In Darkness We Must Abide: The Complete First Season: Episodes 1-5

by Rhiannon Frater

  Armando buried his face in her neck, his arms wrapped around her breasts, lightly stroking them with his fingers. “We can sneak up to your room.”

  “Like he’d never come looking for us there.”

  “My apartment.”

  “Where is it?”

  Rinsing off the towel, she raised her gaze to the mirror. Eyes slightly widening, Vanora stared at the faint reflection of the vampire. Lifting her hand, she nestled her fingers in his hair, watching her image interacting with the ghostly image. Another reminder that nothing about them was normal.

  “Near downtown. Far from here. Let’s go there.”

  Vanora was mesmerized by Armando’s transparent form as he kissed his way across her shoulders and neck lovingly. “I’m sure my brother would just love to find out that I ran off with you during his party and that you sexed me up once or twice.”

  “Three times so far tonight.” Armando kissed her slightly damp cheek.

  “Walking may be an issue tomorrow,” Vanora grunted, but she had to admit the soreness was a pleasing sting.

  Burying his fingers in her hair, Armando’s lips trailed along her hairline. “I’ll carry you wherever you want to go.”

  Vanora dabbed at her eyes, trying to clean off as much of her black mascara and eyeliner as possible. “That wouldn’t be awkward at all.

  “Don’t go to Austin,” he said, his lovely accented voice suddenly somber.

  Vanora could see his golden eyes watching her every move. “You mean not go to school?”

  “Stay in Houston and go to school here.”

  Flattered at his request, but uneasy at his tone, she said, “What will be my excuse?”

  “That we’re together.”

  His answer heightened the flush of her cheeks. It was difficult to believe the words he was saying, yet the look in his eyes said it was the truth. “So Roman can kill both of us?” Vanora managed to remove most of the black mascara, revealing her white lashes. Blinking, she felt slightly frightened at the thought of Roman finding out she was in love with Armando.

  “We can go far away together. I’m rich. You will be rich.” Armando turned her about and lifted her onto the edge of the sink, pulling her legs around his waist.

  “Oh?” Vanora narrowed her eyes at him mockingly. “Are you trying to hook up with me for my money?”

  “Actually, your breasts.” Armando seized one of her pale pink nipples with his teeth.

  Shuddering, she gasped, “Stop that! We’ll never make it back to the party!”

  Lifting his head, he stared into her eyes. “I don’t want to go back to the party.”

  Again his kisses left her breathless.

  “The party…” she murmured. She was lost in him and knew it. Nothing in her world made sense anymore. All her plans seemed so unfulfilling in the light of his love. She wanted him, but didn’t know what that truly meant.

  “Vanora, run away with me.” Armando wasn’t teasing her. He was incredibly serious. His finely shaped lips were in a somber line, his gaze direct, demanding a positive answer.

  Was this it? The moment when reality would rear its ugly head? Or was this the moment she tossed all caution and familial expectation to the wind and did something crazy?

  “Is this because Roman is going to kill you?” Vanora tucked her hands into the small of his back and drew him closer to rest her chin on his chest.

  “No, it’s just that if we are to be together, we need to leave Houston. Leave the States actually.”

  The edge of the sink was uncomfortable, but Vanora didn’t want to shift away from Armando. She loved him with all her heart, but did he love her?

  “Why?”

  Raising his eyes, Armando lifted one shoulder. “Because your brother is going to kill me.”

  “Is that the only reason?”

  Hanging his head, Armando sighed.

  “Armando?”

  “Do you love me?”

  “Of course!”

  “Then leave with me tonight. I’ll show you the world by starlight. Make love to you by moonlight. We’ll be together.” His golden eyes peered straight into hers, pleading, loving, and perhaps a little afraid.

  “I’m seventeen.”

  “I’m over four hundred. Eternally old according to you.”

  Vanora melted under his kisses and she felt his erection pressing against her. She was sore, but craved him inside her again.

  “Leave with me,” Armando whispered against her lips.

