He lowered his hands and gripped Eve’s waist for support, afraid he might stumble. Then, carefully, his mouth moved, taking in every part of her lips, the taste, the plump softness. It was overwhelming.
Eve’s hands crept behind his back and pulled him closer, pressing his body against hers. The motion sent an intense wave of pleasure through every inch of him, turning the gentle kiss into one of longing and passion. All sounds faded into the background—even the rain’s touch was unfelt. Together they created a place of light and beauty, one of peace and serenity. Their kiss lasted only moments, but the power it created transcended time and all eternity.
It was Eve who pulled away first. She gazed into his eyes with a look that said, “Did this just happen?” He knew the expression because it was mirroring his own.
They smiled at the same time. Lucien wrapped his arms around her and pulled her to his chest. If what he was experiencing was magic, he no longer cared.
“Are you cold?” she asked.
“Quite the opposite. I’ve never felt warmer.” He rubbed his hand across the back of her soaked dress. “But you must be freezing.”
In one fluid motion, he removed his long jacket and wrapped it around her while she remained snug against his chest.
“You shouldn’t have come,” she whispered.
“Did you think I wouldn’t?”
The rain let up, its passion gone, leaving behind only a gentle mist.
“I’d hoped throwing you into a flight of stairs might make you think twice.”
Lucien chuckled. “You’ll have to do better than that. By the way, where did you go? It was like you just disappeared.”
She looked back and forth between his eyes. “I’ll explain later, but right now, I have to see Alana. It’s important I see her, especially before she goes to the gathering.”
Lucien smoothed back her hair. He didn’t know how he had resisted touching her for so long. “Let me uncover what this vampire reunion is all about, and then I’ll meet up with you two later to discuss.”
“Alana really wants to go.”
“Tell her not to. If she was at all associated with Michael, then there’s a good chance they know about her, too. I’ll go.”
“Where do you want to meet?” she asked.
He glanced at the old stone church. In front, two stained glass windows dominated the exterior. One portrayed the crucified Christ, the other the Virgin Mary. Vampires didn’t like churches. Just like bad humans, they made bad vampires feel guilty. She would be safe there.
“How about in the church over there?”
She studied it. “Fine.”
“So what do you know about this gathering anyway?” Lucien asked.
She stepped back, but Lucien held onto her hand. “Not much. I spoke to the Deific office about an hour ago. They’ve had to request more help from the other offices because they can’t keep up with the amount of vampires being turned. But they’re not so much worried about their growing numbers; they’re worried because these vampires are methodical in how they attack humans. Kidnapping and torturing their victims is their modus operandi. Someone is teaching them. Michael was supposed to be at this ‘training’ when he was killed.”
“It still amazes me that you have vampires working with you,” Lucien said.
“Why? A vampire is only bad when it gives in to the evil nature of vampirism the same way a human becomes corrupt when it gives in to its own selfish tendencies. Both humans and vampires have to learn to become greater than what they naturally are—to shed the beast within. There are vampires who have achieved this, although their numbers are few. I only wish there were more.”
“Don’t worry about tonight. I will uncover who is behind all of this. You just stay far away, deal?”
Eve nodded.
He kissed her again, but briefly so it wouldn’t be harder than it already was to leave her. “Be safe.”
“I’ll wait inside the church for you. Come for me when you’re done,” she said.
He pulled her back to his chest and gave her a long, tight hug.
“By the way,” Eve asked with a light tone to her voice, “did you fix the hole on my porch?”
He smiled. “No, but I did add another one next to it.”
“Two holes are better than one,” she teased.
Lucien reluctantly let her go and watched her walk into the church wearing his black jacket. He wouldn’t have had it any other way.
29
Lucien made his way to the abandoned warehouse. Other than a few parked cars, the streets were empty. It was a clear night—the full moon lit up the poor neighborhood better than the street lamps.
