Britt gave her a hug. “Thank you.”
“I wouldn’t thank me yet. I may have made things worse.” She pulled back. “Just promise me you’ll find him before it does.”
Nick rose from his overstuffed chair. Britt took his hand in hers. “We will. I’ll take you home now.”
Mina shook her head. “Not necessary. I don’t live far. I can transport myself. Good luck, all of you.” Inclining her head, the vampire shimmered and faded into nothing, leaving the three of them alone.
Looking down at Serenity’s sleeping form, Nick gritted his teeth. “He better have a damn good excuse when I find him.”
Mikhail leaned back in his leather office chair, looking down over the now empty club below. In his left hand he swirled the crystal class of vodka while contemplating the bargain he’d struck only a few short hours earlier with a mere child.
“I must be absolutely mad,” he muttered.
“You’re only now figuring that out? I’m disappointed, Alexei. I thought you figured that out decades ago.”
Mik looked up at the reflection in the window. His childhood friend and perhaps the only being he trusted in the world gazed back at him, smirking. He and Jonathan were inseparable as children, but as they grew older their paths parted, only to be brought back together in this new life.
“Jon, you realize anyone else saying that to me would be dead.” Mik took a long slow sip of his vodka. “Did you get the vampling on the train in time?”
Jonathan loped into the room and dropped into a chair opposite him. His blue feline eyes glowed. “Aye, the boy should be halfway home by now. Mind telling me what exactly he was doing here?” His right hand morphed into the claw of a white tiger and he proceeded to inspect his claws.
“He wants me to help save Giovanna.”
The tiger froze. His hand returned to that of his human form. Jon raised a brow. “Save the siren? I thought she was already dead. How in the world did she survive that fire?”
“It seems the Princess really hates to give up her pets. She apparently escaped the inferno and took Giovanna with her. For the past couple of years she’s been a prisoner in his home.” Mikhail placed his glass on the desk. “He believed he was Absinthe’s son.”
“Believed he was,” Jon rubbed his chin. “Who is he, then?”
Mikhail laughed harshly. “The boy is Giovanna and Prince Jared’s son. According to his tale, Absinthe staged our siren’s death all those years ago. She held Giovanna prisoner and raised the child as her own, poisoning him against the man who was his true father.”
“Damn.”
“My sentiments exactly.”
“So.” Jonathan clapped his hands together. “How are we going to save our little song bird?”
Mik frowned. “Although I enjoy your enthusiasm, we are not saving her.”
“But I thought-” Jon began.
“You thought I was going to enlist you in stealing her away from the Princess. That is not happening.” He stood and circled the desk. “My brother, we are allowing things to play out as they are meant to be.”
The tiger was shocked. “You told the boy you’d help him, though. He left here believing that.”
“I never agreed to save her from her fate. I only agreed to make sure she was safe.” Mikhail folded his arms smugly.
Jon narrowed his eyes. “So you lied to the kid.”
“No. I did not lie.”
He snapped his gloved fingers. Smoke billowed and swirled up from the floor in the center of the room. It solidified and take the shape of a man. Over six feet tall with outstretched black leathery wings, dressed in jeans, an AC/DC t-shirt, and a pair of worn in black shit-kickers. The being’s dark hair fell half-way down his back, and with his lavender eyes he would have been the picture of perfection -except for the severe burns covering most of his face. Unfortunately, perfection was a term Mikhail wouldn’t associate with this creature, at least not since he was cursed.
The demon’s head bowed when he saw who summoned him. “How can I be of service, Sire.”
“Bastian, I told you I am not your Master. Stop addressing me as such.”
He bowed. “I am sorry, my Lord” He winced. “I mean, Mikhail. What do you need me to do for you?”
“Getting better.” Mik laughed. “I have a mission for you.”
“A mission?”
“Yes, but first you need to hide those.” Mik waved his hand at his wings. Bastian rolled his shoulders and they vanished. “There is a female I need you to watch for me.”
