Her parents wouldn’t understand if she told them vampires were after her. They would think she was losing it and send her off somewhere to get treated. She could try staying away from the people she knew. They wouldn’t find her then. Nadine was the first person who came to mind. Although she was strange, the vampires didn’t know anything about her.
Helena pursed her lips. She didn’t know anything about Nadine either. Climbing to her feet, her decision was made. There was no time to brood over the possibilities. She needed to get away from them before they found out she wasn’t a real saint. Picking up the pace, she rushed for the door. On her way out, she grabbed her jacket off the coat hanger and went to find her classmate.
Lucious and Alexander descended the stairs after getting the fine details sorted out between them.
Alexander withdrew his phone out of his trousers pocket while Lucious headed for the living area. Lucious’ eyes found fault with the empty space. The saint was nowhere to be found. He was a fool to leave her alone. “The saint is gone.”
Alexander barked a few orders down the line and hung up. “She couldn’t get far in the state she was in.”
“I gave her my blood.”
When Alexander’s phone was in his hand again, he stopped. “Maybe this isn’t such a bad thing. This way she’s out of the picture, and we don’t have to worry about her.”
Lucious wanted to agree, yet something in him desired for her to remain by his side. “The hound spoke of the Council wishing to see her upon their arrival here.”
Alexander’s eyes lit up, and Lucious knew his friend was holding in a lot of unhelpful things he wished to convey.
“I’ll go search for her,” Lucious barked.
“And I’ll get my staff to do the same,” Alexander said. “But, unless it’s overcast tomorrow, for a more thorough search, we will have to wait until tomorrow evening.”
Lucious ran out the door, his thoughts once again were populated with the girl who seemed so fragile a short while ago.
Helena ran to the one place she knew they wouldn’t look for her—her college. At night, an eerie aura clung to the grey historic walls wrapped up in ivy. It brought little comfort as she walked across the grounds. Once she reached the library, she tested the handle. It was closed. She bit her lip and tugged on it a second time with more strength. It didn’t budge.
She wrapped her arms around herself and scouted for a place where she could hide until morning classes began. A few dozen feet away from her was a tall tree. The security guard most likely would not pass by it, so she made her way over and huddled closer to the rough bark.
As her eyelids grew heavy, Helena felt a familiar presence around her shields. It was the same darkness that haunted her dreams. Whatever it was, it was getting closer.
She faced the wall of her steel shields. How did I get here? Helena willed the metal surface around her to turn see-through. When steel became glass, the world around her shields was enveloped in oily darkness. Where there used to be a white void was a black cloud charged with something sinister. The creature that waited on the other side of her shields, she knew she didn’t want to meet since she had more than enough on her plate.
For a moment, she thought she heard Michael saying something. His words were too muffled for her brain to decipher. Helena touched the wall of her shields. Surprisingly, the steel was warm.
She gathered her fingers together to form a fist. “If you can hear me, Michael, I want you to know that I’m not going to let those vampires rule my life. No one takes my freedom from me.”
9
The Invitation
A light shake on Helena’s shoulder drew her out of her restless sleep. Somehow, she managed to fall asleep under the tree. When she lifted her heavy eyelids, she found an older man with greying hair and a bushy ginger beard, hovering over her with an annoyed expression.
He extended his hand to help her up. “Miss, you aren’t supposed to sleep here. If you aren’t a student, you shouldn’t—”
Helena stood by herself. “I am. I’m a student here.”
The man looked her over with disapproval. He must have thought she was partying hard last night and fell asleep here instead of finding her way to her dorm. She would have thought the same if she had come across someone young lying under a tree on a Friday morning.
“May I see some ID, Miss…”
Helena bit her lip. She left her possessions at the apartment. Not like there was time to go home and search for her wallet. “I don’t have any on me. I should go.”
The guard let out a drawn-out sigh. “Don’t go doing this again. You don’t know what could happen to you if you sleep outside.”
Helena pretended to listen while she attempted to guess the time. Two joggers ran by. Their curious gazes fixed on her and the security guard, so she cast her eyes downwards in embarrassment.
“This won’t happen again, sir,” she assured him.
“Good. I should get back to work.” He walked away.
Helena tugged the jacket closer to her. The thin layer of cotton wasn’t meant for the cold autumn mornings. She should have kept Lucious’ leather jacket. At least, it was warmer. With a stifled yawn, she ran up to the nearest window and took in her reflection in the glass. Her hair was a mess and her eyes were red. It was nothing a quick wash of her face and a hairbrush couldn’t fix, along with a tonne of make-up.
She combed her fingers through the tangled mess, smoothing her hair out. A droplet of water landed on her hand. Puffy grey clouds huddled together above her, forming a blanket that hid the morning sun. More raindrops fell on her skin, making her scowl at her reflection in the window. The weather was against her, too.
Helena shrugged out of her jacket and covered her head with it. She ran to the nearest building for shelter as the rain fell with an audible hiss around her. Luckily, she managed to run up the steps to get under the roof of the Arts Block. The faint warmth from her jacket enveloped her, and she leant against a tall pillar, waiting for either a sight of Nadine or for the sky to clear.
