by Tish Thawer
"Do you think if we moved this week's meeting up to tonight all of your cousins would be able to attend?"
"I think so. But why do you want to move it up? So the blood will be fresher?"
"Actually, it's because I saw a strange car outside my house this afternoon before I left. I think the vampires have found me and I need to get our people ready to fight as soon as possible."
"Are you sure it's the vampires?"
"No, but I won't risk it. I'm going to check the car out tonight when I return home, but I think it's better to be safe than sorry. Call your cousins and tell them the meeting's tonight."
"You got it."
* * * * *
(Jeremy)
As the squawk of my morning alarm penetrated my ears, I slowly started to wake. But suddenly, the alarm wasn't the only noise piercing the silence. A car door slammed outside my bedroom window, followed by the chirp of its alarm being set.
This was usually a very quiet neighborhood, and not many people were out the door before me. So, I sluggishly made my way to the window to take a look. The moment I noticed the young couple walking down the sidewalk, my weary eyes popped open and my paranoia revved into high gear. The car they just left parked across the street looked like the one from last night–the one that had been following me.
The young man glanced back at the car and then met my eyes for a split second. He wasn't anyone I recognized, and neither he nor his girlfriend looked menacing, just out of place. They resembled what I'd describe as a couple of European grunge pop stars. At least that's how Rose described some of the bands she used to watch on MTV.
Rose. I missed my girl so much, and now having this couple show up here, a couple that I was sure had followed me from The Rising Pit...I had to get back there and continue my search.
Maybe this weekend I would take Meredith out for a night on the town. A night that would include dancing...at The Rising Pit. When I'd been there looking for Rose it seemed like a really nice club, and hopefully, if I could spend a little time inside, I might just discover the clue I needed to find my daughter.
Dinner, dancing, and some detective work sounded like the perfect weekend to me.
* * * * *
(Damien)
I was so happy Meredith was pleased with my plan. I'd remembered this logging site from when my cousin had been one of their part-time workers a few months back. It was notorious for always having different workers constantly coming and going. Once I'd scouted the area I figured the far back parcel would be the perfect place to snag some blood donors.
I gathered my supplies: some drugs, needles, pipes, etc., and the tubs we were going to be draining the blood into, and then headed over to Meredith.
She was so beautiful. Her long blonde hair and that tight little ass. I'd blamed my reaction in the alley on the blood high I'd been experiencing, but really, it was because I'd wanted her from the moment we met.
I worked on the east side of town as a construction manager, and very rarely had a need to travel into the city, but on that particular day I was headed downtown to drop off some building permits. That's where I'd first laid eyes on Meredith.
She and Jeremy were having lunch at one of the outdoor cafés that littered the downtown area. The moment I laid eyes on her my body reacted. Desire flowed through my veins like hot lava. Not only was she sexy, but the red flare in her eyes had me assuming both she and Jeremy were demons. Finally, another female demon that wasn't related to me.
After gaining control, I'd walked past the lovebirds and went about my business, but on my way back out she'd been sitting alone and waved me over.
We started talking and she explained that she realized I was a demon when my eyes flared as I walked by the table earlier. I guess I hadn't hidden my reaction to her as well as I thought I had. She told me that Jeremy was still in the dark about his heritage, but that she was planning to set up a group where demons could get together and discuss their ancestry. She was happy to hear I had a large extended family that I thought would like to attend.
"Do you have everything?" she asked, pulling my attention back to the present.
"Yes. Do you need me to carry anything for you?"
"No. Let's just get this over with. I want to have everything set up before sundown, so when the final horn of the day blows we can just grab them and go."
She was so strong and in control, and that was fucking sexy. I couldn't wait to see how she handled herself tonight. How she would use her demon strength and speed to take care of business.
I wasn't sure if I would be able to control my lust for her a second time.
* * * * *
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
Shocked
(Rose)
I felt the tears soaking my face before I even realized I was crying again. I'd been so shocked when Christian stormed out of our room after our second fight of the day.
What had he meant when he said I was wrong if I thought he couldn't stop me? He better not be thinking of biting me and using his sedative on me or else this whole charade would be over in a heartbeat.
As things stood right now, it wouldn't be too far of a stretch for people to think I'd walked away after finding out Christian had been keeping things from me. That was a "typical" reason people broke up all the time. The problem was...I loved him and I wished I didn't have to leave, not to mention I had nowhere to go.
I couldn't go back to my house and I couldn't go after my dad since Meredith was there waiting for me. I didn't think she was controlling him, even though I couldn't tell Christian and his clan that. They'd wonder how I knew or what made me so sure. The fact that he was a demon would be the first clue, but I wasn't even sure that was an accurate assumption. God, this was such a mess.
