This was not the same location that I had been brought to when I had taken the blame for Aiden’s death.
We followed the path to a small building where two dozen women sat in chairs lined up in row. I knew from their smell that they were all human. This place, it too was something that never changed. It was a feeding room. These women were “pets” used for sexual favors at night, and food during the day. Even during the most wicked of my days did I find this practice to be revolting. I thought of Ana being forced to live like this, the property of monsters, and I nearly threw up. Only turning my head had prevented it.
I was given a bright red cloak while passing through the feeding room, and I quickly threw it over my shoulders. The path continued on past the feeding room and out to a parking lot where it ended at a tar paved road. What looked like golf carts sat in an empty lot next to the road. It seemed ridiculous to have them here. It would be much faster to just run wherever it was you needed to go.
Despite what I might have thought, Udric and I took a golf cart down the paved road. Houses began to pop emerge along the sides of the road, farms.
“Are we still within the compound?” I asked Udric.
He smiled. “Yep.”
“But this…”
“Let him explain it to you,” Udric interrupted with a snicker. His vision…”
We continued down the path until we reached a steep decline in the ground. At the base of the large hill stood a building large enough to be a shopping mall.
Cloaked vampires surrounded us at the entrance to Daemon’s residence. As they began to walk, so did we, this was a routine that I did remember. No one was ever allowed to walk within his home without the being escorted by at least six of the “faithful.” These were the vampires who worshipped Daemon as though he were a deity of some kind. Any of them would gladly die for his sake. A fact that Daemon readily counted on.
The interior of the house was opulent to point of being absurd. Every ceiling had been painted in the style of Michelangelo’s artwork in the Sistine Chapel, only with his image as God. Entire rooms were filled with nothing but manikins, each wearing a single and unique piece of jewelry. Chandeliers hung above an indoor pool…
We walked in silence until we came upon a long hallway that led toward to the center of structure. One of the cloaked vampires pointed toward the wooden door on the far end. As soon as we stepped into the hall, the vampires all moved to block the exit.
Udric and I walked side by side down the hall. In a voice barely above the sound of a breath, Udric spoke to me. “Whatever your plan, see it through. Do not act in haste.”
Under my cloak I nodded.
The door opened as we approached, and whatever it was that was inside was concealed by darkness. Udric stopped short and I stepped through. The door slammed shut behind me and suddenly the lights came on.
Daemon stood before me, surrounded by hundreds of vampires.
Chapter Sixteen
Daemon
*Tristan*
Daemon’s six and half foot physique was easily recognized at the center of the gathering. He was too thin for his height, so he looked more lanky than imposing—more youthful than from afar than his middle aged face would reveal up close.
“Come to me, my son.” Daemon’s voice was soft and inviting. It had a note of music to it that could relax you with your knowing it. Nothing about him screamed killer, but if he were to ever smile in your direction…
He spread out his arms and began to walk to toward me.
My heart pounded furiously in my chest. As the distance between us lessened, I thought of all the ways that I could kill him. When that distance became a few feet, my muscles twitched with the eagerness to attack—to end it all right now.
I allowed him to hug me.
“Very good,” spoke Daemon’s voice from somewhere else in the room. The shape of the person whose arms surrounded me shifted and shrunk until it was Leia’s face that stared up at me.
“He did want kill you though,” she said with a smirk. “Badly.”
Daemon’s low rumbling laughter echoed. “After being drug here by a truck and then thrown into a pit, I would worry greatly if he hadn’t wanted to kill me. What matters is that he didn’t try.”
Leia just stared. I knew that she was searching my mind, so I focused my thoughts on that encounter between myself and Ana at Darren’s lake house— on my burning down the cabin. Those acts had been done for this very moment. London was aware that Leia and Daemon had formed an alliance, and if I was to get close to Daemon then it was likely that she and I would meet again. I needed to have memories of the bond between Ana and I being severed, so if she ever decided to invade my mind, there would something there to appease her suspicions.
After what felt like an eternity, she smiled at me and then moved to Daemon’s side. I had no way of knowing whether or not she had been fooled, but the fact that she hadn’t said anything to Daemon was a good sign.
“It is said that you have come back to rejoin my children,” said Daemon. “Perhaps you got word of what it is that I am building here and you wish to be a part of it. In any case, I suppose, the prodigal son returns.”
I nodded and he smiled. His canines, which unlike the rest of us, never retracted, were stained in black. Daemon had little known secret that very few knew about. He aged. It took him many forty years to discover that if he drunk his own venom, that it would halt his aging process. By the time I had left this all behind, he had begun to feed on other vampires.
“Kneel before me,” he spoke.
I did as he asked.
“Am I not the Source?”
“You are,” I said.
“Am I not your master?”
“You are,” I repeated.
“Am I not the living God?”
You are,” I repeated.
“Rise my son, for you are second only to me.”
**********
Like any other night, there was a celebration. Four helicopters of humans had been flown in to take part in the festivities. I was thankful to be away from the depravity of the main party, having been invited back to Daemon’s personal quarters.