She didn’t have to wait long. Nadine made her way over to the Arts building under an oversized navy umbrella with white dots scattered on it.
Helena pushed away from the pillar and called out to the girl. “Na—”
Her words died in her throat when a heavy hand landed on her shoulder. The grip on it made her wince.
“Make a sound and I’ll kill everyone you love,” a familiar voice whispered into her ear.
Helena clasped her mouth shut. She watched Nadine turning her head. Their eyes locked, and Helena prayed her classmate wasn’t going to come over. She didn’t want to drag her into this mess, even if she could show strange visions to people.
She turned, facing Lucious.
“You swore to be mine, Helena. There is no going back.”
She slapped his hand away from her shoulder. “Don’t touch me.”
Lucious gave her a cocky wink. “And yet you gladly fell into my arms last night.”
She stared at him, indignant. Nothing came to mind that could justify her actions the night before. Instead, she hung her head, letting her hair hide her reddening face from the prying eyes of the curious bystanders.
“Helena, are you alright?” Nadine’s light voice came from behind.
She spun on her heels, raising her hands in the air and spoke with haste. “Fine. I’m fine.”
Nadine glanced behind Helena, and her pleasant smile faded, morphing into a dark look. “Are you certain?”
Lucious wrapped his arm around Helena’s waist, drawing her closer to him. She wanted to push him away but refrained for the fear of what he might do to Nadine.
“I don’t believe I’ve heard of you from my girlfriend,” he said with ease.
Helena glared at him but didn’t offer anything to the conversation.
Nadine raised a brow at his statement as if she found it hard to believe. “Your girlfriend does not appear to be pleased to see you.”
Lucious brushed her comment off with a shrug. “All couples fight and we are no different.”
Helena felt his fingers digging into her side. She took the hint. “Sorry, Nadine, we…were leaving.”
She manoeuvred out of his hold and took his cool hand into hers. Helena waved to Nadine who seemed conflicted about something.
They headed into the pouring rain when Nadine said, “If you go with him, I fear for your future.”
Her words unsettled Helena. She kept on walking, pretending she didn’t hear the warning. A sudden weight settled in her stomach. There was no certainty in her life anymore, and she didn’t know what was going to come from associating with Lucious. Her gut told her it would be anything but good.
Helena struggled to keep up with his strides. The bones in her fingers rubbed together from the amount of force he used, and she gritted her teeth to prevent a pained cry from escaping. She ran her free hand over her face to clear away the rain water which was making it hard for her to keep her eyes open.
Cold wind tormented her, summoning forth a shiver under her drenched clothes. When Helena sneezed, Lucious stopped in his tracks and scanned the area they were in. She recognised some store names but had never been to this part of the city which was why she waited for him to make a move.
“Let’s get you something to wear.” He picked up the pace and crossed the street.
Helena stumbled after him. The thought of clean, dry clothes kept her from falling apart again.
He opened a door and shoved her into a cosy boutique where a blast of heat from the air conditioner was equivalent to a slap in the face. He placed his hand on the small of her back, leading her to one of the clothing racks.
Helena kept her eyes on the ground. She didn’t want to attract any unwanted attention to them. It didn’t last long. When she glanced up, an elderly store clerk waddled over in her blue moccasins.
“Hello, how may I help you?” she asked, eyeing them both with interest.
“Could you find some dry clothes to wear for my sister? We got caught in the rain,” he said.
Helena raised a brow. She went from a girlfriend to a sister in a matter of minutes and neither title brought her any pleasure. Nevertheless, she remained quiet.
“We might have something for her.” The elderly woman smiled warmly and waved. “This way, please.”
The clerk went on and on like a broken record about different types of jeans. With a grumble of acknowledgement, Helena accepted the clothes that were piled in her hands. Once she had more than a dozen items stacked, the clerk directed her to the changing room.
“Wait here,” Helena told Lucious.
He raised a brow. “And trust you to be alone? I think not.”
Lucious pushed her into the cubicle when the clerk caught his elbow. “Young man,” she began in a stern, motherly voice, “it’s not right to be in the same changing room as your sister. Wait outside, please.”
He folded his arms, and Helena waited for him to use his powers on her. When he didn’t, she blew out a breath and dragged the curtain across.
She picked through the pile of clothes she had dumped on the chair. Inwardly, she complained about the old woman’s taste. The majority of the pile consisted of pinks and baby blues. She plucked a pair of grey jeans from the bottom along with a purple tank top.
After changing into her new clothes, she found him leaning his back against the wall. The clerk had scurried away to attend to another customer, and Helena knotted her fingers together. “I’m done.”
He appraised her with a single look. “You look almost human, but you will be cold without a jacket.”
Helena found it strange that a vampire was thinking about her wellbeing. She started picking up her wet clothes.
Lucious grasped her hand. “Leave them. Grab a jacket and let’s go.”
