by Lyons, Rene
If she hadn’t gotten in so late last night, Allie would have gotten the chance to see her sister before she passed out from exhaustion. By the time she got home, Lex was already asleep. Ever the older sister, Allie checked in on her and gave her a quick kiss on the forehead before crashing for what remained of the night.
Her damp hair hanging free, Allie hurried downstairs. Passing the peeling paint, she wished her place was nicer. Unfortunately, the run-down house was all she could afford, and even then just barely. The floorboards creaked beneath the old, ugly, brown carpet. The paint on the walls was chipping away and the windows drafty but at least it was neat and clean. Most importantly, it was hers. This shabby yellow house meant freedom from David and Marie Parker.
As she came down the stars she smiled wide when she caught sight of Lex sitting on the scraggily beige couch, laptop balanced on her tanned legs.
Two years younger than Allie, Lex lived with their parents in Florida. Hence her deep, dark tan, which gave her a look of vibrancy and life. Since Allie crawled the night and Lex worshiped the sun, the two literally looked like night and day. One as ashen as a corpse and the other tanned to a golden bronze, they were opposite as sisters could be. Allie’s red hair and green eyes favored their mother, where Lex’s black hair and stormy vivid blue eyes took after no one. Allie was of average height, Lex a tiny thing, standing all of five-feet-one.
Even their personalities were different. Allie, as ballsy as they came, was an in your face person. Lex was the sweetheart, generally soft spoken and so still and quiet at times, it creeped Allie out.
Their brother had looked exactly like their father, which wasn’t a bad thing since he’d been extremely handsome.
“Good morning, beautiful.”
Lex gave her a radiant smile. Setting aside her laptop, she ran to Allie, all but slamming into her as soon as Allie touched down in the living room.
“Finally! I didn’t think you were ever going to wake up.”
Laughing, Allie untangled herself from Lex’s bear hug. “Sorry, sweetheart, but I got in late.”
“I know. I heard you come in but I was too tired to stay awake long enough to say hi. Did you go on a ghost hunt last night?”
“Unfortunately, no. I met up with a few friends, that’s all.”
As she walked to the kitchen Lex was right on her heels. She sat down at the table while Allie made a pot of coffee. “Was it the vampires?”
The eager note in Lex’s husky voice made her cringe. Allie wished Lex didn’t know about the company she kept. Unfortunately, Allie kept very few secrets from her sister, especially since they were all they had left when it came to family. After she’d been attacked, Allie had phoned Lex and told her everything, including the Templars.
Only after it was too late did Allie realize how interested Lex was in the darker aspects of her life. For the last months every time she’d spoken to her, Lex grilled her on the latest happening with the ghost hunting and wanted to know everything about the Templars. The ghost business was an open book. The Templars were not. Allie made sure she picked what she said wisely, trying to downplay Lex’s rabid interest in them.
“Yes, I was with the Templars.”
A fervent fire flared to life in Lex’s eyes, almost reminding Allie of the eerie glow of a vampire’s. “So? Can I meet them?”
The thought of throwing her sister in the mix with the likes of Raphael and Constantine had Allie shivering with dread. She trusted them absolutely, but also knew Raphael and Constantine well enough to know one would flirt shamelessly while the other would most likely try to scare the black out of Lex’s hair.
“We’ll see.”
“You’re no fun, you know that?”
Allie sat at the table and waited for her much needed coffee to brew. “Yeah, well, I’m more fun than Mom and Dad. Speaking of—how are the folks these days?”
Lex shrugged indifferently. “The same as always. You know nothing changes with them.”
“Do they ever ask about me?”
Allie hadn’t talked to her parents since the day she left Florida two years ago, having gone there to bury Christian. She never called them and they didn’t care enough to call her. The only communication she had with them was through Lex, who she talked to at least three times a week, if not more.
“You know they don’t. Jeez, Allie, they don’t even bother with me and I live with them.”
