Young Sean left the pub in a hurry when I mentioned how difficult it would be to secure appropriate accommodations should he dally too long. From there, it was only a matter of time before his secrets were revealed.
The weekend brought the revelers to the streets of downtown London. The gypsies danced in the streets and performed their tricks. The band played, and the music carried in the air, echoed off the buildings, and vibrated in the veins of every mortal. The fourteen-day-long party provided the ultimate feast and an unparalleled cover to hide the number of missing humans.
I followed Sean and his young lover through the streets, hidden in the masses of people. They never knew I watched while they ate, drank, danced, and lived as though they didn’t have a care in the world. They were just two young men in the city to enjoy the same festival many other best friends were. The first couple of nights, they were extra careful with their interactions—avoiding personal contact and any appearance they were a couple.
After nights of alcohol and being away from the watchful eyes of their parents, the pair became less careful, bolder, and lost their inhibitions. That was my sign. When they retired to their rented room for the night, I watched through the window until they embraced each other and fused their lips together. Within seconds, I’d found a constable walking on the street below and reported their crime of unnatural acts. As a concerned citizen, it was my duty to inform the officer of such acts occurring in the room next to mine. The constable was all too willing to oblige me and investigate my concerns.
When he burst through the door without warning and caught them in the act, there was no denying their crime. With all the eyewitnesses watching from the hallway, there was no need for a trial. To save his family the public shaming and embarrassment, Sean asked for a speedy sentence. Before his parents could arrive from the countryside outside London proper, Sean was hung as punishment for his crime.
And all I could do was think about rushing back to America to tell Alea myself. So I could see her face. So I could feel her anger and pain roll off her and crash into me, fueling my hatred, feeding my anger, cocooning me in my obsession.
Distance gives perspective. It seems hypocritical of a vampire to ruminate over feeling guilty for causing a man to die. Yet, here I sit, regretting my vampiric flight across the ocean to London. I regret setting such a bright young man on his path to destruction. I regret using him as a pawn in my deadly game. I regret that he chose a quick death, preserving his honor and nobility while sparing his family from a long, drawn-out process.
I regret not having that same noble and honorable nature in me.
As evident from the acts I carried out upon my return to New York. Alea’s parents. Alea herself—my brother’s wife. My sister by law—human law and vampire alike. But it’s really worse than breaking a rule my kind cannot forgive.
I broke my bond to my brother. I betrayed his love and his trust. I’ve created an enemy out of the worst person I could’ve possibly chosen. His strength is by far the greatest I’ve ever seen, but when he saw me feeding on Alea, it became more.
More focused.
More ambitious.
More furious.
More lethal.
He’ll come for me, but I don’t want to fight him. He would no doubt win a fair fight—but I don’t want to kill my brother, not by tricks or ruses. I don’t want to hurt my brother, any more than I already have, at least. At the same time, I don’t want to die, especially before I’ve had an opportunity to make amends. Somehow.
In the meantime, I find my options limited, and the only acceptable choice really isn’t acceptable at all. I’m forced to increase the numbers of my clan, to move ahead with ideas for new businesses, and to add to my secret stash of humans to feed on in private quarters. Though it may be akin to humans eating the same food every day without variety, my plan at least gives us shelter and keeps us hidden when we need it.
And I will most certainly need the shelter for quite a while. This city has become my home, and I don’t want to leave. There must be a way to work this out to our mutual benefit.
Tonight, I moved through the streets and kept to the darkness, checked around corners, and watched over my shoulder, waiting for my brother to appear out of thin air and cut off my head. My clan is out increasing our numbers a few at a time, but I’m going stir-crazy not being part of the action.
Plus, the novelty of Richelle and Corinne turned to monotony, so I gave them to Patrick. I went out on the prowl for more to join them and found two more who fit my tastes. They don’t have the hold Alea has over me. If I could find someone like her, a woman whose blood makes mine boil with desire, I would never become bored. I’d never tire of her. I’d never need another.
She would be my immortal love.
Patrick came back from the hunt tonight and reported to me, as per protocol.
“We added fifteen more tonight. They’re in the basement of The Sanctuary undergoing their immortal births. They should be ready to swear allegiance to our clan in a couple of days. We’ll have plenty of vampires to protect you once the others we brought in are ready in the morning.”
“Thanks for the good news on the numbers. But don’t put them in front of me if Slade comes after me. Or, more accurately, when he comes for me. They won’t be able to stand against him. Take my word for it.”
* * *
Slade Barnett, 1790
My wife is learning her new life so fast, I’m convinced she was born to be a vampire. My shy, timid little proper lady was born to be fierce, fearless, and confident. There’s always the possibility that her hatred and thirst for revenge are driving her more than anything else. She’s dead set on being the one who takes Ramses down. At the rate she’s excelling, I can hardly doubt it will be her.
But she also understands my position. She respects my request as I respect hers. First, as well as she’s doing, as strong as she is mentally and physically, his years of developing skills and strength would completely eclipse her measly few weeks of training. Second, my brother betrayed me by feeding on my wife. It is my right and duty as a man and a husband to obliterate him.
