Dark as the Grave

by Peter Dawes

  “Matthew’s coven. His little scavenger, Anthony, is no more.”

  “Another one? Matthew will be thrilled about this.” Robin frowned, moving on to his shoes. His movements took on a careful, methodical slowness. “I will never understand why Sabrina hates his children so much. As it is, I have the death of one of his elders hanging over my head, and his only sin was coming close to me.”

  “Yes, the Mistress is still suspicious as to why you spoke with Demetrius.”

  “The Mistress indulges her paranoia at the slightest provocation.” Bitterness tinged the way he spoke the words, his eyes refusing to engage mine while he focused on lacing his shoes. I watched the hurried way he threaded the loops. “I stopped trying to please the Mistress a long time ago. She can question me all she wants and find herself a new Second-in-Command, for all I care. I refuse to justify my actions to her.”

  Rising to a stand, he threaded his tie, looking away until he seemed to realize I was still staring at him. The way he frowned struck me as peculiar. “Please, be careful, brother,” he said.

  I perked an eyebrow. “When am I not?”

  “Oh, you are plenty careful on the streets, just not where it matters the most.” Plucking his suit jacket from an adjacent chair, he threaded his arms into each sleeve. Robin looked at me again, this time nodding at the sword by my side. “I see you have a new weapon.”

  Welcoming the shift in conversation, I straightened my posture and grinned. “Do you like it?”

  “It suits you. You must allow me a better look when time permits.” With a few nimble twists, he secured his buttons into place and smoothed out any wrinkles which lingered in his attire. When our eyes met again, I saw the composed vampire that I called a mentor. “I will deliver your black rose while you attend to the Mistress. You know it’s best not to keep her waiting.”

  “Yes, indeed.” My eyes rose toward the ceiling, as though I could see through and into Sabrina’s bedroom. Once again, my skin crawled before I shook off the premonition. I looked back down at Robin and nodded. “Join me for a hunt afterward? We can slay humans and drink brandy like brothers.”

  “I don’t know.” For the first time that night, Robin smirked. “Every time we go out together, you wind up corrupting me.”

  “No, I get you to remove that bloody stick up your ass, you mean.” I smiled in return and felt somewhat more at ease when Robin chuckled and walked ahead to his door. He opened it, but paused to look back at me, his hand still on the knob.

  “What is it?” I asked.

  Robin sighed and nodded. “I will find you when my business is finished. To ‘remove the stick up my ass’ as you so eloquently put it.”

  Laughing, I walked out to the corridor and strolled beside him when he shut the door. “Did you just swear, Robin?”

  “No, I quoted you. There’s a difference.” His grin resurfaced and remained a fixture until we reached the stairs and headed in opposite directions. I nodded at him when he said, “Until later,” and watched him descend toward the main hall. Then, I turned toward the path to Sabrina’s door.

  Swift footsteps carried me upward. As I reached the top of the stairs, I took notice of a familiar face departing from Sabrina’s room and suppressed a groan. Timothy adjusted his suit jacket, combing his fingers through his disheveled hair, and paused the moment our eyes met. Where the look on his face read of mirth, I fought to maintain the even expression on mine.

  “Good evening, Flynn,” he said, making up the distance between us. He paused mere inches from me. “My, my, when the cat’s away, the mice will play.”

  “Which mice have you heard were playing?” I asked, careful to rein in the hint of irritation wanting to surface in my tone.

  Timothy laughed. “Now, let’s not play this game. You know nothing escapes my attention. That’s why the Mistress has me keep an eye on things.” He shook his head, reaching forward to place a hand on my shoulder. “I think you’ve been hanging around Robin too much. Getting bad ideas from him.”

  “Funny how the two of you exchange that sentiment. When I was first turned, he told me you were the bad influence.”

  I smirked to punctuate the comment, pleased when Timothy bristled in response. “Yes, well, lapses in judgment and poor feeding habits aren’t the same. One looks bad for the hunted, the other looks bad for the hunter.”

  “I exhibited no lapse in judgment. I simply had to strike at the best possible moment. Surely even the Master of Spies has some clue how an assassin performs his duties.”

