“I don’t bite, Viking, at least not anymore.”
Her statement confused and surprised me, but had a completely different effect on Erick.
Laughter rumbled from behind me. I turned back. Erick leaned against the opening of the gazebo frame. “You always were a sassy wench, Arlea.” He caught my gaze and flashed me a reassuring smile, dimples showing in both his cheeks. “You have but to desire my presence, kjaere, and I will be at your side.” He bowed and turned to leave. His long strides ate up the stone walk and soon he disappeared, leaving me alone with the ancient seer.
“Come, child. There is much to say and I don’t stay awake as long as I used to.”
I moved to the large, cushioned chair opposite Arlea. Tucking my legs beneath my body, I sighed. What could she possibly have to say to me? And why did I keep getting hints that my arrival in Sanctuary was expected?
Her brown eyes sparkled with a fire that surprised me. For one so old, she spoke and acted decades younger. That dust must really be something.
“You and Erick make a good match. I’m glad he found you and not one of the other Protectors.”
“Were they looking? I thought our meeting was chance.”
“Oh it was. Even when he found you, the Viking had no idea who you were.”
Who I was? I scrunched my face. She wasn’t making sense. They were looking, but not really? He didn’t know who I was? “You aren’t making sense.”
“You have been on a path to find Sanctuary since you were born. I had a vision of you twenty-six years ago. Since then, I’ve seen you in my dreams many times over the years. I never knew your name or where you were, but I knew you were meant for us. Can I ask your full name?”
“Bailey Ross. Meant for you how? This town is full of Others. I’m human.”
“What is your true name, the one your parents passed down. Ross isn’t right.”
“D’Roth,” I answered slowly. How could she have known Ross wasn’t my real name?
“Ah, the D’Roth family goes back centuries. Your ancestors were not human. You come from a family line steeped in the old magick. The bloodline is diluted enough that you don’t have powers any longer, but your soul spoke to me when you entered this world. Your sacrifice will put the House of Lamidae one step closer to freedom.”
Sacrifice? Nothing about a sacrifice sounded pleasant. I shivered and silently wished for Erick to return, hoping he had been telling the truth about returning to me with only a thought. Just then, a whir of air stirred my hair and he appeared at my side, kneeling next to my chair.
“What is wrong?”
“Nothing,” Arlea snapped at him. Her demeanor changed from friendly, old woman to angry shrew in a matter of seconds. “She’s scared.”
“Sister Arlea, there is no need for cruelty. Bailey has had more than her fair share of it in her short life.”
“I know exactly what her life was. It is in the past. She is the next piece of the star of Shamesh. She will be Sanctuary’s fifth Protector. There is no time for tiptoeing around the topic. Xerxes grows bolder each year. She is irreplaceable.”
A Protector? I couldn’t be. I’d have to … die.
“You can’t expect her to just give up her life on command. The other Protectors were already vampires when we were called. She deserves to live. To have a family. Children. New vampires are not created on a whim. Even yours.” Erick’s fury sent a chill through my body.
“Tread carefully, Viking. I know you care for her, but you do serve me.”
“I protect the House, Oracle. But, I am not a slave to your whims.”
The old woman’s voice sharpened, becoming colder than a steel blade. “It is her destiny. I do not choose this for her, Erick. I only see it, but she cannot escape it, no matter what you do.”
They were both angry, but it was more than just me they were arguing about. I didn’t care, though. Their voices were drowned out in the sea of my raging thoughts. What the hell? She thought I was supposed to be a Protector … like Erick? She thought I’d willingly become a vampire? That I didn’t have a choice. How could I not have a choice? What had she seen?
I didn’t have a lot to lose. I had no human family or friends. Nothing truly tied me to my old life except pain and fear. But dying and becoming a night-walking, bloodsucking, immortal, hated by most of the human race hadn’t really been in my plans, either.
