Darkened Days

by C. L. Quinn

  He smiled. “Ah. Then I will kill this vampire you think you love. Then things will be different.”

  She smiled back, well aware he would never do that. Her fingers slipped through his wet hair, brushing the water out of his eyes.

  “You deserve an epic love. I am not that woman.”

  “You’ll forgive me if I tell you that you are wrong.”

  “I’m not. But I don’t know where we go from here.”

  “It will all work out, Star. Look at us. We’re absolutely soaked. Let’s get back to some dry clothes.”

  She nodded and he pulled her up, then swung her up into his arms.

  “You smell like heaven.”

  She looked at his face so close to hers, hard lines and soft eyes, extremely masculine. Yes, she knew she could very well have fallen in love with him if her heart wasn’t already taken.

  Jacob found Chione, and after asking where Starla was and not getting a satisfactory answer, he was starting to get aggressive with her when he saw Starla carried into the garden by Ahmose. His head went white hot and his body numb as he started to surge forward. But he couldn’t move. Koen walked up to him.

  “No. We’ll save your girl, but not by letting you get killed. He is twenty times more powerful than you. Don’t do it. If she is yours, this does not matter. I know that goes against every fiber of your being, but you must not engage Ahmose. You will lose. Will you comply or do I leave you like this?

  All Jacob could move were his eyes and mouth. He looked sideways at Koen.

  Koen could see it in Jacob’s eyes…he wasn’t able to behave. He left him frozen.

  Ahmose lowered Starla to the ground and she hurried to Jacob’s side.

  “Koen, why is he frozen?”

  “A big vampire came into this garden with you in his arms. Give you one guess.”

  “Jacob,” she said, “are you alright? You’re not going to attack Ahmose again, you promised me.”

  “I promised to try not to.” He stared into her eyes. Although he couldn’t move, he could feel her hands pressed against his chest. “He was holding you.”

  “I’m sorry. That was my fault. I should have had him let me down before we re-entered the village.”

  “He shouldn’t have…” Jacob’s eyes shifted to the left. “Koen, release me. I won’t attack anyone.”

  “Okay, but here’s an idea. Neither one of you touch our little vampiress. That way cooler heads can prevail. I’ll break up the fight if I have to, but really, we’re all big boys. Let’s just play nice, agreed?”

  Neither Ahmose or Jacob spoke.

  Starla shook her head.

  “Agree, Jacob.”

  He hesitated, then nodded.

  “Ahmose?” she inquired, turning to him.

  He also hesitated, gave Jacob a hard look, but agreed with a curt nod.

  Koen waved a hand toward Jacob, who immediately shook out his arms.

  “That’s a bitch of a skill, buddy,” he said.

  “Yeah, I know.” Koen said and finished a bottle of beer. “But I think it saved your hairy ass.”

  Jacob shook his head and scowled at his friend, then turned back to Starla. He hadn’t seen her since they made love. Soaked, she looked even more beautiful than ever. He nearly pulled her into his arms and kissed her thoroughly, but she saw his intention and shook her head.

  “No, Jacob. I really don’t want trouble between you two.”

  Shooting a killing glance at Ahmose, he stepped back a few feet from her to help with his shaky resolve.

  Ahmose gave Jacob the same stare and thought that eventually it was going to come down to fists on flesh. He wouldn’t use his first blood ability. Too much satisfaction in using his hands to beat the shit out of this particular opponent. But he would honor Starla’s wishes for a non-confrontational night.

  Koen suggested a meal.

  “Nothing is more civil than breaking bread together. We’ll have a nice dinner, get to know each other. Ahmose, I would like to discuss the separation of first bloods into children of the sun and children of the moon. My clan has never referred to themselves as such. There’s a lot to learn.”

  Ahmose tried to be an accommodating host.

  “I will agree. My people are just preparing second meal. I would be pleased to have all of you join me at my table in my home.”

  “Splendid. We’d love to. Right, Jacob? Henri?”

