Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty-One
Chapter Twenty-Two
Chapter Twenty-Three
Chapter Twenty-Four
Chapter Twenty-Five
Epilogue
Dark Revelations Prelude
Dark Revelations Chapter One
Dark Revelations Chapter Two
About The Author
Other Publications by P.L. Midnight
Prelude
“You’re sure it’s our girl? Well, certainly and thanks again, Victor. We'll get there as soon as possible.”
Raven disconnected the call and immediately called the rest of the group back to the house. He’d stopped at home hoping to check out a few possible leads about Emma’s whereabouts when he got the call from Victor.
He still couldn’t believe that he’d found her in his front yard damn near froze to death during that hellacious storm. She’d been there over a week while they’d been going crazy trying to find her. It was all he could do not to rush over there. He felt an almost physical need to make sure she was okay. He realized it wouldn’t be good for any of them to storm Mac-o-Chee Castle, where she was recovering. They’d probably frighten Emma and likely alert Dark Hearts, their enemy, to her location.
He’d known Victor for a long time. The guy would watch out for her. He just hoped he didn’t take excessively good care of her. Victor had been quite the ladies’ man at one time. Of course, most vampires he’d known were extremely handsome and popular with the ladies. Victor was no exception.
Victor had been an operative of the Order, but had retired when one of the Piatt Castles had come up for sale. He’d decided to take it easy for a while and enjoy his peaceful new residence. At least, it had been peaceful before Emma had arrived. Victor didn’t seem entirely happy about her presence there.
Raven knew that his hunch had been right about Emma. It seemed that she wasn’t exactly a normal human. Victor had confirmed this when he treated her cuts from the accident. He said that her blood had some kind of strange, almost aphrodisiac-like quality to it, which he didn’t understand. Victor, too, seemed drawn to her, which seemed to make him more cantankerous than usual. Raven was certain that if anyone would know about blood anomalies though, it would be Victor. He was one of the oldest known vampires.
Victor was old enough that he no longer had a problem with the sun, although he frequently wore dark sunglasses on sunny days. He said it was just a habit. He’d gotten used to wearing them while he was living in Hollywood, because the movie stars wore them. He’d wanted to look as normal as possible so as not to attract too much attention. Normal for Hollywood was dark glasses and outlandish fashion, which Victor adhered to with his poet shirts and tight pants with tall black boots.
Raven still found it amusing that with all the attention vampires had received after the Twilight frenzy that no one ever discovered that a real-live one was right under their noses. Well, perhaps more appropriate would be a real-dead one. Whatever, it was strange, but Victor didn’t sparkle to his knowledge and was quite skilled at remaining incognito. One didn’t survive the Great War and the Dark Ages without being more clever than most.
Victor had relocated to Ohio after he’d purchased the castle. He’d quickly set up his home in the rather obscure part of Ohio, far away from the hustle and bustle of Hollywood. He didn’t allow tours through the castle and avoided most human contact. Raven was surprised that Victor had even bothered to bring Emma inside his house, but he was certainly glad he had.
Victor didn’t have much use for people anymore other than for an occasional private snack when he ran short of blood bags or wanted something warm from the vein.
He’d even made quite a few changes to the exterior of the place to discourage visitors. Raven had seen the place a few times, but had almost missed it at first with the addition of all the dense foliage, trees and full evergreens that now surrounded the place. The landscaping had given the place an almost sinister feeling with its thick pine foliage and bare spindly winter branches.
In the summer with the leaves on the trees, it might not look as unwelcoming, but now he couldn’t even imagine how creepy the place must have seemed to Emma in the dark of the storm. It was likely about as welcoming as Raven’s own home had become with all its towering gargoyle inhabitants and sharp finales that capped the wrought iron fence.
With all the trees surrounding Victor’s place, it was no wonder a branch had fallen on Emma’s car with the violent winds last week. He still couldn’t believe she’d been driving on deserted back roads in that kind of inclement weather. He wondered what she’d been thinking. Obviously, she hadn’t been thinking at all. He worried that her need to get away was so great that she’d risked her life. He wondered if she’d had another encounter with Dark Hearts, since he’d heard about the first one. He was thankful she’d escaped their demented clutches, but feared she wouldn’t be so lucky the next time as their numbers had increased in the area.
He’d have to convince her that they needed her. They’d make things work between them. They were the only ones that could protect her until her family was located and put into protective custody. He wanted her to come back willingly, but she’d be coming back by whatever means was necessary. They couldn’t lose her. Emma was certainly not safe with Dark Hearts overrunning the area. Besides, all seven members of his team loved her, including himself, even though they couldn’t understand how such a thing could’ve happened so fast.
He believed that she had left because she was afraid of something. Had she found out that they weren’t human? Perhaps she’d figured out by their subtle actions that they all wanted her and meant to share her. Did she have feelings for them that had frightened her? Maybe she was telepathic after all and had heard their thoughts. He just didn’t know, but he did know one thing. They’d be together. He was the leader of this abnormal, motley group. It was his responsibility to see to their safety, and they weren’t safe while she was gone. They were acting foolish, taking unnecessary chances trying to find her.
