When I open my eyes, she is watching me. I lift my head from hers and give her space. Her eyebrows turn down, “I don’t understand why you keep me here,” she whispers.
There are tears in her eyes and in her voice. I want to tell her it is because I am trying to protect her. Bare my soul and show her that she renders me powerless. But, Charlotte pushes her hands against me, I don’t want to back away, but do, and let her pass. My body relaxes, there is space to think. She picks up her dress and pulls it over her. The outline of her bra soaks through the thin material. My eyes drift back to her. I allow myself another moment to look. A hideous beast, demented and filled with lust. That is all I have become.
Chapter Thirty-seven
“Do you have a death wish, my brother?” Lu stands in the doorway of my office. When I look up, I expect to see his smile, but his face is strained.
I ignore his words and continue the task at hand. Watching the monitors on my laptop. Charlotte has returned to her room and I have yet to see her leave. I worry that I took it too far. She needs to trust me, but I think I may have scared her. Lance, I see, is standing outside. He will let me know if she tries to leave again. Or, if someone bothers her.
Lu shuts the door and sits in the chair in front of me. “Fuck the gods, Aydin. If father sees your hands on her again, I’m not sure I can help you.”
I look up at him. This time he is smiling. “Is there something I can help you with?”
“Things have heated up, and I don’t mean when you were pawing at Charlotte upstairs.”
“I wasn’t pawing at her,” I say. I simply wanted to talk to her, but her mouth got in the way.
“Oh yes, you were,” he smiles. “I’m sure Abigail would call it so.”
I sink back in my chair. “What is happening?”
“Ludari wants to meet Charlotte.”
“What?”
“Oh, yes, brother,” Lu leans forward. “Soon. As in, this evening.”
This is not good. This is precisely what we have worried over. Before I can ask if Abigail knows, the office door swings open and Abigail walks through. I didn’t even hear her coming my thoughts were so wrapped up in Charlotte. This is happening more and more. It has been too long since Abigail has let me feed.
“Ludari has taken an interest in Charlotte.” Abigail’s voice is tight and she comes to stand near me. “He wants to introduce himself. Tonight.”
“Lu has just told me.”
“Why does he want to meet her suddenly?” Her voice is getting high. Panic is setting in. We all know why.
“Everything will be fine,” I tell her. Though, I know this may be my last lie.
Abigail nods her head and sits on the corner of my desk. Her eyes move over my suit and force me to look at her. Fuck. Charlotte’s scent is all over me. I try to swallow the guilt that is settling in my throat.
“I’m trusting you, Aydin,” she says. “You should change, and bathe, and stop touching my daughter. I need you alive.”
I look away to Lu. His face is serious, but I can see the corners of his mouth tugging, trying hard to not smile. I nod my head and look back to Abigail. Her face is softer and she reaches out to brush my hair back. At some point, the tables turned. I used to do this to her, and now, she sits, giving me the same, knowing look, I used on her. I release the breath I have been holding and lean back.
Abigail stands and leaves the room shutting the door behind her. “When is this introductory meeting supposed to happen?” I ask.
“Later? This evening? Who knows?” Lu says. “You know how unpredictable Ludari is.”
I nod and look back to the monitor. Lance still stands, unmoving by Charlotte’s door. I press the small device in my ear. “It is happening.”
-----------
Charlotte is lying on her stomach on the floor in the Great Hall when I walk in. Lance reported that she had left her room with Claudette, dressed for her introductory dinner to Ludari. Deep red fabric flows around her legs, spreading out like a pool of blood, over the floor. The bodice is tight, cinching her waist. There are small beads, garnet, woven into the fabric, they twist and couture to her curves. Her feet are bare and the dress moves up her legs, exposing her calves as she settles down lower on the floor. The room is dark, only the light from the stars and moon filter through the windows and terrace doors. The camera she holds is resting on the wooden planks in front of her.
I look to Claudette, who is standing off to the side, holding a pair of red heels. She shrugs her shoulders.
