by Eve Newton
“We should probably get going,” I say.
“Of course.” He opens the door and leads me out.
Fortunately, Cole and CK have been behaving themselves, or more to the point just ignoring each other, with Nico strategically placed in between the two of them.
Nico looks up as we walk in. “Ready?” he asks.
I look at Cole, who nods grimly.
“You’re coming?” I choke out as CK steps forward to leave with us.
“Of course,” he says shortly.
I’m still clutching the box with the Faerie Silver inside. I look for somewhere safe to put it. Nico plucks it out of my hand and puts it in his pocket. I smile gratefully at him. He returns the smile, but it never, ever quite reaches his eyes. Well, working for Constantine won’t be a barrel of laughs, I think. It’s no wonder he is so serious. But I wonder what more there is to his story. Brushing the thoughts aside as Cole takes my hand, I squeeze it for comfort. We follow Nico and CK out of the suite, the Grand Prix completely forgotten.
EPILOGUE
Helsby, England, 1506 – Elizabeth
I dripped my blood into Devon’s mouth and closed it to make sure he swallowed it; I turned my attention to his shrieking harpy of a mother. Retracting my fangs, I glared at her to shut up. She screamed even louder when she realized my full attention was then on her. With a quick glance back at Devon to make sure he’d taken my blood, I stood and turned towards her.
“Be quiet!” I snapped.
The wailing continued, now mixed with every expletive she had to offer up about me. My patience was wearing thin with this woman. This woman who had just ruined my chance to turn her son on Holy ground. I stepped closer to her and the panic grew in her eyes as I dropped my fangs again and felt my nails sharpen. My eyes shifted to a darker blue, almost black. The screaming finally abated.
“Devil’s whore!” she yelled at me again. “You killed my son!” She started weeping.
I looked at her affronted. I wasn’t the one who stuck a pitchfork in him. I sighed. I was done with this. I stepped forward and slashed her throat with my claws. A look of horror crossed her face as her hands went up to her throat. The blood was pulsing quickly out of the wounds and I breathed in deeply, inhaling the delicious scent of her.
Unfortunately, all of her screaming had attracted the attention of her husband, who came bursting through the barn door. He stopped dead in his tracks as he took in the scene before him. His wife bleeding to death on the floor, his son already dead (well, by appearances anyway), the bloody pitchfork and me, in all of my Vamped-out glory. Horrified, he backed up, a smarter man than his wife. “Please,” he whispered, holding up a hand.
I flexed my neck from side to side. Oh, I loved it when they begged. I glided forward and he backed up some more. Now whimpering, he stumbled and dropped to his knees. Oh, it was just too easy. My bloodlust was up to overload with all that had been spilt today and it was not wise to leave witnesses. I swooped down to him, clamping my fangs into his neck. He screamed as the blood poured into my mouth. I groaned and swallowed again and again. Remembering draining the last kill with my sire only months before, I growled deep in my throat and bit even harder. His heart slowed, then stopped completely. I released him and he slumped to the floor. Wiping my mouth delicately as I stood, I dismissed my victims.
Making my way quietly outside, I checked to see if anyone else had been alerted by all the noise, but it was quiet. I brought the horse and cart into the barn. I knelt at Devon’s side and stroked his face, pushing his hair out of his eyes.
“It won’t be long now, my darling boy, and we will be together forever,” I whispered to him with a soft kiss. Using my Vampire strength, I picked him up in my arms and carefully placed him on the cart. I covered him up with a blanket I found in the house. I gathered up my skirts and climbed onto the cart. I grabbed the reins and clicked my tongue. The horse lurched forward, and I pointed us in the direction of York.
“The gods help the city when we get there.”
