by Stina
“That day . . . the day you found me in the woods when I collapsed, I saw something. It was a vision,” she said apprehensively.
“Tell me,” Kesh said, pressing.
“Those people I asked you about—Tulum and Calum—they’re coming. They’re training their people to attack you. I heard them say stuff,” Adirah confessed.
“What kind of stuff?”
“They said that they cannot let some blood ritual happen, and that if it did, you’d rise to full power,” Adirah said.
“What else did they say?” Kesh asked urgently.
“What does that mean, blood ritual?”
“Dira, you must tell me what else was said.” Kesh watched her and hung on her every word.
“The female, Calum, wanted to know why they haven’t attacked. She’s training all their people, making them fight each other viciously. She’s got a vendetta against you, and she said she wouldn’t rest until it is fulfilled.”
Kesh ran his hands through his dreads, a nervous reaction.
Adirah went on. “She said that while you’re letting your people live like they are normal humans, she is training theirs for war. A war that they are anticipating once the man—I guess their leader—gives the order.”
“And what did he say?” Kesh asked, pressing. Adirah could see concern rippling over his features.
“He doesn’t think the time is right. No matter how impatient the woman got, he kept saying no. He seems to believe you’re in love . . . I guess with me,” Adirah said, her words catching in her throat.
Kesh watched her closely. “Of course it’s you whom I love.”
“The man thinks you’ll stay here, afraid to leave me behind. But she . . . she thinks love means nothing to you. . . .” Adirah’s voice trailed off when she said the words.
“Love means everything to me, Dira. He’s right. I won’t run. I won’t leave you behind. I have no choice now but to stand and fight. I’m tired of running from them.”
Adirah shook her head. “You can’t stay around here for me and let them destroy you, Kesh. They are really making serious plans of attack. They’re training . . . seriously training. I thought it was all a dream, something fake. You wouldn’t tell me who they were when I asked. . . . Time is probably running out now.”
“I know,” Kesh said quietly.
Adirah continued. “The man says you’re his enemy for life. Something about your clan feeding him some poisonous blood. He was so angry, he picked up one of his own men and threw him. It was like he had the power to teleport himself too. He’s pretty powerful. Kesh, I couldn’t stand it if anything happened to you on account of me.”
Kesh sighed. “We are all powerful, Dira. Don’t worry. Nothing will happen to me, and I won’t let anything happen to you. I swear it.”
“Well, he thinks because I am, as he called me, a mortal, I don’t know who you really are. He said he would’ve done the same for her if she weren’t already one of you.”
“He was right about that, Dira. I told you . . . it could be a gift and a curse.”
“Tulum told Calum that her personal feelings of jealousy toward you are getting in the way of her sound judgment. Why does she hate you so much? Was she once someone you had or loved?” Adirah inquired.
Kesh shook his head. “Calum blames me for the same reason Tulum blames me. They don’t think it’s right for me, a black man, a vampire, to have the things I have. They can’t handle that I am powerful and strong. There were wars over the decades. It has always been about one race versus the other. They couldn’t let it go. Revenge is in their blood, while peace is in mine. They come from a very racist ancestry. Their hatred for me is based on no more than the color of my skin . . . the color of your skin.” Kesh’s jaw rocked as he spoke. He clenched his fists and lowered his head. “Their attacks are based on no more than that . . . just pure inbred hatred.”
“I’m worried about you, Kesh,” Adirah said, touching his face.
“Don’t,” he said, pulling her to him. “All you have to worry about is staying with me and being my queen. I’ll never let them touch a hair on your head. I swear it, Dira. There’s a reason we were drawn together. It might be up to us to save an entire race of people.”
* * *
Later, still in that magical world beyond the stone wall covered in bright green moss, Adirah and Kesh were entangled in each other’s arms. They work fiercely to strip each other out of their clothes. Adirah felt the cold grassy plain on her naked body and let the goose bumps remind her to be in the moment. She ran her fingers on every part of Kesh’s body, while he did the same thing to her with his tongue. He then laid her on her back; her erect nipples pointed up at the sky. Kesh positioned his face so that he was staring at her other set of lips.
