Princess (The Dark Shadows #1)

by Ariel Marie

  “But Daddy, I love my job, nursing—”

  “Not another word!” Vladimir snapped, cutting her off.

  “But what about Anika? She was with me when they were making the threats on the elevator. Will you make sure she stays safe too?” she asked, thinking of her best friend. She would be devastated if something happened to Anika because of her.

  “Of course, we will. We know how much your friendship with her means,” the queen said, assuring Nadira.

  The sound of an old telephone ringer filled the air. They all paused, looking around the room. Nicu walked over to their father’s private line, picked up the phone hitting a button on the base, sending the call to the television screen on the wall. The picture popped up, and King Sodan Magnus, appeared on the screen. A gasp escaped Nadira, as she peered at his thin, grayish face that was semi-hidden by the large black hood that covered part of his head. His amber eyes glowed on the screen as he looked around the room, settling on Nadira.

  “Sodan, what the hell are you doing on this line?” her father demanded, stalking over to the screen.

  “You owe me an answer, Vladimir. I don’t like to be kept waiting,” Sodan’s low groveling voice came across the line. “I see my future daughter-in-law is present for this meeting.” Nadira leaned into her mother as she wrapped her arm around Nadira, protecting her.

  “I have already given you my answer. Nadira is not up for negotiation!” her father roared.

  “Temper, temper.” Sodan shook his finger at the television screen. “Think of what I offer! Our children mating will join the vampire nation with the necromancers. Peace and harmony for all.”

  “Your people tried to annihilate our race before your disappearance. Why after fifty years, has there been no trace of you and your people? Now all of a sudden, you appear out of nowhere, wanting a truce?” Nicu stepped in. “Why the sudden interest in my sister?”

  “You are beneath me, Prince. I don’t answer to you,” Sodan said, waving his hand to dismiss Nicu.

  “Son of a b—” Nicu cursed as Vladimir held up his hand. Nicu stood near their father, clenching and unclenching his fist. Without having to see his face, Nadira could feel the hatred for the necromancer king pouring off her brother.

  “I would go to war before I give up my daughter to you!” Vladimir snapped.

  “War, really?” Sodan sat back in his chair, a sick sadistic smile spreading across his face. “You would risk the safety and lives of your people instead of creating a truce between our people?”

  “I will annihilate your whole race, to protect my family!” Now Vladimir was the one who growled, moving closer to the television screen. Nadira shivered at the tone of her father’s voice, but the look in Sodan’s eyes made her want to hide against her mother. She couldn’t look away from it because she knew he was coming for her.

  * * *

  ~Cooper~

  “Watch it!” Cooper exclaimed, as Teague and Toma almost dropped the last body. They had brought a customized black Econoline van to transport the bodies to the vampire containment center.

  “Who the hell are these guys?” Sam asked, watching Teague and Toma, as they loaded the body into the back of the van.

  “Guys who specialize in what we saw the other night,” Cooper explained, keeping his voice low, not wanting any of the employees of the coroner’s office to overhear their conversation. Sam’s eyebrows jumped almost to his hairline, as he looked at the tall muscular men.

  “Dude, you need to let me in on what you know!” Sam begged.

  On the way to the coroner’s office, Teague and Toma explained that it would be best that he not say anything to anyone about what and who they really were.

  “A government agency, that even I wasn’t supposed to know about,” he murmured, praying that Sam gave up on his questioning.

  “What? Like the NSA or UNBOSA?”

  “Really,” Cooper moaned, grabbing his head. “The United Nation’s Bureau of Space Affairs?” he asked, annoyance lining his voice. “They monitor Earth’s galactic travel! Making sure all the countries are following laws of space travel. Not. Aliens.”

  “You never know! They could have some secret-level shit organized under that group!” Sam was dead serious, as he looked Cooper in the eye.

  “Will you please just leave it alone?” Cooper begged his longtime partner and friend, almost ready to pull his hair out.

  “Detective Cooper and Colsten, Dr. Bevins said he is done with the two new bodies and needs you to come down to the exam room,” a guy in blue scrubs called out from the door that Cooper recognized as one of Dan’s assistants.

