A Kiss of Ashen Twilight (Ashen Twilight Series #1)

by Lori, Rae

  Then, suddenly the door burst open and the dried candlesticks around the room illuminated with tiny flickers of flames. Jace raced into the room with his eyes glaring black and red. His sharp teeth exposed and growling with warning. He held his hands out at his sides extending his nails into strong sharp, long claws.

  “Jace,” Ariya choked. “Help me!”

  Jace launched himself up to the ceiling and landed on it as if it were the ground itself. He wrapped his body around Ariya and the elemental, with a strong force he yelled as he leaped backward onto the floor. Ariya fell away, choking as she recovered at the foot of the bed.

  Jace coached himself to stay focused. Ariya would be all right, he assured himself, but this thing needed to be eliminated before it got out of hand. Raising an energy ball of power within him, he used all of his might wrapping his hands around the creature. With one throw, he tossed it toward the opposite side of the room toward the wall.

  Ariya reached for the fallen sword of flames and hauled the blade toward the elemental. With another watery growl, the elemental collided against the wall and absorbed itself into a ball before disappearing.

  Jace finally took a deep breath as he rushed to Ariya’s side.

  “You all right?” he asked as he grabbed her.

  She nodded slowly. “Yes, I’m fine. I could actually see it for awhile.”

  “Yeah, so could I. Well, I imagine that’s our elemental?”

  Ariya nodded again, exhaling slowly before speaking. “The very one.”

  Jace smiled with an air of pride about him. “Well, I guess my little plan worked then.”

  “Plan?” she said with a raised eyebrow.

  “I thought it would feed off your energy, well—our energy if I made an advance toward you. Sort of a telepathic come on.”

  “You mean that was your idea?”

  “To imagine I was in here? Yeah. And apparently it worked.”

  Ariya scoffed. “Yeah, like a charm.”

  “It’s a good thing I got back when I did.” He turned his head to the side in thought. “Strange how it worked off my incubus vibes.”

  Ariya whipped around to face him, completely unfazed by his rambling. “So you’re telling me you staged this whole thing on purpose?”

  “Everything that led up to the attack, yes,” he said shrugging. “Don’t worry, I don’t plan on trying anything like that again with you.”

  Ariya’s heart sank at the confession. She forced a smile, careful not to allow her thoughts to betray her. “Well, either way I guess we have a way to detect him. Shouldn’t we tell your uncle?”

  “Good idea. I’ll call him now and let him know what to expect. You can hang tight here if you like. I’ll put some tea on for you, if you want.”

  Ariya nodded. “Thanks, I’d appreciate that.”

  Jace made it to the door before doing a 180 on his heels. “On second thought,” he said with a wide smile. “Why don’t we head out? I’m sure you’d probably like to relax a little. Maybe see some places other than these walls and that old haunted house.” “Are you sure that’s safe?”

  He shrugged. “We won’t be out long. Besides, I need some fresh air myself. Let me make this phone call to Julian first while you get ready.”

  Jace took his leave and in seconds Ariya heard him on the phone. As she looked around the empty bedroom trying to digest what just happened that night, she couldn’t help thinking about how much she wished his promise to stay away from her wouldn’t come true.

  * * * *

  Jace ignored the thought he shared with Ariya. He couldn’t afford to waste moments putting any of them in danger anymore. Instead, he focused on the ringing over the dial.

  “Jace,” his Uncle’s voice was crystal clear on the other end. Who needs caller ID when you’re a vampire, he mused. “Are you all right?”

  “Yeah, I’m fine. Ariya and I just had a run in with the elemental just now.”

  “What happened?”

  Jace sighed. “He almost killed her. I got in just in time and was able to see it. I think I have an idea how we can stop it, but I’m going to need all of us together. Would that be possible?”

  Julian was silent. The tension was thick and if he had a beating heart, Jace was sure it would beat right out of his chest.

  “I find it strange, Jace, that you align yourself with the council at this late hour. You were absent before.”

