Eyes Of Crimson : Vampire Paranormal Romance (Transfusion Saga Book 8)

by Stephanie Hudson

  I breathed a quick sigh of relief before allowing the rest to continue and it was only a minute later that I ended up hissing out one word like it was acid on my tongue…

  “Hex!”

  15

  In Another’s Arms

  “Is that all you have, you ruffian!” Vern said after I broke his nose and he spat blood off to the side. It also didn’t take me long into this fight to realise that something was wrong with Vern and if I was honest, it was throwing me off my game.

  After I had learnt all I needed to from the witch, I naturally let her go. Not only had she not done anything wrong, but she had helped care for my girl after her attack. Also, from the looks of her memories, she had been nothing but kind to her. Which was why when leaving the shop, I declared the building and the witch under the protection of my rule and a death sentence to anyone who threatened either. This was much to her and Vern’s astonishment, but I couldn’t give a fuck, for anyone who aided my Amelia in surviving this ordeal, I was indebted to.

  As for Vern, he refused to give me any information as to where he’d sent them, despite the beating he had received. I had tried to access his mind and found a blank, for he had only given them a hint of where they should go. Meaning it was Trice who had most likely unknowingly thought of the place the portal had sent them. Which meant that unless Vern was willing to slip up and think back to the actual location, then it was useless.

  He was one cunning, ginger fucker!

  “I fail to understand why it is you still resist, for what do you hope to achieve from all of this?” I asked after wiping my own blood from my lips, after the few lucky hits he had managed to get in. You see my idea of gaining information from Vern wasn’t by tying him to a fucking chair and torturing him. For I didn’t do such unless I wanted to deliver a lot of pain as revenge. In truth, I had also needed the fight.

  But for Vern, he had kept Amelia safe and protected her, which was precisely why I didn’t want to kill him or beat him beyond repair. However, he couldn’t go completely unpunished either, as he refused to give information to his King and didn’t make it easy when he was escorted back to the castle for questioning.

  Basically, the dickhead was doing this to himself. Which was why I decided to give him his chance against me. Any other time and this would have been in a ring surrounded by an audience, as this wasn’t the first time I had fought those that needed to be punished. But instead, this fight ended up inside a large prison cell. Because I had no fucking time for theatre of making this a show. This was between him and me and despite his new fucked up way of speaking, I discovered his reason was the promise that was made for all three of the brothers.

  They wanted their souls back.

  He was basically giving his brothers the chance to deliver the girl and get what was owed to them, the promise of lifting the blood oath of regaining back complete possession of their souls. I also discovered that the reason for his new persona was down to pissing off the shop owner, a girl I learnt was called Nero.

  “You of all people, Sir, would fail to understand such trials and tribulations that comes from having one’s soul in the hands of another.” I released a sigh and muttered,

  “Fuck me, but she really did a number on you.” I also shook my head before throwing a rag at him, nodding to the deep gash on his head caused from when I hammered it against the wall. He caught it one handed and put it there to slow the blood enough to give it time to heal before he lost too much and passed out.

  “You swear M’lady was left unharmed?” He asked at the mention of her.

  “You saw her for yourself, did she look fucking harmed to you?!” I snapped losing my patience and finding myself near ready to fight once more. Damn it, but if he just gave me something!

  His shoulders sagged just before he staggered into the wall, using it to prop himself up. It had to be said that the Wyvern had given the fight a fucking good go and despite beating him, he hadn’t been exactly what I would have called easy. It was why the whole thing had been so satisfying, for it was unusual for me to find such an opponent who never gave up, even after I had broken bones. Of course, he would heal…maybe not as quickly as I would but he would most definitely live to see another fight, for it was clear the cocky bastard was no stranger to being in a brawl.

  “I fail to see what the lady could mean to one such as you, on account of her being decidedly mortal,” Vern said wincing after it, and I didn’t know if it was due to physical pain or the pain his own words cost him, as he obviously hated this new affliction.

  “That shit gonna wear off soon?” I asked making him mutter,

  “By Joe, I do hope so, dear fellow.” The wince this time confirmed it had nothing to do with pain but more the hit to his ego at sounding by all accounts, like a posh twat.

  “She’s certainly got imagination and talent that girl of yours…fuck, I am tempted to employ her,” I confessed making him push away from the wall in clear irritation saying,

  “Now just a darn minute, I forbid any such thing…upon my word,” he scoffed making me roll my eyes and tell him,

  “Keep your britchers on, asshole, I said tempted, not that I would…besides, I have bigger matters to deal with now, like getting you to tell me where the fuck my mortal is!” I snapped making his eyes widen at my slip up.

  “Your mortal?” He questioned.

  “Yes, my fucking mortal!” I shouted back almost about to crack my fist against his skull again. He released a sigh and said,

  “If it’s the lady’s safety that concerns you then I can assure you that she is perfectly safe, especially with Trice becoming so protective over…” He trailed off the moment he heard my response for I started growling like a demonic beast.

