Dark Secret

by Emily Kimelman Gilvey

  "So what do you feed from?” Felix asked.

  "Blood suckers.” The son of gods. “The older the better. Are you as strong as them?"

  "We like to think so." Taylor raised one brow, his cocky smile back in place. He didn’t look afraid of me.

  Felix frowned. "We have different skills."

  "What do you mean?"

  “They are faster. I mean," Taylor laughed a little, "much faster. But we are as physically strong. And obviously, we can go in the daylight, among other things." His eyes perused my body again, sending tingles of awareness over my skin.

  "But we're not immortal." Felix clapped Taylor on the shoulder, drawing his attention. "We can die."

  “Worth the risk,” Taylor grinned at his leader. "Let me show you to my room, get you that quiet spot.” Taylor stepped to the door. I went to follow him.

  "Give us a minute," Felix said to me.

  "Sure." I slipped past Taylor into the hall. They closed the door.

  I heard low whispers but couldn't make out any words. Less than a minute later, the door opened again. Taylor joined me in the hall, and Felix extended his hand. "I wish you the best of luck on your journey."

  "Thank you." I shook his hand. Hunger immediately began to churn in my stomach. I swallowed and tried to pull away, but Felix held on.

  "Taylor is going to lock you in his room. If you don't make it, if you are starving,"—I looked up into his eyes—"we won't let you out."

  "I understand."

  He smiled and looked down at our hands. Our connection felt electrified. "It's incredible," Felix said, releasing my hand.

  I grinned. "You should try kissing me. It will blow your socks off."

  Felix laughed and nodded. "Good luck."

  Taylor led the way back down the hall. The lights had come back on, and I watched his sculpted back move under his shirt.

  I wanted to take him, use him for my own means. He'd like it. But would he survive? I didn't want to kill.

  Even if it helped save the Universe from the zombie plague?

  If this didn't work, if I couldn't get through, I'd have to find a vampire. An old one. I almost released a hysterical giggle. Sure, I’ll just find myself an ancient vampire to drain. Easy peasy.

  Taylor turned to me as he opened a door. He cocked his head. “What’s funny?” I shook my head, waving it off, stepping past him into the small, orderly room. It had a double bed at its center and a single window, the curtain closed. An acoustic guitar hung above stacks of books on his dresser.

  "You play?" I ran my fingers over the smooth wood.

  Taylor cleared his throat. "It was my brother’s." The way he said it made it sound like his brother wasn’t around to play it anymore.

  "Oh." I dropped my hand as he walked up behind me.

  "He passed before all this," he said. "Probably better."

  "I'm sorry." I turned around. Taylor stood close, looking down at me. His eyes were desert brown, filled with fascination, as he picked up a strand of my hair.

  "You are so beautiful."

  "I'm hungry. You're responding," My body heated at the nearness of him. "It's not safe."

  He smiled, his eyes dropping to my shirt. With the top button missing, he had a great view of my chest. "I don't care."

  "Felix was pretty clear."

  Taylor put a hand on my hip. It was warm and big, seeming to fit into the curve of my waist like it was made to be there. "I want you," he said.

  "It's not real.” I needed to run my fingers along his jaw, to rub the stubble against my skin, experience the roughness contrast with the smooth curve of his lips.

  I tried to take a step back but just knocked into the dresser. Taylor’s hand stayed steady on my hip. I kept my gaze on his chest, running it down to the smooth plane of his stomach, trying not to be turned on by the hint of muscles underneath his shirt…the way his belt buckled around his hips, the bulge below it. My breath stopped and I closed my eyes, trying to gain control.

  His other hand was softly caressing my neck, slowly, using just his fingertips he trailed down to the cleft of my breast.

  Okay, no fair.

  I needed him, I reasoned. The more energy I had, the better off I'd be. This was to save the world after all. Just don’t kill him.

  The rough calluses on his fingers scratched so good. With a small flick, the button of my shirt opened. The man was practically begging for me to take him.

  I took a stuttering breath as he flicked open another button and his hand dipped into my shirt. "I want you," he said again.

