Heavenly Blood (Roseville Vampires, #2)

by Brighton Hill

  As the enchantment took effect, his feelings became amorous. Now he turned the helm in our direction. I felt the texture of the wheel on his hands as the rain poured down on him.

  I didn’t know what he looked like yet, but his girlfriend was fixated on a pimple on his cheek. I felt how much it bothered her. She wanted to pop it. “I don’t hear anything.” I sensed that she mumbled the words, but I wasn’t sure. The rain upset her too.

  “Oh, I hear it,” the girl said suddenly. Now she felt lightheaded. And then the sensations grew. Such pleasure. She longed for the promises we alluded to—a life of infinite delight, romance, and adventure. Her heart rate sped up. I could feel the blood rushing through her veins.

  Her boyfriend brushed her hair out of her face with his fingers, caressed her cheek, and then took her into his arms. They began kissing heatedly.

  First thunder sounded and then lightning struck in the air like a loud explosion. My attention switched to the other couple as I sang. From what I sensed, they were in the living room on the couch. I felt skin against skin. Sweat. It seemed as if this couple was making out too. We expected that. There was a lot of passion and heavy breathing. Oh, the breathing was fervent. The tastes. We had them.

  Minutes passed. They were entirely under our power, immersed in the song. The yacht was approaching fast, moving in the direction of our music now. Our voices grew louder and more intense. The rhythms were hypnotic. We bellowed out in heavenly symphony.

  I felt the anticipation growing inside me. The teenagers were so close that I could see the silhouettes of the four figures standing on the deck now. They were coming for us. I felt their eyes focused on our wet, jeweled bodies as we lounged on the rocks. They saw us under the moonlight. I was certain of that. The boys were desirous and the girls were fixated on our beauty.

  Our heads rolled side to side now and our hands slid down our chests as we sang. “Dive into the black waters.” Our voices were liquid and intoxicating, evoking rapturous thoughts. “Fantasies await.”

  Without hesitation, the four kids climbed up onto the side rail of the yacht. My eyes honed in on them—their cheeks were flushed, their eyes glassy. One after the other, they dove into the ocean.

  Still on course, the boat progressed forward rapidly toward the rocks where we lounged. I was so eager that my singing became shaky. I wanted the kids now. We all did.

  The yacht was coming right at us. I loved the danger, the thrill. My sisters, mother, and I stood at the edge of the rocks, wet wind blowing in our faces, our long hair dripping in the rain.

  The engine of the boat hummed, mixing with our high pitch. And right as the boat crashed into the rocks, we dove to the side into the sea. We heard loud tearing of metal and shattering of glass from the now capsized yacht as we swam.

  There was no stopping our strong, lithe physiques. My body felt so alive in the water. Tingling sensations rushed through me, through us. My brothers and father swam up to join in. Our faces stretched into form, teeth elongating with razor sharp edges. The sensations of the transformation felt like ecstasy. Our eyes paled in color to a milky blue.

  First Logan tore off one of the girl’s arms. Her eyes were so wide and horrified. We felt her pain and loved it.

  Oh, how the blood spread out in the water. Prickly sensations of pleasure poked through our pours. We could smell the red liquid. Blood was an addiction, a need. It beckoned us to lose control.

  At once, we went into a hedonistic frenzy like sharks tearing away flesh, devouring it entirely. Oh, so delicious. Heavenly. The taste of blood in the mouth is like a drug.

  Chapter One

  The air was salty, warm, and pungent with the scent of sun baked tropical flowers that surrounded Miami Beach High. With a deep jagged breath, Sabine Chevalier gazed out of the school cafeteria window at the gentle blue ocean. The waves lapped on the white sand shore. So peaceful. She longed to dive in and lose herself to the magic of the water.

  But the lunch chatter was ever present; her mind was in another place. As much as she desired, she couldn’t ignore what was happening. Her thoughts were pulled to a girl in California named Mandy Bowers. Oh, what a stupid sixteen-year-old blond. Who did she think she was crushing on Laurent Moreau, the guy destined for her? Girls should be careful who they fall in love with. Sabine’s eyebrows knitted together as her jaw clenched.

  With hope of freeing her mind, she continued to stare out the window biting the tip of her black nail. Now wasn’t the time to obsess over that childish girl. Just relax, she told herself.

  Her shoulders fell as she rested her cheek on her hand, her elbow on the cafeteria table. Minutes passed as she gazed at the sunlight dancing on the water’s surface. Such beauty. She could find solace in the tender waves. The ocean soothed her like that. And the longer she stared, the more she relaxed.

  Her mind drifted to memories of night swims under the stars with her sisters, to parties on the beach before relaxing bonfires, then to playing guitar under a full moon with the boy she loved. Oh, how she loved Laurent.

  “Earth to Sabine,” her sister, Jewel sang the words as she repositioned her brown long hair over her shoulder. Her neck displayed ornate, fine cut stones that contrasted with her casual attire of a tank top and a pair of jeans.

  Sabine looked at Jewel, frustrated that she was pulling her away from her mental retreat. “What?” Her voice was laced with bitter annoyance.

