“Was there something you needed, father?”
Xavier Dragoni frowned at her indifferent tone. “As a matter of fact, there was.”
Absinthe watched him walk toward the pair of high back leather wing chairs set near the blazing hearth. Standing before the dancing flames, Xavier was an imposing vision. Roughly six feet eight and two hundred and fifty pounds, the King was a wall of immovable muscle. Tonight he wore a white silk button down shirt and black jeans with black leather boots. His light brown hair was cut short. His azure blue eyes glowed in the firelight. He shared her cheekbones and complexion, but the similarities ended there. He motioned for her to sit with him.
Absinthe’s black steel-heeled boots clicked across the stone floor. She lowered into one of the leather chairs and crossed her long legs. She inspected her nails, sparing him only a glance.
“So what is this all about? I am a busy woman, after all. I don’t have time for games with you or the help.” She stressed the last part, knowing her father would ignore it.
And of course, he did.
“Absinthe, you have a responsibility to this family, to this kingdom. Tonight you will be fulfilling it. You will attend the fundraiser at the Museum of Natural History as our representative. It is not optional. I have made time for other functions in the past. You will go in my stead this time. Important heads of state and leaders of the community are attending tonight, all of whom we need as allies, especially in times like these.”
“And if I don’t?” She challenged. “Honestly, Father, they are humans. They are cattle. Why make nice? They’ll stab us in the heart whenever they have the chance.”
“Then you will be cut off.” He leveled his gaze on her, his voice steady. “I have had enough of your hostility. I’m not going to put up with it any longer. Times are changing, Absinthe. In order to survive peacefully, we must do things we don’t like. Take your station seriously or you will have to leave.”
“You’d throw your own blood on the streets? The heir to the throne? All for the sake of playing nice with humans?” She pushed out of the chair. Absinthe stood toe to toe with him. “Who will replace me, Father, one of your many bastards? I’m sure there are more than a few with all the screwing around you’ve done all these centuries. What a wonderful way to honor mother’s memory.”
The back of his hand collided with her cheek. The slap echoed in the vacant hall. “You will not speak of your mother. I was always faithful to her.” Tears welled up in her eyes, but she fought them back. Absinthe slowly swung back to face him.
Absinthe raised her chin a little higher. A trickle of blood seeped from the corner of her mouth where one of her fangs had sliced through her lip. Rather than wipe it off, Absinthe’s tongue darted out and licked it away. Her cheek throbbed, but she made no move to cover it. Let him see what he had done.
“Hold your vile tongue when you address me, or I’ll have it cut out and feed it to the beasts in the courtyard. Daughter or not, you will show me the proper respect.” She watched a tic in her father’s jaw.
Xavier knew she was lashing out. To hear his indiscretions thrown in his face made him realize he hadn’t been as discreet as he thought. He let out a snarl and stalked to the fireplace, resting his hand on the mantle, watching the flames.
“Don’t worry, Father. I won’t sully your pristine castle a moment longer. I’ll be gone before daybreak. But mark my words, you will live to regret what you’ve done. I will make sure of it.”
Without so much as a backward glance, Absinthe walked out of the great hall and out of his life. She would never again allow herself to feel anything but disgust and contempt for her father- correction the King. She lost whatever respect she had for him the day he created the abomination who is Jared Bonatelli.
She teleported away from the island and spared a glance back at the crumbling castle.
The fog rolled in, concealing the eastern wing of her ancestral home. Absinthe felt a lonely tug of her heart. She needed to put her plans into motion quickly. The ways of the old were as extinct as their forefathers. It was high time she stepped up and waged war on the humans and the King who wanted to protect them instead of his people.
Four
THE SILVER MERCEDES SLR ROADSTER slowly came to a halt before the massive steps of the stone mansion. Xavier’s castle, full of gaudy extravagance, was cold to Absinthe. It lacked the loving touches she gave to the one place she could call her own. Every bolt of fabric, piece of furniture and foliage was chosen by her hand, not the lackeys doing her dirty work. In the end, her ancestral home held little meaning to her. But this serenely lit haven meant everything.