Besides, what kind of person tells a stranger their destiny is to die and become an immortal warrior for some out-of-the-way West Texas town no one’s ever heard of. And to fight for what? These carefree women who lived in the lap of luxury behind the walls of a massive castle having dreams of the future? What were they so afraid of?
I stood from my chair and stared down at the small woman still arguing with Erick. Maybe I’d taken too quickly to this town. Something felt wrong about this whole conversation. “You have the wrong person, ma’am. Sanctuary is nice and all, but sooner or later I will have to leave. I never stay anywhere for long.”
Arlea turned her bright, brown eyes on me and laid a hand on my arm. A cold tingle shot across my skin, making me shudder like the air around me was freezing cold instead of tropically warm. Erick said she was human, but the glint of something else in her eyes made me question it. “I’ve dreamed your face since you were born, child. This is your fate, whether you choose to accept it or not. It’s not something from which you can run.”
Maybe, maybe not, but it didn’t mean I had to lay back and just take it either. I yanked my arm away from her vise-like fingers and fled the gazebo.
She had no right to ask for what she did. At least Erick had stood up for me. But would that be enough if the whole town sided with Arlea? She was a respected elder. I wasn’t stupid. I knew her words carried weight. Even Rose, the all-powerful Sentinel, had pushed for me to meet and hear out the seer. Or Oracle. Whatever they called her. It didn’t matter. I wasn’t going to just let them turn me into a vampire.
But, just because Erick didn’t want to follow Arlea’s orders didn’t mean one of the other Protectors wouldn’t step up and do the deed. I’d been beaten and tortured to within an inch of my life and I’d survived. This old woman was not going to get the better of me with her “it’s your destiny” crap.
The stone path before me split into a Y and I followed it to the left. I was long past lost. All the arched doorways along the outer edges of the garden looked the same. I picked one and slipped inside.
The room was barely lit and the thudding bass of music I’d never heard before reverberated from the walls and ceiling—so loud the very air in the room seemed to pulse.
There were quite a few people in the room. Some dressed as Sisters in long, flowing silver dresses, some naked as the day they were born. I averted my eyes when one of the Sisters walked past with a mountain of a man following close behind her, naked but for the wide, black, leather collar around his neck. She gave me a sultry wink and walked to the corner of the room.
Now that my eyes adjusted to the low light, I could make out furniture along the walls. A crowd was gathering to one side and the telltale snap of a whip made the bile in my stomach rise to my mouth. But the burning in my throat was nothing compared to the phantom pain racing across my skin every time the whip found its target. Each stripe on my body came alive, burning as if it were fresh.
My breathing grew ragged and I dropped to my knees. The cold stone seared like ice on my palms. I could see my terrified reflection in the polished finish.
I thought I had more control, but that sound brought everything crashing down, threatening to suffocate me in my memories. Erick’s cool hands were on my shoulders seconds later. He really could feel when I needed him.
I sucked in a breath and tried to speak, but managed no more than a choked cough. All I wanted was to get away. I wanted to be free of this pain. Of the memories that haunted me. But it would never happen. My scars would always be there. Even if Erick thought they were beautiful … they were still reminders o
f what he had done to me. For now, I just needed to get away from the sound of that bullwhip slicing through the air.
Several unfamiliar voices asked if I was all right. I couldn’t answer. Erick’s arms surrounded me and lifted me from the floor. Air rushed past us. He was moving so fast. The darkness of the Castle disappeared. We were outside again. Then we weren’t.
When he finally came to a stop, I sighed. We were in his bedroom. He lowered me gently onto silky sheets of the large bed we’d been sharing since I’d arrived. The familiar peppermint scent soothed my raw nerves and I reached for one of the many pillows against the headboard, pulling it close to my chest and burying my face in it.
“I’ll be right back, I’m going to get you a drink.”
I nodded my head and mumbled an okay through the pillow.
A few seconds later, his fingers stroked my upper arm. “Sit up and drink this.”
