Midnight Secrets

by Ditter Kellen

  Vlad reached up and clasped Simon on the shoulder. “We need to feed before the sun comes up. I suggest we hunt close together, else young Shon will have the local law enforcement after us as well as the warlocks.”

  Simon’s eyes crinkled at the corners. “I find it difficult not to like the fledgling.”

  “Yes,” Vlad agreed, humor sparking in his own eyes. “I’ve grown rather fond of him, myself.”

  Breaking away from his window watching, Simon moved to the center of the room, stopping next to Madison’s side. “We need to feed.”

  Her expression changed from relaxed to tense, but she didn’t argue, and for that, Simon was grateful.

  Simon took hold of her hand and led her to the foyer. He waited for the others to join them and then opened door and stepped out onto the busy Decatur Street.

  “We’re not killing anyone, are we?”

  Though Madison had barely whispered the question, Simon had no trouble hearing her over the chaotic droves of people scurrying about. “We do not have to take lives to feed.”

  Her relived sigh wasn’t lost on him.

  They approached an alleyway, blocked off by a double wooden gate. The two gates were held together with a thick chain sporting an equally thick padlock.

  Simon glanced behind him to be sure no one watched and then severed the lock with barely a flick of his wrist. He pulled the chain free, tossed it aside, and slipped inconspicuously through the gate.

  Madison quickly joined him. “What are we doing back here?”

  “I’ll show you.” Simon blurred his way to a dumpster to find a homeless man sleeping beneath an old, tattered blanket.

  He pushed into the man’s mind, forcing him into a deeper sleep before dropping to his haunches next to him.

  Madison recoiled. “Surely you’re not going to—”

  “Eat?” Simon interrupted, cutting off the rest of her words. “I am. Though his skin is filthy, he bleeds red the same as every other man, woman, and child walking these streets.”

  Obviously offended by his remark, Madison’s hand flew to her hip. “It wasn’t his skin I was referring to, asshole. It was the fact that he’s obviously lost everything. I’m sure he’s had it hard enough without us coming along and taking something else from him as well.”

  Simon lifted the sleeping man’s arm, wiped his wrist clean of dirt and sank his fangs deep. He fed from the man until he’d taken his fill and then pulled a wad of cash from his pants pocket and stuffed it into the man’s palm. He re-covered him with the tattered blanket.

  Madison’s eyes were luminous in the moonlight. “Was that money you gave him?”

  Rising to his full height, Simon answered her with sarcasm. “No. It was a cheese wrapper.”

  If eyes could shoot actual daggers, Simon would be dead right then. “Why must you make snide remarks about everything I say?”

  “Now who’s the pot calling the kettle black?”

  Shon suddenly appeared, his arms crossed over his chest and a smirk on his face. “I hear loitering is highly frowned upon in Louisiana. Are y’all going to feed or stand out here and argue about it?”

  Simon almost laughed. “Where are the others?”

  “Already back at the condo.”

  With a nod to Shon, Simon took hold of Madison’s hand. He spoke over his shoulder as they moved deeper into the alley. “We’ll be right there.”

  Shon didn’t respond, though he didn’t need to. Simon was more than aware of the fledgling’s hearing ability.

  The back door to one of the establishments opened, spilling light into the alley.

  Simon lifted his finger to his lips, quickly pulling Madison into the shadows behind a row of trashcans.

  A middle-aged woman stepped out wearing a hairnet and a dingy-white apron. She walked a few feet away from the door, pulled a pack of cigarettes from her pants pocket, and commenced to lighting one up.

  Simon waited a heartbeat to be sure that no one else followed and then pushed into the woman’s mind.

  Her arms fell limply at his sides.

  “Let’s go,” Simon informed Madison, stepping from behind the trashcans. “This one is all yours.”

  Madison sighed hard enough to part his hair. “Lucky me.”

  Chapter Twenty-Eight

  Madison couldn’t seem to look away from the woman’s expressionless face. The cigarette she’d previously lit dangled loosely from her fingers, releasing a trail of smoke that wafted out around them.