  Again, the image of her falling into his emptiness and filling him with light flashed through her mind.

  “Why do you want me to go with you?” she asked at last, needing to hear the words he had yet to say.

  “Isn’t it obvious?”

  Vanora was about to answer when abruptly she lost her vision. Armando’s face disappeared into a blur. Fear and rage tore at her. Trembling violently, she almost threw up.

  “Vanora, what is it?” Armando’s voice sounded tinny.

  Gasping for breath, Vanora shook her head violently. “It’s…out there. Something bad.”

  Angry, fearsome shouting sounded somewhere in the house.

  “I’ll go check on it. Stay here!” Armando helped her down, then pushed her onto the closed lid of the toilet.

  “Armando!” Vanora cried out. “Don’t go out there!” Fright filled her. “Something monstrous is out there!”

  A voice inside her was screaming in terror. If Armando left, she’d lose him.

  “Armando!”

  ***

  Armando heard her admonitions, but he was in a panic. If his Master had arrived early, he wasn’t sure what he could do to protect Vanora. Tugging on his jeans and t-shirt, he fought the fear swelling within him. He shoved his feet into his boots and gathered Vanora’s things, including the necklace and bracelet she had discarded. He used the hem of her dress to lift the jewelry off the bookcase. There was no way he’d leave her defenseless.

  Returning to the small bathroom, he was struck once more by her beauty. Slender limbed and fine-boned, she was so delicate in appearance. The long whitish hair, lavender eyes, and snowy eyelashes made her even more ethereal. Kneeling before her, he pressed her jewelry into her hands, careful not to touch it directly. The muted pink of her lips compelled him to kiss her, but he knew he had to discover the source of the ever louder shouts.

  “I need to go see what is happening,” he said, willing her to understand.

  Shaking her head, she stared at him blindly. “It’s…terrible. Don’t go. Please.”

  The desire to flee with her was overwhelming, yet it was Alisha’s voice he heard crying out Roman’s name. He couldn’t abandon his friends, Vanora’s siblings.

  “Vanora, I will always protect you,” he swore.

  Her slim fingers found his face and he kissed her palm. Her warmth enthralled him, but he couldn’t allow himself to stay. If his Master was in the house Armando knew he was going to die, but he wouldn’t fall without trying to protect her.

  “Armando, don’t go,” she pleaded one last time.

  He kissed her and wanted to keep kissing her, but instead, he left her alone in the small bathroom. Unlocking the library door, he slipped into the hall and hurried toward the ballroom.

  ***

  “Roman?” Alisha’s voice cried out.

  Roman could feel her fear, but it was not nearly as intoxicating as that of the mortal before him. Struggling to control the growing hunger pulsating inside of him, Roman took a step toward the clown. “It’s not our place to bring justice to him. We’ll call the police. We have evidence”

  “You ain’t got a thing on me,” the clown spat out. “Nothing!”

  “The photos,” Angel said, pointing.

  “You can’t prove those are mine!”

  “Fingerprints, that sort of thing,” a vampire said, sneering. “Sure we can.”

  “You can’t let him go!” Sheila protested. “Roman, he’s not human. He’s vermin.”

 
There were murmurs of agreement from many of the vampires.

  Struggling to contain his own emotions, Roman vehemently shook his head. “We can’t take justice into our own hands.”

  “Roman,” Alisha said in a stricken voice. “He’s seen you.”

  Lifting his hand to his face, Roman realized he had removed his mask and hat while speaking to Carlotta.

  “Yeah, I saw all your faces!” the clown grinned with triumph. “I’ll tell the cops you kidnapped me.”

  Roman shoved his hands through his dark hair, uncertainty clawing at him. Could they risk bringing the authorities into the mansion? Wouldn’t it put them all at risk?

  “Got him! We got him!” Zachary bust into the room, dragging yet another man dressed as a clown. The redhead from East Texas was dressed like Woody from Toy Story, but the savageness in his eyes wasn't innocent.

