by Diana Graves
“You can lie to everyone else, but not to me. I see what you truly desire, Raina. You are a predator. You’re a vampire and you’re a demigod. You don’t really want a peaceful life and a vegan diet. You want to fight and kill, you want to drink the blood of evil men—but that’s your dark secret, isn’t it? You love killing. You live for the hunt, but you’re ashamed of it. You have to pretend you have no choice in it, no skill for it, no love of it.”
I gave him a mean look. “And what’s your dark secret, Melvern?” I asked him while I was still lying in his arms. I didn’t get the full effect of seeing things through his eyes like a movie, but I had a basic understanding. He watched his family being slaughtered, and he begged the vampires that massacred his family to kill him, too. He begged to die with his wife and children. The vampires were cruel and they infected him instead. They made him one of them and they abused him for a century. But then he grew into his power as a master vampire and they were the ones who suffered. Somewhere under this mountain one of the original vampires that made him suffered still—defanged, starved and half rotting, he would never see the moon light, never feel the cool grass on his feet or hot blood filling his mouth from a fresh wound. Melvern fed him only enough to keep him from true death.
“The others died unfortunately.” He smiled devilishly. “There is a learning curve to torture and they didn’t survive it.”
“And that’s your big secret? You don’t sound ashamed of it,” I said.
He smiled. “No, that’s no secret. But hey, you just read your first vampire. Congratulations!”
“Thank you, for the help with the telepathy,” I said as he helped me to my feet.
He gave me a shallow bow and walked away, only stopping once to look back at me before continuing on through the woods. I stood there for a moment, thinking about what having a larger telepathic range would mean for me, about The Hunt and how I’d kill all those bastards before they laid a finger on my family…I had a lot to think about.
WITH HIM
TUESDAY WENT BY quickly. I stayed in town while Damon and the kids helped my family relocate to Darkness (a six-hour ordeal). I walked the town with Isobel. I never really had the opportunity to be a tourist in Darkness before, and I visited a few stores I’d always been curious about. Isobel and I had lunch at Bloody Mary’s Corner, and bought Mom and Ruy’s wedding present at Chains of Death: Candy & Gift Shop. They didn’t have any toasters, so I got them a four-foot statue of a Native American man and woman making love. I thought it would look lovely in Mom’s garden and the store clerk said his son and daughter would deliver it to the inn. Well, that was one thing off of my to-do list. I just had to find a bridesmaid’s dress and kill some bad guys. Easy-peasy.
The day had been spent and night had come fast. I was standing in front of the window staring out at the police officer sitting in his car in the parking lot of the bed and breakfast. The plastic safe that housed all my magical odds and ends was sitting open on my bed and my locket was lying heavy against my chest. It was small, the size of a quarter. It had a black obsidian stone in its center that was encircled by a bronze snake, made green with age. When I wore it I could hear every mind in a twenty mile radius, but I still ignored the one mind I wanted to hear most of all. I did, however, hear the shower turn off. I listened to Damon walk around the bathroom, dry himself swiftly, wrap the towel around his nakedness and open the door.
“Two questions,” said Damon from behind me. “Where is Isobel and who called while I was in the shower? I heard the phone ring.”
I turned and found him fresh out of the shower, wet and clean and smelling of sweet scented soaps. He was nude from the head down and toweling his hair dry. I found myself unable to look away from him.
I stammered as he brought the towel down and looked at me expectantly. He wanted an answer. “Uh, Aunt Lidia took her and Thomas for the night. The call was Alistair. He and Melvern arranged a meeting to take place tonight, here in Darkness.”
“Oh. Where, the keep?” I couldn’t stop looking at him and I felt stupid. Why was he distracting me so? Maybe a part of me just wanted to be comforted, loved and told everything was going to be alright.
“I’m sorry.” I shook my head to try and force myself to think different thoughts. “Yes, in an hour or so. He said everyone would be there; everyone who can contribute at least: Fillips, Henry, Mato…” I gave the names but my heart wasn’t in it and my voice trailed off.
