Blood of the Gods (The Vampire from Hell Part 5)

by Ally Thomas

  I laughed as Blick rolled his eyes at me. “It was a great way to get my attention.”

  “And now we have each other,” he whispered in my ear as he nuzzled my neck. “Remember, I wasn’t the first one to be saved. You saved me first.”

  “We saved each other,” I qualified. “I’m so glad Lynn saw my post and you found me.”

  “Thank god for the internet, right?”

  I smiled and nodded, gleefully relived that Blick had dropped the shape-shifting talk. I had seen movies of vampires being able to shift into green mist or fog, or even change into a bat. More than that? Give me a fucking break, I thought.

  “Never say never, Rayea. Anything is possible.”

  “Get out of my head, darling.”

  “Fine, whatever. I need to …”

  With vampire speed, my movements blurred in the air. I laced my hands around his waist and pulled Blick into my lap. His seven-foot-tall muscular frame barely fit in the chair and the weight of his body crushed me, but I didn’t care. Now I refused not to show him every ounce of emotion I felt. I refused to second-guess myself ever again. “Does that bother you? That the smartass has returned?” I asked him.

  “Not at all,” he said as our eyes met. His gaze penetrated the depths of my soul. “I don’t think of us as one person who follows the other. I never have thought that. I see us as one soul. You are the other half of my heart. That is why I could not stand it. I knew I had to find you as soon as I got one hint of your whereabouts. It was driving me into a rage I did not know if I could come back from!”

  “Do you understand?”

  “I do now,” I replied.

  His kiss was delicate upon my lips, yet still passionate enough that I wanted to throw him on the couch.

  “You never once doubted I was alive?” I asked.

  “Never!”

  I narrowed my eyes at him and then offered him a smirk. “Grace said…”

  “Okay so yes, I did finally doubt if you were…there at the end,” he paused and glanced down at the floor. “But in the beginning, when I realized you could hear my thoughts, that I could see you in our dreams, but that you didn’t know who I was, I thought I had truly lost you. I knew I had to find a way to you and I was powerless. That almost killed me. I don’t do powerless well.”

  “I guess neither do I,” I sighed and placed my hand on his heart. “We’ll never be apart again.”

  “Never,” he whispered.

  After my return from the other side, our connection was now a warm glowing presence in every fiber of my being. It did not ever go away. Day and night I felt it. “Forever my protector,” I agreed. Then I added, “Being able to shift into a dragon is pretty fucking cool.”

  Blick rolled his eyes at me as I struggled to pin his hands behind him in a playful tussle. He growled at me, pulled me out of my chair before I could object, and flipped me into his lap. “You don’t need protection anymore, Miss Badass. But I’m still going to try.” He gathered me into his arms and kissed me again.

  “I know,” I giggled and ran my finger along his cheekbone as our eyes met. “Those dreams saved me. You kept me going.” I did not move a muscle as he silently looked at me. The passion he had for me rising. I would not deny my love for him ever again. I returned it with all the love I could possess, shining from my heart and soul.

  “Shall we?” I glanced down the hall which led to our vast bedroom overlooking the ocean. Making love as the sun came up was a ritual I had begun to enjoy.

  “Are we alone?”

  “We are,” I answered, kissing him on the lips lightly. “My mother and Ra left for Napa Valley a few hours ago. They’ll be gone all weekend.”

  “Very tempting, but I can’t,” he replied. “I better get going.” The low baritone voice in his chest halted my breath. I loved to hear him whisper in my ear when we made love. He ran his hands through his black hair.

  “Rayea, you know we will face them again. Your father or sister or whoever they produce.”

  I nodded, hating the fact that his mood had changed so suddenly. “It doesn’t mean I have to worry about it, especially now,” I replied. “And it doesn’t mean you have to get involved in policing the world, looking for them or Beelzebub’s brothers. Let’s just leave it alone for now!”

  He pulled me into his arms and hugged me. His large height of seven-feet enveloped me and I came face to face with his muscular chest. “You know I have to do this,” he said.

  I wanted to be angry with him, but I could not do it. Blick was right.

  “When they show up, we need to be ready,” he stated.

