Chris kept quiet.
“I know you like her, Chris, everyone can see that. She likes you too, that much is obvious. You are the one who is always telling me to take chances and have fun. Take your own advice.”
“Maybe I will.” He paused for a moment. “You know, Alex. She did look really hot when she threw that stake at you.” He grinned.
Alex gave him a mock disgusted look. “You’re sick.”
25
Malcolm sat in what he liked to think of as his throne room. He lounged in his jeweled throne, high upon a massive stone platform with four carved in steps. His lovely queen sat beside him, the diamonds, rubies and sapphires from her own throne accentuating her dark beauty. They watched silently as the two guards cautiously made their way into the room to face Malcolm.
The guards who had seen Stewart disappear into thin air feared for their lives. Malcolm had killed for much less than witnessing an escape.
“What are you two doing here?” Malcolm demanded. “Aren’t you supposed to be guarding the council member?”
The tall, thin one lowered his head. “Yes, we are, which is why we have come to you.”
Malcolm’s eyes narrowed. “Well, if you are here, then where is the prisoner?”
The guard’s head sunk even lower. “He…got away.”
Malcolm stood; his silk cape wavered around him as he marched down the stairs toward the guards.
“What do you mean, he got away?” His voice remained calm but his eyes glittered with rage. The guards began to quiver with fear as Malcolm circled them.
Again, it was the tall, thin one who answered. “We both saw it; he disappeared.”
“Disappeared?” Malcolm hissed. “His powers were bound. That bunch of witches must have found a way to get to him.”
“We did what we could, master.”
Malcolm had stopped circling but his anger continued to grow.
“Damn it!” He grabbed the tall guard by the throat and raised him off the ground. “That prisoner was valuable.”
The shorter guard quivered with fear while Malcolm held his partner in the air. He wanted to run away, as far away as he could get.
The tall one began to stutter. “P…please, master. There wa…was nothing we could do.”
“I. Don’t. Care!”
One quick movement and the guard’s head hung lifelessly off to the side. Malcolm dropped the body to the floor.
“Get this out of my sight.” He directed the swarms of vampires who surrounded his thrones.
There was a bustling of activity as they all hurried to accommodate Malcolm’s orders. The guard’s head needed to be severed in order to finish the kill.
Malcolm faced the shorter guard, reached out and wound his hand through his hair. Then, he yanked him forward. All of a sudden, he felt a hand on his shoulder.
“No, love,” Levine whispered into his ear. “Let me have this one.”
The guard fell to the ground with a thump when Malcolm released his hair. “You can have whatever you want, my darling.”
She focused on the guard. “I want him.”
Her green eyes glazed over with hunger.
Levine dropped to her knees and caressed the guard’s chest with her smooth hand. Slowly, her fingers found their way into his hair while her lips found their way to his.
She kissed him tenderly, forcing him to open his mouth and let her tongue graze over his. When she pulled away, his lower lip was covered with blood. Levine licked her lips and reached for his inner thigh while she kissed him again.
“Mmm, I love the taste of vampire blood,” she whispered to the guard, who had no choice but to return her kisses. She continued to stroke his inner thigh until she felt the time had come.
She bit into his neck and gracefully moved her scarlet lips while she suckled his blood from his taunt throat.
Malcolm watched silently, with lust for his queen as she aroused the vampire who knew he was going to die. He reached out for her. “That is enough.”
She panted softly as she turned to him. Blood dripped slowly from the corners of her lips and down her chin. Malcolm took her hand and helped her to her feet, then kissed the blood off her chin.
With a nod of his head, the flock of vampires swarmed again and dragged the guard’s body away so they could finish killing him.
Once they were both seated in their thrones again, Malcolm continued to fume. “What the hell are we going to do now? Damn them all!”
Levine reached over and touched his hand. “Don’t worry, love. We shall have our victory regardless of whether or not you have that boy.” She leaned her head in toward him and whispered, “We need to move in on them soon.”
Then, he ripped his hand from her grasp, jumped to his feet and waved his cape around.
“Find them!” he roared at his court, “Find them now!”
The entire court scattered, none of them wanting to be his next victim. Malcolm paced back and forth and muttered to himself, “I know we must take them soon, my love. I know. You will soon be able to live in this kingdom in safety, as you have always wanted.”
Levine smiled and kissed Malcolm’s cheek. “The only thing I have always wanted is you.”
Malcolm leaned back in his chair. “Darling, you always know the right words at the right time.”
She stood. “I’m tired; take me to bed now.”
“With pleasure.” He took her hand and helped her down the step. Just as they were departing from the throne room, a burly blond vampire came running through the hall way, nearly knocking Levine to the ground.
“You fool!” Malcolm roared at him.
“Oh…master, I am so glad you are still here.”
“Did you find the council member? If not, you need to remove yourself from my sight immediately.”
“No. No, sir, but we do have word of movement of the council.”
“All of them?”
The guard nodded. “All of them…and the baby.”
“Where are they?” Malcolm’s rage was quickly diminishing.
“They will be going to see Corrine, the witch who stays young.”
