Vamp Chronicles
VAMP VERSUS VAMP
Book 4
by
Christin M Lovell
Edited by: Joy Sillesen of Indie Author Services
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Vamp Versus Vamp
Copyright © 2012 by Christin M Lovell
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Cover Copyright: © konradbak - Fotolia.com
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This is a work of fiction. The characters, incidents, and dialogues are products of the author’s imagination and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual events or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
***Vamp Chronicles
***
Diary of a Vampeen
Vamp Yourself for War
Hit the Road Jack
The Innocence of White (short story)
Vamp Versus Vamp
Darkness Falls – Coming Winter 2012
The Breaking of Dawn - Coming Spring 2013
***This book is dedicated to you, the fans of the Vamp Chronicles. Thank you for the inspiration, the motivation, and the ability to continue writing!
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But even if you should suffer for what is right, you are blessed. “Do not fear their threats; do not be frightened.”
1 Peter 3:14 NIV
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VAMP VERSUS VAMPPreface
“Wow. I can’t believe it’s been two whole months with no vampy woo-woo going on,” Mel said as we made our way to fourth period. We all had the same schedule; Kellan made sure of that.
“Really, Mel? Now you just went and totally jinxed us.” I sighed. “Ugh. Kellan, find me some wood so I can force her to knock on it.”
Kellan laughed. “You don’t really believe in that crap, do you?”
I shrugged. His brow shot up. “Please.” I gave him a small smile.
“Very superstitious; writing’s on the wall. Very superstitious; ladder’s ’bout to fall,” he sang, grinning before he sped out of sight around a corner.
“So I take it things are going good between the two of you,” Mel chuckled.
“Yeah. These last couple months have been great between us. We’re stronger than ever as a couple.”
“But?” She pinned me with a knowing stare.
“But I can’t help feeling like… I don’t know. Like something is off or maybe what we have isn’t strong enough or…” I heaved a heavy sigh. “I don’t know. Something just feels wrong despite how right Kellan feels to me.”
“Hmm. Maybe you two need to go on a romantic weekend getaway or something. I mean, you’re rarely alone. Every time I stop by someone’s always there.”
“Yeah, well, since you’ve been practically shacking up with Craig, you haven’t exactly been by often,” I teased. We laughed together, before silence fell between us, replaced by a more serious atmosphere.
“Oh, God, Lex, I can’t believe I’m going to be a vampeen in three days. I’m finally going to be in on everything. I’ll no longer be the outcast human hanging with a bunch of vamps,” she stated, her eyes a porthole to the excitement and vulnerability she felt.
“I know.” I smiled. “It’s been a long time coming. Who would have thought all those years ago when we met that we would be here today?”
“I’m excited, but nervous. I can already tell you’re going to have to talk me off the ledge Thursday.” She shuffled her feet beside the classroom door, clutching the strap of her book bag tightly.
“I’ll be there. I promise I’ll be there every step of the way.”
We stared at each other, the years passing between us. She understood in that moment that this would be merely a pinprick of a memory in the timeline of her life, but it was one that we would look back on together.
Chapter 1
“I wonder what the guys are planning on doing,” Mel asked as we walked into my house.
“Who knows with those two? My guess is they’ll head to the beach.” I raced towards the alarm box, prepared to shut it off, but stopped short when I didn’t hear the beeps, signaling it was on.
I flew to Mel’s side, standing protectively in front of her. I looked around the house, straining my ears to listen for any subtle noises that indicated the intruder was still here. When all I heard was silence, I signaled for Mel to remain where she was so I could check things out. She nodded her head, her eyes full of fear and worry. She knew I would protect her, but as I’d found out through experience, we were a lot more vulnerable than we liked to boast.
I took one step forward and froze when he walked around the corner into the family room. His predatory glare sent chills racing down my spine as serum flooded my mouth.
“Hello, ladies.” His rose-colored lips lifted slightly at the corners, the only indication of his amusement.