I did as he asked and shoved the pillow behind my back before turning to face his gorgeous, blue eyes. He placed the highball glass in my hand. I touched it to my lips and the fumes from the alcohol hit my eyes with a blast. Seconds later the liquid fire scorched a path down my esophagus, but at least it burned away the acrid taste of bile. Nothing like a good scotch to wipe a slate clean.
“It’s not even lunchtime yet, and I’m already drinking.” I tried to manage a half smile as I handed him the empty glass.
He took the glass and set it softly on the nightstand. “It’s been a crapshoot of a morning. I think the etiquette gods will look kindly on you for this indulgence.”
“Will you hold me?”
“Of course, min kjaereste.” He shucked his shoes and crawled over my body, settling into the center of the bed. I moved to the offered shoulder, releasing a deep sigh as the arm beneath my head curled around my back and pulled me snugly to his chest.
He pressed his lips to my forehead and inhaled deeply. “You are so special to me. I can’t imagine living without you. You touch my heart the way only one other woman in centuries has done.”
The idea that he felt so strongly for me wasn’t scary. My feelings for him were strong, too. He’d found a way to get past the walls I’d put around my heart after I thought Kevin had destroyed it.
“You have the heart of a warrior, Bailey. To have fought and survived what your visible wounds proclaim is an untold feat in itself. I can only imagine the pain and scars you have yet to share with me. You must understand. I will protect you with everything I possess. No matter what the Oracle said, you have a choice. No one is turned against their will.”
Did that mean I would choose to die?
Chapter 12
A quiet buzz stirred my mind from where it floated listlessly between consciousness and dream. Erick’s voice rumbled from deep in his chest. I could hear another male voice on the other end of the phone, but couldn’t tell who it was.
“She’s fine … No, it was the whip.” A low growl made me turn my head to look up at him. He avoided my gaze. “If I hadn’t been arguing with the Oracle, I would’ve been with her … No … She’ll deal when she’s ready … Fine. Give me a few minutes.”
“What is it?”
“There was a fire in the Lycans’ neighborhood.”
“Is everyone okay?”
“Yes, everyone is fine, but Rose felt a Djinn presence just before it happened.”
My heart leapt to my throat. Already? I didn’t want to leave him … any of them. Even with the weird crap with the Oracle woman, this place felt right. She’d recognized my parent’s family name and running from her may have been a mistake, but it had been a knee-jerk reaction. I’d always solved my problems by running.
It tore at me to think about leaving, but there was no other option. I couldn’t let a psychopath roam their streets hurting others just to get to me.
“Breathe, Bailey. I’m taking you to Calliope’s. You can pick out a few more clothes while I take care of business. She can sense other supernaturals, too. She’ll feel him coming long before he’s there. Other than Rose, she’s the best companion for you until we eliminate the threat.”
“Can’t I just stay with you?” I sat up and looked down at him.
“I want you inside a warded building. If not Calliope’s, then the Castle, but after what happened this morning, that’s not an option.”
I swallowed at the mention of the dragons’ lair. It truly was a lair, with its dark floors and walls, old-style chandeliers, and wall sconces designed to look like candles. Decadence and elegance mixed with darkness. Going back to that place definitely wasn’t an option, as he’d put it. Not for a while.
“Calliope’s.”
Dimples showed on both cheeks as he smiled. “I thought as much.” He lifted his hand and caressed my cheek. “I’m here when you want to talk about it. I can help you.”
“Perhaps.”
Ten minutes later, he was kissing me on the cheek and leaving me in the cutest boutique. Clothes hung everywhere, bolts of fabric lined the back wall and shoes lined another. It was enough to make any woman forget her worries, and I was no different.
The woman standing a few feet away was gorgeous and scary at the same time. Her eyes were golden brown and her creamy white skin was as flawless as porcelain. Long, black hair hung in smooth shiny waves well past her waist. She winked at me as a mischievous grin tugged at her lips.
Erick said she was a siren. What exactly that was, I didn’t know, but the woman made clothes to die for. The entire shop was filled with things that would make even the wealthiest women in the world swoon.