Malcolm glanced at Levine. She put her index finger to her cheek.
“It’s perfect,” she whispered. “You have done well, Lance. Please let us know immediately if more information arises.”
Lance nodded his huge head. “Yes, of course.”
He backed away with his head slightly bowed.
Then, Malcolm led Levine off to their bed chambers where they could celebrate their anticipated victory.
26
When Alex woke the following evening, his entire body tingled with anxiety. With the challenges ahead on his mind, he sluggishly rose from his coffin and maneuvered the tunnels in the same fashion.
In his room, a large duffel bag sat next to the door and the clothes he had chosen lay on the bed. He heard commotion from within the house but he ignored the voices that carried into his bedroom and went into the bathroom to shower.
After his shower, he felt ten times better. He dressed in blue jeans and a black casual button up shirt. Then, he ventured toward the voices.
He found Isabella struggling to carry a large suitcase and a huge duffel bag down the curving staircase and Deanna at the bottom with Jaiden in her arms. Alex glanced at the main doors and saw a big pile of more luggage.
“What the heck are you bringing?” he asked as he rushed to help Isabella with the bags.
“Jaiden needs a lot more things than we do.” She handed him the suitcase.
“Oh, well, I guess it’s a good thing the rest of us packed light, then,” he said teasingly.
Isabella laughed and threw the duffel onto the pile by the door.
Damion and Danielle came out of the kitchen, both with sullen expressions on their faces.
“What’s the matter?” he asked just as Stewart appeared behind them.
Stewart hung his head. “I still don’t have any powers.”
Alex did
n’t know what to say. How could Stewart not have any magic? But, he didn’t have to say anything because Stewart answered his unspoken question.
“That bastard had my powers bound and now no one can undo it except the person who did it.”
“What? Is that why we couldn’t contact you with telepathy?”
“Yes.” Stewart nodded. “Damn it!”
Danielle comforted Stewart. “Don’t worry. We will find out who did it.”
She rubbed Stewart’s shoulder with her tiny hand.
“But, now I am no use. Maybe I shouldn’t even go.”
Damion shook his head vigorously. “You have to come. You’re the only one who has seen the inside of his lair. If we make it that far, we’ll need you more than anyone.”
Suddenly, a loud, blaring horn assaulted their ears.
“What is that?” Alex exclaimed as everyone moved toward the door. Damion flung the doors open and thus allowed them to view two sets of head lights making their way to the house. They all watched silently as two white hummers came to a stop next to Alex’s black one, which was parked in front of the house.
“Cool.” Deanna grinned.
Chris jumped out of the first one and trotted up to the house. “I thought we could use these for the trip.”
“Good idea.” Damion nodded his approval.
They could hear voices spilling out of the other hummer. Then, the passenger door opened and Victoria emerged from it with such an irritated look on her face that everyone laughed. Jeremiah lowered himself from the driver’s seat and rushed over as fast as his old legs would take him to help her.
“You people really expect me to climb in and out of that thing for the whole trip?” She proceeded to make a big deal out of swiping imaginary dirt from her gray dress.
Everyone laughed even louder.
“Gee, thanks a lot,” she mumbled as she turned and yanked her bag from the seat.
Damion jokingly tried to reassure her. “Don’t worry, Victoria, We’ll bring a step ladder for you.”
Alex watched with humor as Victoria glared at Damion with her little mean eyes. Then, she pushed her way through the group and right up to Damion. She lifted her hand and poked Damion in the chest with her finger.
“Damion, you may think old age is something to joke about because you can’t get old. It’s not a funny thing and I don’t want to hear anymore about it. Do you think I like being like this?” She waved her arms down the length of her body.
Put in his place, Damion mumbled, “I’m sorry.”
“Humph.” Victoria stuck her nose in the air and continued into the house. The rest of them followed her but no one was laughing anymore.
Everyone gathered in the dining room for a final briefing before it was time to leave. He could smell the nervousness radiating off of Isabella. She sat in the chair next to Alex, fidgeting, unable to sit still. Alex leaned in close and whispered in her ear, “It’ll be ok.”
“I know,” she whispered back.
Deanna stood next to the doorway holding Jaiden while the rest of them took seats at the new dining room table.
Damion took charge. “Ok, everyone, we don’t really have any idea how this is going to play out. It is pretty much going to be sink or swim. Our plan is to meet up with the slayers at the border where they will join our convoy.”
Alex, as well as the rest of the group, remained silent. Damion glanced around at them. “Does anyone want to add anything?”
No one said a word. Alex was silently praying they would be the ones to prosper in this mission. Danielle had told him to have faith, and he did, but going into something with a blind eye and using his baby as bait for a monster was definitely something to worry about.
My baby.
Damion pushed his chair back and lifted his massive body from the table. “Let’s go, then.”
With tension thick in the air, each of them rose and reluctantly exited the room.
Alex tackled the pile of luggage by the door, grabbing as much as he could to put into the hummer. Isabella silently helped him while Deanna put Jaiden into her car seat.
