“What the hell are you doing?” Cozul raged as she cowered on the floor. Flabbergasted, she stared up at him. His eyes were on fire and he lunged toward her, seizing her by the arm. In seconds, he threw her barely clad body into a small bedroom and slammed the door in her wake.
Trembling, Nira ran to the entranceway, pulling on the handle but it would not budge.
Cozul’s voice filtered through the thick wood and it filled Nira with dread.
“Lock the door,” he told her but his tone was monotonous, not like the charming, lilt she had become accustomed to hearing. She froze, unsure of what to do.
“Lock it!” he ordered again and with shaking hands, Nira fasten the deadbolt at the frame. “Do not open it for any reason and do not come out for the rest of the night.”
“What am I supposed to do in here?” she protested but she sensed he had already parted. Confounded, Nira backed away until her thighs made contact with the four-poster bed in the center of the room. She sat down heavily, hanging her head in her hands.
He can’t be seduced, she thought, defeated. Yet in her heart, she knew she was more devastated at his rejection than the fact she had been unable to gain the upper hand in the situation.
She lay awake all night, listening for sounds of Cozul in the house but she heard nothing but the waves of Pexil Cove crashing gently against the shores. Tentatively, she parted the black curtains to peer into the night. The view from her room stole away her breath and she watched as the night fowl preyed on unsuspecting fish.
The cold light of dawn eventually made its way onto the horizon and Nira sat trancelike, enveloped in the beauty of the morning. The silence was its own music, a hypnotic, tranquil dance which suspended her in a place which was neither sleep or wakefulness.
“Mom, mom, Yari and Kevan are sick! We have to take them to a doctor!” Thirteen-year-old Nira cried, her eyes soaked with tears.
“The gods will watch over them, Nira. Leave them to rest.” Nira’s mother smiled serenely, sending chills of terror down her daughter’s spine.
“No, mom, Yari is turning blue and Kevan won’t stop vomiting. They can’t stay like this anymore!”
“If the gods want to take them, Nira, that is their right. Who are we to argue with the holy spirits?”
Four hours later, the nine-year-old twins had died as Nira rocked them in her arms, singing them a lullaby.
Why didn’t I go for a doctor? Nira asked herself, recalling the lifeless faces of her brothers while her mother prayed above them, lost in her religious madness. It was a question she had often asked herself over the years and the answers, while valid, never ceased to alleviate her deep sorrow and regret.
One year later, at fourteen, Nira had run away from the overcrowded trailer park and never looked back. Her two older brothers were serving life in prison for organ harvesting and her only sister had turned to prostitution. She and her one younger brother were the only ones who had “made it.”
Made it. What a stupid term, Nira thought, watching as the suns fought through the trees to spread their glorious rays onto the north. I made it into the arms of a vampire who intends to use me as a blood donor until I die and Raspual is married with three wives and twenty-one kids, none of which has had a decent meal in their lives. Made it. What a life. I have wasted my whole life and now it’s over.
There was a gentle knock on the door, shattering her dream state and Nira hurried toward the portal.
“Cozul?” she whispered.
“Yes, you may unlock the door now.” Nira stared at the wood.
Is this a trap? He told me not to open it for any reason.
“Nira, you may open the door. It is safe,” he said again. Upon hearing the final word, Nira exhaled and unlocked the deadbolt. Cozul stood in the hall, smiling his boyish smile.
“Would you like some supper?” he asked charmingly but Nira did not let her guard down. She remembered the way he had thrown her against the wall, his moods apt to change on a whim.
I must be careful not to antagonize him, she thought but she had no idea what it was which made him angry so easily.
He has an impenetrable shield of armor. I need to get to know him so I can understand him.
She realized he was still staring at her expectantly and she nodded quickly, forcing her own smile.
“I imagine it is called supper in the North at this hour,” she mused quietly, more to herself than to Cozul but his eyes lit up with amusement.
“Yes,” he agreed.
He turned and Nira followed him down the stairs toward the kitchen.
“Would you care for some bread and honey? It’s a Northern specialty,” he told her opening cupboards as they sat. “The bees from here do not migrate past the Great Divider for some zoological reason no one has ever determined.”
“Perhaps they, too, are immortal,” she replied, eyeing him speculatively. Cozul laughed. She cleared her throat suggestively.
“Cozul, you have been so kind to me,” she started, gaging his reaction carefully. He continued to work but nodded briefly to acknowledge he had heard her.
“You are a good houseguest,” he joked and Nira grinned in spite of her nervousness.
“I am just wondering what your plans are for me. I mean, I know we talked about going back but when are we going?”
A spark of irritation seemed to flash in Cozul’s eyes and Nira braced herself for a verbal assault but he kept his emotions in check.
“As I mentioned, I am required by immortal law to remain on northern soil for three days before I am reissued a travel permit. I have already arranged with the council to return south on the day following tomorrow. You must be patient. Restlessness will lead to mistakes and mistakes will lead to trouble of the likes which you cannot fathom. Do you understand, Nira?”
