Welcome to Castle Cove: A Design Your Destiny Novel

by Kory M. Shrum

  Ask about Vendetta

  Ask about Katie and this sacrifice business.

  “I want to know what happened to my friend,” I say. My pulse is jumping wildly in my throat. “I have a feeling you know.”

  He drags a thumb across his chin. “She left Alpha’s with Richard and Henry. They drank her blood and left her body beyond the West Territory Line.”

  “She’s dead.” It isn’t a question. “I shouldn’t have let her go alone.”

  “If you had been with her, I’m sure you would be dead as well. Do you want to die?”

  “No.”

  He weighs my gaze for a long moment. “John tells me there is a problem in your apartment, just before he delivered you here.”

  “Did he tell you with his mind?” I ask. Because I didn’t see them talk.

  “No matter,” he says. “We will have it fixed before you return home.”

  “But what about Katie? Are you telling me that Vendetta invited her here just to be slaughtered?”

  He leans forward, letting his arms rest against the desk top. “Would you sacrifice a life to save ten?”

  “It depends on the life. I wouldn’t sacrifice my child, for example.”

  He arches a brow. “You have children?”

  “No, my hypothetical children. I’m just saying it depends on who the person is to me as to whether or not I think it is a fair trade.”

  “What Vendetta does is no different,” he assures me. “You must understand we are Vendetta’s children. The darkness inside us, the power in our veins, every drop of it comes from her. She is our mother. And like a lioness, she will kill without hesitation.”

  Choice 60

  Ask about Vendetta

  But I’m human. What happens if I stay in Castle Cove as a human?

  Ask about Vendetta.

  “So it’s Vendetta who runs this town,” I say.

  He smiles all the same. “I am her proxy. I make sure the city remains safe, guarded. I would give my life for it. And for her.”

  He adds this last bit with such tenderness. I see the sadness and determination in his face for only an instant before it’s that quiet professionalism again. Or smoldering professionalism I should say.

  “You talk about her power as if it’s limitless. No offense, but it sounds like she can take care of herself. Why would she need you to die for her?”

  He considers the ice in his glass. “It’s true that I don’t think she could die even if she wanted to—and perhaps that is the reason for her current state.”

  “I don’t understand.”

  “She’s entombed herself. She sleeps. Or rather, she dreams.”

  I imagine an invalid, a beautiful, motionless woman in some crypt deep beneath the city. I have no idea how accurate this is but it’s all my brain gives me for entombed.

  “Why would she do that to herself?”

  He shrugs. “She is serving her master, no doubt, just as I serve mine.”

  How long? How long has she been under there? The question begs.

  He only smiles. “And now you will serve her too. Directly, or indirectly. Or you can leave Castle Cove tonight and never look back. If you’ve served your purpose, you have nothing to fear. You will pass through the city limits unharmed. However, if you feel your business isn’t done here, we would welcome you to stay.”

  I consider this. He’s smiling, but the offer seems serious.

  And final.

  Choice 61

  Stay in Castle Cove

  Leave tonight

  Stay in Castle Cove

  “It’s hard to believe what I’ve seen in the last 24 hours,” I begin, weighing my words carefully. It’s true that the gravity of the situation has a sobering effect on my mind. “I’m not sure I fully understand why, but I want to be here. But what kind of life can I possibly build in Castle Cove?”

  Ethan smiles, a soft, genuine smile now. “A life quite similar to one you would build anywhere. You can make friends, earn a living, perhaps find love.”

  He holds my gaze then, and I don’t believe for a minute that love is what this man is looking for…

  I hope the dancing firelight can hide my deep blush. “But I have family who don’t live here. Can I ever leave and visit or—?”

  “Ah, that is not the same,” he says. “Once your life takes root here, you will always be able to find your way back should you leave. How do you think Henry and Richard were able to return to Castle Cove?”

  I consider my next words carefully. “Is it possible that I’m going to murdered or attacked again?”

  After a pause he says, “Most of our citizens want peace. They have found sanctuary here. If you choose to stay, you will see strange and wonderous things. But not true evil.”

  “But sometimes the evil gets in,” I say quietly. Because he’s telling me that living in Castle Cove is as dangerous as living anywhere—just a different sort of danger.

  “Sometimes the evil gets in.” His dark eyes flash, showing twin flames. “And when it does, I handle it.”

  Again, I get a sense of the underlying brutality of this man. He seems beautiful, and sophisticated. But I also sense the violence. What he needs he will take by force if he has to, those eyes say. But that passion isn’t directed at me, unfortunately. Whatever he feels in that dark heart of his, must be reserved for Vendetta.

  “One last question,” I say.

  He arches an eyebrow.

  “What’s really in the labyrinth?”

