The Rose Trilogy Box Set

by Tish Thawer

  "Until we get to the bottom of this, I think it's for the best if we only feed from people that we have previously fed from before since we know them to already be safe. I'm thinking that throughout the night we can each take a turn and invite a previous guest to one of the private rooms. This way we can remain safe inside the club and not risk running across another zôt while hunting outside. Just make sure that when you feed from them you use your sedative to get them to come back again and again." She didn't look happy about this idea, but continued anyway. "Also...no one is to go near Terrance from now on. Apparently, once an infected vampire permanently drifts dark, they can infect other vampires." She looked at me with a look on her face that could only be described as disheartened.

  "I have faith that we will get to the bottom of this, but until we do, I'm not going to deliver the true death to Terrance. I want him around in case we find the woman. Maybe by some miracle, locating her can provide the answers we need, or perhaps even a cure we don't yet know about." She stood and with the command in her voice said once again, "No one is to go near Terrance from now on." Evie wasn't stupid and I'm sure she realized that we all planned to interrogate Terrance the first chance we got.

  She must have been scanning us because the next thing she said was, "I am going to be questioning Terrance again, and explaining what we've learned. All of you are more than welcome to witness this."

  As Evie and Dax headed towards her office, the rest of us just sat there in silence. Finally Dom broke the tension. "Have any of you ever heard of anything like this? Of demons actually existing?"

  "No. But I guess it shouldn't come as a huge surprise. I mean, who'd believe that vampires really existed either?" Bobby asked.

  He was being way more relaxed about this than I was. I wish I could ask Evie some more questions, but figured we had better head down so we didn't miss her questioning Terrance again. "Come on. Let's get below and see what Terrance has to say about all this." I hit the switch to unlock the stage.

  Once we were all downstairs and gathered outside of Terrance's cell, Evie stepped up to the opening and stopped. Obviously she was serious about not getting close to him. "Terrance, I have some news as to what's happened to you."

  "Oh, goody. Please then, share with the class." He was being sarcastic and had an almost menacing look on his face.

  "You've been infected by demon blood." Evie's statement dropped like a bomb.

  Terrance just looked at her, huffed, and shook his head. "Wow, is that the best you can do? I know you want to have a clear conscience when you deliver the true death, but making up bullshit reasons as to why you have to kill me is pretty fucking lame."

  "Why is he acting like that?" Tori whispered.

  Evie turned around and said in a low voice, "I think it has to do with the poison. It literally makes him act dark and then wipes the memories of it from him."

  Turning around she continued, "First of all, I don't have to justify delivering the true death to you at all. You've drifted permanently dark, and you know that is grounds for immediate execution. Secondly, I wanted you to know what has happened to you, so that you would understand why you are having trouble remembering things and why your thoughts become fuzzy when you think of that woman. It's her that is the demon. She's the one who has infected you."

  Terrance sat there with an angry look on his face. I didn't think he was buying what Evie was trying to explain to him, but then suddenly the lines on his face smoothed out and his eyes seemed to lighten just slightly. "Are you telling me that I'm infected with demon blood for real?"

  "Yes, my friend. That is exactly what I'm telling you. We are hoping that once we find her she can provide a cure." Evie's voice carried the hope that we were all feeling.

  "Oh, thank God. I just couldn't understand why I had lost it, but I guess now it all makes sense. I never even knew that demons really existed. How in the hell did I run across one?" Terrance seemed to almost be back to his old self, except that his hair remained completely black.

  As Evie started to move into the cell, obviously feeling confident in Terrance's breakthrough, I suddenly got the sense that something was terribly wrong. I sprung into the cell, grabbing Evie just as Terrance lunged for her, pulling his chains tight. His eyes were again completely black to match his hair, and his lips were pulled back, revealing his fangs as he growled at us.

  Dax was up in a flash and carrying Evie out of the cell. "Son of a bitch, Evie. What the hell are you doing? You're the one who said to stay away from him, and now we know why. He's lost it. He almost bit you."

  "It's okay. I know what I'm doing." Evie wiggled free of Dax's arms. She took a moment to glance at everyone. "That, my dears, was a test. And you're right, Terrance has lost it. I wanted you to see why it's so important to stay away from him. He's completely lost to us, and will try to manipulate anyone he gets close to from now on. I, however, am immune to his bite since I carry the poison of true death. Because of that, I can't be infected."

  We all stood there completely stunned. "You could have warned me." Dax said.

  "No, I couldn't have. I wasn't sure it was going to work." Evie had a timid smile on her face and shrugged her shoulders. Sometimes it was hard to remember that she was over twelve hundred years old.

  We all turned and stared at Terrance, who was still baring his fangs and snapping at us. I couldn't believe how quickly he had deteriorated.

  "I hope we can quickly figure out who this woman is. I can't stand to see him like this," Dax said. The sad note in his voice mirrored the look on his face. He hung his head and started to walk off. "I'm going to bed."

