Embrace The Dawning (The Covenant Series Book 1)

by Betty Shreffler

  He didn’t bother with the previously blood-stained carpet, because it had been replaced, as well as several pieces of furniture. He instead made his way to the bedrooms. One by one he walked through each, attempting to pick up any trace of Danika or her coven vampires. One by one he came up disappointed. The cleaning crew had done a thorough job. Too thorough. Irritated, Adrian left the condo just as he’d found it and headed downtown, hoping for more success there.

  As he entered Blue Moon, he did a quick sweep of the bar for vampires. He recognized three of them instantly. They were busy socializing with a small group of humans. Another danced with a curvy, robust female, surely intending to feed from her. He entered farther into the bar. He should feed while there. He took a seat at a table and watched the activity, hoping a lead would show up. He observed a group of adults in their late twenties chatting and laughing. One of the females gave her good-byes to the rest of the group. He followed her out. He wasn’t in the mood for dancing or seduction tonight. A particular half-breed consumed his thoughts and was too damn distracting.

  After he fed from the woman under the ill-lit parking garage, Adrian casually reentered the bar, feeling more revitalized. He did another sweep, coming up disappointed. He let out an irritated growl before leaving and making his way to the next bar.

  ***

  As Kayci entered Piani’s, a huge smile spread across her face. She waved at Elise, who was already sitting at a table. Elise, sharing her same wide smile, enthusiastically waved back. As Kayci approached the table, Elise got up and hugged her firmly.

  “It’s so good to see you.”

  “I’ve missed you too.” Kayci took the seat across from her.

  “So fill me in on everything,” Elise demanded sweetly.

  “No, you first. I want to hear about you and Greg.”

  Elise beamed a smile. “I’m officially his girlfriend! He actually asked me to be his girlfriend. It was so adorable and sweet. We’ve been posting all kinds of pics on Twitter and Facebook. He even mentioned a trip to Ohio for me to meet his family. They all go to an Ohio State game together every year. He has two older sisters. Both married and have kids. He loves his nieces and nephew. Talks to them on social media all the time and always goes home for Christmas to see everybody.”

  “Wow, Elise. You’ve got yourself a good-hearted family man. Better keep that one.”

  “I know! He’s incredible. I’m a little nervous about meeting his family though. Their opinion matters a lot to him. What if they don’t like me?” A worried pout formed on Elise’s face.

  “Elise, come on.” Kayci frowned at her. “Everyone likes you.”

  “I know I’m probably creating anxiety that I don’t need to, but I like him so much!”

  “Your trip will be awesome. Just be yourself. They’ll love you.”

  Elise smiled in relief. She obviously needed the encouragement.

  After they ordered their food and received their drinks, Elise turned the topic to Kayci.

  “So what’s been going on in your world?” Elise asked.

  “Hmm, where to begin?”

  “What do you mean, where to begin? What else has happened?!”

  “For starters, the more time I spend with Adrian, the more I want to keep spending time with him. Honestly, he is amazing. He’s ridiculously handsome, he’s caring, protective, and incredible in bed,” Kayci admitted with a nervous bite to her lip.

  “I knew it!” Elise preened. Her voice lowered to a near whisper. “So what was it like?” she asked.

  Kayci rolled her eyes. Those were details she wasn’t willing to share, at least not in a restaurant.

  “Um, this isn’t the best place to talk about it, but I assure you it was like no other experience I’ve ever had.”

  Elise giggled. “Well, that’s a conversation I look forward to. So anything else happen besides falling for Adrian?”

  “I’m not…” Kayci paused. What she was about to say wasn’t true. She was falling for him. A knot developed in her stomach. There were so many things to consider before she let herself fall in love with him. Would he want her if she didn’t want to be a vampire? Would he lose interest in her as she grew old? Would she ever want children? Did she want to transform and be like him? Did she want to see her parents and best friend grow old without her? As the many questions swam through her mind, her head began to ache. She reached for her glass and took a long swallow of her mojito.

  “You are falling for him. That scares you, doesn’t it?”

  Kayci looked up at her best friend, who knew her too well. “Yeah, it does.”

  Their conversation paused as their food was served. After a few bites, Kayci continued, “There have been some terrifying and exciting events that have taken place in the last several days.”

