"Tremain!" Seth yelled to get his attention. When he did, a stab of pain near his heart caused him to double over. Something was happening to Jayd. He had to go.
"There is nothing there. Seth, what do you know? Where are they?"
"Tremain, I don't have time to explain. Gather the council. I have to go. Please!" Seth cut his mental communication with the other Raven Warrior and focused back on himself. He doubled over again. Seneca held him up, but Seth shook his head.
"What's the matter, brother?” asked Seneca.
"I can't explain. Help Tremain. Please. He's the one who needs it most. Go. The queen has done something horrible. I only hope the council will listen to reason and help us."
"Seth..."
Seth ignored Seneca. He began to grow weak. The life was being sucked out of him. It wasn't him. He was feeling the effects of whatever Jayd was going through. Seth had to save her. He didn't care what the Banshee Queen had said. After he rescued Jayd, he would help Tremain. The Raven Warrior let the shadows engulf him. When they parted and he reappeared in the shop, the sight before him was horrifying. A scream escaped his lips, and dread swallowed his heart.
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Chapter Nine
Jayd stared at the bookshelves searching for anything she could find in regards to monsters that went bump in the night. Her stack of books was so high on the table she couldn't see over them when she sat down. It made her laugh when she thought about sitting there like Seth did. But when her thoughts turned to Seth, she kept focusing on two things.
The kiss.
And his disappearance.
Both of those were things she wasn't sure she had experienced. Jayd had waited two years for Seth to kiss her. When he finally did, he vanished into thin air shortly after. She absently traced her lips with a finger scanning pages trying to find anything, something that would help keep out the boogeyman who was coming to get her. Even scouring the volumes, her thoughts drifted to the way Seth held her. It seemed he thought she was going to crumble in his arms. His body had been rock hard because his muscles were so tense. She had been anxious too, but everything inside of her wanted to melt into a puddle. Jayd knew she'd have needed a new pair of panties if he'd have kissed her longer. In the circle of Seth's arms, she felt safe. A spark had ignited between them. At first, she thought she'd imagined it, but now with him gone, she knew it wasn't her mind playing tricks on her. There was a pull between them that she couldn't deny. No matter what he was or that he'd disappeared. When he got back, she was going to confront him for answers and hopefully another kiss.
Finally, Jayd pulled her mind from Seth and pored over the books. There wasn't much time. Darkness had all ready crept into the shop. She needed something for protection. Some of the books said that pentacles guarded against evil. Others said that you could use a cross, or that anything that she believed in would drive away monsters. Sprinkling sea salt around any doors or windows would repel demons. Burning white sage purified a space. The vibrations from a rung bell could expel unwanted fairies. She could burn candles or even spread holy water around the shop. There were so many different remedies that Jayd didn't know which one was best. Jayd got up, searched her herbal store, and found sage. Thankfully, she had some that was already bundled into a smudge stick. Behind a couple of bottles, she found a jar of sea salt. Jayd quickly checked her watch. She had been poring over the books for almost two hours. Night had come, and she hadn't realized it. Seth hadn't returned. Dread filled her. Uncertainty claimed her. Maybe he wasn't coming back. Maybe it had all been her imagination.
No, I can't think that. I have to worry about me. Gabrielle always relied on herself and taught me to be independent. I've been that way ever since she died.
Iron set in her jaw. She went to the desk, got her lighter, and set the smudge stick on fire. Jayd began spreading salt on the floor at the door threshold. She then waved the smudge stick over the doorway entrance to keep out the evil that was after her. Making her way to the back of the shop, she performed the same ritual on the back door. She even did the same thing in front of the two doors that entered into the private massage rooms.
The whole place smelled of sage now. The aroma was so close to pot that she wondered if she was going to get a buzz from the lingering white smoke. The large granules of salt crunched underfoot when she walked over them. She looked at her handiwork and went over the same motions again with the sage just to be sure. The books were still high on the table, and Seth was nowhere in sight. She were on edge. Her stalker was coming. She didn't know when he'd appear.