  “Thanks, we’re on our way,” Sam replied, looking back at Teague and Toma. “Are they coming down too?”

  “Yeah,” Cooper answered, signaling Nadira’s brothers over, letting them know the coroner was done with the latest bodies.

  These two were John Does also. No identification found on them, prints were not in the system and there were no leads whatsoever. Both of the men were found in an alley in downtown Cleveland. One of the men was found face down at the back of the alley while the other one was found near the entrance to the alley. The police report suggested that a noise drew in the second man and became the next victim. Dan worked a miracle by doing the two autopsies right away. Something must be wrong if he was done so soon.

  “Hey, Cooper and Colsten,” Dan greeted them as they walked into the exam room. He was dressed in his standard blue surgical scrubs and looked like death warmed over. He’d been working non-stop with all of the serial murders, including the regular unsolved deaths.

  Shudders ran through Cooper’s body as he stepped into the examination room. Cooper shook his head; he understood the concept of keeping the autopsy room a little chilly so bacteria didn’t grow and stuff, but did they need to keep the air on Antarctica?

  Dan raised his eyebrows at Toma and Teague as they entered the sterile room. “These are the two specialists I told you about over the phone that will be taking the bodies,” Cooper explained, introducing them quickly. Dan nodded, motioning everyone over to the bodies.

  The two victims on medical carts were naked except for the white sheets covering their genitalia. Both of them had the standard y-incision on their torsos, sewn up with sutures. “Let’s start with the younger victim,” Dan said, picking up a clipboard. “Caucasian male, between the age of twenty-five and thirty-five, six feet even, one hundred and seventy-five pounds. No signs of any diseases, and seems to be in tip top health.” Dan sighed looking up, shaking his head, throwing his clipboard on the metal countertop. “It’s the same with both of these two new JD’s, no sign of anything that could have caused their deaths. I sent blood out, for tox screens. I put a rush on them and I’m hoping I can have something by tomorrow. I have a contact at the lab over at Charity Hospital that owes me a favor. I’m hoping they can just run the test for me tonight instead of sending it out, and having to wait weeks for something to come back.”

  “Anything different between these and the first three John Does that you’ve noticed?” Sam asked.

  “Nope, these are just like the others — two holes on the neck and blood missing,” Dan laughed. “It’s almost like they were bit by vampires! If only they existed.” Toma and Teague didn’t move a muscle at Dan’s joke.

  “Doctor, these two will need to be released with the other bodies that we are taking,” Toma said, walking around the carts.

  “After what happened the other day, you can have them. I doubt anyone will step forward for the bodies anyway,” Dan said.

  A half hour later, they had the bodies loaded into the back of the van with the others. Cooper, Teague, and Toma left the morgue headed to the vampire’s containment center. Nighttime had now come, Cooper remembered Nadira saying that vampires were strongest at night as he stared up at the bright moon in the sky.

  “So, this containment center—” Cooper started but was cut off.

  “An undisclosed facility that we’ve ran for
centuries. You are not to say a word to anyone about it,” Toma said, pulling the van on an empty dark road. They sped off into the night, away from the city.

  “What will happen to the bodies?” Cooper asked.

  “We have cells to put the bodies in,” Teague answered, looking back at Cooper. “The necros will call for them and once they do, the bodies will rise to do their bidding, as you saw on that video. Our cells will be able to hold them.”

  “Will the necros be able to call for the zombies in the center?” Cooper asked, trying to get a better understanding of the type of facility they were driving to.

  “Zombies are different, these are the versi. The versi are controlled by the necros. The minute the necro stops controlling the versi, the body will drop where it stands, still dead. Zombies are undead beings that have no purpose; they are wanderers, the unholy dead. They are hard to kill but once they are dead, they stay dead. The versi are controlled and does whatever the necros want them to do and are much harder to stop because they are already dead, basically puppets,” Teague explained, as a loud thud sounded from the roof as something landed.

  “What the—” Toma cursed, swerving the van trying to throw off whatever was on the roof.

