“Who are the Butlers?” asked Erica.
“They are a powerful family of vampires, ones who have been vocal supporters of human integration. They helped Tomas and me several times in the past. They are our friends. They will bring Oscar home to Jeffery.”
“Good, I hope to meet them.”
51
JESS
Cain glanced back at Jaden as he entered the SUV. “You took your sweet time.”
“Sorry, had to see a man about a horse,” said Jaden.
Jess looked at the brothers in disbelief. She would never completely understand how the male brain worked, and it seemed the vampire male brain was no different. Whatever had happened on the roof, they were acting like it was nothing. She felt like slapping them. “Seriously? After all that, you two are going to pretend like Jaden just went for coffee and now he’s late for dinner? In case you two jackasses have forgotten, there are two mortal woman in this vehicle who are totally freaked out and would like to know if we are safe, or is the crazy vampire-hunting-vampire still out there about to attack us? So, can we skip the ‘man about a horse’ bullshit, please! Are we safe?” Jess felt the hysteria rising in her chest along with her voice.
Cain put his hand on Jess’s, giving her a reassuring squeeze. He looked back at Jaden and shrugged. “Be careful, her bite is worse than her bark.”
Jaden looked at Mandy, who looked wide-eyed and terrified, and gave her a curt nod. “Everything’s fine. We’re safe for now.” He then turned so he could look at Jess. “You’ll have to forgive me if I’m not in a talkative mood. I don’t particularly like discussing my kills. I’d assumed you would’ve realized since I returned that things were okay.”
Jess felt stupid. She’d overreacted. Jaden was the one who risked his life to protect them and she had freaked out when he and his brother seemed so calm about it all. “I’m sorry, Jaden. I’m just freaked out. I’m glad you’re okay and thank you for what you did, whatever that may be.”
Jaden nodded, “If you don’t mind, I’d like to take a nap. Cain, we should head to the nearest mall or superstore that’s open. We still need to gather as much food and supplies as we can carry. Wake me when we get there.” He leaned his head back on the seat and closed his eyes, effectively putting an end to the conversation.
…
Cain pulled into the half-empty parking lot of a large superstore and turned to look at his brother. “Jaden, we’re here,” he said quietly.
Jaden’s eyes opened. He looked around the parking lot. “Good, it doesn’t look like people have started hoarding yet.” Jess looked at him, confused, and he explained. “Right now, people are sitting at home scared. The idea of war freaks them out, but most people haven’t realized yet what will happen to food supplies. As the war drags on, fuel will become scarce. When that happens, food becomes more expensive and people will start buying everything they can get their hands on. Stores will sell out, and rioting and looting will start. We need to get as many supplies as we can now. We have no idea what is waiting for us upstate. And we have no idea how many more vampires will come hunting us, so we need to be prepared. Go buy all the food and medical supplies you can.”
Cain voiced his agreement with Jaden. They’d lived through wartime before and had seen what happened when food and supplies run scarce. “Right, okay, ladies, and old bears, let’s go shopping.”
As they went through the store, Mandy and Jess shopped together. Jess wanted to make sure Mandy was okay. The last twenty-four hours had been scary. War breaking out and the coffee shop murders had Mandy freaked out. Now Jess had to try and explain to her best friend that their rescuers were vampires, and that the kindly older man was a bear shifter. Jess had no idea where to start the conversation. “Are you okay, Mandy?”
Mandy turned to Jess with a bewildered look on her face. It took her a moment before she answered the question. “I have no idea. What happened back there at the apartment? Did Cain’s brother really just kill someone? And vampires? What the fuck is going on, Jess?” She ran a shaking hand through her hair.
Jess felt empathy for her friend, her own view of reality having just been turned upside down so recently. She hugged Mandy and said, “I’m not sure how to tell you what happened or where to start. It’s all pretty hard to believe and I’m afraid you’ll leave me if you think I’ve lost my marbles.”