A slight breeze filled the air with the smell of vampires. Lucien could sense them as they all traveled to the same destination. They remained hidden in the shadows whereas Lucien walked openly. He did not want to be a part of them any more than he had to.
Lucien was not prepared for what he found inside the warehouse. It was already packed, even though it wasn’t quite midnight. He had no idea so many vampires existed! They were sprawled over crates, perched on ledges of the high windows, while others paced nervously waiting for the meeting to begin. The female vampires huddled together toward the back as a way to protect themselves from the males—they were clearly out-numbered.
Lucien estimated at least two hundred present. He was both shocked and appalled, because that meant there was at least ten times this in the rest of the world. As an old vampire, he knew how dangerous it was to have too many of their kind. It was only a matter of time before vampires became more than just a myth. The humans would hunt them to extinction.
After several minutes of observing the crowd, Lucien considered most of the vampires to be newbies. He sensed only a few older ones present and most likely they were there out of curiosity. He didn’t recognize any of them, but this didn’t surprise him.
At least a dozen beefy vamps patrolled the room, stopping fights whenever one broke out, which was about every minute. Vampires were not meant to be in the same room. It was like stuffing hundreds of male grizzlies into the same cave—eventually they would start killing each other.
Someone grabbed Lucien’s shoulder. He spun around, ready to tear off a head.
“Easy there,” Rick said, moving his long, boney fingers off of Lucien’s shoulder.
“Don’t touch me,” Lucien said.
“Sure, my bad.” Rick looked around the room. “Isn’t this exciting?”
“Yeah, it’s a freaking riot.”
“Look, there’s Sean!” Rick waived madly. “Sean! Hey, Sean over here!”
Sean looked over, but turned the other direction.
Rick shrugged. “I guess he didn’t hear me. You want to sit down over there?”
He pointed to an empty crate near the center stage.
“I’m sitting in back.” Lucien turned around and walked toward the rear of the building.
“Yeah, the back’s good. I like the back—it’s not so crowded,” Rick said, jogging after him.
Time moved slowly. If he could describe hell, this is what it would be, with Rick playing the devil. Lucien longed to be back with Eve. He’d never deliberately put himself through such torture, but he’d do it over and over if it meant Eve’s safety.
Without warning, the lights turned off, and throaty growls filled the room. Not sensing any danger, Lucien waited patiently. A spotlight appeared in the opposite corner, lighting a path to the center stage. A vampire, his head covered by a towel, seemed to magically appear in the center of the beam. His shoulders slumped forward and his arms swung like a gangster as he shuffled toward the stage, escorted by an entourage of tall and muscular vampires. A few whistles burst from the crowd, then a few yells, and soon the whole room was filled with shouts and cheers.
Lucien looked around incredulously. He couldn’t believe they were playing into this! Evidently, someone had been watching way too much Ultimate Fighting Challenge and was trying to copy every asp
ect of the professional fighting venue. As a vampire, he’d never felt embarrassed until now.
The vampire with the towel finally reached the center stage. He jumped on top and waited in the darkness, muscles lean and tight, chest heaving up and down. As soon as the spotlight encased his tensed body, he shook off the towel and raised his arms into the air, letting out a monstrous roar that seemed to shake the building’s foundation.
Lucien stumbled back, unable to comprehend the ghost before him. There, standing in all his mock majesty, was his brother Aiden. Without thinking, Lucien let out the angriest feral cry his inhuman body could produce. Even though the other vampire’s combined voices were much louder, Aiden snapped his head in Lucien’s direction. It took all the mental strength Lucien had to force himself off the crate.
Aiden recovered and continued to egg on cheers from the vampires. He moved in a circle with his hand to his ear, his other arm waiving in circles, enticing more screams from the crowd.
Lucien’s fist’s balled up tight, and his face contorted into animalistic rage. He couldn’t fathom how his brother was still alive!