  "I might kill you," I warned one last time.

  "You're a siren." He lowered his lips to mine, pushing me hard against the dresser—books slipped to the floor with a thud. I opened to him, letting the energy build between us.

  He was different. Not the all-encompassing divine power of Emmanuel, or the cold, calculated, endless energy of Dimitri.

  He ran hot—his kisses like fire licking me.

  His stubble roughened my cheeks as his lips explored me—soft and hard at once, just like his hand on my breast. He moaned as his life poured into me. He gave himself easily, with fierce abandon.

  The hand on my hip slid around and grabbed my ass, pulling me away from the dresser. He turned us and we fell on the bed, his legs between mine, our lips locked—his life force becoming mine.

  My hands ran through his hair, down his neck, kneaded the muscles of his shoulders. So strong. He wasn’t a weak human or a newbie vampire. This was a real animal.

  He sat back, ripping open my shirt, the remaining button skittering across the floor. His eyes burned yellow as he stared down at me.

  Despite the violence of my undressing, he touched me with a gentle reverence.

  Goosebumps rose on my flesh and I moaned, reaching for his head, for his kiss. He grabbed one wrist and ran his lips down my arm and across my collarbone.

  He met my gaze again, wonder opening his eyes wide. “I’ve never felt anything like this," he said. "It's almost like mating but without the full moon." I have no idea what that means.

  His eyes burned gold as energy swirled around us, changing shape in a way I didn’t recognize. He dipped his head again. Chi pulsed from his tongue to my core.

  "More," I panted. "Give me more."

  One hand left me to unbuckle his pants. They dropped to the floor with a thunk, sending my heart racing. I pushed further up the bed and he moved with me, kneeling on the mattress, his mouth still on me. He was so big and strong. He can handle me. Please let him be able to give what I need.

  Noise in the hall broke through our haze of lust, and Taylor glared at his closed door. A siren blared, and he was off me in a second. Pants back on, knife in hand, he ripped open the door.

  I sat up and pulled my shirt around me. The alarm got louder. Or maybe I was just able to focus on it. Two men ran by holding guns. Felix appeared. His eyes found me in the dark and then moved to Taylor’s face. When he turned and continued down the hall, Taylor followed, leaving me alone.

  I stood up and scanned the room. I felt strong, Taylor's energy vibrating through me.

  An inhuman scream pierced the air. The alarm stopped abruptly. Silence followed. My heart beat in my ears, my fingers clutching my shirt closed.

  Was it zombies? Vampires? What the hell was going on?

  Footsteps thudded in the hall, voices rose.

  The door stood ajar. I looked down the hall. Felix approached with two vampires. I recognized Man Bun from the alley, the one I'd kissed until his eyes sank in. Next to him, a petite blonde—pretty but fierce—with one blue eye and one brown strode with intent purpose, the dark cape she wore billowing behind her. A vampire Red Riding Hood. Her eyes met mine and lit.

  "Darling," she purred, her fangs descending. "You're mine.” Her aura unfurled toward me. I protected myself, flinging walls up, refusing to allow her control. Her lips dipped into a small frown—it would have been cute if it weren’t for the icy glare.

  "I'm no
t going to let you control me."

  "But you'll come with me?” Her voice, high and petulant, reminded me of a child.

  "Where and why?"

  "I'll kill your friend." She rested her hand on Felix's shoulder. "And then I'll kill the rest of them. Every man, woman, and child here. Is that what you want?"

  I stepped out of the room, and her influence curled around me, playing with my hair and caressing my skin—a slick purple satin. "You're lovely," she drawled. "And you smell”—she took a deep breath, her eyes fluttering half closed for a moment—"delicious. I've missed that scent." She held her small hand out to me.

  "Who are you?"

  “My name is Senil. I knew your mother, dear. She was a great friend of mine." She grinned then, her eyes brightening. “And we will be too.”

  “All the best friendships begin with threats of multiple murders.”

  She laughed, a high, delighted sound, and tugged me forward.

  Chapter Eight

  “You knew my mother?" I asked, endeavoring to sound casual about it.