She wanted to protest and stopped herself. There was no point in arguing with someone who had already made up his mind. She pulled out a hoodie from under the pinks and tugged it on.
Outstretching her arms, she grumbled, “Happy now?”
“Exceptionally.” His reply was laced with sarcasm, and it made her lips curl into a smile.
He selected a cheap umbrella by the counter and paid for the shopping in cash. At the door, he handed her the umbrella. “Don’t expect me to carry it for you.”
Helena took it from him. Although he spouted a lot of hurtful and domineering things, it was becoming harder to see him as a cruel and heartless man. And, once she opened the umbrella outside, she let him lead her by the arm. His hold was unrelenting, but it no longer hurt like before.
He stopped near a small café on the corner. Without a word, he gestured for her to go in.
“What are we doing here?” she asked.
Lucious sighed. “Your stomach continues to rumble even if you no longer notice it.”
She folded her umbrella while trying to hide her blush. He paid more attention to her than she did. His kindness conflicted with the way he acted up to now.
He selected a table away from the windows at the back of the café and collapsed into the cushioned seat. “Get whatever you want.”
The waiter promptly showed up at their table with a notepad and pen in hand. “Hi there, have you been with us before?”
“No, but I’d like some coffee. No milk,” Helena said with a brief smile.
Lucious ran a hand through his dripping locks, pushing them away from his handsome face. “I will have an expresso. Please bring your soup of the day as well.”
The waiter smiled and orbited the tables until he reached the till where he started typing in their order.
Helena rested her elbows on the table. She lowered her voice so the other patrons wouldn’t overhear her. “How come you are walking around during the day?”
“We don’t burn in the sun, contrary to the popular belief.”
“So, the sun doesn’t affect you?”
Lucious leant in, shrinking the distance between them. “Why are you so interested?”
“Since, apparently, I belong to you, I want to know more about your kind.”
“I don’t believe you’d so easily give up on running away on me, my dear. There is too much defiance in you.”
She peered over her shoulder to check on their drinks and hide her blush. They’d known each other for a short while, and he already knew more about her than she knew about him.
When their order arrived, he pushed the soup her way. “Eat.”
She scowled at him. “I didn’t order it. You did.”
“Don’t argue and eat. I assume Alexander forgot you were mortal and dismissed the fact that you have skipped your meals.”
“How do you know that?”
He was ready to say something but stopped. Instead, Lucious started sipping his coffee.
“Fine, don’t say anything,” she mumbled.
The hot tomato soup was the best thing she had in days. She swallowed each mouthful, and her eyes closed with pleasure. Finishing her meal, she stole a peek to find him watching her with interest. She refrained from starting another conversation and quickly reached for her coffee. What surprised her was that he never once told her to hurry or gave her another command during their stay there.
Was he really a bad guy?
Lucious came to an abrupt stop, and Helena bumped into his broad back. She rubbed her aching nose and tried to figure out whether what she was seeing was real or not. They had arrived at an enormous six-storey red-brick building which towered over them. A metal plate attached to one of the entrance columns read “The Seasons Hotel”.
It was unexpected that Lucious would bring her to a place populated with other humans. She thought he would drag her back to the apartment or hide her in some kind of basement. This hotel had more white-frame windows than she could count. Many times she had passed by this place on her way to college and not once had she set foot in it.
Lucious took her umbrella and folded it outside the lobby. “A
fter you.”
She went through the automatic doors that slid open on her approach. The place was even grander on the inside. She stood in the foyer, gaping at the expensive marble interior. A round, antique table stood at the centre of the reception atop of which a vase was filled with different white and red flowers.
Peeling her eyes away from the sight, she focused on him. “Why are we here?”
“This is where Alexander lives. Your things are already on his floor.”
Helena’s feet forgot how to move. She had seen the monstrous exterior of this place. To be able to afford an entire floor here, he would have had to pay a fortune.
Lucious pressed his hand to her lower back. “Come along. He’s waiting, and Alexander hates that the most.”
Another mention of Alexander’s name was enough to help her regain the motor function of her legs. No matter how grand the place was, she would still be required to put up with that vampire.
They picked up the pace and arrived at their destination five minutes later.
Alexander’s floor was devoid of life. No maids, servants, or anyone for that matter was seen. If anything happened to her here, no one would notice. That thought alone was enough to make her shudder.
Diverting her attention away from such dreadful ideas, she got to know her new environment. Oak floor spanned the reception of his ‘apartment’. A faint smell of paint hung in the air. Her attention was drawn to the modern artwork hanging on the walls. This place was closer to an art gallery than a home.
They walked through a pair of double doors and into a large sitting room. At the first glance, Helena counted over a dozen monochrome couches, armchairs, and love seats scattered around the place. A dash of colour in this home came from the glossy coffee-coloured hardwood flooring.
She spotted Alexander sitting cross-legged in one of the armchairs, reading through some paperwork.
“The bedrooms are through those doors.” He pointed to two large white doors near a grand piano without looking.
Russian Roulette (Helena Hawthorn Series Book 1) Page 13
