The Rose Trilogy Box Set

by Tish Thawer

  "Now? You want to make me the new Sire right now?"

  "Yes. I think the sooner the better. I've told Dax my plan but no one else knows. I think it will be to our advantage to keep it a secret."

  "So even if I become the Sire now, you want me to wait to change Rose?"

  "I'm sorry, but yes. I think it would be to our benefit if the demons still think we don't have an active Sire that can create new vampires. Plus, I feel that whatever information Balam provides us with in regards to killing them, it will truly be to our advantage having two Sires instead of one. The element of surprise will be on our side."

  I considered Evie's plan. It was a good one. I was just extremely nervous. I hadn't thought this day would be upon me for quite some time, and I wasn't sure I could keep this from Rose. "Alright, but even if I can't change Rose yet, I still want to tell her it's done. I don't want to keep any more secrets from her."

  "That's fine. But please make sure she understands the necessity of keeping it secret. I don't even want the rest of the clan to know until I'm ready. I won't risk one of them becoming infected by accident and having this knowledge to share with our enemies."

  "Alright. I'm ready. Should we go downstairs?"

  Evie looked at the door and the lock slammed into place. I was always forgetting telekinesis was one of the powers she developed during her triggering. "We'll be undisturbed. Let's begin."

  "What do I need to do?" I asked, unsure of my part in all of this.

  "Nothing. It's actually a very quick process. I will perform the ritual and say the words, then everything else happens internally. You'll feel a rush of additional strength as the poison of true death and the sedative of eternal life flow into you. Let's begin."

  I shifted slightly in my seat and my palms started to sweat. "What if I'm not really the one being triggered? What if this clairaudient power is just something else completely?" I couldn't help but share my insecurities. I was afraid of not being the one, and I didn't want Evie to attempt the ritual if it wasn't meant to be.

  "Christian, your clairaudience is just another psychic power which allows you to hear the unspoken. There is no doubt that you're the one. Now please, trust me."

  "Okay, Evie. I do."

  She instructed me to lie down on the couch as she stood over me with her hands extended. She explained that she would be reading my energy and only when it was time to "pass the powers" would she be biting me. I closed my eyes and listened as she began.

  Her voice carried the Sire command as she chanted, "I call on my ancestors, join me now. Flow through me as Christian completes this vow. The new Sire, he is triggered to be. Now let my powers flow from me."

  In the next instant she'd shoved my head to the side and sunk her fangs into my neck. My body arched off the couch as warm liquid flowed into my veins. It felt similar to being turned, but a hundred times more intense.

  I was bombarded by a variety of colors layering my mind. I saw sparkling yellow as the sedative of eternal life spread throughout my body. Then flashes of green blinded me as the poison of true death settled deep within my heart. It literally felt as if these powers were filling up special compartments within me, and the strength they carried with them was truly a blessing from the gods. The last thing to happen was the scanning ability snapping into place.

  As soon as Evie released me, I bolted off the couch and grabbed my head. The noise was too much for me to bear. I assumed this was an unforeseen side-effect of the scanning ability combining with my clairaudience. But whatever it was, it sucked.

  I was suddenly overwhelmed with the loud noises of everything and everyone in the vicinity. The club's music, people calling out their orders to Dom and Tori. Pieces of conversation rang through my head like a cacophony of squawking birds, and then I heard the one thing that overshadowed all the rest...Rose's scream.

  * * * * *

  CHAPTER SIXTEEN

  In Trouble

  (Renard)

  After spending the day comatose in the hotel, Loni and I awoke with the sun's disappearance, and immediately started making our plans for the night.

  "Do you think Jeremy knows who we are? Are we in trouble here?" Loni asked.

  "No, poppet, we don't need to worry. Jeremy isn't a threat. Even if he was daft enough to attack us, we could easily rectify the situation by biting him and making him forget. No, I'm not worried about him. But we do have to worry about Meredith. We need to see what she's up to, so my suggestion for tonight is to again, feed in the park, but then we need to move the car and keep watch from a different location. Hopefully she'll make a move that will shed some light on her powers or possibly her intentions."

  "Alright, my love. Sounds like a plan." Loni kissed me, long and deep, and if we didn't need to rush to move our car from its present location, I would have sank back down onto the bed and relived some of the other fond memories from our honeymoon.

  * * * * *

  (Meredith)

  Snagging the two workers had gone just as planned. As the horn signaled the end of the their day, we used our strength and speed to knock them out and rush them to the abandoned hunting shack.

  I could tell Damien was having a hard time keeping his desire to drink from these humans in check. But after I told him he could have a small sip to begin the draining process, his mood quickly improved.

  "I can't believe how quickly the changes take effect. I can feel my strength increase almost immediately." He made his point by slamming his fist through the solid log wall.