There was a distinct European flair about this man. His shaggy black hair contrasted against his tan skin. He didn’t have much muscle tone to him, or so it appeared through his suit. A suit is an odd thing to be doing dirty vamp business in. He was medium height, and while he was thin, he wasn’t etched muscle thin. It was his green eyes, similar in shade to my mother’s, that cast a familiar glow about him, though.
“Who are you, and what are you doing in my house?” I demanded, pulling Mel against my back.
“God, why couldn’t the myths about invitations be true?” Mel groaned behind me. I bumped her with my butt to get her to shut up. I didn’t know who the heck this guy was or if there was more of them.
“Who the hell are you, and what the hell are you doing in my house?” My voice was louder this time; my tone took on a harsh quality as my anxiety began to skyrocket.
He started to walk past the sectional towards us, undoing the top button of his jacket casually. I backed Mel up towards the back door to the garage, ready to shove her out so she could run at a moment’s notice. He stopped three feet in front of us.
“Now, is that any way to greet your grandfather?”
I shook my head. “Guh…grandfather?” I stuttered. I knew he was vamp, but without my nose, I couldn’t tell if he was a vampeen or a vampire.
“Yes. Didn’t your mother tell you about me?”
I studied him up and down before cautiously shaking my head ‘no.’
“Such a disappointment that woman was. I swear, she and Claire were the worst of the lot.” The hairs on my body stood at attention. Something was majorly wrong with him.
“How old are you?” I was surprised I had found my voice and that it didn’t shake.
He chuckled. “Old. I’m the second vampeen ever born.”
“I thought Cristianna was the second vampeen,” I countered, finally feeling like my feet were landing on solid ground.
“Given how my father was, you are truly to believe that he remained in one woman’s bed when he was looking to create an army?”
I stared at him, unsure whether to trust him or not. “What’s your real name?”
“Very good, granddaughter. It’s certainly not Charles Maxwell.” He laughed; it reminded me of chalk scraping along a blackboard. I cringed as if he had.
Abruptly he was in my face. I leaned back, covering Mel. “Cesar! My name is Cesar Euskadi.”
I closed my eyes, trying to calm my reaction. Over the past couple months Kellan and I had practiced controlling my new surge of electricity; it was still a work in progress though.
I heard him walk away from us. When he opened the fridge, I opened my eyes, my gaze locked on him. “What do you want?”
“I’m merely here to protect the girl.” He flicked his hand beyond me to Mel.
“Why would you want to protect her?”
He slammed the refrigerator door and was a few feet away again within the blink of an eye. Suddenly, I
was very grateful for Sir Staten’s blood. By the looks of things I would need to activate my gift just to have a chance at survival against my own flesh and blood. “You need my protection,” he bit out.
“Why would you want to protect me? And where were you five months ago when I needed protection?” I leaned forward, aiming myself in his direction.
He calmed down in a flash; it was as if someone had turned off his internal switch. “Because she’s one of us.” He locked eyes with me. “And they aren’t. But she is, so I’m offering you my protection. Do you want it or not?”
I looked at Mel. She was scared, starting to curl into herself; her arms couldn’t wrap any tighter around her ultra-slim waist. “It’s going to be okay, Mel. I’m not going to let anything happen to you. They’ll get you over my dead body.” That was a promise I intended to keep.
“I would reconsider that if I were you, Alexa,” Cesar casually stated, the slightest hint of repercussions imminent.
“Why? What is it that you want from me?”
“I want you.”
“Why me? Why now?”
“Because, without Kellan, with the two of you separated, I can do exactly what I want and get away with it. No political power plays to hold off.”
“You’re the reason I’m taking a stand. Blood or not, I don’t take kindly to racists.”
“You are naïve.”
“Maybe I am, but I know for certain that your prejudice will be your greatest downfall, Cesar.” His features began to scrunch before he replaced his frown with a tranquil façade.
