Cherry Stem (Vampire Cherry Book 1)

by Sotia Lazu

  I pulled my hand away and rubbed the skin, as if he’d burned me. The touch had felt too familiar, too comfortable for my liking. Everything about his demeanor was far too comfortable for my liking. He’d waltzed in here like he owned the place and divulged information that turned my world upside down.

  Slowly, with measured steps, I positioned myself so the three of us formed a triangle of equal sides. I needed the distance from both of them if I was to take the best course of action without letting personal feelings influence me.

  Alex tried to reason with me once more. “Okay. Try to see things from where I’m standing, please. My vamp girlfriend’s”—there was that word again; I smiled despite myself—“undead ex appears at my place to tell her he loves her, has always loved her, but he was planted in her life from the start by the woman who ordered her turning, in order for that woman to gain power.”

  I was forgetting something. What was it?

  Alex was unfazed. “He’s still that evil woman’s lover—though she’s responsible for the turning of more innocents—but he’s somehow not involved in the whole mess and wants nothing but to bring the bad woman and her accomplices down. At his own risk. Only it has to happen tonight. How believable is that shit?”

  Constantine didn’t stop nodding during Alex’s recap and jumped in before I could answer. “Not at all, and I more than understand your skepticism. I have no assurances to offer you, Alex. You may believe me, or you may choose not to. The fact is I’ve told you the truth.” Folding his hands on his lap, he perused each of us in turn.

  “And if he hasn’t and I don’t come back, you’re going to torch his place first thing in the morning,” I told Alex, without a trace of humor.

  Constantine let out an indignant protest and was ignored by both of us.

  Alex looked at me, one eyebrow arched.

  I couldn’t meet his gaze. “You’re not coming with. If something happens, one of us has to be here, to do something about it all.” My arguments made sense, but I knew Alex would think I was keeping him from doing his job.

  To my surprise, Constantine did nothing to make the awkward moment worse. Instead he put our discarded glasses back on the tray and headed toward the kitchen without a word. He’d undoubtedly hear us from there too, but his attempt at discretion was unexpectedly gallant.

  Alex remained silent until we heard the kitchen door closing. Then he said, “I’m not letting you go alone.”

  I opened my mouth to point out it wasn’t up to him to let me do anything.

  “It’s not a case of me man, you woman, and it’s not about jealousy. Not after last night. This is about you and me being in this together, and I’m coming whether you like it or not.” He frowned and ran one hand through his hair. “Hell, I’m coming even though I don’t like it!”

  “You don’t understand. Any self-respecting vampire can sniff out a human. A council member will have you drained in a second if you so much as set foot on their front porch.” I might be exaggerating, but they’d at least have his memory wiped, if they felt charitable. Plus Alex wouldn’t be of much use if the proverbial crap hit the metaphorical fan; I was much stronger than him. There was no way of saying so without wounding his ego, and I didn’t want us to part on such terms, when I couldn’t be sure I’d see him again. “We need someone to—”

  “Tell the world our story?” He let out a bitter chuckle. “Cherry, if they take you down, I’m next. Not like I can ask for reinforcements. Nobody would believe me if I started blaming vampires for the disappearances. And I’d hate myself if something happened to you and I wasn’t there. I know you’re stronger, and so is the guy pretending not to listen in on our conversation, but I’m fast and a sharp shooter. Even if bullets don’t kill vampires, they can hurt them.”

  “Alex—”

  “You don’t even know we’ll only be up against vamps, anyway. Maybe she lied about sending her staff off, or Constantine did. I can help. You can take me with you or let me drive around all night, searching for a house spooky enough to belong to an ancient vampire, but I’m not sitting on my ass and letting you do the fighting without me.”

  He cupped my cheeks with both palms, and I let him raise my face to his. His features looked blurry through the tears fringing my eyelashes. Blinking the tears away didn’t help clear my vision as he came closer until our noses touched. “Nod if we’re clear on that,” he said.

  I nodded and smiled against his lips as they closed over mine. What did I do to deserve such a guy in my unlife?

