While waiting for Daniel to come downstairs, Emma asked, “So, how did you get past the guard?”
“Oh, Dan said he would let him know that I’m cleared,” she sharply smirked.
“Ah, I see,” she curtly replied, even though every nerve in her body was on overdrive from the heightened emotions. She felt like her muscles were vibrating, telling her to attack this spoiled brat. However, she wanted to keep the peace with Daniel while they rebuilt their relationship, so she kept her instincts in check.
When Emma saw Daniel coming down the stairs, she casually walked up to him and murmured, “Get her upstairs and out of view, we’re expecting the guards here any second now for our briefing. I don’t want her to hear anything going on.”
He nodded and invited Brianna upstairs to see his room, which made her giddy. Emma shook her head in aggravation and proceeded to look out the window, seeing the guards quickly approaching. Daniel ran back downstairs, leaving Brianna upstairs to have a brief moment alone with Emma.
He handed her the printout of driving directions to 10 Spaulding in Chicago and grabbed her other hand, “Please be careful.” His stomach was knotted with worry. During his entire life, Emma and Zachariah never really had vampire drama to deal with. Daniel was well aware that this was big, that this could be a war for power, and there was danger for the both of them. “Both of you, just come back in one piece, yeah?”
“No worries, we’ll be fine,” she reassured him.
He gave her a sideways look, “This is big, isn’t it?”
She hesitated a moment before answering, but was honest, “Yes, this could very well be big. If Declan is after power, then who’s to say he doesn’t have more than two vampires helping him? My main concern is getting Todd out of there and making sure every person who resides behind these iron gates is safe.”
Daniel scurried back up the stairs before Emma opened the door and invited the guards inside. There were ten of them—both men and women, all extremely intimidating, which was why Emma had hand-picked each one of them over the years. It was an honor to be chosen to be a royal guard, no matter how boring the job sounded to some. Vampires who were picked to be guards were a unique kind. They thrived on the constant prowling, ready to defend, and the prestige of being one of the Queen’s loyal servants. There were twenty guards total, but they split their twelve-hour shifts. While on the job they wore camouflage to blend in with the wooded area around the property.
Zachariah joined them and Emma briefed them about the situation, however left out the part that Todd was a living weapon. All they knew was that Todd was a dear friend (they had already seen him living on the property) and that Declan was plotting to kill the vampire royalty. All of them. Emma planned to go into the house first with Zachariah directly behind her, but she wanted the guards surrounding the place so no one could get away. She also wanted backup, just in case something happened to her and Zachariah. She ordered them to go in, rescue Todd, and bring him home. Once he was safely in their possession, they were to call Aidan. She hoped it wouldn’t come down to this since it would mean that she and Zachariah were no more.
Just as they were getting ready to leave, Kelly texted Emma to come upstairs quickly before she left. Emma grumbled to herself and told everyone to wait a moment. She shot up the stairs to where Kelly was and asked what was wrong.
“Nothing’s wrong,” Kelly replied as she shut the door and began to whisper. She pulled out a few mini alcohol bottles that she saw on Todd’s desk—enough for a shot or to spike a single drink. She went into the bathroom and emptied them in the sink. She came back with the empty bottles and grabbed a small pair of scissors from the desk. Emma was beginning to get impatient, not understanding what Kelly was doing.
Kelly bit her lip, squinted her eyes, and tightened her muscles while her left hand was making a fist. “Your blood heals wounds, right?” She confirmed before slicing her arm open along the vein, causing the blood to start spilling out. With shaky hands, she began to fill the tiny bottles with her blood, setting each one aside when they were full. Once completed, she demanded through clenched teeth, “Okay, give me your blood to heal me.”
Emma immediately bit her own wrist and put it to Kelly’s mouth, giving her just enough to heal the gash on her arm. It quickly stopped bleeding and smoothed over with new skin right before her eyes. Kelly put the caps back onto the bottles, went back into the bathroom to clean them up so that no one accidentally ingested some residual blood on the bottles, and handed them over to Emma.
