Heavenly Blood (Roseville Vampires, #2)

by Brighton Hill

  When the desire arose, he would drink a little of her blood from her neck or other parts of her delicious body for a short time, careful not to turn her, and continue on to do other things to her for his own pleasure; the rest of the time he kept her locked away with the other servants in finely decorated maids’ chambers on the top floor of the house, rooms that were fully stocked with exercise equipment, elegant clothing, makeup, perfumes, etc. to keep themselves attractive for him. When they weren’t keeping the house, they were trained in music, art, cooking, and dance and were expected to perform for him whenever beckoned. Once they grew old, they continued with their servant’s chores and taught the newer girls the arts of charm and allure.

  All the servants had tracking devices implanted in their bodies in case they tried to escape. And whenever one did, she was always caught whereupon she was tortured and killed in front of the others. This threat kept most servants in line. With time, they found ways to accept their fates.

  Yet over the years, Ezzie grew to love her master and in her twisted sense, she began to long for him. Lord Dyson recognized her intense love. But as she aged, he grew tired of her and his craving for her ceased. For all practical matters, it was too late to convert her to a vampire because though she was still pretty, her skin had wrinkled and her eyes had grown sallow. If he turned her in her middle age, she would become more attractive, but she would always appear old.

  Vampires had a reputation to uphold and the Corado Elders, the vampire government, forbid converting a human being past the age of forty-five into one of the living dead. Now, because Ezzie had proved herself as loyal and had found favor in Lord Dyson’s eyes, she had free reign of the house and was allowed to roam liberally within the castle and its gardens. Because Lord Dyson liked her better than all the maids, she was put in charge of both the servants and the guards. Her devotion was great.

  “Pull,” Ezzie demanded, concerned because Lord Dyson was expected home anytime now.

  With all their strength Ada, Carol, and Martha dragged the body with their wrinkly hands into the plastic zipper bag. “We’ve got her,” Ada said in her aged voice as she wiped her brow. Her short roller set hair stayed perfectly in place. “The banging has stopped—finally.”

  “Never mind that,” Ezzie whispered as she tucked the girl’s blond curls into the bag and over her pretty pale face. “Now call John in to take her out to the guards. They’re probably starving by now.”

  Carol made her way up off the floor and wiped the blood off her hands on one of her cleaning towels that draped over the handle of the cart. She was a small woman in her early sixties and like the other three she was in excellent-shape for her age. All the maids lived on strict, nutritious diets and exercised with the finest equipment daily.

  While Carol called John on the intercom system, Martha lowered the bottom rack on the cart. She had one hand on her thin hip as she glared down at Ezzie as she and Ada rolled the body onto the metal holding.

  With that burden out of the way, they went to other cleaning chores. While Martha and Ada were scrubbing the bathroom and Ezzie and Carol were stripping the canopy bed of its bloodied sheets and redressing it, the guard entered.

  “Thanks, John,” Carol said as she opened the door for him while he rolled the cart out without a word.

  The guards were tall and strong and lived in the rooms attached to the dungeons on the bottom level of the castle. They were a type of Golem, man-made human slaves, whom Lord Dyson created from earth, bone, and magical incantations. As soulless beings, they did not possess the power of speech. Though they enjoyed a variety of foods, they mostly lived on the bodies of Lord Dyson’s virgin girls. It was a practical method that left little evidence of wrongful murders in the unlikely case of inspection.

  “He’s home!” Ada whispered putting her hands to her cheeks. “I hear him coming up the stairs.”

  The servants’ bodies tensed as they stood perfectly still. “What do you think he will do to her?” Carol asked the bunch as she rushed over to the sofa across the room to straighten the pillows.

  “Remember Katie?” Martha reminded them, wringing her hands.

  “That’s right,” Carol whispered, rejoining the group as they stood stiffly at the end of the bed waiting. “She tried to convert one of the maids to a vampire when I first came.”

  Ezzie shook her head. “This newbie is a fool to cross Lord Dyson. She deserves what she gets.”

  The others didn’t say anything, but simply watched the door wondering if he would enter his bedchamber or if he would enter Drew’s. They heard the sound of his footsteps pass down the hall. The knob to the other bedroom turned, leaving an impression in their ears. Ezzie’s shoulders fell. “Looks like it’s her, not us.” She set some mints on the bed pillows and a long stem rose upon the white silk comforter.

  At that, Martha’s body relaxed, but the other women’s bodies remained stiff. “Off to the kitchen,” Ezzie sighed tossing her blond layers of hair off her thin shoulder. “Let’s go,” she whispered, the others following behind.

  As Lord Dyson stepped inside Drew’s bedroom, he looked at the posters of rock bands on the stone walls and the maroon embroidered comforter on her queen size bed. He picked up a framed picture off the nightstand. “Your grandmother?” he asked.

  The guards held Drew down on the white marble floor, but her blue eyes widened as she stared up at him, her mouth taped shut. She tried to answer but the sounds were muffled.

  “You think I would let you get away with turning one of my girls without my permission?” He ripped the tape off her mouth.

