The Roses Academy- the Entire Collection

by Tara Brown

  “How are you out in the sun?” I narrowed my gaze, fighting off the shiver that was shaking me.

  “I’m old, I can go in the sun.”

  “There are no others? Like you?”

  “Of course, there are. I made some of them, and they in turn made others.” His jaw clenched for a moment. “And then that cycle continued for quite a long time. Now there are many vampires.”

  “Is that why Lydia hates you?”

  “Yes. I broke the law. The one law.” His dark stare was frightening against his beautiful face. The color of his eyes slowly turned from black to dark blue.

  “What law?”

  “The only one that matters.” He exhaled loudly. “You ask a lot of questions.”

  “I just can’t believe it. You’re Dracula and I’m Ms. Hyde.” I giggled, frightened by what the blood had done to me. I felt amazing.

  “Quite the pair.” He glanced at me sideways, through his dark lashes and grinned, making me uncomfortable, especially after the forced kiss.

  “Put me down.” I struggled. “I can walk now.”

  “No, you have no shoes and I’m in a bit of a hurry, Hanna. Your change shouldn’t have occurred this quickly. The elixir should have held it at bay for at least a month. Something is different this time. I need to run tests.” He squeezed me tighter to him. “I’m not letting you out of my sight until I have this fixed.”

  I wanted to argue, but it was pointless so I decided to continue to grill him. “Have you ever used your vampire abilities on me?”

  “What?”

  “Tell me!” I could see the guilt on his face.

  “Fine. Once, when you were about seven, you came upon me doing something rather improper with a woman in your father’s study. I ensured you grew up without that horrid memory to haunt your dreams.”

  “Oh my God, that’s disgusting. That’s how I knew your face.”

  “What?” He appeared startled. “You remember me?”

  “No.” I paused. “I mean sort of. When I read the journal, I knew what you would look like.”

  “Hmmm,” he contemplated. “That’s not a good sign.”

  “Do you think my father being an immortal is what’s making me different?”

  “Yes, I do.”

  “I’m scared.”

  He nodded. “Me too.”

  That didn’t make me feel better.

  Chapter 11

  You’re making me batty, not that kind of batty

  He worked quietly while I continued the questions.

  “So, do you eat animals or people?”

  “No.” He smirked, not taking his eyes off the work in front of him. “Never eat animals. You are what you eat, my love.”

  “Have you killed people?”

  “What do you think?” He tilted his head.

  “I want you to say no.”

  “I killed your father.”

  “I watched that girl do it. I know you never—”

  “Right.” He glanced back at the papers. “But I made the elixir that was killing him, suppressing the beast.”

  “It’s not what I mean. I mean have you drank until they were dead?”

  “Yes.” He faced me as he spoke plainly, “Of course I have.”

  “When was the last time?”

  “I don’t know.” He rubbed his eyes. “Few years ago—no wait—uhm well, it was at a movie release. Scarlet O’Hara, Gone with the Wind. So it was, uhm, I don’t know. What year is it now?”

  “It’s 2012. The last time was in the thirties? You last drained a human in the thirties, and you thought that was a few years ago?”

  “I’m old, Hanna. Like old, old. Time passes when a hundred years have gone by. I don’t recall what was going on. I remember the last time I tasted someone’s blood, and it was so good that I couldn’t stop.” He paused. “No, that’s not true. I could have stopped, but I didn’t want to.”

  “What is wrong with you?” I grimaced.

  “I have no soul. No beating heart. You’ve seen the movies I would imagine. They’re not so far off.”

  “How did the information about you and my dad get published into novels?”

  “Disinformation of sorts. People discovered us. Witch hunts, burnings, the Spanish Inquisition—all our fault. Fortunately, none of our kind was ever harmed, just regular people. Women mostly. So rumors were spread, myths, and lore. We made it seem as if it were entertainment, instead of fact. The devil’s greatest trick and all.”

  “What trick?”

