Blood Descendants (St. Clair Vampires Book 1)

by Beverly Toney

  “You remember my granddaughter, Pleasant,” Efia was walking toward us. “These are her direct descendants. My granddaughters, Cheyenne and Chloe.”

  The Vampire queen looked at the two of us, clad in black military uniforms and gave us a big toothy smile. She was a stout woman standing about 5’6” with wavy blonde hair and sky-blue eyes. She wore a purple gown with a jeweled collar and a crown atop her head. She was the epitome of royalty and elegance.

  “So nice to finally meet you.” Somehow, her greeting carried the implied expectation that we would rid the Vampire world of an evil menace. Like it was our destiny or some crap like that. Whatever the case, the Queen seemed to believe that we were the answer to her prayers and it made me anxious.

  Chloe and I remained silent but nodded and bowed out of respect. We kept the bow short as we were not her subjects, but the queen smiled in surprise that we would afford her any respect at all. Efia, also dressed in a black military uniform, laughed at the queen’s shocked expression.

  “Will you ever learn, Matilda Dewhurst? My descendants are not elitists!” And with that, Efia picked up her own carry-on bag and walked off.

  Tabitha walked over to Matilda, bowed sharply and then threw her arms around the woman’s neck. The hug was mutual as the Queen wrapped Tabitha in the tightest embrace that I had seen in a long time. They stayed like that for a very long time, each one nodding their heads as the other whispered in their ears. I would have felt like I was invading their privacy had there not been plenty of other people standing around.

  “That's her grandmother,” Chloe whispered to me. “When Efia rescued Tabitha from the dungeons, Matilda was not yet Queen. Efia completed Tabitha’s Embrace to prevent her from dying from her injuries. Even though Efia is Tabitha’s Sire, she is a Dewhurst by bloodline.”

  That explained why the Queen was shocked by our bow. She believed that she owed Efia a debt that could never be repaid. The queen loved Tabitha more than her own life and for that she instantly gained the highest level of respect from me.

  The Stewards and Fare had long since followed Efia and Pleasant toward our waiting transportation. Tabitha and her queen grandmother were still embraced when I saw movement out of the corner of my eyes. My stomach clenched and a searing pain erupted in my throat. Wyatt and Matthias Robeson had entered the quad and walked directly toward me. With every step the pain in my throat increased and I was on my knees by the time they came to a stop in front of me. Even though Wyatt had been selected by a Castellano, if I bit him then the consequence would be dire. Not only would I inherit him by default but the St. Clairs would owe the Castellanos a debt.

  But the thirst had me and I lunged for Wyatt. Before I could reach him, however, Queen Matilda stepped between us. She extended her hand, wrapped it around Wyatt’s throat and lifted him off of the ground. Fear and loathing flashed in Matthias’ eyes. He obviously had not counted on there being any resistance to his plan.

  “Let me see,” Queen Matilda said with a drawl. “If your Electus is so eager to become a Royal Fare, I can make that happen right now. How would you like to spend some time with my clan?”

  From the look on Wyatt’s face I presumed that spending time with the Dewhurst Vampires was not ideal. I wondered what type of life their Fare lived and how Tabitha felt about it. Wyatt’s feet were still dangling two feet off of the ground when the Queen released her hold on his neck. She turned her attention to Matthias and grinned.

  “Matthias, I was told that Efia warned you last night so let this be your second and final warning. Should you ever pull a stunt like this again, I will personally assign a member of my clan to each and every Electus your family produces. Is that clear?”

  Matthias was nodding his head so fast that I became nauseous just looking at him. He grabbed Wyatt and dragged him from the quad as quickly as his stumpy legs could take him. Once they were out of sight, my throat stopped throbbing and the pain lessened.

  My first impression of her had been that of a proud and powerful monarch. I looked at the Queen in an entirely new light then. As I accepted her extended hand, I saw a grandmother who was protecting her granddaughter’s friend. You gotta love the dichotomy of Vampires.