Aiden’s sandy blond hair was slicked back into a ponytail, and his dark eyes danced wildly through the crowd, absorbing their energy until Aiden, too, was jumping up and down like a wild monkey. He ripped off his shirt, revealing a long serpent that twisted around his lean torso.
Lucien noticed a few of the older vampires try to walk out the door, but the guards stopped them. He was glad he wasn’t the only one who found this spectacle absurd.
On the stage, someone handed Aiden a microphone. The guards motioned everyone to be silent.
Aiden spoke: “Fellow vampires.” He paused for effect, his voice growing louder. “Fellow friends.” Finally, his voice boomed, “Brothers and sisters!”
The crowd exploded. Screams and whistles punched the air. The guards silenced the group again.
Aiden continued, his voice smooth and calm: “Throughout time, humans have ruled the earth. We have tolerated their existence because they give us the one thing we need—blood.”
A few anguished cries echoed through the room.
“But the time has come for humans to give back. A small token of gratefulness is all we ask for the many years we’ve had to suffer. We’ve had to sneak—”Aiden dramatically tip toed around the stage. “—in the shadows to avoid being hunted. They rule us by numbers, but it is vampires who rule them by power and make no mistakes about it”—he emphasized each word carefully—“we will show them our power!”
The vampires returned to their fever-pitched cries and yells.
Lucien’s stomach swam, and the room spun. He stumbled back and fell to the ground. The wall of concrete and steel he’d carefully layered over his memories cracked. Every hateful word that spewed from Aiden’s mouth created an imaginary hammer, smashing down the barrier in his mind; large pieces disappeared into oblivion. He covered his ears, trying to shut out the demon, but Aiden would not be stopped.
“What gift would we like from man?” Aiden continued. “What does man owe us for being so generous when we could break them with our fingertips if we so desired?”
Vampires cried out, demanding an answer.
Aiden yelled, “We want their blood!”
The warehouse exploded in agreement.
Aiden grew quiet, the crowd followed his lead. “But how? How can we take their blood without being hunted for doing that which is natural to us?”
The vampires waited anxiously for an answer.
Lucien’s body shook. The wall around his memories shattered, and his torment unleashed.
Aiden said carefully, “We do simply what has been done in the past. Many of you have heard of the plague, which destroyed half of Europe. In fact, some of you may have had the pleasure of being there.”
Lucien’s body shook like aftershocks of an earthquake.
Aiden spoke louder, his fist shaking in the air. “When the black plague hit, the vampires feasted. We gathered from the four corners of the earth. We fell from the sky and crawled out from beneath our rocks to finally take what was ours. Rivers of human blood, and no one was there to oppose us. We treated ourselves like the kings that we are!”
Shouts of approval rose.
Lucien moaned in agony.
Aiden pouted. “Unfortunately, it didn’t last. The humans recovered, and the vampires were chased back into their holes, only to surface when our hunger proved too great. We would snatch a small morsel of food and retreat back to the shadows where they said we belonged.”
Aiden whirled in a full circle, searching the crowd, ensuring that all eyes were on him.
He whispered into the microphone, “But the time has come to feast again.”
Nobody moved or spoke as the words sunk in.
Finally someone yelled, “How?”
Adrian’s eyes turned cold. “You need to have the proper tools and the brains.” He drilled his forefinger into his temple. “Fortunately, I have both.”
Aiden reached into his pocket and pulled out a glass vial filled with a purple liquid. He lifted it into full view of everyone.
“In my hand is the key to our happiness. I need strong vampires to take this key and unlock the door that has been closed to us for too many years! It will take a combined effort to accomplish this great feat. Who among you will make this happen?”
The majority of the vampires rushed the stage, begging to become his army while the guards pulled out a stack of papers and handed them out. The crowd was so unruly that they gave up after just a minute and tossed the flyers into the air for vampires to obtain for themselves. One of them fell near Lucien.