  Elise’s fork stopped halfway to her mouth. “Do tell.”

  “The Covenant found out about me. They dragged me into a meeting with them. As you can see, I managed to come out alive.”

  Elise dropped her fork onto her plate with a clang. “What were they like? What did they say to you?!”

  “The moment I walked into the room, I could sense the powerful energy that surrounded me. I was terrified. Adrian said I hid it well and impressed them. I don’t know how I did, but hopefully that’s a good thing.”

  “What did they talk to you about?”

  Kayci inhaled deeply. “Well, the leader of the Covenant’s name is Eva. She’s very powerful and seems to be a very old vampire. She had a private conversation with me and disclosed to me that…she’s my aunt.”

  “Yeah,” Kayci added when Elise’s expression turned to shock.

  “Better yet, her brother is my father, and my birth mother, get this, was a well-known witch.”

  “Yep, didn’t expect that, did ya?” Kayci added when Elise stared at her speechless.

  Kayci twitched uncomfortably at Elise’s silence. After a few seconds, Elise finally spoke.

  “So wait does that mean? You can do magic like Rosemary?”

  Kayci bit her lip and nodded.

  “What?!” Elise squealed, drawing the attention of the people at the tables nearest them.

  Kayci, along with Elise, smiled and apologized to the people staring at them, then returned to the conversation. Kayci anxiously awaited Elise to say something.

  Elise brought her voice down to a much lower volume. “That’s unbelievable, Kayc. You’re like a freaking superhero or something. Did you try to do any spells?”

  Kayci let out a breath of relief. She was thrilled that Elise didn’t freak out.

  “I love the nerd side of you, Elise. I think that’s kept you from running away from me, screaming, this whole time.”

  Elise shrugged. “Well, it is weird that my best friend that I’ve known for over twenty years has turned out to be so different from the person I thought I knew, but it’s also incredible that witches and vampires are real and that my bestie is one of them.”

  “I did do my first spell, with Rosemary’s help,” Kayci told her excitedly. “I created and manipulated fire. It was mind blowing.”

  “I’m so jealous!” Elise whined. “Why do you get to have all the fun?”

  “Don’t get envious—it’s not all fun. The Covenant doesn’t know I can actually use magic yet. I’m concerned that if they do, they might try to use me for their own gain.”

  “I’m sorry, Kayc. I’m sitting here selfishly thinking I have a lifetime discount to spell casting, and you’re probably terrified. I mean, a week ago your life was pretty normal, save for the fact that you had a few weird qualities, but otherwise life was normal, and then wham!”

  Several of the customers at the other tables gave Kayci and Elise a dirty look this time. Elise mouthed sorry once again.

  “Then after being attacked by a”—Elise lowered her voice even more—”a vampire, your life became, I don’t know, a real-life horror movie with real monsters.”

  “Exactly.” Kayci frowned. “And now I’
m trying to figure out where I fit in, because there isn’t anyone else like me, so I can’t exactly ask someone with more experience about what I should do. I’d like to talk with my aunt more, but I don’t even know if I can trust her.”

  “I’m so sorry, Kayc, and here I’m worried about a silly trip to meet Greg’s family.”

  Kayci’s stomach churned with guilt when she saw Elise’s remorseful expression.

  “Elise, don’t belittle your problems or worries. The last thing I want is for there to be a divide between us or for you to feel like your problems don’t matter compared to mine. I want us to always share our worries, no matter what.”

  Elise regained her usual cheery smile. “Well, no matter what, I’m here for you, Kayc. I may not be able to give you great advice on particular topics, but I’m always here to listen and, of course, drag you into my fun escapades. Oh! I know what we should do. We should take a road trip! Get you away from all this craziness for a while. Maybe take a cruise or go somewhere out West.”

  It sounded fun, and Kayci could use a break from everything. Maybe by the time she got back from the trip, Adrian would have found and caught Danika and perhaps the Covenant would have moved on to some other place. She’d have to call all her clients and let them know she’d be going on vacation. The lack of pay during the vacation would hurt, but she had set aside plenty of money for something like this.

