The New Queen Rises

by Dawn Gray

  The two of them left the room and I whispered little prayers to the baby as he dosed off to sleep.

  I watched the tunnel as if I was in reverse. The light grew smaller and then I opened my eyes. I didn't move from the center of the circle. I just sat there until the candles burned out thinking about my son and about how David and Jack were involved in this. I must have been sitting there long enough to fall asleep, because when the pounding at my door started, I was laying on the floor.

  Quinn stood outside my door, when I finally got up and answered it. He stepped back and looked at me, then smiled.

  "You're eyes are glowing," he said quietly. I looked over at the mirror in my room.

  "Yes, so they are." I smiled back. He seemed to like the changes in me."What do you want, Quinn?"

  "We need to talk."

  "We don't need to talk about anything," I replied to him, but left the door open as I walked back into the room. Quinn followed me and closed the door behind him. He had a dark-blue dress shirt on and some dark pants that fit him well.

  "I think we do," he said and sat on the bed. I turned to look at him as I leaned against the dresser. "About what happened in Boston?"

  "Why are you bringing that up again?" I questioned him and shook my head.

  "You can't tell me that you didn't feel it." He smiled at him. I looked into his dark eyes and the events of that day seemed to flash in my mind, particularly the moment that I started to feel the pulsing from him.

  "It was just the static from the car," I told him and rubbed my head.

  "It was much more than that." He smiled and stood up. He walked over to me and took my hand, then put it to his chest and I felt the slow pulse emanating from him. I quickly snatched my hand away and tried to step away from him, but he took my arm and looked at me as he stood to my left. I looked straight ahead, as he whispered in my ear. "You can't ignore it forever, Wolf. It affects you the same way it affects me."

  “I don't want to talk about this anymore, Quinn," I said and sighed, then something caught my attention and I was quiet suddenly.

  "What is it, Ash?" Quinn asked in a serious voice. I looked up at him from the point on the floor that I had been suddenly begun staring at.

  "It's ..." I paused. "It's Lauren, she's outside the door."

  Suddenly the doorbell rang and Quinn and I walked down the stairs as Michael passed to answer it. Lauren smiled at him and nodded when he invited her in. She looked around the house then up at Quinn and I as we stepped down the last few stairs. I stopped and smiled at her, stopping Quinn behind me.

  "You're mother told me you might be down here," she said and walked over. "What are you doing here?"

  "I can explain everything, but first let me introduce you." I smiled at her, which faded when David walked into the room. "You know Michael," I said as I looked at him, then looked at David. "This is David Tarrot."

  "How do you do?" David said and bowed. Lauren laughed at him. I looked up as Quinn stepped down and stood just to my left.

  "Lauren, meet my evil half, Quinn La Rouge," I said and introduced him, using the last name that he had told me to, but I supposed it was because of Victor adopting them so young. Lauren smiled at Quinn as he took her hand and held it gently. I was about to continue when I watched Julian walk into the room. "And, this is Julian."

  Lauren looked up at him and then the two of them caught each other's eyes. She stood confident and nodded to him, slowly realizing that these were the men that we had spent a lot of time talking about. She touched my shoulder and shook her head.

  "They're real," she said, in shock, and then shook her head. "I mean, of course, they're real, it's just they've never appeared to both of us at once." She whispered in my ear, "Ashley, what is going on here?"

  "It’s okay," I said and looked at her, then back at the boys. "Gentlemen, we'll see you at dinner." I took Lauren's hand and started to walk towards the back door, but Julian grabbed my arm on the way by; I could feel just what he was thinking. He was worried, wanting to tell me to be careful, both Lauren and I. I smiled at him and touched his cheek. "Don't worry, Jules, I will."

  With that, Lauren and I walked out the door and found a nice, quiet spot about ten feet from the edge of the property, just before it met the ocean. She looked at me as I pulled my knees towards my chest and wrapped my arms around them.

  "How much did my mom tell you?" I asked her. She shook her head.