  Constantine reappeared a few minutes later, more serious than ever. “All three of us are going, then?”

  “Yup,” I said.

  “Maybe Alex should drive there? We don’t know what shape the fledglings and human will be in.”

  Alex nodded and jotted down the address Constantine gave him. “I’ll park a couple blocks away and meet you there.”

  My ex turned to me. “I suggest you and I fly by your place first, since you want to change, and meet Alex outside Ádísa’s.”

  If Alex had any objections about the detour, he wasn’t vocal about them. I suspect his fear of flying had something to do with that. The three of us didn’t speak again until the grandfather clock standing on the far wall of the dining room chimed nine.

  CONSTANTINE WAS UNCHARACTERISTICALLY hands-off during our short flight to my apartment.

  He held on to me, but not like when we flew to meet the council. Despite our proximity, there was a sense of detachment that wasn’t there before. It gave me the chance to clear my head, and I was grateful for it. Instead of breathing him in, I let the scents and sounds of the night fill my senses until there was no room for doom and gloom. By the time we landed, I was ready to take on anything.

  He kept a respectful distance while I unlocked my door and entered, unnecessarily waiting for me to ask him inside before joining me in the space that served as both my bedroom and living room. I saw the covert peeks he took at my quarters. He didn’t have to be so discreet with his disapproval; I knew my whole studio apartment could easily fit in his bathroom.

  He was playing nice, which wasn’t easy for his snarky personality, so I let him entertain himself while I looked for my tall buckskin boots. With their thick leather exterior, they were as sturdy as they were cool. I wanted them covered with Ádísa’s ashes before the night was over.

  I was pulling the left boot up my calf, when Constantine cleared his throat. I expected him to finally stop holding back and say something about how brilliant it was that they now made pocket-sized rooms or something, so I didn’t pay much attention.

  “Do you love him?” he asked. “Alex?”

  I hopped around on one booted foot, to stare at him.

  His eyes were the color of the winter sky before heavy snow. He didn’t wait for an answer. “If you do, don’t miss out on even one moment with him. We think there’s always time, but there isn’t. And he’s human. If he won’t turn... Just don’t waste time, Cherry.”

  I crossed the room and hugged him. He certainly wasn’t my favorite person at the time—didn’t make it into my top ten of favorite people, and I was friendless—but it felt like the only thing to do.

  Chapter Sixteen

  WAITING FOR ALEX OUTSIDE the wrought-iron gates gave me all the time in the world to ponder the unfairness of her living in a manor and Constantine having a mansion, when I was stuck with a frigging underground studio. Maybe I’d get to upgrade too, in a couple of centuries. If I survived the night.

  And where was that man, anyway?

  I sighed with relief when Alex rounded the corner. Nothing could have gone wrong this early in the plan, yet the knot in my stomach had become tighter the longer he’d been out of sight. He reached us and gave me a smacking kiss on the lips, which left me with a silly smile and Constantine with a disapproving frown. I pretended not to notice. Nobody cared about his approval.

  The gates were to keep humans out, I guessed. I was about to propose Alex hold on to me so I
could float us over the fence, when Constantine leaned on the gates, and they opened.

  “The latch hadn’t caught,” was his answer to my questioning look. “You really should be more observant, Chérie. Having night vision is a gift. Not using it is remiss of you.”

  “Good thing you’re with us, then,” Alex said. “It’s so handy that you notice the little things.” I’d bet my favorite pair of Louboutins that by handy he meant prearranged. Judging by Constantine’s frown, the implication wasn’t lost on him.

  No reason to allow things to escalate between them. I weaved my fingers through Alex’s and pulled him after me, inside Ádísa’s garden.

  The beauty that greeted us was like nothing I faced before. Flowers formed islands of color through which meandered cobbled pathways. Grape hyacinths and lavender mixed with blood irises and lilacs, making purple in all its shades the prevalent color. Batches of pink peonies and yellow freesia, hot orange gerberas and velvet red roses broke the uniformity with their vividly contrasting hues. And those were just the ones I could name.