  “What did you say?” I asked in a dangerous tone, as I could feel the jealous rage rising through me like a red mist was overtaking my senses. I had never really had the need to be jealous over Amelia before, having intervened and ended all relationships with other men before they even had chance to begin. But then that was before I had allowed myself to claim her fully.

  Now, however, just at the mere hint of it and I was back to being ready to tear into him once again. He held up a shaky hand, one where the skin was now missing off his knuckles and said,

  “Take care for but a moment, good sir, for it is not as it appears.” But even then, I could tell there was something in him that seemed more to hope that this was the case, and for his brother’s sake that this statement was true. But it was obvious, that despite his words, it was not something he was confident in.

  “It better the fuck not be, or you will be finding yourself a bloody cell mate with the same last name as you if it is any other way!” I snapped before forcing myself to leave, knowing that if I didn’t then there was a chance the Wyvern wouldn’t survive another hour!

  After this I left my prison, cracking my fists and popping a dislocated knuckle back into place. Something that had happened when trying to hit a certain well-spoken Wyvern in the face and getting the wall instead when the fast fucker dodged the punch. I quickly became consumed with needing to know what was happening with Amelia right at this very moment. For all I was left hoping for was that wherever they were, they had decided to stop and rest for the night.

  I made it back to the grand staircase that connected the main tower to all other towers that surrounded it, including my own. As usual I had little patience for climbing fucking thousands of steps and released my wings to fly straight up the centre. I landed quickly and was soon crossing the glass walkway over to the private part of my home in Hell. This was so I had the privacy I needed to access Amelia’s mind once more.

  I had made a promise not to do this again but considering she had also made the same promise never to leave me, I think I could be forgiven this once in being allowed to use it to my aid. Because clearly promises were subjective on whether or not the fucking world needed saving! This, I thought with a grit of my teeth, was something I had been doing a lot fucki
ng more lately!

  I opened the private door that was guarded by the souls of the condemned and needed my blood to open it. I even remember Lucifer explaining how I would be grateful one day for the privacy and warned me that in Hell, there was always someone watching. A lesson I had taken seriously and kept with me throughout my continued existence.

  It was also why, when having his witches build this place, an everlasting storm was created to continually surround it, so it added to the protection. Of course, he was not only thinking of me but more so for what I had been charged with protecting. I had been declared as keeper of the Crimson Eye, and right here in my tower was where it was kept.

  The Eye was said to have been born through the rage of Janus, the God of time and ruler of the Fates. As a rule, Janus rarely intervened in the way of life, learning quickly that the slightest change of the past can affect the future. Because knowing one’s fate has the power to affect the entire world.

  This being said, Janus first had to experience this lesson for himself and did so when he became enraged by man’s wicked ways. Romulus, the first King of Rome started commanding the kidnapping of the Sabine women. It was a time in which the men of Rome committed a mass abduction of these young females, hellbent of stealing them away from the other cities in the region. This was because of the dwindling population and the greater ratio of men to women.

  Romulus became concerned with maintaining the city's strength and knowing that with their few women inhabitants there would be no chance of sustaining the city's population. The greater fear for the King was that Rome might not last longer than a generation. On the advice of the Senate, the Romans then set out into the surrounding regions in search of wives to establish families with. The Romans negotiated at first but did so unsuccessfully with all the people that they appealed to. This included the Sabines, who populated the neighbouring areas.

  The Sabines, like others who had refused them, did so because they feared the rise of a rival society and refused to allow their women to marry the outsiders. Consequently, through this failure to come to terms with the exchange, the Romans devised a plan to abduct the Sabine women instead, doing so during the festival of Neptune Equester.

  They planned and announced a festival of games to attract people from all the nearby towns. At the festival, Romulus gave a signal by ‘rising and folding his cloak and then throwing it round him again’, no doubt looking like a pompous ass at that! But with the signal given, the Romans started grabbing the Sabine women and fought off the men that tried to stop them.

  Nearly all of the women abducted at the festival were said to have been virgins, all except for one married woman, Hersilia. She became Romulus' wife and would later be the one to intervene and stop the following war between the Romans and the Sabines. However, before this happened Janus, being enraged by the act of man trying to overrule the fate of the population, intervened. He caused a volcanic hot spring to erupt, resulting in the would-be attackers being burnt and buried alive.

  The part of the story that isn’t told to mortal man was that after this happened, Hersilia found herself among the dead. She had been captured by one of the men who Janus had punished with death, meaning she was then free to escape. However, instead Janus was touched by her bravery and compassion, as she found herself looking to help any that may have survived, despite what they had done to her own people. This was when she came across a large red stone sparkling in the ash of the remains.

  Being one that was worthy, Janus let her pick it up and the moment she did, she saw a glimpse into the future. The stone showed her that the only way to end the coming war between Romulus and her people was through love not hate. She was shown that through making the King fall in love with her, it would one day give her the power to convince him that war was not the answer. Shortly after this, she went back into the city of her own free will and caught the King’s eye. A little time later they were married and history was changed for the better.