He walked over and hugged me, his nakedness bare to the world outside our window, but he didn’t care. “I can’t imagine what you’re going through.”
“What?” I asked.
“I know you’re not one for craving attention, and here you are receiving the best and the worst of it. A beautiful new baby and a murderous gang,” he shrugged his shoulders with his arms still wrapped around me. “And still you can’t take your eyes off of me. Am I distracting you?”
“Yeah,” I breathed. “A bit, but we don’t have time for that. I can’t think my way out of this mess, Damon. I can’t see the end being a happy one.”
“You told me that Melvern taught you to read more than just humanoids, and I’ve personally seen what you can do when you’re wearing that locket. You controlled some fifty women and children all at once to get them to safety.”
I wiggled out of his embrace and stepped away from him because it was hard to think horrible thoughts while being held in his arms. “They hunt demigods! That’s their job and I’m pretty sure I’m not the first telepath they’ve encountered. What if they can block me out like my mom?”
“One problem at a time,” he said with a sigh. He closed the distance between us with his arms out to hold me and I let him. “Don’t worry, honey, together we’ll figure this all out. Now come here,” he said, and he guided me by my arms across the room to the closest bed. “You need a back massage,” Damon said as he threw the pillows off the bed.
“Yeah, big time,” I sighed and I stretched my back out to the disturbing sound of multiple cracking noises.
“We have some time before the meeting. Lie down,” he said. I did so after taking off my blouse and lacey bra. Holding my breasts I positioned myself flat on my stomach with my feet hanging off the bed. I felt Damon straddle my butt before I felt his silky soft hands running smoothly up and down my bare back. His fingers ran up my sore muscles followed by a firm thumb that found all the tender places. He kneaded my back, stopping at those same tender places and coaxing the knots out with firm yet patient circular pressure.
I couldn’t help the soft sounds of pleasure that I made as he worked my back. With every press on my muscles, his manhood was also pressed firmly against my backside, and it wasn’t long before the massage led to more.
A MEETING OF MINDS
DAMON, KATIE AND I walked into the keep of Darkness together. Damon was wearing his usual black on black: jeans and a thin sweater. I wore black leggings; knee high flat faux leather boots and a dark green tunic that made my auburn hair look more red than brown. Katie was pretty in pastels: a soft powder blue knitted sweater, creamy orange skin-tight jeans and fluffy soft boots. The large purse that hung from her shoulder was a pink leather atrocity, but it held precious cargo, Igigi, the book she and Damon took from the library without permission, also known as theft. Katie was so red in the face when she showed me the book. She said Damon put it inside of himself to hide it. When the alarm went off as they tried to walk out of the building, no one could explain it. The librarian searched them thoroughly. Oh what could have made that silly alarm go off like that? What, indeed?
From the outside, the keep was a windowless castle made of wood planks darkened by age. It was the tallest building in town, with huge native designs painted in red covering much of the outside. Encircled by a wrought iron gate, it was a sinister sight to behold. On the inside, the floors were highly polished river rocks and the last time I walked across them the room was bare in every way. There were no furnishings or décor of any kind, but th
at was no longer true. A ring of wrought iron lit ablaze hung from the tall ceiling by thick chains. Long tapestries hung from the walls with the same red native markings that could be seen on the outside of the keep. Wooden chairs, benches and tables were placed here and there around the room with native vampires talking amongst themselves in small groups. Half of the native vampires were tattooed, scantily clothed women and men and the other half wore more traditional garments. Almost all of those dressed in traditional garments were men. It was easy to spot who belonged to which master.
There was a large table in the center of the room with eleven wooden chairs surrounding it, and the adjacent wall had double doors that I knew led down into an intricate cave where many of the vampires of Darkness lived. Gabriel walked out of those doors with Olathia by his side. He was shirtless, wearing tight jeans, and his bleach blond hair was in an uncharacteristic mess on his head. Yeah, he looked like he was on call, ready to be our doctor in a moment’s notice…whatever. Olathia looked as dainty and sultry as ever in her pearl white sheer gown that hid nothing. Her perky breast with dark nipples and all her elegant tattoos were easily visible through the fabric. Her dark wavy hair was loose and touching the floor as she made her way to the table with Gabriel walking behind her like a love-sick pup. She was a succubus and it would seem she’d fed well.