  “Promise me you’ll be careful.” I smiled up at him, fighting back a few tears brimming in my eyes. I knew we were two souls locked in an immortal connection now. The blood exchange had ensured that. The blood bond that no one ever wanted to see happen. Maybe we always had been linked, but now I knew I wanted to stand by Blick forever. I wanted Blick by my side forever too. The concern in my eyes said it better than my words and thoughts could.

  “When you get back, we’ll go ring shopping?” I waved my left hand at him as he continued to hold me in his arms.

  He laughed. “You propose and I have to buy the rings? Is that how it works?”

  “I think so,” I declared.

  “You have a wedding to plan.”

  A smile spread across my face. “Can’t we just elope?”

  “With the fuss your mom is making over this, I doubt it.” As he turned to go, he added, “Don’t spend all morning writing.” He grabbed his motorcycle helmet off the couch. “I won't be gone long and I'm sure you'll need a break this afternoon, say around 2?”

  My cheeks turned red.

  Blick smiled widely as he glanced back at me, and then headed to the hallway. “I love you,” he called out.

  “I love you more,” I sang back to him. Our joking back and forth about the depths of our love was ridiculous, but I enjoyed it. It did not dampen my devotion to him and I knew he knew that.

  Fighting a feeling of dread that wanted to slip into my thoughts, I rolled my chair over to the railing and watched him saunter down the stairs. I sighed again, noticing his handsome appearance. His broad shoulders revealed a new confidence. He was my tall, muscular man of seven-foot. Oh yes, Blick’s presence was understood when he walked into a room. As he descended the stairs, his black hair flowed around him. His new shoulder-length haircut, moved effortlessly around the strong features of his face and I loved how animated it made his face seem. He still pushed his bangs out of his eyes as often as he could, probably from habit. I wanted to rush down the stairs and take him in my arms.

  I had to remember that my death had brought about a new Rayea, a new vampire, a new woman solid in her decisions for the future, yet holding a deadly force inside her like no other. Dragon lady indeed, I thought, feeling the power race to my fingertips. Not now.

  Taking a few deep breaths, I calmed the new spirit that was now a part of me. I thought of what Blick had said, a natural shape-shifter. Really? Instead of wondering what that meant, I settled on the emotion I felt when I first saw Blick again, after so long. Utter happiness. For now I wanted that, not the rage, not the anger, not the speculation of the unknown, not even the thirst or the hunger. I wanted something else right now. I wanted love and I did not care who in the world knew I was beyond giddy with being in love. I could finally shout it from the rooftops if I wanted to. I was finally happy, and I deserved to be so. We all deserved to be happy.

  As I heard Blick's bike roar down the driveway, I decided I would not worry about what he and Demetri discovered. He would be careful. I trusted him. I trusted both of them. It was time I stopped trying to control everything and seize every opportunity to be happy. Being dead had definitely taught me how to fight back, as if I had ever forgotten that inner strength for survival I was blessed with! If my sister and father tried to wreck my upcoming wedding day, well…they had no idea now who they were dealing with. Time would only tell if I w
ould see them again. Time would only tell if they would enjoy meeting the new me. I grabbed my phone to call Grace and see if she had found Lynn.

  Chapter 18

  Conversation with Rayea (Grace)

  ***

  “Son, Observe the Time and Fly from Evil” ~ Ecclesiasticus 4:23

  ***

  “Explain to me why you are dressed up like a giant teddy bear, out in public no less?” Rayea sat down beside me on a bench in Grant Park. “What you and Demetri do in your bedroom is one thing? But in public? Grace, people will talk,” she joked.

  “Don’t look at me,” I snapped. “I’m in disguise. Some of us can’t shape-shift yet,” I qualified. My nerves were on edge lately. Having not been able to find Lynn had made me rather grumpy. I knew my fur suit was stupid, but I did not care. After two weeks, I had located her and had been following her around the city.

  “Like this?”

  “God, I hate you sometimes!” I exclaimed when I looked down and saw that Rayea had shifted her human body into that of a small black cat. “How do you do that?” I screeched.

  “I don’t know. I thought it might piss you off. It worked. You seem to be on a roll. We need to go hunting tonight it sounds like. Don’t we? Your love bug isn’t home either, so I know that is upsetting you.”