  "She just said that you were probably down here and that if you were to tell you to be careful and have that boy take good care of you. Which boy?" Lauren asked. I smiled and then giggled to myself.

  "The year I was to turn fifteen, we moved down here to that house, there, across the inlet. I met Julian while walking on the beach. He knocked me over when he jumped off the dune trying to get away from the other three. We started to talk and, after that, we spent each day together. I loved him then I think, but I wasn't sure until he left one day, sometime between late September and early October. I waited for him for eight months and, when he returned, he was different and so was I.”

  "I had grown up and I found him more attractive than ever, and he told me that he loved me and wanted to protect me." I smiled at Lauren and noticed her blushing. "I thought we would spend every day together again, walking, talking, and just enjoying each other." My smile faded and I sighed and looked at the ocean. "I was wrong."

  "What happened?" She asked me, almost as if she had lost the last suspenseful chapter of a book.

  "This is what you might not believe." I sighed, and thought, but then again, you might. "I found out that I was adopted and my real parents were, well, vampires, to put it right out on the table."

  "Vampires!" Lauren said and smiled. "You're joking, right?"

  "No," I said and shook my head. "I'm very serious, and that was the reason that we left. My parents knew about the four young men living over here, thanks to a priest and some weird old woman. I was to either forget about him or have him be destroyed. We moved after I turned sixteen. They thought they had erased it all, but they hadn't even touched me. I pretended to forget Julian, against every nerve in my body that wanted to reach out and call to him, I had to put him in the back of my mind, like he never existed."

  My eyes filled with tears and my voice became mumbled, but I wiped my eyes and continued with my story to her. "Eight years has gone by, I had a husband and friends that cared for me, and my baby boy. But I lost Jack first, to a reason I don't know of, and then I lost my son. This was the only place I could turn to for help, because I knew that others like us had to be behind this."

  "You'll find him, Ash." She smiled at me.

  "I all ready have, it's just a matter of time." I smiled. "I have to first get some information then I'll get my son. If I leave for long periods, I'm not going to be able to let you know where I am, but I'll let you know that I'm all right." I looked to my side and spotted Quinn standing against the tree watching us. He looked at me and smiled, then turned and walked away.

  At dinner, I watched as Lauren and Quinn talked quietly together, and Michael and David whispered between themselves. I looked to my side and saw that Cleo was desperately trying to explain something to Julian, who looked down right confused, and I quietly excused myself. I walked out into the east garden, and found a spot in the middle, near a small fountain, buried amongst large amounts of purple, pink, and yellow flowers, to which I had no clue as to their names.

  A breeze picked up around me and I looked to my right to see Julian walking towards me. I smiled and looked up at him as he came to sit down beside me then put and arm around my shoulder and kissed my cheek.

  "You always did look stunning in the moonlight," he said softly. I took his hand and held it firmly.

  "Have you ever been afraid of the night, Julian?” I asked him. He smiled but nodded. "When?"

  "After Victor changed me. I couldn't sleep in the dark," Julian said. He smiled and looked at me. "I thought he was going to come back and get me, but a
s I got older, I realized that he didn't want anything to do with me anymore. So, I tried to sleep little by little." He touched my face with his fingers. "Why do you ask?"

  "I never had a problem in the dark, but lately, I see things that aren't really there." I sighed and rubbed my eyes. "I see people that I don't know, doing things that I don't want to see." I looked up at the twinkling stars and smiled. "Would you like to go for a walk?"

  Julian smiled at me and nodded, and the two of us walked around the grounds for sometime before he walked me to my bedroom and stood with me there, holding me.

  "I have to leave in the morning, Ash. I have a meeting in New York tomorrow night." Julian whispered in my ear, "Stay near Quinn, he'll protect you if anything happens."

  "You're not nervous about leaving us together?" I asked him, just joking with him, but he answered seriously.

  "I trust my brother to do what's right and protect you," he said and looked me in the eyes. "And I trust you because I know that you'll put a stop to anything he tries before it starts." I nodded and smiled at him. He leaned down and kissed me softly on the lips. "Go to bed, I'll come in to say goodbye in the morning."