Absinthe tapped her nails on the leather steering wheel and took a deep breath, letting it out quickly. Curling her lip sadistically, she withdrew a tube of her favorite red lipstick from her purse and flipped down the visor. Absinthe slowly rolled the tube and applied the blood red color to her lips, all the while thinking of how the human’s final job for her would play out. She imagined him begging her for mercy, heard his whimpering clear as a bell. The vision thrilled her.
Recapping the tube, Absinthe slipped it inside her purse. She opened the door to the car and tossed her keys at the servant bowing at the bottom of the stairs. “There was a smudge on the mirror. Detail the car again, Jimmy, and make sure it’s perfect, or I’ll have you replaced…permanently.” Absinthe lowered her sunglasses on her nose and licked her lips.
“Yes…I mean….No…I uh, I mean,” Jimmy stammered.
She gave him a bored once over before walking away and starting up the steps. Her steel-heeled boots clicked on the stones, breaking the silence of the night.
“As you wish, Highness,” he called.
Ignoring him and slamming the door behind her, Absinthe tossed her purse on the table inside the door and walked toward the rear half of her home. When she reached the kitchen, she inclined her head to the cook. The woman bowed and retreated from the room.
It warmed her black heart. She had her staff so well trained. And they said humans couldn’t be trained, ha!
She placed her palm on the cold plaster. The hidden door fell back, revealing a flight of steep stairs. The stairwell was lit by torches hanging on the stone walls. They led to her favorite room in the house. It was what sold her on it. Few homes could boast an ancient torture chamber buried in its foundation. Fortunately for her, she found one. It held devices for torturing the human body in ways which made Absinthe salivate just thinking about it. The realtor had joked uneasily, she was sure Absinthe would have endless hours of fun in the basement. She didn’t know how right she was.
Absinthe inhaled deeply when she hit the bottom floor. The smell of fresh blood was a homing beacon, pulling her toward the source like a moth to a flame. Stepping into the room, she found her informant chained to an old wooden table with deep troughs running the length of it. The troughs ran together at one end, creating a natural funnel in the wood. A wine glass stood under the funnel to catch the slow trickle of crimson gold flowing from the shallow cuts on the man’s torso, handiwork of her sentries. The sight made her body thrum like an electrical current passed through it.
Her fangs throbbed and she opened her mouth, wanting a taste.
One of her men stepped forward and picked up the glass. He offered it to her with a bow. “Highness, please accept this gift from your loyal servant.”
Nodding, Absinthe took the glass and swirled it. She held it to her nose and inhaled its bouquet like it was a fine wine, closing her eyes to savor the coppery vapor rising from the warm liquid. Taking a sip, Absinthe relished in the warmth washing through her. There was nothing like the taste of human blood. She’d lived off her kind for so many decades, she had grown bored. However, fresh human blood was a delicacy she could sink her teeth into. The adrenalin rush had her charged for days.
Placing the wine glass back under the dipped end of the table, Absinthe moved closer to his field of vision. Worn leather straps held the informant’s body down.
He could only move his eyes to follow her. They bulged from their sockets when her fingertips touched his bare ankle and slowly traveled up his leg. Absinthe curled her lips. She saw the fear in his eyes, smelled it on his skin.
Her fingertips brushed across his nipple, and the informant let out a strangled gasp. Absinthe laughed, letting him get a good view of her long canines.
Her hand left his chest and cupped his cheek. Leaning in closer, she whispered, “Now, Scott, did you think your service was over after your little errand?”
“Highness, please I can get you more…”
She held up a finger and placed it over his trembling lips. Absinthe shushed him as if he were a child. Scott gulped and relaxed slightly.
“There you go begging again. It isn’t noble, and after bringing me such useful information.” Absinthe tsked. “I have one more job for you. Then you shall have your reward for the invaluable service you provided.”