“How about you start at the beginning? I was so scared last night. I went to the coffee shop to look for you and you were gone. The place was crawling with cops and no one was saying anything. I went home and waited for you, and checked the news to see if there was anything about the coffee shop. Instead, all the news was war breaking out. Russian bombers are striking the west coast and we’re striking back. It’s so crazy. I have relatives in San Francisco and I’ve been trying to get a hold of them all morning without success. And then you come home and tell me we’re in danger, it’s been too much. Tell me what’s going on!”
“Okay. Just try and keep an open mind and trust that I haven’t gone crazy.”
“Jess, at any moment we could be dead, who knows where the next bomb is going to land. Whatever is going on with you and your trio of mystery men is not going to make me leave you. The whole fucking world has gone crazy, but I trust you.”
“I sure hope so,” said Jess, taking a deep breath. “Mandy, Cain and his brother aren’t normal humans. Neither is Oscar for that matter.”
Mandy frowned. “Yes, I was beginning to suspect that. In what way are they not normal?”
“I mean, Cain and Jaden are vampires. Oscar is a bear shifter.” Jess watched Mandy carefully, waiting for her to protest or laugh it off.
“Are we safe with them? Or are we just part of the ‘supplies’ they’re currently intent on gathering?” asked Mandy.
“No, Cain and Jaden don’t really drink human blood. Well, Cain doesn’t, but Jaden does when he comes across evil humans like the ones that attacked me at the nightclub.”
“Jaden killed those bastards?”
Jess nodded.
“Good, they deserved it. But why are we running then?”
“Last night, Cain and I were attacked by vampires at the coffee shop. Cain and Jaden are being targeted because they respect humans, not a belief that all vampires share. And because I was a witness to the attacks, I am in danger as well. There was a hunter waiting for us on the roof. That’s who Jaden killed.”
“Okay, so where are we headed?”
Jess looked at Mandy with surprise. “You believe me?”
Mandy shrugged. “Sure, why not? I have always believed in ghosts and aliens. Vampires aren’t that big of a stretch. Besides, the whole world could end tomorrow. What does it matter what I believe? Cain and Jaden rescued you once before so, vampires or not, I’ll trust them.”
“Wow, you took less convincing than I did,” said Jess. Mandy’s unquestioning acceptance of what she’d just told her had a calming effect on her jangled nerves. Jess felt the tension she hadn’t even realized she’d been holding leave her body as she grasped the fact that her best friend wasn’t about to abandon her for spinning outrageous tales.
“How did they convince you?”
“Cain kissed me,” said Jess, smiling at the memory.
Mandy scrunched up her face in confusion. “Yeah, I know. I saw that, remember? I don’t get it though.”
Jess opened her mouth and pointedly ran her tongue over a canine tooth.
Mandy’s eyes widened and she laughed. “Oh, now I understand. Weird.” She paused for a moment and then, grinning, asked, “So, how big are they?
Jess rolled her eyes and said, “Big enough.”
They continued walking through the aisle in silence, pulling items off the shelves that they thought necessary and putting them in the cart. After a few moments, Jess started talking again. “He told me he was a vampire and I was so disappointed that my gorgeous prince charming was a nutbar. He convinced me that he could prove it by kissing me. I figured crazy or not,
he did save me so I owed him at least a kiss. We kissed and it was intense and passionate and then I felt his teeth growing. It was so crazy!”
“I thought you looked weird when I came back. I watched that kiss. I thought you were just horny!”
Jess laughed. “No, that was my horny and mortified, yet incredibly intrigued, look.”
“You still haven’t told me where we’re going.”
“That’s because I’m not exactly sure. There’s a place upstate called Sanctuary. It’s supposed to be a safe place for people being hunted by the vampires.”
“Well, to be honest, I’d rather go on a road trip with two hunky vampires then sit around in my apartment waiting for a bomb to drop. There’s no chance I am leaving you now,” said Mandy as she gave Jess a reassuring hug.
“Let’s finish shopping then,” said Jess.
“What kind of perfume do vampires like?” asked Mandy. “Is Jaden single?”
