An hour later, Helena sat motionless on her bed. Her fingers were knotted together and her clasped hands hung between her thighs. She watched the sun setting over the horizon through her window, taking the light and safety away from people without them knowing it. She would give anything to undo the past twenty-four hours. That way, Andrew would be alive and not a corpse in the room across the hallway.
She sighed, burying her face in her hands. “What should I tell him when he wakes up?”
“You can’t see him for at least a year after the change,” Alexander interrupted.
Helena shot him an accusatory glare. “How long have you been here for? And, what did you mean by that?”
“So many questions, I don’t know whether I want to answer them.” He closed the door behind him with an audible thud. “Didn’t Lucious tell you? Once he wakes up, your friend will be a savage beast. He will attack anything with a heartbeat within his reach.”
“No.” Her hands covered her mouth. “I didn’t think—”
“Such common words,” Alexander chided. He dismissed her with a wave of his hand and pushed away from the door. “Well, I’ve got work to do. Stay put and try not to get in trouble.”
Alexander left.
She fell backwards onto the soft mattress, drained from their conversation. Hugging her sides, Helena rolled over, sniffling. Not long after, the tears she didn’t want to shed had surfaced and spilt onto the sheets. There was nothing she could do for Andrew now.
Will he blame me for this? Will he hate me?
She couldn’t picture him as a vampire. Andrew—a guy who never did anything bad to anyone, not to mention hurt someone—was turned into a monster.
“Don’t blame yourself for this,” Michael’s soothing voice filled her mind.
She didn’t feel his presence, so she knew he wasn’t in the room with her.
“How can I not take the blame for what I did to him?”
Michael paused briefly. “You did what you thought was right.”
“What will happen to him? Is Alexander telling the truth? Will he become a beast for God knows how long?”
“You shouldn’t think about that right now.”
“Answer me, Michael!” Her hands trembled as she clung to her sanity. She needed to keep a clear head, yet nothing worked. Her mind ran in circles of what Andrew could become.
“The vampire spoke the truth. It takes time for them to regain humanity. Until then, he should remain with them. Right now, you—”
She sat up, full of newfound determination. “What? You want me to run away and leave him behind?”
“To keep you safe and away from this trouble, yes. You must escape before it is too late.”
Helena scrambled off the bed. “Enough. Leave me alone!”
“And here I thought I’d come to nurse my sick best friend,” Laura’s annoyed voice came from the doorway.
Helena’s shoulders fell, and she pushed away her raging emotions. Her life had become cluttered and overcrowded. She couldn’t even be in her room without someone checking in on her every couple of minutes.
“You’re home…” Helena muttered.
Laura pouted. “I wasn’t expecting a grand welcome, but you need to get a grip. Oh, and how are you feeling?”
“Fine.”
Laura quirked her eyebrow. “Do you want to tell me what happened last night?” She sat on the side of the bed. “Ever since I told Andrew the name of the club you had your interview at, he ran out of here as if his tail was on fire. Then, you both came home with those two guys… I won’t judge, so tell me what happened.”
Helena joined her on the bed. There were many things she couldn’t tell Laura. Anything related to the vampires or Andrew was off the table, leaving nothing else to discuss. She feigned a cough. “You know this…cold is contagious. You should spend a few days with your parents.”
Laura crossed her arms over her ample chest. “Don’t you dare try to avoid answering my questions, Thorn. I may not have all the facts, but I can smell secrets a mile away. So, what’s going on?”
Helena opened her mouth to speak, but nothing came out. She touched her throat, wondering if something was wrong. At the back of her mind, she heard the familiar murmuring of a woman from before. The room grew darker, and she glanced at Laura who wasn’t reacting to the phenomenon. Pain exploded in her chest and she crashed to the ground with a loud thud, gasping for air like a fish that got washed ashore.
She overheard Laura’s worried exclamations somewhere in the distance. No matter how hard Helena clung to her conscience, she felt it slip away.
Helena stood in the shadows of a candle-lit cave. The air was scented with herbs her grandmother would burn on special occasions in her home: sage, jasmine, and calendula. The smell calmed her.
People in black, green, and grey cloaks rushed around, lighting more candles around the cave. Some of them were spread out, marking the ground with chalk instead.
Are those pentagrams? She looked down. There she stood, wearing a deep burgundy cloak, similar to those the others wore. Strange runes were sown into the material along the sleeves with a golden string. Above the cloaked figures was a natural circular opening in the rock. The stars were a dull representation of the large full moon filling the sky next to them.
“The moon will soon be at its apex. We must hurry with the protection spell.” Her authoritative voice echoed in the enclosed space. The words that had come out of Helena’s mouth weren’t hers. They belonged to Eva.
Tremors of anxiety shook her hands. To everyone here, she knew she portrayed calmness and composure. On the inside, her heart was fluttering like that of a bird trapped in a metal cage.
Marina, the woman she recognised from her last dream, had her long blonde hair tied into a thick braid. The woman’s robe covered her legs and created an illusion of her floating as she glided from one person to the next. When she finished checking on them, stress lines were carved into her aged face.
