by Lyons, Rene
Madam Morgana, or rather Rachel Meyer, was a purple nightmare. A tight purple belly shirt made her flat chest flatter. Purple flip-flops brought the whole mess together. Jesus, she even had a big purple bow holding back her messy yellow hair. Garish makeup, complete with a fake beauty mark above her top lip, made for one ridiculous sight.
Rachel/Morgana was the psychic of the group. She honestly believed she could see into the future.
Whenever she was in a room with these people, Allie was reminded why people thought her crazy. Look at the nutballs she was forced to be in league with. Embarrassed wasn’t even a word profound enough to describe how she felt sitting among this motley crew. Where were the normal paranormal experts like she saw on television? Certainly not at this table!
The only halfway normal one among the bunch was Walter Prescott, a polite elderly gentleman, who also happened to be a demonologist.
“I’m not going to have this discussion again,” Allie announced with exasperation. “We’ve done this at every staff meeting for the past five months. It’s gotten old.”
“C’mon, Allie, admit they’re vampires and we’ll leave you alone.”
Sure you will, Allie thought as she eyed Evan, the muscle who hefted around Davis’ equipment. “I have nothing to admit. Those girls were murdered by transients. The police said so.”
“Fine,” Josh huffed, slapping her article down on the table. The entire table shook. “So we’ll print this bullshit and let a real story pass us by.”
“I could do it,” Davis piped in. His gravely voice grated on what was left of Allie’s last nerve. “I could go and investigate these vampire murders.”
Nick rolled his eyes and shook his head. “Sure, with your kids in tow. That’ll work.”
For once, Nick was right, it’d be a bad idea to drag five unruly kids along on a murder investigation. Vampire or otherwise.
Because Davis’s wife couldn’t stand to be alone with the bunch of animals she called children, whenever he went on a hunt his kids went with him.
With no one else to do it, the subject was blessedly dropped. Allie settled back in her uncomfortable chair and tuned out as the bunch of them tossed around ideas for September’s cover. Like she cared. All she wanted was her check so she could get get to the Manor where Sebastian was waiting for her.
She got breathless imagining all the wonderfully wicked things Sebastian promised to do to her body tonight. Now, if only Josh and Nick, who loved to hear their own voices, would shut up and wrap this stupid meeting, she’d be able to leave and have Sebastian put his money where his mouth was.
*
Shit.
Allie realized, too late, she was being watched.
She figured the renegades would at least be subtle about it. Obviously they hadn’t taken Stalking 101. If they did, they would have known hiding out in the open in a shiny silver Lexus wasn’t exactly incognito.
Allie had just come out of the meeting, which went on far longer than necessary, when she spotted the car sitting across the road as bold as you please.
Two renegades watched her from the car, not trying to be stealthy about it.
Even from the short distance, she saw the threat gleaming in their glowing silver eyes. With the staff of The Specter only a few feet away, a run-in with renegades was the last thing she needed.
Right about now she wished she hadn’t cut out of the meeting so fast as the old saying, safety in numbers, screamed through her mind. Quickly glancing to the right, she eyed her truck parked in the lot only a few feet away. It might as well have been miles away. She’d never get to it in time. Not even at a dead run. Vampires moved too fast for a human. They’d have her before she even got to the truck, much less by the time she unlocked it, started it, and drove away.
She could always go back into the building, but given the menacing gleam in their eyes, she knew they’d follow her. She wasn’t going to have a mass slaughter on her conscience Not even her asshole co-workers deserved to go out as the main course on a vamp’s menu.
Wiping the sweat from her brow with the back of her hand, Allie made sure she didn’t take her eyes off the vampires as she calmly began to make her way to her truck. It wouldn’t do for her to panic or try to run. At this point, if she tried it would probably just piss them off.
The passenger, who was leaning forward in his seat to see around the driver, had the gall to blow a kiss at her. Then the driver winked at her. She went cold with dread, yet wasn’t about to let the bastards get away with trying to intimidate her. She may be scared shitless, but she’d be damned if she’d show it.
Tristan had a great saying, one she took to heart. “Better to die on your feet than live on your knees”. Every Templar had lived, and died by it. Twice now, Allie faced the possibility of dying like a coward or with bravery.
With the motto running through her mind, she threw them a smirk and flipped them the bird.
The renegades got out of the car, their anger evident. Obviously they hadn’t appreciated the universal sign of “fuck you”. Allie’s mouth ran dry with fear when the passenger came around to the driver’s side and gave her a sarcastic look. They were daring her without words to make a move. Well shit, she may be fearless, but she wasn’t stupid. She knew damn well this was a game. One she knew she was going to lose.
Every breath hurt as she remembered what it had felt like to have a renegade bite her.
God, she didn’t want to go out like that, like those women Lucian found.
Sebastian and the Templars were going to demand blood for her death. Lex was going to be left alone. She hoped her sister would stay with the Templars and not go back to Florida and wilt under the oppressive negligence of their parents.
Staring the driver right in the eyes, she knew this was it. They were going to get her and it was best if she played along for now and tried not to get too hurt in the process.
Goddamn it. Why now? Allie felt a desperate misery. Why did this shit have to go down now, when she had so much to live for?