  "Goodnight, Julian," I said and kissed him again, then walked into the room and closed the door. After I changed for bed, there was a knock at the door, and Lauren peeked her head in. She smiled at me as I waved her to come in. "You're up late, aren't you?"

  "I have to talk to you about Quinn," Lauren replied and sat on the bed next to me.

  "Quinn? What about him?" I questioned.

  "I find him really fascinating." She giggled.

  "Fascinating?" I smiled. She nodded and took my hand.

  "He's the best looking man I've seen in a long time." Lauren smiled widely and then looked at my face, into my eyes. "What is it, Ash?"

  I had suddenly grown quiet and she noticed it quickly. I could feel David leaving the house, felt his presence fading away as he moved away from the house. I looked at Lauren and sighed.

  "I have to go into town." She watched me get dressed, everything I wore was black, right down to the black leather coat I pulled out of the closet and slid over my shoulders. She smiled at me, knowing that I had a reason to go. I smiled back and then walked out the door.

  I looked at my old beat up car, and then at Quinn's black Porsche, and I smiled evilly to myself as I opened the door to the Porsche and slid in. The seats were quite comfortable and it started quietly, almost no sound at all. I pulled out of the garage, which used to be the carriage house, and drove down the long driveway into town.

  I followed the feeling that I got from David all the way into the heart of New London, where I trailed him into a large parking garage and then to a bar called The Venom. It was dark in there and the music was quite Gothic, just the place to find a vampire lounging about. I let David mingle for about an hour as I moved in and out of the crowd, then I moved towards his seat as the last of his acquaintances moved away. He looked up with fear in his eyes as I slid into the chair in front of him.

  "How did you find me?" David asked, swallowing hard and looking around.

  "Do they realize that you're the real thing?" I asked him.

  "What are you following me for?" David insisted. I smiled and leaned back in my chair.

  "So, which one of them have you taken blood from? Then again, which ones have you not?" I questioned. I watched him grow impatient then slam his hand down on the table.

  "Answer me!" He demanded. I leaned forward and looked him dead in the eyes.

  "Where is my son?" I asked him, my voice full of anger and annoyance. David sat back and I could feel the heat from him.

  "I don't know what you're talking about." I stood up and walked over to him, pushed the small table away and stood directly in front of him. Slowly, I leaned down over him, my hands resting on the back of his chair.

  "Her heritage is coming out and you don't have much time left," I told him. By the look in his eyes, he knew what I had said were his own words, but he shook his head. "Don't worry, David, old boy. Everything is under control." It seemed to be coming back to him and I leaned closer, baring my teeth as I did. "Even my wife."

  "Ashley, I ..." David said.

  "My son, David, where is he?" I asked him, harshly. David shook his head and my anger mounted. I grabbed him by the collar of his jacket and brought him to me. "Don't lie to me, David; I'll rip out your heart."

  "I don't know, but I did see him," David said and stuttered. "I...I ran into Jack, your husband and I told him you were worried about your baby. He blindfolded me and took me to someplace where he's keeping him."

  "You ran into Jack," I said and shook my head. "Just nonchalantly ran into him."

  "Yeah, sort of," David whined. I let him down and leaned over him again.

  "Well, here's the deal. Why don't you run into him again and tell him I want my son? Tell him I want to see him face to face to discuss this little business and I won't tell Julian and Quinn that you're involved in this whole thing. Deal?" I asked him. David nodded. "Two nights from tonight, David. That means you have tomorrow night to arrange it and tell me if he'll do it, understand?" Again, he nodded. "Good, I'm going home. Enjoy the rest of the night."

  With that, I turned and left the bar then drove back to the mansion. I pulled in and parked the car, turned it off, got out and made sure that everything was the way it was suppose to be. When I looked up, Quinn was standing in the doorway, leaning against the sill with his arms crossed, looking at me out of the corner of his eyes.

  "What?" I snapped and went to walk by him, but he caught my arm and made me stop. He stood straight and looked at the side of my face as I stared straight ahead. "I'm sorry I took your car without asking, but I can explain."