“What are you doing?” I ask, Charlotte.
“Hold on.” Charlotte presses the shutter release and the camera clicks after a few moments. Once she is satisfied with whatever she is doing, she stands and brushes off the front of her dress. Her blond hair is loose and cascades down her exposed shoulders. She looks up and I see that her mouth is painted a deep red, her lips soft and full. She smiles at me and the moisture on them glistens like varnish in the light. “Look.”
I move closer and she holds out her camera. The small screen shows the room from the floor, squares of moonlight fall over the wooden planks, the shadow of the french doors creating a block pattern. The grand piano sits centered in the frame. Specks of dust float in the air, like the feet of dancers have just waltzed over them. The entire image looks as if it glows around the edges.
“If you raise the aperture, it allows more light, this is what gives this halo effect,” she says, smiling and quite proud of herself. Charlotte reaches up and brushes her hair off her shoulder. I release a deep breath. I had thought she would be angry from our encounter earlier. But, she seems to have pushed it away.
“So, when do I meet this Ludari?” She asks.
“At dinner. I understand he plans to join us,” I keep my voice even.
“Is this unusual?” Her face looks suddenly worried. Shit. Control. I need better control.
“Everything Ludari does is unusual,” I tell her. “See you soon?”
Charlotte nods her head and reaches out toward me. I look down to see she is picking a small piece of lint off the lapel of my jacket. She moves closer and I try to back away. Claudette is watching our every move. Nasty little bitch loves to cause trouble.
Charlotte glances up at me, her tongue at the corner of her open mouth. “You have to make me a promise,” she says. “Claudette already has.”
“And what is this promise?”
“To let me take a picture of you.”
I back away and take a deep breath. “I’ll allow you one. But not this evening. I will tell you when.”
She smiles like she has just won a great victory, “Deal.”
-----------
“Where in the hell is my daughter?” Abigail is almost screaming. Her face is strained and her hands keep running down her thighs. Her panic is contagious.
“Last I saw her, she was with Claudette,” Lu says. He looks to me, his expression tells me everything.
“I left her in the Great Hall with Claudette earlier,” I tell them. “She was taking pictures.”
“Aydin!” Abigail screams. “She is supposed to be here, with you and Lu!”
I look to Lu and stand. “He has her or is planning to meet with her soon.”
“Where?” Lu asks.
“I don’t know. It’s too soon,” I say. I can feel a strange sensation in my throat. I haven’t felt this since the night of the accident. Panic. I can’t panic. I have to remain in control.
Abigail starts to cry. She leans into me. Her arms wrapping around my waist. I smooth her hair down, but she slaps my hands away. She doesn’t want comfort. She wants me to act. I have failed once already and she has given me another chance to carry out the plan. This will be my last chance.
Abigail’s life has been filled with darkness. She had asked me after her daughters were born to keep them safe. I have made a promise. It undermines my father’s wishes. It breaks the bounds to my creator and betrays him. But I have betrayed him before, long ago. Well befo
re Abigail had asked. When I had seen the lives he was destroying. The woman he used, the girls he enslaved.
Some I had saved. Most I couldn’t. But my father never knew, I am his most loyal son, his prized fighter and fierce Guardian that keeps his girls’ safe from the powers that try to stop him. What he doesn’t know, is that those powers and I are one and the same. I will die before I break my vow to Abigail, but my timing has to be perfect.
CHARLOTTE
Chapter Thirty-eight
Claudette leads me down the stairwell to the lower levels. I’m not sure what we are doing. She says she wants to get something from her room. I was right about one part, she does live underground. Though I have yet to see if she has a magic mirror. I now know she doesn’t need potions, it runs in her veins.
We walk down the sterile hallway past Henri’s office. Before we end at the double doors to the security room, she walks through a door that leads us into another passageway. This one isn’t white and tiled. It is darker and has a plush red runner. There are several doors lining the walls. This is where they must sleep during the day. My heart starts to beat harder. The realization of what I’m seeing hits me. I am in their lair.
