by Tish Thawer
"Yes and no. I've been a vampire for just a few weeks, but it was only earlier tonight that Evie contacted our Sire to explain about the demon situation. That's also when she told us about Rose, and how by becoming the hybrid, that she was now our only hope in stopping them."
She took another sip from the bag, then hopped up onto the counter. "I can't say that I wasn't ticked to find out that not only was my best friend a frickin' demon, but now some crazy ass cross-breed hybrid. But I was happy when William agreed to let us go with you, since after all, I have been her best friend for years. Evangeline told us that you'd gone looking for her and agreed that maybe I could be of some help."
I couldn't process everything that had happened in such a short span of time. Jillian turned into a vampire, Rose missing, Evie contacting another clan to aid in our cause. It was so much to take in. But thinking about all Rose and I had been caught up in, it wasn't a surprise that I'd missed so much of what had happened outside our own little world. I suppose it shouldn't be shocking that Justin and Jillian had continued seeing each other, or that he'd petitioned to have her turned. But, I couldn't deny that I felt a little pissed off that Evie had gone to their clan behind my back. I was the new Sire now, and that should have been something I'd decided to do, not her. Then again, after what I'd learned from Terrance, I supposed I should have expected it. If Evie felt that they would eventually have to take a stand against Rose and me, she'd want to have her backup lined up. Wow. What a fucked up mess.
"Well, I guess I should be grateful that you and Justin will be joining me, but back to my original question...has Rose contacted you again? Do you know where we should be looking for her?"
"No. That's the part that I have no clue about. I haven't heard from her since she threatened to kill me." Her fake giggle told me that she too was upset about everything that had transpired.
I didn't know what she was talking about, so I assumed it was just one more secret that Rose had decided to keep from me. Shaking my head, I suddenly felt a tug in my chest as a tremor swept over my body. Our bond was wearing thinner and thinner by the hour, and right now I was starting to feel the effects. If Jillian could help in any way to find Rose sooner rather than later, I would be grateful for her assistance.
"You said that your parents are on vacation and we have the house to ourselves, right?"
"Yes, I used my sedative to convince them that I'd be living in Brazil to play for their volleyball team. They're ranked second in the world, you know."
"No, I didn't know that, but does that mean that we can sleep here, uninterrupted for the day?"
"Yes. Exactly. Justin is gathering more blood bags for our trip, and will join us here tomorrow once the sun goes down. Now, let me show you to the guest room."
I followed Jillian down the hall to a nice room with simple furnishings. The blinds were already pulled, so I thanked her and fell straight into the comfortable bed. My head was spinning from everything I'd just learned, and the emotions it was causing within me, had me drifting as I settled in. As much as I wanted to flesh out the next step of our plan, it was something I'd have to process tomorrow because for the first time in hundreds of years, I was actually feeling tired.
* * * * *
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
Faith
(Evie)
After my meeting with William, the Sire of the closest clan, I rode back to The Rising Pit in the passenger seat of Dax's SUV. I sat in silence because I couldn't help feeling guilty. I knew it was Christian's place to reach out as the new Sire, but with him in search of Rose, and the possibility of them both turning dark in this process, I felt like I'd been left with no choice. He hadn't returned from his search and honestly, I didn't have a clue if he ever would. Therefore, as the clan's original Sire, their safety would always be my responsibility and main priority.
Dax didn't say a word as we pulled up to the club. Not wanting oversensitive ears to hear my concerns, I remained in the car and turned to him. "I don't know what else to do, Dax. I'm not sure if I should call Balam and tell him that we had a hybrid, but lost her; or that we have a new Sire in the clan, but that he too is now drifted dark and gone; or if I should just shut this place down and move everyone to somewhere safe."
He took my hands in his and looked into my eyes. "Where would we go, Evie? Where is somewhere safe? We now know demons litter the world because of the few cases of vampires drifting dark, so what makes you think that no matter where we'd move, we wouldn't run into another hive of them?"
I dropped my head into my hands, realizing he was right. There wasn't anywhere we could go that demons wouldn't be a concern. It's just that here, they weren't something that we'd accidentally run into, but instead were a direct threat to our existence. Meredith was creating an army to come after us, and if we didn't get Rose and Christian back soon, I had no idea what we'd do. It was the reason that I'd agreed to let Justin and Jillian go with Christian to help look for her. I wasn't sure about it at first, but when they'd explained that Jillian had been Rose's best friend for years, I thought that maybe she could be of some assistance, so I gave them Christian's cell number and hoped they could meet up soon.
"Let's go inside, honey. The sun's almost up and maybe by tomorrow night Christian will have found her and all this will be behind us." Dax flew from the truck and had my door open within seconds. "Besides, if we just keep an eye on Meredith and her demon meetings, we should get the jump on anything she has planned."
