Mark of the Fallen: A Fallen Novel

by Jones, Tanisha

  "She is just as the legend says, she's ... more. She is fierce and beautiful and ..."

  The glass exploded and blood splattered on the Queen's flawless clothing, shards of glass buried in her palm. The male moved forward, a towel in his hand ready to aide his Queen only to be waved away.

  "The mark? Does she bear the mark of The Fallen One?" She barked and Lilith swallowed.

  "I don't know ... I didn't see it. Everything happened so quickly ... I ... “In a blink, the Queen was across the room, grasping Lilith's face with blood soaked fingers, one knee pressing into the center of her chest. She could feel fingernails and glass cutting into her cheeks, her breath coming in labored gasps. Lilith's own glass tumbled to the floor, spilling clear liquid and ice across the thick Persian rug. The male made an audible noise but offered no assistance, he just watched with a sort of morbid curiosity. The Queen's face was so close to Lilith's that their noses touched, her fingers cutting into her.

  "You find out! You go back, you get close, and you do whatever you must to find out if she truly has the mark! She is useless to me without it! You do whatever you have to and do not return until you can verify that she has the mark." She growled, spittle sprinkling Lilith's face with each word. The Queen stared into Lilith's pallid eyes, her own eyes narrowed with intensity. She released Lilith, quickly regaining her composure, leaving the demoness shivering in shock.

  The Queen straightened her jacket, leaving bloody finger prints on the already splattered hem. She ran a hand over her hair, leaving an equally macabre streak of garnet and glanced at Lilith once more, her scarlet speckled face serene and lovely once again.

  "You find out, or you don't return," she said as she exited the room, the male hot on her heels.

  Lilith didn't dare move or as much as breathe until the sound of the Queen's heels on the marble floors faded into the distance.

  CHAPTER SIX

  Celeste sat with her knees drawn up, her chin resting on her fist as Nicky tried to figure out her television remote. The large multi-buttoned device was giving him fits. Since the movie they were watching ended, Nicky had used the remote to turn the lights off and on, open the blinds and turn the stereo on. When he'd finally managed to turn it off, he had pushed the volume on the television to somewhere just above deafening. By the time he pressed the off button, he was completely flustered and agitated. He groaned and tossed it aside, placing his hands on hips to stare at her, his brow furrowed.

  "Well, now what?" he asked.

  She shrugged then looked up at him a slow smile spreading across her face, her eyes twinkling. He knew that look all too well and it usually ended up with them in jail or an emergency room.

  "No, Celeste,” Nicky groaned holding his hands up in protest. "If we get in trouble… this face," he pointed to his own rather strained expression and her smile widened, "will be splashed across every tabloid in the world. The paparazzi will have a field day, not to mention my management team."

  "You know you want to. It'll be fun," she teased and he closed his eyes shaking his head. She stood slowly, her oversized sweats making her seem innocent and almost childlike.

  "No. Absolutely not." He shook his head.

  "Come on, Nick. Please? Pretty please?" She batted her eyelashes at him and made her bottom lip quiver. He rolled his eyes and continued to shake his head.

  "Not gonna work. Nope, nu-uh. No Celeste, no."

  ***

  Coming to this place had been a mistake, but he couldn't think of anywhere else to go. Nyx had returned him to his starting point, the edge of the broken bridge, the chill settling in to his bones after his glorious reprieve in the sunlight. He'd thought of returning to the compound, of searching for Lilith, but he needed a game plan for that. He needed to think, get away from this place and everything that had happened. He needed a drink, and he needed to feed.

  He looked at his watch, the hands spinning wildly. He'd forgotten the effect the compound’s cloaking had on electrical devices. There was no time, no night, no day, just an endless dusk that settled wherever the Collective was. He looked over his shoulder and thought of going back to Miami, to his high tech, high rise apartment. He could go back to his isolated life there or he could return to the castle in the highlands with its protective stone walls and family. And the endless line of nameless faceless women paraded before him as the possible mate for the next Vampire King. But that was exactly the reason he'd left Ireland to begin with. No, he needed something else. And then he smiled and realized he knew exactly where he wanted to be.

