“I see a Princess who has effectively, in just the first few moments of her life, wrapped one of the most powerful vampires I know around her tiniest finger. Yes, she will be a force to be reckoned with, but it won’t be against Absinthe. She will have you and every other male in this family bowing and scraping to do her bidding anytime she opens her pretty little mouth. All of you are in serious trouble.”
Jared burst out laughing. Anna’s eyes shot open. Rather than screech her disapproval, she merely made a face and returned to nursing. Her chocolate eyes drooped lazily before closing. A few moments later her mouth released Alex and a soft snore filled the room. Jared lifted the baby from Alex’s arms and carried her from the bed to the bassinette a few steps away.
Alex relaxed against the headboard, a content look on her face. “See, I told you. You are now her willing slave for the rest of eternity.” She held out her hand to him as he sat on the bed next to her.
“You think so?”
“Absolutely.”
He shrugged, watching Annabelle sleep. “There could be worse fates.”
“True” Her smile faded. “She has everything that was missing in my life when I was born. At least I can rest easy knowing there are people who would do anything to keep her safe. She will never know the horrors I saw.”
“None of that will ever happen again. Not to her and especially not to you. I’ll protect you both till the last breath leaves my body. I’m sure someone else will step up and defend you if that ever happens. I love you, Alex. You are my life.”
Tears welled in her eyes. She already knew in her heart he meant every word, but to hear it, always choked her up. Well, the hormonal riptide in her didn’t help matters either.
A knock interrupted her thoughts and she wiped the tears away. Jared kissed her forehead and headed to the door. Before he opened it, he glanced back to see if she was pulled together. At her nod, he opened it wide to reveal Zephyr nervously running a hand through his hair.
“You do realize you’ll go bald if you keep doing that, right?” Jared laughed. He moved aside and slapped Zephyr on the back as he entered. “Thought you got lost. Where have you been?”
Z shot him an irritated glare. “I went to retrieve you mother, who just happened to already be here. I also gave Lance the good news.”
“You saw Lance?” Alex sat up straighter in bed. “Are they enjoying their trip? I hope you told them there is no need to rush home.”
Zephyr took her hands in his as he sat on the edge of the bed. The skin around his eyes crinkled smiling at his only daughter. “I may be scarred for life after seeing the wolf in his birthday suit, but I can assure you they are enjoying themselves. And yes, I told them we have everything under control, so finish their trip. But I’m not here to give you a report on him. I’m here to see my two beautiful girls. Draguta, you are positively radiant. The little one is letting you rest, yes?”
Alex chuckled. “Actually, no. I know it’s only been a few hours, but I feel like I’ve been awake for days.” She stifled a yawn. “Now would be an excellent time to hold her. She’s been fed, changed, and off to la-la-land. No chance of hearing a protest.”
Jared lifted Annabelle from the bassinette and carried her to the bed. He leaned forward, handing her to Zephyr. The big bad vampire’s hands shook when he reached for the tiny bundle. Terrified, he accepted the child. Anna opened her eyes and everyone held their breath waiting for her to cry. She reached out and touched Zephyr’s cheek. A spark passed between her fingers and her grandfather’s face. She stared at him for a full minute before tucking her hand back under her chin and closing her eyes again.
Alex watched, bewildered. “What was that all about?”
“I don’t know.” Jared sat on the other side of the bed. “Z, are you alright?”
Zephyr shook his head slowly. His gaze still locked on the angelic face of his grand-daughter. “Not exactly.” He lifted his amber gaze to meet the questioning look on Alex’s face. “I think I just saw the future.”
“Morning, baby.”
Serenity looked up from studying her textbook. Her mother padded into the kitchen wearing baby blue plaid flannel pajama bottoms and a navy t-shirt. It never ceased to amaze her that her mother was even put together fashionably first thing in the morning. From the ponytail on her head down to the grey fuzzy slippers on her feet, Sheridan looked like she’d been awake for hours primping.
“Is it morning already?” Wrapping her hands around the now lukewarm cup of herbal tea, she yawned.