An hour later, two white hummers and one black one headed through the clear night toward the state line. Alex drove silently, anticipating their first encounter with the slayers.
Isabella rode in the front seat with Alex. She rode in silence as well, but every few minutes, she would turn and look into the back seat where Jaiden lay in her car seat, lulled to sleep by the moving vehicle. Alex suddenly wished he were a baby, without a care in the world besides eating and sleeping. If what Danielle told him was true, though, Jaiden had a dangerous life ahead of her. Not the life of your average child, that was for sure.
As they neared the Nevada-Idaho state line, Alex could feel Isabella’s tension without even looking at her. He could smell her blood, and hear it pumping faster than before.
The two white hummers turned off of the freeway and headed towards one of the largest truck stops Alex had ever seen. He followed closely while he scanned the truck stop for slayers.
He saw nothing. The first hummer which carried Deanna pulled in next to a semi which had no logo on it. When the hummer stopped, Deanna jumped out and walked up to the window of the truck.
Alex watched intently as a large black man opened the door and stepped down from the truck.
“Oh great,” he mumbled.
“That is exactly what I was thinking,” Isabella told him. “Where do you think all the slayers are? In the back of the truck?”
“They have to be. I don’t see any other vehicles.”
“Look at all of his scars.”
Alex observed his bald head. His chest was also exposed due to the lack of fabric on his shirt. Some people referred to that particular type of shirt as a “wife beater.” As he watched them more closely, Alex could swear he sensed an attraction between them. When Deanna finished talking to the slayer, she turned in their direction and beckoned them over with a little wave.
“I don’t like this,” Alex said more to himself than Isabella. But she replied anyway.
“I am going to stay with Jaiden; we can’t leave her alone.”
He nodded. “You’re right. I’ll go.”
Alex couldn’t believe himself. Some vampire I am, all scared and stuff. He knew he could take a few vampire slayers but from what he already knew, there would be a lot of them there, more than he could manage. And that did scare him.
Slowly, he opened the door and got out, watching the others open their doors and get out as well. He found Chris and met his eyes; they exchanged a look of shared anxiety.
Don’t worry, he told Chris
You’re feeling the same way, old man, Chris answered back.
Alex knew he was right managed a little smile for Chris’s sake.
Alex, Damion, Danielle, Chris, Jeremiah, Stewart, and Victoria all marched with determination and fearlessness on their faces and in their walk.
Deanna smiled radiantly and stretched her arm out toward the group. “Members of the Great Council, this is Michael. Michael, meet the group.”
She named them all in turn and each smiled courteously and said hello.
Alex noticed that when she introduced him to Chris, Michael narrowed his eyes. Alex in turn defiantly reached out to shake Michael’s hand. “It’s nice to meet you, Michael.”
Without hesitancy, Michael took hold of Alex’s cold, hard hand.
“You too, Alex,” he replied, and then withdrew his hand. Although Alex appeared to be brave, Michael seemed to sense his anxiety. “Don’t worry, none of my slayers here will hurt you. We know what side you are on.”
Alex laughed. “And how do you know that?”
“You’re here, aren’t you?”
Alex nodded. Michael’s simple answer was a logical one. Still, he was far from convinced. Alex could feel it without even reading his mind.
Damion spoke up. “So, you will follow us?”
“Yes.”
With an awkward
glance at the trucks, Damion asked, “You are aware that where we are going, it is a massive wooded area, so you and your people will need to be prepared to camp.”
Michael nodded. “We have been informed of the situation.” He nodded toward Deanna. “We are prepared.”
Damion continued. “Basically, we are waiting for Malcolm to strike, to lead us to them.”
“How do we know he will?” Michael wanted to know.
Danielle turned her head toward Alex’s black hummer and told him in a soft voice, “We have something he wants very badly.”
Again, Michael nodded with understanding. “Shall we go, then?”
As they all began to return to their vehicles, Damion shouted, “We still have a good nine to ten hours ETA. When dawn approaches, we need to stop.”
“All right,” Michael shouted back.
Alex saw him pull out a radio and speak into it before he nodded at Damion and jumped into his truck.
Alex slid back into the hummer and found Isabella was staring out the window at the trucks. He heard Michael start his truck and flip on his head lights. Then, to his amazement, not one, not two, but three other semis simultaneously started theirs as well.
“Oh my,” Isabella mumbled as she stared with wide eyes.
“Yeah,” Alex said unenthusiastically and pulled into formation behind the second hummer. The four semi-trucks followed suit. Again, they were flying down the freeway with their headlights leading the way.
27
Every so often, Alex glanced at the glowing green numbers on the dashboard clock. When two am passed, he finally began to relax. Dawn would be approaching soon and he could get some sleep. Maybe resting would take the edge off.
Isabella dozed lightly in the passenger seat next to him. Her head rested against the window and her blond hair had fallen forward, covering her face. She didn’t snore but her breathing was soft and even. He briefly wondered what it would be like to sleep beside her, to pull her body against his and run his cold hand against her warm, silky skin.
Birth of Jaiden Page 16