  Now he stood near the bar, the dance floor packed with bodies moving to the beat of the heavy bass of hip hop and rock blasting from the DJ booth. He'd made a beeline for the bar at the back of the club in the VIP section. Jinxie's was a little piece of their world right in the middle of the human world. The building looked like an abandoned warehouse off of a dirt road out in the middle of nowhere. But inside was a decadent three story playground for the supernatural and the few humans allowed within the secret haven.

  The walls were covered in dark textured wall paper, the bar an antique from the 1920's, a highly polished art deco deal with gold light around the foot rails. The entire place reminded him of The Great Gatsby but with a hip-hop makeover. At the back of the bar was a roped off section of black velvet booths hidden behind heavy dark curtains that allowed its occupants a view the party but kept out the prying eyes. High tables lined the massive dance floor and a DJ spun from a platform that looked down on the sweaty bodies that populated the dance floor. Jinxie's was the perfect hideaway, if you could find it. The location tended to be in motion, the theme in constant flux. One night it could be a space aged techno bumping rave, the next it was a Reggae dance hall. Tonight it was on the Northshore of Lake Ponchartrain in the middle of nowhere. Next week it could be in the middle of a subdivision in Metairie or on the roof top of a French Quarter hotel. It all depended on the whims of the proprietress, a devilish little pixie named Jinxie Monroe.

  From his carefully chosen position, he could watch people entering and exiting the building from the heavily guarded main entrance. He could also see the crowd on the second floor balcony lounging on plush sofas as brightly colored fairies with iridescent wings moved between them with heavily laden trays of food and beverages.

  The bass from the music throbbed, making the floors vibrate as bodies moved to the tribal rhythms, human and preternatural and everything in between, moving as one to the hypnotic beat. He relaxed, all of the stress from the day easing out of him as he bobbed his head to the music. He had no thoughts of the Collective or Nyx or anything other than the music and the day-glo orange drink in his hand.

  While he watched the crowd move on the dance floor, a towering redhead caught his attention. He lumbered from a back hallway, through the crowd towards the VIP booths. Karim turned and watched him. That red hair was unmistakable, it was the soldier he had seen earlier in the day. When he pulled the curtain out of his way to enter the booth, he saw Remy Kent with his eyes half closed and a lazy smile on his lips.

  'Shit,' he thought, he was really hoping to avoid all Collective drama tonight. He wanted some time to get Celeste out of his fucking head and here was a blatant reminder of her seated fifty feet away.

  Remy must have been either very high or very drunk, because he lifted his glass to Karim and nodded. Karim, a little surprised, returned the gesture. That must have amused Remy because he leaned closer to the redhead and said something. The big man looked his way and began to laugh. Yeah, that was at his expense all right. Remy was probably regaling him with the tale of Celeste knocking him on his ass earlier. That had probably been quite a sight.

  He watched as two Lycans began a violent pushing match on the dance floor. The large males growled at each other, shouting insults, baring claws and fangs before they were separated by their packs. He shook his head and sighed, this had definitely been a mistake. The last thing he wanted was to be a vamp caught in a fight between two Alphas and th
eir packs. He'd just paid his tab when a chill ran through him and the room went still. He turned to face the entrance and his skin prickled with goose flesh.

  She stood on the staircase, her hair hanging in deep, dark waves against caramel skin. Those long muscular legs were covered in what could only be red latex, that hung low on her hips and cupped her thighs and ass as if they had been painted onto her, and black stilettos that made her ass defy gravity. Her blouse, which was a generous term, was a piece of dark cloth draped over her breasts. It dipped in the front and when she turned to the side, he saw that it was only held on by two thin ties, one around her neck, and the other across her back. He stared, knowing without a doubt that beneath her barely there clothing, Celeste was completely bare.

  "Don't even think about it." He didn't turn around at the sound of Remy's voice suddenly so close he could smell the whiskey on his breath. He also didn't have to turn to know that the behemoth was right beside him.