“We have almost completed the preparations,” Marina chirped. She lowered her voice. “This month has been painful for everyone. Hunters have been coming, trying to weed us out. We hope that this will protect us from losing another soul.”
“It is a tragedy that three of our members were discovered last week. They were warned not to carry charms with them. In times like these, we must hide who we are.”
Eva’s concerns were fighting Helena’s thoughts. They were growing louder and more prominent. Since she had no control of what was happening, Helena relaxed, allowing things to unfold.
A man in a hood placed the last rune to complete the circle. “We have finished.”
There was lightness in Eva’s chest. Her fingertips tingled with anticipation. Magic was in the air and every living being around her. Tonight, nature was on their side.
People in the room gathered at the chalk markings and the arranged runes on the ground. The group left a space for her to slip into—her rightful place.
Under the hoods were familiar faces. People Eva knew and trusted. Those she loved with her whole heart. She had to protect them.
Each and every person of her Circle stopped to make eye contact, showing their respect.
At last, she raised her hands, letting the words, which she was so anxious to share, flow. “Brothers and sisters, I welcome you here. We are a coven. We are a family. With the recent loss we have felt, we must protect ourselves and our loved ones. Let us join our hands and begin the spell. Let Mother guide us.”
“Let Mother guide us…” they echoed.
Marina took her right hand and gently squeezed. She was urging her on, as always, providing the reassurance Eva needed. Her other hand was grasped by a much older, wrinkled hand. She smiled at the elderly woman who met her gaze with intelligent pale-blue eyes.
Eva closed her eyes. The magic in the air tickled her skin. It flowed from everywhere tonight, from the movements of the tiny crickets outside to the gentle flickering of the candle-fire.
The crowd mimicked Eva and joined their hands. With each new set, more energy flowed through her. It was as if a melody danced through their connection and removed any discomfort or worry. She bowed her head. Taking a deep breath, she began chanting, and the rest joined her in perfect unison.
This was what happiness felt like—an ideal connection between human beings that she craved every time their Circle was broken. Her fears disintegrated into a euphoric trance.
The chanting continued. The voices got louder when more people felt certain of their words.
Eva sculpted the magic with her mind into a small ball of energy at the centre. That ball grew larger as they fed more power to it through their words. When it was large enough, it touched her fingers, sending a jolt of power through her. She heard the others gasp in surprise as well.
I can feel them. We are connected—a true family.
The chanting got faster and the power in the centre grew, jumping through every one of them. Once it reached her again, she knew something was wrong. Her body rejected the power with a violent shake.
He’s here. The thought erased her smile. The creature would return to haunt her no matter how many times she banished it.
That demon knows no bounds. Outrage budded in her heart, blocking her connection to everyone there.
“You cannot escape me, Eva. I will get what I want. I always do,” he hissed in her mind.
His daunting voice slithered around her. The darkness filled her from within, dispersing her concentration and taking away the safety net she wanted to cling to.
I must not let the coven get affected by his evil.
Eva gathered what energy she could muster and wrapped it around herself as a shield. There was no other way she knew of to protect them from this creature. Reluctant, she cut the connection she had with everyone’s hearts by sliding her hands out of their grasps to bring the surrounding hands together.
Two shocked faces stared back at her.
The rest of the coven looked up. Their confusion showed in their eyes that lingered on her as she left the cave.
The end was near. She could feel it as a single hot tear escaped her, and the voices of her Circle grew quieter.
7
An Understanding
Lucious lounged on one of the couches in the Russian Roulette, spying for his next meal. Today, the DJ played a mix of pop music which wasn’t to his taste. He tuned out the obnoxious noise. He had to find someone to feed on soon. Creating his first childe expelled a lot of energy from him. Although the saint’s blood was charged with an undercurrent of power, it was nowhere near enough to get him back to his full strength. Not after he was shot with a silver bullet.
A lean brunette strolled by, swaying her half-exposed hips in a suggestive manner. Would she taste as good as the saint? He gritted his teeth. He didn’t mean to lie when he told Helena she tasted no different than others. She had the sweetest blood he had ever tasted, and it took every ounce of his self-control to stop from draining her.
Instead, he was interested in her dreams. They had rattled her more than a vampire in her bedroom, which could be something he could use against her if he knew more. A smirk graced his lips. She was in the palm of his hand. He could take his time getting to know her and her powers.
Lucious’ phone buzzed. He reached into his pocket to retrieve it and slid his thumb across the glass screen to unlock the device Alexander had given him. A single message from his friend flagged up on the screen, and he read the text again, making certain he understood the contents right.
Shoving the phone back into his pocket, he pushed past the thickening crowd of humans. More of them had arrived on the dance floor since the club’s opening. Taking long strides, he reached the other end of the room in no time and exited the club, ignoring Tanya’s playful calls. Since Alexander contacted him directly, Tanya’s conversation had to be irrelevant.
He stepped outside the club. The night’s air was filled with an unpleasant stench he identified as sex and rubbish from the bins. He scanned the surrounding area. Nothing out of the ordinary caught his attention.
The emergency exit door clicked shut and, not waiting another moment, he withdrew his phone and called Alexander.