Trying to stop herself from panicking, especially since she knew they could feel her fear and were most likely thriving on it, she changed direction and walked toward them. “Are you going to stand there all night, or are we going to get this done?”
Despite her brave words, Allie’s voice shook with her fear. The driver smiled, his fangs long and white. He stepped toward her and she had to resist the futile urge to try to make a run for it. The bad part about hanging with vampires was that she knew full well what they were capable of and exactly what they were going to do to her.
The passenger, who was tall, lithe, and blond, stepped away from the car. Pure evil charged the air all around him. “Are you gonna fight us?”
“Not tonight. But thanks for asking,” Allie called out, positioning her keys in her fist so they were sticking out from between her fingers. If it came down to a fight, at least the keys would provide her with a makeshift weapon.
“Too bad.” The driver pouted almost prettily. Shorter than his companion, everything about him was extremely dark and menacing. “I like to hear a woman scream.”
I bet you do, you sadistic prick.
“Sorry to disappoint you but I’m not a screamer.”
“C’mon girl, fight us to make it fun.”
“I’ll tell you what,” she said smoothly. “Why don’t you both go fuck yourselves instead?”
“That was a dumb thing to say, girlie.”
Yeah, she knew it was, but she couldn’t have stopped herself from that one. She was screwed no matter how she did this. Whether she went nice and quiet or if she kicked and screamed, they were going to do what they would with her. The least she could do was match their arrogant sarcasm with some of her own.
The blond one came forward. Allie didn’t fight, but she was prepared to get in at least one good punch with her makeshift brass knuckles if she had to. She fought back her fear when he grabbed her by the arm. Up close, she was stunned to see how young he
was. He couldn’t even have seen his twentieth birthday before he was turned.
When he fingered her hair she suppressed a disgusted shudder. “You’re a pretty thing with all that red hair of yours. I always liked me a redhead.”
“I knew I should have dyed my hair black.”
“You got a smart mouth on you, girl,” he hissed. “That’s gonna get you in trouble.”
He got her moving with a hard jerk to her arm. The keys dropped from her hand. She stared at them helplessly as she was dragged away from her only weapon.
“Oh, God, don’t let my death go on for days like those other girls,” she prayed desperately. “Please make it quick.”
Before she was thrown into the backseat the vampire hauled her against him. She tried to turn her face away but he managed to slam his mouth down on hers. She gagged at the blood she tasted in his mouth.
His arms were a steel band around her, making it impossible to push away from him. She slapped and clawed at him as he assaulted her mouth. She heard the other vampire grumble to her attacker that it wasn’t fair he was “keeping her all to himself”. The thought of being raped by the two gave her a strength that came from deep within her.
Bringing her knee up, she met the vampire’s groin in a hard hit that had him falling against the car, He howled with pain as the driver snickered. “She’s got some spirit to her.”
The blond pinned her with a fierce glare that had Allie going numb with terror. “That was a real stupid thing to do.” He grabbed her wrists, spun her around, and shoved her hard against the car. She grunted when he came up behind her, pressing his body to hers. Her stomach rolled and vomit rose in her throat. “You got no idea what’s waiting for you. You’re gonna need a friend where you’re going and I was your only bet.”
He let her go. Allie turned back to him. She looked right into his handsome young face and spit.
“Honey,” she purred, “I have all the friends I need, and if you knew anything about the Templars, then you’d know you’re already dust.”
The punch to her face was the last thing she knew before her whole world exploded into white-hot pain.
The bliss of oblivion followed it.
Chapter Twenty-Two
Lex sat cross-legged on the couch, totally engrossed in Brad Pitt wielding a sword in Troy. The ringing phone, which lay all but forgotten on the couch next to her, was a harsh interruption of the movie. She answered the cordless, expecting it to be Allie again warning her she’d better stay in or else. Lex wasn’t brave enough to ask what the “or else” was.
“For the thousandth time, I promise not to go anywhere.”
“Lexine?”
Obviously it wasn’t her sister on the other end. “Who’s this?” She didn’t immediately recognize the deep male voice on the other end.
“It’s Sebastian.”
“Oh, hey!” she said excitedly. “What’s up?” She paused the movie. God forbid she missed a second of gorgeous guys running around in mini skirts and brandishing swords.
“Is Allie home?”
“No, why? She told me she was going to see you after she got out of her meeting.”
“I know.” His tone had a sick feeling building in Lex’s stomach. “Have you spoken to her at all since she left?”
Lex glanced at the clock on the DVD player. Eleven already, the meeting wouldn’t have gone on for six hours. Not even Josh and Nick could run on at the mouth for that long. And man, did those two love to talk.
Lex jumped off the couch, grabbed the universal remote from the coffee table and turned off the TV and DVD player. Panic tightened like a fist around her heart. “No. She hasn’t called here. What’s going on, Sebastian?”
“I need you to listen to me very closely, Lex.” Though his tone was steady and clam, Lex felt his unease as if it was a living thing that came through the phone to grab at her soul. “I need you to lock every door and window in the house and wait for Constantine. Do not open the door to anyone but him. Do you understand?”