  "I don't know what you're talking about, " Karim said, sipping his vodka, but his eyes stayed on Celeste as she laughed with a platinum blond emo type, complete with guy liner and skinny jeans. The emo god said something into Celeste's ear, his hand on her lower back just above the low slung waist band of her pants. Karim's body tensed in a surprising flair of anger when the blond gave Celeste's bottom a squeeze and she didn't slap him. She playfully pushed his shoulder, only to move closer into his embrace, her face alight with pure joy. Karim felt his jaw clenching and counted to ten, his eyes on the now empty glass in his hand.

  "It would be a shame for me to have to rip out those pretty green eyes of yours or mess up that lovely face." Remy whispered close to his ear with a somewhat seductive chuckle.

  Karim didn't move, didn't speak, but his eyes shifted back to the goddess who'd captured his full attention. He hadn't even realized Remy and the giant had gone he was so entranced.

  Damn, she looked good. He had never seen her dressed like that, and fuck, if she wasn't a walking wet dream. He groaned as his erection sprang to life, his chest hurt and the molten heat in his lower belly moved lower. With every bass beat, his sex throbbed. As casually as he could he tried to adjust himself, but it only made it worse.

  He watched her with the blond, unable to tear his eyes away as they rocked together on the dance floor, the rock star's hands on red leather hips. Karim found himself becoming angrier as the other man wrapped an arm around Celeste's bare waist and said something close to her ear. She leaned closer and laughed, one hand sinking into his platinum blond hair, before draping her arms around his neck. They were close, intimate, and Karim was feeling an emotion that he'd never experienced before. He was jealous.

  Her date danced with Celeste through one more song before saying something to her and walking away, leaving her to sway alone on the dance floor. Karim watched him cut through the crowd, easily making his way to Remy's booth where a gaggle of women stood near the velvet rope, begging the bouncers for entry. He watched with interest as a cloud of pinkish smoke rose from the table and the smell of sweet spice floated across to him. It seemed that her guy, who was fully human, was familiar with the mist which meant he knew that Celeste and her family were not human. Interesting, he thought.

  He turned his attention back to Celeste as she danced alone in the center of the dance floor. The crowd had given her a respectful breadth and no one approached her. He scanned the crowd, seeing eyes on her, stalking her every move, but none dared approach. His eyes drifted over her in the flashing multi colored lights that illuminated the dance floor, zeroing in on a single bead of sweat that rolled slowly down her spinal column before disappearing into the waist band of those pants. She lifted her arms above her head, her hips rocking back and forth, making her ass look like a candied apple and damn did he want to take a bite. She turned and he could see the under curve of her bare breast exposed, her stomach taut and shimmering from sweat.

  Unable to hold back any longer, he downed the remnants of his drink before stalking towards the dance floor.

  ***

  The DJ changed the record and the music began to thump with a heavier bass beat. Celeste rocked her hips; swaying from side to side to the rhythm when strong hands gripped her hips, pulling her back against a very male, very aroused body. The smell of ocean and sand assaulted her, but she refused to let him ruin her vibe, instead she allowed him to rock with her. She could feel his breath sweet and warm against her cheek.

  "Why isn't anyone dancing with you?" he asked. "How could they keep away?" His lips touched her hot, sweaty bare skin of her shoulder and her breath caught. Giving in to the feel of him hard and heavy against her, she relaxed into him. His hands moved up her sides, his fingers dancing along the curve just beneath her breast, his breath searing at the nape of her neck as the mark began to throb. She wondered about that, but only for a moment. It felt good to be so close to him and not think. For once she could just feel and not worry about what it meant or the past. She could just ... dance.

  She turned, her lids low as she locked eyes with him. He thought for a minute that she was going to hit him, but she just continued rocking her body against him, the heat of her seeping through the leather, yes that was leather, pants that were molded to her like second skin. He ran his hands over the smooth, heated skin of her bare back, his eyes trained on her face as she moved against him. He gently placed a knee between her thighs in an attempt to get closer, pushing against her. His hands splayed against her back, pressing her against him, as they moved as one, slow and hard.

  ***

  Nicky sat against the plush black velvet of the VIP booth, his eyes nearly closed as he took a long pull on the blunt between his fingers then passed it to Remy. He remembered the first time he'd ever tried mist. It wasn't long after Celeste had told him about her family. Nicky had come in with blunt between his teeth, the smell of flowers and herbs wafting around him.

