The Chalice (Luna Vampire Series)

by Christine Asher

  "I figured I might've bonded with her last night," Lucien muttered, shrugging his shoulders while stealthily avoiding my gaze. "Regardless, I assumed she'd go home and, um, I don't know, move past it somehow. I had no idea she'd be able to track me here. I'm so sorry, girlie."

  "Quit apologizing. For real, we knew this could happen. Just look at her," I urged, motioning to our newest addition. "She's a mess and it's our responsibility to..."

  "She's experiencing withdrawals," Amelia clarified. "Those of us who are bonded need to be around our vampires. It's an energy exchange thing. I'd end up much the same if I got separated from you, Luna."

  "You'd be that destitute in a mere twenty-four hours?" I asked, appalled at the gravity of what this meant.

  Amelia smiled at me reassuringly. "Everyone's system reacts differently to the bond, especially at first. She'll be alright, don't worry."

  "I th- th-thought your name was Lucy," Dawn stuttered, her glassy blue eyes pleading at me for answers from where she crouched at Lucien's feet. She must've heard Amelia refer to me as Luna. Damn, how was I supposed to respond to her? With a simple, yep, you caught us. We blood raped you, turned you into a Lucien-fiend, and to top it all off we lied to you about my name. Yeah, sure. A great way to make a friend.

  Abruptly, Lucien glared down at the cowering girl. "You're mistaken, Dawn. Her name's Luna." Then he shifted his attention onto me. "Listen, girlie, I'm gonna go situate her in the other room. I must feed; it's all that will ease her discomfort."

  "Sounds like a plan." Honestly, what else could I say? She clearly needed to be near Lucien. I only wished she hadn't bonded with either of us.

  Chapter 21

  "Okay, I've had enough. I'm sick of sitting here and being bored out of my mind," I announced from the doorway to Lucien's, Amelia's, and now Dawn's section of the suite.

  Amelia'd been catnapping and lightly snoring for the past several hours. I refused to disturb her, since she needed to recuperate from our last feeding. Lucien and Dawn, on the other hand, had been having a ball. Cuddling, giggling, yucking it up. And I couldn't stomach it for a moment longer.

  I knew I had no right to be jealous. I mean, I was the one who'd chosen the girl. And it was our responsibility to take her in, seeing that she'd bonded with Lucien. Still, the green-eyed monster snuck past my resolve. I'd grown accustomed to it always being me with Lucien giggling and cuddling.

  Sensing my irritation, Lucien pulled back from Dawn slightly. "It's not safe for any of us to leave, girlie, unless it's absolutely necessary."

  "Yeah, I know. But whatever, I'm going out." I strode over to the window in their room, brushed the drapes aside, and pointed across the street. "See down there, on the corner, the bar? That's where I'll be."

  Immediately frowning, he made a halfhearted attempt at extricating himself from Dawn's arms. "It's unsafe," he muttered. "I should join you."

  "Look," I grumped, planting my hands firmly on my hips. "I'm not a little kid. I'll wear one of the stupid wigs Amelia got yesterday. And if anything bad happens I'll freeze time." I had to make him understand that I required some privacy to screw my head on straight. A few drinks and a bit of space would work wonders.

  "Oh, let her go, Lucien," Dawn purred, rubbing her face along his bare chest. She looked noticeably better from earlier. Less heroin addict, more sex kitten. "She'll be alright."

  "I realize we got a tad sidetracked," Lucien admitted. "Yet, before Dawn arrived we were discussing the possibility of leaving. Remember, the stuff that went down at the club? What if the vamps discovered our location?"

  "If any of 'em perceived where we were, they'd have been here hours ago," I groaned, echoing Amelia's logic. Tsedaka's vengeance wouldn't squander a second. "I'll be fine and I'm going alone. That's final." I wasn't meek and helpless. I had power, last night proved it.

  "Come on, let her do what she wants," Dawn swooned, batting her eyes up at Lucien.

  Sighing, he slumped his posture in defeat. "Seems like I've got no choice. I must follow your orders, girlie. Nevertheless, it should be known that I strongly disagree. You'd be more protected if I went with you."

  Oh well. "Look, if I'm not back in an hour you can come looking. Seriously, quit stressing, everything'll be just fine." And with that, I abruptly turned and marched into my bedroom.