She smiled at me lazily. On the outside I gave her a grin and a nod of my head, but on the inside I was cringing. These days she seduced grown men and women, but I couldn’t forget who she fed on back in the day; children. I would never look at her and think of her as beautiful. Her features were attractive, but I couldn’t forget or forgive her.
“Neither can I,” said Melvern in my mind. I sought him out and found him sitting among a group of vampires, some marked as Olathia’s and some were obviously his own. “Never forget or forgive the evil acts of men. Doing so leaves you venerable in so many ways.”
“Should I not forgive you for murdering and raping women for centuries?” I asked him.
“No, I don’t seek forgiveness. I don’t wish for it.” That made me think better of him. He was a kindred spirit in many ways. He’s his own worst critic and protective of those who cannot protect themselves. He rolled his eyes and it seemed too funny a thing to see in that hard serious face. “We should be total BFFs,” he thought and I had to stifle a laugh.
“What is it?” Damon asked.
I shook my head while we approached the table. “Nothing.”
Mato sat at the table among a couple of native vampires and a human wearing Darkness police uniforms, but his officers left the table at his command to free up space for the three of us. I looked at him with soft, kind eyes. Knowing what I knew of him did make me think of him differently. He was more than just a slutty cheater; he was a slutty cheater with a tragic past. The man in front of me was strong, handsome and smart, but a long time ago he was just a boy. A helpless little boy who watched his family die a violent death. Terrified and traumatized, he was taken in by the monsters and violated, fed on and imprisoned. That Mato could grow up in that world and become the man I saw before me was astonishing. He was made of tough stuff, resilient beyond expectation. Was a man like that worth forgiving?
“But not forgetting,” said Melvern in my head.
“Are you going to sit?” Damon asked me. He was holding a chair out for me. So old school. I smiled at him and took the seat he offered, which was just one chair away from Mato.
Damon sat beside me and put his hand in my lap, stroking my inner thigh as we watched others find their seat. Katie sat on Damon’s other side, holding her purse in her lap and staring out over the room of strange characters. I wondered if she was regretting getting mixed up in all of this. She was the brightest, youngest person in the room, a white sheep among a herd of black.
Olathia sat a few seats away from me. Gabriel was still beside her. He leaned toward us to ask how Isobel was doing.
“She’s wonderful,” Damon smiled and maybe it was just me, but I could swear his smile was one of complete lethargic satisfaction. I blushed and Melvern gave me a knowing look as he sat close to Olathia. Looking into his mind I could feel the hate he felt toward her. He truly would never forgive her. But her people, he could forgive them?
“A Legion will do as they’re bid, Raina, and all of Olathia’s people are legion,” he thought. I agreed with him. Legion shouldn’t be penalized for their master’s sickness so long as they regret and repent.
Detective Fillips entered the keep alone and took the seat between Mato and I. “How the hell are you?” she asked me. She smelt of a light masculine perfume and wore her usual combat boots and navy blue power suit. Her bouncy little curls were slicked back and pinned out of her face.
“All things considered, I’m fine,” I said. “I thought Henry would be with you.”
“Is he growing on you?” she asked.
My face clearly said no. “I told you that I didn’t want him helping us anymore, and you said he insisted on staying on the case, even though all his little buddies abandoned him.”
“He was very insistent—until I told him we were coming here. Then he changed his mind.”
“He didn’t want to come to Darkness? Funny, he didn’t strike me as a vamp-aphobe.”
“Me neither,” she said.
