Vampire Worshippers [Part 1]_Gods of our Souls Series

by Mira Crest

  Axel nodded. “I’ve been a little busy.”

  “You should come by again sometime and…” His voice faded. He eyed Virginie and looked her up and down. “Feel free to bring your gorgeous girlfriend along.” He walked past Axel and stopped short before Virginie. She looked deeply into his eyes. He was handsome and there was something about his eyes and his smile that Virginie couldn’t get away from. Her heart yearned.

  After a brief moment, she pulled herself away and looked down at her feet. Look casual, she chided herself. I need to look casual. When she looked up again, Philemon was still looking at her. He smiled. She could feel herself swoon. He continued walking past her, but as he took another step he called back, “Be extra careful. I’ve been running into a lot of these creatures lately.” His steps echoed down the hall as he disappeared.

  “I should have warned you,” Axel said, breaking Virginie from her daze as she looked in the direction of where Philemon disappeared.

  “Warned me?” she asked.

  “I’m not used to bringing humans with me.”

  “Humans?” she said. Of course, he’s not human. He got shot in the head, and then he stood up and saved her from danger. And what was that crazy light that came from his hand?

  “Yeah, Philemon can sense desire,” he said, taking a step closer to her.

  She felt her breath escape from her gently parted lips.

  “Just like your room changes with your desires, Philemon can sense those same desires.”

  “Oh,” she said. She grinned, trying to hide her fear and bewilderment at all of the things that were being thrown at her.

  As Axel explained about the creature, they continued to walk. They reached a junction in the path leading to a descending stairway and an ascending stairway. They took the front path leading down. Axel stopped and turned into a path cutting into the wall, to a door at the end of the path. He led her through the door into a wide room with Romanesque-style stone pillars. Chandeliers hung from the ceiling, spread out across the room. It was one of the most elegant things Virginie had ever seen. Despite their quantity, their lights were dimmer than the chandelier in her room of desire, and wilder too. Axel closed the door.

  “We’ll be safe here,” he said.

  “Tell me more about that creature,” she asked.

  He led her across the room by placing his hand gently on the small of her back. Their steps synchronized as they made their way through the middle of the large space. “They are dark creatures too, born from human desires,” he explained. “They attack even vampires. However, they seldom trespass this region of the Hallway.”

  “What about the different paths they passed? Do they wander all of those paths?”

  Axel nodded.

  “Um, where do the other paths lead?” she asked.

  “Well, they lead to the different rooms like yours. When we entered through your poster, we were led to your room. Other entrances will lead to other people’s rooms. Some of those paths will end in the Abyss as well. That’s a dangerous part of Nowhere.”

  “Nowhere? Is that where we are?”

  Axel nodded again. “Vampires stay away from the Abyss. Dark creatures lurk there. Darker and scarier than the creature we saw in the hall.”

  “Oh.” She bit her lip for a second. “I think I’ll stay away from there too then.”

  Axel chuckled. “Sounds like a good plan,” he said.

  They walked up to a vertical glass window, the only one in the room. Through the window, Virginie could vaguely see a landscape on the other side.

  “You ready?” he asked.

  “Ready for what?”

  He took her hand. “To go through,” he said. He gave her hand a reassuring squeeze. “Just don’t let go, all right?”

  Virginie nodded. She had no intention of letting go of his hand. She took a deep breath as Axel stepped through the glass. He pulled her along, leading her through the glass like it didn’t exist.

  Chapter 3

  -The Secret of NIGHT-

  Virginie didn’t know what to expect. The last time she walked through a portal with Axel she found herself with a number of frightening… beings. What on earth was that fearsome creature they found dead in that hallway? And then there was that man called Philemon. He was handsome, and he made her weak in the knees, but normally, only Axel has that effect on her.