  "I don't want a bullshit explanation, Ash. I want the truth," he said, in my ear.

  "Are my explanations a lie?" I asked him and looked at him quickly.

  "No, but something has you very heated and there is no way you would volunteer that kind of information freely," he said to me. I snatched my arm away.

  "It's personal," I replied to him and looked up at him, then at my hands.

  "It always is," Quinn said and touched my hair. "So, what is so personal that you can't share it with the rest of us?”

  "You don't seem to understand, Quinn. I can't tell you," I argued with him.

  "Just tell me why?" Quinn said softly. I looked over at the other side of the driveway then I turned and looked at him fully.

  "It could kill my son if you interfered. Keeping this to myself is the best way to insure his safety," I explained to him quietly. He nodded, and looked up at the moon quickly, then back at me.

  "Who's involved? Michael?" He asked. I shook my head, looking at him.

  "You are the most stubborn man I know, Quinn," I said and walked towards the house.

  "And, if I promised not to do anything that might upset this person?" Quinn asked. I turned, looked at him as he followed me, then walked right up to him and stopped.

  "Keep pestering me about this, La Rouge, or I swear I'll rip out your tongue," I replied to him. Quinn smiled and looked down at me, his hands on his hips, and then he leaned down close to my face.

  "I like it when you're feisty, Ash," he said and smiled at me evilly. "But, watch what kind of threats you make and to whom."

  "Oh, come on, Quinn! Give me a freaking break," I yelled at him in anger then I sighed and rubbed my forehead. "I'm going inside to say goodnight to your brother, then I'm going to bed. Do me a huge favor?"

  "What's that?" He asked me.

  "Leave me the hell alone tonight, and maybe I'll confide in you tomorrow."

  "And, what if I don't want to know tomorrow, can I bother you tonight?"

  "You're trying my patience."

  "Do I make your blood boil?" He smiled at me. I knew that this was a trick question that would lead to him asking if I was attracted to him. I had enough things to juggle without worrying about Quinn.

  "Just stick to
Lauren, okay?" I told him and watched his face light up. "But, Quinn, if you hurt her, I swear I'll ..."

  "You'll what?" He asked.

  "Be careful," I said and walked into the house.

  It was late and as I undressed and crawled under the covers, I found that I still couldn't sleep. I tossed and turned for another couple of hours, and then sometime in the night, I fell asleep. It was a dark, depressing sleep, without dreams or noises and it lasted until I awoke, around noon the next day.

  I made my way down to the patio, where lunch was being served, dressed in a pair of light Capri pants and a sleeveless button down shirt. When I got there I was greeted by Lauren, who looped her arm through mine and walked with me to the table, where Quinn and Michael sat.

  "So, what did you do in town last night?" Lauren said then covered her mouth and looked at the boys. I shook my head as she said a quiet sorry to me.

  "You went to town?" Michael asked. Quinn looked at me smugly then went back to reading the newspaper. I nodded and continued eating my lunch. "Where would you be going so late?"

  "I had a feeling about something, but it didn't pan out," I replied and looked at him, then up at Quinn. "What time did Julian leave?" I questioned.

  "About six this morning, he said he would call later. He left an envelope on his desk for you," Michael said. I nodded and finished my lunch without another word, then got up and walked down to the beach, and watched the waves as they crashed against the shore.

  8

  As I sat on the end of the ramp, I thought of a plan to get Jack back. I knew that my husband would have a few of his friends with him when we met, but all I could think of was to try to get information about Jack's whereabouts out of him. Since I knew he would never actually bring me to where they were hiding him.

  I stood up and walked down to the water’s edge, slipped off my shoes and bent over to roll up my pant legs, when I heard footsteps on the planks of the ramp. I turned and looked at Quinn, who was, surprisingly without his tan duster. He walked down to the edge of the ramp, with his hands in the pockets of his black Dockers. He wore a white dress shirt with them and he looked very good. For a change he looked normal.