“What do you see?” Adirah asked breathlessly.
“I see the jewel of my life. Your juices are seeping from this sweet opening, and I am going to lap them all up,” he answered, his voice raspy. Kesh did just as he had promised. His tongue hit against her swollen clit to a beautiful beat, and her cries of pleasure were the perfect background music. Kesh licked up every drop of her sweet nectar. Adirah’s body shook every time she came inside of his mouth.
“Tell me if it’s too much for you. I’ll stop if it is,” Kesh said between licks, teasing her.
“No!” Adirah cried out. “Please don’t stop! Don’t ever stop!”
By the way her voice quivered, Adirah knew she was nearing her next climax. He took her clit into his mouth and sucked, while licking the tip of it at the same time.
“I love how you squirm,” he said. “I love everything about you, Dira.”
Adirah felt him bringing her to the brink of absolute submission. Just as she felt the gush of juice escape her body, Kesh released her from his mouth and put his hips between her legs. Her head was tossed back, as she was trying to control the intensity of her orgasm, but Kesh would not let her rest. He thrust inside her pulsating love cave and instantly felt her walls contract on his shaft.
“Kesh!” Adirah screamed, her arms outstretched, calling him to her. He fell down on top of her, and she wrapped her arms around him.
“You told me not to stop,” Kesh moaned. “And I won’t. Not until you tell me to. I am at your mercy.”
Adirah moved her body and matched Kesh thrust for thrust. She opened her legs wider for him, giving him complete access to her. “Kesh! Oh, Kesh!”
“Will you submit to me?” he asked, pounding harder.
Adirah clawed his shoulders. It was all she could do to keep from screaming at the top of her lungs.
“I said, do you submit to me, Dira?”
“Yes! Ah! Ah! Ah! I submit to you, Kesh! Come with me, Kesh! Please! I want to feel it inside of me!”
His moans drove her crazy. He pumped a few more times before his body finally bucked. Adirah tightened her legs around him once more as her body quaked under him. She felt him empty himself inside of her. She welcomed all his essence into her.
“Ah!” they shouted together as they came in unison.
It took a few minutes and some effort for Kesh to catch his breath. He removed himself from her and slid to the side. He rolled onto his back. Adirah snuggled up to him in the grass and kissed his cheek, feeling very sleepy.
“I guess this really does make me a queen. Queen of the Sefu Clan of vampires.” Her voice was soft, and her eyes were becoming too heavy to keep open. She smiled faintly before allowing sleep to consume her.
Chapter 10
The cameras set up in the Sigma Rho fraternity house had been rolling constantly since the fire and the rebuild. Kesh had them connected to his phone. At any moment he could look in on the house. If someone approached the front door, he was alerted. There was a feature that he could set that alerted him if anyone was moving about in the house. Kesh rarely had this feature turned on, because it would always go off. There was usually someone in the house, and Kesh didn’t feel like getting alerts all day.
Kesh and Adirah were on their way back to the house when he felt a tiny vibration from his phone. He removed his phone from his pocket and took a look at it. The alert that was on the screen warned him of someone approaching the house. He swiped right to unlock the phone, and as he touched the security camera icon, his phone went dead.
“Damn,” Kesh said. “The battery sucks on this thing.” He put the phone in his pocket, figuring it was probably just one of the clan who needed to retrieve something they’d forgotten at the house.
The cameras, however, were still recording. Their lenses caught two intruders sneaking about the house. The cameras could record their movements, not their motives.
* * *
A loud crashing sound caused Lina to spin around.
“Shhh!” She glared at Narum, her face curled into a scowl. “How do you bump into a table during a break-in?” she whispered harshly. The huge porcelain vase that was resting on the wood-top table had toppled over, but Narum had rushed to catch it before it shattered on the floor. Lina shook her head at him. “Careful. And be quiet.”
