Unfamiliar (The Vandran Legacy Book 1)

by Anna-Louise Dann

Bile rose in her throat, remembering the last time she had been half naked in front of this sick bastard; it was after he had mercilessly enjoyed whipping her. There was no way he was ever touching her again.

  “No,” she said defiantly. “No? Fucking no! You don’t say no to me, whore, you take your dress off or I will rip it off you,” he spat furiously, walking towards her.

  “Take another step and I will rip your fucki ng heart out, you sick motherfucker,” Colt snarled, throwing the blanket off and jumping to his feet. The expression on Miles’s face was priceless, it was the image of sheer terror. Miles turned to run out of the door.

  “Concluserat!” Clara shouted before h e had time to escape. Her hands were out in front of her; she felt the magic take hold of him and she slammed him into the nearest wall.

  “Not such a big hard man, now are you? I am going to enjoy making you pay for what you put those women through,” Clara said, a sinister smile on her lips. She was thoroughly enjoying watching him squirm under her glare.

  “Y-you have magic? When? I didn’t know. I didn’t know,” he stuttered. “Tie him up for me please, Colt, and gag the son of a bitch. I am sick of hearing his stupid pathetic voice,” Clara said.

  “Dominic will make you suffer, whore, you’ll be sor—” Colt had torn one of the white pillow cases. He stuffed a rag of it into Miles’s mouth before he could say any more. He ripped some more of the material into strips and bound his hands behind his back. Clara released Miles from her hold and let Colt pull him into the centre of the room, making him kneel. He looked pitiful.

  “Dominic, hey? You mean the humanoid who’s pretending to be Dominic...” The shock in Miles eyes made another sly smile creep onto her lips. “What? You thought I didn’t know? I know everything. The real Dominic should be aware of everything by now too, I would hate to be you right now.” She sniggered, looking at him with contempt. His eyes widened with fear as she paced towards him, glaring straight into his black soul.

  “You tortured and had your men rape and kill countless numbers of women in that cave. Did you think karma wouldn’t come knocking for you?” Clara stated with venom. “Well, news flash, scumbag: I. Am. Your. Karma.”

  She grabbed him by his hair. “Cruciatus!” she cried, and felt his body crumble to the floor. His scream of pain was muffled by the cloth in his mouth, which was beginning to turn red with his blood. Seeing this made the darkness inside her come to life.

  “Cruciatus!” she cried again, taking great pleasure in watching the sheer torture on Miles’s face as he screamed again. Blood tears formed in his eyes and trickled down his face. She felt no remorse after what she had seen him do to those women, he deserved so much more for the suffering he had caused.

  “Cruciatus!” she screamed again and she watched as his bones in his legs began to crack and twist at the joints. Miles’s scream was one of pure crippling agony.

  She looked over to Colt, who was watching her intently. The look of admiration on his face laced with something sexual, this was actually turning him on.

  “Do you think I should end his suffering now? Or should I inflict some more?” she asked. “An eternity of torture would ne ver be enough for this dickhead,” Colt said, grabbing Miles’s hair and pulling his head back. “Look at the lady,” he snarled down Miles ear, “and kneel before your goddess.”

  Scared, pleading eyes met hers. She felt nothing for this monster. He needed to die for everything he had done. “You enjoy this, you stupid whore,” she spat, repeating the same words he had used on her when he tortured her. “Adducere eum morte,” she cried, and Colt let go of his head.

  She watched as Miles’s eyes rolled back and his skin started to burn until black charcoal marks appeared on different parts of his face. Screams of pure agony rang out throughout the room as his flesh bubbled from the inside out. She didn’t know what she was expecting but this seemed quite apt giving the fire she felt inside every time she conjured her magic. The fire from of all the souls he had destroyed was making him suffer, branding his flesh with their wrath.

  Before his body gave in to death she leant over and whispered in his ear, “I beat you, asshole. Enjoy the hell you created.”

  She felt empowered as his body fell to the floor, dead. She and the women he had hurt had their vengeance. He could never hurt anyone ever again, they were released.

  A noise from the doorway made she and Colt turn in battle mode, ready to face what came next. Sarah was there taking in what had just happened. Clara wasn’t sure how much she had seen, but she didn’t care at this moment in time, her whole body was buzzing.