  “Master of Spies.” The squeeze Timothy added to my shoulder spoke a thousand words. “Just remember that the next time you’re tempted to try and get away with something.” Lifting his hand, he brought it to his brow in a salute and started for the stairs again. “Happy Birthday, little brother,” he added while descending, a cackle drifting in the air between us as his final waste of breath. I stood in place with teeth gritted, tempted to give chase and...

  “Flynn.”

  Knocked from the urge to entertain homicidal thoughts, I directed my attention to Sabrina’s guard, becoming aware that our entire conversation had been observed. Paul nodded toward the door as if to give me direction. “Sabrina is waiting for you,” he added, providing one, last nudge.

  I nodded and closed the distance between us, stepping inside the penthouse when Paul opened the door. A shiver ran up my spine and the click of the door closing behind me bore an eerie finality to it. At first it seemed my fears were unwarranted. Sabrina had lit the room with candles, providing the same inviting atmosphere I had come to expect whenever we held our meetings. I removed my glasses, slipping them inside my pocket as she acknowledged my presence.

  “Is that my dark killer?” she asked. Had it been anybody else, I would not have been unnerved by her soft, sweet tone of voice. As it was, her greeting did nothing to quell my apprehension.

  “One and the same.” I allowed myself a final steadying breath before continuing inside. Strolling through the sitting area without pause, I walked to her bedroom and leaned against the doorway. “Good evening, Mistress,” I said, eying my immortal mother. “You look radiant as usual. I trust your time in New York was pleasant?”

  Sabrina smiled. Sitting in a chair facing her vanity she surveyed the jewelry laid before her, her hands busy fastening an earring to an ear. I stood straight again and walked closer, picking up her necklace. Sabrina lowered her hands, yet sat perfectly still, allowing me to fasten the gold chain around her neck and place a soft kiss just below her ear.

  She smelt like roses. Her cheeks were ruddy from a fresh feed. A soft moan rose from her throat as I stepped away. “Darling Flynn,” she said with a chuckle. “You are debonair as always.”

  “Only for you.” I grinned as she looked at me, feeling her gaze caress me in a manner reminiscent of ambrosia, delectable and decadent. I drank from it while peering back at her. “My charms may seduce the mortals, but for you, they are a mark of my devotion.”

  “And devoted you are, dear.” Sabrina turned in her chair to face me. “Five years have passed by rather quickly, haven’t they? And you have only impressed me even more with the vampire you have become.”

  I bowed, my eyes remaining on her. “As always, I have you to thank for that.”

  She stood. “I only bestowed the dark gift, my son. You are the one who has become the face the other covens see in their nightmares.” Sabrina stepped close to me, placing a hand on the lapel of my coat, her gaze never straying from mine. “If I had to do it all over, I would slide my teeth into that frightened mortal and allow him to cross into immortality again. Your will is as sure as it was when I commissioned you to be my assassin.”

  Her chest touched mine, lips hovering close as I bent to engage them. I felt my fangs slip from their hiding place as I plunged into a dizzying state of arousal. “And I would drink from your wrist again eagerly,” I said, “Bathing my tongue with your blood.”

  “Oh yes, I know you would.” I felt a ha
nd slide down and cup me through my trousers. The groan I emitted brought a smile to her face. “You desire to kiss me, my killer?”

  I shivered, my voice husky as I issued my response. “I desire to do far more than that.”

  Sabrina laughed in response. Her hand granted me an extra squeeze. “Oh, I know you do, but first tell me, my darling Flynn, if the task I assigned before I left has been completed?”

  “Yes, it has.” My hands burned with the desire to touch her as well, rising in a cautious manner beyond my own volition. A slow nod preceded a hard swallow. “A dagger straight through his heart, as you requested.”

  “Good.” She leaned closer, tipping her head to entreat me. My hands landed on her back. Shutting my eyes, I moved forward to finally taste her.

  Until her other hand wrapped itself around my throat.

  My eyes flew open. Hers did as well. A look of malice replaced the seduction which had been present no more than mere seconds prior. “Insolent vampire!” she yelled, her fangs slipping out. “How dare you not confess your sins to me?”