Jayd went behind the counter and started staring at the calendar. There was nothing she could do with it except flip through the next few months and see that Seth was scheduled, as usual, on the full moon. What are you really? Who are you really? She traced over the writing on the agenda. It was delicate and yet showed strength. God, I have to get off this. Here I am fantasizing about a guy when I should be thinking about the stalker. Where is my mind?
"Your mind is not where it should be, my lovely Jayd."
Jayd froze when she heard the other voice in the shop. It sounded familiar. It was from the boy who had come into the store three months ago. The same voice that whispered to her in the shadows. She had known he was the one who had been leaving her the notes and the gifts. He was her stalker. She looked up from the schedule to the table where she'd sat only minutes before. There was a window between the two stacks of books. Jayd tried willing her fingers over to grab the phone, but she wasn't able to make a move. The face that stared at her was pale and seemed older than their first encounter. Dark hair hung loose around her stalker's face. Jayd found it hard to draw in a breath, realizing that this guy, thing, whoever or whatever he was, had read her mind. His eyes were gray the color of a worn nickel, but they still held her transfixed and were the liveliest thing in his face.
"H-How did you get in here?"
He chuckled and flipped through one of her books. His eyes tracked over an entry she had dog-eared. He balanced the book in the palm of his hand. “I find your research refreshing, but it won't do you any good. The sage only stings my nose, and the sea salt, although a great thing to keep out evil spirits, won't work on my kind."
Jayd's fingers moved an inch toward the phone. She was going to call the cops. This time they wouldn't be able to tell her that she was imagining things or that they couldn't do anything because the intruder was there in the flesh. Whatever, or whoever her trespasser was, he was real. He was not some kind of spirit or shadow that was eavesdropping on her. He was here talking to her. He put down the book gently on one of the stacks of other volumes and then rested his chin in his hands while his elbows rested on the table. Her fingers stopped when they reached the phone receiver.
"What are you?” Jayd asked.
The intruder smiled and got up slowly. Too slowly. It appeared his movements were exaggerated, like a he had to think about everything he did. When he stood, Jayd saw he wore the same black trench coat and baggy black jeans with chains and handcuffs dangling from the belt loops and the pockets. Underneath the jacket was a skintight black shirt that could have been a second skin.
"What do you think I am, Jayd? Obviously you know I'm not a ghost since I'm not transparent. You've deduced I'm not human. But what am I exactly?"
Jayd stared at him. He walked around the table with his arms wide open. When he did, the chains on his pants clinked together, and she wondered if he was going to use the handcuffs to restrain her. He smiled when she thought that and shook his head no. Jayd realized then that he truly could read her thoughts. When he stepped forward, Jayd knew there was nowhere she could go. He would find her. His note said so. Her vision blurred. A tear balanced on the rim of her eyes, waiting to spill over and run down her cheeks. Terror gripped her at what he was going to do to her. Panic started to take over her brain.
"What am I, Jayd?” he asked again. This time his voice had a little more tone because he seemed to be get
ting annoyed that she was not answering him. Maybe he didn't think that she wasn't playing the game he had set up in his mind between them.
"I-I don't know what you are. Why don't you tell me?” Her voice wavered.
Her stalker threw his head back and laughed. The sound was deep from his chest, but didn't have the timbre that Seth's had. At that moment, Jayd wished Seth were here protecting her. He said that he would. When her attacker settled his gaze back on her again, she noticed that his gray eyes were now ringed with gold. His grin widened. Jayd saw the impossible. His upper canines grew longer, thinner, pointier than a cobra's readying to strike. Staring at him, Jayd knew what he was. Impossible.