“Just in case you need it before you get to Todd,” Kelly said as Emma looked at the bottles with both fear and awe, impressed by Kelly’s gumption. “And be careful, Elizabeth said they have been draining Todd, so you know that they have his blood, too.”
Emma nodded with complete approval, “Thank you. These may come in handy.”
She rejoined the group that was now waiting outside for her and they climbed into three separate vehicles, following Emma and Zachariah out of the property and onward to Chicago.
Chapter 8
Brianna strolled around Daniel’s room, examining every memory that hung on his wall. Every picture, every memento, and every trinket had a glance from her curious eyes. She asked questions about certain things, asked who some people were in pictures or where they were taken. Even though they had been together for nearly a year, it felt as though they were new since this was the first time she had ever been in his real bedroom. It was that awkward moment when you get a glimpse into someone’s life before you existed in it.
“Show me around the house?” She asked, batting her eyelashes. The place was massive and she was curious, she didn’t want to linger in his room all afternoon.
“Sure,” he said as he took her hand to lead her into the hallway. He showed her the paintings in the hallway, specifically the portraits of the first generation that lived there. She noticed the one hanging over Emma’s room and commented on how it looked identical to the current Emma. Without missing a beat, he said that Emma had been named after her ancestor and had an uncanny resemblance to her.
“I want to see her room,” Brianna said, clearly not caring about one’s privacy.
Daniel hesitated, but opened the door just wide enough for her to peek in. He wouldn’t allow her to go inside—it was Emma’s private sanctuary, he didn’t feel right letting Brianna go in and have a look around, especially since the two didn’t get along. He reached forward and pulled the door shut just as she became antsy and tried to go inside, which resulted in a roll of her eyes.
Across from them was Todd’s room, which was currently occupied by Kelly. She heard voices out in the hallway and opened the door to look to see who was there, slightly cautious after the day’s weird events.
“Oh, hello there,” she greeted, recognizing the infamous Brianna, but trying to remain cordial. She wasn’t a fan of her, especially after reading about all of her crazy antics on gossip sites.
“Who are you?” Brianna abruptly asked, not expecting to see someone unfamiliar there.
“This is Kelly,” Daniel soothed. “She is a friend of Todd’s and has been staying here while he’s been…away.”
“Oh…hello,” Brianna replied, completely monotone and uninterested. She eyed Kelly from top-to-bottom, already disapproving of her.
Kelly gave her a tight-lipped smile and a short wave before shutting the door.
Daniel led her back the other way and to the hallway of portraits that had several paintings of his ancestors. As generations grew into more modern times, photographs replaced paintings; from sepia-toned, to black and white, to color. Each generation evolving with the current time.
Uninterested, Brianna turned to him and said, “Let’s have people over!”
“What? Like who?” He asked.
“Just a few of my friends from the city, like Stacy, Jason, Stefanie, Ben—that crowd. Just a few people…please!” She begged, hoping her girlish whining would win him over.
He let o
ut a sigh, “I just kind of wanted to spend time with you.”
She pouted, “Please? We all haven’t hung out in a long time…” She desperately wanted to show off. Her boyfriend lived in the most glamorous home in the United States, there was more than enough room to entertain some guests.
“Today really isn’t a good day. Emma is…dealing with some things.”
Brianna snapped, “Oh please, she’s not even here! Come on!”
“Just a few people,” he finally caved. He called the guard shack and told the guard that the password was The Butler for anyone who showed up. He figured that that house was big enough to keep everyone out of the way when Emma returned. Plus, it was a distraction for him; otherwise his mind would linger on Emma’s, Zachariah’s, and Todd’s safety. He didn’t want to drive himself crazy all night wondering if they were okay.
Brianna jumped up and down, clapping her hands excitedly, “Thank you! Thank you!” She pulled her phone out of her pocket and began to send out a group text to a small number of their friends and gave them the password. Her hands were shaking from delight; she could hardly wait to flaunt her boyfriend’s home to people.