For all of the flamboyance of the rest of the mansion, this room was remarkably plain. The walls were bare white and only the painting of a blonde haired young woman hung before us.
Daemon, Udric, and I all sat around a table. Udric had positioned himself between us. He had taken it upon himself to be Daemon’s bodyguard tonight. The three of us were alone in this room and he was probably the only other to know that had I passed the test this afternoon only because I had been warned. His own life would be in danger if I was allowed to strike Daemon down, and because of that he watched me like a hawk.
“Why am I the only one drinking?” Daemon asked, already feeling the effects of the alcohol.
“I wouldn’t want to drink in your presence,” I replied.
“Neither would I,” Udric followed. His eyes remained on me.
“Or maybe I’m not offering the thing you’re thirsty for!” Daemon stood up and stumbled toward the door. He pushed it open and had a few words with of the “faithful.” Not three minutes later was Daemon followed back into the room by a strikingly beautiful blonde girl in tight-fitting red dress.
“For you,” Daemon said to me.
The girl came over and knelt on the floor in front of my chair. She swept her blonde hair to one side, exposing her bare neck to me.
“Taste her! What are you waiting for?” shouted Daemon, eyes gleaming with excitement.
The girl turned her head around to me. Her green eyes sparkled. “Please, I want this. I want to stay young—to stay beautiful forever. Bite me… please.”
“How old are you?” Daemon asked.
“S-Seventeen,” she stuttered.
“And how much is your father worth?” he continued.
“He’s a business man. His company’s worth two billion dollars.”
It took everything in m
e to hide my emotions. This pretty young girl had the world at fingertips and yet she was here, asking for more. I couldn’t give her what wanted. I couldn’t make her a monster. She was so young still, so naïve. She didn’t know what it would cost her to become a murderer… to lose her soul. One day that would matter to her.
“Tristan fed this afternoon,” said Udric. “He nearly emptied two of the “pets” at the feeding house.”
I cast a grateful look his way. I knew that he had done it because I was vital to whatever scheme he was working on. He’d admitted as much. Still, he’d allowed me to stay safely on my ledge and I was thankful for that.
“I suppose the answer’s no, my dear,” said Daemon. “You will die an ugly old hag just like your mother, and her mother before her.”
The girl covered her face, crying, and a wicked smile slipped across Daemon’s face.
“There, there, child. I was only kidding. I will give you what you ask.” He helped the girl to her feet and she thanked him over and over again. With his hands, he tilted her head sideways, kissing the beating pulse in her neck. And then he snapped it.
I had to close my eyes. I had to think of something else. I was shaking in my chair. I should have done something to protect her.
“Did you really believe yourself worthy enough to bitten by me?” Daemon exclaimed. “I am the living God and you are nothing, you hear me? You are the dirt beneath my feet. You got your wish. You will never grow old now!” As I watched him double over with laughter and then dance around her dead body, spitting on her still face, the importance of I was doing burned strongly in my chest. It was imperative that Ana succeed. The bastard had to die.
The end of my life would be worth it if it also ended all of this.
**********
The night couldn’t end soon enough. It was a relief to be alone in the room assigned to me. Vampires don’t tire, therefore we don’t sleep, but I still made use of the bed. I needed to lay down and rest my mind for a moment. I shut out the lights and closed my eyes. I thought of Ana again, what she might doing, and if London had given her the message that Daemon would soon be attacking Brighton. Assuming I fulfilled my end of the bargain, that is.
The door to my room opened and then shut quickly. I leaned up in bed, my first thought being an assassin. I could hear footsteps on the floor, coming toward the bed.
In one motion, I slid off the bed, swung my arm so that it would knock the intruder onto my bed and then clicked on the lamp.
I was surprised to find a girl’s figure laid across my bed. She was wearing only a nightgown and turned slowly around.
It was Ana.
Or at least, it was Ana’s body. “I know that you’re not her.”
Leia smiled with her face. “But I can be.” A powerful gust of air slammed into me, sending me tumbling onto the bed. She crawled over and put her lips to my ear. “I’ve never forgotten the kindness you showed me after saving me from Dashkov. I felt something in the back of that truck and you did too, I know you did. I was in your head.”
I sat up and she pulled me back down onto the bed. “Did you really think that you could fool me with two measly little memories? I know why you’re here, that you’re doing all of this for her sake. You’d do anything for her, wouldn’t you? But she’ll never love you again, Tristan. She loves that young warlock now. He’s taken your place in her heart.”
The words had burned my ears and reopened the scar on my heart.
She took my hand and touched her face. “This is how she feels, Tristan.” She lifted my arm and pressed her warm body into mine. “And this is how it feels to have her in your arms. Doesn’t it feel wonderful?”
It did. I had wished for a moment like this with Ana for months now. And even though I knew it wasn’t her, it felt and smelled like her. Staring into those deep grey eyes melted my heart like hers.
“Spend the night with me, Tristan. Spend forever with me. I’ve gotten what I wanted out of the deal with Daemon, I’ve taken my revenge. I don’t really care what happens to him now. I can look like this ‘til the end of time. I’ve been in her head many, many, times. I know what memories the two of you share. I know how she thinks and acts. I can give you the thing you want most. I can be her forever.”