A knock at the door startled me. I wiped the tears from my face as I crossed the room.
I opened the door to see Evie's smiling face. "May I come in?"
"Sure."
"Thank you. Do you mind if we sit and talk for a moment?"
"Sure." I sounded like a broken record. I wasn't sure what Evie would have to talk to me about, and I really wasn't in the mood for another speech about how much Christian loved me. I knew he loved me, but unfortunately that didn't matter anymore.
"I wanted to talk to you about Terrance." Evie sat on the edge of the bed and I slowly eased down beside her.
That was a shock. "Okay. What about him?"
"I'd like to talk about the time you spent with him while your mother was alive."
Oh hell no. This was not something I wanted to get into with Evie. When I explained all those months ago that Terrance had been the first vampire I'd met, I told them that while everything he said had been a lie, he'd never hurt my mom. What else could she possibly want to know?
"Specifically, I want to talk about Terrance's relationship with your mother. You said he was always very gentle with her, but do you truly believe that he loved her?"
"Um...I'm not sure. Like I said before, he never hurt her and always treated her like she was special to him, but in love with her? I...I just don't know. Why does it matter? My mom's gone and even if he did love her, she loved my dad...not Terrance."
"I know that, Rose. Please understand, I'm not trying to insinuate they were having an affair, but Terrance has claimed he wants vengeance on Meredith for killing your mom...the woman he loved."
I was suddenly on my feet. "What? He wants to go after Meredith to avenge my mom?"
"Yes, that's what he said."
"Well, isn't that a good thing? That he's remembering and wanting to go after her?"
"Yes, I'm very happy he's showing signs of drifting back and that his memories are returning. But what I'm concerned about is that he may be using his feelings for your mother as an excuse to get released, when instead he could be following Meredith's commands without our knowledge. That's why I'm asking your opinion. Looking back, do you think he was truly in love with your mother?"
I thought about my response and
knew what I'd say could make a difference in Terrance's release or not. But if he was willing to go after the person who killed my mom, I thought the risk was worth it. "Yes. Thinking back to their interactions, I could definitely see that he was in love with her."
"Alright. Thank you, Rose. I have a lot to think about, but just know that as soon as I hear from Balam I'll call a meeting to discuss our plans to go after Meredith. I want to make sure you'll be there. No more secrets, I promise."
"Thank you, Evie. That means a lot to me."
I watched as she gracefully made her way out the door and thought to myself...no more secrets? Yeah, right.
* * * * *
(Christian)
As I rounded the corner at the end of the hall, I saw Evie knocking on Rose's and my door. She rarely entered our private rooms, so I was more than curious about her presence here.
I watched as Rose answered the door and then Evie disappeared inside. I thought now was as good a time as any to practice my newly developing skills, so I eased up to the door and flattened myself against the outside wall.
I'd never tried to use my super-hearing on purpose before, so I was unsure of how to even begin. But remembering the advice Evie had once given me, I began to relax and concentrated on exactly what I wanted to do.
I took four deep breaths as I imagined my ears opening up to let the outside thoughts around me filter in and then I heard Evie asking Rose, "...but do you truly believe that he loved her?"
I remained calm and listened as Evie continued to talk to Rose about Terrance and his feelings about her mother. But it didn't take long for me to realize that I couldn't hear anything Rose was thinking in response. The thoughts rapidly drifted away and I was left with nothing but my irritation.
Why did Rose still feel like she had to hide her thoughts around us? I knew that was exactly what she was doing because she'd explained Terrance had once informed her it was necessary. At the time though, she didn't know that only Evie and Dax were capable of scanning, and they could only see the thoughts of what you were immediately thinking. We explained all of this to her, and I thought she trusted us enough to no longer feel it was necessary. Guess I was wrong.
I supposed I couldn't blame her for not wanting Evie to know what she was thinking at the moment. I'm sure her head was spinning, having to contemplate another man besides her father being in love with her mom. Under those circumstances, I would probably want to keep those thoughts private too.
I let go of my frustration and waited for Evie to emerge from our room. I wanted to ask her why she thought questioning Rose about this was necessary.
She didn't seem surprised to find me waiting outside. "I heard you approach and was scanning you as you tried to use your new ability. I take it you couldn't hear any of Rose's thoughts either?"