  “We’ve got company!” Teague yelled over the roar of the engine as Toma punched the gas. They flew down an unmarked road with no other cars in sight. Cooper reached for his firearm, pulling it out of his holster as another thud came from the roof. Toma slammed on the brakes, causing Cooper to crash into the back of the passenger seat, while Toma and Teague were both jerked by their seatbelts.

  He glanced up, watching as two male figures slowly climbed to a standing position a few feet in front of the van, their silhouettes highlighted by the van’s headlights. The disheveled figures continued to stand in front of the vehicle, unmoving.

  “Shit!” Toma cursed.

  “Zombies or versi?” Cooper asked, flipping the safety off his weapon.

  “Versi,” Teague said, opening his door and climbing out. He pulled his sword out of the sheath on his back, stalking over to the versi.

  “Stay here,” Toma said.

  “Like hell I am,” Cooper muttered, getting out of the van behind Toma. There was no way in hell he’d hide in the van, cowering like a little punk. The versi moved faster than the eye could see, attacking Toma and Teague. Neither Toma nor Teague hesitated engaging in battle with the dead puppets. Cooper tried to aim his gun at the versi but couldn’t get a shot off for fear of shooting Nadira’s brothers during the brawl.

  Movement out of the corner of Cooper’s eye caught his attention. A tall thin figure in a long dark hooded cloak with glowing amber eyes could be seen standing near the woods. Cooper quickly glanced at Nadira’s brothers as Teague sliced the head from the versi he battled. Cooper took off towards the hooded figure.

  “Freeze!” he yelled as the figure turned, disappearing into the woods. He let loose a curse as he ran in the direction the figure entered into the wooded area. He heard his name being called behind him but he didn’t want to lose the hooded figure. The darkness made it harder for Cooper to see, the moon providing scant light. He slowed down, lingering by a massive tree, trying to listen to sounds of the woods. He held his breath, listening to faint footsteps moving away from him. Without making a sound, he slowly made his way around the large tree, catching a glimpse of the hooded figure slowly disappearing around a large oak tree.

  Cooper slowly crept around the same tree holding his firearm steady.

  “Detective Cooper,” a voice said as he paused besides the tree.

  “Show yourself,” Cooper demanded, his gun not wavering. The figure appeared seemingly out of thin air. “Don’t move!”

  “Detective Cooper, this is such a pleasant surprise,” the figure said, his amber eyes glowing from under the hood.

  “Who the hell are you? How the fuck do you know my name?” Cooper asked, trying not to show his surprise.

  “We know everything there is to know about you, Detective. Even who you spent the night with last night,” the figure said, not hiding the maliciousness in his voice.

  “Who. Are. You?” Cooper demanded, leveling his gun, his finger steady on the trigger.

  “My name is Xalak Magnus and Nadira is my soon-to-be betrothed.” Xalak pulled the hood off of his head, uncovering shoulder-length dark hair.

  “Betrothed?” Cooper repeated.

  “She hasn’t mentioned me? I’m not surprised; we’ve yet to meet in person, but that will soon be remedied.”

  “How is Nadira your betrothed when you haven’t met?” Cooper didn’t take his finger off the trigger.

  “My father, King Sodan has been negotiating with her father, the King of the vampires. She is to be mine,” Xalak said, a ghostly smile spreading across his face. “She can have her fun with you now. Whatever you think you may have with her will now come to an end.”

  “What is between Nadira and me is none of your concern.”

  “Oh, she is much my concern. Give my betrothed a message for me.”

  “What?” Cooper asked, confused. His arms became weak, dropping to his side, his gun falling to the ground. He stumbled as his vision began to spin. Xalak took a step towards Cooper. Cooper’s knees gave out as he landed face first on the soft dry ground. Xalak stood over him, his amber eyes staring down at Cooper.

  “Tell my betrothed, I’m coming for her,” he said as Cooper’s world went black.