Once we reach the last door in the hall, she opens it and walks through, or rather glides. Claudette never walks. The room is dim, except for a small lamp that turned on when she flicked the switch on the wall. It is surprisingly big and decorated like Marie Antoinette herself lives here. Pale blues and satin everything. Rich, gold gilded frames and a large heavy four poster bed. The far wall holds a large carved mirror. Not gilded, but magic mirrors can be deceiving.
Claudette digs though a heavy box on her dresser and pulls out a necklace. “This will look perfect with your dress.”
I’m beginning to feel like a giant play doll for her. She helped me get dressed for the Celebration Feast, which I have yet to talk to her about. They way her hands were all over me, leave me weary of being alone with her. We can play at being friends, but not that close.
She guides me to the mirror and pulls my hair to the side. She is standing close, too close and she brings the necklace around my neck. The gold charm is small and strange. It looks like a star, but it has eight points. A large lapis lazuli sits in the center and the metal points are grooved with light lines extending from the center. I’m not sure how it matches my red dress, but I go with it.
Claudette brushes my hair aside and places her hands on my shoulders. Her breasts are at my back, her skin cool. Anxiety needles its way in my stomach, but I swallow it down.
“What do you use when you bathe?” She asks. Her nostrils flare as she smells my skin.
“Sweet almond and sandalwood,” I tell her. Mental note: never come down here with Claudette again. If I make it out, that is.
“It is delicious,” she bites her lip and backs away. “This must be what has him so enchanted by you.”
I turn to look at her confused. “Who?”
“Aydin. I have never seen him like this.”
I turn back to the mirror and smooth down my dress, all nonchalant and horribly obvious. “I’m not sure what you mean.”
“Oh please. He is quite taken with you,” she smiles knowingly at me. “As you are with him.”
I put my best ‘I’m clueless to what you mean face’ on. “There is nothing there.” I move to walk from the room.
“Everyone knows Abigail told you,” she says.
I freeze in the doorway, unable to speak.
“Guardians are never allowed to mate, to mark a human, or create offspring. They are made only to protect. If they fail, they are sent to the afterlife.” She comes close, adjusting the fabric around my waist. “Father thought he was too much of an asset to let him die. This is why he allowed Abigail’s punishment. This is why the Elders do not push for his death. He was too powerful a force to lose. Maybe also, because he did manage to save you.”
Claudette glides around adjusting my dress and hair as she continues, I’m not sure how to respond, so I remain silent. “He was mine and my sisters Guardian, before he left to live with our family in Florida.”
“You have a sister?”
“Had,” Claudette says. “She passed a long time ago.”
“I'm sorry.”
“Don't be, her death held meaning,” she smiles small, only one corner of her mouth turning up. “Aydin is easy to fall in love with. I believed I was, when he was my Guardian. He has already shown he will do anything for you, Charlotte. Please stay away from him. You could quite possibly get him killed.”
I don’t want to see this. This compassionate Claudette who loves Aydin, who loves Henri. She is easier to hate when she was outing me on my poor behavior, yet, she never told anyone of catching Aydin and I in the rose garden. She also seems to think that Aydin cares for me. I shouldn’t be this excited about hearing her say so since it may well get him killed.
“Come, Ludari is waiting to meet you in the study,” she says.
“I thought we were doing dinner.”
“He wanted to meet you in private first. He can be a tad intense.”
Great.
-------------
Something is wrong. Claudette left me here, what seems like forever ago. It is getting late, or early. My body is tired, but my thoughts are everywhere. Not a single one will take center long enough for me to concentrate. I am lit within, a fire inspired by terror, energizing me. I know something is off, but I have no idea what is going on.
