A long minute later Crystal herself answered the door. She stared at us for a minute and then cried out in shocked delight. “Juliana! You are alive!”
Seeing her so happy made me know I had made the right decision. I shrugged at her statement. “May we come in? I do not think it’s a good idea for people to see us.”
Crystal nodded and beckoned us into the sitting room. I looked around as we sat down on sturdy wooden chairs that matched the elaborately carved table. There were only a couple tapestries on the walls; the style showed a hint of Damien and my sister’s wealth, but the house did not flaunt it as my home had.
“Damien is not here right now. What is Adam doing with you? He was supposed to have married Ruth Galloway!”
“We decided to elope,” Adam answered her with a straight face.
Crystal shook her head and laughed. “Julia, you have niece or nephew on the way!” she announced, taking my hand. “Just wait until he or she arrives! The baby will be a darling, I just know it!”
I shrieked with joy, although I knew I probably wouldn’t be around to actually see the child. We would probably have to leave London soon. We had been in this area for far too long, and Richard’s sad news confirmed it. Some of the other vampires were already discussing a move. But I pushed those thoughts from my mind and hugged my sister warmly, determined to enjoy this moment while I could.
“That’s wonderful, Crystal. Is Damien treating you all right?” I remembered just in time that I “hadn’t seen Damien” in over a year.
Crystal smiled. “Oh, yes. He’s wonderful, Julia.”
I nodded, deeply subdued suddenly. “Good.”
Crystal looked at me in concern. “Have you been away from Gregory all this time? He didn’t beat—?”
I shook my head fiercely, silencing my sister. “I’ve been away from him for at least a year. And now he is dead.”
“Well. What in heaven’s name happened to Mari—?”
I interrupted quickly. “Mary, the girl next door? She was killed. It was an accident,” I said sharply. I decided it was best to leave, and stood. I didn’t want my sister asking questions about my daughter. Especially, not with Adam present.
“Good luck with the baby, Crystal. I’ll try to stop in again,” I said, lying through my fangs. Adam also stood, obviously confused. I think Crystal sensed that I wasn’t going to be back, despite what I said. She was always the intuitive one.
“Julia,” she said, standing.
I hugged her tightly. “We must go, Crystal. I wish I could stay longer, but I cannot. Do not tell anyone except Damien that we were here.”
Crystal nodded. “Come back soon.”
I nodded, but knew with terrible certainty that this was the last time I would see my baby sister. “Take care of yourself and your little one, Crystal,” I said, and practically shoved Adam out the door. I waved as we left.
“Goodbye Juliana,” Crystal said, tears blurring her eyes. I really think she knew, in the same way she had known that Gregory was a bad man, that we would never see each other again. And indeed, she was right. I never saw my sister or Damien again.
I glanced back at the house and shook my head sadly. Adam gently touched my shoulder. “At least she is happy now, Julia.” He looked at me with puzzled brown eyes. “Why did you interrupt so quickly when she was asking about that girl?”
“It was a terrible accident. I do not like to speak about it. The child was very young,” I replied quietly. He nodded, and said nothing.
I turned for home and froze. My brother, Peter, was heading in our direction. “Shall we go before he gets here?” Adam asked.
I slowly shook my head. “He’s already seen us,” I murmured. “Just wait.”
A minute later, Peter faced us. “You are supposed to be dead, Juliana!” he hissed in anger and surprise. He looked behind me, saw Adam, and his anger grew. “I will kill you both!” he snarled and swung at me.
Calmly, I reached out and caught his fist. “I do not think so.”
I began to crush his hand. Anger filled me like a raging fire. “You are not going to harm me ever again. And you are not going anywhere near Crystal again.”
Peter cried out in pain. He stared at me with wide, frightened eyes. “What are you?”
“Your worst nightmare,” I answered, flashing fangs.
Peter screamed. “Vampire!” There was sheer panic in the word. I tightened my hold, relieved that there was no one else around, and succeeded in crushing his hand. I spun him around. Digging my fangs into his neck, I began to drink greedily. This would make up for the meal I didn’t get last night.
