Blood Descendants
St. Clair Vampires Book 1
by
Beverly Toney
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.
Copyright © 2014 Beverly Toney
All rights reserved.
Cover art by Beverly Toney
Published by New Reign Publishing
Facebook: www.facebook.com/BeverlyToneyAuthor
Twitter: @StClairVamps
This book is protected under the copyright laws of the United States of America. Any reproduction or other unauthorized use of the material or artwork herein is prohibited without the express written permission of the author.
Table of Contents
Dedications and Acknowledgments
Prologue
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
About the Author
Glossary
Dedications and Acknowledgments
Dedications
I humbly dedicate this book to my family. To my mother, Jean, and my
step-father, Tony, for their support and encouragement. To my siblings,
Tonya, Melanie, Kimberly and her husband Mike, Mike and Felicia, for
believing in me. To my nieces and nephews for whom I truly wrote the
book: Shayla and J, Charlie, Anthony, Zoë, Ja'Patrick, Savannah and Mya. To
those who inspired me along the way, whether they knew it or not:
Emonie, Jean Joachim, Lynsay Sands, Chloe Neill, Rachel Caine, to name a few.
And lastly, I dedicate this book to my father, Edmond Toney, who passed
from this world before this book was published.
All of my love and respect!
Acknowledgments
This book would have sat on my desktop, incomplete and lonely, had it not been for
Kimberly Toney Smith and Ellen Day. They donated their talent and time so that I
could realize my dream. Thank you.
Prologue
Summer vacation had been in full swing, which also meant that the heat was at its highest. There were some benefits to living in New Mexico, but all of them were for people 65 and over. When you are 17, have no car and need to get to work at 8 AM, being in a city where the temperature settles in at 104° is not cool, no pun intended. In need of a smoothie, I opened the fridge and found that there were two already made. That must have been my foster mom. She was always thinking about me. I guess that was her job, but somehow, I thought she was better than most.
Mom had offered to shuttle me to and from work, but I hadn’t wanted to add to her burdens. Right then she was still asleep after working the night shift at the hospital. She was a nurse in the neo-natal unit, which I thought was the most amazing thing you could be. I, for one, couldn’t deal with hospitals or blood or sick people. Well, if I really had to think about it, I couldn’t deal with anything gross. But Mom was a trooper and I idealized her. Raising a foster child by yourself wasn’t easy, especially a teenage girl. I knew she worried about me, so I tried to be as responsible as I could to alleviate her concerns.
My smoothie was refreshing on the way to the bus stop. I felt lucky that I lived at the end of a short cul-de-sac because knowing all of my neighbors gave me a sense of security. I waved at Mr. Jones who was out watering his roses and letting his dog out to relieve itself. I liked Mr. Jones but I hated his dog. It honestly looked like a rat and was just as annoying as one. The second the dog saw me, it ran and started nipping at my heels. It was all I could do not to kick the dog back across the street. Instead, I continued to walk toward the intersection, smiling and waving as I went. Stupid dog!
The bus was right on time, which was unusual, and the occupants all had the same high standard of personal hygiene as I did, also unusual. I had arrived at work 20 minutes early and the temperature hadn’t risen above 79° yet. The day had started out great.
The little clothing store where I worked was in a large shopping center with a Target, a Starbucks and a Taco Bell…life couldn’t get much better than that. I noticed a customer already waiting for us to open, but hadn’t seen my manager’s car, so I knew would have to wait awhile.
She glanced in my direction and smiled. Her looks took me by surprise. She was 5’5” and all curves with long straight blond hair that was currently in a ponytail. Her skin wasn’t so much pale as it was blond…like porcelain or something. Her eyes were so bright and so blue that I would have bet they were contacts if not for the fact that she had on a pair of smart-looking glasses. She wore a red tank top with tiny rhinestones on the bottom, a neat pair of fitted blue jeans and the highest pair of platforms I have ever seen. Okay, not true, but I still wondered how she could be comfortable in those 4 inch heels. She reminded me of a pale Betty Boop.
Smiling back at her I felt a bit strange to be standing next to someone who was my exact opposite. If not for her shoes, my 5’9” frame would have towered over her. And her figure had mine beat by a mile. I was envious until I tried to imagine running cross country with all of those curves…I would have put an eye out. No, I liked my athletic build. Not an ounce of fat, at least not right now. My mom was always telling me that I ate like a fat person so I would always need to stay active.
Height was not our only difference, however. Where she was pale, I was dark. My skin was as smooth and brown as mahogany hardwood and my eyes the color of mild chocolate. I looked so different from everyone else in town and I loved that.
“Good morning. I’m sure my manager will be here soon”, I said, trying to make small talk since I had just been staring her down.