  I can’t describe how vibrant colors look to us at night. They’re not as they appear to humans in broad daylight. It’s like the colors are three-dimensional, deeper, exposed through a special filter. The colors of the flora around us, framed in the white pebbles shaping up the pathways, composed what I imagined the Garden of Eden would look like.

  And like that garden, this one hid a snake in its heart.

  Already distracted by the exquisite panorama, I didn’t want to add fragrances into the mix, but my nostrils flared, seeking the scents against my better judgment. The mixture of dizzying aromas affected me the way I expected it to, only about a million times more strongly.

  Next thing I knew, Alex and Constantine were shaking me. I forced my eyes to focus and waved off their hands.

  “What happened?” Alex was in my face, whispering urgently.

  “Sensory overload,” Constantine said just as quietly. “Ádísa built this garden as a defense mechanism. I’m sorry. I should have thought to mention it, but I’ve been here so many times, I’m used to it by now. It masks her scent when she’s hunted, and vampires who haven’t been here before and don’t know to block the stimuli are overwhelmed.”

  Alex looked around. “By what? Vegetation?”

  How could he call the miracle of nature around us vegetation? A voice in the back of my mind whispered, He is human. I wanted to weep for him. His short lifespan in itself meant he would miss out on so much. Now I realized how much more his mortality deprived him of. There was no reason for me to explain what he could never experience for himself, so I nodded. “Vegetation. She’s charmed it.”

  Constantine kept quiet and helped steady me so we could move on. He squeezed my shoulder after a couple of steps, but I didn’t turn his way. Whatever solace he offered was not welcome.

  Alex clasped my hand and halted us once more. “But why would vampires cross the garden on foot? I get why you have to—human with sensitive stomach here.” Wrinkles formed on his forehead, as he frowned in a self-deprecatory manner. “But you could fly if I weren’t with you.”

  “We’d walk anyway.” I hoped my smile looked reassuring. “Flying over another vampire’s property is considered hostile action.”

  He gurgled back a chuckle. “And breaking into their home isn’t?”

  Constantine beamed an unexpected grin. “Vampire law. What matters to us is that, if someone inside sees us fly over, they’ll be prepared for a fight and allowed to attack first. The way we’re approaching now, our purpose might as well be a social visit.”

  Alex shook his head. “Vampire law is stupid,” he murmured, “and if someone’s in there, we’ll be getting a fight anyway, the second we pick their lock.” Still, he began moving again, squinting against the darkness.

  Knowing the power of the garden helped me focus on the task at hand. Extending my hearing and keeping the rest of my senses on a tight leash, I placed one foot steadily in front of the other. No matter how careful we were, I cringed every time our shoes made contact with the ground. The pebbles rubbing against one another sounded to me like a burglar alarm, and any vampire left in the manor would be alerted to our approach.

  A few feet before the main entrance, I held Alex to me and flew us over the rest of the distance and the stairs to the front door. Constantine followed our example. We managed a near-perfect landing, but Alex’s feet hit the marble deck before mine did, since he was taller.

  The thud his shoes made wasn’t deafening, but in the stillness of the night it might as well have been a gunshot. Afraid we’d been heard, I pushed him behind me and scanned the periphery, expecting someone to jump at us from the bushes around us. Just as I began to relax, I noticed Constantine stood stock-still, staring at something over my shoulder.

  Dread filling me to the point it felt like my heart might start beating again, I turned toward Alex.

  The door behind him was ajar, and Johnny Boy’s face peeked through the opening, his index finger slicing his smile in half.

  I took a step backward and collided with Constantine, who was trying to get to Alex. Get to Alex. Alex was in danger. Johnny was too close to him.

  I looked at Alex. In the split second it took Constantine and me to find our footing, he’d ducked and pulled his gun on Johnny Boy.

  “Alex, get away from him.”

  But Johnny Boy hadn’t moved. The look he was giving us was amused rather than threatening. “When you two are done with the slapstick, get the human and come in. And for God’s sake, keep it quiet. I heard you when you were still at the gate.”