Lucien’s sanity hung by a thread. He had to leave this place if he was to keep it intact. Pushing himself to his feet, he grabbed one of the papers and shoved it deep into his pocket. It seemed to weigh him down more than a thousand boulders.
Lucien stumbled toward the exit, knocking several vampires out of the way. They snarled in protest. Two bearded guards at the door barred his way. Using the last of his strength, he shoved them hard, sending them into the night air. Forgotten memories were flooding his mind, and they would not be stopped this time.
He moved like a drunk man through the streets, his thoughts unable to capture where he was supposed to be. His stupor led him away from the city and into a forest. He kept moving, stumbling through the trees until he finally collapsed, his body falling partway into a stream. And as water trickled over his head, he breathed it in deeply, willing it to fill him entirely. His last thoughts were of Eve, beautiful Eve. His mind called out to her. Over and over, he said her name, until there was only blackness.
30
Ireland, 1665
Lying in tall grass, Lucien watched thick clouds move in and out of each other. He always struggled to understand how something as insubstantial as clouds could create something as glorious as rain. Even as a boy, storms held a magical mystery to him. And though he was much older now, despite his young vampire appearance, the rain continued to fascinate him.
He loved Ireland for no other reason than its storms. Actually, there was no other reason to love Ireland in 1665. It was ruled by England and had become a war-mongering country. At first, he enjoyed the bloodshed as much as Aiden. So much so, that they often fought in many of the battles, but they didn’t always care what side they fought on. In some battles they thought it humorous to fight against both sides.
Eventually the fighting had grown tiresome and, it appeared, Aiden grew to feel the same way. He was always disappearing to a different part of the world for days at a time, only to return in an even more somber mood.
Lucien’s thoughts were interrupted when Aiden called his name.
“Lucien!” Aiden’s footsteps approached him from his right.
Lucien did not sit up to reveal himself through the grass—he did not want to miss the rain.
“Lucien!”
“Over here, Aiden, near the Oak tree.”
Aid
en bounded over, breathlessly. “I got one. I finally got one!”
Lucien scrunched his face as he tried to see passed Aiden, who was standing directly over him. “Can you move? I can’t see.”
Aiden looked up, and, finally realizing what Lucien was doing, moved out of the way. “Did you hear what I said? I finally got one.”
“Got one what?” The clouds turned a deeper shade of black. Any second now.
“Remember, my experiment? The one that will make it possible for us to truly be who we are?”
Lucien knew Aiden had been traveling back and forth from Holland, but he couldn’t remember why. “So what did you get and what are you doing?”
Aiden sighed. “I’m not going to explain it again. You can see the rats for yourself.”
Lucien sat up. “Rats?”
The sky cracked and rain poured down. Damn! He missed it.
“Come on, see for yourself,” Aiden said.
Lucien reluctantly stood.
“Come on!” Aiden demanded. He was already several yards in front of him.
Lucien followed him to the barn. He smelled death before Aiden opened the door. “What’s dead?”
Aiden giggled. He threw open the tall wooden doors; they creaked and groaned under the pressure.
Death’s bitter odor punched Lucien hard in the face. He turned away in revulsion. Aiden, on the other hand, inhaled deeply.
“Doesn’t it smell wonderful?” he asked.
Lucien covered his nose and mouth and stepped into the barn. Three dead humans, badly decomposed, lay in a heap in the middle of the straw-covered floor. He had never seen bodies so black. “What happened?”
“Do you remember how I told you Holland was having problems with people mysteriously dying?”
“Yes,” Lucien lied.
“Well, I’ve been over there trying to figure out why and what it was they all had in common. At first, I thought it was the water, but when I tested it on a human, nothing happened. Then I tried all kinds of their food, but that too proved negative. I was about to give up when I saw a fat rat scurry into a home. I immediately came back to Ireland and, using one of our own rats, had it bite a human. Still nothing happened.”
The Devil's Angel (Devil Series Book 2) Page 18
