by J Wells
I don’t just pick up sounds that emulate around me, but hear things far out of my range; it’s as if the volume switch in my head as been turned up a notch or two. At times it feels as though my head will explode, as I am bombarded by conversations, the high-pitched laughter and crackling fires of campers as they make merry many miles from here, the heady moans of couples who lie below canvas tents making love. The scurrying feet of armour-backed beetles as they busy themselves foraging to my heightened senses are like a rattling train that chugs its way into the station. I am overwhelmed by the constant presence of noises and press my hands against my ears; as if by magic I am left in peace. It is nice my senses give me a choice as to when and where they kick in.
I sniff and pick up a strong scent, but it is one that won’t leave me. Could it possibly be Rose?
Distracted, I look down as a vibration rips into my leg. I reach into the tight pocket of my trousers and pull out my phone. My eyes drop towards its illuminated screen; I smile as I read the message a couple of times. It is no surprise, for how could she resist me and my hypnotic charm? And how could she resist the ten thousand pounds I am offering her? A thousand pounds a night for the pleasure of my company? But then my smile falls; who am I kidding? She is the drug from which I cannot escape. She is my addiction for which I am risking the future of me and my family. My face straightens; my eyes follow and scan the words of Rose’s text once more:
She’s here, so close; she walks within the forest and will wait for me on the bridge. My teeth bite down and chew on my bottom lip. Could she possibly have remembered the night she tried to take her life? My hand was there and I saved her. Could she possibly have remembered the intimacy we shared? Those precious moments as we sat lost within one another on the soft forest bed covered with autumn’s rustic leaves? Farfetched as it may seem, the touch of her fingers relit my heart and for a short while she brought me back to life. Even now, the very thought of the girl stirs up feelings that I need to explore. I slip the tyre down past my thighs and watch its slow pendulum-like motion without me. I turn and head between thick bracken bushes, deeper into the forest.
My open-mouthed breaths take in her fragrance, which entwines with the scents of summer. Step by step I grow closer. I am able to hone in on the same sadness that clung to her before; it remains just as fresh and heartfelt. I pause and inhale, taking a deeper breath. This is not just sadness I sense, but anger too. With her given mood, I wonder how best to woo my lady.
Tall, wispy ferns conceal the entrance to the bridge. Upon my approach, I can hear the gush of waters below. I look down at the blanket of grey mist that hangs clouding the inky depths and spiralling currents at play.
I step back in awe. I watch as she enters the bridge from the far side. I can see her so clearly, though as I approach she appears oblivious. She turns towards the wooden rail, which she clasps in both hands, and stands looking out into the moonlit night. I walk tall on my toes so as not to be heard, and creep up silently from behind. One by one my icy fingers engage with her shoulders. I groan at the renewed life she grants me, and the tick of my heart begins.
Having a vampire’s intuition, I know she won’t be an easy catch; already broken, she is not shallow enough to fall for my looks alone. I have no option but to go against my original plan and ease her in gently to the idea of loving me by using my powers of persuasion. Leaning forward, my lips graze the side of her ear, allowing the hypnotic pull of my voice to filter its way into the vulnerability of her subconscious.
“Do you not know the coldness of the waters below? They will rip into your flesh like the fangs of a wolf. It will be a slow and painful death you face, for those waters will not be merciful once they invite you in, and there is no way back.”
My words are carefully crafted and are the same as when we first met, when her life hung in the balance. With a tilt of the head, her face rests against my own and tonight, our eyes have their first meeting.
“Lucian…”
Her body softens, and I feel it relaxing into mine.
“I never thanked you for saving me that night; I owe my life to you.”
“Does that mean you’re forever in my debt?” I ask in a meaningful whisper as my fingers comb their way through the length of her hair.
“I don’t know why,” she says with a cock of her head, “but since last night at The Silken Kite I can’t seem to get you out of my head.”
And that’s the way it’s going to stay, I think to myself mischievously. I shudder away the cold from my body as warmth rises from my feet, and the human I once was rears itself. Unbeknown to her, this woman is the elixir to my life; I can’t afford to let her go, not that she’ll want to. I have her here, and tonight she goes nowhere.
“Come, Rose, I want to take you home, introduce you to my family.”
I reach out for her hand, though can see a hesitance behind her eyes.
“Lucian,” she stutters, “I hardly know you. How do I know I can trust you?”
She backs away.
“It’s not just that…” She clears her throat. “A dear friend of mine has told me a lot about you.”
I watch as she looks down at her feet, pausing as if she’s unsure what to say. My eyes widen in anticipation. Slowly she lifts her head.
“According to Tristan, you’re a vampire.”
I clasp my mouth in my hand, for how would anybody outside of the forest know this well-kept secret of ours? Her revelation is soon accompanied by her rising blushes.