I would have commented further but just then Alistair arrived. With his blond hair tied back, he strode in wearing a silk black dress shirt and dark jeans. In his hand was a dainty pink bag with white tissue paper. Uncle Seth walked in behind him wearing black and gold to match his hair: a gold top and black slacks. His hair was braided and lying over his shoulder. Another vampire came with them, Roslyn. I was always terrible with names, but I remembered hers because I sometimes left the Bastion in her clothes if mine were destroyed beyond repair. She and I had the same figure, average height, strong and curvy as all get out. But that was where our similarities ended. She had the brightest green eyes I’d ever seen, and curly black hair. Her fashion sense tended more toward leather corsets and small scraps of fabric she called miniskirts.
She came in and quickly, possessively, took Alistair’s arm. I had no idea they were even dating. I liked her well enough, but she wasn’t the smartest woman I knew. The outfit she chose to wear did not particularly inspire confidence in her mental faculties: a red tube top and shiny black shorts that looked more like boy-cut underwear. With thigh-high black boots and too much jewelry, I wasn’t sure if I should feel embarrassed for Alistair or ashamed of him. I shook my head and kept my eyes to myself. They betrayed too much and he was my friend. Best not to offend.
Alistair sat directly opposite me and looked right at me. He smiled at me for a prolonged amount of time. “What?” I asked him. He didn’t say anything. He just kept smiling as Roslyn pulled her chair out and sat at his side. I couldn’t help it…I could, but I didn’t want to. I read his mind.
“She’s so jealous. It’s mad how happy that makes me,” he thought. Strange, his accent was usually American unless he was angry or excited, and then his British accent came out. But his thoughts were all British. Was it pathetic that his accent made me bite my lip to keep the smile off my face? He looked at Roslyn with a frown. I wasn’t paying attention to what she was saying to him, and going by his thoughts, nor was he. “Bullshit, bullshit, bullshit,” he thought. He didn’t like her much, but looking further into his mind I could see him making love to her. It was brutal love making, purely animalistic and his eyes were closed. He told her to shut the fuck up every time she made a sound, and I laughed out loud. It was a loud curt laugh that caught me and everyone else off guard.
“Sorry,” I murmured with laughter still in my voice. Many people, including Alistair, were giving me strange looks. I cleared my throat. “Sorry,” I said overplaying normal. My voice was too deep, my face almost jokingly serious. Melvern alone found it amusing.
“Have you heard anything I just said?” asked Damon.
I made an uneasy face, “no.�
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“Olathia said that as soon as they clear out their vampires the meeting will begin. I think you should explain things, and then Katie and I will fill in the details.”
“Okay, sounds good,” I said.
As the Darkness vampires left, either back underground or outside, Alistair stood from his chair and made his way around the table.
“Can I talk to you?” he asked me.
“Of course.” I excused myself and followed him to the far side of the room, not that we really had much privacy in a room full of vampires with superior hearing.
“I have a gift for Isobel,” he said.
He handed me the little pink bag and I took it with a soft, “Thanks.” Grabbing past the tissue I pulled out a silver rattle. With a long elegant handle, it was beautiful if not a tad extravagant. “It’s lovely, Alistair,” I breathed. “Thank you. She’ll love it.”
“I had it engraved,” he said. He turned the rattle while still in my hand and read aloud the graceful words etched into the silver, “With eternal love, my dearest Isobel.”
“Oh, Alistair,” I said. “Embrace her, you fool,” I heard him think and I reached out and gave him a hardy hug. I let myself enjoy the feel of him in my arms. His thoughts of how wonderful it felt made me hold on longer still. I didn’t realize until he thought it, but I usually tensed up when he touched me. Not this time. I relaxed into his arms and it felt good to hold him, though, “I think we’ve been hugging too long for your girlfriend’s taste,” I said when I caught sight of Roslyn. She looked angry.
Alistair didn’t let me go to say, “We’re not a couple.” But what he thought made me let go of him and look him in the eyes.
He slept with Roslyn because in the dark with his eyes closed, if she was quiet, if her body was warm with fresh blood, he could almost pretend she was me. I didn’t know how to respond to that. It was something I wasn’t supposed to know.