Daniel prepared some food for their guests before everyone arrived and Brianna scoped out the liquor and grabbed the good stuff. Kelly really didn’t want anything to do with it even though Daniel invited her downstairs to join them. That crowd wasn’t her scene and she knew she would feel awkward hanging out with them, especially after her brief meeting with Brianna in the hallway. Kelly stayed up in her room and watched television, trying to get her mind off the events that were probably taking place that very moment.
Shortly after, there was a knock at the front door and Brianna did a final check on herself in the foyer mirror. She opened the door to see her friends looking up at the towering building in front of them. She invited them in and Daniel came around the corner holding a tray of food for their guests. He invited them into the parlor and they followed, taking their seats on the couches near the oversized fireplace.
“This place is insane, Dan,” their friend, Jason exclaimed.
Daniel nervously laughed, he was never one to show off where he came from. He may have grown up with a large amount of wealth, but he was brought up to be down-to-earth and humble. This crowd wasn’t one that he would have normally picked, but they were friends of Brianna’s and they were always cool to him. Plus, it was kind of fun being a part of the party scene; it was new and exciting and something he had never really done much of before. Even though he grew up in front of the camera and in the Hollywood life, he lived an almost sheltered life.
Daniel looked up and saw several cars coming down the gravel road, causing his stomach to drop. He didn’t recognize them and feared that the vampire war was about to begin. Emma and Zachariah weren’t here to defend their home and half of her guards were gone with her. Noticing Daniel’s stunned, frozen face, their guests turned around to see what he was looking at out the window.
“Oh yay, they’re here!” Stacy said as she jumped off the couch and scurried over to the door, opening it and welcoming people in like she owned the place.
“Who’s here?” Daniel asked, irritated and confused.
“We invited some more people, Brianna said to bring whoever,” Stefanie nonchalantly responded.
Daniel looked at Brianna, flabbergasted that she would do such a thing when he agreed to only a few people. She waved him off and told him it would be fine, but instead his stomach turned into a knot.
Within thirty minutes there were so many people in the house that Daniel couldn’t keep track of where everyone was. They were going in different directions, most faces he didn’t know. He tried to move everyone into the grand ballroom and keep them contained in there by turning on some music, but most people were there merely out of curiosity. They took it upon themselves to check out all areas of the house. Others began mixing drinks at the bar and had no problem drinking the expensive stuff.
“You look tense, do a shot with us and relax!” Brianna suggested to Daniel while handing him a shot glass. “Have a little fun!”
He had a few shots and began nursing a mixed drink that someone had whipped up for him. After a while, he had a good buzz going and his nerves seemed to settle and his cares faded away. He was out on the dance floor with Brianna, awkwardly moving to Katy Perry’s Dark Horse while she danced along with him, completely tanked.
Upstairs, Kelly heard people talking in the hallway and heard a door open, followed by giggles. By the time she had gotten up to peek out of her door, she saw Emma’s door close. It didn’t feel right—if Emma was home she knew she would have come to her and told her what happened in their search for Todd.
Kelly went out into the hallway, shut the door behind her, and shuffled toward the staircase. She passed some more nosey people in the hallway that looked at her like she was an alien. Her hair was in a ponytail, not a spot of makeup on her face, and she was wearing just a fitted t-shirt and jeans; definitely not dressed up for a swanky party at the Manor. She felt judged, knowing she didn’t belong there and was surprised that this was the kind of company that Daniel kept. She reached the staircase and cautiously looked over the banister, not wanting to draw attention to herself. She was shocked to see so many people down there, freely walking around like it was a hotel. She didn’t see Daniel and reluctantly made her way down the stairs to look for him.
She peered to her left and looked in the parlor where people were hanging out all over the furniture, touching things that were on shelves, no doubt pocketing some souvenirs. She didn’t see Daniel, so she followed the sound of booming music coming from the grand ballroom where she saw people mingling and dancing. Her eye finally caught a glimpse of him swaying like a drunken sailor to the beat of the music out on the dance floor.