It’s the noble and honorable thing to do.
Thomas and I have been watching Ramses and his clan’s movements, and they don’t have a clue. The number of people missing has started to raise too many alarms. Illustrations of missing loved ones are in every shop window and being handed out on every street corner with the newspapers. It’s only a matter of time before an observant citizen recognizes one of the faces. Before I put an end to Ramses, we need to know what he and his clan are planning.
I’ve put all of my focus into training Alea, and she has willingly accepted every word. She is my only escape, and she keeps the monster inside me at bay. I felt him trying to escape the night I almost lost my world. It was all I could do to prevent him from taking over and destroying everything in sight. As a matter of fact, I don’t think I would have gotten him under control if Ramses hadn’t mentioned her at the moment he did.
Knowing that darkness lives inside me is one reason why I’ve been overly patient with Ramses during his episodes. I’ve never told him about my own demon because he would only use it as an excuse to dismiss his madness. Ramses is weak. Had he channeled his inner strength, he would be so much more than he is. He could harness that incredible power and make it work for him, make it bend to his will instead of him always bending to it.
Only Thomas knows about what I keep suppressed inside me. He had a vision once where it got loose, and the devastation was unreal. Even as hardened and experienced as Thomas is, he was shaken up from everything he saw. He was cautious when he approached me, but he was also direct. I’ve heeded his warning since that day, and I’ve attempted to keep Ramses in a steady state as well.
But that night, I wanted to let him out. I wanted to annihilate Ramses. Every time I’ve seen him on our spying missions since then, Thomas whispered Alea’s name to me to save us all from whatever this dark force ins
ide me is. I wish I knew what it was, what it would do if it were loosed. All I know for certain is Alea’s presence calms it. It doesn’t want to lose her any more than I do.
I was lost in my musings, deep in reflective thought, when my love surprised me.
“You are a wonderful teacher, Slade.” She complimented me as she straddled my lap. I love when she gets frisky and excited. It’s the ultimate turn-on when my woman demands sex from me.
“You’re an even better student,” I replied and slid my hands under her shirt. My fingers glided against her skin as I wrapped them around her waist. “Is there something else you’d like me to teach you tonight?”
“Maybe you can try to teach me that trick you do with your tongue. I don’t think I quite figured it out last time.”
“It would definitely be my pleasure to give you another demonstration of my tongue-flicking skills. I seem to remember you enjoyed dreaming of that before we married. Every night, in fact.”
“Yes, my dreams.” She cut her eyes at me sideways in a mock glare. “That’s one thing you haven’t taught me yet. How did you do that?”
I couldn’t help but grin at her in reply. “Every vampire has different gifts. They develop and strengthen over time. One of my gifts is the ability to control people’s dreams. In your case, I made them all about me.
“The many times I was actually in your bed with you, I had you under my trance. I can gently persuade people to do what I want them to do. It’s more difficult with the strong-willed, but weak-minded people are easy to control.”
“Are you saying I’m weak-minded?”
“Not at all. You remembered every time, didn’t you?”
“Yes. At the time, I thought they were all dreams. But now that you mention it, there were some that felt different from the others. They felt more real. Now I know they were real.”
“It took all of my focus to keep you in a semi-trance state. You started slipping out of it when my mind strayed to more distracting things. Like how good you tasted when I flicked my tongue against your clit.”
“Take me to our bedroom and attempt your trance on me now, Mr. Barnett. Your wife is waiting.”
When my wife openly asks for a thorough fucking, the one thing she’ll never do is wait for it.
Chapter 11
Alea Barnett, December 1790
Snowflakes falling in New York on Christmas Eve night is a beautiful sight. I could sit and watch them for hours now because I can see each individual snowflake. The tiny designs of crystals are different in every one—but they’re all equally beautiful.
They also distract me from the madness of our current world. I haven’t journaled in quite a while because we’ve all been so busy.
The reality of my life is so surreal it’s difficult to fathom. A short nine months ago, I embarked on an adventure with my parents by coming to America. In that brief time, everything has changed, including me. Especially me. My family was slaughtered by my brother-in-law, and now we’re in the throes of a major clan war. The docile wallflower I once was is dead and long gone. The prim and proper debutante my parents raised me to be has been replaced by a sinister assassin with no qualms about taking a life to prolong mine.
Slade has trained me to be a stealthy killer—lethal in every way. My powers showed up quickly after my birth. Slade passed some of his gifts on to me, and since he shares a bloodline with Ramses, apparently that means I get a dose of his gifts as well. The combination of talents has resulted in a unique outcome for me.
Slade’s ability to influence people and enter their dreams, combined with Ramses’s ability to read minds, gave me the ability to completely control others for short periods. I should amend that to say I can control those who are weaker. Every day, I practice on Slade since he’s the strongest vampire I know. Once I have a slight hold over him, I’ll know I’m ready to face Ramses.
Thomas refuses to let me practice on him anymore after our last training test.
“Get out of my head, Alea,” he warned. “I can feel you roaming around in there.”
“What have you been doing, Thomas?” I asked, quirking one brow upward.