“What do you mean she collapsed?” Lucious hissed.
“It’s as I have said in the message. She was fine when I left her, then her human came into her room to talk and the saint collapsed. I would have called you earlier, but I was busy trying to revive her with my blood.”
Lucious contemplated his next move. “If the human was the cause of this, get rid of her.”
He heard Alexander closing a door, and his friend’s voice came in a hushed tone. “I’m not sure I heard you right and, if I have, I believe it would be a bad idea to kill her.”
“Then send her away. She is a distraction we do not need.”
“Alright, I will make her go away. I think your saint will erupt over the matter though.”
“Doesn’t matter. I’ll deal with her later. For now, I should visit Marcus and find out about those hunters. He wasn’t very forthcoming the last time we were at his place.”
Alexander must have pulled out a cigarette because Lucious heard a faint clicking of a lighter. He took a puff and exhaled. “No one would be ecstatic if you came in and killed two bounty hunters in their establishment.”
“Wasn’t my fault he let them take what’s mine.”
Alexander tsked. “Don’t get attached to her, Lucious. She may come in handy or she may not. At the end of the day, she could be more trouble than she is worth.”
Lucious knew Alexander was right. If she wasn’t useful, she had to go. He would miss her sweet blood. No. Even that did not matter. The days when the thirst controlled him ended the instant he lost his sire.
“Fine, keep her safe while I’m getting my ass handed to me by Marcus.”
Alexander’s tone grew serious. “It’s no joking matter. He’s much older and a dozen times stronger than you.”
“If I didn’t know you better, I’d think you were worried about me.”
Alexander sighed. “Sometimes, I question my judgement, old friend. You better go. I’ll deal with the girls.”
He said his goodbye and disconnected the call. His senses told him that he was no longer alone. Slipping his phone into his back pocket, he faced the unwelcome guest.
A man in a long trench coat stood under the trees. His sanguine crocodile boots reflected the low street light. Even though Lucious’ sight was better than that of a normal human, he could not see the face of the stranger hidden in the shadows.
“Lucious Ellwood, I presume?” The carefree tone the man used unsettled Lucious.
He reached for the knife in his back pocket. “Depends on who is looking for him.”
The man raised his hands.
Lucious couldn’t see any weapons, but he didn’t rule out the possibility this man was a threat.
“No need for the fireworks to start, mate. I am but a humble dog of the lovely Eliza,” the stranger said with an unsettling smirk.
Lucious created some distance between them. The hound wasn’t close enough to land a punch, but the Council’s dogs were resourceful. They were either vampires who were given a second chance by Eliza or they chose to serve of their own free will. By the way this man behaved, Lucious pegged him for the latter.
“What do you want?”
The hound lowered his hands to his sides. “I am not here for a fight. I am here to request that you answer the next time you receive a summons from the Council.”
Lucious frowned. “Another summoning? I have missed my chance. Why would they ask for me again?”
The hound scratched the stubble coating his jaw. “Ask them yourself when they arrive.”
“They are coming here?” Lucious hoped he had heard him wrong.
A sly smile spread across the hound’s face. “It was a…pleasure meeting
you, mate.” The hound bowed his head and strolled past Lucious at a human pace. He paused a few feet away and added, “Oh, I almost forgot. Bring your pretty little friend. They are eager to meet her.”
Lucious ground his teeth. He wasn’t surprised the elders found out about Helena. The bounty hunters must have informed them of her existence, but he wasn’t keen on showing her to them. Not when he hadn’t gotten her to cooperate. If they figured out what she was, they would eliminate her or worse, make her work for them. Either way, he had to think of a way to keep her loyalty.
He returned to the club with his good mood shattered. This time, he didn’t bother being picky. He chose the first human female he came in contact with, led her to the darkest corner of the nightclub, and drank his fill of her tasteless blood. When he was done, he abandoned her sleeping form on one of the couches and left to locate a couple of information brokers. He was going to need any information he could get if he had to go against the Council and their games.
A loud crash jolted Helena out of her dream. Seeing that it was dark outside, she flicked on the lights. For some reason, there was a coppery aftertaste in her mouth.
Blood? Her fingertips brushed her lips. To her relief, her hand came away clean. What’s going on?
Something ceramic smashed downstairs. Her heart leapt into overdrive. Pulling the quilt off her, she climbed out of bed and inched towards the door. With wavering determination, she opened it and shuffled her feet until she peeked over the bannister.
Her eyes focused on the debris scattered on the floor. The potted orchid her mother had given her as a moving present was laid next to the destroyed ceramic pot. Its roots clung to what little soil remained available. Even the tiny ballerina figurine she had adored since the move was in pieces.
Helena descended and froze in her stead.
Alexander held a snarling vampire by the throat. If he knew she was there, he didn’t acknowledge it. His hand closed the gap between his fingers until she heard a loud bone-crushing sound. Alexander didn’t stop there. He grabbed the stranger by his loose mahogany hair. A crunching sound followed by tearing of flesh came from the vampire a second prior to his head coming off. Blood sprayed the overturned sofas and the floorboards.
Russian Roulette (Helena Hawthorn Series Book 1) Page 10