  The two vampires barely nodded but it was enough.

  “Alright. We’ll join you in, what, thirty minutes?”

  Ahmose looked at Starla. “Yes. Do you wish to come with me to dry off?”

  “Um, I think I’ll go with Chione. I’ll meet all of you there shortly.”

  Jacob followed Koen and Henri in one direction while Starla went the other way with Chione. Ahmose just stood there wondering how he’d lost control of this situation. And what it would take to get it back.

  CHAPTER THIRTEEN

  Azure moaned. Crystal was giving her an exquisite massage. Strong warm hands kneaded her back, curving under her every once in a while to touch other sensitive areas.

  “I saw you talking to your neighbor a few minutes ago. Anything going on?”

  “Nothing new. Well, it turns out this vampire, the Shoazan, is planning to leave with the other male vampire. It’s sad. Poor Ahmose. I think he should just make her stay. The Shoazan would be nothing but royalty here with us. She’d love her life here.”

  “Oh, I agree. Something should be done.”

  Rolling over so Crystal could get the front, Azure had already lost interest in conversation, giving in to the sensuality of Crystal’s touch. But Crystal was very much interested in this leader Ahmose.

  The dinner went smoothly until about an hour into the meal, Jacob leaned over and caressed Starla’s cheek.

  Ahmose stood immediately.

  “This isn’t going to work. Vampire, you must leave my village now. You disrespect me.”

  Jacob stood and faced him, his stance aggressive.

  “I will leave. Gladly. But she comes with me.”

  Now Starla shot up.

  “That’s it. Both of you. Who do you think you are? I have already made it clear. Anyway, I’ve made a decision. I’m going back to France. I want to see my friend Lia again.”

  Starla moved around the table to stand in front of Ahmose.

  “Ahmose, I don’t know what else to say. I love every minute I’ve spent with you. But I am not the woman you think I am.”

  “I can’t let you leave. You must stay and fulfill your destiny.”

  “I don’t feel this destiny like you do. I’m sorry.”

  “It isn’t that easy. You cannot leave.”

  Jacob came around the table. The two men faced off. Ahmose, protecting what he felt he must. Jacob, ready to die to defend Starla’s right to choose her life with him.

  Koen pushed between them.

  “All right! Get the fuck back! I have a solution! You two hear me! Fall back! If either of you really care about Starla, listen to me.”

  The friction made the air in the room electric. Koen stood between them, both hands up, ready to take on whoever started forward.

  Starla pushed against Ahmose.

  “Please, stop this. If you guys keep at this, I’ll disappear. I’ll go away from both of you and you’ll never find me.”

  Several long seconds later, both men stepped back.

  Koen sighed.

  “This is shit, you know. I have something very important I need to be doing right now instead of babysitting your asses. So listen well. I think I have a solution.”

  He turned to Ahmose.

  “You think it is your destiny to have vampire babies with Starla. I agree, it’s too important to lose. But what if you’re wrong? I know an empath who can find out definitively if it is true. She’s a connector, a bridge between species. She can divine certain elements of the future from individuals. Very accurately. She knew my daughter was with child only three days
into the pregnancy. She knew it would be a girl. Hell, she could even communicate with her. Cherise will know if you are meant to be. Can I bring her here?”

  Ahmose knew of empaths. He hadn’t had one in the community before, but he knew they could be very powerful. He trusted this brother first blood from another place. If it could help. At this point he had nothing to lose.

  He nodded his agreement.

  “And if she says you are not destined, you’ll let Starla leave?”

  Again, he nodded.

  “All right. I’ll have her here by sundown tomorrow.”

  Starla grabbed her plate and walked away from the craziness of the evening.

  “Until then, I’m going to bed for the day. I’m exhausted by all of this. Jacob, Henri, good day. Ahmose, Koen, appreciate everything. Chione, will you accompany me?”

  “Of course, mistress.”

