Darkest Prince

by K. A. Jones

  “There was no contract on you Shyla. I did send my men after you, but that was to bring you back, and Dario’s kill order was from me, not the government.” He gave a small shrug of his shoulders, “The hunters that fired at you, they had been bribed. There are more people in play here than you could ever imagine Shyla.” I didn’t doubt his words. Anyone could be bought if the price was right!

  Whilst I didn’t like the idea of the kill order on Dario coming from the government, it made logical sense to me that Carlos had issued it. It did make me wonder how many of the kills I’d made were to further his cause and not issued from the authorities. Perhaps I shouldn’t dwell on such matters, not when there were more important matters that needed attention.

  Chapter Thirteen

  I knew when Dario had arrived, not because his arrival had caused a commotion, but I could sense him. I let my vampire radar flare and welcomed all the red lights that accompanied Dario.

  A weight that had settled around my vampire heart felt as though it had lifted. Letting my mental barrier down, I felt him there instantly. His presence in my mind, offering warmth and comfort. There were no words spoken through the link, but I could feel his soft caress embracing me. I’d missed the mental connection, missed how he made me feel so cherished. I let the emotions sink into my body, wrap around me and enjoyed how it felt.

  Selfishly I remained quiet, not wanting him to know how much I relished the contact that he was offering. He had blocked me, left me feeling alone and broken. He could do it again and I don’t think I would ever cope with feeling so lost again.

  Slowly I retreated, closing my mind to him once more. I pulled on a pair of black combat trousers and tight fitting t-shirt. A pair of standard issue boots was under the bed, I was just putting them on when Carlos opened the door to my room. He was wearing full fatigues and looked dangerous. Not just the clothing, but his expression was frightening. Rising from the bed, I took several steps away to put a bit of distance between us. His eyes tracked the movement making him feel all the more dangerous.

  Hoping that my body looked relaxed and that I wasn’t showing any signs of the fear that I was feeling. I asked, “What’s got you all worked up?” He closed the door behind him and leant against the door. I could feel his anger, but it didn’t excite me. Power excited me. This was something dark and woven deep within.

  “The King, Prince Dario and the whole fucking entourage have arrived. His men have surrounded my grounds and are standing like sentinels in the conference room.” This was not good; I had made him give me his word that no harm would come to Dario or his men, but hadn’t bargained on Marco attending.

  “Will you offer armistice to Marco, even if it is a temporary reprieve like the one that you kindly offered to Dario?” I held my breath as he paced the floor. Carlos flexed his muscular arms as his fists clenched and he grit his teeth together.

  Finally he stopped pacing and took a steadying breath. “If you wish that I grant a temporary reprieve, then I will, but know that there is a price for such a request.”

  This was like doing a deal with the devil. I swallowed back the bile that was rising in my throat and thought I had taken a swig of water from the chalice that came from the fountain of hell.

  My mind reeled at the possibilities as dread spread through my body. “I would be a fool to agree to such a thing without knowing what you want from me.” I wasn’t delusional, I knew that whatever deal I was about to make, included me.

  “I will agree to grant a truce for as long as you remain here with me.”

  Frowning, I looked at him and asked “Why do I feel that there is more to that request than you are letting on… When you say remain here with you, what are you expecting from me?”

  “It’s a simple enough request for the life of the King….What is your answer?”

  I thought about all of the guards that were currently situated in the training facility. Carlos had specifically said that no harm would come to Dario, but once the government had made it back to their office, then the truce would be over. I had to assume that the same rules applied with the King, he wouldn’t want to ruin his reputation with the humans. He had worked hard to get them to trust him. Killing the King without a direct order from them would bring forth a war that they wouldn’t want. I could only hope that I was right!

