Until Dawn

by brett hicks

  “You care to share anything you might be privy to? Like any of the agencies verbalizing plans to snatch and slice me?”

  Elliot snorted and rolled his eyes.

  “They wouldn’t be very covert, if they went about advertising their intentions to us mere police officers.”

  I grinned and nodded.

  “Well, if it makes you feel any better I had hoped to be one of your mere police officers. Helping protect the common person is more my fancy, not running around in the shadows doing sneaky and ethically questionable things.”

  Elliot shared my grin as we pulled up to the high-rise. Surprisingly empty of reporters or paparazzi. Seri had her methods of misdirection, but I had still expected someone to be here. I didn’t even spot a suspiciously non-descript van of any kind.

  “I believe you have arrived at you home now, Princess.”

  I flicked my gaze back to the detective and off the fancy apartment for the uber-rich.

  “Did Seri happen to mention which floor was mine?”

  I asked in a shy tone. Elliot quirked his brow in silent question.

  “The Second Penthouse suit, as is befitting the Princess of Manhattan, and ruler of her own domain.”

  Elliot said this with a strange flare, and it sounded at odds with his New York accent, which was Yankee-thick!

  “Right, of course she would have me all the way at the top of this monstrosity!”

  He chuckled again.

  “Not that this isn’t entertaining and all, but can you get the fuck out, so I can get some damn sleep?!”

  I giggled girlishly and rolled my eyes.

  “Sweet dreams Detective!”

  I closed the door and began to walk into the huge brownstone building. This thing gave me a nose-bleed just to look at! I was going to have to stay buzzed or something, while I got used to living this far above the ground! This was the kind of place one might have expected to find Arius, but last I heard, he was sitting safely behind his own wards in Cold Coffin.

  I walked in and the doorman smiled politely, only a moment later I realized it was a brownie, not a human. He was shorter than an average man, but not as short as a redcap. He had slender tapered ears, not as long or and sharply pointed as an elf, or a Sidhe. His brown eyes shined with excitement, and he bowed to me formally.

  “My Princess, welcome home.”

  I waved to him lamely and I walked to the elevator. Then, I endured the ride to the very top, inserting my keycard to get the blasted thing to even move to the top floor. I was decidedly against thinking about how I was expected to afford anything around here, considering Seri’s money was not my money!

  That was a problem for another day.

  Epilogue:

  I was taking a break from my studies. I had a few more midterms before I was through for my final semester. Feeling the zing of power, I looked up and spotted Seri watching me from the door, she had paused just inside the door to the library.

  I had been dodging her a lot since our whole coming-out party with the press. She had been pissed with me at first, then later she had begun to try to repair our confusing relationship. I had flung myself into my studies, working to finish all my credit hours this semester. With graduation looking over my head, I still didn’t know what the hell I was going to do!

  The NYPD was willing to take me, but I was still leery of giving the government any form of control over me. I would have to figure something out and soon.

  Seri started towards me, her hips swaying with her natural feminine grace. She had adorned the cover of every magazine in the country. Seri was Crown Princess of Earth and as such, everyone wanted to know more about her! Yet another reason I had been dodging her. She had an endless sea of reporters and paparazzi tailing her every move.

  I couldn’t help the stupid smile that bloomed on my lips. She was gorgeous, and she was just my flavor of girl, redheaded and dangerous. Her pale eyes drank me in, and I felt my breath flee my body at her curvaceous body, clad in a perfect fitting sheath dress. Her strawberry-blonde hair was arrayed in two buns, with fancy looking silver pins running through each of them.

  Her skin was milky white and perfection, no make-up, not that she would ever need make-up! She had a body that had caused every human model in America to write or call, begging for immortality!

  Seraphina was just this side of heaven to me. Yet, I couldn’t help but feel terrified of what could happen. My belly did a flop and my heart clenched as she approached. My damn body was already betraying me, and my insides were going all gooey with my need for her.

  Damn inhuman hormones!

  Her scent was jasmine and coco-oil. She smelled delicious, like I could just… sink my teeth into her…

  (Not that, that was off the table with a pair of vampires!)

  “Hey, how are you?”

  She greeted me politely, not her typical approach. I arched my brow in silent question.

  “I was fine… what’s wrong?”

  Seri bit her lip slightly and pulled out a chair and carefully took her seat.

  “I thought you should hear this from me. The FBI released Dean Sylvester to agents of Interpol, when have in turn, freed him in France. Dean is gone, and he is back in his own domain.”

  I just stared at her with my mouth hanging open.

  “How could they just…?”

  Seri sighed and leaned in, bringing a fresh whiff of her scent with her, and more of her distinct feminine musk under toning the lotion. My belly was dancing, even if my mind was racing at the implications.

  “So, what the hell is going on?”

  Seri shrugged.

  “I believe my father is making some silent plays. He still hasn’t shown his face to the human media yet.”

  I nodded, Cain had been beyond rage with Seri’s “betrayal” by going public. Not that he had given any of us a choice in the matter, considering his loose hold on Dean!

  “Well, shit…”

  Seri nodded in agreement and she looked at my lips like they were on the menu. My traitorous stomach seemed to hatch all its butterflies in response!

  “We need you to come to a joint meeting. The entire North American Continent is voting to split off from the High King, in favor of an elected body of representatives and of course, my position as the High Princess of Earth. Many are wishing to move forward and figure things out with humans, not try to crawl back into the closet. Like it or not, we are out, and so is our magic. That opens up a whole new world of professional choices for each of us.”

  Indeed, elves have been hiring off their services to food production companies to grow organic crops in a fraction of the time. If we can keep relations stable, such magical abilities could potentially solve world hunger! But there is the flip side to that, where the US and Canadian governments are practically screaming for us to make them vampire soldiers. Seri and I have flat-out refused and all other vampires have followed suit. All agree that spreading immortality irresponsibly would only incite matters.

  Then there are the fun people, the fundamentalists who believe we are all agents of Satan and the end times are upon them! Seri and I both being openly lesbian does not seem to help that point in their opinions, it just proves that we are of the devil.

  I had never had holy water thrown at me before now… so I am just going to assume that has more to do with my status as a vampire, than my status as a gay woman. Still, it beats being splashed with pig’s blood.

  I rested my head against the table and I felt Seri’s hot hand rub tender circles in my right shoulder.

  “We’ll get through this, together.”

  Whatever came next, I was going to face it with this beautiful tempting woman, and I would defend the people who now came to need and respect me. I’m still adjusting, but I am not sorry to be a necrovamp, because it brought me to my true family.

  ABOUT THE AUTHOR

  Brett studied English Lit in college. He has been writing full-length manuscripts for about ten years consistently n
ow. He lives in Richmond, VA on the East Coast. Writing is not a hobby. It is something he does as soon as he wakes up in the morning. Brett grew up an "outsider" socially. It has gifted him a unique perspective that he endeavors to capture to its fullest in his work every day.

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  https://bretthicksbooks.wordpress.com

  Twitter: @BrettHicksx86

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