  13

  ~Nadira~

  “What is going on?” Nadira cried out as she rushed towards the front door of the Olaru mansion. Toma had called Nicu, informing him that they had run into versi trouble and Cooper was unconscious. Thoughts raced all throughout her mind as she watched Toma carry Cooper over his shoulder.

  “Teague, what the hell happened?” She grabbed Teague as he walked through the door behind Toma.

  “We don’t know, he took off in the woods after something,” Teague said, pulling Nadira behind him as they marched down the hallway. “We lost him for a minute, dealing with the versi. When we found him, he was on the ground unconscious.”

  “Take him to my room,” Nadira said, shoving her way past Teague to Toma’s side.

  Toma paused, looking down at Nadira. “Are you sure? He’s not the lightest thing to carry.” Nadira nodded her head quickly as they headed for the stairs. They settled Cooper on her bed. She discarded his shoes and pulled the covers over his still form. Toma paced the room while Teague leaned against the wall.

  Her heart pounded in her chest at the site of Cooper lying so still in her bed. His chest slowly rose then fell. His features stilled and he looked as if he was just taking a nap. Dirt lined his face and his midnight black hair. She scrambled to her bathroom, gathering clean towels and a basin of warm water. She made her way back, ignoring the soft chatter from her brothers on the other side of the room.

  She crawled into the bed, sitting next to him, gently washing his face. She took her time cleaning all traces of dirt from his face. She pulled leaves and twigs from his hair. She used the wet cloths to semi-clean his hair, removing the rest of the dirt from his short hair. Her bedroom door burst open with Nicu and her father storming into the room.

  “What the fuck happened out there?” Nicu demanded.

  “Two versi attacked the van. We took them out,” Teague started, looking around the room at everyone.

  “They were easy to put down. The next thing we know, Cooper’s yelling and taking off into the woods,” Toma said.

  “Where are the bodies now?” Vladimir asked, his eyes glancing over to Nadira.

  “We brought him here right away, not knowing what was wrong with him,” Toma says firmly. “We had Viktor and Gadiel take the bodies to the containment facility.”

  “Can you figure out what is wrong with him?” her father asked her softly, coming to stand next to the bed.

  Vampires were known to have special skills. Nadira was a healer, hence her going to school to become a nurse and wor
king in a paranormal hospital. For most of her almost four hundred years of life, she had been able to take aches and pain away, heal wounds faster than they would normally on their own. Her skills had come in handy over the years with her brothers being members of the Dark Shadows.

  “I don’t know,” she answered, placing the basin of water and towels on her nightstand. She placed her hand on his chest, as the room drew silent. She closed her eyes, blocking out all of those in the room. She focused on Cooper and she mentally scanned his body, not finding any physical wounds. His heart beat steadily beneath her small hand. She moved her hand to his head, finding his mind was in a fog. A powerful being wrapped Cooper’s mind in a cocoon of magic, putting him into a deep sleep.

  Nadira was not worried about removing the magic. She was more concerned about who was able to get close enough to Cooper to place a spell on him while Teague and Toma was not too far from him. She dug deeper in his psyche, trying to catch a tracer from the magic, taking note of the wisps of darkness and evil that had been woven in the spell. She opened her eyes and looked at her father then brothers.

  “Necro magic,” she whispered. Curses could be heard around the room.

  “Here, let us call a witch to remove the spell,” her father suggested. She shook her head.

  “No, I can do it,” she said firmly.

  “It will drain you, Nadira,” Nicu said.

  “I will do it,” she snapped, gazing at Cooper. “He’s my mate. I will heal him.” The tone in her voice signaling that she would fight them tooth and nail on this. They all knew that standing in between a vampire and her mate could be fatal.

  Nicu cursed, sending Teague to the kitchen for a couple bags of blood. She ignored her family, as she looked over Cooper once again. Because of her family and the war brewing between the necros, he was in this predicament. She turned back to Cooper, moving closer to him, placing her hand across his forehead. Maybe she should just erase herself from him again, setting him free from her. They have not bonded yet; it shouldn’t affect her too much. She quickly discarded that thought, knowing Xalak had set his sights on Cooper there was no telling what he would do next.