  “Well maybe I learned my lesson.”

  “Why? Do you suddenly care for this girl?”

  Jace’s jaw flexed in anger. “That’s beside the point, Uncle.”

  “Is it? Because I am half tempted to say let it consume her so that we may all return back to our normal lives.”

  Jace’s blood was boiling by the end of the sentence. His hand gripped the phone so tight, he felt the plastic buckling underneath his grip. “You know what, Uncle? I used to think you were such a brave man all those years I was growing up, a man of great honor who fought so hard for his family and his people. All that has changed after what I now know. How can I look up to a man who left his own woman and unborn child with another man? Not fighting to keep them where they belong?”

  On instinct he turned and threw the phone against the wall, shattering it into tiny useless pieces.

  Ariya rushed out from the bedroom. She had already changed into a short dark red dress, a black leather jacket and black lace up knee high boots. Jace took full notice as he allowed his gaze to linger for a bit before he grabbed his coat. He ignored the incredulous look she gave him and headed for the front door.

  “Come on, let’s get out of here.” Opening the door he entered the hall, thankful for the cool night air to calm his heated temper.

  * * * *

  The Torch Club was located near the high class district of Northern Phoenix, tucked behind a bustling freeway still active at midnight. At the door of the club, Jace and Ariya bypassed a massive looking man who, even in his current form, shared the coarse trait like that of a wolf with small gold eyes. He recognized Jace and let them in right away.

  Ariya was entranced by the interior of the club. The walls and the ceiling were like night itself with its pitch black background and tiny diamond-like stars perched around the area. She swore some of them appeared to form shapes, figures and even a dipping cup. A large moon hung at the top near the second floor lounge changing in cycles to half moon, quarter and then full moon.

  Just as they stepped inside, the moon turned full and the guests greeted it with a joyous howl.

  “The club is welcome to all members of the house, but they like to flash a full moon at midnight just for kicks. Sort of an inside joke with the Lycans.”

  Ariya had to lean in to hear Jace over the deep pulsating electronica music. She nodded and was glad to hear his thoughts to back up his muted words.

  Just then, Ariya felt a strong arm slide around her shoulders. A wobbly figure leaned in toward her and before she turned to face him, she could already smell the sickening copper scent of blood on his breath.

  “Hey beautiful,” his words slithered into her ear. “I haven’t seen you around here before. How’s about you and me—”

  He looked up and noticed Jace staring right at him.

  “Hey Jace.” He backed off with his hands up. “Sorry man, I didn’t know she was with you.”

  Jace slipped his arm around Ariya’s waist and pulled her closer to him. A thin, tense smile crossed his face and it held a silent warning. “It’s okay. We’re actually here on business tonight.”

  Ariya’s smile disappeared when she heard the man chuckling lasciviously behind them. She wasn’t sure if Jace heard his next words, but she surely did.

  “Business? So, that’s what you’re calling it these days.”

  Jace led her deeper past the slow writhing bodies on the dance floor. Other guests sat at tables around the area and at the bar, deep in chatty conversation.

  Ariya heard Jace’s sharp exhale as his body retracted. A large san
dy haired man with wide shoulders and a look of fire in his eyes approached them. Right away Ariya recognized Rich standing behind the man. Strangely enough to her, they looked alike although Rich’s hair was longer, darker and almost to his shoulders.

  “You have a lot of freakin’ nerve showing your face here, Jace.”

  “I need to speak to you both—”

  “Yeah? Tell it to someone who doesn’t want to rip your throat out.”

  Jace scoffed. “What are you talking about?”

  “You wanna know what I’m talking about?” The larger man leaned in but Jace stood his ground matching him eye for eye. “You and Shelly. I heard she was coming from your place the night she died.”

  Jace turned to Rich. “You freakin—”

  “It wasn’t Rich. But it was someone I trust. Either way I should smash your pasty mug in for screwing her.” He lunged toward Jace, hauling him up by the collar and shoving him backwards onto a table.