  Fighting nausea over what she was about to do, Madison gripped the cigarette by the filter and tugged it free before flicking it somewhere behind her.

  “Go for the neck,” Simon informed her in a matter-of-fact tone. “The vein is much larger there. It makes for a quicker and more pleasurable feed.”

  Madison swallowed with difficulty. “I will never find anything pleasurable about drinking blood from strangers. Let alone taking it from them without their knowledge.”

  “Would you rather they knew?”

  “Of course not.” She took a hesitant step toward the unsuspecting woman.

  Simon’s next words caught her off guard. “You could always take some of mine…”

  Madison paused, her fangs tingling at the thought of latching onto Simon’s throat.

  She peered up into his sky-blue eyes, noticing a touch of something resembling insecurity lurking there.

  He wanted her to accept his offer, no matter how flippant he tried to appear.

  Madison realized something else in that moment…she wanted to drink from him as well. What was happening to her?

  The sounds spilling from the busy establishment the cigarette smoking woman had come from seemed to grow in volume the longer Madison stood there staring into Simon’s eyes. Her vision sharpened, tunneling until he seemed to be all she could see.

  “Do it,” he whispered, baring his throat.

  She could see the pulse beating just below his skin; almost hear the blood rushing through his veins.

  Like a moth to a flame, Madison moved forward, her gaze glued to Simon’s neck.

  His amazing scent surrounded her, drowning out the dank smell of the dirty alley.

  Suddenly, nothing else mattered to Madison but Simon and that masculine scent he exuded.

  She slammed into him harder than she’d intended. Her hands gripped the sides of his head and her mouth latched onto his throat.

  The fangs tingling in her gums penetrated his skin only for her to realize she’d missed her mark.

  Simon grunted from the force of her bite, but otherwise held completely still.

  Madison pulled back an inch, ran her tongue along the side of his neck until she picked up on the pulse beating there and then sank deep once again.

  “Jesus!” he barked, his arms shooting out to lock tightly around her.

  The unique flavor that was Simon exploded across her tongue, ripping a moan of pleasure from her throat. Madison had never tasted anything so delicious. It shamed her for an instant before her eyes rolled back in pleasure, and she suddenly didn’t care anymore.

  Unsure of how much time had passed with Madison feeding like a woman starved, she released her hold on Simon’s face and retracted her fangs from his flesh. But he didn’t let her go. If anything, he tightened his arms around her.

  “Madison…”

  The woman who’d stepped outside to smoke staggered against the building, a soft moan slipping from her throat.

  Madison freed herself from Simon’s embrace. “What are you going to do about her?”

  “Nothing. Once we’re gone, she’ll return indoors with no memory of us being here.”

  More shame poured through Madison. Though they hadn’t physically touched the woman, Simon had forced his way into her mind. That in itself seemed to be a form of depredation.

  “Don’t go soft on me now,” Simon murmured, obviously seeing her internal battle of guilt. He took Madison by the hand and led her back the way they’d come. “Do you think s
he would have simply handed you a straw and told you to suck at will?”

  Madison pulled free of his grasp. “Of course not. It doesn’t mean I have to like it.”

  He stopped at the gate they’d entered earlier, checked their surroundings and then stepped onto the busy New Orleans streets. “You might never like it. And you are always welcome to drink from me. But I can’t be with you every hour of every day. There may come a time when you will have to do it out of necessity.”

  Madison followed him through the gate, her heart heavy with regret. “I’ll just be glad when this is all over. I’m ready to go home.”

  The two of them hurried back to the condo, arriving a little before dawn to find Angel seated on the sofa smoking a cigar.

  He looked up as Simon and Madison entered the room. “Cuttin’ it kind of close, aren’t you?”

  Madison opened her mouth to explain that it was her fault they were late returning, but Simon spoke first. “Where is Sawyer?”

  Angel jerked his thumb toward a room to the left. “Working on something to keep us hidden from the Warlocks.”