  “All right.” Kayci smiled. “I think I could make it work. I really could use some R & R time. A cruise sounds awesome. Let’s both check out the deals the cruise lines in Miami have and see what we can come up with.”

  Elise clapped, wiggling her butt in her chair. “Yay! Oh, Kayc, it will be so fun. Drinking, dancing, shows, laying by the pool, swimming, checking out the local tourist traps. It’ll be awesome! I’ll let Greg know that my bestie and I are taking a girls’ trip. Hopefully, he doesn’t get jealous.” Elise giggled.

  After declining dessert and paying their bills, Kayci strolled with Elise to the parking garage where their vehicles were parked. Kayci partially listened to Elise chatter about her next article. Her attention divided. She couldn’t ignore the hairs raised on the back of her neck or the eerie feeling they were being watched. Kayci scanned the parking garage as they entered but didn’t see anyone who concerned her. She lifted her nose to the air, wondering if she would smell the vampires, like last time.

  “So what do you think, Kayc? Python craze or cancer survivor won the race?”

  Kayci’s attention snapped back to Elise when she heard her name. “Oh, um, cancer survivor, of course.”

  “That’s what I thought too.” Elise openly studied Kayci’s expression as they walked. “Are you okay? You seem distracted. Are you looking for someone?”

  “Oh no, I’m just making sure it’s safe.”

  Kayci could tell Elise didn’t believe her. Elise surveyed the parking garage with a worried expression.

  “Are there…are there vampires?” she stammered.

  A black sedan came screeching around the parking garage bend, aiming right for them. Kayci shoved Elise forward, moving them both out of the way just in time. The black sedan sped past, barely missing them. The close proximity caused a gust of wind to sweep over them. Kayci stepped out to try to read the plate number as Elise screamed profanity at the driver. The black sedan screeched to a halt and then switched gears into reverse.

  The driver aimed for them. Kayci jumped to where Elise stood and then grabbed her arm, nearly dragging Elise in her heels as Kayci forced her into a run. Kayci glanced back to see four vampires step out of the black sedan. She could hear her and Elise’s heartbeats pounding in her ears.

  “You have to run faster, Elise.” Kayci tugged hard on Elise’s hand.

  They couldn’t outrun them. She would have to fight them. Kayci pushed Elise in between two cars and then pressed on her shoulder.

  “Stay down,” Kayci told her.

  Kayci swallowed her guilt at Elise’s expression of fear. She never should have agreed to dinner.

  Kayci stepped into the roadway of the parking garage to face the four vampires. There were only three now, and she couldn’t see where the fourth had gone. She recognized one of the vampires. The one that had attacked her alongside Danika the night they came to her house.

  “Hi, sweetheart. Remember me?” he taunted.

  His crooked smile revealed his fangs. Obviously transformed in his late twenties, the vampire had enduring stamina as well as a muscular and broad physique. Kayci remembered how difficult it had been to fight him before. It sent a shiver down her spine.

  “Unfortunately yes, you’re Danika’s puppet. What do you want from us?”

  Kayci struck a chord with that comment—his face twisted into a scowl.

  “You’re going to make this all the more enjoyable, aren’t you?”

  The strongly built vampire stalked toward Kayci. Kayci stepped back. She glanced at the second vampire. A tall, bald-headed, scrawny guy covered in tattoos. His straight fangs looked awkward amid his crooked, dirty teeth and cruel smile. The third vampire was a small, curvy, auburn-haired female of Hispanic descent. If she wasn’t displaying fiendish eyes and a wicked fanged smile, she would have been pretty.

  “So where’s your little friend? She’ll be fun to play with before we devour her.” The scrawny, tattooed vampire asked mockingly.

  Kayci heard a whimper from between the cars and knew the others had heard it too.

  “Found her!” Kayci heard the fourth vampire shout from a few cars over.

  “The little bitch was trying to call the police,” the vampire complained as he dragged Elise out from between the cars. Another tall, scrawny vampire that looked like the other’s twin had her in a headlock and his hand over her mouth so she couldn’t scream.

  A knot developed in Kayci’s throat, cutting off her breath, the moment she saw the terrified expression on Elise’s face. Kayci shifted toward the vampire she recognized, who seemed to be the leader.

