, entranced once more by his beauty, his large expressive blue eyes, his brows, the square jaw covered in a few days growth of beard. And the fact he has no idea he’s been compelled.

  “Julien, I don’t want you to ever make me a vampire.”

  “Eve, I love you. Don’t ask me to make that promise. I can’t.”