  "What the hell are you doing?" I dropped the human I was holding and flew to within an inch of his face. "We've taken care to set this whole scene, and you think slamming a hole through the wall isn't going to raise a few questions?"

  "Who cares? If anyone did track this scene back to us, I'd kill them. Problem solved."

  "Problem solved? Problem solved?" My rage was boiling over, and I was sure my eyes were glowing red. I slammed him against the wall he'd just put the hole in. He may have just gained a boost in strength, but there was no way he could compare to me. "You listen to me, you blood-hungry asshole. I will not let you put everything I'm working towards in jeopardy by leaving a trail of bodies across this city. What we're doing has to be kept on the down low. I can't risk the vampire's finding out."

  He pushed off the wall, shrugging out of my grasp. I let him go. "Fine. I'm sorry. I won't kill anyone without your permission." He paced the room, looking at the bodies on the floor. After a sigh, he continued, sounding remorseful. "I'll fix the hole. I have a sledgehammer in my truck we could leave here as evidence. I'll wipe it down so all we'll have to do is put one of these guys' prints on it and we should be in the clear. A sledgehammer could easily put a hole like that through a wall this old."

  For being as hot-headed as he was just moments ago, his plan actually had merit. I was pretty sure it would work. "Okay. Hurry and go get the hammer. I'll finish draining these two and make sure all the animal scratches and drugs are in place."

  "Okay. And Meredith, I really am sorry."

  I gave him a quick nod and watched as he sped out the door. It was becoming apparent I would have to monitor his blood intake. This whole situation was an unknown for both of us, but it was obvious that drinking human blood affected different people in different ways.

  I became euphoric after drinking Loraine's blood, but I hadn't gone insane or power hungry. Yes, I would definitely be keeping an eye on Damien. I couldn't risk having a loose cannon as my second in command. And if he ever felt like pushing my boundaries, he'd find out that only a stronger demon could kill another demon, and I'd be making sure that I remained the strongest demon of them all.

  With this exact plan in mind, I pulled out the extra bag I'd brought and began siphoning off some extra blood for my personal stores, of course taking a moment to have a small taste. The warm blood flowing down my throat filled me again with strength and joy. I could feel I was truly becoming immortal. Those vampires would have to be pretty fucking
stupid if they thought they stood a chance against me.

  Damien returned just as I'd finished draining the second body. He swallowed hard as he saw the last drop of blood hit the container. I began our cleanup and removed all the IV equipment from our victims and then staged their bodies like we'd planned, adding the sledgehammer as the final touch.

  "It looks good. Really believable," Damien said.

  "Yes it does. The claw marks, blood, and fur certainly give it that wild feel we need." I laughed as we carried out the containers of blood and the rest of our supplies. "Did you get a hold of your family? Are they going to be able to make tonight's meeting?"

  "Yes. They will all be there, though only a few are aware of what's happening. I told you I knew certain members of my family would be down with drinking blood, but I've instructed them not to say anything to the others. We should be able to spike the drinks as planned and everyone will begin gaining strength and speed by the end of the night."

  "Thank you, Damien. I appreciate your help. Now we just have to keep that temper of yours in check. No more blood for you tonight, okay?"

  "I agree. I think I've reached my limit for today."

  Watching his jaw twitch had me questioning his statement. I wasn't convinced I wouldn't have a problem with him at tonight's meeting. Maybe, I'd better start looking for someone else to help me in my efforts. I'd have to pay special attention to everyone's reaction to the blood tonight. Maybe one of his relatives would display a little more self-control.

  Once we reached our vehicles and stowed our bounty, I explained the plan for tonight's meeting. "I'm going to run home and change then I'll meet you at the conference hall. I want to get there around 7:45 p.m., so we'll be able to set up and spike the drinks in advance."

  "Sounds good. I have to run home too, and then I'll meet you there. Should I bring a bottle of champagne so we can toast the beginning of your army?"

  I knew he was teasing, but it didn't sound like a bad idea. After tonight, the vampires wouldn't stand a chance.

  * * * * *

  CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

  Biting

  (Rose)

  The moment I was grabbed, I started screaming. I tried digging my heels into the floor as I was being drug into one of the private rooms, but suddenly a set of fangs pierced the side of my neck.

  Oh shit! This could not be happening. Who in the world would risk Christian's anger by biting me? It had to be a vampire from outside of town. Someone who didn't know who I was.

  He must have used his sedative to quiet my screams because in the next second I was completely calm...on the outside. But once my thoughts cleared, allowing me to focus on the nightmare this was going to become, my internal panic really set in.

  I tried to pull away, but the vampire's fangs sunk deeper as he held me tight from behind. Fuck! I couldn't believe this was happening. I assumed that in only a few minutes my demon blood would start infecting whoever this vampire was. How the hell was I suppose to explain why this vampire drifted dark after biting me? My situation just went from bad to worse.