  Before I had the chance to react, I found myself being thrown onto a chair, the hilt of my sword digging into my side as I spilled onto the seat. Sabrina slapped me across my face with such force it whipped my head to the side. Her heeled foot crushed down on top of the arousal her previous actions brought about.

  I screamed with pain, my vision swimming. Grabbing my chin, she turned my head to point my face in her direction again.

  “For four years, I have come to rely on you, Flynn!” I imagined the entire coven house could hear her as she roared, but I found myself nothing but thankful as her foot let up its pressure. “To do as you are asked and when you are asked to do it! I asked that you kill Anthony two days prior to when you finished the task. Two days! I had to find out from Timothy that you extended Anthony mercy to go on a little hunt for you.” Grabbing my coat with both hands, she lifted me to my feet, slamming me against her body. “May I remind you I have killed people for less insubordination?”

  I sneered, pain radiating from my groin. “No, you need not remind me. I am usually the one doing the killing for you.”

  Sabrina hit me again, but held onto me to prevent me from flying back. I hissed at the affront, but she ignored the outburst and drew me close again. “I am embarrassed at you!” she said. “That I have to have a talk with you I normally reserve for the underlings. What do you have to say for yourself?”

  A growl rumbled from my throat. I fumbled for words, landing only on the accusation thrown at me by Timothy. “I can only apologize for my lapse in judgment.”

  “Lapse?” Sabrina threw me back onto the chair and straddled my lap. “A lapse in judgment would have been for you to kill him in front of a witness or to strike at an inopportune moment, not to hold off his execution for two days. This was an underling, not an elder.” Her fingernails cut into my skin when she grabbed me by the neck, drawing rivulets of blood. “So, let me ask, what was so damn important that you would consort with a traitor and an enemy of the coven?”

  Swallowing hard, I presented a half-truth to the only soul I seemed incapable of lying to. “I lost something and wished to have it back. Nothing more. There was no treason in my actions.”

  “Your disobedience was your treason. What was this item?”

  “A piece of jewelry.” I paused, attempting to make my plea sound convincing now that the worst of the pain had faded. “Anthony was unable to find it, though. I promptly disposed of the piece of waste after that.”

  Sabrina raised an eyebrow. Her grip relaxed, but only slightly. “Jewelry of what sort? And why was this important to you?”

  “It was not important. Merely a trinket I stole from one of my victims, but sold in haste. I wanted to give it to Rose.”

  She continued staring at me, her gaze searching and skeptical. I met the look she shot me measure by measure, a disarming grin ghosting at the corners of my mouth. “Mistress, I merely thought the bastard should be good for something before I ended him.” My smile broadened. “You would have been amused, watching him believe I would spare his life.”

  Sabrina’s eyes remained locked for another precarious moment, until her scowl finally relaxed. She drew in a deep breath, letting go of my neck. I nearly sighed with relief when her fangs retracted. “You are devilishly sadistic, my assassin,” she said. “I should’ve known you were only making sport out of him.”

  I scoffed. “Naturally, Mistress. I am nothing but loyal to you.”

  “Yes, you are, Flynn.” Sabrina stood. She strolled back to her desk and sat in front of her jewelry once more. Lifting her other earring, Sabrina set about the task of securing it to her lobe. “It’s a shame Anthony was not able to procure your piece of jewelry.”

  “Yes, well, we both know what a pompous waste of space he was.” I rubbed my neck, feeling the grooves where Sabrina’s nails had dug in. The scent of blood teased at my nostrils and when I lifted my fingers, the viscous liquid glistening on my glove verified the slight damage done. “He looked better as a pile of dust than he did as a vampire.”

  Sabrina laughed. “This better have taught you a lesson, though. When I say I want them dead, they are to die at once and not a moment afterward. Exceptions can be made, but not for personal errands.”

  “Lesson learned.” Sitting up in my chair, I wiped at the blood on my neck one final time. “Now, tell your assassin what he might do to make it up to you.”