  "Mist," Celeste had explained. "All natural. Not a narcotic, non-addictive and it's like six hits of Ecstasy without any weird hallucinations or side effects. Try it. It will mellow you out. Trust me, I would never give you anything dangerous." Mist, he discovered, was a pixie weed that had been soaked in nectar. He didn't partake often, but when the mood struck him, like tonight, he indulged.

  He held the smoke in, and then slowly exhaled, his eyes finding Celeste in the crowd. She was locked onto someone, a man, with long dark hair, and a tattoo creeping up his neck. He had his back to them, but the position of his body and the way he moved against her, Nicky knew that they weren't just dancing.

  "Hey," he coughed, "there's a guy dry humping your sister on the dance floor."

  Remy stared at him in confusion for a tick, then followed Nicky's finger as he pointed. It took him a minute to realize what he was looking at. Celeste had her head close to Karim's, her heavily lidded eyes glowing, her lips parted as they rocked together.

  "Fuck." Remy stubbed out the blunt, the pink mist that had fogged his brain clearing.

  "That's Karim. Son of a bitch, I told him…” He rose but didn't have a chance to do much because all hell broke loose in the blink of an eye.

  ***

  With his mouth deliciously close to hers, Karim let his hand move up her back, to the nape of her neck. He felt something sharp and hot, like an electric shock rocket from his fingertips up his arm. She winced and pushed him as the sting from his touch gave her a sudden sharp pain in her neck.

  "What the ... what is that?" he asked. The mark on her neck was burning and his touch made it ignite in waves of pain that radiated from the base of her skull to her front of her head. It also broke the spell and she looked at him with renewed hatred. What the hell was she doing? She was practically fucking him on the dance floor. Her legs trembled as she looked at him, her fingers grazing the stinging mark.

  "What the hell was that?" He grasped her wrist and she pulled away, her face twisting into an expression he couldn't place.

  "Don't," she growled through clenched teeth. She lo
oked up just as Remy stood, his face contorted with unabashed rage. This was going to be bad, she thought.

  "You weren't saying that a second ago, azizam. Upset that someone made your cunny wet?" He looked at her with a self-satisfied grin and she wanted to scratch his eyes out.

  "Motherfucker," she whispered before shoving him, her eyes stinging with angry tears. "You keep doing this to me, why don't you just leave me the fuck alone. I hate you," she said in a low shaky voice. He grabbed her arms to keep her from pushing him, his mouth covering hers in a hot, bone melting kiss which both aroused and infuriated her. She pulled away and punched him, her fist connecting with his cheekbone and sending him reeling.

  Karim fell back into a female, his hand reaching out in an attempt to balance himself. He only succeeded in ripping the skirt from the woman behind him. That enraged her boyfriend who charged him. When Karim dodged the blow, the boyfriend stumbled into a male lycan who spilled his drink on the female he was talking to, who immediately slapped him. The melee became a confusing ball of fists and blood as bodies rolled across the dance floor. Karim dodged blows and falling bodies, making his way across the club to Celeste. He managed to get halfway there when Remy took the opportunity to give him a jab in the gut. He was struck hard enough to make him wheeze and bend at the waist, which Remy relished before dancing off to hit someone else. He was enjoying this way too much.

  Karim dodged a wild punch from a Lycan, the one he'd witnessed nearly start a brawl earlier. He was shoving through the crowd, his teeth bared as he searched for someone, his face shifting from man to wolf, and Karim cursed under his breath. Suddenly, he'd found himself in the middle of a pack war. Not a good place for a vamp, he needed to get out of here before sunrise. And according to his watch, sunrise was little more than an hour away. Damn it, he thought and made his way over fallen bodies on his way to a back door when he saw Celeste being grabbed around the waist and headed back. She fought the person holding her, breaking free just as the front door was kicked in by half a dozen trolls in dark suits swinging clubs and tasers at any and everything that moved. Jinxie's muscle was on the scene and unless he wanted to be stunned, clubbed, or worse they needed to get out of there ... now!