  The Crimson Eye was created through Janus’ brief hatred for mankind. But in doing so, he transferred some of his power through rage and the emotion was forged in the burning core of Hell, forming it into a precious stone of fate. Now, despite it being used for good and bringing about the peace between two regions, Janus also knew it equally had the power to destroy through that same type of knowledge. It is why, as soon as the stone fell from Hersilia’s hands, it sank back into the depths of the Hell in which it had been born. This before being spewed up by the volcanic eruption Janus had created in his wrath. Lucifer naturally took possession of it until there was one he felt could be trusted more.

  And apparently that person became me.

  And rightly so considering I had barely been tempted to use it, having no need to know my future. For I knew what fucked up shit could happen when you relied too heavily on the Fates to guide your life. Not when I knew that your decisions should solely be those based on your own beliefs, strengths, fears and even doubts.

  I quickly located my bed and lay down, having no intention of sleeping but only hoping that what I did next was to aid me in finding her. That and also crushing all concerns I had in what was fuelling my jealously. Especially when it came to one Trice McBain, needing to know that he was being as honourable as his younger brother presumed.

  The moment I closed my eyes, it didn’t take me long to find her mind, accessing it far quicker down here where my powers were far stronger in my own realm. This also brought me comfort as I knew then that she was also still somewhere within my kingdom. Which meant that wherever they were, they hadn’t gone too far beyond my reach.

  But then the second she felt me entering her void, she responded and when I heard that sweet voice whispering,

  “Handsome” I allowed myself a moment to feel revealed. Her sleeping form was mostly shadowed for some reason, even though I could surmise she was lay somewhere on the ground outside. But the darkness around her worried me…where was she?

  I leant down close to her and whispered in her ear from behind,

  “Amelia, where are you, Sweetheart?” She sucked in a startled breath, telling me that I was in danger of her suddenly waking because of it. That was the last thing I wanted to happen right now as it would make it more difficult in finding her. This was because her void was only accessible when she slept, for her mind was too strong when awake.

  If only I had taught her how to let me into her conscious state of being, then I might have had a chance at finding her the moment I followed her into Hell.

  “I’m here,” she whispered, and I could just make out her reaching hand, as if searching for me. But then this was when I noticed the shadow around her started to move, as if it were something cradling her form. A form that soon started to take shape.

  “My Khuba…You. Are. Not.” I replied in a hard tone, one that I knew sounded harsh when she flinched because of it. But then, despite believing what that shadow could represent, I was at least comforted when she pleaded,

  “Please…I am…I am waiting for you...” This was when she finally opened her eyes in her own dream and found me scowling down at her with my arms crossed and no doubt looking furious. However, the moment she reached out once more for me, I forced myself to believe that the reason for the male presence wrapped around her sleeping form had been for her own wellbeing. That it had been to ward off the night’s chill.

  It was that or death would be the only thing waiting for Trice McBain when he finally walked my woman back through my castle doors.

  I released a deep sigh before lowering to one knee so I could get closer to her, unable to deny the pleading look on her face. She opened her mouth as if ready to speak my name when the shadow across the middle of her belly started to become that of another man and I was left with a bitterness like no other.

  The deep sting of jealously of the likes I had never felt before made the last thing I said down at her being one she would no doubt wake up and remember.

  For it was said as nothing short of a
warning…

  “You wait for me in another man’s arms?”

  16

  Personal Demons

  As I sat on my throne waiting for her to approach it took everything in me to sit there and wait after motioning for her to be brought forward. I simply wanted to storm my way past my people and claim what was mine in the single second it would take me in getting to her.

  But to see that she was stalling only fuelled my anger further and fed the demon side of me that had not long ago taken over completely. Something that had become a battle I fought with myself since she had awoken and broke the connection to her void. In fact, the only reason I hadn’t given into my rage is that during the whole time I was in her mind she had clearly wanted me to find her. She had been looking for me and despite having another man’s arms around her, it had been me she had been reaching out for.

  So, I had beaten back the demon in me and held firmly onto the rational part of my mind that focused instead on leaving my tower and trying to find her. However, it was all in vain for during this time searching my lands for any sight of her, she had been making her way to my castle. The McBain brothers had done what they had been charged with doing just like Vern had said they would, completing their task to regain their souls.

  Which was the only reason I hadn’t ripped Trice apart with my bare hands the moment I first saw him. For surely if he had fallen for my girl, then why would he be delivering her to me despite the uncertainty of her fate, for no one knew who she was to me. No, for all he knew, death was what I had planned for her.

  Of course, on hearing what fate had befallen her by the time I got back, then it was my brother’s life I had in my hands instead of that of another McBain! I couldn’t believe he had ordered her thrown into my prison and despite hearing his reasons, I fucking lost it! I had just been about to storm into the prison and get my girl when my brother’s words had stopped me…