Entering the foyer, she asked, “Mary, what happened to the green marble flooring and gold-inlaid trim around the doors and the walls? The paintings?”
“How do you know what the manor used to look like?” Mary asked, a bit alarmed and intrigued.
“I saw it in one of my dreams.” Heck, why not be honest and upfront.
“You did?”
“It’s not a usual thing for me. My ‘gifts’ are usually mindreading, not dreams.”
“Oh. My father had to sell the marble and gold to buy food for him and those who had escaped the concentration camps. Had to trade away most of the furniture and paintings, too. Only those pertaining directly to the Wulf family have been kept, for the Master’s return.”
“Concentration camps? Your family was held in them, too?”
“Ja. The Rom clans were collected and forced to the death camps along with the Jews. My father and mother were among those who were sent to Auschwitz. The Master rescued them and hundreds of other gypsies, helped them escape.”
“Alex disobeyed his orders, didn’t he?” Kai took a sip, the coffee was easing her need for blood, but no way would it stay it for long. She needed to search for a donor and soon.
“My father told us Master had left the Nazis the same day he helped my people escape.”
Peeking into the living room and the study, where Ulrich had made his decision to choose one son over the other, she found the rooms vastly different. Under the gypsies’ care, the manor exuded warmth and love, completely different from the coldness it possessed in Alex’s memories.
Mary said with an apologetic grimace as they went upstairs, “I hope you do not mind using the Master’s chambers. The other apartments are used by my family.”
“Has no one used his room since Alex left?”
“We keep Master’s chamber clean and readied for his return.”
“Only he never came back. Until now.”
“Not ‘till now.” At Alex’s room, Mary paused with her hand on the brass doorknob. Her smooth, youthful brow drew into a worried frown. “Miss Kai, something terrible happened last night. Murder,” she blurted out.
“Where?”
“A farm, five miles east of Wulf Manor.”
“Who told you?” Kai questioned, expanding her senses, hoping to read Mary’s mind. Skimming along the edges of the girl’s conscious, she found she couldn’t enter the girl’s mind.
Winking at her, Mary said, “Omi taught us how to keep people out of our heads. No offense.”
“None taken. Your omi is a smart woman to teach you this trick, because there are people out there who will take advantage of you. Now, back to what you were telling me.”
“After you and Master went to ground, I went to bed … I dreamt it. Mama told me it was because you and the Master were here, and it had triggered a nightmare. It wasn’t. The police came here after lunch asking questions. They said our neighbor was found mutilated in his barn, his family murdered in their beds. What the investigator told us done to the dead can only be the work of the Depraved. Only they cause such foul injury to a fellow man. There were other deaths. Two nights ago, the newspaper reported similar slayings in Magdeburg, not far a dance club, in the old part of downtown.”
“Same injuries or do they suspect multiple killers?”
“Different killers, Miss Kai.”
Her insides clenched hard at the news. The Damned were in Magdeburg, too. Crap. The girl told her, “I believe both the Damned and the vampire hunters are watching Wulf Manor. They are searching for something … perhaps you and Master, but I have the oddest feeling they seek someone else. No, something. They’re searching for something. I can’t quite lock onto what they’re searching for. Whatever it is, they are desperate to find it.” She shrugged, biting her lower lip. “Forgive me. I am not very good at focusing my gift. Omi says I will get better, with practice.”
What were they searching for? Rather, who?
“Don’t stress on it, Mary. It took time for me to learn to control my gift. Just keep practicing, like your Omi says.”
“Thank you, Miss Kai, for understanding. I will let you know if I have a clear vision what they seek.” Mary opened the door and led the way to the spacious bathroom. “There are towels set beside the tub for your use. There is shampoo and soap to wash with.”
“Please, Mary, call me Kai. I’m not special to keep addressing me so formally.”
Mary gushed, with something akin to hero-worship, “But you are special, Miss Kai! You are a Slayer and a Borne, God’s guardian angel in the flesh.”
Astonished at being called an angel since most of the world deemed her as evil as the ones they hunted, she stared at the teenager with her mouth slack. Collecting herself, she shrugged, “Mary, I don’t know what to say?”