  “Somebody’s obsessed with you,” she teased as she motioned over to Sabine’ ex-play-thing, Matt, who was walking toward their lunch table with his football player friends. They were talking in rowdy voices, pushing and messing with each other. Matt looked over his tattooed shoulder at her as he passed.

  Oh, please—muscle shirts are so try-hard, she thought as she glanced at the permanent mermaid art on his skin that had initially attracted her to him in a fit of madness. Sabine was through with him. They only saw each other for a couple weeks and he made way too much of it.

  He was better off without her. The only thing he was interested in was her looks anyway. If he knew the truth about her, he would run away in horror. Turning from his irritating gaze, she brushed her fingernails through her long red hair and laughed at a joke Liam was telling her other sisters, Emily and Savannah.

  Why can’t Matt just leave her alone? She should have never hooked up with him in South Beach in the first place. Sure, he was popular and good at boxing and football, but he was way too shallow. And, please, could she really sustain a relationship with a guy like that?

  A part of her longed for male companionship. She wanted someone who dressed more dignified, someone that was not so easy to figure out, someone more intelligent. Was it too much to desire someone more like Laurent Moreau with his creative French attire, his mysterious temperament, and his brilliant mind?

  But she couldn’t have what she wanted because Laurent left her and moved away from Florida to California. The rhythm of his French dialect danced in her mind like a dream. His distant stare haunted her thoughts.

  She was sure Laurent loved her. He just wouldn’t admit it. If only she could read his mind, but he was blocking her—probably trying to keep his girls out of her clutches. He was so heroic like that.

  One of the dopey football players snatched Matt’s baseball hat off his shaved head. His chubby cheeks reddened. “What the hell?” Matt turned away from Sabine and chased after his annoying friend who was taunting him.

  “He has it bad for you,” Emily whispered as she twirled a strand of her blond hair around her finger.

  Like Sabine, Savannah, and Jewel, Emily was as gorgeous as a supermodel, but with the air of something more ethereal. Each one had the same tropical blue eyes with naturally thick lashes. They all had long flowing hair that fell to their waists and past. Voluptuous in all the right spots, their physiques were beautiful. And their voices resonated with a touch of the infinite.

  Sabine frowned, her fine features, paling under the fluorescent lights. She was bored. Bored as
hell. Miami Beach High was way too predictable.

  It hardly compared to the charm and excitement of eighteenth century Paris, the city where she lived before she was turned into a mer. So long ago, but the memories were still fresh in her mind even though hundreds of years had passed. Flashing lights, dining on the promenade, romantic escapades… Oh, the night life in Paris was grand. But in dismay, she pulled her plastic food tray closer to her and took a bite of her sushi.

  “Since you don’t like him…” Savannah joined in, her black waves of hair falling over the side of her face, covering one of her blue eyes, “…I’ll take care of him for you.” She almost looked like she was salivating.

  Sabine ignored her, but Liam interjected, “What do you mean—I’ll take care of him for you?” he asked laughing. His Adam’s apple lifted up and down in his throat with each chuckle. “You slut.” He cracked a can of cola and it sprayed out a little onto the table.

  “I didn’t mean it like that.” Savannah’s voice clicked as she spoke, as it did sometimes when she wasn’t careful to conceal her mermaid characteristics.

  Liam rolled his eyes and put his arm around her sister, Emily. “You girls are funny. Pure entertainment.”

  At this point, Emily smiled at her tall, lanky boyfriend. Goosebumps lifted on her arms at his touch, but Sabine could tell she was trying to control herself. Her body quivered in a way that revealed she could lose control at any second. She seemed into him which surprised Sabine. In Sabine’s opinion, he was average, ordinary American pie with plain brown hair and dimples. Sweet, but such a bore.

  Trying to ignore the love puppies, Sabine scooped hot wasabi into her long fingernail and ate it off like a mind stimulating drug. She enjoyed the intense burn of ground horseradish as she wondered if the guy she loved was dating anyone else. That would not be acceptable.

  Fury filled her mind. She tried to push it away, but it was so difficult to let go. The noise in the cafeteria was maddening. Again she looked out the window searching, searching, searching…

  But before she could find solace, something unexpected happened.

  A rogue with jet black hair and rugged pretty boy looks strutted over confidently and pushed his way in at the table beside Sabine. All the heads turned at the table to look at him. Even other kids in the cafeteria, more particularly girls, were staring at him. Who was this new guy?

  Sabine was startled. She didn’t know him and now he was pushing himself between her and Jewel. Some nerve. And he was clad in such low class clothing—sporting a leather motorcycle jacket that said Boys of Mutiny with a symbol of a dagger on the back. And his shirt underneath wasn’t even buttoned. Who the hell did he think he was? He was even wearing a tacky metal chain with some sort of dog tag that wasn’t even real silver. What a hoodlum.

  With narrowed eyes, Jewel looked at Sabine and flared her nostrils. They both stiffened on the bench. This scoundrel smelled like the ocean. What a surprising scent for such a rascal. He’s probably involved in over sea gun running or drug trafficking. Those kinds of guys are out on boats a lot, Sabine surmised.