Read on with, Book 2: The Power of One
THE POWER OF ONE: THE FOREVER SERIES, BOOK 2
The Power of
One
The Forever Series, Book 2
BY EVE NEWTON
THIRD EDITION
Copyright © Eve Newton, 2012
Copyright © Eve Newton, 2017
Without limiting the rights under copyright reserved above, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form, or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise), without the prior written permission of the copyright owner.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
PROLOGUE
London, England, 1012 – Aefre
I was in the marketplace picking out food for dinner and a few items for repairing clothes. My friends, such as they were, Annis and Rheda, were with me running similar errands. I bent over stiffly to examine some twine and winced. Annis and Rheda shared a look of concern that I sensed rather than saw. Placing a hand to my ribs, where my husband had given me a swift kick last night, I rose shakily, avoiding my friend’s eyes. I moved on to the next stall and they followed. I could not bear their pity and I straightened my back as I felt their eyes on me.
“Aefre…” Rheda started.
Turning swiftly, I held a hand up. “Do not, please. Leave it be.”
They both nodded, but I saw they wanted to say more. Annis hesitated as she noticed my attention was drawn away from her and over her shoulder. She turned to look at what I was looking at and her breath caught in her throat as she saw eyes so dark, focused completely on me.
He was the most handsome man I had ever seen, and he was looking intently at me. He looked exotic, certainly not from around here. His stance was casual and relaxed, yet his body was also coiled as if ready to strike at any moment.
I felt myself blush as he continued to stare at me in that way.
“Aefre!” Annis said, drawing my attention back to her. I blinked slowly at her. She grabbed my arm and hustled me away.
“What of Radulf?” she warned.
He would kill me if he saw another man looking at me like that, especially if I was looking back.
At sixteen, I had been married for two years and it was Hell. The nightly beatings and rapes were getting unbearable and even worse when I actually did something to anger him. By some miracle I had never borne a child to him and I hoped it stayed that way. It angered him, but it was better this way. Lost in my thoughts, I realized Annis had let go of me to check a stall and I accidentally bumped into someone.
“Oh, I apologize,” I mumbled, head bowed.
“It is I, who should apologize, my lady,” came the reply in an accent I didn’t recognize. Daring a swift glance up, I found myself staring into those intense, almost black eyes that were glinting with amusement at catching me off guard. My heart thudded in my chest at his nearness. He was standing almost too close. I wanted to touch him; it was almost as if he was there for that very reason. I inhaled deeply as I forced myself not to reach out to him. His perfect mouth curved into a smile so breathtaking, I almost forgot to breathe. He took my hand to his lips and planted a kiss on my knuckles, a slight frown creased his brow as he saw the bruises there caused by a booted foot. He rubbed his thumb gently over the damage and my eyes focused on the beautiful silver ring he wore there. I had never been touched so gently before and I marveled that this stranger was showing me a kindness I knew nothing of.
“I am Constantine,” he said. “It is a pleasure to meet you.”
“Aefre,” I whispered, getting completely lost in his eyes.
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
Monte Carlo, Monaco, 2012 – Liv
&nbs
p; We make for a morbid bunch as we leave the hotel room, led by Nico in his usual black suit and shirt. Cole has changed into a tight black t-shirt and black jeans and I’m in the tightest pair of black jeans and a vest top, with black patent Louboutins in place. Devon is in his usual black t-shirt and jeans and CK in his black suit. Black, black, black… funeral party, much?
An uncomfortable silence hovers in the air on the ride down in the elevator. Nico leads us to a massive black SUV and opens the door for us to pile in the back. CK and Nico get in the front and Nico pulls us out of the parking space. Cole’s grip on my hand gets tighter. I place my other hand over his to reassure him. CK is so tense, I can feel it hitting me like a hurricane and Devon drums his fingers in a thud, thud, thud. We are all keenly aware of the sound.
“Oh, for fuck’s sake!” I suddenly blurt out and everyone looks at me. “I can’t take this maudlin silence any longer. This is supposed to be a good thing.”
No one responds to my outburst, but instead Nico flicks on the radio. “Don’t Fear the Reaper” by Blue Oyster Cult blares out of the speakers – how apt.