Her mother stopped at the coffee maker to grab her own morning poison. She poured the pitch black liquid into a Nightmare Before Christmas mug, then turned to face her only child. She was quiet for so long Serenity fidgeted.
“Something wrong, Mom?”
Sheridan took a long sip from her mug, her eyes narrowed. “Wrong? What could be wrong?” She sat down across from Serenity. “Honestly, what would I have to be concerned about this morning? The fact that Britt never dropped you off or that she called me every fifteen minutes to see if you got here yet. Or, here’s my favorite, who is passed out in the safe room downstairs?”
Nettie rubbed her face with her hands. “Mom, I can explain”
“Oh, I really wish you would.” Her mother placed her mug on the granite counter top and folded her arms across her chest. “You’re just lucky I was the first one up and noticed there was someone in it and not Jake. Please tell me it’s not a vamp.”
Serenity winced.
“A vamp? Really, Nettie? You brought a vamp home knowing that Jake has an itchy trigger finger lately. He could have sensed whoever it was and staked them. We really don’t need that happening right now.”
“I know and I’m sorry. But, Drakkar had nowhere else to go last night. And he’s okay, normal, even.” Nettie got up and skirted the island. She wrapped her arms around Sheridan. “I promise I made sure he understood that we know how to deal with his kind.”
Sheridan patted her hand. “I figured as much. Just make sure you’re on guard. Don’t take what he is capable of for granted.”
“Never. Besides, I’ve been practicing.” She kissed her mother on the cheek and stepped back, holding out her hand. A carving knife from the wooden block by the stove slipped out of its slot and flew into her palm.
Her mother beamed. “I told you a change of scenery would be good for you. Now are you happy I took the position at Conservator headquarters?”
Serenity slipped the knife back into the block and returned to her seat. “Yep, you were right, and going to night school with the supes is the best thing I could have done. The teachers are better equipped to help me. Thanks, Mom.”
“You have a gift, honey, I only want to see you be able to use it.” She watched as Nettie waved her fingers over the book making the pages flip on their own. “This school is the best in the state for what you need and you don’t have to join a coven for the learning experience, either.”
Nettie continued to flip the pages of her text book, not saying a word. Sure she was happy. She learned from the best teachers, had an awesome house, and she was making friends. Okay, at least two friends so far. Britt still didn’t want her to associate with Nick. Not that she’d given Nettie a solid reason why.
I dated him. I know Nick. You don’t want to get involved with Nick or that psychotic vampire he hangs around with. Britt’s voice echoed in her head.
Serenity stopped flipping pages and lifted her mug to take a sip. She knew her friend meant well, but Britt didn’t understand the extent of what she could do. A little bit of witchcraft here and there. Yes, that was getting stronger and easier to control every day. Her real power was something less visible, at least to others.
Reading auras, now that was what made her special, at least according to her mother. That ability was what told her Nick, and Drakkar for that matter, meant her absolutely no harm. Sure they were typical guys. Nettie didn’t expect anything less than the normal stuff, at least from Nick. Drakkar w
as something else entirely. The feelings she got from him troubled her.
It wasn’t as if he were a threat. She sensed quite the opposite. What worried her was the shadow within him. Something or someone put it there. It wasn’t natural, and she’d never felt anything like it before. When she found him, she sensed his aura at war with it. Eventually the shadow faded and he was perfectly fine. Well, as fine as a vampire could be.
Not that she really knew, till recently.
“Serenity.”
Sheridan waved a hand in front of her face.
“What” Serenity snapped.
Sheridan raised her brow in warning. “You were miles away just now. Is something bothering you?”
Placing her mug on the granite countertop, she contemplated her answer. In all honesty, it all boiled down to one thing.
“If I’m going to school with other Conservator kids, and we are all there to learn our jobs, why is everyone so suspicious of each other? Many of them literally hate each other, for no real reason. Someday we are all going to be protecting the kingdom, working together. Right now it’s like we are being pitted against each other.”
“Are you sure it’s not just typical teenage stuff?”