  “Good lord, Hanna. I’m working. You know the old saying, ‘The devil’s greatest trick was convincing mankind he never existed.’ Of course that wasn't Lorri who did it, that was Michael. He’s a bit of a prick actually.”

  “Okay, that’s a whole other ball of wax I don’t want to get into. I can’t do Lorri right now. What about the other vampire stuff, garlic and holy water?”

  “Really?” He was starting to look annoyed. “Totally false but the daylight thing is true for every vampire beyond myself. Only the eldest of vampires can go in the sun. It’s why I’ve never had a relationship with another vampire. I can’t imagine being with someone who couldn’t go out in the sunlight.”

  I never would’ve guessed him capable of having a relationship with another person. He was so closed off and cold. “Your skin isn’t cold.”

  “This is never going to end, is it?” He chuckled, focusing back down at the map with weird letters and numbers he was drawing. “No, it isn’t. It also isn’t as hard as a diamond. It can be cut, it’s soft. I am human in some respects.”

  “Can you be killed?”

  “No.” He shook his head. “I’m what Aleksander is. I’m cursed. I heal instantly. No man-made weapon, or even Aimee, can kill me. I believe if Lorri ever got the chance, she might be able to, but I ensure I’m never around her for that exact reason.”

  I thought of everything that had been explained to me concerning Lorri being the devil. Roland and Lydia had rambled on about her.

  “Who are the good guys and bad guys?”

  “This is it.” He pointed at me. “Last question. I don’t believe beings are necessarily good or bad. I believe the good have committed the same crimes as the bad, so who are they to judge? The Roses, Lorri’s goon squad, think they’re the good guys, protecting humans from the rest of us. Daniel and his monsters, who used to be Roses, think of humans as sheep. They believe humans are the lesser species and must bow before the rest of us as gods. They believe what they are doing is for the good of the rest of us.”

  “And where do you fit in?”

  He dropped his pencil and walked to me. He stood between my thighs, staring down on me. “With you. I said last question and I bloody meant it. You’re driving me batty.” I opened my mouth but he growled, “No! I don’t turn into a bat and don’t you dare even think about asking it.”

  I snapped my mouth shut and smiled.

  The questions were rolling around in my mind.

  When I got tired of harassing him, I roamed and got to see the castle. I spent days checking out all the different rooms, really studying them.

  But after a few days, the dark halls closed in around me. I paced, pondering if and when I would be able to leave.

  Marcus made elixirs, testing them on me. The one he’d forced me to take the previous day made me tired for the whole day.

  Mostly, I thought about the paper. I knew nothing about what was on it. I needed someone nerdy and smart to read it for me. Someone I could trust, someone besides Marcus. We didn't go anywhere and he didn't want me to leave his house. He was always watching me, as though waiting for something. I began to worry that everyone was right about him and maybe he did have his own agenda.

  I walked along the lonely halls, speculating on where he had gone.

  When I reached the lab the huge metal door was open halfway. I’d never seen it that way before. Fear crept across me as I peered into the crack of the open door. Seeing no one inside the extremel
y well lit room, I stepped in.

  I glanced around, wondering where he was, if this was a sort of trap. He hadn’t touched me inappropriately since the kiss, which was nice but I always suspected he was going to. He had a look like he might. The more I was around him, the more it seemed like a game.

  Feeling sneaky, I walked to the table where he had left my note. It was covered in scribbles and further nonsense. I hoped he’d improved upon it, at the very least.

  I picked it up, folded the paper, and tucked it into my bra again. It was the only thing of my father’s I carried with me. It was my salvation in his eyes, and he had sacrificed everything to keep me safe.

  With a sense of guilt, even though it was mine, I turned, hurrying from the room. I couldn’t hear anything beyond my own footsteps so I took my shoes off and padded down the dark halls in my sock feet. Marcus, or rather Henry, had brought bags of new clothes for me. They weren’t sexy clothes either. They were my type of clothes. Bags full of jeans, tee shirts, hoodies, flip-flops, and sneakers. I’d half expected him to bring dresses to go with the castle motif, but he had not. Even the pajamas had turned out to be my favorites—fleece. Marcus slept in his own room and stayed away from me, pretending to be a gentleman. But the kiss told me he wasn’t.