  She smiled. “My darling Flynn. He does live for the kill.” Glancing at me to wink, she turned her attention back to the collection of gold in front of her and slipped her rings on her fingers. “There is one thing, as much as I was hoping to hold off on assigning you a task on your birthday. Timothy informs me this particular problem surfaced over the weekend, but I’d like it taken care of immediately.”

  “A problem with one of the other covens?”

  “No, a little departure your normal targets. Consider it a present of sorts.”

  “Oh? Do tell.”

  Sabrina turned to face me after securing her last ring into place. “A human girl. Unfortunately, not the first time she’s been spotted, but she decided to linger around this time. Such petty nuisances when they don’t know how to leave well enough alone.” She paused to sigh. “One of your siblings took notice and managed to follow her home. I need you to dispose of her before she scurries.”

  “A human?” I laughed, incredulous. “Tell me you are jesting.”

  “I’m not, and this one is no ordinary girl, otherwise she’d already be dead.” She raised an eyebrow in my direction. “So, don’t underestimate her.”

  “Underestimate her?” This only served to tickle me more. “I highly doubt some mortal girl is going to give me much trouble, ordinary or not. All the same, who is this girl and what harm does she mean to you?”

  While I continued to entertain my own amusement, Sabrina remained serious, her gaze set on me until I finally sobered. Standing from her chair, she strode back to where I sat, the look in her eyes making my stomach churn again. Heavy-lidded seduction dripped from every step she took, her gait deliberately slow. Easing herself onto my lap, she tilted my head again to ensure she had my full attention. This time, when her fangs slipped from their hiding place, they spoke to the part of me already incensed by her. My teeth slid out again in arousal.

  My mistress leaned close, until I felt her lips touch my neck. “Do you trust me, my dark son?” she asked.

  My eyes drifted shut. I nodded, whispering, “Completely.”

  She placed a kiss above where her previous one had been. The points of her teeth tickled at my skin. “And you still desire me?”

  “Yes, I do.”

  “Your mistress has not forgotten your birthday kisses. I will reward you for your loyalty to me. But first, I need you to quiet your mind and listen to my words.” Her lips found my ear and teased at the lobe with her cool breath as she spoke. “The girl must die. And my killer – my assassin – will d
o it for me without needing to know why. Instead, he will do the deed exactly as he was asked. When he returns, then I will show him my appreciation. This is all the motivation you need. Understood?”

  A slow nod followed her words. “Yes,” I said, speaking the word while hearing it echo as though through a tunnel. My mind seemed to be swimming down the current of Sabrina’s ministrations, not tethered to my body. “I understand.”

  She pulled back and, like a moon emerging from an eclipse, her face slowly came into view. Our noses brushed and mouths touched, the contact tentative; teasing. I rose slightly to kiss her back, but she stopped me with a finger placed on my lips, pushing me against the back of the chair.

  “My kisses will be waiting for you here,” she said. “In the meantime, you will find the girl in a small house near Temple University’s campus. She has brown hair, with a blonde streak that frames one side of her face, and wears a scarf around her neck.” Sabrina slid a slip of paper in the breast pocket of my suit jacket, which undoubtedly contained a more precise location. “Kill her quickly, and bring me that scarf as proof of her death.”

  I swallowed hard. “It will be done as you say.”

  “Good.” Sabrina stood, severing the connection. I blinked, my head feeling as though it had surfaced from being submerged. Sabrina looked down at me, smiling as I rose to my feet as well. “Is that a new sword?” she asked.

  Glancing down at the katana, I furrowed my brow at the weapon, as though I had forgotten about its presence until that moment. “Yes, it is,” I said, looking back at her. “I figured the red and black suited me.”

  “And its previous owner?”

  My grin turned devilish. “Gone to meet his maker, I am afraid.”

  “Very good,” she said. Sabrina turned and began walking away. “Perhaps you can use it to do away with my nuisance.”

  “If that is what you wish,” I said, watching Sabrina disappear further inside her penthouse. Her parting words carried as much enchantment as the request she had presented, filling my thoughts while I drifted toward the door. A dream-like state carried me from door to corridor to the downstairs vestibule, my stride purposeful all the way from Sabrina’s room to the sidewalk outside the coven. From there, I felt more connected to myself, though no less determined to carry forth my orders.