He was right. I could send Renard and Loni back to keep tabs on her and her meetings. It'd take a little time to set up though, since I'd have to secure a place for them to sleep during the day without being interrupted. Hotels were fine once in a while, but after you stayed too long, people began to question a vampire's odd hours. No, I'd have to make sure they'd be safe, and then I'd send them on an extended stakeout until this mess was over.
"You're right. I guess that's all we can really do until Rose and Christian return."
We walked back into the club, hand and hand. Dax had always been my rock. He was my consort and the man I would love forever. As we made our way down the spiral staircase into the pit, sealing the circular stage over our heads, I tried to imagine what Christian must be going through. To have woken up and instantly been forced to function without his consort; losing her before even having a single moment to bask in the joy of being together forever...I shook my head, feeling a tear slide down my cheek as we entered our room.
"I don't think I can hurt him, Dax. If Christian truly turns dark because of all this, I don't think I can deliver the true death. He's been my son for hundreds of years and is the most kind hearted person I've ever known."
Dax embraced me as we lay down. "Have faith, Evie. Christian turned Rose feeling it was the right thing to do. We just have to trust him."
I let his words soak into my heart as I fell comatose for the day.
* * * * *
(Rose)
I looked around the now illuminated lumber mill. Morning had come, but the nightmares I'd experienced left me feeling trapped and scared. I took a deep breath and eased out of my hiding place. No one was here now, but I knew it wouldn't be long before workers started to arrive to begin their day.
I figured that feeding here would be a good idea, as long as there weren't too many people that showed up at once. Luckily, the supervisor was the first one on site. I watched from my perch as he unlocked the gate and then the office doors. A few minutes later, he wandered out into the open space and I made my move.
Leaping down from the ceiling, I landed directly behind him and sunk my fangs into his neck before he could even turn around. I tried to use my sedative again and program it so he wouldn't feel pain or remember anything, but just like before, the euphoria his blood sparked within me had my mind drifting, causing me to lose all focus until he was lying motionless on the sawdust covered ground.
I watched as his blood pooled, mixing with the tiny wood flakes. The pattern it made was amusin
g and I found myself reaching out to draw pictures in it. The consistency reminded me of the finger paints I used in grade school, but before I could finish drawing my smiley face, I heard cars pulling up outside. I was gone in seconds and almost to the edge of town before I remembered I needed a map. I stopped at the gas station next to the freeway and casually walked in and paid for the small atlas with the change I had in my pockets. Once I made sure I was headed in the correct direction, I set off for the caves again. A smile crept across my face at the thought of the underground caverns. For reasons I didn't understand, I simply couldn't wait to get there.
* * * * *
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
Wrong
(Meredith)
After Raúl's revelation, I mingled and talked to all of his family, especially his mother, Lupé. She was stern but had an excited edge to her, probably because due to the affects of the human blood. She told me that even though she was sad about losing Damien, she was happy to be out of the dark and felt that this new way of life for her family was something the gods wanted to happen.
I wasn't sure about that, but it was certainly something that I wanted to happen. She had suggested that we move the meeting to her house, since it was further from the city and wouldn't draw attention. We'd be needing more and more blood, so being more secluded while we continued to grow stronger and make our plans sounded like a great idea to me. I thanked her and announced that next week's meeting would be held at her house.
As I drove home I couldn't help feeling giddy. When I'd left the wake, everyone had still been talking about how the blood had started to give them speed and strength. Some had even started demonstrating by lifting their relatives high into the air, and others just raced around chasing one another in an endless game of tag. It was like watching children and it brought joy to my heart. My race...demons thriving in the twenty-first century. Who could have guessed it? But as I pulled into my driveway, I thought about my grandmother's words, "I can tell that you are changing, and I'm afraid that what you've started will not be good for our race."
I could only hope that she was wrong.
* * * * *
(Christian)
The last thing a vampire thought of before falling comatose was also the first thing they'd think of upon waking. I'd spend the last year making it a habit to think of Rose before I fell asleep. However, as I woke in Jillian's guest room, it wasn't the usual image of me embracing Rose that greeted me; instead, it was one of me running after her.
I supposed it only made sense, since that's literally what I was doing; chasing after my consort in an effort to save her and myself. As much as I didn't want to admit it, I could feel that I was losing her. Our bond was stretched so thin that it was making me weak. I was pretty sure if she continued to drift dark it would be as effective in killing me as if she'd actually died.
After straightening the guest room I left the house and walked out to my car. I couldn't bear to think of anything happening to Rose without it sending me into a depressive spiral. I needed to get a hold of myself before Jillian and Justin saw that I'd drifted dark again and reported it back to their Sire. I was sure if Evie found out that I hadn't returned to my normal coloring yet, she'd assume the worst, and then not only would I be racing to find Rose, I'd be running for my life as well.