  Queen Matilda helped me stand and wiped the sweat off of my forehead with the edge of her gown. Then she grabbed my chin and made me look directly into her eyes before she spoke.

  “You are going to be just fine. Remember that.”

  And with that, she walked away.

  Efia was furious when Tabitha told her of the Robeson incident. I quietly drank the cold water that Rillae had offered me and tried to figure out why being my Fare was so important to Wyatt. Had this been Ethan's lifelong dream; to be Royal Vampire food. The politics of it all had my head spinning and made me realize why my Vampire cousins took posts far from the political center.

  We arrived at the underground dock to find our large white yacht being fueled and readied for travel. Efia was standing on deck even though the waves were splashing sea water into her face. I put my bag down and stood next to her and we looked out over the horizon.

  “You must know that I would never put you in danger if there was another way.”

  Efia studied my face for some sense of comprehension. I understood that she would rather go after Grigor herself. She owed him, after all. But it was not a simple thing. Nor was it simple to ask your descendant to do it. Spontaneously, I grabbed Efia’s hand and squeezed. Aside from all of the brutality that she had endured in her long life, she was a loving and caring grandmother and I'd grown to love her.

  Leaving Efia with her thoughts, I went below deck to join my siblings. They were standing around a large table in a cabin near the rear of the yacht. Someone had marked it with GPS coordinates. A quick look over Tabitha’s shoulder revealed the area Jordan had highlighted was near Las Vegas. We all stood there in a stunned silence as we saw a massive compound with several guards patrolling the perimeter. It was going to take a perfectly executed plan to get through that type of security and then back out. Violeta and the Miklos clan looked confident. I just hoped we were up to it.

  Chapter 21

  Never in my wildest dreams could I imagine Violeta helpless or under anyone else’s control. She seemed so strong and held together. But Zander was serious about our talk. Once we arrived safely back at the compound, he sat me down in the garden and looked off into the distance as he began to talk about his true-love.

  “She guards her heart, Cheyenne. She has to. The abuse she suffered at Grigor’s hands was horrendous.”

  “Look, Z, you don’t have to tell me this. I know that it's personal and…”

  “Chey”, he interrupted, running his hand over his face. “She asked me to tell you. She doesn’t want you left in the dark about her. She wants you to know the dangers and why.”

  The dangers? My mind raced back to the times where our sparring had seemed real. There were several incidents when I had truly felt I was being hunted; like prey. The first time I had convinced myself that the growling had come from the dogs. Artemis and Apollo were often present in the gym, so it was easy to assume. But then, one afternoon the twins refused to cross the threshold with me. They simply turned and walked away. That was the day that I had to stop pretending that Violeta was not the source of the growl. The sound was in the lower register and was not meant to be a warning or a call to a mate. This was similar to the sound of hunger; like when your favorite meal arrives at your table. If I had not been afraid of Violeta before then this would have placed me firmly in the terrified column.

  Zander was watching me closely. He must have realized that I'd recalled every close call between me and Violeta. He blinked once and looked away, as if he didn’t want to acknowledge the fact that the beast we were discussing was his betrothed.

  “Why now? Why tell me at all? She hates me.” I stood and paced the length of the patio.

  “Violeta doesn’t hate you. I have been trying to tell you that. One day last year, befor
e you met Tabitha, Violeta and I were in New Mexico. We spent a few days there because the Steward that Solomon assigned to watch you had to return home for a family birth. “

  “You and Violeta were watching me?”

  Stunned to learn that more and more of my family members had been so close to me without my knowledge, I sat down hard on a bench. Feelings of frustration began to rise. Again I found myself wondering what my life would have been like if I had met them earlier.

  Zander continued, ignoring my question. “You and Ms. Redding were shopping at the mall and three of Grigor’s scouts were there. We weren't sure if they had found you or not, but it was too close for comfort.”