“Sorry,” Narum said sheepishly and carefully placed the vase back in its spot. The ring on his finger had slipped to his knuckle, and he pushed it back down quickly. “I didn’t see the table there. I was making sure no one was behind us.”
“Sorry won’t be enough if the popular ones find us in here, snooping around,” Lina said, continuing her gripe. “And try to keep your voice down please.”
The two of them had done exactly what they had said they would: they’d snuck into the Sigma Rho frat house. They’d gotten in through a window at the back of the house that led to the basement. Narum had used a rock to break a small pane of glass, had pushed his hand through the broken window, and had unlatched the lock on the other side.
Once inside, Lina had turned left, right, and left again. She’d looked like a lost child in a store at the moment when the child realized that his or her mother was nowhere to be seen. She hadn’t seemed to know what to look for. “You think they have coffins in here? Dead corpses? And stuff like that?” she’d whispered as she crept around.
“No. Now let’s go upstairs and see what we can find. There’s nothing down here but construction supplies, if you ask me,” Narum had said.
Narum and Lina tiptoed their way through the dimly lit house, listening for any sound of life.
“It is way too quiet,” Lina mouthed to Narum.
He waved his hand at her and shook his head. “It’s Friday night, so this doesn’t surprise me.
Lina got close to Narum and whispered, “This quiet must mean they’re all out having the time of their lives, sucking innocent people’s blood.”
“I thought you said to be quiet?” Narum chastised. “You’re whisper is louder than your regular voice.”
Lina rolled her eyes at him.
When Narum and Lina found the living area, Lina’s eyes went wide and her jaw hung slack. She appeared blown away. So much so, she stopped and took the time to actually look around. “This can’t be the same house,” she said. “It’s not just different. It’s better than it was the night of the fire. This place doesn’t even feel like it belongs on campus. It is really like some luxury mansion in here. Who are these people? Not only do they look like perfect models, but they also live like celebrities too,” she said, whirling around in awe.
Narum motioned her to move along, but she was too busy ogling the high ceilings, the crystal chandeliers, the plush furnishings, and the museum-quality art. Lina stamped her feet. The carpet beneath her shoes was so soft, this motion didn’t create a bit of sound.
“And who decorated in here?” Lina mused. “Look at how the furniture is situated so precisely around the room. These beautiful burgundy couches look like if you sit on them, the plush fabric will have you feeling like you’re sitting on a cloud—”
“Where do you want to look first?” Narum interrupted her. “We can’t stand here, looking around like we’re museum spectators.”
“Umm.” Lina turned in a circle until finally her eyes fell on the grand staircase. “Up there. Let’s find his room.”
Narum agreed, took the first steps, and halted. His legs nearly buckled as he lifted his head and sniffed the air. By the look on his face, it was apparent that Narum knew there were vampires on the second level of the house.
“Just stay as quiet as possible,” Narum warned Lina. “I think someone is here. Maybe they’re asleep.”
“There,” Lina rasped, pointing.
“Shh,” Narum chastised. He put his hand up to his lips and pointed to the same spot she had pointed to. Then he led the way up the rest of the steps. Once they were on the second level, he stopped and directed Lina’s attention to the tall dark brown double doors at the end of the hallway. “Come,” Narum said and then placed his hands on Lina’s shoulders. “But tread softly.”
“I want to know what is on the other side of those double doors,” Lina whispered.
“Me too,” he agreed.
Lina nodded her head and followed closely behind Narum. They passed six doors before they reached the tall set, which was so far from the rest. Narum stopped in front of the double doors and ran his hand over the Sefu Clan’s four-point symbol on one of the door panels. He cracked a sly smile. He grasped the golden handle on the door and turned it. Surprise registered on his face at how easily the door handle turned.
“It isn’t locked,” he said, his eyebrows arched.
“Well, isn’t that a good thing?” Lina said. She pushed him to the side and hastily entered the room. “Whoa,” she gasped once she crossed the doorsill. “Something is definitely different about this guy, Kesh. I feel like I’ve taken a step into the royal quarters of a real king,” Lina said in awe. She walked over and examined the bed in the middle of the room. It had messy sheets, like someone had just laid in them.