“Mom, seriously, I think I can tell the difference between moodiness and actual hatred. Let me give you an example.” Serenity drummed her fingers on the granite. “Britt basically told me to stay away from someone today, but refused to give details. The only explanation she gave was that they dated and he was bad news.”
Sheridan sat back. “I assume you read him.”
Nettie shifted in her seat. “Not intentionally. He handed me a paper I dropped.”
“And?”
“And-” She exhaled blowing a stray hair out of her face. “I got nothing. This guy, Nick is perfectly fine. I think she just got hurt by him and doesn’t want me to get to know him.”
“It’s possible. Or it could be something deeper.”
Nettie frowned. “What does that mean?”
Her mother placed her hands over hers. “I should have told you about this sooner. I didn’t think it would be necessary, but maybe it is.”
“What?”
“There has been unrest between the different vampire factions within the kingdom and monarchy. It’s why I transferred here. The Conservatorship contacted me last year when the King all but disowned Princess Absinthe, making Jared the heir apparent.”
“I know that left quite a twist in her panties.” Nettie smirked.
“Serenity,” her mother warned.
She retained enough sense to keep any other remark to herself. Although, the image of a vampire princess with a wedgie kept her smiling.
“Anyway, what the king didn’t count on was the amount of loyalty Absinthe commanded from the court and other vampires throughout the kingdom. Things are only going to get worse if Jared can’t fix the rift.”
“How much worse could it get?”
Sheridan let her go. “We’re talking all out civil war.”
“So why doesn’t the Prince just explain his position to Absinthe and offer her a compromise? There’s got to be a way of getting the king to allow her to have a hand in the court,” Nettie reasoned.
“Oh to be as innocent as you are in this situation.” Her mother chuckled. “Serenity, that will never happen. Absinthe Dragoni tried to murder Jared’s wife and committed more crimes than you are aware of. There is no way she’s about to be pardoned by either her father or Jared.”
“If she’s so evil, why haven’t they taken her into Conservator custody already? I know enough about your job to understand there are ways to neutralize a threat like her.”
Nettie was confused. She’d seen it happen in the past. A vampire went off the rails and they sent a specialized team of operatives in to bring them back to sanity. This was usually due to lack of viable blood in their diets. If that didn’t solve the problem, the vamp was eliminated publicly by a beheading.
The whole thing made her skin crawl. For such a civilized and advanced people, the vampires still reverted to the barbaric ways from their heritage when it served them.
But from everything she knew about the princess, she wasn’t crazy. Princess Absinthe took great pleasure in the pain of others and she was completely sane when she inflicted that pain.
“Things have become more complicated.” Sheridan rose to refill her coffee mug. “Turns out the princess has a son. I’m not sure how that one fell through the cracks. Not even her father knew he existed. She kept him very well hidden.”
That peaked Nettie’s interest. “Really? A son? How do you keep something like that a secret, especially when you are in the eye of your people. It seems impossible.” Nettie was floored. “Any ideas on who he is?”
“Well. . . .”
Anything her mother was about to say vanished as Armageddon shook the house around them.
~ ~ ~ ~
Peaceful, dead to the world slumber.
The first he’d had in well, he couldn’t remember.
It all came to an end abruptly as hands grabbed him from behind and launched him across the room through the solid pine door, and into the wall across the hall. His body hit it so hard, he left a deep impression in the sheetrock. Some of it cracked and cascaded on top of his crumpled body lying on the floor.
Drakkar shook his head. What was the number of that bus? He looked up as a fist came flying at his head. Dodging it, he rolled out of the way, crouching ready for his assailant’s next attack. He wasn’t about to take a beat down from a stranger. He’d had enough of those from Absinthe.
The human pulled his hand from the ruined wall where Darkkar had been. “Think you can get away from me, you little bastard?”
The man straightened and towered over Drake. Drakkar swallowed. He’d known humans, the ones who worked in Absinthe’s house and his teachers mostly, none of them compared to what stood before him now. This human was a brick wall. At least six foot four and all muscle. He made a professional wrestler look like a child.
