by Brooklyn Ann
But Razvan was not so easily placated. His fingers grasped her chin and tilted her head to look up at him.
“You were trying to escape.” His voice sounded amused, but frightening all the same.
She nodded. There was no point in denying the obvious.
“But I thought we had a bargain, Jayden.” His tone was now patient and gentle, like a parent with a recalcitrant child.
“But you didn’t kill me.” A triumphant smile touched her lips and she met his eyes in challenge. “You’re the one who didn’t hold your end of the bargain first. So I guess the deal is off.”
Surprised laughter echoed through the hallway. “That is indeed a good argument, but I’m afraid you’re wrong.”
“How so?” she asked with a small frown. Her bravado was replaced by confusion.
Again he laughed. “You should dress and eat first. Then I will explain.”
She frowned. “I don’t have any clothes.”
He held out a shopping bag, previously unnoticed. “You do now.”
The vampire took her arm with his free hand as he steered her back into the room. “Come, let us see if one of these gowns does you justice.”
As he opened the shopping bags and began pulling out impossibly expensive clothing, he said jovially, “By the way, that police officer who harassed you the other day… he made a delightful breakfast. His daughter will be safe now.”
Jayden’s heart thudded in her skull. How had he known about the cop who’d stopped her yesterday? And about the terrible things he’d done?
As inhuman as it may be, she couldn’t help but be relieved that the vampire had stopped him from harming anyone ever again.
“Thanks,” she murmured.
Razvan grinned and pulled two gowns from one of the shopping bags. “What do you think? The black or the green?”
***
Jayden kept her eyes downcast as she nibbled on her dinner. Not only was it hard to eat in front of someone who wasn’t doing so, but with all that had happened between them, especially the things he’d done to her body, she was terrified to look at him. Razvan didn’t make things any easier. She’d hoped for immediate explanations but he refused to speak to her until she ate.
“You are much too thin,” he’d stated with a baleful glare.
The food was sumptuous, but she could barely choke it down. Her stomach felt like a cement mixer. Finally, with a curious stare at Razvan, the waitress took the plate away.
“I have never been on the boardwalk, have you?” the vampire asked.
She shook her head, eyes fixed to the lapels of his coat.
“Well, let’s go.”
He took her hand and led her outside. She shivered in the night air and buttoned her new fur coat…or faux fur anyway. She didn’t know whether he was being cheap or cared about animal rights. The man—vampire—whatever was the most puzzling being she’d ever met. Her heart pounded in anticipation of what he was going to do with her.
“My youngling and good friend is Lord of this city,” Razvan commented. “Beautiful isn’t it?”
She looked up and around. Everything was bathed in moonlight, from the smooth planks of the boardwalk, to the gentle lapping waters of the lake.
“Yes.” Her voice sounded harsh and alien in the still night.
He lapsed back into silence as he led her further down the path. She wondered if he’d brought her here, to a thin strip of wood surrounded by inky water, to further discourage her from escaping. A couple embraced on a bench nearby. A whisper of a vision struck her when she passed them. Quickly, she averted her eyes and willed her focus on the rippling water.
“You saw something,” he stated, nodding towards the couple.
It unnerved her that he could read her mind.
“The man is married to another woman,” she replied.
His brows rose. “You did not touch him to see that.”
She rolled her eyes. “He’s reveling in his affair so much that I’m surprised the whole world doesn’t know.”
He laughed. She trembled.
“The point is, Jayden, you can see people’s secrets without touching them. That makes you very powerful…and interesting.”
They climbed a set of stairs and came upon a narrow arching bridge. Razvan leaned over the railing to peer down at the water. A slight breeze ruffled dark locks against his cheek. He was so beautiful.
“Why aren’t you going to kill me, Razvan?” she whispered.
He smiled and scratched his beard. “Sometimes my kind will keep a human companion. Some of us call them ‘pet mortals.’ I think you shall make a nice one.”