When I finally stopped, Peter was dead. Despite the fact that I had killed a human, family even, I felt no remorse. As far as I was concerned, the brute deserved it— just as much as Gregory had, maybe more. I had always thought brothers were supposed to protect their sisters, not willingly give them to a sadistic, controlling monster.
I looked at Adam, afraid of his reaction. Afraid that he would think we truly were monsters. Afraid that he was regretting his decision to join me. His brown eyes were wide with shock.
“After everything he did to keep us apart, do not start feeling sorry for him!” I snapped.
Adam shook his head. “I am not feeling sorry for him. I just did not think you would actually kill him.”
I looked at Peter’s lifeless body, then back at him. “You would be surprised what I’m willing to do now that I am able to. He would have said something to someone. I couldn’t let him live! Besides, he first threatened to kill us; I merely defended us both.”
Well, I could have just hypnotized him into forgetting, but I decided not to tell Adam that. The truth was I had wanted to kill Peter. I wanted to punish him for allowing me to be hurt, for allowing my daughter to die.
“I don’t understand why you had to kill him.”
I stared at Adam. “Because he had to be punished for everything he’s done to us; all he did to keep us apart. Besides, I was hungry.”
Adam shook his head in silent disbelief.
“Come on, help me dump his body farther from here. I don’t want Crystal to come out of the house and find her brother’s body, whether he was a fiend or not.”
Adam slowly nodded. There was one human around. He gave us an odd look as we propped Peter up between us to avoid suspicion. We dumped the body a few streets away and started home. I was numb; I felt no remorse about what I had done. Adam seemed to echo my thoughts. “That really did not bother you at all?”
I shrugged. “There are worse things. But let’s not tell Samuel or the others about this, all right?”
As I spoke, the numbness faded slightly and I felt a twinge of sadness. Not for the person my brother had become, but for the person he had once been. At one time, we had been friends.
Adam sighed and agreed, and we walked the rest of the way home in silence. Everyone was outside already. Even Christy was training with everyone else. It amazed me how she had recovered so suddenly. For a minute we watched in silence, apparently unnoticed.
Samuel and Mary Anne were combining parts of the ka-tet’s power with conventional fighting. It was interesting to watch: the telepathic energy would crash against the opponent’s mind, disorienting them and leaving them vulnerable to actual physical attacks. As they explored the new abilities, they yelled out instructions to the others. I knew they were the most experienced.
“Come on, Adam. We had better start learning too,” I said, jumping over the lowest part of the fence to join the others.
“Good idea,” he said, and vaulted after me. We joined in and for the next hour or so Richard watched us all practice with different partners.
Samuel was my last partner. He smiled at me as we squared off. “You look well-fed, Sunshine.”
I smiled back. “I had supper.”
After a couple of minutes I felt the power of the ka-tet crash against my mind. It was a strange sensation — the world seemed to tilt all by itself. The next t
hing I knew, I was flat on my back with Samuel’s leg behind mine. “You swept me,” I complained in bewilderment. “I never even saw you move. I’ll get you back for this.”
Samuel laughed as I got back to my feet. We resumed sparring. As I fought I could sense the other members of the ka-tet, their power waiting to be used. Adam seemed the closest. It was as if we had our own separate link, filled with its own secret power, different from the telepathy all vampires had, and different from the closer-knit ka-tet.
I patiently bid my time until suddenly that separate link flared to life. Using its power along with the ka-tet’s, I hurled it at Samuel, just to see what would happen. I was surprised how natural it seemed to use the power.
The effect was astounding. Perhaps it was because I had just fed, but I didn’t really think that was it. Samuel was knocked flat on his back without my having raised a hand to make it happen. Stunned, he sat up. He rubbed the back of his head gingerly. “Sweet Jesu, Julia. Well . . . you did say you were going to get back at me.”
He stood and halted the others. “Let’s try all together now.”