“Oh, thank you. Good morning to you, as well.” Her voice was amazing. Something about it made my already relaxed body relax just a bit more. Like a lullaby lulls a baby.
“Is your manager usually late?” she had asked.
I looked at my watch. 8:58 AM. The store didn’t open for business until 9:30 but we were supposed to be inside getting ready. I wondered why a customer would ask that question before business hours. The clothes she was wearing weren’t from this store. In fact, I didn’t believe we had a store in town that sold anything that nice. And, as pale as she was, she couldn’t be from this small desert town. Strangers in a town this small often meant trouble. Aw, man, there went my good day.
“Actually, no. She is normally here by now”, I lied through my teeth. The last thing that I needed was my moody college-student of a manager to think I ratted her out. She was always late, always eating on the job, always on the phone and I was pretty sure she stole the merchandise on a daily basis.
“My name is Tabitha St. Clair”, she smiled, knowing I was lying to her, and held out her hand.
“Hi. I’m Cheyenne Redding. Nice to meet you.” I extended my hand, thoroughly expecting her handshake to be one of those limp, entitled
handshakes that the girls from those god-awful reality shows do.
The surprised look on my face when she executed a real handshake must have amused her, because I saw a grin flash on her face before she released my hand and turned toward the parking lot. I followed her line of sight and saw my manager pulling into the lot, cell phone held right up to her ear. She got noisily out of the car, slammed the door with her foot and started walking toward us. She was still talking loudly as she stepped onto the sidewalk, pausing to give the both of us dirty looks, she opened the duffel bag sized purse and started looking for the store keys.
“I know, right, Amber”, she was saying and she held the phone between her shoulder and her cheek so that both of her hands were free. After what seemed like an eternity, she found the keys, opened the door and walked in, letting the door slam closed as we watched on.
Tabitha turned to me and smiled. Something about that smile made me giggle, as if we were sharing a secret with one another. She didn’t like my manager and that earned her some cool points in my book; that and those fabulous shoes.
As I held the door for Tabitha, I looked at my watch to confirm that it was indeed time to open the store. I turned the “Closed” sign over, turned on the lights and started heading towards the back to lock up my purse.
“I’ll be right back to help you”, I said over my shoulder and then steeled myself for the onslaught of verbal abuse that I suffered through every time I came to work.
I walked to the back of the store and locked my purse in one of the small lockers. Cindy was still on the phone and busily putting items of clothing into her large purse. She had been stealing from the store for quite some time but all of the part time clerks were too afraid to say anything. I wished that I didn’t need this job so badly or I would’ve risked losing it and told on her myself.
I went out to the front of the store and started to arrange the clothes into something that resembled a cohesive outfit when I noticed Tabitha watching me. She didn’t look away when I caught her, rather she just smiled and turned slowly back to looking through the clothes racks. In no time the store was packed with bratty little girls who wanted their mommies to buy them clothes that were way too mature for them. The amazing thing is that all of the mothers did it. Now these pre-teens would look like the girls that were a little too popular in high school. I shook my head thinking about what the world was coming to.
For the next two hours I was in the front of the store by myself when Cindy came out from the back with her purse filled to bursting. She was on her phone again, or still, walked right past me and out to her car. I didn’t understand how she could be so bold as to steal right out in front of everyone, but, in her defense, she was getting away with it. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Tabitha walk into the store. I thought it was funny that she was back after having shopped and left well over an hour ago. I smiled and continued to help the customer in front of me.
Tabitha circled the store until Cindy returned and then she followed her to the back office. I hurriedly put the customer’s items into a bag and gave her change so that I could see what was going on. As I rounded the corner to the office, Tabitha's hand on my arm stopped me. There was a mischievous twinkle in her eye. She put a perfectly manicured finger to her lips, straightened her already perfect ponytail and started towards the back room. Following closely behind her I was full of anticipation of the imminent blow up. I wasn’t sure who Tabitha was or where she came from but I liked her style.
We stopped in the open doorway of the office and watched as my manager, Cindy, told the person on the phone that the free clothes she was stuffing into her bag were a “perk of the job”. Tabitha cleared her throat and Cindy froze, looked in our direction and turned a bright shade of furious-red.
“What the …” Cindy began.
“Hi. My name is Tabitha St. Clair and things are going to change around here”, Tabitha said.
“No, they aren’t. Who are you to come in here and tell me what to do? Get the hell out of my office!” Cindy was furious and not at all fazed by the fact that she had just been caught stealing.
Tabitha, on the other hand, looked as if she had just begun to enjoy a game of cat and mouse. Her lips curved into a smile as she opened her purse and pulled out a tube of lip gloss. She never broke eye contact as she applied a thin layer of pale pink gloss. Tabitha’s lips had changed colors just as Cindy’s face went from furious-red to her natural olive color and then to a pasty white. When she started to shake and cry, I became concerned.