“You want me for a pet?” She didn’t know whether she was more shocked or outraged.
Uncomfortable with that subject, she moved on to another. “What made you change your mind about killing me?”
Razvan smiled wickedly. “I never said I was going to kill you. I just accepted the offer you made: your life for that woman’s. And I intend to keep you…and your life.”
Waves of heat rushed through her body at his serious tone even as her skin prickled as if chilled. He meant every word he said. Her stomach knotted at his trickery as her heart thudded at the possible implications of the situation. What would it mean for her? Would she become a mindless zombie like in the Dracula movies? Or would he keep her as a regular food supply, locked up in a cold basement where no one could hear her screams?
Cautiously she asked, “Were you going to do that with the other woman, Charise?”
He shook his head, still smiling in that unnerving manner. “No. She did not amuse me.”
Jayden trembled with fear and confusion at his cavalier attitude at the prospect of making her his plaything. “Why do I amuse you?”
Razvan chuckled. “Come now, Jayden. You are a clairvoyant so powerful that you are half mad with it. What’s not amusing about that?”
She choked back a gasp. “You are evil.”
He laughed low and sinister. “Only when I’m bored. Any more questions?”
“Plenty, but you kinda unnerve me, so I don’t know what to ask.” She sighed and turned away from him, leaning on the railing to stare out at the dark water. Maybe jumping in wouldn’t be a bad idea. Wasn’t there a myth about vampires and water?
The vampire leaned beside her on the railing, still laughing softly. “I am sure you will come up with something. Women never stop with their questions.”
Jayden ignored the jibe and watched a boat pass under the bridge. Finally, she had a question. “Why don’t I have visions when I touch you?”
“I have control over my thoughts.” Something that almost sounded like respect tinged his voice. “You will not see what I do not wish you to. Don’t worry, dear pet, I will get help for you to control your powers as well. That way, you will only have visions when you choose to.”
“You can do that?” Tentative hope bloomed in her breast. Perhaps belonging to this creature wouldn’t be so bad. She would give anything to have her sanity back…anything.
“Of course,” Razvan said. The arrogance and amusement returned to his tone. “I am a Lord Vampire.”
No way! Not only did she end up with a vampire, he was also a big boss vampire? “Is that a power thing, or political?”
He inclined his head in a mock bow. “Are they not the same?”
“Well… I guess so, but I meant, what does being a Lord Vampire entail? How did you get the job?” She couldn’t help her curiosity.
Razvan grinned. “I control the vampire community in my city. Any who live and hunt there need my approval. If one wants to open a business they must go through me. And if any want to enter my city, they must offer gifts and beg my approval.”
“Vampires run businesses?” she asked in disbelief.
“Of course,” he replied patiently. “We need money too. What did you think? That we skulk around cemeteries, sleep in sewers?” He turned to rest his back against the railing, a deceptively casual pose. “Power grows with
age. Only centuries-old vampires can be Lords and I am probably the oldest in the region… well, besides the Lord of Seattle. I don’t know which of us is eldest.”
Jayden chewed on a fingernail. “How old are you?”
“Nine hundred and fifty? Sixty? I cannot recall exactly.”
The offhand manner of his grandiose statement made her feel as if she was in another dimension, but she didn’t doubt his words. He reeked of power. Nine hundred years, what could one possibly learn and experience in that amount of time?
Razvan broke the silence. “Tonight, you shall meet the Lord of this city…and his pet. She is extraordinary. I may have claimed her for myself if Silas hadn’t gotten her first.”
Jayden fought off a surge of jealousy. Don’t be ridiculous. She chided herself. You’re not supposed to want to be a pet!
She turned to deliver a scathing retort, but he had pulled out his phone and was ordering a cab. The sight of the ancient vampire using a cell phone like a normal person added to the realization that Jayden was far out of her element.
“Well,” he said after putting away his phone. “We had best get your bags packed.”
