The Lunar Effect (The Ayla St. John Chronicles Book 1)

by C. J. Pinard

  I cocked my head to the side and stared down at the map, then back to her face. “How many times have you done this spell?”

  Chewing her lip, she said, “Just a couple, but usually I see a spark on the map, and touching the spark shows me where the person—or creature—I’m looking for appears.”

  With no choice but to believe her, I became concerned. I had no idea how these weird psychic visions worked for me, so I couldn’t rely on them, but admittedly, they had shown up when I had certainly most expected them not to—nor had I wanted them to.

  I put my hand on her shoulder. “It’s okay, I’ll find this woman—this bloodsucker—myself.”

  Chapter 28

  No psychic vision came to me. I went about my mundane life and job, and when the end of the week approached, I began to fret over the promise I had made to the vampire Dean Hobbes. Even with the help of a witch, and casually asking around at the club, I couldn’t locate her, or even figure out what she looked like.

  No wonder he had hired me…

  Still, it ate at me. Why did this strange and obviously very old vampire want her dead? There had to be a reason. I mean, contracting the murder of someone you simply don’t like or find annoying seems like overkill. No, Dean clearly had a deep hatred for Elda. It made me want to get to the bottom of the murder-for-hire angle he had pinned me with.

  But at the end of the day, did it really matter? Killing a vampire was something I would do for free, so if this guy wanted to pay me to do it, who was I to question his motives?

  With a deep sigh, I resolved to keep my nose out of his affairs. That being said, I had no way to find this Elda vampire. Wondering if a piece of her personal effects would help my visions, I pulled my phone from the back pocket of my jean shorts and began typing a text to Dean: U got anything personal of hers? I am having trouble getting a read on her.

  His response was almost immediate.

  Dean the Vamp: No, I do not possess anything personal of hers. Why do you need it?

  Rolling my eyes, I responded, slightly fibbing: It’s a witch thing. This would go faster if u did.

  Dean the Vamp: Unsure how you expect me to get anything personal, when I can’t get close enough to kill her myself.

  I rolled my eyes so hard it hurt. Ignoring Dean’s text, I then texted Sanja, asking her if she could try another angle, hoping we would soon get some kind of link as to where this Elda vampire was.

  “Carter Homes, how may I direct your call?” I asked with zero interest.

  I cringed as I pulled the headset away from my sensitive ear. “I wanna talk to the president of your company! No pussyfooting around, either, young lady. I need to talk to him now!”

  I bit back a laugh, as this wasn’t my first rodeo. “Yes, of course, sir, let me put you right through.” I pushed the buttons to transfer the call, letting his secretary handle the irate caller.

  Remind me to never buy a house built by these assholes…

  The damn machine beeped again, “Carter Homes, how—“

  A splitting headache hit me a second before my head hit the desk with a thud.

  “Kiss me,” she said, her face inches from mine.

  I recoiled back. “What? No. I, uh, I don’t get down like that. Sorry.”

  Her beautiful, plump red lips lifted in a sultry grin. “You’ll never know until you try. You might like it.”

  I felt her long arm wrap around my backside to push me into her, and I shivered as her cold flesh touched the bare skin under my backless dress. Her grip was vice-like and almost crushing. I looked into her dark-brown eyes, which had begun to turn red, and at the jet-black hair slicked back tightly away from her mocha-colored face. I then watched as her incisors turned to sharp points. As if being snapped back to reality, I was about to push her back with both hands and then kick out at her, when I heard a low, throaty chuckle.

  “You ladies look like you’re having fun. May I join?”

  We both turned our heads to see Kellan come strolling up, flanked by his goons. Taking a quick look around at where I was, I could see I was in some kind of large house or mansion. The ceilings seemed to be endless and tall, and everything around me was high-polished marble. It was nighttime, but I could see a beautifully lit backyard with a swimming pool and lots of greenery through a bank of floor-to-ceiling windows at the back of the home.

  The dark-skinned vampire still had me in her embrace, and she cackled. “No, Kellan, you may not join in. This little morsel is mine.” Her fangs were still out, so it sounded funny when she spoke.

