The Kingdom of the Nine; The Vampire Legacy IV

by Dawn Gray

  The Kingdom of the Nine

  The Vampire Legacy IV

  Dawn Gray

  Copyright 2011 Dawn Gray

  Smashwords edition

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  Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

  This book is dedicated to my trio, without them I would have nothing.

  To my family and friends who still stand behind me.

  To Mrs. Canning, Mary Lacasse, and Ronald Bleau for the time they put into this work.

  For Scott, may you have enough adventures to keep you cooking, for the world is your kitchen, and you are a man with the knowledge of how to use it. To your dreams, my friend.

  The light knock on the door told me that the guest that I was expecting had arrived and with the small nine-month-old girl in my arms, I walked quickly to answer it. The two of them stood in the darkness of the doorway, like two looming statues and I couldn’t help the smile that spread across my face.

  “Come in, please.” I invited and watched as they both stepped through the doorway and followed me to the library, where I set my child down in the play pen and gestured to the seats next to them. “Have a seat, make yourself comfortable.”

  I watched the two of them, her bright eyes and his dark ones scanned over the shelves that surrounded us and landed back on me. Both smiled warmly, hand in hand, as they waited in the uncomfortable silence.

  “Well, you said you wanted to know about me and my connection with Julian.” I sighed and scratched my forehead. “I suppose it would be best to start with the arrival of the queen.”

  * * * * *

  I looked at him, while I reclined in his chair, as he stood facing the window in his “office”. Smiling, as my eyes scanned over the back view of his body. He was in his usual attire, a casual business suit with the coat hanging over the back of his chair. His black hair, which he had recently cut short, still was long enough to reflect colors from it when he stood in the sunlight, and when he turned to look at me, his green eyes said all that I needed to know.

  “She's coming, isn't she?” I asked, sitting up. Julian nodded and sighed. “So, I finally get to meet the woman who has your mind in such a jumble.”

  “I'm sorry, Cait.” Julian sighed. “I've waited a year for her to come back and now, with you here, I'm not sure how to feel. On one hand, I still love her, and want to protect her, like I always have, but on the other, I have you.”

  “And, that's bad.” I asked, smiling.

  “You don't understand, Caitlyn, our love is different then the one I feel with Ashley. It's more...I don't know how to explain it.” He sighed.

  “It's out of reach.” I answered. Julian nodded, and crossed his arms over his chest.

  “Does Robert know why you insisted on moving down here? Does he know it was to be closer to me?” Julian questioned.

  “Does Ashley know why you were gone all those times when she first came back to you, after her son was taken?” I asked him. Julian sighed.

  “That's not fair, Cait.” He replied and walked over to me. I looked up at him, as he towered above me and I smiled. “If you weren't so important to me, Caitlyn, I would really consider kicking your butt.”

  “Yeah, well, I'm really scared.” I answered and turned towards the door. Julian grabbed me by the shoulders and pulled me back against him. I could feel his breath, warm and erotic against my cheek as his lips left little kisses there. “I have to go, Julian.”

  “I know.” He whispered to me, wrapping his arms around me, holding me tightly. “Tell your husband that you're working late tonight and come to dinner with me.”

  “I can't.” I sighed, turning in his arms to face him. “It's his only night off and I promised him that I wouldn't be working so that he could spend some time with Damien and myself. He's going on nonstop rounds starting tomorrow that will last for at least two weeks.”

  “Wow, he has a hard life.” Julian rolled his eyes, sarcastically. “Being the pilot of a private jet that travels to the Bahamas every other week must be so tiring, especially with a wife and child at home.”

  “Stop being such a jerk, Julian.” I said, playfully, patting him on the chest. Julian sighed and nodded.

  “I know, he pays the bills and that's what counts.” Julian said, stepping back.

  “Just think of it this way, Jules, at least you get me the rest of the time and Damien loves coming over to see you and the boys.” I smiled and grabbed my coat off the couch. “What's going to happen to us after Ashley comes home?” I asked him.

  “I don't see anything changing.” Julian replied, sitting down at the desk. He looked up at me as I grabbed his hand and held it, and then he pulled me down to sit on his lap.

  “I do.” I whispered. “It's not going to work if Damien and I are here, especially when she thinks you've been all hers for so many years. How is it going to look to her to have another woman and her son over all the time, not to mention the response it would get when she found out I was pregnant?”

  “Well,” he started to respond, then the words stopped and he looked at me. My eyes focused on his green ones, holding them in a stare. “You're pregnant?” He asked, quietly. I nodded and watched the light slowly fade in his bright eyes. “It's Robert's?”

  “Who else’s would it be, Jules?” I asked, softly. Julian looked down, quickly, and then looked back up at me. “We'll figure out any details after she arrives, since we're not sure when she's coming.”

  “I don't want this to hurt you, Caitlyn.” He whispered, holding me there on his lap. This was one of Julian's many sides that I loved to see, soft, sensitive and unwilling to let go. I kissed his cheek and slipped out of his arms.