The cab ride was over before she had a chance to worry much over meeting another vampire. They stopped at an auto-repair shop on the corner of 15th and Sherman. Jayden was perplexed. She’d expected a fancy mansion. The neon “Open” sign glowed a bright blue. She frowned. She’d also expected any auto shop to be closed at this hour.
Razvan winked at her. “Silas is out hunting. I don’t believe you would like to witness that. For now, there is someone I would like you to meet. ”
Chapter Four
Jayden stared at the girl in grease-stained coveralls that entered the office of “Resurrection Wrenches.” She couldn’t be more than five feet tall. Her mop of black ringlets framed a cherub-like face with amethyst eyes, a button nose and Cupid’s bow lips. Only the steely cynicism in her eyes and the curves of her breasts under the coveralls revealed her to be a grown woman.
Those lilac eyes met Jayden’s and widened. For a moment it looked like she would speak to her, but then she turned to Razvan.
“Whaddya want, asshole?” she demanded.
Jayden gasped, terrified that the vampire would destroy her for speaking to him so rudely. Razvan laughed and bowed to her.
“Akasha, fair Lady of this glorious city.” His tone was all exaggerated formality with his signature touch of mockery. “I bring you the good tidings that I have finally found a pet mortal whose beauty comes close to matching yours. I beseech you to guard her whilst I seek your master.”
Akasha’s gaze whipped to Jayden. “No shit, really?” She turned back to Razvan with a glare. “He’s not my master, he’s my husband.” Without waiting for a reply, she darted to the window and turned off the neon sign that said “Open.”
“Let’s go into the shop. You need to tell me what the fuck is going on.” She tossed back her mass of curls and marched through the door.
Jayden blinked. This woman did not match her packaging.
Razvan bowed to Akasha and urged Jayden forward with a hand at the small of her back. She had never been inside the service area of a car repair shop before. It struck her as odd that this one didn’t have a waiting room. The smell of oil, grease, and metal was as overpowering as it was fascinating. Cars and trucks of various makes and years were up on hydraulic lifts with their hoods open and their guts exposed. A Siamese cat peered at them from a car window before disappearing from view.
Akasha pushed two wheeled stools their way and went to a mini fridge next to a royal purple toolbox. “Do ya want a beer…lady?”
“I’m Jayden. It’s nice to meet you… and sure. I’ll have one.” She shot Razvan what she hoped was a defiant glare.
She didn’t have time to gauge a reaction. Akasha pulled out two bottles of Kokanee, twisted the tops in an expert motion, and handed her one. When their fingers brushed, Jayden gasped and was thrown back as she was sucked into a vision.
A little girl screaming as bullets sliced up a man and a woman…running in the blood stained snow…in an orphanage, can’t speak…in a home filled with robotic children in matching uniforms reciting under a stern woman’s eye…the woman beating Akasha with a bible…running away…starving, cold, alone…a man takes her in, she is happy for a while…she cries as the cops take him away…alone again…pinned on the hood of a Cadillac, a gun pressed to the back of her head as a man tears her body with his violent lust…beating the man…bashing his head into the pavement until his skull comes apart in her hands… throwing up..driving…
“Jayden!”
Strapped to an operating table…a scientist poking, and prodding…trying to make sense of the freak… going to kill her when it’s all over…
“Jayden!” Razvan’s command pulled her from the vision.
The beer bottle smashed on the floor, adding another mess to the concrete.
Her eyes met Akasha’s. “Oh, God, you were so young! And…and so much pain!” Jayden’s voice cracked as she was overcome with sympathy.
Akasha’s lower lip trembled as if she were about to cry, then her eyes narrowed to slits and in a blur of speed, she backhanded Razvan.
He rocked back on his stool with the force of the blow and crashed to the floor. Jayden leapt up, heart in her mouth.
“I’m sorry!” she cried. “I can’t help it! Please, don’t fight.”
She couldn’t bear it if Razvan killed this woman who had suffered so much.