  And that place, what was it? It all seemed like too much. If she had heard anyone at her school talking about these things, she would have thought they were crazy. Not only would she have not believed them, she would have made fun of them with Olivia. But now it was her. It was her with the crazy story about beasts and portals and magical beings. Shadows that killed and serial killers that bit the necks of their victims. Now she had the crazy story but...

  Who would believe her?

  She tightly held onto Axel’s hand. She didn’t know what would happen if she let go, not that she would want to anyway. This was her dream, right? Getting to go to a different world with Axel Night. Of course, when she imagined them together, she didn’t envision gigantic creatures that could kill her. She didn’t picture the shadow creature that chased her.

  He pulled her through the portal into a brightly lit and elegant space. Virginie looked back at where they came from and spied a Night poster on the wall. Unlike the one in her bedroom, this one has all four Night members in it. But that was the only similarity between this space and the room that she was pulled into when leaving her own bedroom. While the other place looked like the interior of a manor, this place looked like a millionaire’s palace. If the other place had a room that she had created - one that was made of her dreams - what was this? Was this Axel’s house? While it looked luxurious, it didn’t quite feel right. When she imagined Axel Night’s house, she imagined something a little more Gothic. Something a little moodier.

  This was the exact opposite of moody.

  This was downright pleasant.

  The walls glittered with elegance. The whole place made her feel underdressed and shabby. The portal opened into a sitting room which was painted in eggshell with crown molding, subtle recessed lighting, with four crystal chandeliers hanging from the corners of the room and one large one hanging down from the center of the room. It hung right above a glass top coffee table which was surrounded by two camelback Cabriole sofa with matching intricate floral upholstery, three large pink wingback chairs, and a few matching yellow chairs.

  In one of the corners of the room was a grand piano. Another had a drink cart. There was also a smattering of small tables around the room which held vases and other decors. The stone floors were covered in the biggest ornate rug she had ever seen.

  Despite the incredible amount of detail - and money - that had to go into this room, these material things weren’t the best part about the place. Sprawled out on the couches and chairs were the other three members of Night.

  She stared at them with wide eyes. Having only seen them on TV -- and in concert for the span of three songs -- they didn’t feel real. The three other band members were close enough to touch.

  Lovejoy, the guitarist, was sprawled out on the couch. His blonde hair was slightly more disheveled than she was used to seeing when he was on TV. She had imagined that his scowl was accentuated in their music videos but in real life, his furrowed brows were just as intense. He acknowledged her with a cockeyed stare. Despite the hostile gesture, his ice blue eyes were still breathtaking.

  Kain, the drummer, sat across from where Virginie stood. He was the skinniest of the group. His strong jawline was further defined by his lack of body fat. Axel was the tallest and most stoic member of the group but Kain gave him a run for his money. His long legs were stretched in front of him. He offered her a quick wave of his hand.

  Trevor, the keyboardist, was sitting in a pink wingback chair with his back to her. He turned around, his brown curls shook as he turned. His babyface always made him seem like the nicest of the bunch. In the magazine pictures, he alway
s looked like the type that would play tricks on the other members of the band. Olivia always said that she thought Axel was the cutest but Virginie suspected that she would rather have Trevor. They did seem like soulmates in that respect.

  The thought of her best friend made her long for Olivia. She had been there for Virginie’s biggest moments with the band: when she first happened upon them on TV, when she first bought their CD, when she saw them in concert, and when she was almost killed at that concert….

  Her heart ached for her bestie. They had been friends since Virginie was little and had done everything together. Now Virginie was doing the most extraordinary thing without her. They should have been together for this.

  “Oh, come now,” Axel said. “Why the long faces?” He let go of Virginie’s hand and walked toward them, leaving her standing in awe at the scene before her.

  Not knowing what to do, she just stood there and watched them as they talked.

  “Axel,” Kain said, running his hand through his curly brown locks. “Where have you been? You tell us that we’re supposed to keep a low profile, then you leave without a trace?” Kain pointed to Virginie. “And you bring back a groupie?”