  “He can do that?” Madison felt as if she’d stepped into the twilight zone.

  The door that Angel had indicated opened and Sawyer stepped into the room. “I can try.”

  “But you’re a shifter,” Madison pointed out. “Not a warlock.”

  Sawyer stared back at her without blinking. “I’m not a shifter, I’m a werewolf.”

  Madison narrowed her eyes. “Don’t split hairs with me. How the hell are you planning on hiding us from the Warlocks?”

  “I can’t hide us. But I can cloak us as long as we’re inside these four walls.”

  Simon moved forward, stopping next to Madison’s elbow. He addressed Sawyer. “How?”

  “According to Sam—” Sawyer began, only to be cutoff by Simon.

  “Sam?”

  Sawyer met the gazes of everyone in the room before returning his attention to Simon. “Sam is an old friend of mine who lives in DeFuniak Springs, Florida.”

  Madison cleared her throat. “And this Sam just happens to know how to cloak oneself?”

  “He should, since he’s a warlock, himself.”

  Simon growled deep in his chest. “You’re risking our lives on the word of a warlock?”

  “Says the fiend who abducted an innocent woman and child,” Sawyer snapped back. “If anyone’s word should be questioned here, it’s yours.”

  Madison stepped between them, her palms coming to rest against their chests. She glared at Simon. “Enough.”

  After making her displeasure with Simon’s mouth running known, she turned her attention to Sawyer. “Do you trust this Sam?”

  Sawyer nodded once. “I do.”

  “That’s good enough for me. How is this cloaking done?”

  “By symbols,” Sawyer answered. “Along with a few other things I took from one of the local shops.”

  Madison thought about that for a second. “By took, I’m assuming you didn’t purchase them.”

  Sawyer shook his head. “I broke in.”

  Angel pushed to his feet. “The sun will be rising shortly.”

  Madison somehow knew that. She could feel a certain sluggishness in her body, a heaviness to her eyelids.

  She glanced around the condo. “Where am I sleeping?”

  “With me,” Simon answered, the words falling like lead in the otherwise quiet room.

  Madison’s heartrate accelerated, memories of the night before playing through her mind.

  Apparently, Simon could read her thoughts if his expression were any indication. Thankfully, he didn’t mention it in front of the others.

  He simply took hold of her hand, his gaze flicking to Angel. “Which room belongs to us?”

  Angel nodded toward a hallway. “Last door on the right.”

  Madison allowed Simon to lead her from the room, down the long hallway, and into the bedroom before speaking.

  She opened her mouth to thank him for his discretion, but the words wouldn’t seem to come.

  As if moving in slow motion, her legs folded beneath her and her world turned dark.

  Chapter Twenty-Nine

  A slight pressure built in Simon’s head, slowly at first until it became almost unbearable.

  He’d been asleep for hours after lifting Madison’s limp body into his arms and placing her in the center of the bed. Being freshly turned, she didn’t have the power to withstand the darkness that pulled her under with the rising of the sun.

  Simon had watched her sleep for long moments before his own slumber had overtaken him.

  “Come to me.”

  Svetlana’s voice inside his head beckoned him, leaving him with no choice but to obey. She had to be close in order to reach into his mind the way she did now.

  Fighting the pull of his maker, Simon gritted his teeth in an attempt to force her from his mind to no avail.

  His legs seemed to move against their will until he found himself standing next to the bed, gazing down at Madison’s sleeping form.

  “Come to me if you want her to live.”

  Simon could feel the sluggishness of his steps as he moved toward the bedroom window.

  The sun was just beginning to set as he reached up and eased the drapes back. A hiss burst from his lips the moment the light touched his skin. He let the curtain fall back into place.

  It seemed an eternity passed before the sun finally set and Simon could safely exit the window.

  He threw his legs over the sill, waited for a break in the droves of people walking by, and dropped to the sidewalk below.

  After a few minutes of moving through the crowds, Simon took off like a shot, blurring his way toward the haunted cemetery where he knew Svetlana waited.