  “Clara, Colt, what happened? Who’s that?” She walked into the room and looked at the body on the floor more closely, her hand going to her mouth. Tears filled her eyes and overflowed. “Y-you killed him,” Sarah said. It was more of a statement than a question.

  “It’s Miles? He was the one who tortured Clara and all those women in that cave,” Colt stated. “Did you know?” he asks. Accusation laces his voice.

  “I didn’t, I swear. I promise you I would never betray you, you’ve been like family to me,” she says looking between them both. “I knew he was dangerous, but he was always a gentleman towards me, he was nice to me.” More tears wet her cheeks.

  “Anyone would think you had feelings for this sick bastard. Don’t worry, I am sure your dad was loving him too when he killed him in cold blood,” Colt snapped.

  Clara glared at Colt. “Colt, that’s enough.” She watched as Colt’s harsh words sunk in and Sarah crumbled to the ground. Clara went down with her, pulling her into an embrace. “I am so sorry. I’ve got you, sweetheart. Miles had you fooled – he was a very bad man,” Clara whispered, throwing more daggers in Colt’s direction. He looked mortified with himself for his loose tongue. He would apologise to Sarah later.

  “We have to get out of here, Clara. Fake Dominic will be wondering where his lapdog is soon,” Colt said apologetically.

  “Sarah, are you going to come with us?” Clara says, still holding a weeping Sarah in her arms. Sarah lifts her tearstained face and nods. “W-what did you mean when you said fake Dominic?” “We’ve got a humanoid familiar to contend with now too. We’re not sure who it is. Miles was working with them. We are going to find who it is very soon, but we need to get out of here.”

  “I saw Dominic leave the club before, after I had finished my show and hadn’t seen you come back out, so I had to check you were ok. Why did Miles come up here without any of Dominic’s men?” Sarah asks.

  “I think he was planning on hurting Clara again, to teach her a lesson, before taking her to Dominic. They killed me in front of Clara to prove a point. Clara performed the resurrection spell and brought me back, Sarah. She truly is a descendant of the great Annabelle,” he says, the look of admiration back again.

  “Well I’m glad he’s dead and you killed him, Clara. I can’t believe my dad is gone,” Sarah says as she wipes away more tears.

  “Let me throw those clothes on and we’ll head downstairs,” Clara says, pulling the clothes out of the bag and swiftly pulling them on.

  They make their way down in the lift. Tensions are on high alert – the anticipation of what’s waiting for them is unbearable.

  The doors open to an empty hallway; Colt walks ahead and opens the door to the club. “It’s just the club security, we’ll have to be quick and try to not draw too much attention. Sarah, you go first, they won’t suspect you. Jake is waiting outside with the van,” Colt says. Sarah nods, giving Clara one last hug before exiting through the door.

  “Are you ready, baby?” Colt asks, holding out his hand. “I am, let’s go and end this once and for all, Colt. I am sick of hiding,” Clara says, taking his hand in hers. He kisses the back of her hand lovingly.

  They make it through the door and across the VIP area without any bother. They push open the double doors and walk straight into a very angry-looking Dominic.

  Shit.

  “You must be Clara, Em—�
�

  “Don’t you dare come any closer!” she shouts. Sheer panic takes over, and she backs away, trying to wrack her brain for a good spell to use.

  A familiar face appears next to Dominic; her heart skips a beat.

  “Hey, sis. Nice tracksuit,” Emmie says with a grin. “Emmie! Oh my god, Emmie,” she cries, and throws herself at her sister. The familiar feeling of home engulfs her as she hugs Emmie tightly, immersing herself in the security blanket of her big sister’s arms.

  “Hey, I need you to meet someone,” Emmie says in her ear. She lifts her head and nods, understanding who she means. She knows she has to keep an open mind and believe he is just as much of a victim as they are.

  “Clara, this is Dominic – the real Dominic. He knows who the humanoid is, and the shit is about to hit the fan big time,” Emmie says, nodding to Dominic who offers his hand.