  “That’s true,” I admitted. Demetri being away at work was annoying the crap out of me. I tried not to itch my face, yet again, and screamed in frustration. “Screw this!” I growled as I yanked off the massive teddy bear head. I propped the structure on my knees and hid behind it. “I want to go now. I see someone that I want to sample.”

  Rayea shifted into her human form again. I knew my comment would shock her out of her silliness. My maker had been extremely happy lately or so I had heard from Demetri. He and Blick had been working a lot and Rayea had not had the time to visit me as often as I would like. I knew I was being pissy. Certainly, she did not refer to humans as samples. Sometimes I did, especially when I was having a bad day. And today? This fledgling vampire was having a very bad day.

  Without saying anything, Rayea stood up and walked a few feet down the street to a kiosk stand for tourists. She returned with two sets of big, black sunglasses and baseball hats. “Who do you want to be? The 49ers or the Giants?” She shoved a black and gold 49ers cap in my hands. “Here, this will go better with your complexion and red hair. Okay, what the fuck is going on with Lynn? She’s not been returning my calls.”

  Cocking her head as she glared down at me, her fangs peeked out from under her lips. She paused for a moment and tapped her foot. “Disguise? Hello. Put it on. Then we can talk.”

  As she put on her hat and glasses and returned to the bench, I wedged my way out of the teddy bear suit and stashed it and the head near a swing set. A few tourists passed by us, but did not speak to us. I assumed they were used to seeing weirdoes in San Francisco, undressing for no apparent reason in broad daylight. Thankfully, I had worn a fitted t-shirt and my skinny black jeans and ballet slippers underneath the suit. Surely, I did not look too odd with my red hair piled up on my head in a bun. I decided to ignore them as I launched into what I had discovered.

  “Every day at lunch and sometimes in the evenings, for the past two weeks, Lynn and Steve, the boyfriend we both hate with a passion, have been showing up at this church. I don’t know why because I haven’t gone in, but something is going on and it’s downright freaky, as in Stephanie freaky, if you get my meaning.”

  “Don’t say that,” Rayea interjected, looking over at the Old Saint Mary's Cathedral across the street from Grant Park where we sat.

  I shut my mouth and fumed. I did not know what to do and it seemed that Rayea wasn’t taking me seriously. I was at a lost. For several moments, we sat in silence, watching people come and go from the church.

  “What is the quote above the church there? ‘Son, Observe the Time and Fly from Evil’ ~ Efficient 4:23. What does that mean?”

  “Rayea,” I said. “That’s scripture. It’s Ecclesiasticus 4:23, not Efficient.”

  She continued to stare at me, almost looking pass me like I did not exist. She began to chew on her lips, a habit I knew she did when she was contemplating her next move or completely confused.”

  “The Bible. You know? Heaven and Hell. Angels. Demons. Good versus evil.”

  She continued to stare at me, her eyes vacant and not processing my meaning at all.

  “Oh my god,” I exclaimed and threw up my hands, nearly knocking my baseball hat off. “You don’t know what I’m talking about, do you?”

  “Clearly,” she replied. She positioned the hat on my head again in a motherly fashion. “There is some book this quote is from?”

  “Yes. I mean. I guess so. I haven’t read it from cover to cover. I’m not religious, spiritual maybe. Well maybe not even that. I’m probably condemned to darkness now. I tried to kill myself. Remember?”

  “Under the clock face of Old St. Mary's appears the words: ‘Son, Observe the Time and Fly from Evil’ (Ecclesiasticus 4:23). This sentiment was aimed at the men who frequented the surrounding brothels in the 1850s,” Rayea announced as she read from her iPhone.

  “You searched for it on the Internet?”

  “Of course, why not? I don’t see how that is scripture. It sounds more like some good advice to those guys spending their money on too much sex in olden times, right? Wasn’t that during the gold rush?”

  “Never mind,” I grumbled, concluding that I was not going to be able to have a philosophical conversation with a vampire from Hell, who knew nothing about religion. It was hopeless.

  “Can we get back to Lynn?” Rayea asked. “I called Ashton by the way.”