  “I wouldn’t bite that one, Elda. She’s a wolf,” he replied, amused.

  “Oh, shit, is she dead?” said a female voice.

  I blinked my eyes open and lifted my head, the headache gone. I was surrounded by a dozen or so people.

  “Were you… sleeping on the job?” I heard my supervisor Bruce ask, incredulous.

  I shook my head, and I could see how it would look like I had been sleeping, so I quickly replied, “No. Um, I have a… seizure disorder. I’m sorry.”

  The woman who had asked if I was dead gave me a disgusted look. “You should probably get your medication re-evaluated. You scared us half to death, girl.”

  “Thanks for that,” I said dryly.

  With the excitement dying down, most of the lookie-loos went back to their desks, except my supervisor. “Do you need to go home?”

  As tempting as that was, I needed the money, so I said, “Nah, I’m okay. Everything is good.”

  “If you’re sure,” he said, walking away slowly but not taking his stare off me.

  I waved him off. “I’m good. Sorry for the scare, Bruce.”

  He smiled in relief and went to the back to finish whatever he did back there.

  Thankfully, the rest of the workday was uneventful, psychic visions, rude callers, or otherwise.

  I took careful attention to not forget one snippet of my vision from earlier. Knowing where the best place to find Kellan was, I took a short nap, ate some dinner, and then told Sanja to get dressed because we were going to Moon Chasers. As I became more familiar with these visions, I wondered if I could use them to my advantage. Like if I knew what was going to happen, could I make it so, or change it? Or was the vision simply telling me it was going to happen and there was nothing I could do to change it? I decided I would stick to what I saw, and knowing I could find the sexy but infuriating vampire at that club, I decided that was where I was going to be.

  Pulling out the only backless dress I owned from my tiny closet, I slipped it on and then applied more makeup than I normally wore.

  My phone chimed with a text. I swiped the screen to read it.

  Beckett: OMG I just got invited to the party of the year! Be my plus-one?

  I worried my lip. I had an agenda I needed to stick to tonight. Thinking long and hard, I decided maybe fate knew better than I did, so I replied: Sure, where?

  Beckett: It’s at the massive home of the Vlasé.

  Me: WTF is the Vlasé?

  Beckett: LOL um like vampire royalty? Leaders?

  I raised an eyebrow and replied: Really? I won’t get murdered walking in there?

  I was thinking someone was getting murdered, but it wouldn’t be me. Get that cash ready, Dean.

  Beckett: Hell no, it’s rude to murder people during a party. Don’t you know anything? ;)

  Rolling my eyes, I replied: Can Sanja come?

  Beckett: Sure, if she is okay being around a bunch of fabulous vamps. Pick you up at 8.

  I tossed the phone down and finished getting ready. The chick from my vision—Elda—seemed pretty high class, and I had no doubt she would be there. Cha-ching!

  Chapter 29

  I had to tell myself to close my mouth when we pulled up to the Vlasé’s humongous mansion. Or was it a castle? God, the thing was ginormous.

  Fancy coach-lights burned on the outside of the massive brick structure. The outside was perfectly landscaped with clean lines and popping color—I c
ould even see the flowerbeds at night as they each had their own spotlights. The cobblestoned circular drive was manned by human valets who took Beckett’s BMW before we headed inside.

  Just as in my vision, the inside was all white and black high-polished marble. Ostentatious gold-flecked Roman columns held up the second floor of the structure, and at the top of each column, cherubs engraved into each one watched us with their stony faces. People dressed in fancy clothes stood around drinking what was probably champagne. My and Sanja’s heels clacked on the blindingly shiny floors, but there was a lot of noise from the party, so I doubted we attracted that much attention.

  I had been surprised to see Beckett in a three-piece suit. It wasn’t really him, but I guessed this shindig required something fancy. I was glad this damn dress still fit me.

  Sanja looked gorgeous in a blood-red above-the-knee dress with silver heels, the whole ensemble contrasting beautifully with her olive skin.