  Virginie pouted. She wasn’t a groupie. Well, technically she might have been but she didn’t like the way that Kain said it. Her gaze fell on Kain’s thin frame.

  His eyes met her. “No offense,” he said.

  She shook her head as her cheeks flushed from the attention. “None taken,” she lied, her voice meek. While Trevor always seemed like the nicest member of the band, Kain seemed like the coldest and most stuck-up. He was hot but he also looked like he was cocky.

  “I’m bored,” Lovejoy said. His voice was soft. Virginie watched him closely. His fans called him LJ but she wasn’t sure if he liked the nickname. He never said much, including any sort of disdain for the shortening of his name.

  “If you’re bored, it’s more of a reflection on you than anything else,” Axel said, pointing toward one of the doorways that led further into the mansion. “For a hideout, this place is pretty well stocked in stuff. Books, movies, there’s even a recording studio back there.”

  Virginie could feel Kain’s stare as he never took his eyes off of her. “You just going to stand there?” he asked.

  She opened her mouth to say something but nothing came out. “Oh,” she finally said. “Um….”

  “You got us a live one,” Trevor quipped. Virginie watched the back of his head as he turned to face away from her to settle back into his chair. “She’s eloquent.”

  “Give her a break,” Axel said. “There’s a lot going on. She’s new to all of this. There’s a lot to take in. Humans don’t often think about stuff like this,” he said, raising his arms to gesture the space. “How would you react if your entire reality was flipped upside down?”

  “My entire reality,” Virginie repeated softly. Her hand reached for her head. She rubbed her temple with her fingers, varying the pressure to try and alleviate a headache before it got worse. She didn’t want to miss any of this.

  “You all right?” Trevor asked as he watched her. “Listen, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean anything by it.”

  Axel turned around to observe. “What’s the matter?” he asked.

  “Nothing, it’s just-” she started. “I”m just a little dizzy.”

  He reached out to her. “Well, come have a seat on the couch then. Wouldn’t want you passing out. Going through those portals affects everyone differently,” he explained. He helped her onto the vacant couch.

  “All right,” he said. “Now sit still.” He held his hands up to her face. “This’ll make you feel better.” Axel positioned his hands above her head, with each palm hovering diagonally above her. He closed his eyes. She could see him clench his teeth as he focused. A bright blue light radiated from his hands, immersing her forehead in its magic. She felt light, like a weight was lifted off from her shoulders as her dizziness disappeared.

  The light dissipated, and, with a relieved sigh, Axel lowered his hands.

  “What did he do?” Virginie asked. She turned to Trevor who was the closest to her besides Axel.

  Trevor looked from Axel to Virginie. He grinned at her. “Let’s just say that he gave you a pretty powerful aspirin,” he said.

  She smiled at Trevor, glad to hear a friendly tone in his voice. “Oh,” she said with a nervous giggle.

  He returned the friendly gesture with a smile. “Axel’s always showing off.”

  Axel nudged Virginie with his elbow. “Don’t listen to him,” he said. “He’s always high, that one.”

  Trevor curled his lip, giving his friend a coy grin. “Shut up,” he said.

  Axel turned his attention to Virginie once again. “Do you feel better?” he asked.

  She nodded enthusiastically. “Much,” she said. She leaned toward him. “So,” she started. “You…, um…, you never really told me how you’ve done all of this. How you saved me at the concert venue. What this place is. How you’re so strong. It’s like - It’s like you have superpowers.”

  Kain laughed. “He’s no superhero,” he said.

  Axel shot him a dirty look before answering her question. He took in a deep breath and pondered over his words. “You see,” he said. “I’m not quite human. I’m actually a-”

  “A vampire,” Trevor and Kain said in unison.

  “A what?” Virginie sputtered.

  “It’s so cliche,” Lovejoy said rolling his eyes.

  “You just say that because you don’t like being one yourself,” Axel said to him.

  “Wait, so you… Kill people and drink their blood?” Virginie asked, her heart suddenly pounding.

