Trinity: The Complete Trilogy (The Twin Cities Series)

by Drew Avera

  "Now, about the disturbance," the bald man said.

  "Wait a minute. I don't know who you are," I said. They hadn't shown any identification and I was still uncomfortable with the way the other man looked at me.

  "Of course, my name is Julian and my associates name is Drake. We are members of The Raven's Court. You can look at us as a kind of police unit in The Realms."

  What in the hell was this guy talking about? The Realms, Raven Court something?

  "I don't know what kind of jurisdiction you think you have here, but if you're not part of the St. Paul police department then I'm going to have to..." my words were cut off by a blow to my stomach by the man named Drake. His perfectly combed, brown hair didn't even budge with the force he used to hit me.

  I almost dropped Angelica when a set of hands rushed in to help me retrieve her. They were pale, cold hands, with perfectly manicured nails. The skin was like ivory. I looked up to see a beautiful blond, her hair pulled up in a bun. She was wearing a very nice dress and she kept her hands on my child as I sucked in air. She gave a nod of her head as if to ask permission to take Angelica from me.

  I allowed her to do so and she stood with my daughter, leaving me in the hands of men who, for all I knew, were not men at all.

  Sound began to flood my ears as Angelica began crying. I looked up to see the woman swaddling her, with her mouth to my child's neck. I realized too late that I had handed my daughter over to a monster! I struggled to stand despite the pain rampaging in my body. The two men stood between me and my child and I knew in my heart that I would never hold her again.

  Chapter 2

  I placed my hands over my eyes just to see if they were open. I was surrounded by darkness and the only thing that kept me company was the cold, stone floor of the cell that I was in. I realized it was a cell when I leaned my head to far back and racked it against the iron, vertical bars.

  I was groggy, to say the least. I felt like I hadn't slept in weeks and I was unsure of how long it had been since I was in my apartment. I shouldn't have pondered that memory, though. It immediately triggered thoughts of Natalie erupting in flames and the ash scattering around me.

  I also remembered Angelica being pulled away from me by a woman who looked as contemptuous as the devil himself. Regret slashed at my heart and I fought to maintain my composure. I didn't know if I was alone, or if I was being watched, but showing weakness at a time like this could not bode well for me. I dried the tears from my eyes and I felt the grit from the dirty floor on my hands. I lifted them to my nose and inhaled. Even the dirt smelt rank, like it was as old as time itself.

  Without my sight, my hearing reached out to the rest of the area around me. I was searching for some kind of clue as to where I was. The only thing that I could hear was an intermittent drip, like water falling from a faucet. The sound echoed a bit and I assumed that I was in a place with high ceilings. I decided to try and stand. On shaky legs, I rose ever so slowly and straightened my back out. It felt better to stand, but the nervousness I felt made it hard enjoy the sensation. At least my knees were no longer screaming with discomfort, unlike my head which was pounding.

  "Hello?" I called out, hearing my voice come back to me a moment later. It was a voice tinged with pain and fear. If I heard it, then my captors would hear it too.

  "Dammit to hell," I screamed. I couldn't help but be furious. This was the kind of nightmare that one would not dream for an enemy. What had I done to deserve this? Everything had been taken from me. My wife! My daughter! And now my freedom! I couldn't grasp how each instance was connected, but each fact led me right back to this miserable place.

  I took a few steps and found that my cell was three stone walls and a single wall of bars. I found evidence of the door and the latch assembly. There was no opening it without being able to see the damned thing, though. I stretched my arms to the side and found that I could touch each wall with the tips of my fingers which made the cell roughly six or seven feet wide and maybe ten feet long. It was hard to guesstimate in the dark, but that seemed like a standard size for a prisoner's quarters.

  I couldn't believe my rationalization. Prisoner's quarters? Was I serious? Why was I a prisoner? Those men were not cops. Nor was the woman; there was something else amiss to the situation. It was obviously a set up! Yeah, a fucking setup!