  Haphazardly, I shoved my hair under a platinum blonde wig and added a pair of seventies style sunglasses, even though it was the dead of night. After which, I threw on a nondescript outfit consisting of jeans, a white t-shirt, and the black pea coat I'd worn during our escape from high court. Amelia must've sent it off to be cleaned because it hung, plastic-covered and spotless, inside my closet.

  Before marching out the door, I popped open the briefcase and shoved a stack of bills into my pocket. I wanted to ensure I'd have enough cash to really tie one on. Screw sobriety. And yeah, I didn't actually need the money. I could've used my mind mojo, but my soul craved the solace provided by the ordinary world. The world I used to describe as boring.

  And so, I kept my head down while I rode the elevator to the lobby, envisioning myself blending in with the other guests. Nobody appeared to notice me, as expected, which helped my edginess decrease. Upon crossing the street, a slight breeze from the crisp night air soothed my frazzled soul. And, as I walked, I inhaled cleansing breaths, each exhalation dissolving more of my inner tumult.

  I opened the heavy wooden doors of the bar to be accosted by rock music, cigarette smoke, and the constant conversational buzz created by twenty or so customers. Several bikers, who were playing a game of pool in the far corner, shot me flirtatious grins while a pair of makeup spackled thirty somethings by the juke box gave me a competitive once-over. It was the usual bar experience, like I figured. No vampires hunting me. No assassins trying to catch me off guard.

  So, I flopped onto an empty barstool in hopes of starting my evening with a bang and ordered a shot of tequila. Unfazed by my request, the bartender's tired expression remained vacant as I swallowed it and asked for another. He must've been used to this type of thing. A couple shots later, I ordered a rum and coke, desperately needing a chaser to mellow my stinging taste buds. Ahh, the life of a boozer.

  Just then, as the alcohol was beginning to kick in, a leather clad arm squeezed around my shoulders from behind. "Cousin," a memorable voice crooned softly in my ear. "Uncle's been extremely worried. Why'd you go and run off?"

  Accordingly, I almost jumped out of my skin. Shit! Shit! Shit! Really fucking bad! I tried to maneuver away from her grasp, but she held onto me tighter than a vise-grip. "Isabella, um, is Tsedaka here?"

  "Oh no, he's not coming," she whispered seductively. Struggling, I somehow twisted aside enough to take in her ponytailed hair and black leather getup. It was an extreme change from the prissy, blueblood vibe she sported at the crowning ceremony. "Little cousin, tsk-tsk, don't you see? This is between you and me."

  In one fell swoop, she unsheathed a sword from her hip and secured it tightly against my throat. Crap! "Lucien, I need you! Now!" I shoved a mental picture of my predicament in his direction, praying he'd hear me amidst his disgusting love-fest with Dawn.

  "Um, uh, what's between you and me?" I stammered, praying I'd buy Lucien the time to come to my rescue. "For real, as far as I'm concerned we're cool."

  "Oh, how naive!" she sneered, discharging a dark chuckle. "I intended on eliminating you at high court. And, although you ruined my plans, I found it absolutely amusing when everyone accused Adrian. That sap doesn't have the balls to make a move anywhere close to this." She dug the sword into my skin, spurring a moist trail of blood droplets.

  "Um, I, uh..."

  "And this wig," she ranted, yanking it from my head and throwing it onto the floor. "It's hideous! I can't believe you thought a disguise would hide you from me. How asinine!"

  "Ma'am, we ain't gonna have no fightin' in here," the bartender drawled, cordless phone in hand. "I'll be putin' in a call to the cops if you don't get goin'
."

  "No, you will go sit down and be quiet," Isabella ordered firmly as she spun me off my barstool to a standing position. Promptly, my eyes darted around the room to see a motley crew of half-drunken patrons encircling us. "And the rest of you, ridiculous humans, take your seats along with the bartender. Ignore us. Act as though we aren't here."

  Like kindergartners following their teachers orders, everyone silently shuffled to their respective tables. And, within a few moments, the only people standing were three muscle-bound men, apparently Isabella's guards. They wore black leather and carried swords in hip-holsters similar to hers. Damn, this situation worsened by the minute. I was so freaking stupid! Why didn't I listen to Lucien?