  “I’m no fool Carlos; I’m not a puppet that you can control. I will not allow you to try and control me this way. You have a good heart, but you are narrow minded in your own needs and wants…. Obsessed with revenge.” I held up my arms in exasperation and continued my rant. “Why would I want to be surrounded by that when I know that you could be a better person, a better race? You have created an army, trained them to silently kill to protect the humans, yet you think killing the King because he dared to set foot in your castle is the answer? If it got out that the government were here, what do you think will happen? The humans will no longer accept you and your race. They will hunt you down and destroy the very thing that you have created. Vampires would no longer be passive in this vendetta that you have chased for centuries.”

  He took a step closer and tugged me close to his chest. I went willingly. His temper had evened out and he looked so lost as he processed my words. “It’s all I know Shyla, it consumes me from the inside, eating away at me through my waking hours…. I need you Shyla; I need you to keep me grounded. I need you to make me whole.” Lowering his head, he gently kissed me on the forehead and said, “I give amnesty to the King for the duration of this visit, but if there is a threat to my life or yours, then all bets are off, whether the government are here or not.”

  I heaved a sigh of relief; it was good to know that he cared enough to keep me safe. I didn’t want to think about the reasons; my mind would go into meltdown if I thought about it for too long.

  “Come, before your sire tires of waiting.” He placed a hand in the small of my back and guided me towards the conference room. I kept my breathing even, focused on the task in hand and knew that the shit was about to hit the fan.

  A ticking clock or a foot tapping would’ve made the entry into the room more bearable, but entering to the sound of silence was somewhat more daunting. Dario and Marco were seated at a smaller table in front of a large desk, both men turned to look at me as I made my way to the government officials. I noticed Mackinley and Arius among the line of guards closest to the King and Prince, and gave a small nod of my head as acknowledgement. The four walls were lined with the King’s and Prince’s men. None of the young hunters, nor thane and Khalon were present, which given the fact that they needed to blend into the background and not be noticed, meant that they couldn’t really come and rub shoulders with the vampires that they might be sent out to kill.

  It was then that I realised that Carlos was entering a room full of vampires, and he was doing it because I had called this meeting. Was he doing this… for me? Or to prove to his uncles that he was a force to be reckoned with?

  The government officials wore similar blue pinstriped suits and both wore a tie that had a pin attached to it, it was obviously a symbol, but I wasn’t about to bend over to take a look. One of the men wore glasses that were heavily tinted. On either side of the officials, stood two guards that held semi automatic weapons, they had them poised and ready to fire.

  “Gentlemen, thank you for meeting with me. I would like to take this opportunity to thank King DeLuise and Prince Dario for showing their support in my quest to bring peace between the races.” I turned to face Carlos, “and thank you Carlos, for graciously offering amnesty during our meeting.” I sent a silent prayer that all parties would adhere to a peaceful meeting and that Dario and Marco understood that this was a one time only offer. As soon as the meeting was over, Carlos would go back to plotting his revenge. I was sure of it!

  Dario rose from his seat and the guns were aimed in his direction. Carlos gripped my wrist letting me know that I was to remain by his side. “Thank you Dario, please, remain in your seat, I’
m able to think better when I can pace the floor.” I pinned the two goons with the guns with a glare and said, “Hold your twitchy fingers boys, it would feel less intimidating if you could lower your weapons.” They looked to the two officials, once they gave a small nod of their heads; the goons lowered their guns, but held them so they could fire if the need arose.

  “Mrs DeLuise, if I may… My name is Donald Logan and I’m the Chairman of the Security Council, and my colleague here is Grant Matthews and his position is Chief Executive of the Security Council.”

  I approached the Chief and offered my hand. Donald stood from his seat, reached across and gave a firm shake. Grant remained seated but shook hands and gestured to a chair opposite him. It meant that I would have my back to the King and the Prince. I flicked a glance in their direction, not wanting to do anything offensive or disrespectful; Dario gave a warm smile and nodded for me to sit.