Mary patted her shoulder in a motherly fashion. “After you shower and have changed, I will take you to Master and we will have blood ready for you.”
“Thank you, Mary, for everything you have done. I appreciate it.” Opening the door, she paused. “Oh, Mary, make sure you tell your family to wear silver crosses, rings, anything silver for protection against the Damned. If you have silver knives, it’s a good time to start carrying them, and I mean at all times. The demons hate anything associated with God and silver. Can the men make silver bullets?”
The girl stared at her with her jaw dropped. She slowly nodded. “I-I will tell my father and mother what you instructed.” She gulped in a deep breath and asked in a little voice, “The Damned is worse than the legends, aren’t they?”
Placing her hand on the girl’s narrow shoulder, she told her the truth. “Worse. They take and rip and murder everything good and innocent in the world, leaving a bloody path of destruction in their wake. The ones I’m hunting have declared war on the Borne and the mortals are the prize. If we, the Slayers, fail, the world as we know it will die and the Damned will rule. Do you understand? We must not let them win.”
“Yes, I do. I will tell my father right away your instructions.”
“Holy water will be needed, too. Lots of it. It burns the Damned, giving a person enough time to cut off their heads. Only way to successfully kill the Damned is to cut off their heads.”
Mary gapped at her.
Realizing she had overloaded the poor girl, she urged, “Hurry up. The Damned won’t wait for us to be prepared if they should attack us here.” The girl nodded and rushed down the hall, her hand clasping the silver cross that hung around her neck.
Closing the bedroom door, Kai saw the chamber was exactly the same as it was the night Alex had slipped away to search for the monster hunting Magdeburg’s innocent. Opening the black lacquered wardrobe, she found dress coats, breeches of different materials and colors, crisp white shirts, garments Alex had worn back in 1819.
Shutting the wardrobe door, she went into the bathroom and set the cup on the white marble counter. Putting her backpack beside it, she pulled out her cell phone and checked calls. Forty missed calls from Mom!
Speed dialing her, it took one ring for her mom to answer. “Kai, where are you? Are you hurt? Why haven’t you returned my calls?”
It was so good to hear her mom’s voice! “I’m fine now. Our plane went down in the forest near Magdeburg, Germany and we had to walk out.”
“Thank God you are alright. Wait, why did you have to walk out? Why didn’t you and Alex fly out?”
“A rocket hit our plane, Mom. During daylight. Alex jumped out with him and … and we were burned. He took the brunt of it. I was still recovering from the dead man’s blood and I was shot.”
“Who shot you?” Mariah demanded, making Kai smile, picturing her mom fanging out and ready to tear apart the person who hurt her daughter.
“Alex got him. Vampire hunters. And they’re looking for us. Someone tipped them off and I think its Alex they’re after this time.”
“A-are you okay?”
“I’m fine, Mom. I’ve got a full donation in me and the wounds ar
e completely healed. Mom, he’s having flashbacks and somehow I’m seeing dreams … events I believe led to his thinking he had lost his soul.”
“Does Alex know?”
“No, I haven’t told him. You know how private he is and it’s been hard being….” She couldn’t finish.
She didn’t have to. Her mom supplied, “Because of how you feel about him.”
Tears blinded her. “Mom, I’m lost on how to act around him.”
“Kai, I love you, and the best advice I can give where Alexander Walker is concerned is to give him his space, especially if he is reliving the events that led to his belief he was Damned. Are you coming home?”
“Not yet. There are sightings of the Damned and vampire hunters are everywhere here. Besides, we need to get to Berlin, to speak to Faeroes about Sin. Have you heard from Mina yet?”
Humor filled her mom’s voice as she replied, “Since she disobeyed her brother and ran off with Dracula? Nope, but Anya and I are pretty sure she is in good hands.”
“Is Rathe pretty pissed?”
“Not as mad as I thought he’d be. Since Sin gave us info about Angel and her plans, he is more inclined to listen than stake him. Honey, we’re going to the meeting in Berlin, please be there. I miss you and I just want to make sure you are okay.”
“I will, Mom. Just need to clean up here and then we’ll be on our way.”