Devon snickers. At least I can count on him and throw him a small smile. I glare at Cole, who is glaring out of the window.
I sigh and say, “We can turn around if you want.”
CK stiffens visibly.
Startled, Cole turns to me. “No, Liv! I want to do this, but I just need…” He throws his hand up to run it through his hair.
“Me to shut the fuck up?” I ask.
He chuckles. “Please.”
I nod and mime zipping my mouth. He goes back to staring out of the window and I go back to glaring at him behind my Ray-Bans. I try to think of anything but this prophecy. I hope against hope that it isn’t true, and that it isn’t about me.
T en minutes later we arrive at our destination: a deserted chapel in the countryside. It is small and run-down. I panic when I see two men standing outside, but Nico gets out, motioning us to stay put. The tension is rolling off Cole now, causing us three Vampires to go into Hunting mode.
“Crack a window, would you, Dev?” I choke out.
“Gladly,” comes his reply.
I can see CK’s shoulders relax slightly as the fresh air breezes in. After a few minutes, Nico heads back to the car and lets us out with an “All clear.” He whispers to CK who nods and turns to me to see if I overheard. I nod and he leads us into the chapel. I gasp in surprise as we enter. There are candles everywhere. It has an eerie beauty to it. The altar, big enough for a man to lie on, is covered with a red velvet throw which reaches the ground and there is a bottle of red wine and two glasses sitting on top. I’m shocked that CK has arranged this for me, for us. I know he is against this and would rather be anywhere else right now, but he does it to help me. I turn to thank him and see his eyes on me, taking in my reaction, his expression unreadable. My heart thuds, and my mouth goes dry, as I realize this is akin to what he had planned for me before he was forced to turn me in the barn. I pull my hand out of Cole’s, who is staring around in wonder and walk over to CK, throwing my arms around him.
He knows I know and whispers to me in Italian, “It’s what you deserve.” I kiss him sweetly in thanks. He steps back and after a long look at me, he whispers, “Be quick. If they turn up before the act is complete, things will get ugly,” and he stalks back outside. I gulp at his words. I have no idea how far he would go to protect me, or Cole for that matter, from his colleagues. Ugly indeed.
Cole joins me and whispers, “Wow. He went all out, huh?” I nod. He pulls me to him in a tight hug.
Devon, ever one to lighten a mood and to also make his place known, clears his throat. “So, is this what I would have gotten had my mother not mortally wounded me with a pitchfork?”
I grin and say sarcastically, “You wish. I kind of had you pegged for more of a quickie in the graveyard type.” He howls with laughter. Cole chuckles too. With the mood lightened considerably, I let go of Cole and step back.
“Let me know when you’re ready,” I say and walk over to pour out the two glasses of wine. “You might need this.” I hand him one, he accepts it, downs it in one gulp and holds it out for more. I oblige and hoist myself up onto the altar to wait. Devon joins me, instinctively knowing that I need him there and we share the second glass, watching Cole wander over to the cracked, stained glass window and look closely at The Madonna depicted there.
He gulps down the rest of his glass and returns to us slowly. “One more for the road?” he asks, holding out his glass while I pour. I tip the remainder into my glass and hand the empty bottle to Devon, who looks at the label and whistles.
“Château Le Pin Pomerol, 1999. Dude, you’ve just polished off a nine-hundred-dollar bottle of wine in under five minutes!”
Cole’s eyes widen as he holds the glass up to his mouth. He looks into it as if it should be made of gold and not grapes. “No way?” he says.
I chuckle and nod. “Yes, way. It’s probably the shortest time in recorded history that a bottle has ever lasted!”
Cole grins and shrugs and downs the rest of his glass to Devon’s delight.
I finish off the rest of mine and hand the glass to Devon. He jumps off the altar and takes Cole’s glass to place them on an old pew.
“I’ll leave you to it, then,” he says softly and turns to leave.