  "Now, cousin, I assume you've already called for your wiry young guard. Therefore, you're going to suspend time. Since I'm touching you, we'll both go atemporal which will allow us to have a fair duel."

  As if on cue, her companions unsheathed their weapons and moved toward me. Frozen, heartbeat pounding in my ears. I was consumed with the realization that I had to do something or I'd die. Lucien wouldn't be able to reach me if I complied, but it'd level the playing field. There was no way I could take on all of 'em, Isabella and the three guards, at once. Still, with just her, there might be hope.

  Depriving me of another second to weigh my options, she dug her sword deeper into my throat. "I don't intend on playing dirty seeing as uncle won't appreciate that. Nonetheless, if you refuse, I'll take your life right now. The decision is yours."

  Shit! I had no choice. Acquiescing to my fate, I willed all the guards, the people, and the cars outside to a grinding halt. Everyone and everything stood motionless before me, except for Isabella.

  "All this power, little cousin, too bad you're not going to live long enough to learn how to use it," she sneered, emitting a snarling laugh. "I plan on giving you a weapon. Take notice, though, I won't tolerate you sneakily restoring time and then stopping it again with the intention of freezing me along with everybody else. My guards are under strict instructions to kill you on site if you're alive when the flow resumes. And they can move extremely fast. Your only hope is to kill me and leave prior to its restoration which is a highly unlikely."

  My mind raced. Could I go against her, successfully restarting and refreezing the world? I mean, it was my best bet if I pulled it off, a clean getaway. Yet, if I moved too slow and her guards attacked me it'd be a lethal fumble. I'd most assuredly die. Too much of a risk. Damn.

  With a stiff shove, she released me, the bulky sunglasses flying off my face as I toppled onto my hands and knees. "Why in the hell are you doing this?" I screamed at her in frustration. "If you want Adrian, you can have him. I'm not about to get in a cat fight over a guy."

  Glaring down at me, her mouth twisted into a grimace. "Our Adrian's been manipulating his own path toward the throne, has he? Tsk-tsk-tsk. Oh, little cousin, you're so very gullible. He's merely interested in your station; you'd be able to see the signs if you were more mature." She paused, contorting her snarky face in mock concern. "And, apart from that, I wanted him for nothing more than a fling three hundred years ago and my inclinations haven't changed."

  Picking myself up off the floor, I wiped at the blood collecting on my neck with my shirt. "Then why are you trying to kill me? What did I ever do to you?"

  "Are you truly that daft? I should be next in the line of succession, not a lowly half breed," she rebuffed, leering at me in the midst of pulling a short sword from the sheath on her back. "Here, your weapon. Fair is fair."

  A blink of an eye later, it was soaring in my direction with the speed of a bullet. And thank heavens for my new vamp reflexes, because I managed to catch the projectile before it pierced my abdomen. Regardless, I still injured myself. I missed the handle and grabbed the super sharp blade instead, slicing a nice-size gash in my left palm.

  Upon seeing the mishap, Isabella's eyes glistened with excitement. "Oh, this is going to be too easy!"

  Angry as all get out, I channeled the sharp pain into my meanest glare. I'm gonna kick your ass for this you fucking bitch! Hastily sucking in breaths, I desperately attempted to curb my anger, aware that I needed to keep her talking until the bleeding lessened. The sleazy, underhanded cunt! In spite of my fury, I stiffened my resolve and refused to lose my cool.

  "So, how'd you find me?" I eventually growled.

  "All the foul language isn't very ladylike," she clucked, lips curling into a smile. "You're not the only one who's armed with the gift of telepathy. The other night, after I blocked you from my mind, I entered yours and surveyed a portion of your memories. The one of you checking into the hotel was particularly helpful. Once I had that, well, I merely waited until you were alone."

  Crap! How was I supposed to fight somebody who possessed the ability to hear me think of my next move? Plus, it didn't make sense. Adrian'd said his telepathic abilities were the strongest among basically all the vampires. If he couldn't see into my memories, how could she?

  "I'm more gifted with telepathy than many of my counterparts think." She hesitated, laughing again. "You're so naive! It's the first lesson within the vampire world, never reveal all your cards." Then, without a word of preparation, she lunged at me. Her sword was a blur as it expertly sliced a gash along my right shoulder.