  He grins, fire burning brighter in those black orbs. But I don’t shy away from the twin flames. “Would you believe me if I told you it is where I keep my souls?”

  “You have more than one?”

  He grins, dark and delicious. “A man has to eat.”

  I cross one leg over another. “Will you be offended if I never go inside then?”

  “Not at all. In fact, if you want to live here, it is probably best you don’t.”

  Dangers aside, I do want this. I want the darkness. I want the danger. I want all that Castle Cove has to offer. He must see the resolve in my eyes because he smiles. A broad, honest grin that reaches his eyes for the first time.

  He lifts his glass to toast me. “Welcome to Castle Cove. We are honored to have you.”

  The End

  Create a new story

  Give Kristine my number

  I turn over the napkin and scrawl my number on it using a black ink pen from my pocket. My cheeks are burning when I push the napkin across the damp bar toward Kristine with a nervous smile. But at least I did it. Kudos to me.

  “In case you see my friend,” I tell her. “Or if you just want to hang out or something.”

  Kristine takes the napkin and smiles at the number before flicking her gaze up to meet mine again. “Sweet dreams, Baltimore.”

  I follow her brother, Dwayne, out of the bar and onto the street. He is kind enough to open the door for me and confirm my address in Old Town. I thank him and climb inside.

  “So,” I begin, watching Dwayne start the meter and put on his seatbelt. “Kristine is your sister.”

  “Yeah.”

  “Is she seeing anyone?” I ask.

  “Naw, she broke up with Callie two years ago. I don’t think she’s found anything serious yet,” he says. “It’s a shame. She’s an amazing woman.”

  He meets my gaze in the rearview and smiles. “Why? You looking?”

  “Maybe,” I say with a grin I can’t suppress.

  I wake to a soft paw batting my nose.

  “Meow.”

  A tinge of claws.

  “Meow.”

  I pry my eyes open against the sunlight streaming in. This is all the encouragement that the cat needs. He climbs onto my chest and proceeds to rub his head and ears against my face until I’m gasping. I swat him away.

  I sit up and check the time. I’m surprised he let me sleep this long.

  “Okay, okay,” I say and throw back the covers. And pause.

&nbs
p; I’m fully dressed, and still on my sofa. Slowly I replay the night before in my mind. Going out with Katie. Getting ditched at the bar and then giving my number to that bartender on a whim.

  Who says I can’t live a little?

  I check my phone, hopeful that maybe Kristine wants to get brunch or coffee. My heart skips a beat when I see the missed voicemail.

  Katie’s voice is hushed and frightened, and I have to restart the message to make sure I understand what she’s saying.

  “Baltimore. Oh Christ, Baltimore. Help me. I shouldn’t have left Alpha’s with them, but how the hell was I supposed to know they were vampires?! Vampires! I don’t know where they’re taking me. They’ve got me in a trunk and—”

  “What the fuck,” a man cuts in. “I thought you took her phone.”

  A scream cuts off the message. Katie’s scream.

  The hair on the back of my neck stands straight up. I listen to it two more times, feeling sick over my pounding heart.

  Then I hang up and call Katie. Fingers crossed she was drunk out of her mind, but home safe now with a hellacious hangover.

  Vampires…she can’t be serious.

  But the call goes straight to her voicemail. Damn. I leave a voicemail anyway, of course sounding like a hand-wringing mother. I could drive to Alpha’s and see if they saw her—maybe even run into Kristine. Or I can go by Katie’s place and knock on the door.

  Choice 62

  Go by Katie’s apartment

  Go by Alpha’s

  Call it a night

  I wake to a soft paw batting my nose.

  “Meow.”

  A tinge of claws.

  “Meow.”

  I pry my eyes open against the sunlight streaming in. This is all the encouragement that the cat needs. He climbs onto my chest and proceeds to rub his head and ears against my face until I’m gasping. I swat him away.

  I sit up and check the time. Almost 10:30. I’m surprised he let me sleep this long. I must’ve been so tired after coming home from Alpha’s that I barely remember paying the cab, unlocking my front door and collapsing into the bed sometime around one in the morning.

  Sushi wails beside me.

  “Okay, okay,” I say and throw back the covers.

  I check my phone to see the time and see that I have a voicemail.

  It’s Katie. Her voice is hushed and frightened and I have to restart the message to make sure I understand what she is saying.

  “Baltimore. Oh Christ, Baltimore. Help me. I shouldn’t have left Alpha’s with them, but how the hell was I supposed to know they were vampires?! Honest-to-god freaking monsters. I don’t know where they’re taking me. They’ve got me in a trunk and—”

  “What the fuck,” a man cuts in. “I thought you took her phone.”