  “We're still together, Julian, and we will be, no matter what.” I replied, grabbing my briefcase from the table, and then winked at him. “This can't hurt me, Jules, because it won't hurt us.”

  With that, I walked out the door, closing it behind me. As I unlocked my car, Quinn cornered me in the garage. I smiled at him as he looked over at the house, then back at me and put his hands in the pockets of his pants.

  “What happened in there?” He asked me.

  “Nothing, we were discussing the Ashley problem again.” I answered, placing my black briefcase in the car. Quinn nodded, his face seemed quite sad. “What is it, Quinny?”

  “Nothing.” He replied and leaned against my car. “Maybe it's the whole prospect of Ashley coming back.”

  “You have Lauren, now, Quinn.” I shrugged, and then crossed my arms in front of my chest. I turned towards him and looked at my feet until I could find the right words. “Maybe, it's none of my business, which it really isn't, and I want you to just tell me to shut my trap if I'm about to say the wrong thing, but if it's going to cause you and your brother so much pain, why don't you just tell her not to come back?”

  “We can't do that.” Quinn sighed and put an arm on the roof of my car. “She's Michael's “fledgling”.”

  “So? She's also the “Queen of the Vampires”, big whooping deal, if it's going to hurt for her to be here than tell her to stay away, obviously she knows enough about her heritage to be on her own for a year.” I answered.

  “You're right; it is the wrong thing to say.” He said quietly, and then rubbed the bridge of his nose. “But, I don't bla
me you for saying it. I personally, would rather see you with Julian, then, him with her.”

  “Why?” I laughed.

  “Because you're totally loyal to him.”

  “I'm married, Quinn, with children.” I laughed.

  “I know, and I know about the baby.” He answered. I looked at him oddly, about to ask if he had been eavesdropping, but he put his hand up. “I can feel things like that, the difference in the way people feel when, suddenly, they're not one soul, but two, and that's not what I meant by loyal. What I meant was that you love him, unconditionally, never lessening, always getting stronger, and that's what he needs. Ashley has never given him that, even though she believes she has.

  “When she left the first time, she broke his heart to “protect” him, and she said that she loved him just the same when she returned, but then she broke it again when she was with me, lastly, she told him that she loved him again, then thought it would be best to remove herself and her son from any vampire influences. That is not loyalty, it's...it's hurtful, not only to Julian but to me, because he's my brother.” Quinn sighed. I could see that he was getting upset and I walked, slowly, over to him. I placed my hand against his cheek and watched as he closed his eyes, relaxing against my hand. “I don't want her here.”

  “I know.” I sighed and took his hand. “But, that's not something you can change now. Relax and just go with it. It won't be long before you have other things to think about.”

  “Are you becoming my brother, prophesying everything?” He said, opening his eyes to smile at me.

  “No, but knowing this family, Quinn, some sort of adventure isn't all that far away.” I laughed, and then looked passed him at the car that made its way around the oval driveway. “Who's that?”

  Quinn turned and looked at the car, also, holding tightly to my hand, and the two of us watched as a young woman got out of the driver's side door and walked over to the back passenger’s side. She removed a young boy from the car seat and the two of them walked towards the house.

  “That's Ashley.” Quinn whispered, trying not to draw attention to the two of us.

  “Funny, she's not quite what I pictured a queen to look like.” I laughed, watching the young woman with long dark hair, dressed in blue jeans and a tee-shirt approach the house. Quinn looked at me and smiled, then rubbed my head and kissed the top of it. “Maybe, I should get going. I have to pick up Damien from the babysitter's.”

  “Yeah, and I have to find Lauren to let her know that Ash is back.” Quinn smiled.

  “No doubt she'll want to show off that rock you gave her.” I replied, raising my eyebrows at him.

  “You're funny.” He said and walked away.

  As I got in my car, started it up and got ready to back out, I noticed that my coat, which had important papers for the babysitter in the pockets, and my purse, which held my driver's license, weren't in the car.

  “Aw, man.” I said, softly to myself, knowing that if I went in there, I would have to go into the office, where Julian, and no doubt, Ashley would be. After several minutes of debating I decided that what I needed in there was important and couldn't be left. I got up the nerve to walk into the house and passed Ellen, who rose from her desk. “I'm just getting my coat, Ellen.”

  “But, Mrs. Moore, Julian isn't alone.” She whispered to me. I stopped and thought about this a moment.

  “Well, he's just going to have to get disturbed, I need my stuff.” I replied and walked over to the door. I knocked, quietly, knowing that nothing had to be done loudly in that house, and waited for a response, which took several moments to arrive. When I opened the door, I watched Julian take a step back from Ashley as he looked at me with a dull ache in his eyes. “Sorry, I forgot my coat and purse; I'll only be a moment.”

  “Its okay, Cait.” Julian whispered. This informal way of addressing me got a strange look from Ashley, who looked from one of us to the other as we tried to avoid eye contact.

  “Julian?” Ashley asked, a bit of suspiciousness in her voice. “Aren't you going to introduce your friend?”