“Mik, you are supposed to save her,” Jon interrupted.
Mikhail shot the tiger a side glare. “As I was saying, I need you to watch her.”
Bastian cocked his head. “You want me to watch a human? What has she done?”
“She hasn’t done anything. I need to ensure she remains safe. If she ends up in a situation where she is no longer considered safe, you will then do everything in your power to protect her.”
“I will use any means necessary.” Bastian nodded. “Does this female have a name?”
“Yes.” Mikhail smiled. “Her name is Giovanna Ferrante.” He handed Bastian a photo from his desktop.
Bastian took it. Holding it up, he studied her face. It was from one of her many performances at the club, and she seemed so sad. He traced the curve of her face with one of his fingers and the light in his eyes dimmed.
“She is very beautiful. Why is she so sad?” He looked up from the photo, his expression a reflection of hers.
“She has been a guest of the vampire Princess. I’m not sure where you will find her, but that should help you identify Giovanna when you to locate her.” Mikhail picked up his glass, taking another sip.
“I will locate her and deliver her safely to you, sire.”
Mikhail nearly choked on his drink. “No. That is not what I said. Your mission is to watch over her and to keep her safe.”
Bastian was confused. “If I am to keep her safe, where better to do that? You have built this into an impenetrable fortress. This would be the safest place I know to bring her.”
Jon laughed. “I have to agree with fly-boy. Even your maker couldn’t find this place, let alone get in. Let Bastian rescue her and bring Giovanna here. She’ll have more than enough protection from Absinthe.”
Mik objected. “Absolutely not. I have to remain impartial. If we bring Giovanna here and Absinthe finds out, I will have chosen a side in the vampire’s conflict. That’s something I don’t want to do.”
“But you will be forced to do just that eventually. So what if this is the reason you must,” Bastian tried to reason with him. “Doing what is right at this moment-”
“Don’t make me regret taking you in after you were grounded.” Mikhail glowered at the two of them. “Look at it this way, this club and I are Switzerland. I welcome all and alienate none. I do not; I repeat, do not choose one side over the other.”
The tiger threw his hands up. “Fine. You’re the Russian Switzerland. I just want it noted that this, right here, is the very reason you should take a side.”
“Noted,” Mikhail agreed. “But, until this conflict becomes my problem, I will be as you say.”
“So, if you and this place are neutral, where does that leave me? Where shall I take Giovanna if I need to save her from peril?” Bastian shoved his hands in his pockets.
Mik shrugged. “You will take her home with you. No one will find her there.”
“Home with me? You forget, Demon, I live where mortals cannot tread. It is forbidden for me to bring her there.”
“That’s the thing, Bas.” Mikhail gave him a serrated grin. “Giovanna is not a mortal. She never has been.”
~ ~ ~ ~
Drakkar stepped off the train and checked his phone. It was just passed two in the morning and Nick must have called him at least fifty times, leaving dozens of messages. Whatever it was could wait till he got home. There was no energy left inside him to deal with another piece of Britt drama. Th
at’s the only thing the guy left for him lately.
What else could it be?
Shoving the phone in his pocket, Drake started for the parking lot. When he got to the spot where his Harley had been parked, he stood in disbelief. The bike was gone. Not a trace. He looked around the near-empty parking lot. It wasn’t as if he forgot where he parked, the lot wasn’t that big.
Someone must have stolen it.
“Damn it!” He kicked the post, running a hand through his hair.
A car pulled up next to him. The security guard rolled down his window. “Hey kid, you alright?”
Drakkar shook his head. “Do you know what happened to the black Harley parked here?”
“Uh, yeah. The owner showed up with a tow truck. Said it broke down and was taking it home. Why?”
“Son of a- It was my bike! There was nothing wrong with it.” He pulled a set of keys from his pocket. “See? I’ve got the damn keys right here.”
“Shit. I’m sorry, kid. He held the title to prove it. I didn’t know it was a forgery. Why don’t you get in?” He pointed to the passenger door. “I’ll call it in to the station and give you a ride home.”