  Axel shook his head. “We’re not the bloodthirsty type that you see in the movies,” he said. “We’re not murderers. Our ancestors used to drink blood to survive but we don’t need to.”

  “But some vampires are still dangerous…” Virginie added, thinking back to the ones at the concert.

  “While it’s not necessary to drink blood for sustenance any longer, that doesn’t mean that there aren’t vampires that do that for their own sadistic reasons. These days, it simply isn’t necessary anymore, though. Vampires draw lust energy from human admirers - like our fans. No one is in any danger from us at all. Like I said, we’re not from a horror movie.”

  She nodded and sat in silence as she tried to process what he had just explained to her.

  He motioned to his other band members. “We’re all vampires - the good kind.”

  Kain drew his legs in toward him and bent at the waist, leaning in toward Virginie. “Not the bite-your-neck kind,” he said. He rolled his eyes and leaned back in his chair. His voice got soft as he said under his breath, “Though, the thought of getting rid of all those pesky humans-“

  “Kain!” Axel and Trevor both chided him.

  Kain raised his hands in surrender. “Sorry, sorry. It was just a joke.”

  Virginie turned from one band member to another. Kain smiled at her, as did Lovejoy, but Kain just looked at his boots. “Why….” The syllable left her lips without waiting for her brain to finish composing the sentence. “Why did-”

  “Why did I bring you here?” finished Axel.

  “I didn’t know what you were,” she said. “I couldn’t have outed you.” She thought back. She had suspected that something was amiss. Something was definitely different but she wasn’t certain of anything when she looked back at what had happened at the concert venue.

  “I brought you here to protect you.”

  “Is someone coming after me?” Virginie asked.

  “I am not sure. But you saw the face of a vampire that night.”

  “That shadow thing?”

  “Yes,” Axel corrected. “Vampires kill to keep their existence a secret, so as to avoid trouble with the Slayers.”

  “Slayers?” Virginie asked. Her head began to reel.

  Axel nodded. “They’re a group of vampire killers, guardians who uphold pea
ce between vampires and humans. Humans aren’t supposed to know that vampires exist. Simply put, the Slayers punish any vampire who breaks the rules by exposing themselves to humans.” He raised a knitted brow. “That is why I need to ask a favor of you,” he said.

  “Anything,” she said enthusiastically.

  “You need to keep our true identities a secret.”

  Kain cleared his throat. “Axel,” he said. “Can’t you just do something, so she won’t remember? I don’t know her, which means I don’t trust her.” His gaze moved to her once more. “No offense,” he said.

  She frowned. “Yeah,” she said, less forgiving than she was earlier.

  “She’s trustworthy,” Axel said.

  “It doesn’t matter,” Lovejoy said. “Even if she does agree to keep our secret, the Slayers might still come after you.” He glared at Axel. “You’re still presumably missing. It’s all over the news. What’s going to happen if the Slayers learn that you used Maya in public? Right in the middle of a concert hall, in front of fans,” he said, motioning to Virginie.

  He feigned his death, she thought to herself. He faked his death after he was shot in the head, so that people wouldn’t suspect he’s not human. And everyone else in the band left so that they wouldn’t be caught in the same situation, in case the shooter targeted them as well. But who was the shooter? The question bounced around in her head. Was it the policeman? Was he trying to oust Night?

  “I should probably give a proper introduction, even though you might not need it,” Axel said, interrupting her thoughts. He motioned to each man as he introduced them to her. “That’s Kain,” he said. “The drummer.”

  Kain waved at her again and offered her his million-dollar smirk, which he was known for.

  “That’s Lovejoy,” Axel said. “Our guitarist.”

  Lovejoy nodded at her.

  “And that over there is Trevor, our keyboardist.”

  She looked at Trevor who smiled at her. “Hi,” he said simply.

  The three band members stared at her until she finally piped up. “Oh, um, I’m Virginie Bell.”