Midnight's Jewel (Siren Publishing Classic)

by J. Annas Walker

  “Sundown is hours away! We have to help them now!” Sabrina was beside herself. Panic gave way to frustration. She paced the floor between the kitchen and the living room, stepping over or kicking the debris.

  “Calm down. There is nothing we can do. They may not even be on the planet, and there is no way I’m going to let you go to the Hall of Eternal Light hunting them. The best thing to do is to rest for the day. We know where they will be at midnight. Lucifer will be looking for an exchange. He can’t come to Earth himself. He’ll have to work through a lackey,” Eleanor said. She gave her statement a casual tone, implying this was to be expected.

  “Rest! How in the hell am I going to rest?” The father she never knew and her lover were being held for ransom, and the necklace protecting her was the price. Every doubt she had about Brandon flew out of her mind. Whether they were valid concerns or not was no longer the point. He meant something to her, to her magic, and she was not about to let him go without a fight. Determination and resolve calmed her jangled nerves. The tension in her face melted away. She could feel her shoulders relax with the hope of a plan. She would go and put her newfound magic to use.

  Sabrina looked up at Eleanor to see her aunt eyeing her with shrewd scrutiny. Out of nowhere, a shockwave hit Sabrina, knocking her backward. Disoriented, she lay still on the floor a few seconds to regain her bearings. Before she had recovered, Eleanor straddled her with her fist drawn back for a punch.

  “I’m sorry, my dear, but this is for your own good,” she said and swung. Sabrina had no time to react. The last thing she remembered was Eleanor’s fist making contact with her jaw.

  * * * *

  Brandon drifted in and out of sleep. He knew the sun was still up, but night was coming soon. There was a thick strip of fabric over his eyes. The knot dug into the back of his head. He tried to shift his arms into a more comfortable position, but they were cuffed behind him. More fabric buffered his wrists from the itching metal. The cuffs had to be made of silver. A burning thirst tore at his throat. The thrumming pulse of fresh, living blood echoed in his ears. The burn intensified with each heartbeat of his captors. He could make out four distinct potential meals, three males and one female, by the smell of them. There was also another vampire nearby. Brandon guessed this was Hadrian.

  “God, I hate the stench of this place. Why the hell didn’t you pick someplace clean?” a nasally male voice complained. Brandon noted from the scuffling of feet on a dirt-encrusted floor that someone was shifting his weight.

  “They’re vampires, you idiot. They got to have it dark during the day. The boss don’t give a shit what happens to them after he gets what he wants, but for now, they gotta stay safe. Get it?” Man #2 explained with a heavy dose of contempt.

  “We could’ve at least picked a basement with more room to stretch out in,” a gravel-voiced third man added.

  “This place is safest. Ain’t nobody gonna open a mausoleum in a historic cemetery. It ain’t got no windows, and it’s on consecrated ground. They cain’t do anything here.” Man #2 was confident in his response.

  The female remained silent. Her scent was familiar, but Brandon could not immediately place it. The mold-filled, musty air and heavy odor of decay masked most of it. He could only glean basic information. The only things he was positive of were their numbers, their genders, and that Hadrian was waking.

  The elder vampire inhaled deep. Brandon could feel the pressure of his chest rising with the intake against his back. The silver cuffs on his hands shifted enough to touch Brandon above the wrists. Brandon’s skin was immediately seared. He flinched away but could not go far. They had been bound together with heavy chains.

  “Looks like our guests are waking up,” the nasally man observed. “A little early, ain’t it?”

  “Nah, we were told that could happen. They’re old. They can get up before sunset and stay up after sunrise, so long as they don’t go out in the sun,” Man #2 explained. “Just stay away from those fangs. They’re gonna be hungry, and this ain’t no blood bank. That silver better do what the boss says it will do, or we’re done.”

  A tinkling bell rang. It sounded like delicate crystal being tapped at a dinner party to get the guests attention. Brandon was sure this time there would be no toast to follow. The ringing continued.

  “How the hell do you use this thing? For an all-powerful being, you’d think they’d just use a damn cell phone like everybody else on the planet,” Man #3 grumbled.

  “He ain’t on the planet, now is he? Give me the mirror before you break it. We don’t have a witch handy to make another one if you break it,” Man #1 said. The ringing stopped. “Yes, sir?”

  “Did you get them both?” A silky smooth, eloquent masculine voice filled the room.