  Blinding pain. Confusion. Vision swimming. And before I had the chance to react, I felt myself flying through the air; the result of an unbelievably strong kick Isabella'd launched at the center of my chest. Wind knocked from my lungs, I crumpled to the floor. Meanwhile, my temples pounded their familiar hum alerting me to my power's decline. Time would have to resume soon.

  "Quit sniveling and fight!" she boomed, hovering nearby. "You need to land a couple blows, send me home with a modest amount of damage, or uncle won't believe we played fair."

  Rage spiking. Lungs burning. I refused to give up as I inched forward onto my knees and tried to right myself. Fuck that evil skank! If she thought I was simply gonna roll over and die, she had another thing coming. Nevertheless, to my second wind's discredit, I slipped in the blood that'd begun pooling beneath me, falling flat on my ass once again.

  "Oh, cousin, you're quite entertaining!" Isabella sniggered, bursting into more of her incessant cackling. "Alas, we must end this. I guess I'll command one of my guards punch me. You're so damn pitiful; you hardly deserve to be called vampire."

  Shortly thereafter, she brandished her sword high above her head and smirked at me arrogantly. The prelude to my demise. Then the blade descended in slow motion, crunching past my rib cage and piercing my heart with a single blow.

  In short order, I knew its abysmal ache. I languished in life's liquid energy, feeling it drip in crimson beads from my mouth. And I understood the finality of my last breath, the immortal regret over my unfulfilled destiny. In the end, my death was accompanied by her laughter, a superfluous declaration that she'd won. She'd bested me.

  Moments later, I shoved the façade into the bitch's mind, exactly like I'd done with William back at high court. And, almost instantaneously, fabricated pride saturated her gaze. Readily leaping at the opportunity, my instincts took control and I plunged my sword into her heart. I moved quickly, snatching the larger weapon from her grasp and tossing it out of reach. Then, with a bit of struggling, I stood on trembling legs while my vanquished enemy collapsed to her knees. Wordless. Face ashen.

  I remembered Lucien mentioning the necessity of removing both the head and heart. Unfortunately, I had no knowledge of how to accomplish the task or properly use a blade for that matter. So, I held my sword baseball bat style and swung with every ounce of remaining energy. And, as it turns out, I didn't need to put forth that much effort. I guess my new vamp strength was good for a few things.

  As a result, her head bounced off her neck effortlessly, plopping onto the floor with a wet thud before rolling several feet away. At the same time, blood spurted from her gaping wound and her twitching body crumpled, causing my tequila filled stomach to lu
rch. Regardless, the familiar pounding in my temples increased to a new plateau. A signal that my energy was running dangerously low. C'mon, stay stopped a little longer!

  With shaking hands, I hastily moved around to each of Isabella's guards. Stabbing hearts and lopping off heads. The consequent sickening smell of vampire blood permeated my very being, even when I breathed through my mouth. It seared my subconscious, letting me know that I'd endure nightmares of this horrific scene for the rest of my life. And, despite Lucien's information about their hearts needing to be removed, I didn't have it in me. Too much blood already. I only hoped that a skewering would be sufficient.

  And so, I hurriedly exited the bar, leaving my sword behind as I was unable to continue carrying its weight. The cool night air nipped at my blood drenched body and, after barely a dozen steps, I was forced to release my hold over the world. I'd drained every last ounce of energy from my system. Nonetheless, I staggered forward on quivering knees until I finally made it to the hotel's front doors. And that's when Lucien found me.

  "Girlie, where are you injured?" he asked, voice panic stricken as he looked me up and down.

  "I ran into Isabella, she cut me pretty bad," I groaned as I motioned to the bleeding gashes on my hand, shoulder, and neck. "We have to go, though, I'm not sure if she brought more guards with her. They could be out here watching us as we speak." Refusing to waste any more precious time with words, I shoved the memory of what'd just transpired into his mind.

  Immediately, his eyes grew large with recognition. "You're correct, we must depart at once. We're all in grave danger..."

  Chapter 22

  Lucien wrapped his arm around my shoulders, steadying me, while we walked through the hotel's large glass doors. I barely had the strength to keep myself moving, although I still found the mental wherewithal to cringe at the scrutinizing glances coming from the line of nondescript travelers checking in at the front desk.