by Mandi Casey
He closed his eyes, letting the lightning unfurl through his body. Vibrations of electricity excited him. It wanted blood.
He wanted blood.
And they would have it.
Footsteps sounded on the cement.
“Darling, what are you up to?”
Lisa’s footfalls clip-clopped closer. He would recognize the sound of his wife’s unnecessarily high-heeled shoes anywhere. Women. They made no sense. Footwear didn’t make her more attractive. He’d been drawn to her the moment he’d laid eyes on her. There was a time when he wanted to kill her because of it. She was a liability, a weakness his enemies could hold over him. No person had been of any importance to him, until now.
“Wife.”
“Gee, honey pie, you sure know how to make a girl feel loved. I think we should go away together. Just us. We can get Trevor out of his prison and take him with us, too. I think a change of venue would be good for my whittle demon.” She patted her abdomen with a tenderness that made him uncomfortable. Just what he needed, another liability his enemies could use against him.
“Lisa. Don’t bother me right now. You know I have things to do.” He gave her a scowl to emphasize his point, but she didn’t take the hint. Lisa rarely did what she was told. Hopefully when she was fixed, once they reached the Underworld, he could have some obedience instilled in her as well.
She went over and pinched his cheek, a complete show of disrespect. He really hated when she did that. His inner demon yearned to put her over his knee and show her how to treat one of his great station. Despite his strong desire to be stern with her, she made him laugh.
Lisa knew she had weaseled her way into his heart, despite his being against it. He didn’t want to have feelings for her. Feelings were for the weak. He was a lightning demon. He didn’t have time for such foolishness. His legions in Hell needed guidance. He had to set a strong example as their liege. Lisa would have to be kept away from them. She didn’t meet his expectations in the perfect wife department, but she had somehow made him not mind her shortcomings so much.
“Don’t you want to come upstairs with me?” She lifted the low hem of her gauzy white dress, showing off those luscious, lengthy legs of hers. It didn’t help that the high-heeled shoes she wore had lacings winding up her beautifully toned calves, making his fingers curl with need to touch them, to have her legs wrapped around him when he drove into her. Maybe he didn’t mind her affection for sexy shoes after all. Lightning crackled through the air, just as it did whenever she instigated sex.
“Damn it, woman. You know I’m busy and I have a lot of work to do.” He had wolves to terrorize. Who else was there to keep them on task?
Taking Lisa up in his arms, he held her close. “You want your brother out of there, don’t you?” He softened his tone, not wanting to see her cry. He didn’t like that she had become such a liability. Lately, she cried at anything. She said it was the pregnancy, but he had suspicions the defect in her personality was permanent.
The Dark Lord was known for casting favors, but he was also known for doing so on his terms. He had played a cruel joke on him when the Dark Lord made Lisa immortal. He would have to give the Dark Lord a sacrifice for the crafty fun he played on him. Even though it affected his future with his wife, having to deal with her new, not improved, ways of seeing things, he had to admit the Dark Lord had pulled a good one. Why couldn’t he have thought of something so devious to pull on one of his own minions? He still had a lot to learn from the great Dark Lord if he were to become as powerful one day.
Lisa was his weakness, a tool to be used against him by his enemies. He also didn’t care for the fact that she knew her tears achieved much when she wanted something. At that moment, her eyes were welling up with the dreaded things.
Andras kissed her and set her down. “Yes, fine. Do what you have to do. But I think your plans for revenge are a little over-the-top, my love. Why bother with the vampires and the Selected? They mean nothing to us. We have what we want. I’m immortal now. Our child will be immortal, too. Nothing will happen to her. We’ll all be together forever.”
She smiled, her eyes expressing a warmth that occurred more often than he’d like. Pregnancy suited his dear wife well, but he needed her cold-hearted again. This lovey-dovey disposition was going to make him sick.
Andras could see he would have to have a strong hand in the rearing of their child. He didn’t want Lisa’s emotions to get in the way of bringing up a proper female lightning demon.
