Blood of a Red Rose

by Tish Thawer

  I almost started crying at the sound of her voice and the fact that she was worried about me. I wasn't sure how any of my friends would feel about me since I'd disappeared. "I'm sorry, I can't tell you where I am, but please know I'm okay. How are you? How have things been since I...left?"

  "Oh my god, Rose, it's been crazy. First, you just disappear off the face of the earth, and then your dad up and sells your house to move to Masen and live with that woman. It's just been crazy. My parents are freaking out."

  "Wait. What? Masen? What woman?"

  "That Meredith bitch he was seeing. After you left, they moved to Masen together. Are you saying you haven't even talked to your dad this whole time?"

  Oh my god, no! She can't be alive and still with my dad. I dropped the phone and started to hyperventilate. This couldn't be happening. How the hell could she still be alive?

  Jillian's voice echoed out of my phone. "Rose, are you still there? Rose?"

  Once the adrenaline kicked in, I grabbed my phone again. "Jillian, you can't tell anyone I called, okay?"

  "What? Why? Rose, why can't you tell me what's going on? Your dad has been looking for you and I miss you too. Where are you?"

  With this new development, it was so important no one knew I'd contacted Jillian that I did the unthinkable...I threatened my best friend. "Jillian, I'm not kidding. You can't tell anyone I called. If you do, I'll kill you!"

  Her loud exhale told me how offended she was, but right now I didn't care. I knew it made me seem like a real asshole, but I just couldn't risk anyone finding out that I'd contacted her. They'd start poking around again, looking for me, and that was something I couldn't risk. Besides, the urgency I felt to get to Christian and tell him that we still had a demon problem to deal with, left me with no time to explain. Jillian was just going to have to continue to think I'd lost my mind.

  I didn't wait for her response; I simply hung up and headed for the door. I couldn't believe Meredith was still alive and now had my dad within her reach 24/7.

  * * * * *

  CHAPTER SIX

  Recruiting

  (Meredith)

  It didn't take me long to reach Damien's house. He only lived about ten miles away. He was the first demon I ran across after starting my search. He and his family had lived in the area for seventy-five years, and he told me I was the first demon outside their immediate family they'd ever met. We became fast friends. He was single and about the same age as Jeremy and I. He spent a lot of time with his cousins and started bringing them to our meetings. At this point, we had about twenty demons who showed up to our meetings on a regular basis. I was hoping that number would continue to grow.

  As we made our way to the living room, he asked, "Hey, so what did you need to talk to me about that couldn't wait until this week's meeting?"

  "I wanted to see how familiar you are with some of the ancient ways. I have something I want to share with the group, but wanted to run it by you first." I sat on the thread bare couch and waited for his response.

  I could tell by the way he puffed up his chest he felt privileged that I'd chosen to share this information with him before anyone else. I didn't care how he felt as long as he was willing to do what I wanted. It wasn't because I met him first that I chose to share this information with him, but instead because after a little background check, he wasn't exactly the upstanding citizen he led everyone to believe. I was pretty sure he would be a power hungry demon who'd revel in increasing his powers. Time to test my theory.

  "Well, my abuela use to tell me some pretty freaky stories. Why? What exactly did you want to know?"

  "Well, did you know that our demon ancestors actually drank human blood?"

  "Yeah. She told me that and how they thought it would extend their life because they were ingesting another person's essence or some crazy shit like that."

  Time to drop the bombshell. "It's not crazy shit. It works. It's happened to me."

  His eyes nearly popped out of his head but at least he didn't run off screaming.

  "I was injured recently, and because I chose to drink human blood to test the theory of our ancestors, I healed almost instantly." I waited to gauge his response before continuing. He was still staring at me but the glint in his eye was enough to tell me that he was extremely interested in what I had to say. "I also found that by drinking human blood, I gained inhuman amounts of strength."

  Suddenly serious, he stood. "Show me."

  I stood up from the couch and then picked it up...with one hand.

  "Believe me?"

  The evil grin that spread across Damien's face was the last piece of confirmation I needed to know I'd chosen the right guy. "Yes. Now who do we have to kill to get some fresh human blood?"

  "That's exactly the question I hoped you'd ask."

  We spent the next two hours going over everything I'd learned from my experience with the vampires and from killing Loraine. We talked about who else he thought would be willing to join us in enhancing our demon powers and our new quest for immortal life. He didn't have a clue about the vampires, but was now excited to start drinking human blood so he would be ready to take them on.

  This was going perfectly. My recruiting had officially begun.

  * * * * *

  (Jeremy)

  The afternoon spent in my meeting flew by. It was now dusk and I was headed to The Rising Pit. I still had a feeling that I would catch a lucky break tonight. I really hoped I was right; it had been too long since I'd seen my daughter. When the accident happened everything had been so chaotic. I hadn't been in my right mind and I just sat there watching as she ran out of my life. But now that Meredith had recovered and we'd become settled in our new life together, it was time I found out exactly why Rose had attacked her in the first place.