Nira bobbed her head, shifting her eyes toward the countertop as Cozul continued to chop fruit for a salad. She did not understand, not in the slightest but she dared not say anything of the sort. She was grateful he was communicating with her at all.
“Why do you have a three-day waiting period?” she asked, changing the subject slightly. Cozul turned his back to her, seeming to contemplate the question.
“I am certain it was imposed because of the eastern immortals. They attack the mortals indiscriminately to the point of recognition. The travel stay insures that every immortal has his own time in the south, lessening the chance of being seen when someone goes missing.”
Listen to us discussing kidnapping and murder as if we’re choosing pizza toppings, Nira thought but she was truly fascinated by the creature making her breakfast. The entire scenario was surreal and she could not stop herself from asking questions.
“So, the western immortals are more civilized?” she prompted. Cozul chuckled.
“I suppose you could say that,” he agreed. “We exercise more restraint and resolve. The easterners played less of a part in the Second World War so their way is still of the Old World Order.”
Nira burrowed her brow, trying to remember any such teachings from her history books.
“Old World Order?” she mumbled. “I’m sorry, I don’t recall learning about this.”
Cozul’s eyes narrowed for a moment and he seemed to freeze as if he had said too much. Nira rose gingerly from her stool and walked around the counter to face him.
“Please, tell me,” she urged. “I am not going anywhere and I would like to know to whom I am sacrificing myself.”
Cozul’s jaw locked and for a moment, Nira was sure he was going to clam up.
“No one really knows the origins of immortal blood,” he told her and Nira slipped back onto her stool, perching her chin on her hands to listen. “From what I have gleaned, the mortals are as educated on that aspect as we are. They merely appeared one day from the depth of the northeastern jungles and began to kill at will, drinking the blood of their conquered. They did not die, they did not age and suddenly there were five hundred immortals, not merely fifty in the nor
thern countries. They traveled and spread, taking over more mortals with them. They were savages, hellbent on blood and nothing else.”
Cozul paused staring at Nira but she got the sense that he could not see her, his mind recounting a tale which she would never forget. She waited with bated breath and only exhaled when he opened his mouth to continue.
“At some point, possibly one thousand years ago, the mortals were an endangered minority, the immortals running the planet with ruthlessness. Your kind was in hiding, moving to the sunniest locations near the equator, growing garlic farms and barely surviving as they worked shifts to keep one another safe under the cloak of night.”
Nira thought of the cities in the South, overcrowded and well-lit even decades after the last vampire sighting.
“Someone got wise, realizing that without the mortal blood, we would soon die out also. A council was formed and the immortals retreated, allowing for the humans to breed. Occasionally, a clan would go rogue, against the council and take a mortal on a whim. You must understand that we are a predatory breed. We have never had to silence our inner desires. Being told we must refrain from doing what we do naturally was difficult for most of the Old World vampires.”
Cozul took a sip of liquid from his mug and Nira dared not look to see what it contained. She forced herself to focus on his scarlet lips and the words he spoke.
“But the Old World vampires soon grew tired of their council and began a time of civil unrest. In that time, the First World War broke out as several renegade clans fought to overthrow the council. It was the first time in history that mortals and immortals had ever bound together. They had a common enemy; those wanting to revert to the old ways of killing on whim. As you probably know, those rogue clans were obliterated and all was uneasily peaceful for a time.”
“Until the Second World War,” Nira breathed and Cozul nodded, sighing.
“The Second World War was your people. They wanted to feel safe on their own land. Their loved ones still went missing in the night and they knew the immortals were to blame but they had no recourse…except to declare war. The Universal Police wanted nothing to do with the uprising at first. They thought the mobs would be consumed whole and that would discourage others from trying anything so foolish, but they did not anticipate the numbers. Before anyone knew what was happening, the two worlds had entangled themselves in a bloody war which would last fifty years. This time, the mortals were prepared for the vampire antics and immortal lives were lost by the thousands.”
Nira’s jade eyes were glued to Cozul’s face.
That still did not explain the Old World Order…is that a term for vampires who survived the Second World War.
She decided to ask as Cozul seemed lost in a reverie.
“The Old World Order is the covenant of immortals from the Second World War?” she asked and Cozul’s face turned to stone.
“In a manner of speaking,” he replied slowly. “The Second World War changed much about our planet. Not only were we segregated from the mortals by the Great Divider but a new species of vampire was bred.”
Color began to drain from Nira’s face.
“What do you mean?” she asked slowly. “What new species?”
Cozul exhaled again and met her aghast expression.
I was right! They are genetically altered! But how?
“A hybrid.”
“A hybrid of what?” she demanded, her heart pounding.
“Half mortal, half immortal. I am one of those hybrids.”
Chapter Ten
The words hung in the air like led and Cozul watched at Nira’s mouth dropped open in disbelief.
“You – you are half mortal?” she choked. “How is that – why don’t we know about your kind? Surely there are…hybrids roaming around the South too!”
Cozul smiled mirthlessly and shook his head.