  “Please let her go. She has nothing to do with this. You came to kill me. She doesn’t need to be collateral damage,” Kayci pleaded.

  The three vampires smirked at Kayci. Trying to reason with them was a futile effort. She reached for the blade tucked in her pocket, flicked it open, and raced toward the vampire holding Elise hostage behind her. Kayci felt her body warming and heard her heart thumping in her ears. Her adrenaline and vampire senses had kicked in.

  She charged at the scrawny vampire. Gripped his arm in her left hand, yanked him off Elise with ease, and then swung her body behind him, bringing the blade to his neck. She had only a moment of hesitation before firmly slicing the blade across the vampire’s throat. Kayci held the vampire’s shoulder as leverage as she yanked back on his head, tearing the remaining flesh and bone from his body. Blood spewed over her and Elise before the vampire burst into ashes.

  Elise screamed in terror. Within seconds, the Hispanic female had Elise in her grasp, covering her mouth so she couldn’t scream. The vampire dragged Elise toward the black sedan. Rage boiled inside of Kayci as she watched her best friend try to fight for her life. As her anger increased, so did the bubbling and coiling in her gut. It twisted and writhed, clearly ready to be deployed.

  Kayci again rushed after the vampire restraining Elise, but the burly lead vampire seized her in his grasp. The force of him grabbing her arm whipped Kayci around, bringing her face to face with him. While holding her arm tightly in his grip, he knocked her pocketknife from her hand. She watched it slide across the cement and stop under the nearest car. Kayci formed her now empty hand into a fist and slammed it down hard on his wrist. He lost his grip. Kayci bolted after the female vampire hauling Elise to the black car. Kayci had almost reached them, when she felt a tight grip yank her hair. As she turned to face the lead vampire, she was stunned by severe pain bursting through her neck, head, and shoulders. The vampire’s bite had been vicious and unexpected.

  The strong vampire wrapped his arms around Kayci
, holding her steady as he eagerly and violently drew her blood into him. Through watery eyes, Kayci saw the scrawny vampire rush past her and the vampire draining her. He grabbed Elise’s legs and helped shove her into the sedan. Kayci’s knees weakened as the blood left her. The warming witch energy amassed from her core, through her arms, and into her hands. She remembered the words and said them quickly. As amber sparks flew from her fingertips, she gripped the vampire’s arms. Slowly the sparks turned into tiny flames that scalded and then began melting his flesh. The vampire howled in pain, retracted his teeth from her neck, then released her.

  Kayci turned, swung her arm with as much force as she could, and put her fist to the vampire’s cheek and jaw. It was like hitting a wooden board. Her punch at least stunned him and knocked him back a step. She could see that his arms were already beginning to heal. Kayci ignored the pulsing pain in her neck and ran after the two vampire’s trying to kidnap Elise. When she felt her attacker’s grip on her once again, she spun back toward him and clawed at his face and eyes. Blood instantly seeped out of the gash in his face. His anger escaped with his growl. He swung at Kayci, punching her in the abdomen. The blow knocked her back several feet, slamming her against a parked car. She buckled over from the pain and the wind that had left her. She coughed as she tried to suck in air. She looked up to see the vampire charging toward her. The cut on his face was already healing. She reached up and blocked his fist and delivered a blow to his ribs. She thought she heard a snap of bone but wasn’t sure. Everything was a bit hazy. The vampire let out an irritated growl, grabbed a handful of her hair, and then used it to slam her head against the car she had fallen into.

  Instantly dizzy, a dull pain grew in the back of her head. She reached back and felt wet liquid. She was bleeding. The vampire sprung forward and grabbed a handful of her hair again. He forced her head to the side this time, exposing her bloody neck. His teeth tore through her healing skin. Agonizing pain spread down her neck, shoulder, and arm. The vampire eagerly sucked the blood from her veins and gripped her hair harder each time she tried to pull away. His lips harshly scraped her sensitive skin with each drink he took. She fought back nausea and the rising vomit. Her legs seemed ready to collapse at any moment. He pressed his weight against her and held her steady as he continued to drink. The surrounding parking garage and vehicles became blurry. Her body felt overwhelmingly fatigued. What was once a cool evening air was now a bitter chill throughout her extremities.