  I carried my runners, softly creeping through the castle halls until I heard a noise. I stopped dead in my tracks, holding my breath and willing my heartbeat to give pause.

  The wide old halls echoed with the sound as if it came from every room all at once.

  It was a woman’s giggle.

  Rage built within me.

  A woman was in my castle.

  My castle?

  I scoffed at myself but it wasn’t me who was angry. It was the thing inside me that considered Marcus hers. It was the weirdest thought I’d had in a while.

  My feet started walking toward the noise before I had thought the whole angry “my castle” reaction through. My fingers gripped the sneakers so tight the canvas tore. I tried to ignore it. The beast inside me drove us on.

  “Marcus, stop, really. It’s not funny.” The woman’s voice filled the hall again, but this time I could tell it was coming from Marcus’ room.

  “Monique, please, for the love of God, just let me do it.” Marcus’ tone was light, jovial even. He never sounded that way with me.

  I froze in my steps again. My heart raced and the beast raged. She wanted the woman dead. She wanted to tear her limb from limb. Her thoughts were terrifying. I hated that they were my thoughts too.

  “Fine, but I want something in return.” The woman giggled again.

  I didn’t wait to hear the rest of the conversation. I quelled the beast’s need to eat the girl in the other room and ran before I reacted. I sprinted hard and fast until I was free of the castle.

  I jumped into the front seat of his car and started it. Throwing it into reverse, I squealed the tires, burning out of the circular driveway.

  A shirtless Marcus appeared at the entryway of the castle, screaming my name.

  I threw my middle finger into the air, screaming obscenities he would hear, and raced down the road.

  He could chase the car and probably would. I didn’t make a single stop sign or light. I was nearly hit several times as I headed out onto the freeway and back toward home.

  Rage wasn’t the right word. Blind hatred was the accurate description, and it rode every inhale and exhale I seethed.

  None of it made sense.

  Why the beast in me liked him was beyond me. And even worse, why had her creepy feelings become mine?

  I drove confusedly for blocks, not knowing where I was, only that we had headed east the one time I’d been to Lydia’s. None of the streets felt right but after a while I caught a whiff of the scent.

  I drove until the smell got stronger.

  The amber incense that had been in the wind at Lydia’s old mansion.

  I turned onto the street and within a few blocks of driving with my head out the window like a dog, I was at the street lined in huge old trees. I turned onto it and drove until the car died.

  The car stopped in the same spot that Henry had parked it the last time. I climbed out, rolling my eyes. The magical people, bullshit guards, and weird cars were beyond annoying.

  I walked along the road, noticing the massive trees and the scent surrounding the huge mansion at the end of the road. If I were being honest with myself, I would’ve sworn the wind spoke to me, calling my name. It smelled inviting but scared me at the same time. My skin shivered as I walked into the yard and rang the old-fashioned buzzer.

  Instantly, the ghost maid appeared at the door. “Miss Jekyll, you’re back. Ms. Lydia’s upstairs.” She floated back into the house, never actually opening the door.

  I reached out and opened the door. Once inside I immediately noticed the silence of the house. The kitchen was empty. No one was there. I walked around into the sitting room to find it empty also.

  I went to the grand staircase, taking it one stair at a time and listening for sounds.

  “Are you all right?”

  I jumped, finding Lydia at the top of the stairs.

  “No.” I trembled. “I want you to put me to sleep.”

  “What?” Lydia’s face dropped. “Why, what have you done?”

  “A lot.” My head went down, ashamed of my attraction to someone who was using me. I couldn’t believe I’d gone with Marcus instead of staying at Lydia’s. She might have put me to sleep then, but it would have saved me the agony of the previous week.