“I will have blood for what they did to us. Now, go upstairs. You need to rest. Our little one shouldn’t be around these vile creatures.” He gently nudged her toward the compound’s staircase leading up to the main floor.
Lisa was right. They did need to leave this dreaded place. He would not allow their yet-to-be-born daughter be exposed to the beasts that changed their allegiance as often as the weather turned in this wretched realm. No, she would be brought up properly, surrounded by her own kind. She would be taught to use her lightning and act appropriately, according to her station as his daughter.
Lisa grabbed his arm before he could go back to work making sure the rogues were keeping on task.
“Andras, I love you. Make sure nothing happens to you this night. I need you. We both need you.” She placed his hand on her gently swelling abdomen.
The electricity from Lisa’s lightning demon-soul sizzled through her hand into his arm. It was the ultimate sensation when shared between two lightning demon lovers. Lisa wasn’t as evil as he’d hoped, but she may be worth keeping around, especially if someone from the Underworld could have her previous ways reinstated.
“Yes, I’ll be fine. Now go.”
If all went well, many would soon die at his hand.
Chapter 13
Opening my closet door, I assessed the big ball gown hanging there. Kieran had outdone himself with the latest fashion purchase for me. Deep purple material made the dress, while gold hems and quarter-sized gemstones accented the rest. In all my life, I’d never thought I’d ever have an occasion to wear something so spectacularly opulent, nor did I ever think I’d own a piece of clothing that cost so much.
My closet had certainly blossomed since meeting the vampires. Kieran sent a dress every time he requested my presence to one of his gatherings. The dresses were always spectacular and way out of my price range. I never understood how the vamps and wolves seemed to have endless amounts of funds. I’d have to ask Blake about that someday.
Careful not to tear any of the material, I lowered the dress to the floor and slowly stepped into it. The zipper in the back started at the base of my spine and ran just above where my bra sat underneath. Thank the heavens for small favors. Kieran’s assistant liked picking out dresses that showed off my back. The problem was, I liked wearing a bra. With many of the dresses Kim had chosen, that was virtually impossible. I often had to pull out double-sided sticky tape, which wasn’t all that comfortable, especially while dancing and sweating. Not that vampires had to deal with sweating, the lucky finks.
I felt like a princess as I turned in front of the mirror hanging from my closet door to see how the dress moved when I moved. I looked in the reflection at the pink ruby necklace Grandma had left me. This particular piece of jewelry was a symbol of Kieran’s protection over the Selected. It warded off any vampires or wolves from messing with me. Unfortunately, it didn’t seem to work on the rogues of either group, but I liked it. The necklace made me feel connected with Grandma Maria somehow, giving me comfort knowing she’d also worn the beautiful pink ruby necklace. Aunt Judith said she had never taken it off, so neither did I.
I headed into the bathroom and gave my hair one final layer of style spray, powdered my already shiny nose and forehead one last time. With a deep sigh, I decided it was now or never.
Once I was finished getting ready, I m
ade my way-oh so carefully due to the ridiculous high-heeled shoes I wore-down the stairs.
“Oh my goddess, Sydney, you look absolutely stunning.”
Aunt Judith stood in the doorway of the kitchen with a purple-and-gold trimmed bag in her hand.
Holding the delicate bag out to me, she said, “I made this for you, for the ball tonight.” Aunt Judith had a twinkle in her eye. She limped over and handed it to me. She must have seen my dress hanging in the closet because the purple of the bag matched the color of the material perfectly.
“It’s beautiful, Aunt Judith, thank you.” I ran my fingers over the delicate gold chain that ran just long enough over the top of the bag to be carried across my wrist.
“I left something inside of the bag for you, too. You know dear, just in case.” She smiled.