  A scream cuts off the message. Katie’s scream.

  The hair on the back of my neck is standing straight up. I listen to it two more times, feeling sick over my pounding heart.

  Then I hang up and call Katie. Fingers crossed she was drunk, in a bad situation, but is home safe now with a hellacious hangover.

  But the call goes straight to her voicemail. Damn. I leave a voicemail anyway, of course sounding like a hand-wringing mother. I could drive to Alpha’s and see if they saw her. Or I can go by her place and knock on the door.

  Choice 63

  Go by Katie’s apartment

  Go by Alpha’s

  Go to the police station

  I pull up outside the Castle Cove police station a few minutes later. It sits across from the street from Sunset Park, north of downtown.

  When I step through the double doors, it is extremely busy. People rush from one end of the building to another.

  A red-headed man sits behind the service desk with a phone pressed to his ear. I wait patiently for the call to end before stepping forward.

  I cut right to the chase, hoping not to waste this man’s time. “I want to report an abduction. The victim left a voicemail on my phone. And you can hear the perpetrators, too.”

  Abduction. Perpetrators. Words I’ve only ever heard used in over-acted television dramas.

  I must sound as ridiculous to him as I do to myself. He arches an eyebrow. “Right. Go see Yvonne.”

  He points over his shoulder at a black woman two desks back. We make eye contact, and she waves me over.

  I thank him and weave through the bustling police to Yvonne.

  “You’ve got the voicemail?” she asks.

  “Yeah.” I unlock my phone and open the voicemail before handing it over. “It’s the first message.”

  She presses the button, holds it up to her ear. Her eyes widen as Katie’s frantic voice spills out again.

  Several heads in the room turn toward me, their expressions curious.

  “Jasper!” Yvonne calls, replaying the message for the third time.

  A man sidles up to her desk, sparing me the briefest of smiles. He takes the phone she offers.

  “First message,” I say, hoping to stay helpful. It occurs to me that they could take my phone as evidence, couldn’t they? Separation anxiety sets in.

  He listens to it, swearing under his breath. “It’s definitely him.” To me, “Who is the woman on this call?”

  “Katie Rogers.”

  “You have an address for her? Contact information? Her job?”

  I give them everything I know, including the location of her abandoned car.

  “When you say, ‘it’s definitely him’, who are you talking about?”

  The officers exchange a look. I brace myself for a refusal. I’m not Katie’s family or anything. They don’t have to tell me anything.

  “There’s a couple of guys that blew into Castle Cove last night. Known to be trouble. We’ve been trying to find them. This is our first real lead.”

  “Oh.” I’m sure I look as dumbfounded as I am. Emphasis on the dumb.

  “We’ll check the duplex and the car,” he says, handing back my phone. “Will you come back for follow-up questions, if we need you?”

  I sigh with relief. “Of course.”

  I’m dismissed just before several officers rise from their desks. I say a silent prayer for Katie, hoping they find her safe and sound.

  I check the clock on my phone and see that I’ve still got hours before I have to meet Ethan at Labyrinth.

  I decide the best use of my time is to go home and take a nap. This little excursion has left me exhausted, and if I don’t recoup, I’ll be useless tonight.

  Take a nap

  Throw back the covers

  I clutch the top of the covers and pull. Before I even have the sleeping face exposed, a hand reaches up and seizes my wrist. A flash of burning pain shoots up my arm as the bones are crushed in on themselves.

  I scream. But the scream is cut short by another hand wrapping around my throat. It’s cold and unmovable.

  Pain explodes in the side of my neck, shooting up around my skull and down into my shoulder.

  My shocked gaze falls on the bed.

  Only one person is in it now. The covers are thrown back and rumpled on the farthest side.

  How is that possible? How in the world could someone get out of the bed and grab me from behind without me even seeing them?

  I get my answer.

  The second man, the one crushing my wrist in his grip, opens his mouth and hisses.

  “Leave me some, brother,” the man in the bed says, and his grin chills me from head to toe. Fangs, long and sharp sink into my crushed wrist, tearing open the vein there. Blood pours over my skin and drips to Katie’s coverlet.

  That’s when I realize I haven’t just been bitten from behind, I’m being drained dry.

  Vampires. Vampires. Vampires.

  My mind keeps slapping against the stone wall of shock that has suddenly erected in the place where all rational thought used to be.

  I’m so cold.

  The heat drains from my body until my shaking legs give. I sag in someone’s arms,
but they do not let go.

  They never let go.

  Not until the darkness reaches up and takes me for its own.

  The End

  Create a new story

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  With gratitude,

  Kory M. Shrum

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  Seven Devils

  Holy water cannot help you now

  A thousand armies couldn’t keep me out