  I gripped the bars with both hands and tugged on the door. They were solid. "Hello! Can anyone hear me?" I called again. I choked on musty air from the effort and once again heard the hollow sound of my own voice. This time the fear was masked with anger. At least I didn't sound weak anymore. "Hey! Talk to me, what do you want?"

  The sound of a match filled the room as it was struck against the stone wall across from my cell. I watched as pale fingers were alight from the flame and moved elegantly towards a lantern mounted on the wall. Once the light began to fill the room, I could see it was the woman. She was dress in a pant suit this time, and the blouse was loosely held together at the top. Her hair was no longer in a bun, and it fell playfully along her shoulders and her back. Her eyes seemed to glow in the dim lighting and I was mesmerized by her.

  "Who are you?" I stammered as I gripped the iron bars tightly; staying strong while facing this woman was going to be harder than I thought.

  She stood there stoically and eyed me. It wasn't with contempt, or satisfaction. She didn't even stare at me with a hint of damn curiosity. She just stared as if she were looking through me.

  "Where's my daughter?" I asked. Her response was slight, but I saw her nudge her head towards a set of stairs to the left and behind her. I could barely make them out in the dim lighting, but they were definitely there. "Up there?" I pointed towards them with a hand sticking out of the cell. Her eyes widened, but she was still silent. "Look, why don't you answer my questions? Tell me why I'm here at least."

  She took a small step forward and she was within reach if I wanted to grab her. The scent of her perfume weighed heavy on the air and I felt weak in my knees as her eyes dug into mine. She sniffed the air lightly and grinned. I could see her incisors were longer than any I had ever seen before. There was something else about them, the coloring. I soon realized it was the same coloring as when a boxer had bloody teeth from a busted lip, but she was neither a fighter, not someone with a fat lip. I wanted to leap back, afraid, but I was frozen by my fear. I stood there and did the only thing I could do.

  I stared back at her and feared for every breath I took.

  Chapter 3

  There is something about fear that is feral. I could barely breathe in the dark confinement and the way time seemed to stand still, like the monstrous woman I had seen before was a living hell. I began to crave death, not in any romantic sense of the word, but in the idea that being dead would be a reprieve from this place and the pain of what I had seen.

  I felt guilty for feeling this way. My daughter was with the monsters, their sharp teeth and blood lust, their perverted presence being near her made me seethe with anger.

  If I believed in God then I might pray, but I didn't even believe in the things I had seen with my own eyes, much less those things not seen. I heard a foot drag against the dirty floor outside of my cell and I looked over despite the darkness. My eyes were adjusted to it enough that I could make out shapes and little else. The person, or thing, stood there silently. It was brooding and I could feel its eyes piercing me with its gaze.

  "What the fuck do you want?" My words were vile and off-putting, which was their intent.

  "I've come to talk," it was the wretched woman again. My nose finally caught up to my other senses and I could smell the Lilac in her scent. Her voice was soothing, but I had seen her eyes. I had seen the soulless void that comprised her.

  "Then talk." I hated her, but I was lonely. I couldn't rightfully explain my need to hear another voice, perhaps it kept me sane, or maybe I was insane and craved even a devil's company.

  I could hear her shuffling footsteps along the floor, the movement of a lo
ng, flowing dress brushing against the surface where her feet settled. "Your daughter is beautiful, you know. I've really enjoyed her company."

  Her words were like a bayonet being driven deep into the recesses of my heart. I could feel the ache of regret as stifling as it could be. I gritted my teeth to refrain from lashing out.

  "She has a precious smile and a light to her eyes I haven't seen in many years," she continue the small talk until I was about to explode.

  "Shut the hell up, woman! I don't know who you are, or where you've come from, but get the hell away from me. Don't talk to me about my daughter or by God I will kill every last one of you!" I had finally lost whatever was keeping me silent. My rage was festered to the point there was no coming back. Inside my mind I thought I could hear a twinkling of laughter, not from the woman, but from somewhere else.