"No, Jayd. Not impossible. Only improbable. Like so many things in the mortal world. My kind lives in the shadows and in the myths of mortals. That's why we can exist, because we are only horror movies to the humans and in their darkest dreams. We are not real. Just like so many other creatures. Now you know that all the tales your aunt told you were true. There really are things that go bump in the night, and there's nothing you can do to stop them from coming.” Her stalker advanced on her more, moving slowly.
With her other hand, Jayd grasped for something under the counter that could be used as a weapon. She came away with the letter opener that she hardly used but always kept on hand. Her grip tightened on it when he stepped closer, still with his arms opened. Even when she tried to move out from behind the counter to get past him, her feet were frozen to the spot. She was a rabbit staring at a hawk swooping down, about ready to take it into its talons.
Staring at him, she realized that this boy, creature, thing, whatever he was, had a name. He was a vampire, a creature written about for the past two centuries and made popular by an Irishman who had stumbled upon a legend. Maybe the man hadn't stumbled upon them. Maybe he had known a few things about the monsters he wrote about. Her stalker had said, they lived in the shadows and in the horror movies that mankind had made of them. But here, before her, was a real-life vampire. A real, living fiend dredged up from the darkest recesses of her mind. Now he was going to claim her for his next victim.
"So you're a vampire,” Jayd whispered, trying to keep her voice light while she forced her brain to try to think of a way out of this situation. The day's events were weighing on her, and her brain was having trouble processing her experiences. First, the man she has a huge crush on kisses her and disappears in front of her. Then, she remembers the day her father killed her mother. After all that, her stalker is not human, but some kind of Hollywood monster. What else was next?
"Vampire. Yes, that's the normal term used for my kind. The name we were given by the humans. We call ourselves something else."
"What?” she asked.
"Ahh. I can't tell you that. Not until you join the family. Then you'll know instinctively. You'll be mine. You'll be my eternal Jayd and glow for me in the night when we sup together on human blood."
Jayd nearly heaved at the thought of being turned into a monster. Drinking blood? There was no way she was going to let that happen. When he stepped forward, her focus snapped back. She had to escape. Her feet were unfrozen, and she made a dash for the back door. She only made it a few feet before she was tackled. Her face was pinned into the spines of several books. Her stalker had his fingers wrapped around her throat. The places on her neck where his flesh touched hers burned. They were so cold. They were sucking the warmth from her flesh. Tendrils of ice were already weaving around her neck and working their way into her brain, freezing it like she had too much ice cream in one bite.
"That was a bad move, Jayd. I was hoping that you wouldn't make me angry."
Jayd tried to struggle in his grip, but he pressed her face harder into the shelves. She realized then there was no way she was going to get away from him. He was too fast and too strong for her. She was a goner. Her fleeting hope was that Seth would return and make it in time to save her. He squeezed a little more on her neck. The blood pounded in her ears. Dark spots were starting to float in her vision.
"Sorry,” she forced out.
The force was gone. Jayd was able to take a deep breath, and slowly turned around. When she did, she kept her hands behind her back, hoping he hadn't seen the letter opener in her hand or in her thoughts. She closed her eyes and swallowed because her throat was parched. Her whole body trembled. There was nowhere she could escape to even if she wanted to. She knew that now. This was the night she would face her death. Dread filled her. The understanding of what he had said drummed into her mind. He was going to make her into one of them. He said that they had a name for themselves, but he wouldn't tell her until she joined the family. God, what did his family look like? How many were there? What was going to happen to her? Was she going to be a monster?
"It's okay, Jayd. Sometimes I forget how fragile humans are. It's been so long since I've been one.” He reached out and ran a hand down her cheek. She watched his expression. It remained the same, but his eyes reflected that he cared for her. With his touch, all the heat had left her face and she'd been thrown out into the cold of a storm. He was stealing her warmth already and he was going to be stealing her life in a minute.
She tried not to shudder from the touch, but she couldn't help it. A look of pity crossed his face then. “Who are you? Why me?"
"Ahh, yes. Why all the notes? Why did I pick you? I do suppose you have a right to know, considering you're going to be my mate."