“Daniel!” She called as she marched over to him and tapped his shoulder. “Daniel!”
“Kelly, you made it!” He exclaimed. Brianna looked none-too-thrilled to see her and assessed her dismal attire with her eyes.
“Dan, I need to talk to you,” she said loudly in his ear so he could hear her over the music. She pulled on his arm to go out into the foyer and Brianna responded by pulling his other arm back toward her.
“Where are you going?” She asked.
“I need to talk to him!” Kelly yelled as Brianna glared a hole through her. “He’ll be right back, geez!”
Brianna let go, but not without a scowl. Kelly dragged him into the foyer where she didn’t have to raise her voice as much to speak to him.
“Is Emma back?” She asked.
“No, I don’t think so. I hope not, she’s gonna kill me!” He laughed like a guilty teenager.
“Well, then you should know that some people went into her bedroom and shut the door. There are also people roaming the halls upstairs and I figured you really wouldn’t want your friends wandering around.
“These people aren’t my friends, I don’t know who a majority of them are,” he replied, teetering on the edge of being beyond buzzed.
“Well, come on then, I can’t shoo people away myself, this is your house.”
Kelly trotted up the stairs quickly while Daniel lagged behind, becoming more and more intoxicated even though he wasn’t drinking at the moment. She stopped and looked back to see that he was slowly taking each step while hugging the railing. She stepped back down to help him move faster up the stairs by holding on under his arm.
“I think someone drugged my drink. I feel really, really off and I haven’t had that much.” He was obviously becoming groggy and dizzy and Kelly hoped she could get him up the stairs before he passed out.
“Come on, let’s get you to my room so I can keep an eye on you and make sure you’re okay,” she said as she practically held him up.
She passed the same people again who were now running down the hall and laughing, not even noticing that she was there. It was like she and Daniel were invisible.
“Hey!” She yelled in a bo
oming tone. “You’re not supposed to be up here, get back downstairs!” They looked at her and snorted, continuing their shenanigans.
Kelly pushed her door open and plopped Daniel down on the couch. He slouched over to the side and almost instantly fell asleep. She ran into the bathroom to fetch a glass of water and emptied the garbage can contents onto the floor. If Daniel was going to throw up at some point, at least it might be less messy and not on the floor of Todd’s bedroom. No one would look forward to cleaning that up. She put a pillow under his head, pulled his legs onto the couch so he could lie on his side, and put a blanket on him.
Kelly looked around the room for a long object that she could use for hitting if she needed to, but didn’t see anything out in the open. She felt awkward opening Todd’s closet, but she checked in there anyway and found a long umbrella resting off to the side. Perfect.
Her heart was pounding with adrenaline, but she felt oddly empowered and responsible to take charge since Daniel was rendered absolutely useless right now. She grabbed the umbrella and was ready to use it. She quickly walked across the hallway to Emma’s room and flung the door open without knocking. Inside were three people; a guy and two girls, going through Emma’s things and looked to be stealing some of her possessions. They all jumped when Kelly burst through the door, looking furious and ready to take someone down.
“What the hell do you think you’re doing?” She yelled.
Tripping over their words, one girl replied, “Just checking the place out.”
“What did you take from in here?” Kelly demanded.
They all shook their heads, claiming not to have stolen anything.
She didn’t believe them, but she couldn’t take on three people and make them empty all of their pockets and purses. Plus, she didn’t know what possessions Emma had, so she wouldn’t know the difference. “Get out! Now!”
She waited in the doorway as each person filed past her then shut the door behind her as she followed them out into the hallway. She kept walking behind them to be sure that they continued to make their way downstairs. She heard voices coming from the portrait hallway on the opposite side of the staircase. She walked around to the other side to find Brianna and her friend standing in front of Emma’s painting and laughing.
The Living Weapon (Davenport Manor Book 2) Page 11