“How?” Robert asked quietly.
Samuel turned towards the road and narrowed his eyes. “We can give everyone in the vicinity a taste.”
I turned and stood beside him. Adam came up on my right and put his hand on my shoulder. Mary Anne stood on Samuel’s other side. The other five stood somewhere behind us. Just by our willing it, an incredible blast of power tore throughout the entire area. I could still sense its echoes even after we stopped. It did not go unnoticed by the other vampires in and around London. For the first time ever I telepathically heard other vampires, not my group.
< Looks like Samuel got himself a full ka-tet. Do you think that will stop us, Samuel?>
“We’re here, Samuel. Your power was strong enough to wake the dead,” a female voice said wryly. Five other vampires jumped over the fence and began talking to Christy and Matthew.
“Beth, darling,” Samuel said, enfolding her into a light hug.
“Greetings, Samuel. Look who we found along the way,” Beth said laughing. A teasing smile tugged at her lips. Her dark blue eyes sparkled with mischief.
Samuel was already looking for the mystery person when someone else said, “Hello, Samuel.”
We all looked up at the female vampire leaning against the fence. She reminded me of the vampire Samuel told me about, the one who had taught him. She had hair the color of midnight. She came forward, smiling. Samuel grabbed her and wrapped her into a tight embrace.
“Valerie, what the hell are you doing here? You were near Paris last I heard,” he said, burying his face in her hair.
So, it is her, I thought. Samuel’s teacher. Valerie.
“It’s a bloody reunion,” Matthew muttered, shaking his head. Robert, Jeffrey, Sharon, and Adam all looked at each other and shrugged in confusion.
I stared at Samuel and Valerie. An unexpected stab of jealousy flashed through me as Valerie answered Samuel’s question in a tongue I had never heard before.
Samuel lifted his head and murmured something in the same language, then reverted to English. “I’m happy to see you care so deeply, Valerie.”
Valerie smiled. “I heard you needed help here, Sammy. So I came.” She shrugged. “I figured we could catch up on old times.”
Samuel rolled his eyes. “Please don’t call me Sammy, Val.”
I coughed pointedly. He still called me Sunshine. It was amusing— and just— that he too had a nickname he disliked. To my annoyance, neither vampire turned to look at me. Valerie smiled sweetly. “Aye, dear.”
Samuel stared at her for a moment. His eyes softened in a way I’d rarely seen. “I was just thinking of you the other night, cara,” he said. He suddenly leaned down and kissed her lightly. “It’s been far too long. I have missed you,” he whispered.
I looked away, angry at myself. Why on earth did it bother me to see Samuel so happy because of the presence of another woman, even his teacher? I loved Adam; knew it by the way my heart fluttered when he was around, the connection we seemed to share. So why was I so bitter about the joy on Samuel’s face upon seeing Valerie? Perhaps it was because they seemed to have such a close relationship, despite what had obviously been a long separation, and I was resentful of it because I had yet to establish such a close relationship with the one I loved. The closest I had come was with Samuel. Intimacy, even at the most basic level, frightened me, though at the same time I desired it.
I shook my head and turned towards Adam. “Let’s go inside and leave them be,” I said quietly. I kept my voice light.
Adam nodded and we turned towards the house. Samuel spoke. “Why don’t we all go in? Introductions can be made then.”
“Aye, that would be wonderful,” Valerie answered, as her gaze swept over the rest of us.
I sighed. There went my hope of going back into the house unnoticed by the reminiscers. Everyone followed us inside and sat down. I did not fail to notice Samuel sat beside Valerie at the table.
Samuel spoke again quietly. “Valerie, you already know Mary Anne and Matthew.” He was obviously saying this for the benefit of us younger vampires.
Mary Anne nodded. “It’s good to see you, Valerie.”
Valerie nodded at her in return as Samuel continued. “This is Richard, the sole survivor of Jack’s coven. Beth, do you want to introduce your group first?”