“Let her pick anything she wants, Calliope.”
“Oh, honey, I will shower her with things her mind can’t even conceive.”
He chuckled and slipped out the front door of the shop. The familiar blue shimmer of the warding spell dropped into place as the door closed behind him.
Calliope strolled over and turned the deadbolt. “Private shopping is my specialty. We don’t need any uninvited visitors.” A flick of her hand in the air drew the curtains closed on both front windows. “Now, what do you like to wear?”
I stared at the curtains. She’d moved them with a mere gesture. Maybe the citizens of Sanctuary really were capable of protecting themselves … and me. A little of the guilt I’d been carrying around slipped from my shoulders. I had been safely tucked away in this amazing boutique and told to shop to my heart’s content. My inner girly girl wanted to squeal out loud, but I contained myself and let my fingers run down a sparkly top, enjoying the silky feel of the fabric.
“Can you tell me more about the Sisters?” Erick hadn’t really explained a lot and neither had Rose. Maybe I could get a little more out of Calliope. It wouldn’t hurt. Especially with what they wanted me to do, I more than deserved the full history lesson.
“The House of Lamidae? They are seers.”
I chuckled and pulled a soft tank from a hanger. “That, I know.”
“I think the red would look better with your coloring, doll.” She pulled another tank from a shelf next to me and offered it up. I put down the brown one and took the red from her. “So, the Sisters are a strange group. They are human in every aspect that we know. They age. They die. They don’t heal like other supernaturals. But, they never have male children and most of them are more sexually active than rabbits.”
My mouth dropped open at the last comment, but somehow them living inside a fetish club made a lot more sense now. “Being horny doesn’t make them Others.”
“No, of course not, but the only female baby thing is kinda strange.”
“Who fathers their children?”
“Strangers mostly. The Castle is quite the destination for people in the lifestyle. The brothers have visitor day twice a month where humans and supernaturals from outside Sanctuary can visit and play.”
Play? Why would anyone consider being tortured play? Though I hadn’t seen anyone upset while I was in the Castle. Maybe there was a bit more to this whole thing than I knew. Even so, I
had no desire to ever feel another pair of cuffs or hear the clink of a chain or the crack of a whip. I shook my head and refocused back on Calliope. “Do the men just agree to father children?”
“I don’t know the particulars, but contracts are signed and the men are never told if they father a child or not.”
“But they only sleep with human men, right? Because otherwise, wouldn’t the children be … something else?”
Calliope belted out a laugh and wrapped her arms around her stomach. “Oh, honey, those nymphomaniacs will sleep with humans or supernaturals. It doesn’t matter to them. Whatever makes them a Sister makes sure any children are just like them. Default programming or some strange shit. Like I said, they appear human and claim to be human, but most of us aren’t fooled at all.”
“And they see the future?”
“Sometimes.” Calliope shrugged. “Personally, I think the future is a lot more fun if you don’t know it ahead of time.”
“Do you know why Erick is called a Protector? And Rose a Sentinel? The woman, Arlea said I am to become the fifth Protector.”
“Shit! Really? But you’re human!” Calliope’s eyes widened. “Why don’t we go sit down and chat? Since the Protector bomb has been dropped, I’m guessing that clears you to know just about everything.”
Everything? How much more was there to know? I followed her to the wall of shoes, trying not to drool in the process. They were a pleasant distraction from the questions and fears swirling in my mind.
“Pretty aren’t they?”
I nodded. “They don’t sell shoes like these at ValueMart.”
She made an ugly face and shuddered. “Gods, I should hope not.”
A giggle slipped out and I sank into a soft, velvet armchair. The fabric soothed my frazzled nerves as I rubbed my fingertips over the smooth arm of the chair.
“So, what else did the old bitty say? I know she’s been spouting for years about the fifth Protector, but this doesn’t make sense. All Protectors have to be vampire. It’s part of the spell.”
Sanctuary, Texas Complete Series Box Set Page 15