Absinthe placed her hand on his forehead paralyzing him with a single touch. Every muscle in Scott’s body relaxed and his mind opened to her. His breathing slowed. She tightened the leather strap forcing his neck to strain toward the ceiling. His Adam’s apple bobbed.
“Much better. See how nice it is when you don’t worry so much? Your thoughts are much clearer and more coherent now, aren’t they?”
“Yes, Highness.”
“Now,” she ran a finger nail along his neck. His jugular pulsed underneath his skin. “What is it that you haven’t told me? What are you holding back?” She slipped into his mind and began to weed through his memories. If he lied, she would know, not that it would change his life expectancy.
His tongue darted out and wet his lips. “Bonatelli was summoned back to New York. His friend, Lance, told him about a meeting set for next week. Said it was something big. Jared tried to push the issue, but the other guy kept mum. When he wouldn’t talk, Bonatelli left. Lance shrugged it off and went to find new company; didn’t take him long. Wish I knew his secret.”
“You’re getting off track. I don’t care about the Conservator. Tell me where Jared went. You didn’t tell me all earlier, did you?”
“He went to Central Park. I don’t think he knew I was following him.”
“Most likely not. Go on.”
“It was like he’d been drawn there. He glanced back over his shoulder once when he entered the main drive. No one was around, kind of spooky. He went about a quarter mile in before hooking a left and heading down a wide trail behind some pine trees. At first I thought he was just, you know, had to piss or something.”
Absinthe rubbed her forehead. Why did humans have to be so crude all the time? They were too primitive for her; which was why their growth needed to be controlled, like breeding cattle. It was the one thing humans mastered over millennia, breeding animals for food.
Scott continued to drone on. “He knelt down and touched the ground. I swear I saw tears falling, but it could’ve been a trick of the moonlight. Bonatelli stayed there about an hour before heading back toward the Museum of Natural History and catching the train home.”
He fell silent and Absinthe broke her connection to his memories. She was certain he knew nothing else of importance. She smoothed her hand over his auburn hair, brushing it out of his hazel eyes. Scott woke from the trance she put him under. His eyes widened.
He struggled against his restraints. The leather straps binding him to the table pulled tighter, stilling any movements, and she leaned closer. Absinthe inhaled the intoxicating aroma of fear and blood. She licked his jugular slowly.
“Please, Highness; I can still get close to him. I can deliver more. I can even bring him to you if need be.”
Absinthe lifted her head. “What makes you think you’re special? I have my answers; I don’t need you anymore. You’ve outlived your usefulness.”
She hissed and struck before he could say another word. Her teeth pierced his vein. Scott’s bloodcurdling scream echoed throughout the room. Absinthe drank hungrily. He pulled away, tearing the wounds in his throat wider. She heard his heart speed up and miss a beat here and there. Eventually, it slowed to nothing but a murmur. After a few moments, it stopped completely.
Absinthe rose from his neck and wiped the blood from her bottom lip with her thumb. She paused to contemplate the crimson drop a moment before placing her thumb in her mouth and swirling her tongue around it, licking up the last drop. She peered down at the human. His eyes were glazed over, mouth frozen in a silent scream. The color was gone from his skin. It would be easy to make him one of her mindless zombies, but he was useless in life, he would likely be just as useless in death. No, she was done with this one. The leather straps holding the corpse loosened and fell away.
She inclined her head at the Matrix twins.
“Take care of this mess.” She waved absently at the corpse.
“As you wish, Highness.” They stepped forward as one and saluted her, hitting their chests with their fists in unison. Surrounding the body of the informant, they picked him up and vanished.
Absinthe ascended the stone staircase to the ground floor of her home. Her mind toyed with the newest tidbit of information. Jared mourned for his female after all these years. Interesting, very interesting. It was time to put the next step of her plan into place.
“He’ll never know what hit him when I’m done. He’ll beg for his life, just like the pathetic human cattle. And I’m going to love every second of it.”