The coffee ready, Allie made them both a cup. After handing Lex the steaming mug, she laid out the sugar and milk, loving having Lex here to take care of. It reminded her of when they were younger, before they lost Christian, when she used to play mommy to them in lieu if their mother doing the actual job.
As a child, the responsibility of taking care of the younger two fell on her since their parents couldn’t be bothered to do it themselves. No wonder she didn’t want kids, she’d already raised two.
“How long are you here for this time?”
Lex took a sip of coffee before shrugging. “I don’t know. Since school is done I’m in no rush to get back home.”
Allie wanted Lex here indefinitely. She hated that her sister lived so far away with people who didn’t want her around. At least here in Damascus Lex would be smothered with love.
Knowing only two things were powerful enough to influence her sister’s decision, Allie was prepared to throw one out. “You want to go on a hunt with me?”
Lex practically beamed with excitement. “You know I do! When?”
“In a couple of days. Steven and Georgia Miller bought the Thomason’s old place and converted it into a bed and breakfast. Supposedly, they had a few run-ins with a ghost and want the place investigated. I’m going tonight to do a walk through, real boring stuff, but I’ll take you when I do the actual investigation.”
What Allie failed to add was, she didn’t think the place was haunted. Her gut told her the Millers were lying in order to gain some publicity for their fledgling B&B.
After what went down with Mr. Bishop’s place, that sort of exposure would definitely give their business a boost.
A year ago Allie made a reference in one of her articles about Old Man Bishop’s being among the top five haunted houses in Wayne County. Big mistake since it brought a shitstorm of people, all gunning to get inside the house and see a ghost for themselves.
Who would have thought The Specter was so widely read? Certainly not her.
To this day Mr. Bishop wouldn’t even look in her direction without throwing her a nasty look. She hoped once the stragglers stopped coming around the hostility might end. She’d even retracted her claim months ago—jeopardizing her reputation to do so. What more did he want from her, blood?
The recent surge of vampire activity would force her to keep a close eye on Lex. Still, being here was safer for Lex’s well-being than returning to Florida.
Look what prolonged living with their parents did to Christian.
Their brother had never been strong enough to withstand their parents’ indifference. Their apathy broke him. He turned to drugs as a means to put an end to the pain. They nearly lost him to his heroin habit, only to truly lose him once he got his life together. A hit and run took his life and left Allie with a hole in her heart that would never heal.
Resolved to do whatever was necessary to keep Lex here, Allie knew it was only a matter of time before she broke on the matter of keeping her kid sister and the Templars separated.
Now all she had to do was prepare Lex for the inevitable. Though Allie doubted all the preparation in the world could prepare anyone for coming face to face with Templars.
Lord knows even she was still getting used to the idea of them.
*
Everything about The Gate was dark in order to give it a Gothic feel. Black walls, black ceiling, and black floor certainly achieved the effect. Behind the long black bar, lined with metal stools, glass shelves were stacked with bottles of expensive liquor. The cheap shit they used for the overpriced drinks was
under the bar and out of sight.
The shelves were backlit with black lights, giving it a beautiful effect.
Scattered around the large club, tall tables accompanied by equally tall chairs gave it an artsy look. In the cages set on high black pedestals, gorgeous scantily clad girls danced proactively to the thumping music.
Having arrived early, as soon as Allie saw Constantine muscle his way past the throng of bodies on the dance floor, all gyrating and grinding to the hypnotic beat of a Type-O-Negative song, she let out a loud laugh. His tee shirts were an ongoing joke between them since she bought him a novelty one as a goof a few months back. The one he was wearing tonight read I leave bite marks.
“Cute,” Allie remarked with a nod to the shirt.
His breath ticked her ear when he leaned in close to talk. Unlike him, she was merely human, lacking his exceptional hearing. “I knew you’d appreciate it.” He gave her the slow once over, something he never did. “I like.”
Her cheeks burned hot at the complement. Unused to wearing the getup she had on, she’d felt like an idiot when she left the house, despite Lex’s assurance she looked “hot”.