  “Vex, ease up man!” Rich yelled toward his friend.

  Jace wrapped his hands around Vex’s neck, squeezing tight with a vicious hiss exposing his sharp teeth. A burly man in a suit stepped between them, trying to pry them apart.

  “Hey, you two! You know the rules. No roughhousing on the premises. And you Jace, you should know better.”

  Jace straightened out his jacket, with his gaze still on Vex.

  Vex’s pack came to pull him away even though he still watching Jace with a tight gaze. Rich remained behind him with a regretful yet strong expression on his face.

  “I didn’t tell Vex, man,” he said unapologetically. “Theo told him he saw you guys eyeing each other that night and decided it was his business to tell Vex.”

  Jace shook his head. “None of that matters anymore, Rich, something more dangerous is on the horizon and I need your help.”

  Rich held his hands up and backed away. “Look Jace, I can’t help you and you should know that. We got nothing else to say to each other. I’m with my pack tonight.”

  “Rich—”

  He turned and went back to his group waiting near the back of the club.

  Ariya felt Jace’s defeat as he a mumbled word and stormed over to the bar. The large burly man in a suit rested his back on the table and watched the area while keeping a close eye on Jace as he walked by.

  “A goblet, Ben,” Jace yelled toward the bartender. He took a seat at the bar and waited as his goblet was filled with thick, dark red blood from a chilled bottle.

  “Jace,” Ariya began cautiously.

  “I don’t want to hear it,” he yelled. “I’ve done all I can to get help. No one will listen. Don’t say it’s my fault either.” He took a slow drink, careful to allow the taste to linger on his palette. “Never as good as the source,” he said to no one in particular.

  Ariya wasn’t sure what to say. Even his thoughts were silent as if he didn’t want to let her in. He remained there drinking sip after sip staring into his goblet as if it held the answers to all of his problems.

  She leaned against the bar, careful not to crush her wings folded within her jacket. She watched the dancing patrons in front of her before surveying the outer crowd. Across the way, Vex was already settling down and laughing with Rich. Even though they weren’t human, they fascinated her with their hunger and overall passion for their way of life. These men were a prideful bunch much like the hunters back home. Maybe she could get used to this place after all.

  Suddenly, the walls within the room started closing in on her. The loud, pulsating beats fell into the background of her mind. Her throat started closing and she felt as if her internal defenses were shutting down.

  But it wasn’t her. It was a legion of people who felt this way and the feeling was consuming her mind and body by sense alone.

  “Jace—”

  “Not now, Ariya,” he mumbled into his cup.

  “I can’t—” The words escaped her as she sunk to the floor. The loud, throbbing music completely disappeared in her mind, replaced by the cry of a thousand mortal souls in pain.

  Ariya didn’t notice Jace already at her side wrapping his arms around her, pulling her close. From the look in his eyes, she could tell he sensed her turmoil and pain growing like lava within her body. The elemental had returned with another attack on the mortals. This time it had brought a plague to wipe out any mortal in its wake. With another sharp pain crippling her body, she knew they were running out of time.

  Chapter 6

  Julian packed up his papers and set them aside for the next evening. The main office was dimly lit and warm with hues of chocolate brown and black leather. The council took turns using it but Julian made sure to reserve it this particular evening. He needed the privacy to figure out what exactly Jace was doing. Outside and down the hall, soft voices emitted through the door. At first he thought it was an unplanned party until the voices suddenly halted. He didn’t hear footsteps or any other movement but sensed another being in the room. A being he had come to identify with since the birth of his existence.

  “I take it you’ve heard?” Julian leaned over the desk sorting his work for the next night. He hoped business would get back to normal soon, like before the Fairy entered their lives. Their world had been turned upside down, and Jace became even more distracted than usual. Perhaps he should keep that contract nearby after all.