  As awed as I was with this house, and the whole idea of vampire hierarchy, I only had one thing on my mind. Okay, I had two things on my mind: First, find Elda and stab her through the heart with the metal stake I had strapped to my thigh under this dress. Second, find out if that piece-of-shit Linden was here, since I kept hearing he was pretty high up in this dumbass Vlasé organization. Well, I didn’t actually know if he was high up in this one, but from the way Beckett had spoken on the way here, there really wasn’t anything else. This company of highly organized vampires stretched worldwide, and that was just what they were called… the Vlasé. I was told each chapter held its own government. It was then that Beckett confessed that he had no idea who the president—or leader—of the Colorado Chapter was. I wanted to smack him.

  An orchestra in the corner of the massive room played some kind of classical music. Not exactly dance tunes, but I refrained from rolling my eyes.

  I nudged my friend. “What, exactly, are we supposed to be doing here?”

  He looked around the crowded room with an equally fake smile on his flawless face, and said, “I don’t know. Dance? Eat caviar? Blend in? Network?”

  Rolling my eyes, I murmured, “I’m too sober for this.”

  My eyes scanned the room until I saw a server dressed in black and white walking around the room with a tray full of champagne flutes. I snatched one off the tray as he approached, and then downed the liquid in one gulp.

  “You’re supposed to sip champagne, not slam it.” Beckett chuckled.

  Sanja laughed as she held her flute between her dainty fingers. She sipped at her glass and said, “Yeah.”

  “I’m gonna go take a walk,” I said, ignoring them both.

  I hadn’t gone ten steps before I heard a familiar laugh. My skin broke out in goosebumps and I turned around to see Kellan standing in a circle of people. He held a dark-glass bottle of something in his hand and two of his strict-looking bodyguards stood nearby. He was talking to three women and two men, and they seemed to be having a great time. I might have stared a little too long at how handsome he looked in a black tuxedo, the arms of the black fabric stretched tight over his massive biceps. The white shirt under the suit jacket also seemed to be straining, its thin material showing every bump and ridge of his chest and stomach.

  I swallowed hard and tried to tame the horny beast inside me.

  As if on cue, he looked up to where I was, as I had climbed halfway up a ridiculously cliché spiraled staircase. I had planned on exploring up there, to see if I could locate my two targets.

  Frozen in place, Kellan’s eyes met mine, and after a brief look of shock at seeing me here passed over his features, an amused smile lifted his lips as his gaze traveled from my face, all the way down to my shoes. Then he went back to the conversation with the circle he now stood in.

  It was no shock he was here; after all, hadn’t the vision shown me that? I was going to try to change that vision, though.

  Once I reached the top of the stairs, I pushed open the first door I came to. It seemed as though it was some sort of ballroom or something. The room was large but empty, save for a humongous built-in bookcase along the eastern wall. It even had one of those cool floor-to-ceiling ladders that slid along the cases. The floor was dark wood, polished to perfection. Guess the library doubled as a ballroom?

  I closed that door and went to the next door. This was one was cracked, so I peered through the slit in the door and saw it was some kind of office. Slowly pushing the door open enough for me to slide inside, I looked around and saw a large wooden desk that smelled new, a leather sofa, a small bookcase, and an adjoining bathroom. My shoes whispered over new-looking plush, beige carpet and I longed to remove my heels so I could feel its softness under my feet. Walking over to the desk, I had to steady myself a little as the champagne I’d slammed sort of hit me.

  “Whoa,” I whispered, placing my hand on the desk.

  Looking at the books on the shelf, they all seem to be medical journals and textbooks. It was then I noticed shiny plaques on the credenza, all with the name Dr. John Stoker on them from varying hospitals. I briefly wondered if this doctor was also a vampire and how he avoided working during the daylight.

  “What are you doing in my husband’s office?”

  I turned to see Elda standing in the doorway, dressed in a long, blue, shimmering cocktail gown. She did not look angry, just curious.

  I swallowed hard and smiled. “Sorry, I must be lost.”

  “It’s okay,” she said in a sultry voice with a smile. She came toward me, and before I had blinked, she was in my space.