“Before the Great Divider was fully constructed and security was almost hermetic, the elders covertly covered all corners of the south and reclaimed the babies as they were born to mortal women. They knew that any children of vampire blood would be murdered upon delivery and our way is not to kill our own. There is no room for a hybrid baby in the mortal world.”
Cozul let out another humorless laugh.
“There is no room for us in this world either but the law dictates we are not to be killed so we remain here, living like elite prisoners, pretending that the originals consider us their equal but knowing better.”
Nira’s sentiments were clear upon her face; horror, sympathy and…was that arousal? Cozul felt his tongue jet across his lips as he looked at her.
He turned back to the task of making breakfast.
“I sound as if I am complaining,” he said magnanimously. “I am not. We are very lucky considering what could have come of us in the South.”
Nira shook her head.
“You do not sound like you are complaining,” she replied. “I imagine I would feel very much the same if I felt I had been held captive my entire life.”
As the words left her lips, she immediately looked embarrassed but Cozul finally grinned genuinely.
“Being held prisoner is no fun, regardless of how well they feed you, is it?” he said lightly. Nira did not reply and Cozul placed a plate of bread slathered with fresh honey in front of her with a side of tigerberries and uberkong.
“Eat,” he ordered. “You must keep your strength up for the upcoming days. You may not realize how taxing the trip can be but it will deplete you entirely. I believe that is the other reason for the three-day delay between hemisphere travel. The time and climate change are hidden parasites. They will consume you from the inside and you will find yourself collapsing at an inopportune time. We cannot afford such a thing to occur.”
Nira ate and Cozul noticed as a blush began to creep on her cheeks.
She is thinking about something illicit, he thought, somewhat charmed. I wonder what it is.
“Have you something else you wish to ask me?” he inquired innocently, finishing the remaining fluid in his mug. Nira shook her head quickly but Cozul pressed on.
“It certainly appears as though you have something else on your mind,” he coaxed. He probed her mind gently. He did not wish to read her thoughts, only pry the question from her lips.
She coughed slightly and peered up at him through her astoundingly long eyelashes.
“So, your kind and mine…they can…mate then?”
Cozul grinned widely, his almost blinding white teeth flashing to match the twinkle in his opaque blue eyes.
“Technically, yes we are able to copulate. However, due to the fiasco of our unforeseen creation, the law is clear; any vampire caught mating with a mortal will be severely punished and the mortal will be terminated immediately.” He did not add the reason for such a swift end for the mortal.
She does not need to know everything, especially not all at once. Maybe in time…
“Punished how?” Nira asked, slightly annoyed by the response. Cozul could see he had not given her the answer she was expecting.
“You just told me that killing one another is forbidden. You heal yourselves with minimal effort; what could they possibly do to you?”
Cozul’s face turned stoic. He did not have an answer but he thought of the Lessers in the donor bank and the elders who came and disappeared without a trace.
“There are other ways to punish a vampire,” he assured her and the answer seemed to hold weight. “Ways that make death seem a welcome vacation.”
She returned to her breakfast, mulling over what she had been told, Cozul watching her covertly, lounging casually against the refrigerator.
The previous night, he had nearly done the unimaginable, his senses clouded by the exhilarating scent of her freshly washed skin and naked vulnerability in her eyes. He knew what she was trying to do, seduce him with her sensuality and he had nearly fallen into the trap as his lips traced the contours of her sensuous body. It had almost gone too far when he felt h
is incisors extend painfully against his throbbing gums. Her jugular had been pulsating wildly and as they stood on the cold tiles of the bathroom, his libido and bloodlust had been indomitable.
From somewhere he did not recognize, a yell had shielded him, stopping him from cutting into her waiting throat and drinking from her until she was limp in his arms. Fear and consternation swallowed him and he locked Nira away for her own safety, retreating to the basement for the night to regain control of himself. It had taken most of the night but by morning he felt as if Nira would be safe in his midst.
“I must sleep,” he told her as she finished her breakfast. “Please ensure you are not seen.”
He knew he was reiterating something she already knew but Cozul was filled with a loss for words temporarily, feeling the need to fill the quiet with something, anything. Nira nodded and Cozul noticed her usually bright irises seemed overtaxed.
“Perhaps you could stand a nap of your own,” he suggested. Nira nodded in agreement and placed her dishes in the sink where she began to wash them. Cozul cleared his throat and pointed to her hip. Nira laughed and rolled her eyes.
“Of course. You have a dishwasher,” she said, opening the appliance and stacking the dishes into it. Cozul smiled in appreciation.
“You are the most helpful donor I have ever had,” he told her earnestly. Nira’s smile faded and Cozul groaned inwardly.
She doesn’t wish to hear jokes about her fate. This is not amusing to her.
“Thank you for breakfast,” she told him curtly. “Sleep well.”
Before he could respond, Nira had disappeared into the hallway and seconds later, he could hear her climbing the stairs to her room.
I must apologize to her later. The least I can do is make her last days comfortable.
Come to me.
Cozul’s eyes flew open at the command but he did not move. An unfamiliar fear pierced through him.
A Secret Baby for the Vampire Page 7