Jess looked at her friend in disbelief shook her head. “Unbelievable.”
“What? Vampires or not, Cain and Jaden are tall, dark, and handsome men who rescue damsels in distress. That’s fucking hot all on its own. Factor in the fact the world could blow up at any moment and what does a girl have to lose by being open to dating a vampire. You seem pretty into Cain.”
Jess smiled. Mandy was right. Vampire or not, there was something about Cain that drew her to him. “I think Jaden has a girl, and I am keeping Cain. You’ll have to find you own supernatural being to date.”
Mandy shrugged, undeterred. “What can you tell me about shifters then?” she asked as they continued down the aisle.
52
ERICA
Erica sat at the computer, trying to connect to the Internet. For the last few days, the Internet and cellular connections had been spotty at best. The conflicts around the world seemed to be effecting communications everywhere. It seemed as if the whole world was on fire. Russia firing on America, China firing on Russia, North Korea threatened to fire on everyone. Israel was at war with Iran, and Pakistan invading India.
Riots and looting all over the country as people panicked over the Russian missiles hitting American satellites, followed by the rumors of American warships retaliating by sinking several submarines. Conspiracy theorists were going through the roof, claiming the multiple wars starting at the same time were part of a Chinese plan to become the dominant world power. But how did they explain Spain attacking Korea, and then claiming it was a general who gave a wrong order. How would China gain from that?
Dante and Brad, as much as they didn’t seem to get along, did agree on one thing. They agreed that all the bombings, all the strange attacks that seemed to be by mistake, were indeed a plot, a vampire plot. Erica was scared by the idea. Were vampires trying to start a world war? What were they trying to accomplish? Erica agreed there was a method to the madness going on in the world, and that vampires could very well be behind it all, but to what end? Erica couldn’t see why the vampires would bring the world to the brink of nuclear war.
Erica waited at the desk, watching the computer to see if the Internet would kick in again. It had been flickering on and off for days now, but so far today it was dead. Then it happened. The connection went live. Erica would hopefully get some news about what was happening in the world. She went to CNN to see the headlines. She gasped when she read the headline. She clicked on the link to watch the video.
Erica listened as the reporter explained the situation. “In what can be described as the most bizarre and dangerous turn of events yet, countries around the world are all reporting that their nuclear facilities have been attacked. From what we can gather, it appears that every single nuclear power plant and nuclear launch pad, including submarines, have been attacked. The president made an announcement earlier in the day confirming that attacks against American bases had occurred yesterday. They will not confirm who is behind the attacks, or the severity of the damage. Great Britain and the European Union have announced similar attacks, while China and Russia have denied the reports leaking out that they too have been attacked. It is too early to get an accurate answer, but some experts are now speculating that the entire world’s nuclear capability, from weapons to power plants has been disabled. Which country or countries are behind the attacks is still unknown. But the scale of the attacks has left military experts baffled. One source we spoke to said that the odds of such attack occurring around the world and having the apparent success rate they are having was astronomical. The fact that all the world’s superpowers seem to have been included in the attacks makes the situation even harder to understand.”
“In other war-related news, massive media communications blackouts have been reported around the world in the last two hours. Global media international, a news watchdog has reported that over sixty-five percent of all media satellites have been destroyed. Our own media expert is saying large parts of the east coast of North America are completely without coverage, and that at current rates a complete news blackout could occur within days.”
Erica sat back, rocked by the revelation. So, that was the vampire plan. They weren’t bringing the world to the edge of nuclear war; they were wiping out all nuclear weapons and power plants. Vampires were bringing the entire world to its knees.
“It is a beautiful plan, isn’t it?” said Jerod.
Erica turned, she had been so engrossed in the news that she had not heard Jarod enter the library. “I wouldn’t call it beautiful. It is crazy,” said Erica.