  “Ouch,” she screamed, her hands tied behind her back. The guards took a firmer grip as she struggled. “Fucking untie me!” Her voice was loud and demanding. She continued to yell and curse at him.

  Lord Dyson ran his fingers through his dark short hair. His lips turned into a scowl on his perfect face. Casually, he walked over to one of the bronze holders bolted to the wall and retrieved a lit candle. Once he was standing above her, he began to drip hot wax on her arms.

  She yelled at him more, holding in the pain as the wax burned through her skin. The blood rose to her cheeks. “Stop—you evil freak! You’re a cruel bastard. An abomination…” Her voice grew hoarse, but she continued to struggle, kicking her tied legs at the guards whom held her down.

  Unaffected, Lord Dyson turned the candle upright and said to his men, “Take her down to the dungeon. Only rat blood for her. That is where she will live for now.” He set the candle back in its holder and sat down on the edge of the bed and cried quietly in his hands.

  Just before returning home, he had passed Giselle Viparado on the street. Oh, how his heart ached at the sight of her. Her fine white dress that fluttered at its hem in the wind. The way she moved graceful like a gazelle. Even after all these years he wanted to take her into his arms and caress her fine soft skin. But she ducked away into a nearby boutique, her face also flushed with fever. It had been years since they had crossed paths. Lord Viparado was careful to keep them apart. Oh, my sweet, innocent love, he thought.

  The Dyson’s and the Viparado’s became rival covens because Giselle chose Lord Viparado over Lord Dyson. Giselle was madly in love with Dyson but married Viparado because he was going to kill Dyson. Why were you such a fool? You should have let him kill me. His throat tightened as fury rose through his body. He rushed out of the room slamming the door.

  “Get me one of girls from the dungeons,” he ordered John as he stepped into the kitchen down stairs. He opened the liquor cabinet and guzzled down half a bottle of vodka before returning to his room. He didn’t want to be cruel and evil, but he couldn’t help it.

  Chapter Five

  Violet ran through the woods out onto the street. The night wind ripped through her hair, brisk across her cold skin. Oh, how her mind ached. How could Radley not love her? In just one night he had grown tired of her. What did she do wrong? Maybe it was the way she kissed. Maybe she seemed too easy. Since her convers
ion, her sex drive had increased tenfold.

  She had always wanted him, from the first day they met, but now the yearning felt even more intense. All her emotions were wild inside like a great electrical storm. And those feelings increased in his arms. Even though she wasn’t experienced, she could tell he would be great in bed.

  Tears streamed down her doll face. Now she had to join the Viparados. The idea of it terrified her. The Fatals and the Dirts made her more than uncomfortable. They seemed unpredictable like the kind of people who might gun you down when you’re not looking.

  And the Fatals seemed much more masculine than the Crimson Devils. They road motorcycles like the boys and their hair was cut in daring styles. Would Violet have to emulate them to survive? Everything about those girls seemed reckless. And now she would have to go to their nasty reform school, Valley High, or better known at Roseville High as Wicked Valley High School. What did that mean? Were those students perilous too?

  As she walked along the dark winding road down Roseville Mountain, she considered what might happen if she just didn’t join the Viparados. Possibly, she could simply not show up. She could return to her father’s house and stay there. And the more she thought about it, the better the idea seemed.

  With that in mind, she cut through the woods and ran toward home. The night sounds in the forest were musical. One might expect a sort of silence, but the buzz of insects and life movement caused quite the stir. When she came upon a possum sniffing around in the bushes, she chased after the whitish pink character. It squealed in her hands, wiggling its long body about, but that stopped soon enough as her teeth itched and then sank into its neck. Oh, so hot. The animal twitched in her grasp for a moment, but it soon succumbed to a slow moan as she sucked its blood hard, gulping and then rolling her eyes until the vein ran dry.

  It was a sweet bitter taste and after, when she dropped its lifeless body to the ground, the idea of what she had done caused her stomach to roll. She ignored that feeling as best she could. At least she didn’t kill a human, she reasoned, trying to make herself feel better.

  Once she arrived at her father’s house nestled within the trees, she was surprised to find the front door unlocked. For a moment, she stopped to listen at the step with her new, sharp sense of hearing. She didn’t detect any worrisome sounds, only that of the hum of the refrigerator, so she stepped inside.

  It felt strange to be in her home after all that had happened. A warm ache flooded her chest. If only her sister Ariel was there with her. She missed her deeply even though it hadn’t been that long since they were apart. But days felt almost like a life time ago with all that had transpired. It was all so much with them both turning in such a short period of time.

  She walked through the dark living room hearing the creak of the floor and remembering the last time she saw her father. He slapped her and cursed at her. Would that be the last time they spoke? Oh, how she longed to make that relationship right, but he might never wake up. The idea sickened her. Her poor father, still and nearly lifeless in a lonely hospital bed. Was he aware of his surroundings or just lost in some mysterious place in his mind?

  The ideas were too much. Bile rose up in her throat. She rushed to the toilet and dry heaved. Nothing came up even though the thought of losing her family entirely made her utterly nauseous.