"No. But I'm sure it's just a habit of hers at this point. I was thinking about trying with her again later. I'm hoping if I can get my ability to work around her it might give me a clue as to what she's planning and give me an idea of how to smooth things over between us. "
"Alright. Just let me know if you're successful. And to answer your internal question, I'm debating releasing Terrance against Balam's judgment. I have a theory I want to put to the test, and Rose's thoughts about his feelings for her mother may prove important."
"What's your theory?"
"I'm not ready to discuss it yet, but once I have all the puzzle pieces in place, you'll be one of the first to know. Now why don't you give Rose some time alone and accompany me upstairs. There's something else I'd like to talk to you about."
As much as I wanted to enter our room and apologize to Rose yet again, I didn't think it would help at the moment. So following Evie's suggestion, I left Rose alone and trailed behind her as we made our way back up to her office through her private entrance from the pit.
"Have a seat," Evie said, extending an arm in the direction of the couch along the far wall of her office.
Her formality suddenly had me nervous.
"What's up, Evie? What else did you want to talk about?"
"I'd like to discuss you becoming the next Sire. I know I said I'd like to wait to see what other powers you developed first, but honestly, with the situation we're facing, I'd like to perform the Passing of Powers ritual soon. I want to make you a Sire right away."
My gut tightened and I knew I'd begun to drift at her statement. This was such a huge step. For Evie, for me, and especially for Rose. It meant we wouldn't have to wait any longer for her to become a vampire and my consort. I was immediately overjoyed at the thought.
"There's one more thing," Evie continued. "I know it's traditional for a new Sire to take his consort and relocate, beginning their new life somewhere else, but in this case...I'd like you to remain with our clan."
I'd always assumed it was mandatory that the new Sire leave their old clan, so I was thrilled to receive Evie's offer. Leaving my family had always been the one thing I considered a downfall to becoming the next Sire.
"I'd love for me and Rose to stay here with the clan, but isn't that against the rules?"
"I've thought about it, and while leaving your old clan is traditional for a new Sire, I don't think it's ever truly been mandatory. I believe it was just a tradition that'd been passed down from Sire to Sire, clan to clan. Regardless, I think it's time we tested the theory, because the real reason I want to speed up this process, is so that when we finally face the demons, we'll have two Sires here instead of just one. We'll deal with whatever conflicts arise after this situation is resolved. Agreed?"
"Agreed. When do you want to do the ritual?"
"Right now."
* * * * *
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
Private
(Rose)
After Evie left my room, I paced around aimlessly trying to gain control of the chaos in my mind. I couldn't believe Terrance had truly loved my mom. When he'd said it all those months ago, I hadn't really processed it at the time. Being faced with the demon who'd killed my mom had been a pretty big distraction. But now, I wasn't sure if it bothered me or was something I should be thankful for. I suppose the time they spent together was safer and more pleasant for Mom considering he did love her. God, I couldn't think about this right now.
I headed up to the club through Evie's private entrance, since coming up from under the stage while the club was in full swing wasn't allowed for obvious reasons. As the bookcase opened into her office, I saw her and Christian sitting on the couch against the far wall. "Excuse me, I didn't mean to interrupt. I'm just going to go blow off some steam on the dance floor if that's alright?"
"I'll be out to find you shortly," Christian replied stiffly.
I didn't respond but instead just walked out into the fray of happy people, bumping and grinding to the sultry beat that filled the air.
I headed to the bar and plopped down on a stool. Tori and Dominique were working their magic as usual. They made really good tips and had a loyal customer base since they were such great bartenders. I'd gotten to know them quite a bit and they were both down to earth, kind hearted, and really funny. I'd spent more time with Dom though, because every chance she got, Tori would leave the club. Dom had explained it was because she didn't get out of the house much when she was human, so now she just loved being outdoors. Right now...I could relate.
I knew I wouldn't be allowed to go outside, especially at night when it was more likely I could run into trouble, but man...I really needed to get away. Find somewhere private and just think.
A light went off in my head. Private. The private rooms upstairs. I knew they were used as feeding rooms for the visiting vampires, but if I could find an empty one maybe I could finally get some time alone. Plus, I really wasn't looking forward to Christian "finding me shortly." I wasn't ready to have to put up my walls again. It was getting so hard not to fall into his arms and cry my eyes out. Especially since he explained everything. But, this was for his own good, and I loved him too much to let an
ything ever happen to him. Besides, I knew as the years passed, he'd eventually get over me and find someone else.
As the tears flooded my eyes, I pushed off my stool and made my way through the crowd. Once I'd climbed the stairs to the second floor, I took a moment to look around, making sure that Christian hadn't left Evie's office yet. I didn't see him so I started towards the farthest room at the end of the hall. That's when someone grabbed me.
* * * * *
(Christian)