She nodded, even though she knew he couldn’t see her. “I understand. Sebastian?”
“What is it?”
Lex swallowed the lump that lodged in her throat. “Is my sister okay?”
She expected a quick reassurance, what she got was a dose of brutal truth instead. “I don’t know.”
She admired his honesty even though she hated his answer. “Find her, Sebastian. Please.”
He didn’t even hesitate in the slightest. “I will. Don’t you doubt that for a moment.”
For now, his assurance would have to be enough.
Lex hung up the phone before running around the house locking the windows and doors. She even shut off all the lights except for the small lamp on the table beside the couch. Her mouth ran dry and her gut twisted painfully at the thought of anything happening to her sister.
Allie was all she had left, she couldn’t lose her sister too.
She couldn’t go through that again. Couldn’t bury another person she loved.
With shaking hands, she grabbed the cordless phone and crouched on the floor, pressing her back against the couch. She drew up her knees and folded her arms across them. Resting her chin on her arms, Lex closed her eyes and did the only thing she could. She prayed.
In the name of the father
And of the son
And of the Holy Ghost
Please God, protect my sister. Please don’t take her from me too. Amen.
Lex chanted her short prayer over and over in her head as she wept silent tears of worry, waiting for Constantine to come for her.
*
At Randall Manor, Constantine stood in the doorway of the kitchen. Arms folding over his chest, feet braced apart, he already knew what Sage had to say.
Sebastian cursed as he slammed the phone down on the table. “She’s not home.”
Raphael ended the call to Tristan. “Luc isn’t at Seacrest.”
“Bloody hell.” Sebastian’s frustration was evident in his tone.
Allie and Lucian were gone and no matter how hard he tried, Constantine couldn’t sense who took them or where they were. His goddamn brain hurt from the effort of reaching out with his mind to locate them. All that came back to him was nothingness—never a good thing.
As soon as Constantine woke for the night, the overwhelming absence of Lucian hit him like a physical blow to the mind. He felt the loss of his brother as keenly as if a piece of his own body had been torn away.
He immediately woke Sebastian and Raphael. The moment they gained consciousness they too felt Lucian’s absence.
None of them ever spent a night away from the safety of their sanctuary. Not in seven centuries. For Luc to have done so now didn’t bode well for what might have gone down last night.
This was the first time since Constantine became a vampire that he couldn’t feel the presence of one of his fellow Templars. Needless to say the feeling was on par with what it felt like for him to have his soul ripped out of his body. He may be a miserable son of a bitch on his best day, but after hundreds years of having those bastards in his head, it was a hell of a thing now to have one of his blood-brothers gone.
At first they assumed Lucian’s sudden disappearance was the work of the Obyri, fellow cursed Templars who couldn’t give a shit less about redemption. They rejected that idea almost as soon as they thought it. If those fuckers managed to get to Luc, Constantine would have known it immediately. He would have felt their presence the second they passed into the area.
That left them to assume it was renegades who took Lucian and Allie. It forced their hand, pushing them to declare open war on the inferior vampires. Once it was done, such an order couldn’t—nor wouldn’t—be undone. Shit was going to go down badly and would bring too much attention to their existence. Tristan might even be forced to leave Damascus, something damned dangerous for all the Templars, since this was where the relic the Guardian protected needed to be.
“I want blood for this.” Rap
hael’s incensed declaration vibrated through Constantine. Rogue’s fury caused his own to rise to a seriously dangerous level.
“You’ll get your blood,” Sebastian promised with ominous intent.
The only time Constantine ever saw the promise of death light Sebastian’s eyes was right before they charged into battle, when Sage, always the logical one, transformed. The cool facade of civility was stripped away and in its place was the fierce warrior who lay beneath it.
Constantine also felt his fear.
The others might believe Sebastian had loved Selena, but Constantine knew the truth. Sebastian couldn’t have loved her. How could he, when the woman was nothing more than shadows? Sage stayed by her, watching over her, protecting her, out of obligation. Not out of love. That he reserved solely for Allie.
She had his heart—what was left of it after Michael destroyed it.
Constantine stepped forward and, in a rare show of affection, put his hand on Sebastian’s shoulder. “We’ll find them, Sage.”
Sebastian gave him a nod, beyond words as his emotions ran so hot Constantine had to step away from him lest Sebastian’s rage burn him. “Of that I have no doubt.”
Sebastian had every intention of hunting down the bastards who took Allie and Lucian. He would bring a reckoning to them that would rock Hell itself.
He turned to Constantine. “Go to Allie’s and get Lexine. I want her at Seacrest where she’ll be safe.” Then to Raphael, “I need you to go to The Gate and see if you can find anything that might tell us what happened with Lucian,”
“I’m already there, Sage.” Raphael had his keys in hand and his body loaded with weapons. He tied his blond hair back in a queue before tugging on the long black trench coat that concealed the various blades strapped to his person. “I’ll meet you both at Seacrest.”
Sebastian nodded curtly. Even though vampires didn’t age, right then he felt every one of his years pressing down on him. The weight was oppressive, nearly crushing him as his worry for Allie and Lucian shook him to his core.
He felt so goddamn helpless.