Narum shut the door behind them. Lina noticed him turning his head and looking around the room. He looked like he was sniffing the air again.
“What are you? A bloodhound?” she asked. “Why do you keep sniffing the air?”
“Don’t worry about me,” he replied as he moved around slowly and methodically.
“I came here for a purpose,” she whispered. “I’m not about to stand around here and lose the chance to get what I came for. Get to work.” Taking her own advice, Lina got to work rummaging through the dressers around the room. After a few minutes, her shoulders slumped.
“Shit. I don’t see anything suspicious. Just normal things a man his age would have. Clothes, jewelry, lots of cologne, but not even one porn picture or anything dirty I could hold over his head,” Lina said, flustered. “And look at this shit. Even a few of Adirah’s things are here.” Lina held up a T-shirt that she recognized. “She’s practically living here. I guess it’s only right.”
“There has got to be more here,” Lina said. She walked over to the closet door and gripped the handle, expecting it to turn as easily as the bedroom door handle had, but it didn’t. “Who locks their closet door?” she grumbled.
Narum heard her and came up behind her. He leaned down to examine the lock. In his hand he had a key that he’d found in one of the drawers in the room. He inserted the key into the lock, looked at Lina, told her with his eyes to keep quiet, then turned the key. It didn’t budge. The key was not cut for that door.
“Can you look and see if you can find a safety pin?” he whispered.
Lina did what he asked, figuring that he was going to pick the lock, but after she had taken a few steps back to one of the dressers, she heard a popping sound behind her.
“Never mind,” Narum told her, shrugging his shoulders, when she turned back toward him. “I had one in my pocket.”
He pushed the door open and flicked on the light switch. They both stood at the threshold, looking inside a normal walk-in closet. Neat rows of clothes hung on every bar, folded stacks of sweaters were stuffed department store–style in wooden cubby slots, and sho
e boxes were stacked like blocks against the walls.
Lina squinted and stepped inside the closet. “There is something that Kesh is hiding in here, I’m sure. Otherwise it wouldn’t have been locked up and off-limits,” she said, moving the clothes around in a hurry.
“We’ve got to hurry. We’ve already been in here too long,” Narum warned her.
“There has to be something in here,” she said, frustration lacing her words. After kneeling down, she hastily moved the stacks of shoes out of her way. “There has to be something. Ouch!” Lina winced when her hand hit something behind some of the shoe boxes. “What the hell was that?”
She moved her hand again and dug around. “Ah. I found something.” She bent farther over to get a better view of what she was feeling. Her face was resting on the carpet in order for her to see all the way to the back of the closet. “Its . . . it’s like an old treasure chest.” After grabbing it with both hands, she tugged on the chest. She tried to pull it away from the wall, but it didn’t budge. “Narum, ugh!” Lina groaned, trying to pull it again. “Narum, I think I found something. Help me pull it out. It’s heavy as hell.”
“Watch out,” Narum said, nudging her aside. With little to no effort at all, he lifted the chest up and stood to his feet.
“My goodness,” Lina said, her eyes bulging at his strength. “Maybe you do take boxing classes.”
Narum shot her a look. His focus was on the chest in his arms. His eyes widened as he studied it, seemingly amazed. “I can’t believe these still exist,” he blurted. Immediately, his eyes went wide, a sign that he knew he’d said too much.
“What? What is it?” Lina asked, pressing.
“It’s a vampire box,” Narum revealed.
Lina threw her hands up to her mouth. “See? I was right,” she said, letting her hands fall slack at her sides. “I knew that dude was one of them. I’m never wrong. But what if Adirah—” Lina’s face iced with concern.
“Shh,” Narum said, stopping her from saying any more. “Let’s just see if that’s what it really is.” Narum set the chest down in front of them. “I heard vampire boxes hold enchantments cast by original vampires . . . the first of their kind. It is where vampires of old kept their most prized possessions, but these babies were thought to be long lost with the originals. Obviously not, because here we are, with one right in front of us.”