  "Yes, and I'm very much looking forward to getting to know you."

  We were walking down the hall now, the other vampire close. Felix followed behind, a silent escort. “You've met Loras," Senil said, waving at the vampire I almost killed. "You used him well, didn't you, dear?" She smiled. "One so young, though, there must have been hardly anything there." She made that high, tinkling laugh again.

  We were back in the small room with the rope ladder, but it was still curled up by the window. Senil stepped onto the window's ledge, still holding my hand, and then walked out into the air as if there was an invisible bridge there.

  She tugged me forward. "Come on, don't be afraid." Senil stood on her influence, effervescent and bubbling, with flashes of blue and green, like sparks of electricity gathered beneath her.

  "Oh, you can’t?” She shook her head. "You don't know how to fly yet. I'll keep you up, no need to worry." No, no reason at all to be concerned at this moment…

  I stepped onto the ledge. Through the cloud of her power, I saw the sandbag wall and the sea of dead bodies below. I held the window frame on either side of me and tested the effervescent cloud. My foot floated, weightless. It wasn't that I was standing on the power, more that it made me buoyant. Like salt water.

  Senil held out her hand, and I took it, stepping fully off the ledge and onto the cloud, my heart in my throat. Loras followed, and we began to move, floating over the city. Senil squeezed my hand. "You look like her, you know. Your mother."

  "Your eyes,” I said. “You're a halfling?" I asked.

  She laughed. "Hardly," she said. "Could a halfling do this?"

  I had no idea, but I wasn’t going to tell Senil that.

  She laughed again, the sound impossibly sweet. How could Senil threaten the lives of an entire community in one breath and release such innocent laughter on the next?

  We started to float down—I recognized the alley I'd been in earlier that day. "You left the gate open, you know,” she said, her voice admonishing.

  "I was running for my life."

  "From what?" I looked over at Loras. "From him? But you are much more powerful than Loras.” She held my gaze as the ground came closer. When our feet alighted onto the cement, she spoke again. "You don't know the extent of your powers, that much is clear. But do you really not know how to control a young vampire?"

  I didn’t answer, not trusting Senil with my secrets. I am only just learning of my power.

  Her eyebrows raised—they were pale and arched, elegant and expressive. "My, my. It's a good thing I found you when I did."

  "I must return to Suki’s world.” I said it as though I assumed she knew who Suki was…Everyone knows Suki, right?

  "Come inside. We'll figure this out together."

  I followed her through a door I hadn't noticed my first time in the alley. We stepped into a vestibule. Blood spattered the walls. "Some Walkers got in after you left the gate open," Senil said. "It was a real mess."

  "Sorry."

  The second door opened with a buzzer sound, and we walked into a grand entrance room with two staircases and a marble floor. Couches faced each other in the center of the room. They were a pale yellow and looked like furniture for decoration rather than for actual sitting.

  In a discreet corner, a woman sat at a dark wood desk. She stood and came around to greet Senil. She was human, with a lean figure and elegant features. "Welcome back." She helped Senil out of the long cape. Under it Senil wore a white, buttoned down blouse tucked into high-waisted gray pants, pleated in the front and tight at the ankles.

  "This is Jessica," Senil told me. "Jessica, this is Darling. She is my most special guest."

  "Wonderful to meet you. Can I get you anything?" Jessica asked, offering a broad smile.

  "I'm fine, thank you.”

  "But you must be hungry, no?" Senil said. "Just a few kisses from Loras and Donatello would hardly quench your appetite after entering a new world." Her eyes roamed over my face, and she let out a light laugh. “You had a shifter.” Senil raised one eyebrow. "Of course, I should have guessed. Your mother was partial to werewolves specifically. And she had a long affair with a stallion shifter. My God, he was something else." Senil fanned herself and let loose a bawdy laugh.

  I smiled, a little grossed out. I didn't really want to hear about my mother's lovers. "Do you have older vampires here?"

  "Vampire," she repeated, smiling. "I have not heard that term in a long time."

  "What do you call yourself?"

  "Superiors."

  "Oh, that's..." Super creepy and gross.