  Whenever I asked Meredith to give me details about that night, she would only say that her memories were too foggy and that she just couldn't remember. All she recalled was that she'd come over late to talk to me and had apparently startled Rose and Christian who had seemed to be fighting. When she tried to step in, Rose went ballistic, yelling things about Meredith killing her mom and other ridiculous stuff.

  That didn't sound like my Rose, but I saw her attack Meredith with my own eyes and watched as she fled with her boyfriend. At this point, I wasn't really sure I knew anything about my daughter anymore.

  I eased my Lexus into the very farthest parking spot I could find. It was in the very back corner of the club's lot and didn't have any lights surrounding it. So far I was pretty pleased with my sleuthing skills.

  I sat there for about twenty minutes before the club's front door opened and out walked Evangeline with a few members of her staff, but unfortunately, neither Rose or Christian were amongst them. I blew out the breath I was holding only to have all of them snap their heads in my direction. I knew they couldn't see me way back here but I unconsciously slouched down in my seat because it felt as if they were looking right at me. It was odd. I watched as Evangeline whispered something into one of the guy's ears and then he walked back into the club as the rest of them headed off in a different direction.

  I checked my watch and realized I would only have another thirty minutes to spy before I needed to hit the road in order to make it home in time for dinner. It looked like my lucky break wasn't going to happen after all.

  * * * * *

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  Alive

  (Rose)

  The moment I entered the hallway I heard voices in the direction of Terrance's cell. I picked up my pace, anxious to see what the commotion was about, but especially because I was desperate to reach Christian and tell him that Meredith was still alive.

  "Are you sure he's remembering her and not just going off the things he's heard us saying about her?" I heard Evie ask.

  "No, he seems to be remembering specific things about her. I've been able to pick up on certain thoughts and they really are about Meredith," Christian said.

  As I grabbed Christi
an's arm and spun him towards me, the worried look on his face was enough to stop me from blurting out what I'd originally come to say. "What's going on? Why are you talking about Meredith?"

  "Terrance has started to remember things about Meredith. Somehow the thoughts are breaking through and he's really pissed about how she manipulated him." Christian eased his arm around me as he continued. "I heard some of his internal thoughts when I was walking by earlier, and it appears he's starting to drift back. We're just trying to figure out how any of this is even possible."

  "Well, I know one person we could talk to to find out." Everyone looked at me as if I'd sprouted another head. "Meredith. I just found out she's still alive."

  Christian's mouth dropped open and Evie stumbled back a step, while Terrance just let out a roar that sent goose bumps racing up my arms. They were right...he did sound pissed.

  "I'll kill that bitch for what she did to me. She caused me to lose the one and only thing I've cared about in over three-hundred years!" His chains rattled as he strained against them.

  "How do you know this?" Evie asked.

  I took a shaky breath then answered. "I called Jillian. She told me my dad sold our house and moved to Masen to live with Meredith. Apparently, being a demon has some perks."

  "I can't believe this. If she's still out there, then what's going to stop her from coming after Rose, or from infecting another vampire in the area to do her dirty work? We have to find her and kill her!" Christian was drifting so fast that it was making me dizzy. Everyone else's emotions were starting to show as well. Seeing Evie with dark hair and an angry look on her face had me making a mental note to never piss her off.

  "How are we going to kill her if she has super-healing abilities and lord knows what else? We know nothing about the demons except that they're really strong and fast, and we can't bite them because we'll become infected. We're flying blind here." Bobby, for once, was the voice of reason.

  Evie's hair and eyes evened out as she stepped into the center of our little crowd. "Alright. Everyone just sit tight. Terrance, I'm sorry, but even though you're showing signs of breaking through whatever hold Meredith had on you, we just don't know enough to let you out yet. Christian, you and Rose stay here. I won't chance you running into Meredith until we come up with a plan. The rest of us need to go out and feed, but once the club's open tonight, I'm going to call Balam again to see if he can provide us with some more information."

  Terrance slid down the wall and sat on the floor as the rest of the clan headed for the stairs.

  "Do you want to go up and order some food?" Christian asked.

  "Sure." I reached for his hand but immediately regretted it when a smile spread across his face. I couldn't let him think we were making up. Even with this new development, things hadn't changed for me. I was going to have to stick to my guns.

  I pulled my hand out of his and started up the stairs, trying to think of a way to handle all of this. Currently...I was coming up blank.

  Sounding defeated, Christian asked, "What would you like for dinner, Rose?"

  "Chinese sounds fine."

  After emerging from below the stage, I sat down at one of the tables as Evie, Dax, Bobby, Tori, and Dom left the club to go feed, while Renard and Loni both took seats at the bar. Christian had just pulled out his cell to place our order when Bobby suddenly walked back through the door. Using his vampire speed, he was at Renard and Loni's side in a split second.

  "Excuse me a second, I need to see what's going on." I watched Christian make his way over to them. I strained my ears, trying to hear what was happening. I wondered what drama was unfolding now.

  I hadn't really gotten to know much about the couple yet, except that Renard was originally from England and that's where they'd taken their honeymoon so he could show his cute American wife all the places he frequented as a human.