  Zander got up and walked to the edge of the shrubbery that surrounded the patio. He picked at the small white flowers absentmindedly as he relived the story he told. There was a stiffness in his shoulders as he spoke and I wanted nothing more than to hug my brother, even though I knew that I couldn't comfort him.

  “You had stopped at Victoria’s Secret and I refused to go in. Violeta laughed at me and followed you into the store just as Grigor’s scouts walked by. They immediately knew her by smell and followed her. It was a rookie mistake on her part, but she says that she was so entranced by the need to protect you that she nearly slung you over her shoulder and carried you out of the store.”

  “Protect me?”

  “Yes. Why do you think she's so tough on you?”

  “Like I have said before, she hates me!”

  “No, Chey, she doesn’t. Ever since the day you were born, Violeta has felt responsible for you and…”

  “Wait,” I interrupted, “She was there when I was born?”

  “It’s a long story, but you need to know that she blames herself for you being placed into foster care. You should have been raised with us. Violeta wanted to raise you.”

  Zander sat there and let the words sink in. The woman that looked like she was barley 2 years older than me had planned to be my adoptive mother.

  “I don’t understand. You said Grigor had captured her.”

  “Moments after you were born, Grigor and his people came for you. Violeta sent you and Zola away when the alarms sounded. She single-handedly fought off twelve Vampires so that you could escape. She almost died protecting you so Grigor took her in your place.”

  “But…,” I had more questions than my brain could process. All of this made no sense when compared to the way Violeta treated me. This was the epitome of irony and Zander was expecting me to wrap my mind around it.

  I stood and walked back and forth in front of Zander. I stopped every time I turned and waited for him to speak but he held his tongue. I wanted to scream. I could have had a real family. I could have been raised with Chloe by Zander and Violeta.

  “What about Chloe? She’s younger than me. How did you find her and not me?”

  I knew that my voice sounded whinny and resentful, but curiosity was getting the best of me. I just had to know what happened to me once Zola escaped. And how did she end up with Grigor? And, how did Chloe end up being raised by the St. Clairs while I was raised by a single parent? It just didn’t seem fair and I was getting angry.

  Zander was watching me as all of these thoughts ran through my head. I knew he could see the emotions flash across my face as they rolled over my body like a tsunami. I was getting dizzy and thought I would hyperventilate if I didn’t move.

  Spinning on my heels to leave, Zander let me go, realizing that I needed time to digest what I had just heard. Rushing to the edge of the patio I threw up. Images of my training flashed before me and I could see Violeta in my minds-eye; how she watched me when she thought I wasn’t looking. There had been pride in her eyes when I executed a successful maneuver. There was love, guarded although it may have been. Violeta was trying to ensure that I would never be as helpless as I once was; as she had been.

  I turned toward the house only to see Violeta standing in the window. The sunlight made her look even more exotic than normal. Guilt gripped me. I was so angry about being left out in the cold that I didn’t even consider what Violeta must have felt…what she must be feeling knowing that I was going to go willingly into Grigor’s compound to free a woman who couldn’t protect me. I still couldn’t reconcile her supposed love with her treatment of me. Conflicted, I ran in the other direction, desperate to put distance between myself and the situation. Solomon let out a gasp when I passed him faster than I'd ever run before. He called after me once, but someone told him to let me go. I ran as fast and as hard as I could until I reached the edge of the forest that lined the property. With one hand on a nearby tree supporting my weight, I threw up again. I stayed this way until my stomach was empty and tears were streaming down my face. What was I going to do now?

  I heard a noise behind me and froze. It had to be Violeta. I'd hoped that Zander and/or Solomon were with her; hoped that I wouldn’t have to deal with her emotions when I wasn’t sure of my own. I stood there for a few minutes, steadying my nerves, and then I turned toward her.