  Donald remained standing and addressed me. “My colleague and I have been following your progress over the years, we are very keen to invite you to join our team. I want you to understand that this decision was made over a year ago.” Donald looked beyond me to where Dario sat, before looking back at me. “Every attempt to bring you back to the training facility failed. As a result you find yourself in a rather tenuous position. Your purpose in life has changed. Yet you still act with flawless virtues, meaning that you are more desirable than ever to have as a member of our team.”

  I flicked a glance between the two men before my eyes settled on Donald Logan once more. “You are asking me if I want to join the Security Council?” Donald nodded and waited patiently for me to speak. “You’ve obviously got a particular role that you want me for, if I decide to join you, what will you have me doing? Going out and mindlessly killing vampires? I should remind you at this point in our discussions that I am now a miscegenation of two species.”

  Grant Matthews rose from his seat and spoke. “I’m sure that Carlos has spoken to you about his men being bribed, he advised you that there are others involved.” I gave a slow nod of my head as I remembered the brief conversation that we’d had about his men firing at me. “Then I think it is time to make you aware of what you will be getting involved with should you decide to join us.” He cast a quick worried glance at Donald and the two men that had guns held them up.

  I jumped up from my seat to have several guards leap in front of me. Carlos, Marco and Dario were out of their seats ready to protect me, and power poured from them. Grant motioned for the men with the guns to hold their fire and said “You’ve got nothing to worry about, we’re all friends here, all on the same side.”

  It seemed that everyone was waiting for me. I’m not sure what they were waiting for exactly, but given that my sire, the King and Hunter were all ready to do battle, all with the same purpose in mind, I guessed that I had to calm them down enough to restore the conversation. Forcing my fangs to retreat, I gently touched each guard that had leapt in front of me, ready to die in order to protect me and said “Thank you, please, return to your position.” They stepped away but remained close.

  I could feel Marco using his mind control holding Donald and the two goons in place. Dario wrapped an arm around my shoulder and gently pulled me back to the protection that the three males offered. Carlos cast a glance at me before catching hold of my wrist. Great!

  Grant cleared his throat and said, “Carlos, you are born with magic in your blood, your mother was a witch, your father a vampire.”

  Carlos quirked his eyebrow and said, “Yes Grant, now that we have had a quick history and reproduction lesson, what does that have to do with Shyla?”

  “I’m afraid it doesn’t just affect Mrs DeLuise, it affects all of you.” He walked around the large desk and perched on the edge of it. “I have worked with the government for seventy years.” I let that bit of information process in my brain and wondered how he didn’t look a day over thirty. “I’m a seer,” he lifted his glasses and the three males hissed in unison. Grant lifted a hand to silence them and said, “There is a magic user amongst us, practicing the dark arts. I have seen his intention, he wants to create a new breed, one that is strong enough to wipe out the hunters and vampires.” That had the male’s attention. I’d stopped listening to his words, more interested in watching his cloudy grey eyes. There was no pupil or iris, no white that surrounded the seeing part of the eye. His eyes were like looking at a cloudy sky, the clouds moved and swirled as though there was a breeze blowing them.

  Carlos gave my wrist a small sharp-squeeze, bringing me back into the room. “Don’t look at them Shyla, whatever you do, never look into a seer’s eyes like that again. He can strip your mind; make you believe whatever he wants.”

  Grant turned towards Carlos, his eyes pinning him, but all I could see were the ever moving grey clouds. It was eerie and creeping me out, could he see us? Did his eyes see normally? “How did you know that Carlos?” Carlos’s answer to Grants question came in the form of a shrug of his shoulders. Grant turned to look directly at me. “I am able to strip your mind, but I am only able to replace it with a future that I have seen. A pretty worthless talent when we are trying to stop you from being wiped out.”

  Whoa… There were too many freaky factors going on here. I needed a break so I could think.