  Senil shrugged, unashamed. "We are though, Darling, as are you. Come." She led me up one of the staircases, down a short hall, and into another sitting room. This one looked like it was meant to be used.

  Large windows framed blossoming trees lit by moonlight. A seating area with two couches and several high-backed chairs, in dusk blue with yellow piping, circled a fireplace.

  Senil gestured to the windows. "See the world we've created here," she said, her voice filled with pride. I looked down onto a large courtyard surrounded by tall buildings. People strolled arm and arm and picnicked in small groups on grassy knolls dotted with trees. "Our humans are very happy here," she said.

  "I'm sure.” I saw no reason to argue.

  "It is meant to be. We take care of the weaker species as is our duty.” And in your own interest.

  "Did my mother believe that?" I asked, turning to Senil, leaning against the window frame.

  "That humans should be under our domain?” Senil shrugged. “Of course."

  "But my father didn't."

  Senil's eyes darkened, and she frowned. "I don't know what he thought. We never met." I looked back out the window. The people did look happy. "The humans here don't have to worry about Walkers, or where their next meal is coming from." They are like pets.

  "Just whose meal they will be next." I gave her a rueful smile. As if I was any better than a vampire.

  “You know how pleasurable it is," Senil said. "No one objects." Better to be dinner than dead. “So tell me—” Senil headed over to one of the couches. “Where did you come from? Suki's world, you said, right?”

  "Yes." I followed and sat across from her in one of the chairs.

  "How did you get there, and why did she kick you out?" Senil grinned. “I just love gossip.”

  I wasn't sure how much to share with Senil. She claimed to be a friend of my mother's. But she had threatened to kill an entire community of people if I didn't come with her quietly. Could a woman with that kind of indifference for life be trusted? When I didn't answer right away, I felt her influence clinging to my skin, drifting over my mind, trying to pull information from me.

  "That's very rude," I said.

  She laughed. "I apologize. It's a force of habit. And I'm curious why you won't tell me." Her eyes narrowed slightly, her smile fading.

  "I don't know you, and I
'm in a strange world. I think it makes sense to play it safe."

  She waited a beat before responding. “Safe?” She rolled the word around in her mouth. “But, Darling, what can hurt you?"

  I wish I knew. “If you don't mind, I'd like some time alone."

  "So you can try to jump back?" I didn't answer. "Suki is not going to make it easy, and you are not experienced, or well fed. I can tell. You're hungry. You've got that look in your eye. The same one your mother used to get. I'll have someone brought up. Male or female?"

  She was right. Trying to jump without a fresh feeding was dangerous and foolhardy. The one time I'd managed to jump, I'd had Emmanuel moments before attempting it, and he'd been there holding my hands. A sigh tried to escape at the memory of his fingers linked with mine. I missed him.

  Senil picked up a phone and held the receiver to her ear. "Jessica, send up"—she looked over at me and I pushed Emmanuel from my thoughts—"Hannibal. Yes, he'll do." The phone clicked back into place.

  I stood and walked back to the window, watching the people below. Lights twinkled in the trees. A laugh drifted up. “Everyone here is awake at night?" I asked.

  "It just makes sense. They want to keep us happy. We like being around them. They make music and art. Their lives are short but dramatic. We find their youth enthralling."

  "I lived my whole life thinking I was a human."

  "Your father never told you. That is unusual. Your mother knew from a very young age."

  "How did you meet my mom?" I asked, watching the people move below.

  “It was over two hundred years ago now, in this very city. It was very different then. Can you imagine it? No electric lights, no tall buildings. No cement even. No zombies.”

  “The roads were dirt, the nights pitch black. Hunting was easy. I was drawn to your mother, as you can imagine. You should have seen her, Darling. I was almost a thousand years old, and I'd never even imagined anything like her.”

  “She made my heart beat.” Senil’s voice was suddenly close. “Just the sight of her." I turned and found the vampire standing right behind me. "You will have that effect someday, once you've fully matured. You could enslave us all, if you wanted.” She reached out and brushed hair behind my ear. Her touch was cold but gentle.