  The fragrance of human blood filled Roman’s nostrils, making his head swim with the hunger. Blood dotted the second prisoner’s outfit. His cheek was badly scraped and bruised, leaking fresh blood.

  “Larry,” the new captive moaned, obviously far more frightened than the first man.

  Roman had a feeling Zachary had let his prey know that he was a true vampire while subduing him.

  “Shut up,” the first clown hissed. “Just shut up.”

  “They ain’t human, Larry. They ain’t human.”

  The scent of the blood was so overwhelming Roman could actually taste it on his tongue. He wasn’t the only one. The other vampires had gone eerily still, their gaze fastened to the two men.

  “Just what the hell is going on here? I know my rights! I want the hell out of here!” Larry tried to break free of Tracy, violently twisting about.

  With a smirk, she deliberately released his arm. “Try to leave.”

  Zachery let go of the second prisoner as well. “Try to go.”

  Falling to his knees, the man began to weep while Larry rushed to his side. “Get up, Will.”

  “They’re not going to let us go,” Will said in a hoarse voice. Yanking off his red fuzzy wig, he revealed dirty blond hair. “We’re going to die.”

  “They can’t hurt us!” Larry shouted angrily. “You can’t hurt us! We’re American citizens.”

  “They’re not human,” Will sobbed. “They’re not human.”

  Beads of sweat slipping down over his brow, the man in the decrepit clown suit slowly backed toward the hallway, abandoning his partner. A vampire dressed as Cleopatra darted with vampire swiftness to block his path. She shoved him to the center of the ballroom as the vampires drifted forward to encircle him.

  Wincing with pain, Larry climbed to his feet. Nearby, Will continued to sob.

  “I want to go right now! You don’t have a right to keep me here! You aren’t the cops! And I know my rights!”

  The molester rushed several vampires and tried to thrust them aside, but they tossed him back into the center of the circle.

  Rocking back and forth, his eyes darting all around, Will wailed while Larry paced around the interior of the perimeter the vampires had formed.

  “You ain’t got the right to keep me here!”

  Roman stood at the edge of the gathered vampires, trying to look away. The blood fever was pulsating all around him. The disgusting perverts’ hearts were thundering with fear, further fueling the bloodlust. The clown’s quick, darting movements mesmerized Roman. He had to fight the urge to pounce on him and rip his throat out.

  Again the molester made an attempt to break through the vampires. This time he tried to shove Alisha out of the way, but with an angry hiss, she sent him sprawling across the floor with a vicious blow.

  Seeing the monster in his sister’s face, Roman discovered his waning humanity. “Wait! Wait! We can’t do this! I’ll call the police! We’ll show them what we have in way of evidence!” Roman pushed his way through the crowd. His face was strained, his eyes burning. The hunger roared inside, begging to be sated.

  Alexander gazed at the photos Ben had tossed on the floor and a single, diamond tear tinted with a sheen of red fell from his eyes. Deliberately he raised his head, his eyes glowing. A low growl erupting from his throat, he reached out to Sheila, who took his hand.

  “I agree,” she said boldly. “There is no justice, Roman, when it comes to these sort of men. No one will miss them, only other slimy bastards like them.”

  “We must be reasonable!” Roman interjected. He was trembling as he fought against the need to feed. Looking at his sister, he saw that her eyes were dilated and her teeth elongated. The pounding heartbeat of the cowering mortals was clearly affecting her as well as the other vampires. “We don’t have the right to judge these men and kill them!”

  “Kill me?” Larry shrieked in disbelief.

  “They’re not human!” Will screamed. “They’re going to kill us.”

  Alisha stepped toward her brother, her beauty intensified by the deadly fire in her eyes. “What if these bastards had touched Snow Pea? What if those photos were of her when she was a little girl! Look at them and tell me they don’t deserve to die! You know they do!”

  The bald man attempted to break through the gathered vampires once more. This time Angel caught his arm.

  “You’re not going anywhere!” Angel said in a low voice, his eyes flashing red.

  “Oh, shit!” the man gasped in horror, staggering away from him.