Given the way his tone oozed suggestively, it was no wonder the ladies liked his whole bad-boy thing. He worked it to perfection.
“Where’s Raphael?” Choking back her embarrassment, Allie craned her neck to peek around the club.
“Otherwise engaged.”
That meant he was with one of his ladyloves tonight. Lucky him. Though better if Raphael were here, Constantine was more than capable of protecting her if the shit hit the fan.
The club was jumping tonight, at least for this part of the world. More than fifty people in a club constituted “a crowd” in the mountains. Hopefully that meant a renegade or two would show. The plan was to use her as bait—not something she was too pleased about—giving Constantine the chance to extract information from the renegade about the Daystar and the recent murders. Knowing how brutal the Dragon could be, she almost felt bad for the creature should one take the bait.
Hoping to fit in at the gothic club, Allie dragged Lex to Hot Topic after she finished at the Miller’s. She felt ridiculous in the pleated black miniskirt, black satin bustier, and black knee-high boots. Also extremely uncomfortable, she wondered how the gothic crowd went around dressed like this all the time.
Laid-back when it came to fashion, she was the jeans and tee shirt type of woman, usually sporting no make-up, with her hair pulled back in a messy ponytail. Basically, the complete opposite of the heeled-platform-boot wearing, leg-and-cleavage-baring vamp-bait she was acting as tonight.
The Gate, a popular Gothic club in Scranton, was where local renegades were known to hunt. The Templars simply called the place the “Supermarket” since this was where the pickings for victims were abundant.
“Tonight is going to be a fucking waste of time.”
“Don’t I know it,” she agreed. Renegades had a way of never being around when you wanted them to, and being a bother when you didn’t.
Though vampires usually sensed each other, a crowd like this made it difficult to focus on the sensation. Unfortunately, it put Allie in the middle of a dangerous situation since Constantine wouldn’t detect the scent of renegade until it was too late. Still, it was worth the risk if they were able to save even one innocent life.
“Go do something. Draw attention to yourself. I don’t want be here all goddamn night.”
Allie laughed, arcing her arm to indicate the crowd. “Look around you, C, what can I possibly do, besides whip out a boob or something, to draw attention to myself?”
“Talking about your tits again, are we?”
Gasping, Allie spun around to see Sebastian standing directly behind her. As usual, he looked gorgeous all in black. She shot Constantine an accusatory frown. “You didn’t tell me he was here.”
Constantine shrugged and looked out into the crowd. “You didn’t ask.”
If she thought she could hurt him, she would’ve given him a good shot to the nads.
“Nice outfit.” Sebastian’s slow appraisal made her feel naked even with clothes on.
“I’m only wearing it to fit in.”
He cocked one brow as he took in her black leather boots. “Shame, really. Those boots should be worn more often.”
“Be my guest,” she offered sarcastically. Given how she usually dressed, she felt a bit insulted that he liked her decked out in this costume. “You can have them after tonight. I doubt they’d fit you, but hey, you can always try.”
His eyes narrowed on her. That’s not what I meant,” he growled into her ear.
“I know.”
Stiffening when she felt his hand brush against her naked thigh, she knew he did it on purpose. Somehow, his cool touch managed to send heat through her. “I’m sure your boyfriend likes them.”
The rancor in his tone startled her. “I don’t have a boyfriend. Jude broke up with me two days ago.”
Sebastian’s powerful stare nearly burned her. She could have sworn she felt him brush her thigh again. “I thought you were still together.”
Now that was insulting. Did he think so little of her character to assume she was a cheater? “I wouldn’t have kissed you if I was still with him. I may have a rep for being nuts, but I’m loyal, even to an asshole like him.”
“I didn’t think otherwise.”
Laughing at his gruff tone, she gave him a good shot to the arm. “Yes, you did, but I’ll give you a pass ‘cause I like you.”