  Daoine Oberon stepped from the darkness of the shadows. His glowing almond eyes and angular visage focused on Julian with a statement lingering on his lips. His long velvet robes caressed the sleek floor that was patched with soft fur rugs. Even now after so long, the Shifter Elf was still a mystery to him and he hadn’t even begun to understand the extent of his powers. One thing he did know was when Daoine was trying to tell him something, without coming out right and saying it.

  “I have. Michael and I have spoken of this matter of you and Jacinus. This situation seems to be a possibility with what I heard over the television. A few of the members mentioned the girl’s breakdown the moment the news was released at the social club.”

  Julian tried to focus on the business papers sitting before him. He tried to shake off the mention of this situation with the cursed elemental. “This is not open for discussion, Daoine. You and I both know we can’t afford to take time away because of mere distractions. Leave this mystery to someone else.”

  “And what of your food? The very creatures you hunt have become infected, most likely from this elemental’s plague. From the symptoms, it appears to be nothing the mortals have experienced before. Hospitals are filling up and have begun to turn people. What happens if the infection continues?”

  Julian took a seat in the large leather office chair. “It can’t infect the world.”

  “If it is airborne it will. If this girl speaks the truth, it can integrate itself in all elements.”

  “Then we will move the council.”

  Daoine smiled and shook his head. “The council cannot afford a large transfer right now before the time agreed upon. We’ve spent years assimilating ourselves with mortals. And I’m sure you remember the reason I turned you. The very reason I asked you to take this responsibility.”

  Julian sighed softly with the words persistent in his mind. The House of Blood devoted their lives to being silent protectors of humans and themselves, starting with the massacre of Vlad Tepes’ army and down to the major wars. Julian saw it as protecting their food supply of sorts and a way of ensuing the house’s survival. With the help of the other houses, the mortals were mostly protected from themselves. Petty crimes on the streets were out of their hands, mostly handled by the Necro Cerberus and similar handlers.

  He was reminded of the vow by Daoine many times. Ever since the males in the house had finally settled down to find mates, he was sure to be reminded of it even more.

  “Well then,” Julian said, defeated. “What would you have me do, Daoine? Jace must understand that his council is not at his beck and call. It is the other way around!”

  �
��And I agree. However now is not the time for such a lesson. This is something that affects us all.”

  “Your trust in him is doubtful. Perhaps now is the time to change that.”

  Daoine smiled with a gleam in his bright eyes. Julian saw the gleam more times than he could count, a sure sign to trust his nephew.

  * * * *

  Jace leaned over on the back of the couch with his hands folded and his elbows resting on the smooth material. A night had gone by and the news was filled hour by hour with reports of new patients admitted to the already filled hospitals. Doctors rushed to find some kind of treatment but nothing would stop the rabid virus. Probably because they didn’t have a cure-all for a supernatural bug. Normally he would brush it off, but despite his own afflicted flaw in feeding, he couldn’t just stand by and let them die without trying to stop this thing.

  He peered down at Ariya lying before him, watching her as she stretched out her legs. She lay huddled under his large leather jacket. Despite her tired expression, she was as illuminating as the first night he saw her. How his life had changed when this woman entered his life. He had a feeling it didn’t have any plans of slowing down in the coming days.

  “Julian won’t want to do anything,” he said, dropping his gaze to his hands. “For centuries we’ve lay hidden under the mortal’s eyes. We did everything in our power to keep the sanctuary of our existence and our individual lives hidden. An attack like this can destroy half of the mortal population in a few days. What if it starts on immortals like us? Like the attack on Shelly. We can’t just sit by and do nothing. We just can’t do this alone.”

  “Jace, I’m sorry—”

  He held up his hand, silencing her. “I’m not saying it to place blame on you, Ariya. Far from it.”

  “What if it knows I’m here? What if this is how it’s trying to bring me out in the open to attack?”

  Jace shrugged. “It should be able to find you if it found Shelly like that I imagine.”

  Ariya shook her head. “Shelly wasn’t its intended victim. Jace—” She leaned forward to pull herself up. Bad idea. The pain returned to her stomach muscles and she winced, trying to grab for something to support her.