Whisper to Me (Borne Vampires Book 1)
Page 30
Relief relaxed his tense muscles as he kissed her. When he leaned back, she sniffed and told him, “We need a vacation. A long one.”
“Honey, I couldn't agree more. First, we need to have a word with the Elders.” As they walked back to the mansion, the lights had been restored. Alexander met them.
“Harklee’s gone. Knowing him as well as I do, he'll reorganize the vampire hunters and come after us with a vengeance.”
“We'll deal with him later. How are the Elders?”
“A bit shaken by the fact the same vampires they’d declared the Damned just saved their asses.”
Sheathing his sword, he took Mariah’s hand in his as they entered the mansion. His men and the Elders were warily watching one another. “Elders, I regret to inform you that you are fired!” He drew his gun and held it at his side.
A collective gasp of outrage spread throughout the Elders.
Fredrick shouted, “How dare you! We are the Elders, your leaders.”
Faeroes, who was usually calm, growled in Fredrick’s face. “You dare act as if you are the wounded party here? You planned to murder us! Count yourselves lucky to still be breathing.”
“Now you have won, Slayer, will you execute us now?”
Rathe answered, “Protection will be offered as is our duty. Conspire against us again, and I will personally kill each and every one of you.” He faced the vampires who had risked their lives to reach New York to protect him and his brothers. “I have not seen such courage and honor in a very, long time. I am proud to publicly declare you our entrusted protectors of the Vampire nation, our Slayers!”
They raised their swords and guns in the air, shouting.
He raised his hand for silence. “Now, we must decide how to rule our kind. Do we want another council or do we wish to elect one person to rule us and have their decisions carried out by the Slayers?” The gathered vampires frowned at such an enormous decision.
One of the vampires, who’d came with Mariah and her group, raised his hand.
“Yes?”
“I think one should rule, and I nominate you.”
Surprised and flattered, he had to decline. “My thanks for your confidence in me, but I am a hunter, not a diplomat. Why not consider Faeroes, my brother? He is the wisest man I know, besides Simon.” He grinned at his astonished brothers.
Nods of approval from young and Elders alike gave him hope for their kind. “Faeroes, Anya, will you lead us into the future?”
Faeroes held his wife's hand, gazing into Anya's eyes that were brimming with happy tears. Squaring his shoulders, he faced the expectant faces. “I would be honored to lead the Borne.”
“So be it!” Rathe grasped Faeroes' shoulder, proud. “Rule well and guide us in our fight against the evil plaguing our kind.”
“So be it!” The vampires shouted, remarkably joined in by the Elders.
“Well, brother, what shall we do now?” he asked Faeroes, but it was Anya who took charge.
“First, we remove the bodies and clean the mess. After that, we will restore communication with our people. Seclusion has made us loners.” She looked to her husband, who nodded his approval.
“You heard my wife! Let’s do it.”
The dead were disposed of in such a manner the human world would think it was a gang-related killing. Julius's remains were left outside, awaiting the sun to turn his body to ash. When they finished, the Elders showed them to their underground chambers.
Squatting down, Rathe buried his fingers into the dark soil, mixed with the rich dirt imported from the sacred Carpathian Mountains. Memories of another life, a world of loving parents, flooded him. Rising to his feet, he held his hand out to Mariah. Her exhaustion was evident as she leaned into him. He prepared to open the soil for the girls, seeing they already had. Mina and Kai appeared to have grown up overnight.
Unsure how to feel about that, Mariah distracted him. “Shall we sleep?”
Holding her close, he opened the soil. Together, they floated down into the grave. “I love you.”
“I love you, too.”
✝✝✝
“Rathe,” Mina pleaded, “we won't get in any trouble, not with Rand watching over us.”
Kai chimed in, “Please, Mom? Rathe?”
Seeing no harm in it, Mariah said, “Rathe, let them spread their wings, so to speak?”
He turned a stern eye onto Rand. “Rand, do you accept the responsibility of protecting Mina and Kai while you feed tonight?”
“I swear upon my honor, I shall protect them with my life.”
“I want you, girls, back by two or I'll ground you for a century! Trust me, I can do it!” The girls squealed in delight, hugging Rathe first, then her.