“Once again”, Tabitha began, “things are going to change around here. My new friend Cheyenne is not going to get stuck with all of the work anymore. You are going to have to pull your weight from now on. And, stop stealing from the store. Do I make myself clear?”
Okay, now I was confused. I didn’t think corporate would do something so creative. I mean, Tabitha sounded like she was on official business but we were the same age. There was no way she had this kind of pull. But, the store chain was recently purchased by a huge international corporation so anything was possible. If that was the case, Cindy was in hot water.
“Cheyenne, I’d like to talk to Cindy for a moment.” Tabitha asked with a smile. Something about that smile almost made me fear for Cindy’s safety…almost.
I worked the register and helped customers in the fitting room for the next twenty minutes. By that time, I was getting curious and started to head to the office when Cindy and Tabitha emerged. They walked in silence through the store and out the front door. Standing there with my mouth open and customers all around me, I wondered what had transpired and how it was going to affect my job. I needed that job. I was saving up for a car so that my mom didn’t have to worry about me getting around. I was going to be so angry if Cindy messed this up for me.
About 15 minutes later, Cindy walked back in and told me that I could take a break. She didn’t make eye contact but she also didn’t make any rude or disrespectful comments. Not needing to be told twice, I grabbed my purse and walked across the parking lot to Starbucks before she changed her mind. I ordered a venti-mocha-frappacino with soy, no whip, and waited for my name to be called.
“Cheyenne.”
Tabitha was sitting near the window with her own cold coffee drink. She used her foot to push the second chair out in invitation for me to sit down and smiled. I grabbed my drink, straw and a napkin, took a deep breath and sat. I exhaled and prepared for the news about Cindy and the store.
“So, what is there to do around here for fun?” Tabitha asked me.
“Fun?”
“Yes, Cheyenne, fun. I just moved into town and I need a tour guide. You up for a day of show and tell?”
“Well, I have another 3 hours on my shift, I can go then.”
“You can go now. I honestly doubt Cindy will hold it against you,” Tabitha said with a wink and a smile.
Right then and there I knew we would be good friends. We were inseparable for the rest of the summer.
Chapter 1
The first day of school was always a cluster. Too many freshmen and other new students, more cars than parking spots and several eager parents watching their precious little darlings march into their new school. It was dreadful. I was a senior, and, quite frankly, I was over the pomp and circumstance of the first day parade. The only thing I was looking forward to was the LAST day of school so that I could leave this god-awful desert.
As I pulled my Jeep into the parking lot I felt the sensation that I was being watched. It sounded crazy, so I kept it to myself, but I’d had the feeling all summer long. I looked around and saw nothing out of the ordinary but nearly plowed into a freshman pedestrian in my distracted state.
“Sorry”, I shouted through the closed window and was rewarded with a middle finger and the muted verbiage that goes with it. I hated freshman.
I grabbed my purse and computer bag, jumped out of the Jeep and began walking toward the school entrance. There were so many familiar faces, but the one I
was looking forward to seeing the most was nowhere to be found. I knew Tabitha was going to be here at some point. She had just gotten back from Ghana where she spent the last 2 weeks of summer with her adoptive mother.
Since Tabitha and I met, I was drawn to her in a sisterly way, like we were connected on a deeper level. We were inseparable. She was the smartest and most witty person I knew. We were the topic of the small town rumor mill until one weekend when some of her guy friends from New York arrived…that had been some night, but I digress.
I walked past the gates and the neon yellow clad security guards into the quad. The senior area was an ugly boulder in the middle of a desert landscape theme. It was already hot and everyone was wearing the latest fashion statements for the season. I would be grateful when skinny jeans were no longer in style because I had seen far too many not-skinny people in too-skinny jeans.
I sat on the edge of the rock nearest the administration building waiting for Tabitha to show up. I sat there in a daze until I heard the inevitable sound of awe that always accompanied her wherever she went. She wore a stylish pair of tight jeans with a simple lilac chemise to keep her cool in the desert heat. I watched as students and adults alike stopped her every few feet to ask how her summer went. She graciously responded to all of them as if she were some sort of political candidate. I didn’t know how she did it. When she finally freed herself from the throng of faithful admirers and started making her way through the crowd, I saw a hooded figure move in the distance. I tried to make out the face under the hoodie but it was blurry as if out of focus. I must have been staring hard because, just then, Tabitha stiffened and glanced over her shoulder. She froze when she saw the figure, reversed direction and headed toward it. I lost sight of the both of them in the crowd and was just about to go after her when the bell rang and the hordes of students started to scatter in different directions.
Blood Descendants (St. Clair Vampires Book 1) Page 1