Drake was immediately skeptical. There was no way this guy could take him home. “Nah, I’m good. I have someone to call.” He pulled out his phone to make like he was calling someone.
“I insist.” The security guard got out of his vehicle, eyes glowing. “The Princess would be really worried if her son didn’t make it home before the sun rose.”
“In that case, you can go to hell.” Drakkar didn’t waste another minute, vanishing as the guard reached to grab him.
He materialized on the front steps of Serenity’s house. To his surprise, all of the lights were lit and there were cars in the driveway. The most notable was Nick’s van.
“What is he doing here?”
He heard raised voices coming from inside and raised his hand to ring the bell. His finger hovered over it for a moment.
Maybe coming here was a bad idea.
The voices grew louder and the door flew open. Drake found himself face to face with a female vampire. He blinked. She grabbed him around the neck and shoved him against the wall. Drakkar lost his breath. He gasped to catch it, but her hold was strong.
“You. You’re the one who caused all of this! You better get your ass in there and fix it,” she snarled.
“Fix what?”
She narrowed her gaze. “Serenity. Whatever you did to her memory, it’s become a virus. When I tried to reverse it, her mind shut down and kicked me out.”
She let go of him. Drakkar sagged against the house. “I -I didn’t do anything. I only blocked a discussion we had.”
“Well that discussion must have been something big, because now she won’t wake up.”
He rubbed his neck. “She what? That’s impossible.”
“I can assure you it’s not. I left after I tried to fix her, but an hour later they asked me to come back. For the last few hours we’ve been trying to wake her and it’s not working.”
Drake pulled out his phone and stared at all of the messages he didn’t listen to while meeting with Mikhail. Now he knew why Nick was so desperate to contact him. He’d hurt Serenity and he was the only one who could help her.
“Show me where she is.”
Mina led the way inside. Instead of going to the family room, where he assumed everyone was, she started up the stairs. Drake swallowed. What if he’d done so much damage there was no way to repair Serenity’s memory? He’d never be able to forgive himself.
They reached the second floor and he felt the tension building and emanating from the room down the hall. Serenity’s uncle looked at him over his shoulder. The human stood between him and the girl he was there to save, and it didn’t look like the man was about to let him pass.
Serenity’s mother came into view, splaying a hand on Jake’s chest, holding him back with a simple touch. She inclined her head in Drakkar’s direction. “Whatever you did, you better undo right now. And as soon as you do, you will leave. I don’t want to see you near my daughter again.”
Her words cut him like a knife. “I- I’m sorry. I never meant to hurt her. I lo-”
“But you did. I should have never trusted you with her. I should have never used her to-” Sheridan slammed her mouth shut.
“Used her for what?” Drakkar’s brow puckered.
“Never mind. It doesn’t matter now. Just fix her memory and get out.”
Sheridan moved out of his way, allowing him to pass. He stepped inside and was engulfed in a warm darkness. He admired the gothic black and amethyst walls, grey ceiling, and black chandelier. But the thing that drew his attention was on the far wall. The iron canopy bed with black mosquito netting held the one thing he would die for -Serenity.
It took him a while to realize what he felt for her grew into more than just a friendship. Never in his wildest dreams did he think he would fall in love with a human. That wasn’t who he was. That wasn’t how he was raised. Nettie wormed her way under his skin and in his heart.
He didn’t want to give any of that up. Not now, not ever.
Too bad he’s messed it all up.
Nick and Britt stood off to the side, their hands entwined. Drake was surprised. After all of their mutual protests to the contrary, the two were there together. He obviously missed something because they looked a little cozy. What he didn’t miss was the anger emanating from both toward him.
Ouch.
Drakkar stepped up next to the bed, taking Serenity’s limp hand in his. He sat on the mattress, rubbing the back of her hand with his thumb. He wished they would leave him alone with her. There were so many things he wanted to say to her. The first being, I’m sorry. But sorry seemed like a really poor thing to start with.