“Stay!” Cole says a bit too loudly. “Erm, if you want to, that is,” he adds, turning to him.
Devon and I are wearing matching shocked faces. Cole shrugs.
Devon recovers first and says, “Yeah, yeah, of course.” He moves back towards the front of the chapel.
“Are you sure?” I ask Cole quietly.
He nods.
“Family, right?” He shrugs again and Devon slaps him on the back in a typical manly fashion.
“Okay, then. Are you ready?” I ask.
He nods and my heart skips a beat. It’s been a long time since I sired someone. Even longer that I sired under planned circumstances, such as these.
I pat the altar and he walks over slowly. He stands in front of me and pulls my head down for a deep kiss. He lets me go and jumps up onto the altar next to me. I swing my legs up and position myself at the top, on my knees, and motion for him to sit in front of me, back facing me. I chance a quick look at Devon, who to my surprise is looking on with interest. He catches my eye and smiles encouragingly.
“You ready, baby?” I whisper to Cole. He nods stiffly. I let my fangs descend and lean down to my left. With only a second’s hesitation, I sink my fangs into his neck. He hisses at the sharp pain, but then relaxes as the pleasure takes over. I suckle at a slow pace, not wanting to send his body into shock. He groans as the bite goes beyond the limit. His blood pouring into my mouth is driving me into a bloodlust, coupled with the stress of the day and the added weight of the prophecy. I bite harder as I feel his heart rate slow. He has passed out now, only a few more seconds. Listening closely, I count back from three, two, one, and I release the bite panting with the now unfamiliar amount of human blood coursing through me. I rip open my wrist and place it to his mouth, making sure he takes it in. I withdraw my wrist and close his mouth. Holding his head carefully, I place it on the altar as I move away.
I stroke his face and kiss him, much as I did with Devon. Now, we wait, and pray that I don’t get Chosen, so we can go back to our normal lives.
M inutes pass and I’m still staring at Cole. I feel Devon join me and pull me away. “Sit,” he says.
I shake my head saying, “I’m okay.”
“Liv, it’s been a long time since you drank that much human blood. Sit, please. You’re shaking.”
Hearing his words, I realize he’s right. I am shaking. The need to drink, to shed blood, to kill, is rising up and racing through me.
“Get CK. Quickly,” I manage before I keel over in restraint of a murderous rampage. With Vampire speed, Devon returns with my sire who is looking overly concerned, as usual, I note with irritation.
I sink into an oblivious state as Constantine continues to console me. Eventually, I feel myself being pulled under his spell and I feel my fangs retract. In a semi-conscious state, I hear my sire hiss to Devon, “Has she not been drinking human blood?”
Devon replies, “Only his, only recently.”
“And before that?” comes the angry response.
“Not for a while, eight months I think since she last drank. Her choice,” he makes clear. “We thought we had more time,” he sighs.
CK sighs as well. “No matter, it’s done. Get Nico to bring in another Feeder. AB negative, sooner rather than later. She’ll need it to get back under control,” he states.
I feel myself sink right under, then suddenly I jolt awake, still in CK’s arms. I can tell it’s getting dark out now. How long was I under?
“What time is it?” I ask, my head banging.
“A little after nine,” he says.
“Cole?”
“Still out, my sweet.”
“Gregor and Eloise?”
“No word,” he says shortly, followed by, “How do you feel?”
“Ugh. My head hurts. Speaking of heads, you might have given me one up, you know, considering…” I growl but relax knowing that the other two Council members haven’t turned up. Yet.
He chuckles. “Had I known you were refraining, I would have. Really, Aefre, for the smartest woman on the planet, you really can be quite dense sometimes.” He sighs, exasperated, then asks, “Why were you abstaining?”
“You know why,” I say mutinously.
“Trying to make up for the sins of the past? Oh, Aefre. It doesn’t work that way. Yes, you can thrive on Vampire blood, but when you start to take human blood again, even the smallest amount, you might as well be back where you started,” he admonishes.