  They were gone, leaving the four men standing uneasily behind.

  “Katerine! David! I have two of them in the library!”

  Speaking softly now, Cherise advanced on the two tiny finches flitting nervously on the second story landing where most collections of the canons of literature from the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries were shelved.

  None of her super-fast vampire abilities were helpful. She didn’t want to risk hurting them. She’d rather let them fly free instead.

  Her quiet movement seemed to calm them until Katerine stormed in with a large net.

  “No, Kat, that might hurt them.”

  “Well, it’s the only way you’re going to capture them, chérie. You’ve been chasing them for six days now.”

  The door crashed open again and David came through with another net, this one big enough to capture a pterodactyl. His entire head was encased in a bee-keepers hood.

  “Here, birdie, birdie, birdie!” He called in a falsetto voice and did a huge leap up to the second level. The birds scattered.

  At the ground level the two women laughed at the large vampire dressed so ridiculously.

  David swirled the enormous net with a flourish as if it were a sword. It was worth it to make Cherise laugh.

  “Hey, baby. There’s a lot of bird shit up here.”

  “Yes, David, that’s what birds do. They shit a lot.”

  “I’d really like to get them back in the aviary.”

  “What do you think I’ve been trying to do for the past week?”

  David nodded and slipped the hood off so he could see where the birds were and actually be helpful. He loved the new variety of life his wife had brought into their home, but he was still adapting to having so many animals roaming in his enormous Icelandic home. They made her happy. That was all that mattered. God, she was stunning when she smiled.

  It had been the biggest adjustment for Katerine, his former lover that still lived with them as this had been her home for two hundred years. Who Cherise had come to adore. And who had been vampire for centuries and never had an animal in her life at all. He’d never forget her expression first time she saw a litter of skunks ramble by in the new menagerie wing he’d had built for Cherise. No one in the room would ever forget the look of horror on her face. Since then, she’d become the biggest fan of the bi-colored “kittens.”

  His wife was an empath, connected to all living things, animal or floral. She lived outside much of the time, connected to the earth and it’s abundance of life. But here, when part of the year trapped them indoors most of the twenty four hours that composed the day, she had been melancholy. The hardest thing about her move here to Iceland was the isolation from her animals. The menagerie fixed that. She was finally fully happy here with him in her new life as a vampire empath.

  Cherise was unique in the world. Her connection with the many supernatural species had been exceptional as a human empath, but much deeper now following her conversion to vampire.

  David couldn’t love her more. Tortured and isolated for the past thirty plus years of his life, he was just now reintegrating into his own life. Had it not been for those events, he might never have met Cherise.

  He watched her now scooting closer to one of the finches that landed on a bookstand near her, speaking softly to convince it to let her hold it. Through all the pain he’d endured, all that it had taken to find himself again, he would admit, she was worth the price.

  Katerine came back into the room with a cell phone in her hand.

  “Cherise. It’s Koen.”

  Cherise looked up, surprised.

  “Koen?”

  “Yeah, he says he needs your talents.”

  “Oh, okay. Here, see if you can convince him to come to you. No net!”

  CHAPTER FOURTEEN

  When she walked into his dwelling, Ahmose felt her power immediately. Koen had been right. This woman had a connection to the earth like no one he had ever met.

  She was stunning. Tiny, even as vampire.

  The empath Cherise arrived with a first blood male, another child of the sun. Koen hugged both of them and introduced them around.

  When she came to Ahmose, he took her hand, bowed and showed his respect. A power surge snapped between them. He wanted to hold on and see what happened between them, but his eyes moved behind her to notice her companion staring at their clasped hands. He smiled, released the hand and backed away. He didn’t need another enemy.

  “Refreshments for the end of your journey,” he said and showed them a table that offered cool drinks and cold sandwiches for this night that remained warm.

  “Thank you,” she said with a soft French accent.

  He was excited to sit with her and discover the truth of his destiny. She was someone he wanted to add to his life so that his community may have access to her empathic power. There was often great need to know the truth.