  Everyone else said their goodnights and headed towards their respective rooms until it was just Evie and myself standing outside the cell. "It happened again didn't it? You knew something bad was going to happen when I entered the cell, didn't you?" Evie prodded as we started down the hall.

  I guess I couldn't deny it any longer. "Yes. I got an overwhelming sense that something was wrong. But I just can't believe that I'm supposed to become your successor. It's completely unreal to me."

  "It could have been anybody in the clan, but I'm glad it's you, Christian. You're going to make a wonderful Sire." Evie hugged me.

  "How am I supposed to use any of these new skills to help figure out who this woman is? It's not like I can control it." I was feeling so unsure of myself and the things that were apparently now happening as part of my triggering. I had no idea what to do.

  "The first thing I would suggest is that when the darkness claims you tonight, let your last thought be of your emerging powers. Concentrate on them and how they make you feel when they happen. Maybe that will trigger something in your subconscious." Evie touched my cheek then headed for her room.

  I supposed anything was worth a try. Evie certainly had experience dealing with the subconscious, so maybe she was onto something. Though it was going to be very strange to not have Rose be the last thing I thought of at night, since it had been my ritual for a little over nine months. But just the thought of Rose and the possibility of spending eternity with her was enough motivation to try anything to gain control of my powers. I wanted to be the best Sire and consort to her that I could possibly be.

  * * * * *

  CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN

  Hanging Out with Justin

  (Rose)

  After Jillian explained that this little town was where Justin was from, I couldn't help but think to myself that if we could find him this would be the perfect opportunity to see if Justin could be of any use to me. I had a surprise for Christian–not only was I going to be moving out, but soon I was also going to be a vampire just like him so we could be together forever.

  I hadn't told Christian that I knew vampires existed yet because Terrance had warned me that revealing my knowledge could get us both killed. He also taught me that I had to hide my thoughts around other vampires, making sure that I only focused on the events that were immediately happening around me. After spending t
ime with him at the pool, I came to learn quite a lot about vampires and how they weren't the bad, evil villains of lore. He had explained that every night they fed from only one person and only took their fill. Using their powers let them make the feeding process an enjoyable act for both vampire and human, and it also allowed them to compel the human so that they didn't remember anything that had happened.

  Terrance had continued to feed from my mom and it amazed me how she didn't even care. She never seemed hurt or out of it in any way. There were times when I thought that he may have taken too much blood and that it was going to leave her weak, but she never seemed to show any signs of feeling sick or anemic, so I came to trust Terrance pretty quickly. Once he fed he would use his sedative to put my mom to sleep for a short time so that we could talk.

  During our conversations I had told him that initially I had no idea that Christian was a vampire. When we had started dating, I truly believed that he slept all day because of his job. Only after meeting Terrance had everything become crystal clear. After he confirmed that he knew Christian and lived with him at the club, I had asked him why I had never seen him there while I visited him. He had explained that it was because he always left the vicinity to feed, only returning when it was time for the club to open.

  I had continued to see Christian even knowing he was a vampire, but as I remembered back to the first time I'd seen him after learning the truth, I recalled how completely nerve-wracking it had been. I thought for sure it was going to be nearly impossible to hide my thoughts from Christian, but surprisingly enough he never seemed to notice a thing. Like I'd said before, I'd always been pretty good at hiding things from people.

  After multiple conversations with Terrance, I had finally asked the question that I was dying to know. How did someone become a vampire? He explained the process, which really wasn't a surprise. The vampire bit and fed from the human until they drained them, and then the human fed from the vampire in return. They would then die and be reborn as a vampire in a matter of hours. After a few weeks of contemplating it, I had made up my mind that I was definitely in love with Christian and wanted to become like him so that we could be together forever. I asked Terrance if he would be willing to change me and he agreed.

  He explained that no one could know that we knew each other or that he was going to change me into a vampire, since this wasn't the usual way these types of things happened. Apparently the normal way for new vampires to be made was for the clan to vote on who they wanted added to the family, but Terrance had agreed to change me in secret because he knew everyone would be happy and understood that I wanted it to be a surprise for Christian.

  We had started making plans for my change, but then my mom had died. I had initially thought that Terrance had done it because of the bite marks on her neck, but since he'd only ever fed from my mom at the pool, I ended up quickly coming to the conclusion that it couldn't have been him.

  After Mom's death, and once I'd been placed on lockdown by my father, I never saw Terrance again. That is, not until the night he emerged from the woods. It had taken everything I had not to act surprised or let on that I knew him in any way. But since Christian and Evie never mentioned anything, I assumed I had pulled it off. When I saw him, I had wanted so badly to just run and confront him and ask him if he knew what had happened but I'd never had the chance.

  Jillian hit the curb as she parked the car, once again shaking me out of my thoughts. "Sorry, I just thought we could grab a bite to eat. I'm starving," she said hesitantly.