  I didn't have any idea if it would work, but I knew I'd better try something fast. I wasn't even sure how to do it, but I focused on my anger and tried to release my demon side. Maybe I could forge a mind bond and force this asshole to stop.

  Thankfully, I must have done something right, because all of a sudden I felt the connection of the mind bond and I could almost see what was happening through his eyes. I projected the thoughts that I wanted him to feel, adding a verbal command for good measure. Stop NOW!

  The vampire went rigid behind me and his fangs withdrew immediately. Luckily, I could feel and see through our connection that he used his sedative to heal the wounds in my neck. The instant his fangs slid free, the puncture marks closed and it looked as if they never even existed.

  I immediately spun around and shoved the vampire with all my strength. He let out a little humph as he landed on the red velvet couch. I didn't recognize him, but that didn't mean much since the only other vampire in the area I knew besides Christian's clan, was Justin. He was a handsome guy with a decent build, and he wore a black leather jacket. His hair was short and blonde, but I knew that would start to change any moment.

  "Who are you? What's your name?" I nudged his mind so he didn't have any choice but to respond.

  "My name is Kennedy."

  "Where are you from?"

  "Florida."

  "What are you doing here, and how did you find out about The Rising Pit?" I had to speed this up, because like I assumed, his hair and eyes had already begun to drift dark.

  "I was on vacation and visiting some friends outside of Masen. They told me about the club, and I thought I'd check it out before heading back home."

  The guilt was building inside of me. Just because this vampire had made the mistake of biting me, he was going to lose all sense of right and wrong and possibly end up facing the true death. It sucked, but I had to face the hard reality...I couldn't allow him to leave. Letting him go knowing he'd drift darker and darker and start hurting innocent people was just not an option.

  "Okay, Kennedy. You're going to sit here and not move until someone comes to find you. Do you understand?"

  "Sit here and not move. Yes, I understand."

  "And you aren't going to remember anything about biting me or what I looked like either. Got it?"

  "Yes. I don't remember you."

  Wow. This mind bond thing could prove really useful. I just wished I had more time to test out my demon powers. But unfortunately right now was not that time. I had to get as far away from this scene as possible, and fast.

  I parted the velvet curtains a fraction of an inch and peeked outside to make sure no one was coming. The coast was clear so I rushed from the room and ran down the stairs into the bathroom. The moment I was inside, I nudged the door open a crack so I could see what was happening.

  It didn't take long before I saw Christian, Evie, and Dax heading towards the stairs. The moment they hit the top I shot across the dance floor and into Evie's office. I found the button on the bookshelf that opened the secret door to her private entrance into the pit, and made my way back to my room in a hurry.

  I thought the best thing for me to do was pretend that once I finished dancing, I used the restroom and then headed back down here to get some rest. I just hoped that no one saw me upstairs, or I could kiss that story goodbye.

  * * * * *

  (Christian)

  After having Rose's scream penetrate the chaos inside my mind, I was able to focus and gain my bearings.

  "Christian, what's wrong?" The panicked look on Evie's face confirmed that this wasn't a normal reaction to the Passing of Powers ritual.

  "My head is splitting and I can hear everything...including Rose's scream. She's in trouble."

  I shoved off the couch and flew towards the door. As much as I wanted to use my now enhanced vampire speed to dash straight upstairs, I knew I couldn't. Not with all the human patrons filling the club tonight.

  As Evie and I wove our way through the crowd, I noticed her motion for Dax to join us. The three of us quickly made our way to the stairs which led to the second floor and the private rooms. I knew this was where Rose's scream originate from. I wondered if becoming a Sire heightened all my abilities including my claircognizance, but right now, all the questions I had would have to wait. I had to find Rose.

  After reaching the private room that held her scent, I threw open the velvet curtains to find a young male vampire sitting on the couch alone.

  "Who are you and what are you doing here?" Evie demanded.

  "My name is Kennedy, and I'm just sitting here. Is that a crime?"

  Dax took a step forward, his hair starting to slightly drift from blonde to light brown. Talking like that to a Sire, let alone his consort, was a really bad idea.

  Suddenly Kennedy launched himself at Dax and the two of them went crashing into the table, followed by the chairs and walls.

&nbs
p; "Enough!" Evie's voice still held her Sire's command, and even though Kennedy wasn't a part of our clan, vampires had no choice but to obey a Sire when in their presence.

  The two froze, hands still wrapped around each other's necks. I decided this was a good time to test my Sire's voice as well, since Dax already knew we'd completed the ritual, and I could easily force this outsider to keep his mouth shut. "Kennedy, sit down and don't move." Excellent. It worked.

  The vampire eyed me as he slowly moved back towards the couch. That was when I noticed his eyes and hair were both drifting darker by the minute. Oh no!

  "Evie, we got a problem."

  "What is it, Christian? What are you sensing?"