I stand in the study, the same room Henri told me of our picnic, waiting to meet this Ludari. There is a sick twist in my stomach and I start to pace the room. Ancient vampires don’t want to meet in private unless they have some rather unsavory ideas in mind. At least I assume. Aydin tried to meet with me earlier, but that was disastrous. I have no idea what he wanted to tell me. My damn temper got the better of me.
The study door bursts open and my mother walks in. No, almost runs. When she sees me, she freezes. “Why are you in here?”
I’m not sure if it is the strained look on her face, the wild eyes, or the fact that I’m already on edge that makes me run to her. She wraps her arms around me and pulls me close. I melt into her. Tears try to break free, but she holds me away and makes me look at her.
“Claudette said Ludari wanted to meet me before dinner,” I tell her. Her jaw clenches and I fight the urge to run.
“Is everything alright, my love?” Ashur asks from the doorway.
Abigail backs away and smooths her hands down her dress. She is stressed to the max and it’s obvious. “I am curious as to why Ludari wants to meet Charlotte before dinner, is all,” she says. Her voice is smooth and velvety.
“You know how he is.” Ashur takes my mother’s hand and leads her to the door. “I will be here with Charlotte, my love. Everything will be fine.”
Why Abigail needs reassurance, is beyond me. But, I don’t like it. I take a deep breath and try to relax. Ashur will be here. The same Ashur that forced my mother to come live with him as his mate so Emily and I could live in Florida longer. My stomach drops.
Abigail leaves the room and the door is shut. Silence envelopes us. I look to see Ashur watching me. I have yet to spend much time with him, seeing him up close and alone, I’m glad I haven’t.
Ashur is suddenly in front of me, taking up my entire line of vision. His dark as night eyes seem to move in the dim light. His long black hair falls around his face that is too severe. “When Ludari comes, you do not speak. If he seems like he is saying something, simply smile.” He backs away but only just barely. “You do not move, you stand here and you stay here, until he leaves.”
I have no idea what I’m in for. I nod my head, like I understand, which of course I don’t. Why I am being given instructions, is beyond me.
“I thought you were going to be here.” My voice sounds weak and full of fear. I take some deep breaths. I don’t want them to know how scared they are all making me.
Metal. I am made of metal.
“No,” Ashur says and walks from the room.
I am once again left alone with my racing thoughts. My metal armor keeps slipping, I am terrified. No matter how many times I weld the seams, add solder to my bones, it cracks. My fear is hot and alive, melting it back, exposing me. Norm comes to mind, his nightmare and his warnings. Henri has already tried to eat me alive. I worry this meeting with leave me tied up by the devil and devoured.
The door opens and I freeze. Long fingers snake around my throat and panic threatens to choke me. Ice nails of fear claw at my back tearing into my spine and make my legs heavy.
Steel. I am made of steel. Don’t let him feel your terror.
His body appears in the doorway, his head almost reaching the top of the frame. His skin is pale, not sickly as I imagined, but soft and smooth as marble. A giant, created by hands that came before me, well before modern man unearthed it from its tomb. His hair is red, the deep color of blood. A long beard covers his face, small braids are woven in its thick fire highlights. Long arms and legs are covered in a flowing soft creamy robe, a corded rope tied around his waste.
Ludari walks into the room, a whisper, his feet falling so softly I am left wondering if he touches the floor. I am unable to move, welded to the ground, my metal insides keeping me on my feet. He smiles and I see it.
He is old. So old that no human eyes should ever have to see him. He is something that is meant to be kept in the dark, in the corners of nightmares, too old to be real. His movements are fluid, snakelike. My nose fills with his scent, a deep sour smell. Reptilian. My stomach twists. His eyes capture mine, and I am stuck, held prisoner. They are colorless like water, but flat. His face is angular, similar to Ashur’s, the ancient bone structure of the original people of the middle east. He speaks, his voice rough, like sand pouring over stones. I don’t know his language. Ears haven’t heard it in thousands of years. I am mesmerized. Frozen. Ensnared in his trap.
In the Shadow of Angels: The Guardian Series 1 Page 28