I opened the bag and pulled out two glass vials filled with white powder. Holding them up to the florescent light on the kitchen ceiling, I assessed the powder and appreciated Aunt Judith’s handiwork as the substance sparkled under the light. I couldn’t tell what the powder was, but it was very similar to the flour she baked with, except the substance in the glass containers sparkled. I turned to her for an explanation.
“Do you remember when those terrible demons kidnapped you from the house and Kieran rescued you from the compound? Meredith and I had made this powder to fight off the lightning demons. We’re not sure if it will work against all demons, but from what I’ve been told it works well against those bad lightning ones.”
I couldn’t have been luckier.
Love and appreciation for my aunt made my heart surge. She was in constant danger because she had chosen to help guide me through my new life as the Selected, but she didn’t mind. Aunt Judith never complained at having to always watch who she spoke to or who was following her throughout life. She focused on doing everything she could to help me, and she seemed to enjoy every minute of it. Aunt Judith had taken on the role I felt my mother should have had all along.
I did remember being kidnapped. I also remembered suffering from toxic bites from the rogue vampire when he took blood from spots all over my body. The pus-filled sores that remained from where that thing bit me had luckily healed inhumanly fast because Kieran had nicked his tongue and given me some of his potent vampire blood. Experiencing that type of pain wasn’t a memory I’d easily forget.
A vision of Kieran using a white powder, provided to him by Aunt Judith, flashed across my mind’s eye. He’d used it on Trevor, the lightning demon that had orchestrated my kidnapping when he planned to combine Kieran’s and my blood to make his sister, Lisa, immortal.
Trevor thought he was faster and stronger than the leader of the local vampire coven, but he was wrong. Kieran had knocked Trevor to the floor just outside of my prison cell where I was strapped to a filthy, bloodstained mattress. Kieran poured the powder along the length of Trevor’s body as he lay there motionless from Kieran’s punch. Trevor’s form had dissolved into nothing as the white powder traveled over him, leaving only dust-covered clothes lying on the ground where Trevor used to be. The sulfuric smell oozing from the demon’s disintegrated body assaulted my senses, and I shook my head to dispel the horrible memory.
The powder Aunt Judith had concocted moved along the body with a mind of its own until the entire body dissolved into nothing. I hoped never to repeat having to see a lightning demon dissolve, or any other being for that matter. If I did, that meant I had once again put myself at the mercy of the demons. Mercy was one attribute lightning demons didn’t have.
“Thank you, Aunt Judith. I can’t tell you how happy and lucky I am to have you beside me. Your knowledge and wisdom have been priceless with all of this going on. So, thank you.” I leaned over and kissed her on the cheek. Tears began to form at the corners of her eyes.
We both knew there was bound to be trouble at the Blood Rites Ball. Aunt Judith was worried for my safety, just as I was worried for hers. She was well aware of what and who I was about to be surrounded by all evening. The endearing thing was, she wasn’t worried about herself one bit.
The difference between her and my mother was unbelievable. It was hard to stomach that two siblings had grown into such different people. Aunt Judith lived by a very honorable code of morals. She had such a giving nature. My mother was the total opposite. She was selfish and did little that didn’t benefit her in some way.
“Have you found where the ball is going to be located yet?” Aunt Judith went back to the stove to stir the simmering brew she was cooking. The entire kitchen smelled of warm chicken broth. I took a deep breath in, savoring the aroma and the anticipation of delving into leftovers when I got back home.
That was, if I lived to be able to get back home.
“Liam called. He left me a voicemail on my cell. He said he’ll be by to pick me up shortly. He didn’t mention where it was going to be, though. One of Kieran’s vampires told me the ball is being held in honor of one of the Elders, hence the masquerade ball attire. I’m sure it will be somewhere big, secure, and capable of allowing Kieran to plan an over-the-top party.”
Smiling, we shared a knowing look. Kieran, the vampire who had fallen in love with Grandma Maria, was well known for going all out with his parties. The attendees were always expected to dress in the latest high fashion and act with the utmost decorum.
A knock on the front door made me jump.