  I gaped at him, while Constantine placed his body between Alex and the door. “What are you doing here?” he asked.

  “Same thing you are, I suspect. Looking for condemning evidence.” Johnny Boy winked at him and turned to me. “Well, are you coming in or not?”

  I took Alex’s hand and followed Constantine inside. Johnny closed the door after all of us.

  “The rest of the council didn’t seem moved by your warning about a rogue,” he told me, walking ahead and motioning for us to go with him. “Me—I’m not used to ignoring beautiful women.”

  Alex groaned. “Oh great. Another one.”

  Constantine patted his back, which had me doing a double take. Those two were comrades now?

  Johnny kept talking, as he led us deeper inside the house. “Willoughby was easy to trace, once I got hold of his turning file. I found out Ádísa was his maker and thought maybe she’d helped him evade his punishment. I tried to talk to her several times, but she avoided me, and the council wouldn’t condone a formal investigation. So here I am.” He turned and grinned over his shoulder. “And here you are.”

  Here we were, indeed. I looked around. The place was the baby of extravagant wealth and abysmal taste. The amazing garden outside couldn’t be Ádísa’s creation if this room reflected her decorative preferences. The lushness of the setting bordered on vulgarity, with her obvious efforts at a burlesque style drifting toward the grotesque.

  Plush fabrics of clashing colors covered the walls, Venetian and Grecian masks pinning them in several places so they formed folds before draping to the floor. Animal heads stared at us with glassy eyes from around the oversize fireplace, and heavy chandeliers, interspersed as much with polygonal crystals as with horns, dangled over our heads, more reminiscent of guillotines than ornaments. And don’t get me started on the furniture. Really. Don’t. A woman who chose to decorate her living room this way wouldn’t surprise me if she slept in a bed made of human skulls.

  She’d shared that bed with Constantine. On more than one occasion.

  Since I couldn’t share my distaste with my ex, I aimed my grimace of disgust at Alex.

  He mouthed something and tilted his head toward Johnny Boy.

  Huh? I mouthed back.

  He widened his eyes and mouthed the same four words again. I don’t trust him.

  Well, neither did I—not completely—bu
t there wasn’t much we could do. I shrugged, hoping to convey that exact message.

  Johnny stopped in front of an open door. “I’ve checked everywhere else and found nothing,” he said. “This leads downstairs. I was on my way there when I heard you. Once we reach the landing, we should split up. Cherry, you and I go left. Constantine and the human can check the other side. We’ll meet back here when we’re done.”

  His plan wasn’t the best, and not only because it involved my ex and current flames, alone, in a dark basement. I was about to suggest an alternate division of forces, when Constantine said, “I’m not going with the human. He’s Cherry’s problem.”

  Not knowing whether to be thankful or upset, I went with indifferent and snatched Alex’s waistband. “We’ll take right.”

  Constantine winked as I passed in front of him to climb down the stairway. “Good luck,” I told him in a cheery voice.

  “You too,” replied Johnny Boy. It sounded flat, despite reverberating on the walls of the narrow corridor.

  THAT LEVEL OF THE MANOR was almost barren in contrast to the upper one. The stone walls were naked except for lit torches every ten feet or so, and the floor was gritty underfoot. Despite the years she lived and the fortune she amassed, let alone the furniture she picked for her living room, Ádísa was still a warrior at heart and had chosen a frugal style for her chambers and private space.

  I glanced at the lit torches once more. Something felt off, but I went ahead and rounded the bend in the corridor.

  I ran into a cold male body, the collision hard enough to make me bounce backward. If I were to judge the living status of the man in front of me by his eyes, I’d pronounce him as dead as his temperature indicated he was.

  I knew better.

  I tried to scream, but he covered my mouth with one hand and grabbed Alex’s neck with the other. The council member who scared me the most had a firm grip on both Alex and me. “Make a sound, and I snap him like a twig,” Benjamin said. “Is that clear?”