  After some time, she flipped on the light in her bedroom and sat down on her twin bed remembering the time just after they had moved in when that crow had perched on her window ceil and gave her the Rose of Life necklace. At the time, she didn’t know that gift of protection against vampires was actually from Radley. He had shape-shifted into the crow. That necklace was some sacrifice. It nearly took his life.

  She shook her head, blinking her eyes. Don’t think of Radley. Oh, my Radley, my love. You couldn’t have meant what you said. She lay down on the bed, taking the teddy bear her mother had given her as a child into her arms and cried.

  But before she could release all of her tears, if that was even possible, the Fatals barged into her room. “Alright now,” Zeta said, eying her on her bed. “Stop the pity party. We all went through that, but it’s not reasonable.”

  “Sure as fuck isn’t,” Destiny said, running her hand over her close shaved black hair. “Sky’s the limit now, girl.”

  With the back of her hand, Violet wiped her eyes. She hoped they couldn’t see the blood rushing to her cheeks. It seemed foolish to look weak in their eyes.

  Alexa put her hand on Destiny’s shoulder. “A supermodel body, perfect looks, and eternal life ain’t so bad.” Her voice had an edge of harshness.

  Violet’s pulse raced. Looking at Alexa, she wasn’t sure about her personality yet, but her physical appearance was surprisingly cute with her strawberry blonde curls and freckles.

  Su-Jin tied up her long black hair with a clip and sat down next to Violet on the edge of her twin bed. Violet’s body stiffened as the slender girl spoke, “We are family now and we look after each other.” She had a petite body and a warmth that to Violet’s surprise made her feel a slight bit more comfortable.

  But then, Camila had to ruin that when she started jumping on Ariel’s bed, her wavy dirty blonde locks flew out to the sides like snakes on Medusa’s head. “Get your sis outa your noggin cause she’s our enemy now.” Her big breasts were bouncing beneath her t-shirt.

  Zeta chimed in, “We gotta roll. Lord Viparado expects us to go to school every day and it’s almost sunrise. Not a good time for vampires to be out.” She licked her lips.

  Su-Jin took Violet’s hand and they stood up together. But before she could follow them out, Destiny reached in her coat pocket, pulled out a syringe, and stuck Violet in the arm with it.

  “Oh, my!” Violet shrieked. “Why’d you do that?” she asked with wide eyes as Destiny pulled the needle out of her vein, the plastic tube filled with warm red liquid.

  She took a skull pendant out of her pocket and filled it with Violet’s blood. The Death of Life,” she chuckled. “Ironic name isn’t it?”

  Violet just narrowed her eyes. She glanced at the window, wondering if she should make a dash for it and try to get away.

  “Wear this always or you will die.” Destiny’s voice was light, but Violet detected an underlying seriousness as the girl forced the chain and charm over her head.

  “Come on,” Su-Jin said as she took Violet’s hand again. “Don’t scare the poor girl to death.” She looked at Violet. “You can ride with me until you get your motorcycle.”

  Violet’s throat tightened. “I don’t know how to ride a street bike.”

  “You’ll learn.” Su-Jin smiled as she patted her once on the back.

  The other girls laughed.

  Nodding uneasily, she walked with the gang out to the driveway. “Don’t you all wear helmets?” Violet asked in a surprised tone. After she spoke, she realized what a stupid question she had asked. “She should keep her mouth shut and not reveal herself.”

  They all laughed again. “Living on the edge is our game.” Alexa winked. She was way too cute with those dimples and the freckles just gave her a childish appeal that was probably more misleading than true, Violet thought. Something about her eyes seemed a little psycho.

  With a grumble of the engines, they were off, ripping down the windy Roseville Mountain as the sky started to turn from black to gray. The clouds slipped over the waning moon. Violet held tight to Su-Jin’s small waist. Apart of her was afraid she might mistakenly pull the waify girl off the bike. She was so petite and thin. But as they progressed, she felt the strength in Su-Jin and saw that appearances were deceiving in this case. Su-Jin raced to the front of the coven daring Camila as she took the lead nearly knocking her coven sister off the road.

  Once they rounded the corner near the bottom of the mountain, they turned off through a forest of trees where they drove down a long, dark driveway splitting the woods on either side. Once at the end, they parked in front of a dark mansion that looked more like a decrepit haunted h
ouse.

  Everything was silent out in the dim haze. Violet saw the Dirts’ motorcycles parked off to the side by a big red barn. It looked like there were stables. And as she watched for a moment, she saw horses standing in the shadows below the trees within their corals.

  As the girls stepped up the decrepit stairs that led to the front door, Violet’s body tensed. She didn’t want to go inside. This place is way too creepy, she thought. But Zeta kicked open the jammed door and chuckled before she held her hand out directing her new sister inside.

  The house was dark and shadowy aside from the flickers of light from numerous arrays of candles dispersed around one enormous room. To the left was an old but large kitchen that looked more like a meat factory with jars lining the stone counters and what looked like skinned human bodies hanging by their feet from ceiling beams.

  Violet took in a sharp breath and shuddered. As she took a closer look, she noticed that the jars were filled with red liquid which she assumed was blood. Who were these people?