  “Okay, yes. Fine,” I replied, glancing at my watch. “It’s 1:05 pm. They should be coming out soon. We could follow them.”

  “Why can we not go in and check it out? It’s just a building, right?” Rayea widened her brilliant green eyes at me, silently telling me I was ridiculous if I thought differently.

  I pulled her to me. “We’re vampires. We’ll explode into flames if we walk through holy doors. Don’t you think?”

  Rayea fell into a fit of hysterical laughter, for my benefit I assumed. I did not appreciate being laughed at.

  “What?” I demanded. “What’s so funny?”

  She wiped her eyes as tears of joy steamed down her cheeks and ran her fingers through her long silky black hair that I wished I had instead of my rolling mess of red curls. She tossed her long longs over her shoulder and smirked at me.

  “What?” I yelled back at her.

  She stopped laughing suddenly and smiled at me, her long fangs shining brightly in the sun. “Grace, you forget who we are. Truly. We are girl power through and through, right?” She raised her hand to give me a fist bump. I didn’t move.

  “We can sneak into the church and see what’s going on,” she continued. “We’ll go through the steeple if that makes you feel safer. We’ll come back tonight when it’s dark. How’s that for a plan, Teddy Bearskins?”

  “Fine,” I replied. “I’m done talking to you for right now. I’m too mad.”

  “Did we miss her?”

  “Yes, Rayea,” I hissed. “We missed Lynn. I’m sure she’s gone.”

  She lowered her head at me and tightened her lips. Her eyes flashed.

  I had seen that look before. I recoiled in fear. Since her fangs did not retract anymore, she was constantly running her tongue over them when she had her lips shut. It was an obsessive compulsive tick she had developed and I knew I had pissed her off. Quickly, I apologize and headed down the street away from the church and park. “I’ll show you where they are staying. Okay?”

  “Excellent,” she muttered.

  Chapter 19

  Conversation with Ashton (Rayea)

  ***

  “I'm not concerned with your liking or disliking me... All I ask is that you respect me as a human being.” ~ Jackie Robinson

  ***

  As Grace and I
walked along the streets of China Town, we weaved through the crowds of tourists. I enjoyed seeing the sights of my favorite city and tried to process Grace’s frantic nature. Usually she enjoyed my joking and kidding her, but this concern she had for Lynn’s safety had my vampire senses on edge. The fire in my blood rumbled and roared beneath my skin. I ran my hand over two vials of gods’ blood that I had packed in my front pocket of my jeans. Please don’t be what I think this is, I said to myself, struggling to dismiss the expectation that somehow Stephanie was indeed involved in the odd events at the church that Grace had been watching. I didn’t know what time it was in New Zealand, but I decided to call Ashton anyways. Maybe he would take my call.

  “Rayea, is that you?” Ashton’s voice seemed warm and friendly.

  I sighed, hearing his voice after so long. My celebrity romance from the past.

  “Do you have a second?” I asked.

  “Absolutely. It’s late here, but I can’t sleep. I’ve got lines to go over for my scenes tomorrow and I can’t concentrate. Have you talked with Lynn? I’m guessing Grace told you what is going on.”

  “She did, but I haven’t spoken with Lynn yet. She’s not answering my calls. Grace told me you guys split up. What happened?”

  “That asshole ex-boyfriend of hers. He persuaded her to break up with me and return to him. He was in some accident and she felt sorry for him. He’s gotten involved with some new friends and told her that he has changed his ways, but he’s beating her again, Rayea! I just know it.”

  I stopped walking along our path and pulled Grace into an alley away just pass Stockton Street and Grant Avenue. “Hold on,” I said to her.

  “Ashton, Grace is here with me now. I’m going to put you on speaker phone. Can you repeat what you just said to me please?”

  We walked a few feet away from the noise of the crowd. The line clicked over and I held my iPhone up in front of our faces. “Go ahead, Ashton,” I repeated.

  “Okay. Thanks. Hi, Grace. I hope you are well. Okay, I called her the other night and Steve was there. She wanted to talk to me. I know she did. But that fuckhead told her to get off the phone. She told me not to call her again and then he started beating her. I know she’s in trouble. As soon as I get back to the states, I’m going over there and getting her, even if I have to physically remove her from his place.”