  They both had a punk-rocker look about them. Renard's hair was a dirty blonde, smooth yet spiky at the same time. Loni had a short, edgy cut of blonde hair that was tipped in black. No one was sure why her hair had drifted like that when she was turned, but Evie assumed it was because she witnessed her sister being killed when she was a little girl. By the time she was turned, it was a distant memory, but Evie thought it was possible the memory still remained buried deep within her psyche. All I knew was that she was really sweet and pretty badass. She was the only female security guard on the staff. Now with Meredith being back in the picture, I was really glad they were both here and had Christian's back.

  * * * * *

  (Christian)

  "What's going on?" Christian asked.

  "We just caught Rose's dad staked out in his car at the back of the parking lot. Evie wants Renard and Loni to follow him back to Masen so we can find out where Meredith is. It's a pretty lucky break. What are the odds he'd show up tonight after all this time?"

  "Yeah, a lucky break." I knew I'd started drifting again as I walked back to Rose. How was I going to tell her that her dad was just outside and expect her not to go to him?

  "So, what's up? What was that all about?" she asked.

  "Let me order you some dinner first, and then we can talk about everything." I needed to allow as much time to pass as possible so hopefully her father would be long gone by the time I broke the news.

  She crossed her arms and sat back in her chair. "Alright. But I'm not sure how much there is to talk about. It's obvious now why no one ever came after me for killing Meredith...because I didn't kill her. And as far as my dad is concerned, he made his choice to leave behind all memories of me and my mother to go be with her, so I don't see that there's really anything to talk about at all." The tears shining in her eyes broke my heart, and my will.

  "I think there's a lot we need to talk about. Like how Meredith could somehow be controlling him like she was controlling Terrance. She could have forced him to sell the house and move to Masen with her; we really don't know. Until Evie gets some more information from Balam, I think we should just stay out of sight and off her radar, and unfortunately that means no more phone calls. But Rose, you should know, your dad still loves you and hasn't stopped looking for you. He hasn't left you behind. As a matter of fact, he was just sitting outside in his car probably hoping to catch a glimpse of you."

  I knew I'd said the wrong thing when she stood up so fast that her chair slammed to the floor. "Christian! My dad was just here and you didn't tell me?"

  "Rose, please. I literally just found out."

  It was clear she was too mad to hear anything else I had to say because she continued her rant without skipping a beat. "And how dare you try to tell me who I can or can't call? It's a damn good thing I did call Jillian, otherwise we wouldn't even know about Meredith!" She stomped towards the stairs but stopped before heading down. "Your whole clan is the same way. You think you all have the best ideas about what to do, but really...you guys don't have a clue about what's happening around here or how to handle any of it!"

  I slammed my fist into the table, shredding it to splinters. Bobby, Renard, and Loni's heads were swiveling between me and a retreating Rose. So much for keeping our fight under wraps. This whole situation was out of control and as much as I wanted to race after Rose and try to smooth things over, I couldn't...because she was right. We didn't have a clue as to what to do next. So until Evie had some more information and told us what the plan was, I was just going to have to let Rose cool off alone. I was tired of disappointing her.

  * * * * *

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  Success

  (Meredith)

  Damien and I were crouched around a homeless man in the alley behind the Salvation Army. The stench of sweat and garbage was almost too much for me to handle. But, I'd been so happy with the success of our conversation, we'd decided to put our theory to the test right away.

  I'd gone over the plan again and again on our way over, and Damien was content with letting me start the process. I sunk my teeth into the man's neck, and with only a l
ittle pressure had my first taste of warm blood since I'd killed Loraine. It was heaven. My body was filled with a rush of strength and my heart picked up its pace as the man's essence filled my soul.

  "Enough, Meredith. My turn," Damien demanded. I was so caught up in the sensation I didn't realize I'd fed longer than expected.

  "I'm sorry, you're right. Here." I tossed him the man's body and watched as he sank his teeth in the already open wounds on his neck. I was pleased but surprised he didn't show any signs of hesitating.

  Watching the actual process and effect the human blood had on him was astonishing. It was almost as if Damien grew taller and wider right before me. The flare of red in his eyes signaled just how much he was enjoying the effects of the blood.

  Breathing heavily and with crimson coating his mouth, Damien pulled away from the man and dropped his dead body to the ground. "It's working. I can feel it happening just like you said."

  "I told you; you can trust me. Now that we know how to get stronger and extend our lives, I think it's time we started to look for others who'd do the same. Because once the vampires in Seela find out I'm still alive, they're going to come after me. The more demons we have ready to fight, the better our chances will be."

  "I know a handful of people in my family that may be willing to join us, but the majority will be appalled by what we're doing."

  "What if we don't tell them? What if we put some blood in the drinks at the next meeting, and little by little feed them the essence that will make them stronger? Once they realize they are being affected, they won't want to stop."

  His sly smile told me he agreed with my plan. "You're brilliant. And gorgeous." In the next second I was being slammed against the hard brick wall. "I want you Meredith. I want you right here, right now." I knew he was reacting to the high of the human blood in our veins, but I loved Jeremy and I wanted him to be the father of my baby...not Damien.