“So cut the crap; if you want me to spend ten nights with you then I want to know who I’m spending them with. So out with it, what are you?” With narrowing eyes, she adds, “What are you really?”
“Rose, listen to me…”
Again I reach for her hand, clinging onto her fingers, though this time I’m not about to let her go. I know my eyes are filled with sincerity as I look into hers.
“I am no more than a man who stands before the woman he loves.”
“But, Lucian,” she snaps with a shake of her head, “how can you say that? How can you possibly love me?”
My, how women today have changed. With the thought process I have planted in her mind, she should have fallen into my arms without question, though question me is all she does. I take a breath and catch a scent of somebody else nearby and realise we are not alone. It is neither animal nor human. My head darts back and forth, catching the direction of the breeze and trying to locate whatever it is that intrudes.
“Rose, it is my time to question. Did you come alone tonight?”
I can see the way her fingers twist a gold stud in her ear and the way her teeth play around on her lips.
“Well, yes and no,” she mutters, lifting her shapely brows. “Tristan brought me to the forest this afternoon and we had a picnic. He told me all sorts of unimaginable things, which has left me reeling, but then…”
I watch with intrigue as she falls silent and see the seriousness on her face soften in an instant. Her eyes widen, their whites enhanced by the moonlight.
“Lucian, the things I saw Tristan do were not magic tricks; what I saw was real and I saw it all with my own eyes.”
Her dark fragrant hair whips out behind as her head flicks round. I follow the direction of her gaze. The rustling in the undergrowth is not squirrels at play, nor foraging rabbits. The silhouette of a tall man steps out of the camouflage, and again I sniff. This is no man, well not all man, of that I am sure. There is a detectable essence to him that is foreign to any of my senses.
“Rose, come to me,” he calls.
I count the three or four steps he takes towards us. I cannot deny that he looks human enough, though as I sniff the air I wonder what really lies beneath. I throw my arm up before Rose as a barrier. She’s going nowhere; this is my territory, and I say who walks around my forest at night.
“Rose…” I can hear the growing agitation in the man’s voice. “Get away from him, Rose!” he bellows. “Run to me.”
H
is arms are outstretched as he continues to walk nearer.
“When I told you to go to Lucian this afternoon and tie up all loose ends, I thought I was doing the right thing. I thought I could watch you fall in love with someone else, even knowing that the person I sent you to was a vampire. I thought I could stand by and let him take you from me, but God, I was so wrong. I can’t do this; my human side is much weaker than I realised. I love you more than life itself … I proved that the day I fell for you. They say love can conquer all, and I believed my love was strong enough to let you go, but I was a fool, and whatever consequences may come of this, I want you by my side.”
I grind my teeth and can feel them sharpen in readiness.
“What are you?” I shout, asking him the very same question Rose asked me only moments ago.
“My name is Tristan, and I am as holy as you are evil.”
“Back off,” I scowl.
“Please let her go.” His voice is not raised, and I can hear no anger.
The only angry voice I hear is my own, for with my arm pressed against Rose’s chest I am able to pick up the acceleration in the beat of her heart and the rise in her body’s core temperature, both of which are telling me that he is a threat.
His eyes pierce mine.
“Lucian, I know you are the devil’s spawn, a vampire. I know because you being the way you are is my fault. I hold my hands up and I am truly sorry, but what’s done is done. The past can’t be changed without dire consequence, so I have to find a compromise with the gods and his angels somewhere.”
With my arm pressed against Rose, I am able to feel, which allows a violent anger to seep inside me. Enraged, I start to shake.
“If, as you say, me being this way is somehow connected with you, then what I have in store for you is a fate far worse than death.”
He stands before me, enabling me to see the angelic glow that radiates around his body. I see his true identity; I know what he is, but am unsure why he is here.
“God has no business with me, for no rules have been broken. We have killed nobody, so I think it best you be on your way.”
I thrust my hand towards the sky.
“Fallen angel, go back up to the little piece of heaven from where you fell. I can assure you, it is more desirable than the life I have and the future that awaits me.”
“Lucian…” Once again he addresses me.
He has more nerve than sense, I think to myself as he places his hand on my shoulder. A friendly gesture it may seem, though this man of God is no friend of mine. I hiss at him between clenched teeth, yet still he talks.
“Please don’t take Rose down with you. She has a life, let her live it. I can make her happy, something you never can.”
Has he any idea how close to death he really is? I can feel my family, their presence as they gather. Like an ant, my messages are silent, but heard by them all.
I feel his arm as it brushes past me and realise the nerve of the man as he takes Rose by the wrist and pulls her aside, so that my arm holds no claim over her. I grab at her forearm. The veins in my head are like a bubbling cauldron. I not only feel red, but see it. Never before have I been driven to this kind of anger. My instincts are to rip his body to shreds and let my family bathe in his blood. Let the dark angels bring silver bullets, I don’t care.