“I don’t know what you mean.” He denied my insinuation, but his dubious expression said otherwise.
“You’ve been creating a larger clan for quite a while now, haven’t you?”
“That’s enough practicing for today.” His tone was curt and abrupt, the complete opposite of his usual demeanor.
“Thomas, I didn’t mean to imply you’ve done anything wrong.”
He stopped just short of reaching the doorway and turned slowly to face me. “I know you didn’t,” he replied with a softer tone. “It’s true. I have been building Slade’s clan, but only as a means to defend ourselves.
“I told Slade some time ago Ramses would do this—he’d turn on us. If we weren’t prepared, we’d all be slaughtered. Ramses is building his clan for far more nefarious reasons than mine. He’s clearly unstable, but his plans for humans and clan members alike are too dangerous for our kind.”
He stopped speaking and looked at me thoughtfully. His eyes crinkled in the corners and narrowed to mere slits.
“What is it?” I asked.
“How did you know that? I wasn’t even thinking about it, so it couldn’t be because you read my mind.”
“I’m beginning to be able to access memories, too. It’s odd. Sometimes I can’t tell immediately whether it’s a current thought or an old memory.”
“You’ve inherited some powerful gifts. You’ll make one terrifying vampire when you reach full strength. I’m glad you’re on my team.”
“Do you see my future?” I was genuinely interested in what Thomas saw for me, what I could look forward to in my new life.
“Not a vision like I normally see. But there’s a strong air about you that screams greatness. It’s a force that surrounds you and draws others to you.”
I laughed with no humor in my tone. “Is that why Ramses was so drawn to me? Is that why he killed my family? Is that why he tried to kill me—because he was drawn to my invisible force?”
One side of his mouth lifted, amused by my sarcastic reply. “No, but I am surprised you haven’t worked that out yet. You are quite intelligent.”
“Tell me why.” He definitely had my full attention. An explanation of why all this lunacy has occurred could help settle the guilt that has built up inside me. Guilt that I encouraged any of this by encouraging Ramses’s advances before I met Slade.
“Slade explained you’re his immortal love, correct?”
“Yes, he told me every vampire only has one immortal love for eternity. And it’s a miracle when they actually find each other.”
“That’s right. Since Slade and Ramses shared a mortal bloodline as well as an immortal one, it was only natural for Ramses to feel an intense attraction to you. That wouldn’t make him do everything he did, though. All of that is on Ramses and Ramses alone.
“What he would’ve felt toward you, had he been a normal vampire, would be possessive and protective, more like an older brother would toward his sister.”
“What do you mean by ‘a normal vampire’? How is he not a normal vampire?”
“Ramses has always had difficulties with controlling his impulses. His possessiveness of you turned into an obsession and made his insanity worse.”
“He never seemed insane to me when he attended dinners at my father’s table.”
“He has moments of clarity. Slade was able to keep much of Ramses’s illness under control when he was around. But he couldn’t be his nanny every moment. Ramses’s madness knows no bounds when it gets out of control. He’s also always been envious of Slade, so seeing you with his archnemesis was just too much for him.
“His immortal obsession is married to his immortal nemesis. He both loves and hates his brother, just as he loves and hates himself. It’s a bad situation all the way around. You were caught in the middle of it, but it’s in no way your fault.”
Thomas nodded, his facial expression conveying empathy, but his thoughts strayed to regret and sadness. “Take care of your feelings, Alea.”
He left me with that ominous warning and no further explanation. Although, I’m afraid I do know exactly what he meant, and it concerns me. If the mad illness came from the original Barnett bloodline and was enhanced from the vampire who turned both brothers, does that mean I’m next in line since that same blood turned me?
I didn’t have time to dwell on that thought for long before Slade came in with dried blood on his face and clothes. His eyebrows were drawn down tight, his lips formed a thin line, and his jaw was rigid. He paced back and forth in a barely managed fit of anger. His footsteps fell hard on the wood floor and echoed throughout the house from the force. Whatever happened wasn’t good, and from the way his face was contorted in anger, it also wasn’t over.
“Slade.” I approached him with caution. Not that I think he would ever hurt me, but I could sense from his manner it wouldn’t take much to incite his fury. “Talk to me. Tell me what happened. Let me help.”
His pacing halted, and his hands curled into fists. “Give me a moment.” He managed to keep his tone neutral, but a flash of red flickered in his eyes. It only lasted a fraction of a second, but I know what I saw. What concerned me the most about the whole situation wasn’t the odd color in his eyes or his intense anger or even his refusal to tell me what had happened. It was the sinking feeling in my chest…because I couldn’t feel what he felt anymore. For the first time since the night we met, I couldn’t feel our connection.
* * *
Slade Barnett, 1790
The main objective I have in mind when I set out on my daily quest is to locate Ramses and discover his true intentions. His clan’s true intentions. His members are not as clever and stealthy as they think they are. He has too many new, inexperienced changelings who don’t know how to control their hunger or how to blend in with the humans. They stick out like a sore thumb, attracting unnecessary attention at every turn. So far, their juvenile antics have occurred late at night when the residential streets are mostly vacant.
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