“Boys! Get them!” Cesar stood back, his hands folded in front of him, watching the scene unfold with pleasure.
Three vampeens, faster than most of the vamps I came across, raced towards us. Two came directly at me; the last one went straight for Mel.
“Let me go!” she screamed, pulling on her arm to no avail. The vamp laughed in her face and had her pinned to the ground in half a second.
“No! No, no, no!” I yelled, illuminating like a Christmas tree. Within seconds I snapped the necks of the two who attacked me. I grabbed the third by the back of his shirt and threw him across the room, slamming him into the cupboards, effectively wrecking my mother’s beautiful kitchen.
“What the hell, Lex?” Mel gasped, slowly inching away from me towards the corner. She was visibly shaking.
“It’s alright, Mel. I promise I’m still me.” She swallowed hard. I threw my arm out, knocking the vamp into the wall again as he launched himself at me. She glanced at the vamp; averting her eyes from me, she nodded.
“Well done, Alexa.” Cesar clapped his hands dramatically. He was already grating on me. I gathered that he was theatrical about everything despite knowing him less than an hour. “So what’s it going to be, granddaughter?”
“Go to hell.” I scowled, disdain clear in my tone.
He laughed, as if I’d merely made a joke. “I’ll give you some time. Clearly you don’t understand the stakes here.”
A chill ran up my spine; foreboding twisted my gut. “What stakes?”
“This.” He held out a smart phone showing a live video stream.
The lighting was ample despite the dark environment. Stacked cement blocked created the wall behind where which Kellan and Craig were in chains. It appeared to be a cellar, though where I couldn’t ascertain.
Kellan was the worse for wear. He’d been stripped down to his boxers. Cuts and bruises covered his body; he wasn’t healing quickly, as blood pooled near his feet. Abruptly someone poked Kellan, electricity running through the metal chains and over his body. He grunted in pain, still trying to be brave; abruptly he collapsed to the ground. Craig yanked and pulled with all his might on his own restraints, but they were soldered tight.
“Craig’s a vampeen. He’s one of us,” I said. My voice was flat, devoid of all emotion. I’d almost turned off what I saw, and would have gotten away with it had that one traitorous tear not escaped.
“The moment you protect a vampire, you become one of them. You become our enemy.”
And just as quickly as he’d appeared, he was gone, leaving me with no clues as to what city, let alone what neighborhood, the basement cellar where my fiancé was being tortured was located.
Rage burst through me. My body shook with tension. My heart was breaking, slowly blackening at the thought of a life without Kellan. My palms flew open, facing the heavens as wind slapped my face, swirling throughout the space. My veins illuminated, taking on a red light, finally the color of blood. My vision blurred at the edges as a heavy power sprouted from my core.
“Ahhh!” I bellowed my cry over the suffering of my love right as electricity began to crackle around my skin. I threw my hands up, electricity shooting out from my palms.
The ceiling cracked along its surface above me, spider-webbing outwards, with my harsh blow. My breathing became labored and my balance tilted as I fought to remain conscious. I had to control this. It was a power, but it used my energy, my emotions, as fuel. If I hit empty, so did my body.
I stumbled, catching and ripping the back of the sofa with my enhanced strength right as my world was covered in darkness.
Chapter 2
I slowly became aware of male arms encasing me. My eyes flew open. Al stared down at me, frowning.
“Are you okay, sweetie?” Beth asked, drawing my attention towards her. She stood off to the side, a wet washcloth in her hand.
“Where’s Mel?” I croaked. I sat up, grabbing my head as a dizzy spell set in. I closed my eyes for a minute, breathing deep, waiting for her answer.
“I called her father to come get her. They left about fifteen minutes ago.”
“Fifteen minutes? Oh, God. How long was I out?” I couldn’t contain my worry.
“According to Mel, you’ve been out a little over two hours now,” Al stated.
“Two hours?” My voice was loud, panicked. I leapt up, looking throughout the space anxiously. The bodies were gone, but the damage I’d done to my parents’ once beautiful home was crushing.