  "I'm sorry, Alexander. I didn't mean to upset you," he voice was softer now, more reserved, yet it still contained the sinister bite that lingered after her words escaped her lips.

  I broke down from my fear and loathing, my thoughts falling on my defenseless daughter and my wife. I wiped a hot tear from my face and ran my hands through my hair, choking back more sobs. I ignored the woman, though I heard her still behind me for several minutes before she finally left me to my seclusion. Finally alone I realized how much of a gift seclusion was, and how much of a curse.

  Chapter 4

  There is something to be said for the resiliency of human life. The will to carry on in situations which warrant surrender is something just on this side of proving that God truly exist. Seemingly on cue, the devil made his arrival.

  "Mr. Grimm, my dear friend," said the sultry, but masculine voice from the darkness. With a snap of his fingers the lights flipped on and I was suddenly blinded. The glowing domes above were so intense I felt as if I were sitting on the sun. "I trust you have calmed down over the last week." His words were not minced. I had lashed out more from my dark cell than at any other point in my life.

  But I had good reason; they had my daughter captive and were doing God-knows-what to her!

  "Yeah," I said with a huff, exhaling my hatred in a slow breath. My hands covered my eyes from the glaring light, but still I tried to look at him. He was almost angelic from the small glimpse I caught.

  "Very good, I am happy to hear it. Do you know why?" I heard his ringed fingers clasp the iron bars as he stood only a few feet away, looking down on my pitiful form.

  "Why is that?" I asked, allowing him to lead the conversation even though I didn't care what he had to say. I was already defeated and I knew it.

  I could hear him smile, which is a strange thing to hear, but the words that followed made sense. "I am going to let you go, young man." I could almost make out a chorus of laughter in his delight.

  "Why?"

  I looked up into the piercing light to see him rest his face between the bars. The light was becoming less burdensome and for the first time I could see the pale blue of his eyes. It was almost as if I could see through him, but for whatever reason I was captivated by his beauty. It was so odd to look at another man like that. It wasn't lust or anything sexual, but I was drawn to him just the same.

  "I want you to work for me, Alexander," he spoke like a serpent, his voice luring me into his trap. I recognized what was happening and looked away. I felt ashamed to fall for his trickery.

  "Get away from me!" My rage had returned. I understood something in that moment. These monsters could manipulate you and I wasn't about to fall victim to their ploys.

  "Ah, you've found your spine I see. Careful now, Mr. Grimm; I admire a man with a backbone, but even the strongest back can be broken." He taunted me. The sinister sneer of a demon beckoned at me.

  "Go to hell," I mumbled. I was angry, but I was more afraid.

  Laughter ensued, I could hear the choir again and realized others were in the long hall overlooking, including the woman.

  "That's cute, but hell is nothing to the ruler of The Realms, sir. Perhaps another week or two in the dark will convince you to cooperate, I would hate to have to kill your daughter if we can't negotiate terms."

  I leapt from the ground and drove my body towards him. I hit the iron bars of the cell, but he was already on the other side of the hallway far from reach. He moved with such speed I couldn't even see him back away. "Stay away from my daughter you son-of-a-bitch!"

  He lifted his hand to his mouth to stifle a laugh and then narrowed his eyes at me. I was drawn in once more and then shook the sensation away just as quickly. I still had some fight in me. I glared at him as he lifted a hand and snapped his fingers, once again thrusting me into the quiet darkness of regret.

  Chapter 5

  Gone were the semi-delicious meals of peanut butter and jelly and soup. Now it seemed that the man who called himself The Raven was intent on nearly starving me into submission. I remembered the days of eating cups of ramen when Natalie and I first got married. We used to laugh at the misfortune even though it pained her at times. I could remember wiping more than one tear from her eye in the old days.

  Our future was looking bright, though. Especially a few years before Angelica was born. Money was coming in and we could afford the nicer things in life. Having a baby didn't feel like a burden and we tried for a few years before she finally became pregnant. That was when I was able to wipe tears from her eyes for an entirely different reason. We were happy.