How do you tell the girl you loved you were sorry for putting her in a coma? You couldn’t.
He leaned in closer. “Serenity, I’m so sorry. I never should have done this.”
“Damn right you shouldn’t have,” Nick spat from behind him.
Drakkar closed his eyes. He deserved that. But none of them knew the sacrifices he just endured. None of them knew what was coming. He did. And he needed to keep reminding himself of that fact.
“Look, it’s time for you to wake up now. You’re going to remember some things and you are going to have to promise me you won’t tell anyone,” he whispered against her ear.
In the back of his mind he could hear her say I promise and a weight was lifted from his heart. Drakkar touched his lips to hers. A wave of energy rippled from his lips over her whole body. Serenity gasped. Her eyes flew open. For a moment Drakkar thought she was going to shove him away, instead she wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him to her, kissing him again.
“Alright, you two. Break it up.” Sheridan stepped into the room, glaring at Drakkar. “Nettie, how do you feel?”
Drake pulled back and stood next to the bed. Serenity wasn’t ready for him to go and laced her fingers with his, keeping him next to her. It was a gesture her mother and Jake did not miss.
“I think I’m okay. My head is clearing up now and the memories are coming back.” She smiled up at Drakkar. “Thank you for coming back.”
He rubbed the back of his neck uncomfortably. “I had to. I mean, I didn’t want to leave things the way they were last night. You deserve better than that.”
“Damn right she does.” Jake stepped forward. “And now you’re going to heed her mother’s warning and get the hell out of here.”
“Wait, what?” Serenity sat up in bed. “Why are you kicking him out? He fixed my memories.”
“Yes, he did, but he was also the one who erased them to begin with. I can’t have a vampire, I don’t care who he is, hurting you like that again.” Sheridan touched Serenity’s shoulder.
“You don’t understand, none of you understand-”
“Serenity, it’s okay. I get it. They want you safe from me and I can’t blame them. I�
�m not what you need in your life. I’m too complicated.” Drakkar raised her hand to his lips and kissed it. “Bye, Serenity.” He shimmered and faded into nothing.
“No!” Tears welled in her eyes. “How could you! How could all of you? He has no one and now you forbid him from even making eye contact with me?” She glared daggers at Jake and her mother. “You have no idea what you’ve done.”
“Honey, he messed with your head. What if he did way more than that? He’s lived with Absinthe his whole life. She’s influenced everything about him.” Sheridan soothed her.
Serenity shoved her mother away. “She may have raised him as her son, but there is more of his real mother and father in him. He’s not like the Princess.”
“And how would you know that he’s like his real parents?”
“Serenity, don’t!” Nick blurted.
“I’m sorry, Nick. But you aren’t exactly jumping to his defense and I don’t want to see him labeled like that evil bitch. You of all people know what she’s done to him.”
Nick looked away, clearly embarrassed. “We’ll be downstairs.” He took Britt’s hand and led her into the hallway.
Serenity’s teary eyed gaze swung back to meet her mother’s. She knew she couldn’t tell her the one secret Drakkar trusted them with. But that didn’t mean she was going to abandon him when he needed her most. He definitely needed someone on his side, someone to care about what happened to him.
“I can’t tell you about his real parents. But I know they aren’t evil people. You just have to trust me. Let me, let us help him. Please, Mom,” she begged.
Her uncle stepped forward and pushed a lock of hair behind her ear. “Kiddo, this vamp is dangerous. Look what he did to you. I won’t let another vampire take a member of this family again. Not on my watch.”
Serenity gritted her teeth. “This isn’t about Drakkar anymore. This is about your guilt over my dad. He is not that vampire. He is not the one who killed dad.” She looked over at the door where Mina stood in shock. Nettie pointed at her. “And neither is she. Not every vampire is dangerous. Get that through you head, Jake. They saved me tonight. We owe both of them for that.”
Drakkar ~ Beyond the Lie (A Dark Order of the Dragon Novel Book 3) Page 16