  “Darling, those aren’t reasons to be put to sleep. We don’t call it that anyway. That’s barbaric.”

  “That’s not all.” I sniffed, not comfortable with her ability to read minds. “I killed a deer too. Harmless little deer. He never did anything to me but I murdered him.”

  Lydia laughed softly. “Oh, my sweet girl, no. Murder is only something people do to each other. You accidentally hurt that animal. You weren’t in your right mind. Come, Annabelle pours the most remarkable healing bath. We have your room already done up.”

  “My room?” I looked at the old woman and frowned. “You do?”

  “Yes, of course. It’s been ready for you since the day your father died. This is where he wanted you to come. But none of that, right now we must tell Roland you’re all right. We got your birthday invitation. Are you excited?”

  “Birthday?” I had only spoken to Roland a handful of times in the past days. He hadn’t mentioned the ball since I’d left him standing at the front door of the Tudor. He had also forgotten to mention that I was supposed to be staying with Lydia. I wondered why they wanted me to live in the old house. “Not really. Everything else is pretty overwhelming right now. I don’t care about my birthday.”

  Lydia took my hand. “Hanna, sweetie, it’s your mother’s family’s tradition. Try to enjoy it.”

  My phone started going nuts in my pocket. It was new, so I realized who it was. I checked just to be certain it wasn’t Roland, but he never messaged me. I looked at the messages pouring in and clicked the off button. I didn’t want to hear Marcus’ pathetic attempts at getting me to come back. It was the piece of paper he wanted. But first I needed to make sure the paper was safe with him, before I gave it back.

  I followed Lydia up a second set of stairs to a large room with a huge dormer. Annabelle was there, already pouring the bath. “Now, miss, you just lie back and let Annabelle take good care of you.”

  For the oddest reason I couldn’t explain, I let the maid undress me. I let her help me into the steaming hot water, and I let her scrub my back. I gazed out the window as Annabelle went to work, all the while humming the most haunting song I’d ever heard. It was like magic, ghost magic. She soothed me and made me forget everything that had been troubling me.

  Chapter 12

  Don’t mess with Texas or Aimee’s BFF

  When I finished in the bath I took a nap. It was like being sprinkled with fairy dust and falling asleep in a magical
land.

  I didn’t dream and when I woke I felt refreshed and peaceful for the first time in a long time.

  Not getting dressed or even bothering to look at myself, I sauntered down the hall and stairs in my fleecy pajamas. The ones they magically had there for me.

  Voices filled the main floor. Aleksander and someone else were speaking. I sat on the stairs and listened, not sure if I should go down.

  “So then this girl with a dead stare comes up and asks if I want to dance. I said, ‘No’ and she said, ‘You’re hot. You wanna screw?’” I wrinkled my nose, thankful Aleksander didn’t sound like the story was a fun one. “You remember Mike, the bartender?”

  “Yeah,” the mystery guy spoke softly.

  “Well, I gave him a look and said ‘Is she a blood bag?’ Mike takes me aside and says the vamps have been bringing girls every week, blood bags, and he never stepped in or cared because they always walked out looking happy. The vamps have been protecting the bar and Mike hasn’t had any issues in months.”

  “Disgusting,” the guy muttered. I gagged, agreeing. The story was nasty. That had to be what the girl was in Marcus’ house: a blood bag. Who called people that?

  Monsters . . .

  “So then Mike says that for the last few weeks the worst of the vamps have been bringing the same girl. She’s hot. He calls her sweet-momma hot. He actually thought for a sec she was a siren maybe, because she was so hot. Anyway, she starts to look rough. Mike tried to step in and force her not to come there anymore but they claimed her. He knew then they were blood drugging her for sure. So that was why he called me down there.”

  “Oh man.” The other guy sounded familiar.

  I contemplated what blood drugging was as I got up and moved down the stairs a bit. The story was captivating but even more I wanted to know if Marcus was part of the vampire problem.

  “So I go look for her,” Aleksander continued, “and when I find her, it’s Giselle.”