Beth nodded. “This is Carolyn, Pamela, Kevin, Josh, and Tim,” she said, gesturing towards each one in turn. I barely paid attention.
“And this is Christy, Matthew’s beloved. That is Jeffrey over there, and this is Robert and Sharon.” He smiled and finished, “And this is my new fledgling Julia and her lover, Adam.”
Valerie raised her blue-grey eyes to study me intently. I met her gaze without flinching. Our eyes locked for a moment and then she smiled. She looked at Samuel. “The girl has much inner strength and untapped power. She’ll make a strong vampire. You chose well, Samuel.”
Samuel nodded at her words. “Thank you.” He glanced at me and smiled. Looking at Valerie, he suggested we all go to bed. It was close to dawn.
“Where are we all going to sleep, Samuel? This house is not large, you know,” Jeffrey said.
“You will sleep in your room with Richard, Tim, and Josh. Julia can stay in her room with Adam, and the rest of Beth’s group will have bedrolls in the women’s room,” he answered. Everyone else got up, including Valerie. Samuel reached up and caught her arm. “You can stay with me, Valerie. That room will be crowded as it is.”
I narrowed my eyes at his words. Finally, I shook my head and retreated to my own room. Adam followed me. Scowling, I got ready for bed. Adam watched me as he prepared for sleep as well. He looked amused.
“I guess Samuel and Valerie know each other pretty well,” he commented.
I nodded. “Valerie is his teacher. He was a part of her group at one time.”
“They look very close.” Adam smiled. “Time for some sleep. Oh, and Julia, thank you.”
“For what?”
“For making me a vampire. For coming back to me. I always felt like you were still alive.”
I smiled. “I know.”
“It was you who followed me those nights, wasn’t it?”
I nodded. “I wanted to check on you.”
“Why didn’t you come to me then?” Adam asked gently.
“I wasn’t ready. I wasn’t fully comfortable with my new existence yet, and I was afraid you wouldn’t remember me. Or worse yet, that you would reject me.”
“I never forgot about you, Julia. I have spent most of this year waiting for a miracle, hoping against hope that you would suddenly appear; even though plans were being made for my wedding. I never loved Ruth
.
“I sheltered a secret desire that you would be found before my wedding night. But hope faded as the months went by, and I resigned myself to the knowledge that I was going to be married and would never see you again.” He smiled. “When you mysteriously appeared in my bedroom, I realized that even with no more hope of seeing you, I never stopped loving you.”
I brushed a tear from my eye. “I love you.”
“I love you too, Julia.”
I hugged him and lay down. “Good night,” I said. I lay awake for a while, thinking of Adam’s words and of Valerie.
Chapter 13
I awoke just as the sun was setting. It was a bit early to be up, but I was too agitated to even attempt to go back to sleep. The house was silent. When Adam awoke, I was pacing anxiously.
“What is bothering you, Julia?”
“She spent the day in his room. Samuel let her share his bed. They were alone together all day,” I muttered. I didn’t know why this bothered me so much, but it did.
“Julia?”
I continued, at first not noticing Adam had said my name. “He has never shared his bed with a woman since I have known him . . . well, except for me. But I was only there because of the nightmares,” I murmured. “Valerie spent the whole day there.”
“Julia,” Adam said again, holding his head in his hands.
“I mean, what can they possibly be doing all this time? I wonder if they used to be lovers. She just suddenly shows up and Samuel acts as if Valerie is the only person in the world.”
Was that what was bothering me about them together? Was I jealous of the attention Valerie was receiving? Because Samuel was focused entirely on her?
Adam shook his head as Matthew spoke from the open doorway. I hadn’t even known that the door was open, let alone that he was standing there. “How interesting. Just wait until Samuel hears this.”
I whirled towards him, realizing what my rambling must have sounded like to another person. “Matthew nay!” I yelled as he bolted from the doorway and down the hall. “Matthew, that’s not what I meant! Stop!” I screamed as I ran after him.
Lost Soul (War of Destiny Book 1) Page 18