He turned a pained look on her. “Damn, I'm becoming soft.”
She chuckled, reassuring him, “No, Mina and Kai respect and love you. You’re doing fine.”
Wearing jeans and t-shirts, appearing like regular teens, she watched the girls snap on their shoulder holsters, sliding in the modified Berettas Rathe had issued them as their personal weapons. Slipping on their leather jackets, Rand grimaced as they chattered excitedly, leaving him the odd man out. She almost felt sorry for him, but hey, Rand had volunteered to go with them.
She pulled Rathe along with her as they followed the kids outside. Kai grinned and waved at her. Waving back at her daughter, she watched them fly away.
“Let’s spend some time alone, shall we?” Enticing him to forget about the girls and concentrate on her, she flashed him images of her and him naked, making love.
“Hang on, woman!” He swung her into his arms and flew upward.
She wrapped her arms around his neck and saw Kai, Mina, and Rand flying towards Times Square. Rathe abruptly changed course.
“I should have known you couldn’t resist keeping tabs on them.”
“I just want to see how Rand plans to show the girls how to search for a donor. I’ll make it up to you later, I promise.”
“Fine, but we stay out of sight.”
“Agreed.”
✝✝✝
Happy to be given freedom to explore without her brothers hovering over them, Mina nearly skipped in her excitement. Rand and a couple of the older girls were ahead of them, searching for a blood donor. So intent was she on not missing anything, she didn’t see the two guys as they grabbed her and Kai, dragging them into the alley.
“Let me go!”
“Ah, come on, you know you wanna party with us. Admit it, you want what we got.” The guy grinned, poking his friend, who laughed at his joke. Three other guys walked into the alley, leering at her and Kai.
“Mina, do it.” Kai winked at her.
“I said let go of me!” She shoved him hard, sending him flying into the brick building. He landed in an unconscious heap.
The guy holding Kai pulled out a switchblade. “Bitch, you're going to die for that.” His friends reached into their pockets, pulling out their weapons.
Shadows dropped down around them. Twenty men and women surrounded the humans. The one holding Kai pulled her closer to him as he and his friends backed away, waving their knives and guns defensively in front of them.
The vampires parted for Alexander, his fierce, green eyes glowing in the faint light as he advanced upon the humans. “Ladies, are these gentlemen bothering you?”
Whining, the frightened men pressed their backs against the building, their wide eyes darting about for an escape route.
Mina crossed her arms. “What think you, Alexander? Should we put them out of their misery or suck them dry?”
He tilted his head for a moment before exposing his long fangs in a wolfish grin. “Dinner sounds tempting.”
The humans huddled together, screaming when the vampires snarled, exposing their fangs. Kai whipped around and grabbed the guy holding her, throwing him down the alleyway. Grinning, her fangs long, she moved to stand beside her and Alexander.
She stood beside her and Alexander. “Dinner it
is,” she said, grinning.
“You heard her. Dinner is served!” Alexander grinned wickedly.
The humans bolted. The Slayers gave chase.
Alexander bowed with an elegant flair of his hand. “Shall we, ladies?”
✝✝✝
“I like him.”
From rooftop, they’d watched the whole scene below, amused at how Alexander had handled the situation. “You like Alexander because he reminds you of yourself.”
Kissing her, he surprised her when he opened his mind to her completely. He wanted her, but it was more than physical, more than companionship — he needed her. Loved her. His life had been hard, death a constant companion. He had shielded himself against love, fearful one day it would be ripped away and shredded at the hands of his enemies. To share this with her scared the hell out of him.
“I understand, Rathe. I’m scared, too.”
“I wish I can say out loud….”
“Shhh. No words are needed. I know it in here,” she pointed to her head, then laid her hand on her heart, “and feel it in here.”
He bent to kiss her, cupping her throat in the palm of his large hands. When he broke off the kiss, she was breathless. She took his large hand in hers. “Come, my love, I hunger.”
“Yes, my dearest heart. Let us seek the night and enjoy all it can give us.”
Together, they stepped off the roof and landed lightly on the pavement far below. Rathe put his arm around her shoulders as she wrapped hers around his waist. Together, they strode out of the alley and into the crowd filled streets of Times Square.
THE END