  I choked back a knot in my throat as I choked down another bite of a stale Pop-Tart. I hated the pastry before my incarceration, but now the thought of starving to death seemed a bit more appetizing.

  I ignored the light footsteps as Tabitha approached. It had been three days since her last visit, if you could call watching me in silence a visit. Still, it was better than absolute solitude. Even the one called Remy, who delivered the meals each day, was beginning to become a welcomed visitor.

  I didn't know where this need to be around people came from, but I kept it to myself. I didn't want to be their friend, or their puppet.

  "Good afternoon," she almost whispered it her voice was so quiet.

  "Is it?" I asked with less of a chip on my shoulder than the last time we spoke.

  "Perhaps on the outside of your cell it is." I could feel how the words poured from her with a hint of playfulness, but I didn't even smile.

  "What do you want now, Tabitha?"

  "I imagine you are feeling quite lonely. I wanted to keep you company," she sounded like a martyr now.

  "Don't do me any favors," I snapped a little too harsh to justify.

  I heard her take a step back with a hesitation. I could almost make out her form in the shadows now. Her skin was so pale it almost glowed and I could smell Lilac, again. "I'm sorry for your predicament. I have no ill will towards you, sir. I am merely subordinate to my maker," she said finally.

  I groaned as I stood up from the stone floor of my cell. So long of sitting on the hard surface had brought stiffness to my body that would take a long time to get over. "And who is your maker? Is it Satan?"

  She was quiet, reserved even. "You have no idea."

  "Then tell me. Please, for the love of God, tell me what's going on. I feel like I'm in the "Hotel California" for Christ's sake!" I sensed my impending panic creeping up again. I was distraught and fear was leveling its gaze on me. I knew deep inside the truth, but I refused to admit it. There was something demonic in front of me, the evil and wretchedness of a soulless being. Why couldn't I just say it?

  "You know the answer, Alexander."

  "No!"

  "You knew it as soon as you saw your wife Natalie changed in front of you, mad with blood lust."

  "No, I don't know." I was lying to both of us.

  "You knew it when the bullets entered her body and nothing happened. You knew the truth when it took pure silver to destroy the love of your life. Do yourself a favor and admit it."

  I gripped the iron bars as I stared at the dark void in front of me. It looked bac
k. 'No," my lips quivered from fear.

  "It's true, Alexander." I felt the cold touch of her hands on my own. I was repulsed, but I was frozen in time, unable to move away. Tears fell from my eyes as her cold breath fell onto my face. I was sure my eyes were widening as she spoke. "We are vampires."

  Chapter 6

  I lurched back from her. The simple elegance of her words was as off-putting as the lingering smell of Lilac in the air. True evil stood before me and I just now realized it. I had been blind up until this point. The delusion I felt most comfortable with, they are some kind of strange cult, no longer felt real. Not surprising considering the fact they are not some strange cult, but a coven!

  "Easy now," she whispered and ran her fingers through my hair. It was a soft touch. It was beckoning for me to embrace her, just like I had experienced with The Raven. "Your pulse is quickening."

  I watched the gentle rise of her chest and the flare of her nostrils. I knew the blood pumping through my veins was luring her just as much as her hypnotizing gaze was luring me. I tried to break her spell by averting my eyes. "Stop doing that," I said.

  I could see her look away from me from my peripheral vision. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to do that."

  "Bullshit," I said, not wanting to trust her.

  "I'm not able to control my abilities like The Raven. I..." she cut off and lowered her gaze to the floor. Even in the relative darkness of my cell I could see her. It felt like all of my senses were heightened. Maybe it was fear or something in the air. I didn't know for sure, but for the first time I saw her beauty for what it truly was, immortal.

  I hated myself for looking. I knew it was loneliness and isolation making me weak. It was probably even something to do with her being a vampire and my finally understanding and acknowledging that fact which brought me to this point. I decided to change the conversation.