Akasha ignored her and hauled Razvan to his feet with strength that shouldn’t be possible for her size. He spit blood on the concrete floor and laughed, fangs flashing. His cheek was already swelling and turning purple. She must have cracked the bone, and still he laughed as though the mechanic had done the cutest thing in the world. As Akasha marched Razvan back to the parts room, Jayden didn’t know who to be more afraid of: The vampire or the girl who was strong enough to take one down. Who were these people? She shivered. Was it too late to get away?
***
“What kind of sick game do you think you’re playing?” Akasha demanded.
She’d had a bad feeling the second Razvan arrived with the statuesque redhead. They may have been all dolled up like a couple on a dinner date, but the girl looked like a frightened rabbit as she huddled in her faux fur coat and darted nervous glances around the shop as if looking for an escape route. Razvan, on the other hand, looked way too pleased with himself, like the villain who’d just tied the screaming damsel onto the railroad tracks. And there was another look in his eyes, something she couldn’t read in him…and it disturbed the hell out of her.
“Is she willing?” she whispered to him.
He avoided her eyes. “We had a bargain.”
“That’s not what I asked.” She clenched her fists and stalked towards him. “Is. She Willing?”
“You saw her power,” he said, ignoring her question again.
It dawned on her. Centuries ago, Razvan’s twin brother, also a vampire, disappeared and he’d been using psychics to try to find him. Silas was the most powerful clairvoyant Razvan recruited, and even he failed. Jayden’s detailed glimpse into Akasha’s head implied that she may be even more powerful than her husband.
She glared at the vampire. “You may have used Silas for your quest, but hell if you’re going to use this poor terrified woman.”
Razvan drew himself up and opened his mouth, ready to fire back a smart-ass remark, then he slumped and sighed.
“She was going to kill herself, Akasha,” he whispered, actually sounding sympathetic. “She even wanted me to kill her.”
Her jaw dropped. “What?”
“Jayden is so powerful that she can’t control her visions and they’ve driven her insane.” He gave an uncharacteristically helpless shrug. “She was reduced to living in her car, half-starved. She was going to jump off a bridge the next day but instead she found me in an alley with my prey and offered to take her place.”
> Akasha hugged herself as goosebumps crawled over her skin. “Do you kill your prey?” It was supposed to be illegal under vampire law, but she knew there were loopholes.
Razvan chuckled. “Not usually. I just like to play with them a little.” He put his index finger to his lips in a hushing motion. “Now don’t go and destroy my reputation.”
Akasha rolled her eyes at him before returning to the matter at hand. “Does she know you’re not going to kill her now?”
“Yes,” he replied impatiently. “Now would you please watch her so I can find Silas? Only he can teach her to control her powers so she can be well again.”
She nodded reluctantly. “All right. But if she’s unwilling, you know I’m going to help her escape and tell you where to stick it.”
Razvan laughed, his sinister demeanor restored. “Help all you want. I have Marked her. She can never escape me.”
Akasha gaped at him. His Mark meant that Jayden was under his protection for the rest of her life and he would kill anyone who dared to hurt her. Either this wasn’t a game to him, or it was one with very high stakes.
She followed him out and noticed that Jayden was sweeping up the broken glass from the floor. She watched in amazement as Razvan caressed Jayden’s cheek with infinite tenderness.
His deep gentle voice made her spine tingle. “Farewell for now, my pet. I leave you in Akasha’s capable hands. I will return soon.”
After he left, Jayden stared at her with wide, fearful green eyes. Akasha glanced down to see that she still had blood on her knuckles. She reached for a shop rag and the girl flinched as if expecting to be hit.
Akasha sighed. “Fuck. I need another drink.”
***
Jayden watched warily as Akasha wiped the blood from her hand with a rag and returned to the mini fridge. She pulled out two more beers, opened them and slid one across the bench to Jayden, careful not to touch her this time. She lit a cigarette after a big swig of beer and blew the smoke in the opposite direction.