  Clara takes it and shakes it briefly before letting go. “It’s a pleasure to finally meet you, Clara. I can only apologise for my family’s stupidity in carrying on a feud that should never have begun in the first place. My ancestor was greedy, cruel, and it appears some of my so-called relatives share the same mentality and bloodlust,” Dominic says.

  “Relatives?” Clara asks, intrigued. “My mother was a humanoid. She was an exception to the rules, though. She was a good woman and a caring mother. She never followed the old ways, she wanted to preserve her kind and live in peace, not that it did her much good in the end.” He stops for a second as if regaining his composure, and then carries on. “My father on the other hand, wanted me to embrace my calling and become like Dominus, seek out Annabelle’s descendant and finish what he had started centuries ago. I wouldn’t. It would have broken my mother’s heart to see me stoop so low. He was furious. He turned his attentions to my sister Juliet. He has moulded her into a female version of himself. Foolishly I have been deceived into believing she was just a normal familiar for all this time. I didn’t know she had inherited our mother’s form,” Dominic explains.

  “So, it’s that fucking bitch who has been tormenting my family? I will tear her fucking head off,” Emmie snarls.

  “She is only my half -sister. My mother had an affair and Juliet is the product of that affair, that is why she could never inherit my father’s business, much to his disappointment. She was not his blood. I only gained control after my father died last year. I have been away a lot so I wasn’t aware of the way my sister had been running the business,” Dominic says, his eyes full of compassion and guilt.

  “Where is she?” Clara asks.

  “I believe she is back at the mansion, waiting for Miles. I think they were hoping they could present you to me, like they did with your sister. You have to believe me – I only ever want to protect your family from their vindictive ways. I have some of my trusted men on their way there now to check if her car is there. She won’t get away with the despicable way she has treated you and your family.”

  “What will you do to her?” Colt asks, still looking suspicious, his brow furrowed.

  “I’ll kill her!” Dominic spits.

  “Only if I don’t kill her first,” Emmie growls and turns on her heel, storming off towards the exit.

  Chapter Thirty-Four

  Clara The drive to the mansion was tense. Dominic had taken Emmie in his car and Clara was currently sitting on the battered mattress contemplating what came next. She knew the next few hours were going to be vital in cementing their freedom and her family’s safety. Now she knew the real Dominic wasn’t behind her kidnap and torture, she could breathe a slight relief knowing he was on their side, she just was sure how much of the Domini Bellatorum Juliet had at her beck and call, so they had to tread carefully doing this because there were psychos out there who still lived in the past.

  She pulled her long, unruly hair into a ponytail and looked at Sarah, who was sitting at the edge of the mattress with her head buried in her hands.

  “Hey, Sarah, look at me,” Clara ordered. She wasn’t having her blame herself for what her father had done. Jake had surprised her with his hostility towards Sarah; he had refused to even speak to her. He was currently riding shotgun next to Colt, with a face like thunder. Clara didn’t know what words had been said between them when Sarah had gone out to find him in the club but she was sure he had thrown blame her way. The poor girl had just lost her father and learnt he had betrayed them all in the space of an hour, so if Jake wanted to butt heads with someone she would give him what-for. Sarah was fragile.

  “Whatever Jake said to you, don’t you dare take it to heart. He was very worried about you when you left, we all were, but he seemed to take it worse than any of us. He’ll get over his funk,” Clara said, moving up the mattress to place her hand on Sarah’s shoulder. “I am so sorry about your dad, Sarah.”

  Sarah’s eyes met hers, they were brimming with tears and devastation. “I just can’t believe he hurt you, Clara. I can’t believe he handed you over so freely. I wish I could be angry at him but every time I try to be mad with him it breaks my heart,” Sarah sobbed. “Maybe Jake was right, I should just leave. I’ll bring you nothing but a reminder of my dad’s betrayal,” she sobbed.

  Clara felt her temper rise. “Fuck what Jake says. I want you with us, Sarah. What your dad did was out of desperation because he loved you so much. I don’t hate him for it, and you are not to blame for his actions,” Clara said firmly. “If Jake has a problem with that he can speak to me about it,” she said it loud enough so Jake could hear.