  This made me look up. Friend? Who was she kidding, I knew more about him then she did. I stepped forward. “My name is Caitlyn Moore, but to most of your kind it's O'Neal, and you must be Ashley Wolf. Julian's told me so much about you.”

  “He has?” She asked. I nodded, glancing over at Julian, who had a look of horror in his eyes, and his face had turned white, almost a ghostly color. “Funny, he never mentioned you before.”

  “Well, I've got to go.” I replied and looked at Julian. “Tomorrow, we'll finish your bookwork on the Jackson-Marques files.”

  “Yes.” He whispered, his voice seemed to shake and I almost laughed to see a man so afraid of two women facing off, almost. I looked over at Ashley and smiled.

  “Good-bye.” I said and turned; my coat and purse in hand, and walked out the door. I could hear Ashley ask him who exactly I was before I left the house.

  “That wasn't nice.” Michael's voice whispered in my ear. I turned, and looked back at him as he stood in the doorway of the house, ten feet behind me.

  “She doesn't come off as being very nice.” I replied, and then caught myself. I closed my eyes and shook my head. “Forgive me, Mike, I know she's your friend, and Quinn's ex-whatever, and Julian's current... something, but she's going to hurt him again, and knowing that hurts me.”

  “Try to relax. He's not going anywhere, especially from you.”

  “I'm a secret, Mike.” I sighed. “A secret that he obviously doesn't want out, and dare I say it out loud, I want him, just as much, if not more, than she does and it hurts that I can't have him.”

  “You have him more than you know.” Mike smiled. “Like you said to Quinn, things are going to happen to take your mind from this, some adventure will come up.”

  “Funny.” I replied and started to walk away.

  “Cait.” He hollered, which made me look back. “You won't be a secret for long.”

  “That's what I'm counting on.” I answered, quietly and finished getting in my car. I looked at the big green, three-story house in my rear-view mirror as I pulled away and sighed. Life was about to change for me, after being someone that Julian had protected for such a long time, the cat was being let out of the bag, but it was the person finding out about me that frightened me.

  1

  The clock struck twelve that night and there was a light knock on my door. I had been sitting on my couch, reading some of the old books that I had taken from Julian's extensive library, when my visitor arrived. After a quiet dinner and a few hours of packing, my husband was sleeping, and Damien was fast asleep in his twin-sized bed up in his racecar bedroom.

  Slowly, I rose from the couch and made my way towards the door, which I opened slowly, feeling the strange presence on the other side. It wasn't Julian, or Quinn, since the two of them felt much the same way to me, but this one was almost like Michael, but stronger, and I looked into the face of Ashley Wolf as she stood on the other side of the threshold.

  “Can I help you, Ms. Wolf?” I asked her. She opened her mouth as if she were about to speak, then she closed them and shrugged. “Would you like to come in?”

  “Yes, please.” She replied and stepped into my house. The two of us got comfortable in a little den that I had off to the left of the living room where Julian and I usually went to talk and I looked at her as I sat across from her, in silence. “I'm sorry about earlier.”

  “So am I.” I replied.

  “It was hard, after all this time, to see him like that in the presence of someone else.”

  “Like what?” I asked, softly, thinking about his pale face and frightened eyes.

  “He told me about you.” Ashley sighed.

  “What did he say?” I questioned.

  “That you were someone very special to him.” She smiled. “I was wondering, since he didn't feel like elaborating on it, if you could tell me, exactly who you are to him.”

  “Do you have time?
” I asked; she nodded. “Good, you might want to get comfortable this may take a bit.”

  It started two years ago, and, this is how it went...

  *****

  The dream had always been the same for me, a large house, beautiful, but eerie at the same time, and I had been standing in front of it, looking up at the night sky, taking in the light of the full moon that hung above the house.

  Without warning, I was standing inside this house, looking at the expensive furniture that lined its corridors and rooms, but it was always dark, not totally dark, but more to the fact that there was just enough light to find your way around. The same thing always happened next; I explored the halls and rooms always looking for one thing, never finding it, but at the same time, feeling the strange presence that seemed to be following me around. It was then, as I stepped out onto the back patio, taking in the almost picture perfect scene of green grass that met up with the ocean view, that I felt the danger behind me, and I turned but all I saw was blackness.

  I used to wake up much the same way every time I dreamed this particular dream, screaming, having to be comforted by my husband. This last time, though, I didn't scream. I controlled that fear and with my two year old son asleep in the room beside ours, I woke with the strange feeling that my dream wasn't meant to scare me, even though it did, but instead to inform me about a situation.

  I slipped out from under the covers and made my way, quietly down the hallway, passed my son's room, and down the stairs. The floor was cold under my feet and I felt it was necessary to slip my shoes on as I began to head down to the basement, towards the office that I had down there. It wasn't much, a computer desk, a filing cabinet, holding my fictional stories that I had written over the years, and three large bookshelves covered, from top to bottom, with probably every book ever published on the subject of vampires.