  I now had my butt up against the edge of the credenza that held all the plaques and awards. I held strong and tried to show no fear as her cold arm snaked around my bare back.

  “What’s your name, honey? You’re awfully pretty.” She ran a long, red nail down my cheek.

  I lifted my chin. “Ayla. What’s yours?”

  “Ah, Ayla. By the light of the moon. That is a beautiful name.”

  I kept up the flirtatious banter, and was convinced I could change my visions; mold them to how I see fit. “Most people don’t know that my name means that.”

  She closed her eyes and inhaled deeply, and I considered grabbing for my stake, but I said instead, “You never told me your name.”

  With hooded eyes, she replied lazily, “It’s Elda, honey. Damn, you smell delicious.”

  “I hear that a lot,” was all I could think to say. I had sprayed on my pheromone perfume so I hoped she was referring to that.

  Now she was an inch from my face, staring into my eyes. “Kiss me,” she breathed.

  With a shrug, I figured it would be a great way to disarm her. I leaned in and pressed my lips to hers, and all I could think about was the Katy Perry song, I Kissed A Girl, and I let her lips and tongue move around mine. I leaned down and inched my dress up in my thigh and pulled the sharpened metal shank from the strap there.

  Elda’s breath picked up, and when she broke the kiss, I could see her chocolate-colored eyes had turned red, and her fangs were now out. I gasped out loud, and she smiled, gripping my chin. “Let me see if you taste as good as you smell.”

  Since I had already been bitten by a vampire, and nothing really happened (well, I now smelled like one, and could fly, so I guessed something did happen), I let her sink her teeth into my neck. I could tell she was very old, as it barely stung, so she did it gently.

  Before she could drain me, I groaned out a deep breath disguised as lust—and honestly, what she was doing was starting to feel real good. But I lifted the metal stake, pulled her flush against me, and then reached around with both hands to drive the stake into her back.

  “What the fuck!” she screeched after removing her fangs from my neck.

  I looked over to see Kellan walk into the study, right as Elda screamed and reached around to try to grasp the stake in her back. Slowly, she gave up the fight, and as the light died in her eyes, she began to crumble. I didn’t get to watch the rest as I was thrown onto the floor of th
e office, my head slamming on the hard wood of the desk leg.

  “Ow!” I hissed.

  Kellan was on top of me. “What in the fuck did you do that for?” he bellowed, pointing to Elda’s remains.

  “She bit me!” I said.

  “Nobody dislikes Elda’s bite. There is no way you killed her because of that,” he replied in his infuriatingly sexy accent.

  “Get off me!” I yelled.

  He jumped up, and with unnatural speed went to the door of the office and locked it.

  I was up off the floor quickly and I swallowed hard as I realized he was locking us in. I made a beeline for the adjoining bathroom, but he blocked my way. Then I ran to Elda’s remains to retrieve my stake, but he was faster, reaching down and tossing it toward the restroom.

  I lifted my chin, continuing to try to look brave, even though I was scared shitless and trembling at this point. I knew Kellan was old and could probably kill me in a split second. So I said, “How do you know her bite feels good? She do it to you often?”

  The bastard had the nerve to laugh at my question. “No, little wolf, I don’t make it a habit to go shagging my boss’s wives, girlfriends, or otherwise.”

  My eyes widened. “Something tells me she wasn’t a very good wife to the good doctor.”

  “Why’s that?”

  “Well, she definitely likes women, so…”

  He took his tux jacket off and removed the cufflinks from his wrists. He then unbuttoned the sleeves and rolled them to the elbow. He looked like he was preparing for a fight.

  Oh crap…

  “Some people do prefer both sexes. I would think a little millennial like yourself would know that.”

  “You’re a dick. Let me out of here.”

  “Uh, no. You just murdered my boss’s wife.”

  I crossed my arms over my chest and lied, “It was self-defense.”

  He looked down at her ashes, then back to me. “I didn’t particularly care for the woman myself, but you can’t go about killing people whenever you damn well please.”