They were Marcus’s eyes, but there was no bloodlust, and none of the dark suffering that is so much a part of the vampire.
At first I thought the obnoxious honking was just some very strange - random string of my subconscious, invading my already weird dreams, but even after opening my eyes, the honking continued. I likened the sound to a dozen car horns going off outside my bedroom window.
Turns out I was right.
Pushing myself up, I rolled out of bed and made my way to the window. Dusty’s truck was sitting on the side lawn, beneath the window, but his wasn’t the only vehicle parked haphazardly around my yard. Daya was sitting on the hood of Brian’s truck, waving at me as I peered at the spectacle from my bedroom window.
Uncle Basile and his old black Thunderbird were also out there. They were all honking and waving at me, as I watched them from the shelter of my bedroom.
It would have been a good time for my brain to start functioning, but I was still in the grip of sleep haze.
What the hell was going on?
Had everyone I knew gone crazy overnight?
It might have been the balloons tied to Dusty’s truck that finally gave it away, or maybe I just woke up enough to get a clue, but it dawned on me what today was.
My birthday!
How could I have forgotten my own birthday?
True, I’d been a little caught up in the vampire drama I was dealing with, but what kind of nut would forget about their own birthday?
Seeing how I was wearing nothing but a T-shirt, I threw on my robe before running down the stairs to let everyone in.
Daya was waiting on the porch when I opened the door. In one hand she had a bunch of bananas, and in the other, a gallon of ice cream.
“Did you forget?” she asked. “Banana splits for breakfast.”
Half laughing - half crying, I threw my arms around her neck. “Thanks.”
Mom had always made me banana splits on my birthday, and that was something Daya wouldn’t have forgotten. She’d make sure she was at my house bright and early, just so she wouldn’t miss out.
“What are best friends for?” she asked, brushing by me as she headed for the kitchen.
Dusty, Uncle Basile, and Brian were right behind her.
Uncle Basile brushed my cheek with a kiss. “Happy Birthday.”
“From me too,” Dusty said, patting the top of my head like I were some kind of cute puppy.
“Thanks,” I told him, brushing his hand away.
Barefoot and still somewhat dazed from my very strange wakeup call, I followed the rest of them into the kitchen. Daya was already dishing up the banana splits.
“So what’s on the agenda for today?” she asked no one in particular.
“There’s a family party planned for tonight,” Basile told her.
The secretive look that passed between Dusty and Basile made me feel a bit uncomfortable. They were up to something.
“How come I didn’t know about this?” I asked, my eyes resting on Basile.
“Am I invited?” Daya asked, before Basile had a chance to answer my question.
Looking at me, he said, “It be a surprise … that be why you didn’t know about it.” When he’d answered my question, he turned to Daya. “Sure enough child … but it be just for close friends and family,” he told her, his eyes leveled on Brian.
Uncle Basile was making it absolutely clear that Brian wasn’t invited. The old man stood his ground, glaring at Brian - daring him to say something about it.
Daya seemed uncertain. I had to sympathize with her. If she came to the party, Brian would be mad at her, but if she didn’t, then she’d worry I would be offended.
Changing the subject was the only way I could think of to help her out, since I didn’t think there was any chance of Basile changing his mind about Brian.
“So where was y’all planning on having this party?”
“It’s a secret,” Basile answered. “I reckon we can all meet here near about sundown.”
Just then, a crazy thought ran through my mind. I wondered if Uncle Basile planned on kidnapping me to keep me away from the vamps. With him being so against vampires, I had to assume it was a possibility.
Daya handed me a banana split.
Risking a possible brain freeze, I took a huge bite. The brain freeze didn’t happen, but there was still the whispering of my subconscious, warning me that my indulgence was going to mean a few extra pounds. Just for today, I’d ignore the danger of an expanding waistline.
After swallowing the banana ice cream mixture, I asked, “So what are we doing at this party?”
“Ice cream … cake … the usual,” Basile told me, but as he spoke, he refused to meet my eyes.
Something was up.
I decided to ignore it for the moment. They were my family, so whatever they were up to, it couldn’t be all that bad.
“I need another one Missy Daya,” Dusty handed Daya his dish and gave her a wide grin.
No wonder Dusty had been so quiet. He’d been too busy shoveling ice cream in his face.
Daya rolled her eyes. “Dusty DeBlanc … if you don’t watch it, you’re going to roll down the highway better than that old truck of yours.”
* * *
I was in a fix. The plans my family made for my birthday celebration really put a wrinkle in my own plans for the night. Not that I minded, but I had intended to talk with Marcus about using his blood to try and heal Max. With the evening already being planned out for me, I wasn’t sure how to do that. There was always the option of waiting until tomorrow night, but with Max in the hospital on life support, that didn’t seem like such a good idea.
Thinking I might be able to talk Aaron into letting me wake Marcus a little early, I put off getting ready for my party in favor of a trip into town.
Unlocking the entrance to Crimson, I stepped inside. As soon as my eyes adjusted to the dark, I saw Aaron asleep on one of the tables. There was a mop leaning against a nearby table.