  Simon came to a stop outside the old cemetery, a feeling of doom quickly surrounding him. An undeniable evil lay just inside; he could feel it as surely as he could feel Svetlana’s disgusting presence.

  He vaulted over the concrete wall to land lithely on his feet next to a crumbling crypt.

  “You came alone,” Svetlana purred, instantly appearing before him.

  A sickening sensation poured through Simon that had little to do with the putrid scent of roses exuding from Svetlana. No, this was darker, deadlier than her, and it reeked of black magic. “Warlocks.”

  Svetlana lifted her arm and waved a hand in the air.

  Three men stepped from the shadows dressed in dark clothing, their heads covered with hoods.

  Pain slammed into Simon’s skull with enough force it buckled his knees. He gripped the sides of his head, fighting against a dominance he was powerless to stop.

  Svetlana’s laughter rang out through the cemetery, hideous and full of satisfaction.

  “Enough,” she demanded once her merriment died down. The pain ended as quickly as it had come.

  Simon released his head and lifted his gaze to his maker. “You got what you came for. Now, let’s be on our way.”

  She lifted a ruby-colored fingernail and tapped it against her chin. “Be on our way? I don’t think so. Not until that red-haired bitch has been destroyed.”

  Simon surged to his feet. “You’ll not touch her!”

  More laughter burst from Svetlana’s throat. “Of course not, my dear boy. You will do it for me.”

  Rage boiled up in Simon’s gut, followed by nausea. Svetlana intended for Madison to die by his hand. “Don’t.”

  “Don’t what? Force you to kill her?”

  Simon flicked a glance at the darkly robed figures now surrounding them. He had no doubt that Svetlana intended to use the warlocks’ magic in her plans to have him take Madison’s life. “I’ll do anything.”

  The corners of Svetlana’s mouth lifted. “Begging does not become you.”

  “I’ll mate with you,” Simon blurted, willing to do or say what it took to save Madison’s life. Little did Svetlana know, he’d already mated with Madison. Had she known, she would not only destroy Madison,
but Simon as well.

  Svetlana waved off his words. “It’s too late for that.”

  She took a step back and then nodded to the tallest of the three warlocks. “Do whatever it takes.”

  Simon felt the instant another presence entered his mind. It slid through his psyche like oil, leaving a grotesque film along every place it touched.

  He saw Madison’s pretty face, swimming through his thoughts until it became distorted and foreign.

  The only solace Simon had in that moment was the knowledge of Sawyer’s barrier around the condo.

  A voice broke through Simon’s thoughts; soft and feminine, alluring in its sweetness. Simon moved toward the sound.

  “That’s right, my love. Come to me.”

  His vision blurred momentarily before finally clearing. And there, not a foot from him, stood Svetlana in all her golden beauty.

  Strange, he mused, studying her pretty blue-eyes. He’d never noticed how attractive she truly was.

  Simon reached for her, his hands cupping the sides of her alabaster face. “Svetlana…”

  Chapter Thirty

  Madison came awake slowly, her body stiff and heavy. She turned her head to the side to find the bed empty of Simon.

  She rolled to the side of the mattress and pushed to her feet, noticing an emptiness inside, she’d never experienced before.

  Pulling on her boots, Madison left the bedroom and made her way into the living room where Vlad sat on the sofa speaking to Angel and Shon.

  Everyone looked up when she entered the room.

  Vlad spoke first. “Can you explain Simon’s absence?”

  Madison’s stomach tightened. “He’s gone?”

  “I have not felt his presence since I awoke,” Vlad murmured, rising to his full height. “When did you see him last?”

  “When I fell asleep this morning.”

  Sawyer stepped from the kitchen holding a cup of coffee in his hand. “He didn’t leave out the front door. I would have seen him.”

  Madison couldn’t think straight. Her brain hadn’t come fully awake. “Why would he leave without telling anyone? Especially with Svetlana and the warlocks in town?”