I peer down at my hands and watch my nails lengthen into pointed talons. I reach up and grab Tristan by the throat, and with my free hand I guide Rose out of harm’s way as gently as I can.
“Stop!” Rose cries, though her words fall on deaf ears.
There is no stopping me. With my tightening grip on his neck, I shoot forward like a bird of prey, slamming his head into the bark of a tree. Then, with the full force of my strength, stretching my arm I lift him off his feet. I’m strangling the bastard. My smile is one of exuberance as I see his face redden and hear his raspy gasps for breath; this only makes me squeeze tighter. My knuckles turn blue. I look into his pathetic eyes; he looks like prey, hanging in mid-air. There is no fight in him, he’s better off dead, and he expects me to let him look after my lady; I think not. I feel the throbbing pulse in his neck; but not for long, I think as my claw-like talons dig into his flesh.
“Lucian, no!”
I struggle to finish what I have begun as hands pull at me and attempt to rip me away from his limp body. My head jerks around and the first faces I see are Edmond, Caspar, Jazlynn and Julian, while the rest of my family stand back; reinforcement if needed, I guess. I am forced to let go of the angel’s neck and watch his body, snake-like, slither down the length of the tree, where he lies still, in a state of unconsciousness.
“Lucian, what are you doing?” Edmond’s amber eyes are as red as burning fire. “The rules are written!” he spits into my face. “Whatever your grudge is, you know we are not allowed to kill humans.”
“He’s not a human, Edmond, he’s a fucking angel, so the rules don’t count! Get off me and let me finish what I have started.”
I snatch my arm from his hold and turn, but what I see leaves me cold. My Rose has Tristan’s head cradled in her folded arms and I see her tears spill one by one onto his face. He has managed to turn my dream into a nightmare. I watch as she leans forward, looking directly into his face, though this image I’m allowed only momentarily, for her dark hair falls like a curtain, allowing them their privacy.
With a slight turn of her head and her hair flicked behind her shoulders, her eyes rise and meet mine.
“What kind of monster are you?” she manages to ask between sobs. “You could have killed him.”
That was my intention, I am about to add, though seeing her distress I think better of it. I look towards Tristan’s body, which lies lifeless before me; the rise and fall of his chest slows as each second passes. I’m sure it is only a matter of moments before this fallen angel takes his last breath.
“Edmond, lock him in the castle dungeon while I think of something better to do with him, and, Rose, you will come with me.”
Find out what happens to Rose, Lucian and Tristan,
order Twisted Wings,
the exciting sequel in a shaded Rose series.
Dear Reader,
Thank you so much for reading. We cannot tell you how grateful we are for the time and resources you have invested in our work. We hope you enjoyed this book and that you received as much pleasure reading it as we did writing it. We truly respect your time, and if you could take just a minute and write a review wherever you purchased this book, and share this story with your social network, we’d be extremely grateful.
Respectfully Yours,
J & L Wells
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Book 1: Disturbingly Beautiful
Book 2: Disturbingly Divine
Had Nell Not Travelled
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Other books from the Time Travel series by J & L Wells
Paranormal / Time Travel
Book 1: Untimely
Book 2: Untimely Return
Venom
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When Melody Williams goes missing at a concert, at Club Nightshade, her eighteen-year-old cousin, Chelsey Fairfax, sneaks into the club to find answers. Little does she know that some mysteries are better left hidden.
Meanwhile, Venom is in town, a hot new band from Europe, and the owner of Club Nightshade wants them there permanently...
This is a 21,000 word novella
Venom
(A Night Roamers Novella – Slade and Chelsey’s Story)
By
Kristen Middleton
Copyright©2014 Kristen Middleton
www.Maeidesign.com
The characters and events portrayed in this book are fictitious. Any similarity to real persons, living or dead is coincidental and not intended by the author.
All rights reserved.
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Prologue
The music in the club was beginning to give her a headache, but Melody ignored it. She was about to go to an after-party with the band members of Venom, who’d just finished their last encore at Club Nightshade. She was also pretty confident that if she played her cards right, she’d be in the lead vocalist’s arms before dawn.
Slade.
Just thinking about him made her tingle all over. Damn, the guy was hawt and had a voice that made her want to jump his bones. With those hypnotic green eyes and that sexy infamous half-smile of his, she knew she wasn’t the only girl lusting after him in the club. But she’d definitely mastered the skill of flirting and had eventually gotten Slade’s attention. She’d done the pouty lip thing and made sure he’d gotten an eyeful of cleavage, dancing as close to the stage as possible, twerking with her girlfriends until every guy in the club had been drooling. It had obviously worked, because she’d gotten a note from one of the waitresses with an invite to some party being hosted by the owner of the club, complements of the band. Thankfully, she’d gotten a fake I.D. the week before or there was no way she’d have been able to step inside of the club, let alone party with the band afterwards.