  "Okay. Yeah, I guess I could eat. Why don't you call Justin and see if he can come meet us?" I smiled and tried to sound like the supportive friend.

  After she phoned Justin and told him that we were in town and invited him to join us, we walked into the restaurant and grabbed a seat by the front windows. Jill kept looking at me over her menu with questions clearly shining in her eyes. "Are you feeling better now?" she finally asked.

  "Yes, I am. Thank you for getting me out of town. I just don't think I can deal with my dad right now. He has apparently been seeing this woman, Meredith, and it really took me by surprise. The worst part is that she looks a lot like my mom." I slumped a bit in my chair. I just couldn't get over how much that bothered me. I think hanging out with Justin couldn't have come at a better time. I was ready, now more than ever, to leave this world behind. I really hoped he would agree to change me.

  As I sat there contemplating how the hell I was going to get Justin alone, the vampire himself came strolling down the sidewalk. I watched him cross the street and head in our direction. Once Jill saw him, she knocked on the window to gain his attention. He smiled, waved, and sped towards the front door.

  By the time he reached the table, Jillian was beaming and Justin only caused her smile to widen as he leaned in to place a gentle kiss on her lips. "What in the world inspired you two to head all the way out here?"

  "Rose had a mental breakdown and needed to get out of town." She always did love throwing me under the bus whenever she could. "I saw the sign for the turnoff and I remembered you telling me that this was where you were from. Plus, I was getting hungry."

  With a little chuckle he said, "Well that was perfect timing because I just started getting hungry too."

  I almost spit my soda across the table at his obvious statement. Jill didn't have a clue about him, but it cracked me up to see how many people were mind-fucked by the vampires in our area. As the huff left my lungs, I shook my head slightly and looked right at Jill's neck and then back at him. I was trying to be obvious and thought I was getting my message across pretty well because Justin's eyes quickly widened before he squinted and stared right at me.

  I nodded and then tilted my head to the side, exposing my neck to him. He smirked and casually licked the tip of one of his fangs. Jillian was completely oblivious. She was actually flagging down the waiter with a huge smile on her face.

  Justin turned towards Jillian and took her hand. I thought it was just a sweet gesture until he lifted her wrist to his mouth and bit down. I couldn't believe that he was doing this in the middle of a restaurant, but suddenly he released her hand and I watched as the tiny holes closed immediately, leaving no trace of a puncture behind. Jillian stood up and announced that she needed to use the restroom. It was obvious that he had used his powers to suggest that she leave us alone.

  Once she was gone, Justin turned towards me. "How do you know about me?" He didn't exactly sound mad, but he definitely seemed concerned.

  "I met someone like you who taught me all about vampires. But don't even think about feeding on me or I'll tell Christian and he'll kill you." I wasn't sure I was safe with Justin like I'd been with Terrance, and he didn't know that I hadn't told Christian that I knew his secret yet. Hopefully he wouldn't call my bluff.

  "Not that I was planning on feeding on you, but what are you talking about? Christian can't kill me."

  "I know that if a human tells anyone they are aware of vampires, it puts them and the vampire at risk of being killed." I wasn't sure why I had to explain this to him, and honestly, I didn't have time for this. There was only one question that I needed to ask him. "I want to know if you'd be willing to change me. I'm completely in love with Christian and I want to surprise him by becoming a vampire so that we can spend eternity together, and the vampire that was going to change me has disappeared."

  Justin sat there staring at me like I was completely crazy. I knew that throwing this out there was a bit of a shock but we were going to be out of time soon and I needed an answer. "Well? Will you change me or not?" I demanded.

  The severe frown on his face and the slow shake of his head was the first indication that I wasn't going to like his answer. "I don't understand. If a vampire has taught you all about us, then you should know that I can't change you. Only a Sire can inflict the change."

  I sat there dazed, because I didn't understand what he was saying. Terrance had never mentioned anything about a Sire, or that they were the only o
nes with the ability to create new vampires. Justin must be using that as an excuse to not change me and that pissed me off. He could have easily just said no. "Why are you making shit up? You could just tell me no. I could always ask one of the other members of Christian's clan to do it."

  "Rose, you don't understand. I'm not making shit up. I'm telling you the truth. Whoever taught you about us has fed you a line of bullshit. Was this person feeding off of you, too?"

  "No. I found him feeding from my mom, and he liked the taste of her blood, so he agreed to teach me about your kind as long as he could continue to feed from her." I was so confused right now, and I couldn't sit still. "Let's get out of here." I flew out of my chair and headed back to the car.

  Justin climbed in the driver's seat after depositing Jill in the backseat. He had decided it would be easier for us to talk openly if he used his sedative to knock her out. I gave him the keys and settled into the passenger seat. "Okay, so you're going to have to explain why you think I've been fed a line of bull. My friend has always been honest with me, so I don't understand why he'd lie about that."