Did he actually fluster at the wink she threw at him? Oh, that was priceless!
“Now I don’t have to worry about breaking your moral fiber when I get you in my bed wearing nothing but those boots.”
Oh sweet God…
Well now, that was a healthy splash of honesty murmured seductively in her ear.
Though he was teasing her, she secretly wished otherwise. Pathetically, all Sebastian would have to do is crook his finger at her and she’d be his, body and soul. Allie should be ashamed of herself for falling at a man’s feet, but it was Sebastian for God’s sake. He wasn’t the average man, which helped to salvage a bit of her pride—or at least that’s the crap she liked to tell herself.
“With you two hanging over me, no vampire in his right mind is going to take the bait. I’m going over there to make myself available. I suggest you two stay here and try not to get into any trouble.”
*
Watching her walk away, Sebastian admired the gentle sway of Allie’s hips. She didn’t know how wrong she was. One vampire here already took her bait.
Though he loved how Allie worked a pair of jeans, she also rocked the Goth getup she was wearing tonight. Other eyes focused on the source of his fascination and he resisted the urge to throw his duster around her to hide the sight of her from other men.
Even Constantine couldn’t stop staring.
Sending his elbow into the Dragon’s ribs was a good way to get his attention off Allie’s ass.
“Why the fuck did you do that?”
Sebastian was unmoved by Constantine’s fierce scowl. “Take your eyes off her.”
Constantine regarded him with cool curiosity. “We’ve staked our claim, have we?”
Reluctantly dragging his gaze from the appealing sight of Allie, he pinned Constantine with a lethal glare. “You sure you want to go there, Dragon?”
“See me quaking with fear?”
Right then Sebastian couldn’t think of a single reason to allow Constantine to continue to exist. “You and that other asshole knew I would.”
Of course he was referring to the “claim” thing. He might not have wanted to, but when it came to Allie he found himself feeling things he couldn’t fight. Especially the possessiveness he felt toward her. That ran deeper than a basic need to protect a friend. Much deeper.
“You’re too brooding.” Constantine’s indifferent shrug had Sebastian dangerously close to dragging the Dragon out of the club in order to beat him bloo
dy in the parking lot.
Exasperated, Sebastian grunted and slapped his hands against his legs in frustration. Either do that or do some damage to Constantine. “Again with the brooding shit. Coming from you, who made being an irritable prick into a bloody art form, isn’t that a bit ironic?”
Constantine’s grin held no real humor. “Exactly. I own it. You don’t.”
Needing to look away from Constantine before he gave in to the barbaric urge to slap the taste out of his mouth, he stared across the club and watched Allie perch herself on a high chair at one of the round tables. A waitress hurried over to her to take her drink order. Sebastian didn’t need to hear her to know she ordered water.
Even wearing the uniform of every other Goth-queen in the club, somehow Allie owned it and made it her own. She stood out in the crowd of people trying to look dead.
Only a few minutes passed before someone approached her and tried to hit on her. The kid looked ridiculous in his puffy shirt with lacy sleeves and deep blue velvet frock coat. His hair dyed black and he wore black eyeliner and black lipstick. Sebastian found himself baffled over why humans believed a male vampire would look like that. It was insulting, actually, and a sting to his male pride.
The kid wore a frock coat for God’s sake.
When the bartender came over to ask the Templars if they wanted drinks, Sebastian didn’t even bother to take his eyes off Allie when he curtly declined for both of them.
Suffering this place was bad enough. Neither of them wanted to add to the torture by forcing liquid down their throats.
Watching the kid intently, Sebastian snarled when he made himself at home on the chair opposite Allie. He leaned across the table to talk to her as if she cared what he said. What the kid failed to notice was the way she threw Sebastian and Constantine an exasperated look.
When the waitress returned with Allie’s bottle of water the kid reached into the inside pocket of his silly coat and passed the waitress money. Once the waitress walked away, Allie spoke to him and pointed to Sebastian and Constantine.