  ***

  Armando felt the black energy in the room enveloping him the moment he stepped through the open doors. It took only a few seconds for him to ascertain what was going on. The humans dressed as clowns were stirring the vampire hunger with their wails, sharp movements, and terror. The smell of blood and fear was intoxicating. Armando felt his fangs descend as the hunger howled within him. He took several sharp steps back, trying to regain his control.

  “If we kill them, then we have lost ourselves!” Roman argued.

  “If we don’t kill them, we’ve lost ourselves!” Alisha snapped. “We can’t let them go, Roman! They’ll go to the police! We can’t have the police investigating us!”

  One of the clowns made an attempt to barrel through the crowd. A vampire backhanded him, the spray from the man’s broken nose splattering the faces of the vampires closest to him. The crowd surged forward.

  “Stop!” Armando shouted.

  Sheila’s gaze snapped in his direction. “This is justice!”

  “It’s an excuse to kill!” Armando retorted.

  The fear in the men was leaking into the psychic energy in the room. The necessity to feed was close to boiling over.

  Alisha let out a shriek unlike any Armando had ever heard before. Surging forward, she dug her fingers into the man’s face. “You’ve taken children’s lives! It’s in your mind! I can see it! A small twisted body lying under a house covered by heavy, splintered boards!”

  Screaming, the man thrashed beneath her, forcing her fingernails deeper into his flesh. Blood spilled down his face.

  “Murderer!” Alisha’s cry was a banshee wail.

  Rage swelled within Armando as did the desire to rip the man to shreds. The hunger of the other vampires assailed him, and he clutched his head. “Stop this!”

  “He is condemned by his own thoughts!” Angel declared.

  “We can’t!” Roman protested. “This isn’t right!”

  The dark hunger ripping through his mind, Armando crumpled against the doorway. The vampires had fallen completely silent. There were no more protests. The decision had been made. Purposefully, they advanced on the terrified men. The one on the floor was shaking so hard his teeth chattered. The clown still standing, surged forward, striking out at the vampires with his fists.

  “I have rights! I know my rights!”

  Several vampires growled low in their throats, baring their lengthening fangs. It finally sank into the man’s mind that he was truly in the presence of vampires. He screamed in horror.

  “They’re not human! They’re going to kill us,” the
other man keened.

  Raising his hands to his face, Armando fought the desire to tear into the flesh of the men and feed. The sweet scent of Vanora’s hair and skin still lingered on his fingers and palms, and the thought of her grounded Armando. He had to protect her.

  “Roman, stop them!” Armando shouted.

  It was too late.

  Alisha wrapped an arm around the neck of the man standing and jerked his head to the side. Opening her mouth wide, she bit savagely, blood spurting onto those vampires closest to her. Then Angel was on the man, ripping open one of his wrists and feeding off the hot blood. The bloodlust ran wild in the room. The vampires lifted the screaming man into their midst, ripping at him with razor-sharp teeth and nails.

  Armando recoiled, struggling against the bloodlust with all his might. He tried not to look at the feeding orgy before him, but his eyes strayed inexorably toward the pandemonium. These vampires who had sworn to not feed off of mortals and only feed from animal blood were gleefully ripping at the flesh of the dying man.

  The second man shrieked in pain as the vampires descended on him. The sounds of rending flesh, breaking bones, and the squelch of flesh giving way beneath teeth and claws filled the room.

  “Stop!” Armando shouted. “Stop!”

  Plunging into the frenzy, Armando attempted to wrench the vampires from their victims, but they turned on him, slashing with sharp nails, hissing with bloodstained mouths. Zachary shoved Armando violently away from their prey.

  “Roman!” Armando shouted, seeking him out among the wild fray. Blood sprayed into the air as one of the men’s arms was ripped from his body. “Roman!

  Then Armando saw Roman struggling to drag one of the men out of the bloodbath. The man was barely alive, covered in blood, and whimpering in agony.

  Standing apart from the fray was Carlotta, a smirk upon her lips. “Take him, Roman!”