“Lexi, what’s wrong?” Beth grabbed my arm, forcing me back towards them.
“He has him; he has them.” I stumbled to think clearly enough to communicate.
“Who’s ‘he’?” Al pressed, worry creasing his brow. Beth pursed her lips, taking in my behavior.
I fidgeted, wringing my hands together. “My grandfather, Cesar Euskadi.”
Al was on his feet in a split second, phone in hand. “Shit.”
My eyes widened at his curse. Al never cussed. If he was this upset just over who had Kellan, I could only imagine how angry he was going to be once I told him what they were doing to him.
“Um, they were torturing him. All I could gather were electric chains and some sort of charger that they prodded him with.” I closed my eyes, tears gathering. I winced as the image flashed in my mind. “The metal of the chains was something strong, too, because he was pulling hard.”
“It’s probably laced with a chemical compound that weakens him.” Al ran his hand through his hair, yanking at the roots. He walked past us, obviously needing room to pace.
“This better be an emergency, Bancroft,” I heard Auggy grumble through the line.
“It is. Cesar Euskadi has my son.”
“Shit. Where’s Lexi?”
“Here.”
“I’m on it. Give me a second to pull up the tracker.”
“Tracker?” My ears perked up; it was the first spark of hope I’d felt.
“Relax, honey. It’s under his watch. It blends right in,” Beth replied.
“When did this happen?”
“When you returned from Puerto Rico.” She tucked her hair behind her ears, shifting as she waited with me.
“Damn. They’re out of the state already,” Auggy sighed. I heard the frustration in his voice. “Meet me at the launch pad in Bellawood. I’m sending troops on foot who’ll arrive shortly behind us. I have a feeling we’re going to need a hell of a lot of backup
.”
“See you,” Al clipped, ending the call. He was already walking out the door; Beth and I ran to catch up. I grabbed my cell and keys on the way out, not even bothering to set the alarm.
I slid into the back seat of my Mercedes coupe, immediately pressing all the security buttons and features.
“System activated. Shield activated. Satellite active. Software available.” The computer talked us through every control I pressed. I was grateful to the Bladangs and Kellan for insisting on it. Sadly, I’d used the advanced technology in my car on multiple occasions.
Al took my keys and shoved them into the ignition. With the garage door merely halfway up, he peeled out of the driveway. I was thrown backward as he sped off.
“You’re familiar with Cesar, I take it,” I stated, my eyes studying him. His muscles flexed, telling me that he heard me, yet he remained silent as he continued to drive. I placed my hand on his shoulder. “Al? Please.”
Beth reached over, gathering one of his hands. “Go ahead, honey.”
“He killed my parents, or had them killed.”
“But I thought they died of old age?”
“No. I don’t particularly care to talk about it. Just know that I fell on the wrong side of a political debate gone awry.” His brows drew together; his lips formed a thin line as he ground his teeth.
My heart was beating erratically as I watched his reaction to it all. Al was always calm, cool, and collected. He was the sanity in the midst of every emergency. Yet here he was on the verge of breaking my steering wheel as he zigzagged through traffic at well over a hundred miles per hour.
I studied my striking engagement ring; the green of the diamond reminded me of Kellan’s eyes. Elephants stomped on my stomach as I recalled the image my grandfather had showed me. Kellan didn’t deserve this. Few vamps chose this life, and vampeens didn’t have a choice at all. They were thrown into this life at the tender age of sixteen, told to hold on tight and pick sides.
As Al swerved around a car on the exit ramp, my gut clenched. I realized that slowly my human life had faded away. My life was but a fragment of the same reality. Was it so much to ask for normality? I suppose that was why I clung to the rituals of a human: attending school, eating food, despite it being drenched with blood, and having girls’ nights. Yet here I was, speeding past humans on their way home from work, praying that my vampire fiancé was still alive and not suffering too much.
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