“And if I say no?”
Her grey eyes turned cold in way I had never seen Ana’s. “Then I will tell Daemon exactly what you and London have planned for him.”
I sighed and we climbed into bed together. I wrapped my arms around her waist and held her close.
“This is your chance, Tristan. Don’t you want to do more? Don’t you want to make love to her?”
I shook my head. “Holding her is what I’ve wanted to do since I lost her.”
She turned around to face me, no doubt checking my mind to verify that I was telling her the truth. When she was satisfied that I was, she closed her eyes, settling into an easy sleep minutes later.
I spent the night staring into her peaceful face, wishing so badly that this was real.
Chapter Seventeen
Alliance
*Tristan*
When Leia’s eyes finally blinked open, she smiled at me with Ana’s lips. It was exactly as Ana would have smiled, right down to the way the left side of her mouth rose slightly higher than the right. “Wouldn’t you like every morning to be like this?” she asked.
I nodded. “There’s nothing that I would want more.” That wasn’t entirely a lie.
“Then you’ve decided to accept my offer? I can make you happy, Tristan.”
“I have.” It wasn’t like I had much of a choice. She knew the real reason why I was here. That being said, it would be much easier to force Daemon’s hand with her on my side. “I have only two conditions.”
Her eyes narrowed. “What are they?”
“First, that I finish what I came here to do.”
Leia bit down on her lip. “But you want Daemon to go to Brighton so that Ana has a chance to kill him. That would kill you. Why would I agree to that?”
“We don’t have to kill Daemon. We just need to humiliate him. If he gets to Brighton and loses, it would shatter this “God” image he’s trying to convey. I could challenge him then, I could take control, and we could destroy all of this from the inside.”
A wicked grin stretched across her face. It was an odd sight on Ana’s face. “So you would be okay with Ana never fulfilling her purpose?”
“She’s already fallen, it would be impossible for her to get into heaven now. I just want her to be safe.
“Okay, so what’s the second condition?”
“That you trust me. No more searching through my thoughts. If we’re going to do this, then it has to be based on trust. Can you do that?”
Leia dropped her eyes, looking as vulnerable as Ana had when first coming to grip with the emotions she was feeling for me. Worry passed over me. Already things that Leia was doing as Ana had caused me to think back to a real moment with Ana. Would it really be that easy for the lines to blur?
“Okay, I’ll trust that you mean what you say. Don’t you dare trick me, Tristan, or I swear I’ll…”
I kissed her. I kissed her the way I would have kissed Ana if this really were her in the bed with me. When our lips parted, she had to catch her breath. Her heart was beating furiously in her chest.
“I trust you, Tristan,” she whispered, and then she leaned in for another kiss.
**********
It wasn’t until late that afternoon that Daemon called upon me. Leia had left a couple of hours before, practically glowing as she skipped out into the hall. I put on the red cloak I had been given the day before and followed the vampire in the black cloak through the house.
We came upon the long hallway that led to the enormous arena-like space. My escort motioned for me to enter so I did. This time, no one moved to block my retreat.
Just as the day before, vampires filled the edges of the room, all in black cloaks. Only Udric and I wore red, which was due
to our standing as vampires that had been created by Daemon himself.
“Take your place in the center with me,” Daemon said.
I did as he asked. Udric made sure to keep himself between us at all times.
Smart man.
“I wanted to share with you, while I have the members of “The First” here to witness, the vision I have for the future. I can foresee the end of mankind’s dominion over the earth. The time of the vampires is coming. Our numbers are such that we will soon be able to strike out against humanity, dealing it a blow that it will never recover from. It is the natural order of things that the lion must lord over the sheep. Your living God shall ensure that nature’s laws are followed.”
“Fear not their guns or weapons for their own kind will turn against them. All we have to do is to dangle the promise of immortality in front of the most powerful, the most influential, and they will all crumble before our feet. The humans are no more than cattle, meant to be raised and slaughtered at our discretion. They are merely the source of our sustenance. Nothing more.”
“This compound is merely the beginning. It will serve as the example of what a community of our kind should look like. It will be duplicated across the Earth and all shall kneel in worship to me, the Source. The fountain of eternal life.”
The First all knelt before him. As did Udric. I remained standing. It was time for me to act.
“And what of the witches? What will we do about them?”
Murmurs sounded across the room but Daemon only chuckled. “The witches are nearly crushed. Only one of their havens remain. But then, you knew that already.”
“I suppose I’m just confused then,” I continued. “It would seem to me that it would only make sense to destroy all of the havens. Why not obliterate the witches completely? Why give our enemy a place to rally to?”
The talk amongst the First grew louder now and Daemon seemed more unsettled by my challenge to his decision making. I had been given a long leash already, and I could see that he was losing patience. “We have an agreement with earthbound angels to spare Brighton, they still have business there they wish to conduct.”
Forever Trilogy 3: Angel Eyes Page 9