I grabbed a couple blood bags from the trunk and sat in my front seat, trying to gain some small measure of control. The blood helped, but as I imagined Rose out feeding on her own, killing more innocent people, I knew I was far from okay. I had no idea what I was going to do if once I found her, she really was bad. I'd never heard of any Sire having to abandon their chosen consort in all of our vampire history, not that I could imagine doing so even if it was a possibility. No, walking away was never an option; instead it always came back to the both of us meeting the true death. I almost threw up at the thought.
I closed my eyes and tried to recall the last time Rose and I had been really happy together. I thought it was when she'd been hiding out with me after her attack on Meredith, but in hindsight I was wrong. She'd been struggling to keep her demon side a secret and had been purposely pushing me away in an attempt to keep me safe. I thought back to when she'd told me she knew I was a vampire and agreed to be my consort, but even then, it was after she'd lost her father thanks again to Meredith. I guess the last time we'd been truly happy was when I'd been in the dark about Rose knowing my secret. We'd dated like a normal couple and had genuinely fallen in love.
A sharp wrap on my window pulled me out of my current reverie.
"Hey, come back inside so we can work out a plan, okay?" Justin's face was serious but didn't show signs of worry or fear, so I assumed my coloring had drifted back to normal.
I joined him and Jillian in the kitchen and sat quietly as they drank their evening meal.
"So, do you have any idea where Rose could be right now?" Jillian asked.
My first instinct was to get defensive, but I knew it wouldn't help. "No. I have no idea. She went to Masen and I tracked her to her dad's house but she was gone by the time I arrived. Do you have any thoughts?" I scoffed.
"Not really. I mean as kids we usually just hung around here or Masen, since both of our parents worked all the time. We didn't really ever take vacations and if we did, it was only to places like Disneyland or Six Flags. I can't really see her going there, though, 'cause she used to say that all that cheery, happy go lucky shit drove her crazy."
Well, great. The room fell silent as we all realized we didn't have a clue where to start. It was already looking like this was going to be a complete waste of time. Time I didn't have.
Jillian's voice interrupted my depressive thoughts. "Are you sure she left Masen? Maybe she was just feeding and hiding out until she could go back and finish off Meredith."
Her question made sense, but I also had to trust my instincts. "No. I can feel that she's gone. Our bond has grown really weak, as if it's being stretched by a large distance."
I hated admitting it, but what would be the point of keeping anything from them. Jillian was her friend and Justin had been the one to help her understand everything when Terrance had lied to her. They would help me if they could.
Just then, I got a lucky break. Loraine appeared above me, but for no more than six or seven seconds. In my mind I heard her say, "Caves, Christian. You have to start looking in caves."
She was gone before I could ask a question of my own, and no matter how much I thought about her or Rose, she didn't reappear. I didn't understand where Loraine went when she disappeared from our world, but the fact that I couldn't reach her now had me extremely concerned.
"What's wrong? You've started drifting again," Justin stated.
I didn't have time to explain about Loraine. "I have an idea of where we need to go. Where is the nearest set of caves to here?"
Jillian looked at me with a raised eyebrow, then headed straight to the computer in her father's study. After a quick internet search, we knew the three closest set of caves were in Virginia, Kentucky, and Missouri.
As worried as I was about Loraine, I knew it would do me no good to dwell on it. Plus, her clue about Rose was the first thing I had to go on and I wasn't about to waste it. I wanted us to all break up and each take one location, but Justin suggested we remain together in case one of them found her first. He thought I needed to be there, wherever we found her. The instant he said it I knew he was right. The certainty of knowing I would see Rose again made me happy, but the idea that she could hurt her friends if I wasn't there to stop her left me unsettled.
I forced myself to stop analyzing the situation and focused on our plan to get moving. I had to find Rose quickly and we'd be a lot faster on foot. So, after packing our supplies, we all sprinted towards Virginia, hoping for a lucky break.
* * * * *
(Loraine)
Blood, wings, bats, caves, Rose––Blood, wings, bats, caves, Rose. It was the nightmare I'd been stuck in since I'd disappeared from Chr
istian's car. I'd hoped for some relief from this god-awful situation when Christian had left me sitting there alone. But instead of falling into oblivion like every other time I'd left the earthly plane, I'd been thrown straight into this reoccurring nightmare.
I could see tall stone temples and people in tribal clothing everywhere I looked. There were flashes of human sacrifices and a winged creature. I had no idea what I was seeing or when it was taking place, but the main focus I kept getting pulled back to were the images being drawn on cave walls. So when I'd felt myself being pulled back into my corporeal form, I knew that was the message I needed to deliver.
I found Christian in the kitchen of Rose's best friend, Jillian. As always, I immediately received the information I needed; Jillian was now a vampire and was here with her boyfriend, Justin, in an effort to help find Rose.