Her blood was the real puzzle, though. If what Victor said was true that her blood acted like some kind of aphrodisiac, why hadn’t humans been affected, too? It seemed that the teenage males at school had all been more interested in their raging hormones than anything else. Sebastian, Vince, Alex, Julian, Miles and himself had wanted much more than a tumble or two from Emma. All of them had become enthralled with her and acted like lovesick puppies around her.
Raven pondered as to why he hadn’t been enthralled with Emma long ago as Vince had been. His attraction to her had been there, but that was all it had been. He’d liked her, but it hadn’t been that difficult to resist her. Now, however, that was certainly not the case. He felt bereft when she wasn’t around and recognized the same emotions in the others. His house had become more like a funeral home than a house since she’d been gone. It was sorely depressing.
Raven had a feeling that Victor, too, was more interested in Emma than he should be. He’d already been asking questions about her. The sooner they got her out of the castle the better it would be for all of them. The thought of sharing her with five others was already pushing his emotions to the limit. At least those five were mostly friends. He wasn’t sure he could tolerate sharing her with a total outsider. Even though he’d known Victor for a long while and his father had worked with him, he just didn’t want to share Emma with anyone else.
Who was he kidding, he thought, as he paced the floor in front of the fireplace. There was no guarantee that Emma would want any of them when she realized they wanted to share her. He knew she’d seen all the gargoyle statues when she was in his garden before her escape. She probably thought he was too weird to have as a friend, much less as a lover.
Another though
t occurred to Raven as he paced the floor waiting for the others to arrive, what happened if her blood enticed all the supernatural males she met? Hell, it could get very messy and crowded. He had to find out what was happening with Emma, and soon, before she became a formula for disaster.
Actually when he truly thought about it, he found it absurd that she could magnetize every male creature that she met. He knew of a few other non-human males that had met her and hadn’t been attracted to her. Some of them had even been about Raven’s age, so that ruled out an age-attraction thing.
He just didn’t know what was going on. He’d try his best to convince her to return, at least—until he could figure out what was happening to all of them. After that, well, he knew there’d be no way he could let her leave them again.
Now that Dark Hearts knew Emma was still in the area, his job had become more difficult. His team would have to remove her from the area and fucking soon. It was good that Victor had found her. He’d mentioned that he’d hidden her car in one of his outbuildings, which would keep it away from the prying eyes of any Dark Hearts operatives in the area. If anyone could hide her it would be a sly vampire such as Victor.
He was also relieved that Victor had finally thought to check her coat pockets. After he’d managed to nurse her body to a state of reasonable health, he’d gone through her things. He’d found her cell phone, charged it and called him immediately after finding his number. Otherwise, they’d still be going crazy wondering if she was ok. None of them had been able to read her thoughts from the beginning. He’d found it strange, but had foolishly dismissed it as nothing. Some of them could read minds and not just during their psychic conversations. However, none of them had been able to read Emma’s mind.
Raven also realized that he had passed her on the street that day. Based on the information from Victor, she’d done an amazing job on her disguise. Raven had been desperate to find her. He figured that was the reason he’d imagined her presence, when he saw the heavyset, black-haired woman. He hadn’t recognized the woman and since accosting a stranger in a small-town grocery parking lot wasn’t a good idea, he’d left her alone. He’d foolishly walked away from the rotund woman even though Emma’s essence surrounded her.
He’d stopped pacing for a while as he berated himself for not checking further when he’d sensed her essence so strongly. He was sitting with his head in his hands on the coach. His every muscle was tense as his thoughts plagued him.
Dark Hearts could’ve easily kidnapped her or that blasted storm could’ve killed her. It would have been his fault, too.
That was how Vince found Raven when he came into the room. At first, he thought something was wrong, but Raven had told him on the phone that Emma had been found. Anyway, when Raven noticed Vince he’d looked up and smiled. It didn’t quite reach his eyes, but he didn’t look bereft anymore, either. He knew Raven well enough that he knew something was bothering him besides Emma’s escape. He knew he’d only share it when he was ready to do so. Therefore, Vince didn’t ask any questions after his initial greeting.
Shortly after Vince’s arrival, the rest of them came into the room. Sebastian sat down next to Raven, while Julian, Miles and Alex sat across the room occupying various chairs.
“I’m glad Emma’s been found. Where is she and when can we see her?” Julian immediately asked before anyone else could speak, his guilt at letting her put herself in danger was evident in his tone. That started it. They all talked at once until Raven called for order above all the concerned and curious raised voices.
“She’s fine. We’ll be able to see her soon. There are a few things we need to discuss before that happens.” Raven said and continued in a leadership voice devoid of emotion as he shared the story of Emma’s accident. He left out the part about how close to losing her that they’d come. She was going to be okay, which was all they needed to know for the moment.
At Raven’s suggestion, it was agreed that Vince and he would pick up Emma as soon as possible. They wouldn’t bring her back to Raven’s house with Dark Hearts scouring the area for her. Plans were made as to where she could be safely hidden, after they’d retrieved her.