He was dangerous.
Yet, Drakkar recognized the man. He was the one who caught Nettie when she slipped on the ice. Drake braced for the next blow. He didn’t want to use his powers, but would if it meant his life. And given the fact the human seemed to be gunning for him, that might very well be a possibility.
The mountain advanced slowly. Drakkar glanced around, trying to figure out a way around him. All he wanted to do was to barricade himself in that room till the sun went down. Until then he was a sitting duck.
“What is your problem? Serenity let me stay here.” Drake inched backward. His heel hit the baseboard. Crap.
“My problem? My problem is there is a vamp sleeping in my basement. A vampire that I have no knowledge of.” The human cracked his knuckles. “One who may decide my sister-in-law and her daughter would make a good breakfast when he woke up. So ask me again what my problem is.”
Drakkar wiggled his fingers willing an energy ball to form. Nothing. He frantically tried again. Not even a spark. Double crap.
The human grabbed him with one hand around his throat and pinned him to the wall. Drake’s feet dangled mid-air. “Having a little problem? Yeah, your hocus-pocus will not be working here.” Mountain man circled his free hand in the air. “Protection spell. There’s only one person in this house that can wield magic. And boy, it ain’t you.”
“Jake!”
Mountain man, a.k.a. Jake, glanced over his shoulder. “Sher, let me handle this.”
A blonde, who Drake assumed was Serenity’s mother, was halfway down the stairs at the end of the hall, Serenity hot on her heels. Drakkar grabbed Jake’s hand, unsuccessful in prying the man’s fingers from his throat. Things were getting a little fuzzy. He needed to breathe.
Serenity grabbed Jake’s arm, yanking on it. “Uncle Jake, let him go. He’s a friend of mine. He’s only here till it gets dark.”
“No can do, Kiddo. This vamp is going to headquarters now.”
&nbs
p; Sheridan approached from the other side getting between them, her blue eyes cold as ice. “Jake! I cannot allow you to harm the boy, let alone take him in. As your Superior and your Sister in-law, I demand you let him go.”
“But, Sheridan-”
“Now, Jake.”
The hand around his neck gave one last squeeze, a future promise, and then fell away. Drake dropped to the floor coughing and gasping for air. Serenity knelt beside him. Her hand touched his back. Gradually his breathing returned to normal. Looking up, there was relief in her eyes. He smiled in response.
Serenity turned her gaze on her Uncle. “There was no reason to go in there and bother him.”
“Nettie, Kiddo, when I wake up and the hair on the back of my neck is tingling, it means there is a threat here. I was only trying to protect you.”
Nettie threw up her hand silencing him. “No, you decided to come down here and play the bully to a defenseless innocent. Yes, he’s a vampire. But he’s also a classmate of mine who found himself in the wrong place too close to sunrise. What would you tell his parents? ‘Oh, my bad for killing your son. Thought he was a threat. Then again I think all vamps are threats. Oops.’”
“Serenity!”
“No, Mom. I’m tired of not being able to have any friends for fear he’ll kill them. Jake, you need help.”
“You can have friends here. Just not any like him.” Jake folded his arms over his chest, his dark eyes like granite. “I’m not the one who needs help. It’s you two. I’m done here.” He turned and climbed the steps. “Letting this one into our lives and home is going to come back and bite you in the ass.”
Sheridan shook her head, turning her attention back to the teenagers rising from the floor. “I’m sorry about Jake. He’s been having a rough time since my husband, his brother, died. 9/11 did a number on our family.”
Drakkar nodded sadly. “It’s okay. I’m used to it.”
“Used to it?” Sheridan frowned.
“Yeah, I’d prefer not to talk about it.”
“Well, first things first, then.” Sheridan held out her hand. “Hi, I’m Sheridan Avery, Serenity’s mom. That unruly bastard is Jake, her Uncle.”
Drakkar ~ Beyond the Lie (A Dark Order of the Dragon Novel Book 3) Page 4