  Grant replaced his tinted glasses over his eyes and turned to face Marco. “Perhaps the King would be kind enough to release Donald and the guards.” He didn’t wait for a response, his head whipped back to me. “Shyla, our team would benefit greatly with you on our side. Think about it. Let’s break for an hour and reconvene and discuss this matter further.”

  Donald and the others were looking perplexed, Grant had moved from his side and we were obviously finishing a conversation that they hadn’t been party too. I blew out a breath through thin lips and nodded. “I would like to discuss another issue with you before we break.”

  Donald held up his hands in exasperation. “I would like to hear the previous one, but precede Mrs DeLuise.”

  “I called a meeting with you to discuss a new strategy for policing our kind. Hunters have the full support of the government when it comes to killing vampires – now, I appreciate that I was a hunter, but I would like to know why such support isn’t offered to the vampires. As we know, corruption doesn’t only happen with the vampires, I have been shot at several times by hunters who have been bribed.”

  Donald clasped his hands together on the top of the desk and said “How do we police the vampires? I’m afraid that there is very little we can do to assist them.”

  I stood, feeling a little bit outraged by his attempts at sweeping my concern away so flippantly. “That is where you are wrong. You assume that the vampires are happy with the arrangement that you have with Hunter. Carlos by his own admission had his own agenda for working alongside the government.” I flicked a glance at Carlos, he didn’t look angry, so that was a bonus. “It seems to me that you think that the vampires are not worthy of forging an alliance with the government.”

  “My dear – with all due respect, vampires are not known for adhering to rules.”

  I snapped “With all due respect sir, I imagine that it has been a very long time since you have spent anytime in the company of a vampire – you came here today armed with two men and two guns, it shows me that you know very little about vampires. I’m sure that you have many a sad tale to tell me of how a vampire was trafficking humans, young girls… If you had gone to King Marco or Prince Dario, do you think that this matter would’ve been ignored? They would’ve acted against their kind. They would’ve exacted justice.” I paused briefly, “It’s time to get things in order, if you truly want me to work with you, then you must look at forging an alliance with the vampires. Now, let’s take a small break to allow Mr Logan and Mr Matthews the chance to discuss a new strategy that both parties will be happy with, it will also give me time to think about the new threat to us.”

  Turning to Carlos I said, “I want to speak privatel
y with Dario.” Carlos went to speak but I held a finger up and said “I want and need to have a few minutes with my sire, and then I want to spend some time with you, alone.” It wasn’t a direct lie, I did want to spend time with him, and I did want us to be alone, but only so I could keep the peace for a little while longer.

  Exiting the room, Dario followed me. Mackinley and Arius were in hot pursuit. I took him into an adjoining room. Mackinley and Arius took up positions outside of the room and I waited until he closed the door before speaking. “You made me believe you were dead… You blocked me from your mind. Do you have any idea what you put me through?” Accusation was heavy in my voice. He’d hurt me and left me broken.

  His face was full of emotion, anger, hurt but the one that stayed was one of pain.”“I wasn’t blocking you Shyla, I nearly died. I wasn’t strong enough to communicate with you. Through the bond, I could feel every emotion that you went through, it pained me greatly to know that I was causing you so much heartache. ” Dario stepped closer and held up a hand for me to go to him. I couldn’t move, it was as though my feet were frozen into place. Carlos had nearly succeeded in killing Dario. “When Carlos bonded with you, it nearly killed me again.”

  “He was trying to ease my pain…. If he knew that you were alive, he wouldn’t have bound me to him.” I wasn’t sure why I was trying to make things right between Carlos and Dario, I wasn’t even sure why I was trying to defend him, but I was. “I couldn’t function without you, I was a mess.”

  Dario crossed the distance between us and wrapped his arms around me. My mind and body felt whole. Peace and love radiated through our contact. I sank willingly into his embrace and felt a wet trickle of tears slide down my cheeks as he tenderly kissed the top of my head. “Only death would keep us apart. If I didn’t have you in my life, then I fear that I would’ve given up the fight.”