“I love you and keep me in the loop since … since we can’t communicate like—” her mom choked on the soft sob and she knew she was scared for her, too.
“I’m getting better. The dead blood is almost out of my system. The gypsies we met told me that I’ll recover fully, especially with their blood healing me. I’ll be fine and online, hunting sickos and the Damned again.”
Mariah chuckled. “Just what I’ve always wanted for my child, to hunt monsters.”
Laughing, too, she replied, “Got to admit, we’re good at it.”
“Yes, we are. Take care, sweetie, and watch Alex’s back as he will always watch yours.”
“I will, Mom. I love you.”
“Love you, too. See you in Berlin.”
Ending the call, she closed her eyes and reached out to Mina. Surprised when she couldn’t link with her, she opened her eyes and stared at the cell phone in her hand. Should she call Mina? Mom said Rathe wasn’t as mad, but then again he had a way of not forgiving either. Later, when her gifts were stronger, she would try again to link with Mina.
Tossing her cell phone back in the backpack, she took a good look at herself in the mirror. Big mistake! A complete stranger stared back at her. Hair wild and free of the usual braid she wore, face smeared with dirt, her long nails were dirty, too. Lord, she hated being untidy. Here she was with a ripped, blood-dried tee-shirt, a bullet hole to boot, a gaping reminder of her near death experience. Shuddering, she went to the claw-foot tub and turned the hot water on, switching it to shower. As the water heated up, she undressed, careful not to lose her cross. Not sure where to put her clothes, she placed them in a pile next to the door. Stepping under the spray, she sighed happily as hot water cascaded over her sore muscles.
Taking a white washcloth and a homemade bar of honey-oatmeal soap, she scrubbed away the dirt and the awful couple of days lost in the forest. When she felt sufficiently clean again, Kai reached for a plastic bottle and flipped the lid, smelling the contents. Roses. The most perfect scent of red roses she had ever smelt! Pouring a generous amount in the palm of her hand, she set the bottle down and lathered her hair. The creamy mixture fused and mingled with the dark red strands of her hair, bringing peace and ease to her troubled mind.
Her tranquility ended with the crash of the bathroom door hitting the wall. Before she could react, the white linen shower curtain was thrown back. She faced her attacker, eyes widening when saw it was Alex.
“What the….”
Alex shouted at her, “Why are you telling the gypsies to ready themselves against the Damned?”
“Because they are in danger! Haven’t they spoken to you about the police visiting them today?”
Alex opened his mouth to reply, shutting it abruptly. His eyes dropped from hers. She frowned, looking where he was and nearly swallowed her tongue when she realized she was naked with water cascading down her curves. His anger deflated and hunger replaced it. The blazing heat in his eyes consumed her. Wherever his gaze travelled, it burned her, marking her forever in possessive intensity. He hadn’t cleaned up yet. Accustomed to Alex clean cut and his face void of facial hair, he sported a scruffy beard and for the first time, she saw him losing control … control over his appearance, his emotions, and his attraction to her. Regret and desire struggled within him; she saw it in his eyes, on his face as he fought not to stare at her.
Grabbing the shower curtain, she used it as a shield. “The Damned are here, as are the human vampire hunters.”
“How do you know?” he demanded, clearly not willing to calm down.
“Mary told me about the murders not far from here and the slayings in Magdeburg. The Damned are here, and you know it! Now, I have shampoo in my hair, and the water is cooling. Wait for me downstairs,” she ordered.
He opened his mouth to retort, but she’d already shut the shower curtain, cutting him off. Kai ducked her head under the spray of water, rinsing her hair out, shaking. Alex had just seen her naked! A major part of her wanted him to throw back the curtain and join her — make love to her. She waited with baited breath, praying he’d do it. The slamming of the door as he exited the bathroom was her answer. Tears burned her eyes, clogged in her throat as she faced yet another rejection from Alexander Walker. Or Wulf. Whatever his name was, jerk was the most accurate name currently to label him.
Shutting off the water, she dried off with a fluffy white towel and stepped out to dress. Second trial of the day. No fresh clothes to wear. A knock on the door made her jump. Wrapping the towel around her, she opened it to find Mary standing there with a dark red skirt and white peasant blouse in her arms.