  “Can I help you?” Sabine asked. The side of her body was so close to the guy’s lithe physique that they were touching. She could feel the vibrations of his blood coursing through his form. His face was wildly handsome which only irritated her more.

  “Scratch is the name,” he said with a wry smile. His voice was low and confident. And to her surprise, he took a sushi roll right off her tray without even asking and popped it into his mouth, swallowing it whole. His lips were sexy like Laurent’s, but his eyes were different. They were black like obsidian rocks.

  What an animal. Sabine detested bad manners. I can’t believe he just stole my food. She cleared her throat, not sure how to respond.

  His smile widened, showing off his perfect white teeth. “And you are Saboo, right?” He chuckled low and husky.

  “Sabine, idiot.” her voice was icy. “You can’t just take my food.”

  He laughed, batting his thick lashes at her that framed his confusing eyes. “Aren’t you on a diet? This is too fattening for you.”

  Her face reddened. She couldn’t believe his etiquette.

  But before she could say anything further, he pulled the raw salmon out of the center of another roll, tossed it into his mouth, and seemed to savor the taste like it was giving him some sort of high. Seconds later, he discarded the rice and seaweed wrap on her plate sloppily. “Mmmm. Delish,” he taunted as he got up, taking another one just to heighten her reaction. He threw the piece in the air and caught it in his mouth.

  Sabine was appalled. What arrogance. She looked at Jewel who appeared as if she was trying not to laugh.

  Unaffected, the guy strutted away to the other side of the cafeteria, glancing back at Sabine with a playful smile on his gorgeous face. Groups of girls in the cafeteria were still watching him and now some were whispering amongst each other.

  “Who was that?” Sabine asked Jewel. A scowl overtook her fine features.

  Her sisters burst out laughing.

  “I don’t know who he is,” Jewel finally said, twisting her brown curls into a French knot.

  “That was Scratch Morrison. He just moved from Laguna to Miami Beach,” Emily explained as she dabbed her lips with a napkin.

  “Don’t you know?” Liam added, crossing one lean leg over the other. “Rumor has it, he moved in next door to you girls. Now the four of you aren’t the only beautiful people at Miami Beach High. You should see his sisters.”

  Emily pinched him. “Hey, keep your eyes off,” she teased though her stomach tightened.

  His body flinched. “Ouch!” He pursed his lips in frustration.

  Sabine’s eyes widened as she touched her neck. “He’s our new neighbor. I met his parents, but apparently not him.”

  “Savannah and I met the whole family,” Emily said, wiggling out of Liam’s arms.

  “Yeah,” Savannah added. “They’re weird.”

  “Why didn’t you say anything?” Sabine looked visibly annoyed.

  “We just met them last night after our swim.”

  At that, Emily nodded. “We were going to tell you. It just didn’t seem all that urgent.”

  “Okay.” Sabine shrugged as she looked over at Scratch across the cafeteria.

  “He has three sisters with olive complexions and the same dark eyes. And they are all exotically beautiful, sort of enigmatic if you know what I mean.” Emily motioned her chin toward the other side of the room.

  Three girls in black dresses leaned against the back wall of the cafeteria together. They had serious expressions on their faces. And like Scratch, the girls were tall, thin and long legged. But oddly, their faces were pale, even a little gaunt. Something seemed not quite right about them to Sabine. And it piqued her interest that they were all looking off in different directions. What were they up to?

  ***

  The sun was low in the sky on this balmy afternoon. School workers had set up torches for the cheerleading competition at the edges of the flower lined lawn, giving the softest glow to the setting. Before an audience and judges, Cheerleaders from a neighboring high school were performing their dances on the wooden stage, lots of music and excitement, while other squads were getting glittery makeovers and dressing in elegant costumes with beads and sparkling ornaments in the tents waiting their turns to perform.

  Off to the side of the lawn, near the tents, Miami Beach High’s squad was stretching out their muscles while waiting to do their routines on the stage. They were due to perform in about fifteen minutes. Though only girls were allowed near the tents, Emily’s boyfriend, Liam, stopped by. “Hey, Sabine,” he said approaching her from behind, tapping her on the shoulder. “Can I talk to you for a sec?”

  Under the soft light of a torch, Emily looked up from her splits, wondering what Liam wanted with Sabine.

  “Yeah, sure.” Sabine turned around to face Liam, stretching her torso to the side. “What’s up?”

  Hi
s eyes widened in annoyance. “Privately,” he whispered and then looked at the other cheerleaders in an apologetic manner. He didn’t want to interrupt them, but he felt his request was important.

  “Oh,” she laughed. “Come on.” She motioned him over.

  He sighed and followed her around past the lawn to the other side of the gym where nobody was around.

  “I hope I pissed somebody off for taking you away.” His expression was surprisingly mischievous.

  She laughed again, wondering what he could possibly want. “No bother at all.” As a mer, her voice naturally flowed in melody.

  Blushing lightly, he handed Sabine a small box. “Can you put this in Emily’s locker for me?”

  “Why? What is it?” She stared at the pretty box.

  “It’s a surprise. I want her to find it tomorrow on her birthday.” He cracked his knuckles as he looked up at a bird in a nearby palm tree.