“That must be Liam. Aunt Judith, I’m not sure what’s going to happen tonight, but I wanted to tell you that I appreciate you being here for me. Your allowing me to come into your home and run the store, it means the world to me. I love you so much.”
We hugged. The frailness of her body caught me off guard and made me worried. I could feel individual bones in her ribcage as I held her. Her collarbone pressed sharply against my shoulder. She’d definitely lost weight since I’d arrived. I imagined the huge amount of stress in having the Selected live with her had something to do with that, even though she never mentioned how it directly affected her.
I’d have to watch what she ate a little closer. She made the most delicious meals, but I hadn’t noticed if she was eating them as much as I was. Wow, way to go, Sydney. You’re supposed to be protecting her just as much as the wolves and vampires. My stomach tightened a little from guilt. I’d start paying attention to what was going on with my aunt. Maybe I’d have her teach me about those plants she tended to and loved so much, That way I could be close if she needed me.
“No need to thank me, dear. I was born for this kind of stuff.” She winked, a sparkle of mischief glinting in her eyes. That’s when I noted the light in her eyes was a bit duller than usual. She looked tired.
Liam stood in the front doorway while I hugged Aunt Judith one last time before leaving. It was possible we might not see each other again, and we both knew it. The rest of my future, if there was a future for me to have at all, was to be decided on tonight, by old decrepit vampires I’d never met.
“Hey, pretty lady, you ready to go?”
I grabbed the ornate mask Kieran had sent with the dress and the purple bag carrying the two precious vials of anti-demon powder, then took Liam’s outstretched arm so we could take our leave.
“Ready as I’ll ever be, I guess.”
A long, white, stretch-limousine waited in the driveway. I caught the license plate and an unexpected laugh left my lips before I could hold it in. GOT BLUD? I turned to Liam. “Do all of Kieran’s vehicles have vampire-related license plates?”
Liam charmingly put his head down a little and kicked a pebble from the driveway off into the snow-covered grass before answering. “Well, yes, I guess they do.”
“Isn’t that a little obvious to the human population of the city? I mean, don’t you think that would draw the human’s attention and have them looking a little closer at the person riding in the back of the limo or whate
ver vehicle had those kinds of plates on?” I couldn’t believe how open Kieran would be with something like that. He might as well advertise saying ‘VAMPIRE HERE’. I didn’t get it.
Liam lifted his head. He laughed when he saw my perplexed expression, then dropped his head even further back to howl into the night air. “Sydney, I can’t say enough how delightful it is to hang with you. Just remember that, okay? I really like you as the Selected. As far as the plates go, well, have you ever heard of the best place to hide is out in the open?”
I have heard that, but I never really believed it. “Yeah, I guess, but I’m just surprised Kieran would draw that kind of unnecessary attention.”
“Don’t worry. It doesn’t draw attention like you’d think. Humans probably look at the plates and think whoever is in the ride is just some type of freak, and then they look the other way because whoever it is probably doesn’t fit into their mundane mold of expectations. That’s all. Don’t fret, lass. It’s nothing important to think about.”
Well, I wasn’t the one who had to hide the vampires existence, so if they weren’t going to worry about it, I guess I wouldn’t, either.
The night air was cool. When the vampire limo-driver stepped out from the driver’s seat, the air became cooler still. He smiled when I locked eyes with him. He seemed pleasant enough.
I was a bit surprised Liam and the driver weren’t wearing the normal set of sunglasses to hide their glowing red eyes. Not knowing why it happened, my gut churned when the driver focused on me once he let his smile slip away. I didn’t get the telltale pain that came when a rogue vampire or werewolf was around. Maybe I wasn’t getting the uncomfortable sensation from the driver, there might be a rogue lurking on the outside periphery of the property line. Something was giving me a vague vibe that not all was well. The unpleasant sensation hadn’t grown so strong that I had to bend over and vomit from the pain, but something was throwing my Selected senses off kilter soon after I shared the same air space as the vampire driver.