Great, Kai thought with a grimace. The Damned and vampire hunters are close, and I have only a skirt to wear.
Unaware of her dilemma, Mary handed her the garments. “My mother asked me to give these to you so you won’t have to wear those dirty ones again.”
Scooping her tee-shirt and jeans, socks, off the floor, she asked, “Mary, can you toss these into the wash? I need them cleaned immediately.”
“I do not understand? Aren’t our outfits pretty?” There was hurt in her dark eyes, making Kai feel like an ungrateful ass.
“Oh, gosh, not what I meant! Sorry! I need to be wearing jeans when I hunt the Damned. A skirt slows me down. The clothes you gave me are very pretty! Please, I didn’t mean to insult you.”
Understanding now, Mary bobbed her head eagerly. “I will wash your clothes for you right away. I’m sorry. I should have given you some of my brothers’ items. I’m such a child.”
“No,” Kai said firmly, “you are far wiser than most adults I know. Let’s get my things in the wash, okay? Thank you so much for doing this for me.”
“Not a problem. Hurry and dress, Miss Kai, we are building a bonfire, and Omi is telling stories tonight.”
“Is she quite the storyteller?”
“Omi is wonderful at spinning tales for us! She infuses magic into her tales and makes it so real. I shall go and wash these for you. Join us outside, when you’ve finished dressing.”
Closing the bathroom door, Kai held up the skirt and sighed. “Just figures, doesn’t it?” she grumbled to herself. “When I want to wear a dress, I can’t because I’m fighting. Now the fight is coming and I’ve got to wear one. Great.” Dropping the towel, she pulled on her underwear and bra, the skirt. She wanted so badly to speak to Mina. Feeling alone, she envied Mina who had Sin.
Oh, I’m not alone, she thought bitterly as she slipped on the blouse. I’ve got Alex, international man of secrets, to keep me company. Yay.
Squaring her shoulders, she shoved
the loneliness away and took the wooden-handled brush and worked out the knots in her waist long hair. Leaving it down to dry in the muggy heat, she grabbed her shoes and walked barefoot downstairs. In the kitchen, she met Sarah.
“Everyone is outside enjoying the bonfire. Let’s join them.” Sarah led the way out the split door and around the gray-stoned house, to where the gypsies gathered around a roaring fire, piled high with good-sized logs.
Four attractive men, standing with the women who had graciously donated their blood to her, were gathered, sipping what smelt like beer. A richer, sweeter scent than what she normally connected with the yeasty, alcoholic drink. Kai’s mouth watered at the delectable odor.
“May I have glass of what they’re drinking?” Sarah looked confused. Kai explained, “We, vampires, can drink alcohol, coffee, anything really. Its food we can’t stomach.”
Sarah’s mouth dropped open in a surprise ‘oh’. “I will get you a cup of our fine ale. My husband and sons are master brewers.”
“You brew your own beer? Do you sell it or is it for home use only?” Kai asked, curious and eager to try a sample.
“We earn a decent living from selling our brew. And,” Sarah said with a big smile, “we drink a fair portion of it ourselves.”
Laughing, she nodded. “The fruits of your labor should be enjoyed.”
“Mama,” Mary offered, “I will fetch a cup of ale for Kai.” She hurried back to the house.
Kai waited for the girl to be out of hearing and asked Sarah, “Are visions her only gift?”
“She can take an object and read it, see who’d touched or if it holds a secret it wishes to share with her.” The woman sighed heavily. “As she grows older, her gifts are becoming more powerful. My husband’s mother says Mary is the strongest our clan has ever produced, and she is only fifteen. Think what she will be like when she has fully matured.” Sarah bit her lip, her dark eyes shone with unshed tears. “It is my fault. I should never have taken the potion to stay young. But life has a will of its own, and I became pregnant with Mary.” Sarah smiled ruefully at her. “I’d always wanted a daughter. Now, Mary suffers because of my choice to live longer to be with my husband.”
Wulf's Redemption (Borne Vampires Book 3) Page 10