  “Thanks, Clara. I’ll probably still take off once this is all done, but I will always keep in touch with you guys. I have some money saved from the club so I’m going to go travelling, see some of the world,” Sarah said. More tears overflowed.

  “As long a s you keep in touch – we’ll Skype and stuff – and whenever you decide to come home, you’ll come and stay with us. Plus, I want you to be one of my bridesmaids,” Clara said, nudging Sarah’s shoulder with her own.

  Sarah’s eyes lit up and she wiped at the tears. “Are you serious? Oh, Clara, I am so happy for you guys, you belong together. I would love to be your bridesmaid,” Sarah exclaimed, hugging Clara.

  “And don’t worry about Jake, he’ll come around,” Clara said quietly into Sarah’s ear.

  “I hope so, Clara, he’s been a good friend to me,” Sarah whispered back.

  Colt

  They were pulled up outside the big gates leading up to Dominic’s mansion. The big gates opened straight away and Colt drove the van down the long pathway leading to the building. The place was immense, and surrounded with high-tech security. Colt pulled the van round the back like Dominic had suggested – they didn’t want Juliet to know they were coming. They were using the servants’ entrance at the back. He had contacted Heather before she was on her way too. He didn’t know what to expect so all hands were needed.

  He parked the vehicle in one of the open garages and turned off the engine.

  Kneeling on the seat, he pulled the curtain back to talk to Clara. “We’re here, baby. How do you want to do this?” he said, loving the fire that burned in her eyes at the thought of kicking some ass.

  “Let’s just get in there and see what this bitch has to say for herself,” Clara stated, standing up and heading to the back of the van, ready for battle.

  Emmie “Bro ther, the business at the club is going well, you know it’s in safe hands. I told you I would take care of things while you are away, and I have. We are making more money than we can count,” Juliet purred. She was sitting on a leather office chair wearing a black leather-effect pencil dress and stiletto heels. Her laptop was open on the desk behind her, she had a full whiskey glass in her hand, leaning back with her legs crossed like she didn’t have a care in the world. Emmie was livid, but she knew she had to let Dominic keep her talking until the others got here.

  “I can see the figures have dramatically risen since last year,” Dominic said, looking at the accounts on the laptop screen. “I am not den
ying that you have been successfully running the club, but I am hearing disturbing things from some about the way you are handling disciplinaries of staff members and I believe you have been using unethical brutality towards troublemakers. We had the same discussion about keeping our business clean last time I was home, do I need to repeat myself?” Dominic said. His voice of authority did things to Emmie’s insides. Juliet was a professional at keeping her emotions in check, her poker face showed no sign of being affected even by Dominic’s malign presence. Emmie was sure she must be part robot.

  “I will speak to Miles, he has been dealing with some of unruly clientele we’ve had in as of late. As for the staff, some have been, shall we say, more challenging than others, but I believe we have dealt with them fairly,” she says, straightening her posture and twisting to place her half-drank whiskey on the computer desk. She turned back to glare at Emmie, who was returning her glare with just as much venom.

  “Why does she need to be here, while we are discussing club business?” Juliet spat, waving her hand in Emmie’s direction.

  “Because I want her here, and she deserves to know what you and Miles are planning on doing with her sister,” Dominic spat, shocking Emmie at how quickly he had begun the inevitable argument. They were supposed to be stalling her. Dominic obviously had other ideas.

  “Her sister’s dead,” she replied, the façade slipping. “Who has been feeding you bullshit, brother?” she snarled, the hardness back in her eyes.

  “The only one sprouting fucking bullshit, is you,” Emmie growled. She had heard enough, her anger was simmering.

  “How dare you speak to me like that? Brother, control your pet,” Juliet bit out with a sinister glint in her eye.

  “She is not my pet. Amelia is an ancestor of a goddess, and you should have some respect when addressing her. I know everything, Juliet. I know what you are. It’s over for you,” Dominic said through gritted teeth.

  “What are you talking about? Is this some kind of joke, brother? What has this woman been telling you? Why would you believe a mere familiar over your own blood?” Juliet throws out questions while putting on her best butterwouldn’t-melt expression. She reaches behind her and out of nowhere she produces a concealed knife and lunges at Emmie. “Lying whore!” she screams.