Jerod shook his head while smiling. “Oh no, it’s not crazy. It’s a masterful plan. Have all the countries of the world destroy each other’s armies, destroy the world’s energy production, starting with nuclear and then moving on to oil and coal. Wipe out all communications satellites and place major viruses all around the net, destroying the world’s communication network. We are setting the human population back to the iron ages. No longer will the threat of world wars threaten our population.”
Eric watched Jerod carefully, something was really wrong here. The young vampire was happy about the attacks and seemed to know about attacks that had not even occurred yet. “Jerod, millions, maybe billions, of people are going to die. How can you say that this is a good thing?”
“Easily,” said Jerod. “The human population is over six billion and rising all the time, it’s time for a good culling. Nuclear weapons would surely have destroyed the world one day. We are actually doing humans a favor. We have completely eliminated the nuclear threat to the world. Food shortages won’t be a problem anymore. Those humans that survive should thank us. The world will be a better place now.”
“You keep saying we,” said Erica. “Your parents died at the hands of the same vampires who are behind the attacks.” Jerod was really starting to worry her. Where was Dante? Or Jeffery? Then Erica remembered her necklace! She brought hand up to her chest and discreetly gave the jewel a twist, activating the distress beacon.
“Well, actually when Vladimir asked me to participate in his plan, I volunteered to kill my parents. They were weak and sad vampires,” said Jerod with disdain. “The old fools actually believed you humans should be treated as equals. They were an embarrassment! When Vladimir and the council gave me the opportunity to join them, I gladly took their lives. Creating the opportunity I needed to come to Sanctuary as a victim. The poor teen vampire being hunted because his parents believed humans were not just like cattle are to men. Having to live here among you filthy humans and disgusting human-loving shifters has been revolting. I am glad I can finally finish my mission and leave this wretched place.”
Erica could not believe her ears. Jerod had seemed so lost and meek when he arrived. Now he sounded sinister and evil. Jarod was one of the vampires who had killed her husband and had been trying for months to kill her? Erica tried not to panic, as Jerod slowly walked closer. Sliding her hands under the table, Erica pressed the panic button on the wrist watch Dante had ordered for her. Dante might not get to the library in tim
e to save her, but he would find Jerod and avenge her, that much Erica was certain of.
Looking around the room, Erica tried to come up with a way to stall Jerod. She could see nothing in the library that would be a viable weapon. The only way to stall him would to be to keep him talking. “Did you not love you parents, Jerod?” asked Erica. “Surely, you realize that this plot will fail. Taking out a few nuclear plants is not going to stop the world from seeing what you are. When the world finds out what has happened, you will perish.”
“It’s not a few nuclear plants, you stupid bitch, every nuclear weapon in the world, every nuclear plant, they’re all disabled. Every scientist with working knowledge of nuclear power is dead or being hunted down. The entire web is being scrubbed of info on nuclear power. And who is going to go against us? Right now half of the world’s armies are busy killing each other. By the time they figure out who actually started the wars, it will be too late.” Jerod leapt over the desk, knocking Erica down before she could try to escape. Pinning her to the ground, Jerod gloated, “The world, as you humans know it, is done. It’s a shame you won’t be alive to watch it happen.” Jerod opened his mouth, letting his fangs extend to their full length, and then bit into Erica’s neck. He savored the sweet taste of her blood.
…
When his watch flashed and beeped the distress warning, Dante was in the gardens. He was helping Jeffery work the fields, preparing the ground for the spring planting. Dante shifted into gargoyle form and flew towards the house, Erica was in danger! Dante scanned the house as he flew. He could smell her. Erica was in the library, and she was not alone. Jerod, one of the newer arrivals was in the room with her. Dante did not waste any time trying to go through the back door to the house. Instead he flew through the library window. The large glass window shattered as he flew into the room. Dante spotted Jerod. He was on top of the still body of Erica drinking her blood from her exposed neck. Dante flapped his stone wings one more time and flew into the treacherous young vampire, knocking him sprawling across the floor. Jerod bounced against the wall, injured but not mortally wounded.
The Shadows Awaken (Guardians of the Night Book 1) Page 25