The oddity in her blood that Victor had mentioned to him was discussed. None of the guys seemed to care about it, except Sebastian who already believed her blood was magical, which would’ve explained their overwhelming attraction to her. Everyone else was convinced that they’d fallen in love with her, because she was just that special. The romantic feelings they’d developed for her seemed perfectly normal to most of them. There was no point arguing about it. Raven let the topic drop. He knew most of the guys were thinking with their hormones and not their brains, which he’d been struggling with, too.
Everyone left to prepare for their immediate departure from his house. They were to go in different directions to elude Dark Hearts. Raven and Vince were to leave for Victor’s place in the dark of the night.
While Vince was preparing to leave, Raven sought a private chat with Sebastian about Emma’s blood composition.
“It appears that you’re the only one that seems to believe there’s something abnormal about Emma’s blood. Do you have any thoughts about what it is?”
“I told you my suspicions. I agree with Victor, something’s not right. I’ve known Victor for a long time and if anyone would recognize an oddity about someone’s blood, it would be him. He’s one of the ancients. Hell, I think the guy’s older than Miles and he’s been around over a thousand years. I’ve been wondering why my own attraction to her seems to have grown so intense in such a short period of time, too. In further checking her blood, the composition of it seems to be changing, too. The closer she was getting to her eighteenth birthday, the more her blood cells changed. I didn’t mention it before, because the change was slight at first. I thought I could’ve been mistaken, but in rechecking my findings, I believe it merits discussion. Anyway, the focus at that time was getting her eyesight to return, so I ignored the blood thing then.”
“I agree. The vision was definitely the focus. If only we’d known sooner that her vision had returned I’d have taken steps to protect her from leaving and putting herself in danger. I’d have liked to study her blood more. There’s definitely something abnormal going on with it that is affecting us all.”
“If only I’d said something sooner. It seems I’ve been quite lax with Emma’s vision diagnosis, too.”
“It’s not your fault you know. She fooled us all. We were so besotted with her that we overlooked what should’ve been obvious to us. She was a damn fine actress if she could pretend that she didn’t see all those intimidating gargoyles in the garden.”
“Yeah, she didn’t even act daunted at Miles’ appearance and he could scare a bear. The guy’s damn near seven feet tall and big as a damn Grizzly.”
“It’s too bad he didn’t shapeshift in front of her. I’m not sure she could’ve pretended not to see his transformation. It would be terrifying to an unsuspecting mortal. As far as her blood goes, do you have any samples?”
“Actually, I do. I took a sample every night the last week before she left, when I first noticed the slight difference. Would you care to look at them? I kept them on microscope slides.”
“Yes, I’d like to see them.”
There was definitely a subtle change in her blood each day, which had become more pronounced as she neared eighteen years of age, just as Sebastian had indicated. Raven agreed with Sebastian, though, it wasn’t enough of a change to be concerned about—at that time, anyway. As to whether it affected their emotions towards her, neither of them knew. Her healing or Sebastian’s potions could’ve caused the slight change in her blood, too. Her blood appeared to be human, but there was definitely an abnormality in it.
Raven left to prepare for his departure. He wasn’t sure how long they’d be gone, but he had a feeling it would be for a while. He limited his packing to one large bag for himself and two for Emma, packing all the things she’d left behind. He wanted
her to be as comfortable as possible.
Vince met him in the garage with his two bags and they left. They’d be taking two automobiles, Vince, Emma, and himself would be using his father’s Holland Range Rover. Miles would be driving his Harley, which made him look more intimidating than usual. While Julian, Sebastian, and Alex would take Sebastian’s new, black Jeep Grand Cherokee. They were to rendezvous at a small hotel in Columbus owned by a member of the Order. After a night of rest and some time for planning they would head out of state. The sooner they cleared the area, the safer Emma would be. He just hoped she’d be willing to leave the area now that she’d more than likely spotted her mother from a distance or had possibly heard she was still around.
Chapter One
My head felt like I’d tied on a good drunk, but I knew better as I slowly remembered the accident and the ice. I remembered the icy cold rain as it had pelted my face. I’d fallen so many times on the blasted ice after the accident that I’d lost count. I’d been trying to get to the castle. I was sore and most likely bruised all over. It hadn’t been a dream. Thankfully, I wasn’t dead either. It seemed that someone had finally found me. I vaguely recalled the man’s strong arms that had held me. He’d shielded my face from the driving, cold rain that froze as soon as it hit the ground. I’d never forget those piercing sapphire eyes as he’d looked at me with absolute annoyance.
I tried to move, but realized that was still too difficult. Moving made me instantly nauseous besides hurting like hell. I stilled my movements and allowed myself the luxury of snuggling down into the soft Egyptian cotton sheets and thick down comforter covering the soft mattress. I looked around the room as much as I could without moving, too much.
I realized I was inside the castle. It was dim in the room. Everything in the place was elegant and quite old. The large dark mantled fireplace dominated the room with its golden flames struggling to give the room a somewhat cheerful glow. The heavy red drapes were pulled tightly closed. I had no idea if it was day or night, and wondered how long I’d slept.
Dark Secrets (Dark Hearts Book 2) Page 2