Deciding to take a nap in the middle of mopping the floor seemed a little on the strange side, but I supposed that if I were getting my blood drained constantly, and working my tail off to go with it, I’d get a little tired too.
“Aaron … wake up,” I whispered, nudging his shoulder. I had to repeat his name a couple of times before he finally opened his eyes.
He blinked rapidly, but it was a moment or two before his eyes came alive. “Not you again! What is it you want this time?” he groaned.
Pulling a chair down from the top of a nearby table, I sat next to Aaron’s makeshift bed. “I need to talk with Marcus.”
Aaron shook his head. “Come back tonight.”
“That won’t work. I need to see him now,” I insisted.
Aaron sat up and rubbed his eyes. “Good luck with that.”
“Jonas was awake during the day. Isn’t there a way to wake Marcus?”
With a sour look marring his face, he shook his head. “You can if you want, but I think I’ll pass on that one.”
“Well where is he … and how exactly do you wake up a vampire?”
After sliding off the table, he pointed to Marcus’s room. “The door to the basement is in there. Just put your hands on him. The warmth from your body and the scent of your blood will wake him … which by the way, isn’t a good idea.”
“Will he eat me?” I asked, slightly alarmed by the thought of waking a hungry vampire.
Aaron shrugged. “Depends on which part wakes up first, his instinct or his brain.”
It was then that I started having second thoughts. Maybe it could wait another day.
But then the image of Max hooked to all those tubes swayed my decision.
“You sure you won’t go down there with me?” I asked, getting to my feet.
“I’m good.” He waved at me. “You go ahead and have all the fun.”
It figures. All the fire in him totally got doused when it came to Marcus or Grace.
Shrugging, I opened
the door to Marcus’s room. Of course it was unoccupied and the lights were off.
That was one thing I could say about Club Crimson. During the day, when there were no people or music, it was as dismal as the grave.
Flipping on the lights, I looked around for the door to the basement. I guessed it would be hidden, and I was right. I finally found it partially concealed behind some large amplifiers Marcus used for practice.
I thought it was overkill, but with no neighbors nearby, having his music that loud probably wasn’t a problem. In any case, with a place like Club Crimson, you’d have to be far enough from neighbors to keep the complaints down.
When I opened the door to the basement, I found a dark - narrow staircase. It was too dark to see what was at the bottom of the stairs, and I wasn’t about to just traipse on down there and find out, at least not without the benefit of some lighting.
Switching on the light, I started down the stairs. They were a lot steeper than what they’d appear to be from the doorway.
The light from the stairwell only illuminated a portion of the basement; the rest was black.
Waking a vampire in the dark couldn’t be a good thing, so I searched for another light switch. It was on a wooden post at the bottom of the stairs. Once I’d switched on the light, I saw that I was standing in what almost appeared to be some kind of root cellar, but it was empty. There wasn’t a single coffin in sight, though I did notice a small crawl space in the cement wall.
Again I had no flashlight.
I was quickly coming to the conclusion that carrying a flashlight with you, should be standard when dealing with vampires. This was the second time in twenty-four hours that I’d found myself stumbling around in the dark, looking for vampires.
Taking a deep breath, I peered into the crawl space. It wasn’t as dark as I thought it would be, but that could be because it led to another room where I saw the flickering light of candles.
If it were any other vampire, I probably would have turned right around and gone back upstairs, but this was Marcus. Granted, he had his scary moments, but there was something about him that was different - something that drew me to him.
Maybe it was the vampire spell, or the fact that he’d given me his blood? I wasn’t sure. What I did know is that deep down, I trusted him, though no one else seemed to.
Emerging into the second room, I found that what I’d taken for candlelight was really oil lamps.
One of the coffins was fairly standard mahogany, but the other was white with gold trim. I guessed that one probably belonged to Grace.
I had no interest in waking Grace. In fact, I found the thought of waking her distasteful.
Since I had no idea if noise could wake a vampire, I decided to play it safe and be as quiet as possible. After making my way to the mahogany casket, I stood there staring at it for what seemed like an hour, but was really only a few minutes.
The vampire inside was just Marcus.
I had to keep reminding myself of that fact, or I’d never have the courage to open the coffin. Taking a deep breath, I placed my hands on the lid and lifted slowly. With the coffin only partly open, I couldn’t see much, but as the lamplight chased away the shadows within, I saw a deathly pale face - Marcus’s face.
At first I was frozen with fear, and then an overwhelming sense of sadness crept into my heart.
He was truly dead.
It was the first time this part of the vampire reality had managed to make its way into my head.
He looked no different than some of the bodies you’d see in a morgue. His lips were thin and nearly as pale as the rest of his face. His bare chest was also pale; not smooth and sexy as it had been last time I saw him shirtless.
There was no hint of life at all. What had once been Marcus, was now only a hollow corpse.
I reached out to touch his face, but stopped just before my hand made contact with his skin.
What kind of monster would he be if I woke him prematurely from death’s slumber?
Again, I thought of Max and it was enough to spur me on. At first I softly brushed his cheek with my fingers, but there was no reaction.
Gently, I laid my hand on his face. Still there was nothing, no breathing - no eye movement. By all rights, he was actually dead.