  He watched Starla smile tremulously at Cherise. He understood. They would now know that he spoke true when he said she was his. Through all of this, he did understand how she felt. But this was not a time for caution. It was a time to touch the future which he knew held so many wonderful things. All he could do now was hope that when it was revealed that she was meant to be his lover and mother of his children, she would accept graciously, the asshole would disappear, and a new age would begin for the children of the moon.

  Cherise touched every person in the room. Ahmose did not know why, but he noticed her subtle hand movements that brushed against or boldly grasped, the hands or faces of his closest friends. Was she reading them? He thought she was. Some vampires could read other people to tell if they were honorable. She was definitely making a connection.

  Koen tapped on a metal tabletop with a spoon to get everyone’s attention.

  “Everyone, we’re going to get this started. Most of you have met, but this is Cherise, a human empath who is now vampire. We brought her here to clear up some confusion. She has requested we have only the relevant parties in the room, so if everyone wouldn’t mind finding somewhere else to go for now, I’d appreciate it.”

  Jacob and Henri stood their ground, arms crossed and didn’t move.

  Starla grabbed Chione as she was starting to go to let her know she wanted her to stay. With a smile, she settled at Starla’s side.

  Ahmose watched the man David, who he had learned was Cherise’s mate, as he walked over to check the door, locked it and stood sentry. He was very protective of his mate. Ahmose approved and looked at Starla. He would be the same, nothing would ever harm his woman.

  Cherise addressed the remaining people in the room.

  “Hi, everyone is familiar by now with what we are trying to accomplish here. I will need each of you to be quiet and calm. This should be a sacred place for my subjects. So, if you will choose somewhere comfortable, we can begin.”

  Cherise took a place on the elaborately weaved floor mat in the center of Ahmose’s yurt. With simple hand motions, she asked Ahmose and Starla to join her there.

  “We will connect to find out what the stars have designed for you. Ahmose, we honor your
people’s desire to satisfy destiny and faith as we all have our paths to walk in these lives we inhabit. We must be aware of our place in the universe. My gift touches the spirit that imbues every living creature, flora or fauna, and especially those super-naturals that carve out a different place in the order. We know we design our own lives. We are the sum of our choices. But above us a vast cosmic machine places things where they need to be for life to continue and thrive. We are not alone in this. Nothing teaches us this more than the spirit amulets each first blood wears. It is attached invisibly but inextricably to the order of life in the universe. It is incontrovertible. Destiny makes requests, and fate pays attention.”

  She took a moment to get in position next to her subjects.

  “Everyone, please stay silent until we are finished. Starla, to my right please. Ahmose, please, in front of me. Take my hands. Close your eyes and clear your minds. I will do all the work. I will move through you, but you will feel only a shadow as I pass. You will feel connected to each other, though, on a spiritual level much deeper than anything physical.”

  “Fuck that!”

  Jacob stood up, and Koen stopped him. Although Koen didn’t freeze him, his strong grip kept him in place.

  “Let her do what we brought her here to do.”

  Jacob considered pushing forward.

  “You wouldn’t let some other man into your woman’s head.”

  Koen thought about Alisa. No, he wouldn’t.

  “No,” he admitted. “Unless it was the only way I could keep her in my life. Sit down, boy. Trust Cherise.”

  Koen felt Jacob forcibly relax under his hand.

  “Okay, proceed,” he said quietly.

  Cherise took Ahmose and Starla’s hands and was almost immediately pulled out of self and into the merge. It was like the forces of their spirits were yanking against chains to get to each other. She released her trapped breath slowly and took control, guiding them carefully. She weaved herself between them and reached for the tiny part in each of them that knew its own destiny. The struggle to get to each other continued, frantic and powerful, until their spirits broke free. They moved forward almost at light-speed, tangling together, merging on this universal plane. Cherise sighed. It was clear. They were meant to be together.