Five
THE LAST FEW HOURS AFTER ALEX’S MEETING with Gene were a blur. She lost count of how many times he came to her desk and pressured her to attend the event. So what if it was her one chance to see the golden boy in his element? All she wanted to do was curl up with her favorite men, Ben & Jerry, and watch the B-movie marathon all night. But no, Gene made it quite clear her job would be on the line if she failed to make an appearance.
So here she sat in her kitchen, contemplating the necessity of a job to pay the bills.
How much did she like working for a guy who never gave her a breakout assignment? Not much, but it kept food on her table and a roof over her head. What more could a girl ask for? Shoes, clothes, and the most important thing…a hot boyfriend. But she didn’t care about that stuff. Being an orphan made Alex realize material things didn’t mean much in the grand scheme of things. Still, a boyfriend would be a welcome addition.
At least then she’d have a date to talk to during the gala.
Sighing, she closed the folder she had been studying since she got home and admired the gown hanging on the door across the room. Gene’s taste was definitely champagne and caviar, the dress proved it. Simple and elegant, the evergreen silk shimmered in the last rays of sunlight filtering through her kitchen window. Alex had never owned anything this expensive. The shoes were so delicate, with emerald crystal inlays, she was afraid to wear them. Gene went all out and spared no expense. It made her wonder what else he had up his sleeve. Why didn’t he want her to blend into the background and observe?
The million-dollar question.
She couldn’t put off the inevitable much longer. Eventually, she would have to pull up her big girl panties and deal with the job she’d been given. Still, with all of her reservations about tonight, she had a feeling she couldn’t put a finger on. A feeling of fate. Not that she believed in it. She didn’t fit in with the caviar and diamond set and she certainly didn’t belong at a benefit of this scale.
Alex laughed at herself and gathered everything to get ready. She had more questions than answers for her dilemma. The story of her life.
THE LIMOUSINE PULLED TO A STOP AT THE END of the long line of cars. Each held either a politician wanting to suck up to the oldest family on record in the area, or some pompous ass with too much money needing a way to spend it. Jared had a bad taste in his mouth. He didn’t want to spend his night around these people, present company excluded.
Jared faced away from the darkened window and stifled a chuckle with his fist. Zephyr was pul
ling at his collar and searching for a way out. Z’s eyes fell on the door handle.
“Don’t even think about it. If I’m stuck here, so are you.” Jared smirked.
“You know, you are too evil to be human. Are you sure there’s no demon blood in you?” Zephyr gave his collar one more tug and winced.
Jared laughed. “For someone who idolizes old Dracula movies, you sure are a baby about getting dressed up. Come on, Z; tell me that you never thought about using Drac’s game to bag yourself a babe.”
Zephyr snorted. “The thought never entered my mind. Dracula looked good in a tuxedo. I don’t. Leather is more my taste, at least it feels like your own skin. This…” He held the lapel between two fingers, grimacing. “This is damn uncomfortable and itchy. How long do I have to suffer?”
Jared shrugged nonchalantly. “Only for the next four hours.”
“Four hours? Those are four hours I’ll never get back. You realize, don’t you?”
“Four hours out of a six hundred year existence, I think you can handle it. Stop whining.”
Zephyr glared at him and curled his lip, baring a fang. “You’re lucky you’re too gamey for me.”
Zephyr’s outrage sent Jared over the edge. His laughter traveled through the tinted glass. An older couple emerging from the car in front of them turned their way. They frowned, and the man wrapped a protective hand around the woman’s arm. Old money. The whole evening promised to be nothing but stuffy, humorless relics of the Stone Age. He could feel the love already.
Their car pulled forward, and the driver opened the door for them. Jared glared at his companion. “Don’t go in there vying for a snack to tide you over. No one here has enough blood left in their veins. You’d kill them with a glance.”
Zephyr chuckled. “Don’t worry. I can assure you, feeding won’t even cross my mind. Most of them appear to be one step away from the mausoleum already. Who am I to help them along?”
Beyond The Sun Page 3