She nodded. What more was there to say? Seth was not back yet. The longer she could buy time the better. Why not egg the vampire on so she could understand what she was dealing with when the books had told her nothing. She had read passages on vampires, but they all said that they were allergic to garlic, hated crosses, and couldn't cross running water. All the same things she'd seen in the scary movies she had watched. Here was one in the flesh. He had told her that whatever she had seen in the movies was nothing more than myth. His kind was immune to all the trappings played out through the books and films.
He reached out for her hand. She jerked back and hid it behind her back. A dark look briefly crossed his face. When she hid her hands, she slid the letter opener into the back of her jeans and tugged her T-shirt over it. At least there he wouldn't find it. He reached for her hand again, and this time gently pulled it out from behind her back. Jayd was playing along because from his show before, she knew he could break every bone in her body. He brought her fingers to his lips and kissed every one of them. The gesture was something a lover would do. It was so tender that it made her wonder if, in his mind, he cared for her. It made her heart stutter to think that he'd already chosen her and she didn't know anything about him.
"What's your name? Can you at least tell me that? I mean if we're going to ... or if...” She couldn't think of anything to say. She couldn't bring herself to say vampire.
He laughed again. His expression softened when he pulled her closer. She saw that his lips were paler than bleached marble, and his face only a shade darker. His skin was smooth and had no blemishes. He didn't even have any stubble or shadow of it. Almost if he had been carved from pure stone. His free hand came under her chin and tilted it up to meet his lips. His eyes searched Jayd's. Her body responded to his. He had her under a spell. Right at that moment, she wanted him to kiss her again. Burning desire blossomed in the pit of her stomach the closer he got to her. Then, his lips were on hers. His kiss was almost chaste, and she realized he was letting her choose. Jayd didn't know what it was, but she pushed herself closer to him because her body was on fire with need of him. She was the blaze, and he was the iceberg. She pressed her lips against his harder, and the craving for him engulfed her. Her thoughts drifted away from Seth. It seemed he never existed.
"So you still want to know my name?"
She heard his voice in her mind. It made her pull back a little bit, but she didn't want to leave the comfort of his arms. “Yes,” she whispered back.
Laughter purred from his throat.
"My nam
e is Patrick.” He moved a strand of hair away from her face and smiled. Jayd's insides melted.
"Patrick, why are you doing this to me?"
"Because, Jayd, you are the one for me. I've searched all over for you. And then I found you. My kind only has one mate in a lifetime. We can wait centuries to find them. I've waited so long to find you. When I came to this town, I felt the pull of your soul. I followed it back to your house. I watched you for months before I decided to come in here and show myself to you. I knew it would be a shock. How many times do you see a vampire stroll into your store? Not many, I know."
He stopped and ran his hand through her hair. Jayd closed her eyes at the touch of his soft hands. Something inside of her registered what the vampire said. It sounded true. It felt true, but her heart didn't know what to make of it. She also knew that she had a spark with Seth. She didn't know either of them and part of her was afraid of this man, this monster. It was too complicated. She didn't know what to say or what to do. What would her aunt have done?
"Why me? I don't even know you. You really don't know me. I don't believe in love at first sight or soul mates."
Patrick laughed. “It doesn't matter what you believe in right now, Jayd. Once you are mine, you'll understand. Nothing else will matter. You'll feel me in the air that you breathe and in the blood pumping through your veins. My voice will whisper inside of you always. I'll be part of you. Don't you want that?"
And when he held her, Jayd realized that she did want that. The longer she was in his arms, the more she desired him. Some kind of spell had been cast over her. The rational side of her knew it, but it was beyond her control. “Yes.” She heard herself say to him.
Patrick's smile widened. He showed her his fangs. He leaned in close to her ear. “Thank you, Jayd. Thank you, my beloved."
Whispers in the Dark [A Raven Saga Book 3] Page 9