  But it wasn’t Violeta that I was facing. This was a much taller and even more feminine Vampire. Standing about 6 feet tall, with broad shoulders and a narrow waist, this woman looked like a goddess. Her long raven black hair and piercing blue eyes were the same as the woman’s in my dream during the Ludos. Efia had commented on how her descendants were of all ethnic backgrounds so it was possible that she was simply another of my Vampire relatives. She stood two body lengths away from me and looked amused at my shocked expression.

  She had to be some sort of guest on the compound since the security was top-notch and impenetrable. Deeming her a harmless and nosy guest, I started to turn away when I heard footfall to my left and right. I thought Zander and Solomon had finally come to see about me. But, I was wrong. To my left stood Violeta and opposite her was Tabitha. The two of them stood looking at the newcomer; waiting.

  “Hi, Cheyenne,” the stranger said, taking a step in my direction.

  Taking a step back, I ran into a tree. I didn’t know who this woman was and I wasn’t eager to find out. She stopped in her tracks but continued to hold the amused expression on her face. Taking a deep breath, trying to maintain control, I realized that I didn’t want to control myself. I was tired of being used and deceived. Tabitha and Violeta were just standing there while a complete stranger was on our property. I'd had it!

  I released the breath I was holding and quickly inhaled again. This time I tried to focus all of my energy on the stranger. At first, nothing happened. I knew that she felt it because I saw her eyes widen slightly before relaxing. She smiled at me as she fought the effects of my power. That smile was her death certificate. I arched an eyebrow and drew in air until my lungs were full. The air around me changed direction, thinning as it swirled, and I welcomed the sensation. The stranger's knees started to give way and she fell to the ground, one knee and hand were the only things keeping her from being flat on her face.

  Releasing a bit of the breath I was holding, I withdrew some of the energy from her so that she could stand. As she rose I could see that she still had that amused look on her face, despite the sweat that was on her brow. Right when I was taking another breath to put her back on her knees, Tabitha put a hand on my arm and gave her head a slight shake.

  “Chey, it’s alright. She’s with us.”

  “Great,” I say sarcastically, “and which ‘us’ are you talking about, Tab? So far, this ‘us’ never appears to include me!”

  “Chey, …,” Tabitha started.

  “No, let me explain,” the stranger stepped up, putting her hand on Tabitha’s shoulder.

  Tabitha flinched when the stranger made contact and then stepped out of her reach. She was entirely too close to me but I felt more annoyed than threatened, so I took a step back until I was even with Tabitha. From this close, the stranger looked like she was made of porcelain. She was the quintessential Vampire, if you read into all of the folklore.

  “Cheyenne,” she started
again, “let me introduce myself. My name is Isidora…”

  At the sound of that name, my flight or fight instincts took over and I assumed an attack pose before I knew what I was doing. Where had I heard that name before? I ran through an invisible database in my head until I came to it; Lord Vladimir Oleander the First and his Wife, Lady Isidora. This woman was Grigor’s mother. I rushed her faster than I had ever done in practice and was satisfied when my perfectly executed roundhouse kick landed directly in her stomach. I immediately followed with a three punch combination and an elbow to the face. Everything was going my way, or so I thought. The stranger, Isidora, was on her knees in front of me with one hand outstretched. Mercy, however, was not on the menu.

  “Enough!”

  I looked up at the sound of Violeta’s voice. There she stood; wearing all black and looking dangerous. Gasping before I could stop myself, Violeta’s lips switched into a momentary smirk. She stood between me and Isidora with the pride and protectiveness of a mother wolf to her cub. At that moment I saw what Zander had talked about. For months I had been living under the assumption that Violeta hated me. Apparently she had kept me at arm’s length because she loved me and wanted me to be safe. Even though she probably thought she was doing me a favor, I was really pissed that she stopped me.

  “You think this mess is funny?” I rushed her, surprising both of us by making contact and pushing her to the ground.

  “You think this is some kind of a joke? You want some of me? Huh?”