Gasping, I backed away when his eyes opened without warning, startling me. Though he remained motionless, he stared up at me with eyes that radiated the unnatural light of the Immortal.
I would have screamed if I hadn’t have been in shock.
When I’d recovered enough to think, I managed to move a few steps further from the coffin, just as he sat up.
Growling, he pulled back his thin lips to reveal fangs - fangs that could be as deadly as they looked.
This had been such a stupid idea!
Marcus swung his head around to stare in my direction. The ravenous hunger I saw in his gaze, sent shards of fear straight into my heart.
Spinning on my heels, I made a dash for the crawl space, but no way was I fast enough.
Before I’d managed to take one step, he flew from the coffin and tackled me to the ground.
I tried to roll away from him, but was only able to get onto my back, which put me in a worse position. Now I had exposed the artery in my neck.
His eyes grew brighter. Growling, he went for my throat.
“Marcus! No!” I screamed.
He stopped, hesitating just long enough for recognition to break through his hunger. Jumping away from me, he yelled. “Get out of here!”
I didn’t have to be told twice. Before the last word left his mouth, I was already on my feet and running for the crawlspace, but his screams of agony stopped me dead in my tracks.
I chanced a look over my shoulder, and was stunned by what I saw.
Marcus was doubled over in obvious pain. I saw blood running from his ears and eyes.
“What’s wrong?” I cried.
He shook his head. “I said go.” His voice was weak, barely a whisper.
I was torn between my human instinct for self-preservation, and the need to help him. There was no way of telling if it was my Christian upbringing to be charitable, or my almost uncontrollable need to end his pain, but something pushed me to go to his side.
Withering in agony, he fell to the ground and curled up into a fetal position.
“What is it Marcus? What can I do?” I asked, kneeling beside him.
“Go.” The low growl tore from his throat.
I shook my head. “Let me help you.”
“I must feed,” he groaned.
I looked around the room, hoping there might be a fridge with a blood bag handy, but there was nothing.
“I’ll go get Aaron,” I told him.
He gave no response. Instead he went into convulsions.
Now I was really worried. I had no idea what you did for a vampire that went into convulsions.
I owed him and I knew it. The least I could do was return the favor.
Wincing, I held out my arm so that he could feed from me.
When he stopped trembling, he pushed my arm away. “I may kill you,” he said, his voice so hoarse it was difficult to understand his words.
As stubborn as I am, once I make up my mind about something, it’s hard to sway me in another direction. I put my wrist to his mouth.
This time I was prepared for the pain of fangs sinking into my flesh. It was his voracious hunger that alarmed me. As he fed, I felt as if I were spiraling through a dark tunnel. I saw no light at the end of that tunnel.
The wild terror that ran through me in that moment was overwhelming.
Hadn’t Luke told me that the experience could be different, depending on the vampire that was doing the feeding?
As quickly as the memory of Luke’s words entered my thoughts, I was no longer in the tunnel. I was lying on a bed of snow with Marcus staring down at me. His eyes were beautiful, like shining sapphires. I could feel his breathing, and the beat of his heart, but what surprised
me the most, was that I could feel his body heat.
He wasn’t dead!
The vision faded and I was now looking at the vampire Marcus. His color had returned to normal, but there were still droplets of my blood on his chin. I reached up and wiped the blood away.
Marcus grabbed my hand and held it in his. Leaning into me, his lips covered mine and as his tongue explored my mouth, I could still taste my blood.
I knew I should pull away, but it was as if my brain were no longer in control. Now it was my soul that was in control, and it was that part of me that thirsted for his kiss - his touch.
His lips left my mouth and set a trail of fire, as he kissed his way to my neck.
I found myself imprisoned by the weight of his body and my growing arousal. A groan escaped my lips when I felt his cool hands slip beneath my shirt and bra, to roam intimately over my breasts.
“I want you and I don’t care who you belong to,” he growled in my ear.
As badly as I wanted to voice my own need, I couldn’t find the words. Instead, I let my hands glide over his broad back.
My common sense had dwindled to next to nothing. I was now a woman possessed by an all-consuming need I couldn’t even begin to understand. I knew what lust was, and what I was feeling went far beyond primal instinct.
“Well aren’t we in a compromising position?” It was Grace’s sugar coated voice.
The spell was broken.
Marcus rolled away from me. That’s when I saw Grace sitting up in her coffin, watching us like she’d just been witness to a delectable scandal.
It took a minute for my mind and body to recover from what I’d just experienced with Marcus, but as soon as I could, I jumped to my feet.
“I have to talk to Marcus. That’s why I woke him,” I told her, hoping that we could just skip over the making out and foreplay she’d just witnessed.
I needn’t have worried. Grace completely ignored me and looked over at Marcus. “You are looking much better now. Did you manage to find a feeder with blood that doesn’t make you ill?”
It slowly dawned on me why Marcus had appeared so dead, and why he’d attacked me. It wasn’t just that I’d woken him, but that he hadn’t been feeding.
Crimson Rush A Vampire Romance (Crimson Book 1) Page 12