  “Oh yes, sir, we got ’em both. We tied ’em up like you said. The note was left in the crystal portal on the balcony just like you told us to do.” The man was very pleased with himself. There was a great deal of pride and confidence in his voice.

  “Let me speak with our lady of the hour,” the disembodied voice crooned.

  A high-pitched voice squeaked, “Yes, my lord?” Brandon was sure he had never heard her voice. There was nothing left to identify her without his sight.

  “Your services have been invaluable. If you had not set up our operation, acquiring these two may not have been possible. Once we have Midnight’s Jewel in hand, you are to eliminate our two guests. We might as well let the earthbound creatures eliminate each other. It will save us time and resources. The result will be the same,” he ordered nonchalantly. There was no difference in his bored tone than if he were ordering coffee.

  “As you wish. May I keep the man for my own and kill only the emperor?” Her request was timid, almost shy. How could someone this withdrawn have gotten through security? It had to be an inside job.

  Brandon contemplated who had enough access and trusts to have fooled thirty armed guards, turned off the alarms, and not have been stopped or questioned by any other tenants. The list was very short. Who would have had motive? Camilla? The voice and lack of confidence was wrong. Carrie? She had only been there for a few hours. No one would have trusted a witch wandering alone. The mousy voice belonged to woman. Farrell was definitely out of the running.

  “No. They must both be dispatched but only after they have outlived their usefulness. It will ensure chaos and fan the already burning flames. Collect Midnight’s Jewel. Use the second set of crystals I gave you to return it to me. You shall then have your reward,” he promised. A pinging chime signaled the end of the communication.

  “Can you believe that shit? All this for a fucking necklace? I don’t buy it. He said the girl needed to come with it. I wonder what makes her so damn special,” the nasally voice said.

  “I don’t know and don’t care. Them’s the orders, and that’s what we gotta do. You don’t wanna trip to the throne room, do ya? Last guy in there lost his head, and he wasn’t even the guilty party. It’s just a few more hours before we gotta be at the meeting place. Now, cut the crap and get some rest,” Man #1 chided. The mausoleum returned to being a silent grave.

  Brandon’s thoughts whirled. They were talking about Sabrina. That much was plain. The man in her dream had lost his head. Eleanor called the throne room the Hall of Eternal Light and said it belonged to Lucifer. There had to more of a connection between the two than his desire for the necklace and her possession of it. Sabrina said Lucifer had mistaken her for Aradia. Hadrian had, too. He leaned back against Hadrian and tried to remember anything he could, hoping for more pieces to the puzzle.

  Chapter 14

  Sabrina groaned and put both hands to her head. A throbbing headache radiated pain. One side of her face felt tender and swollen. She was sure there were some spectacular bruises. Fuzzy memories began to surface. Eleanor punching her was the first thing she remembered. But why?

  It came back to her. Brandon and Hadrian were gone. Gone? No, taken. Panic flooded her system. The adrenaline p
ushed back all the pain. When she tried to get up from the floor, she fell, crashing into the coffee table. That was not right. She had been on the floor. How did she end up on the half-destroyed sofa?

  “Whoa, there, missy! You’re going to hurt yourself. It’s a good thing you heal quickly. You might have needed to go to the hospital for a few days otherwise,” Farrell chided.

  “Farrell? What are you doing here? Where is everyone? What time is it?” She shook her head. The remainder of the fuzzy confusion was shifting away.

  “I’m not supposed to tell you anything. Eleanor said to keep you here and keep you safe. That is one scary woman. I don’t want to be crossing her any time soon,” he said. There was a broom and dust pan in his hands. He had been cleaning up Brandon’s ransacked apartment.

  “Who are you more afraid of, Farrell? Eleanor or Hadrian?” It felt wrong to play the ‘guess who my daddy is’ card, but she wanted answers.

  “Hadrian. Eleanor would just kill me. He would make me wish I were permanently dead. Why?” He started taking on the nervous appearance he had around Brandon. Emphasizing this, he took a step back toward the kitchen door.

  “Hadrian is my father. Brandon is my lover. My grandmother is Diana, Queen of the Night. You will tell me what I want to know,” she said lowering her voice to a deadly rasp, implying there was an unspoken “or else.” She played it up by dropping her stance into a more offensive posture. The little man gasped and dropped his work utensils.

  “Okay, okay! Eleanor went to the bathroom mirror, said some words in a freaky voice in a language I’ve never heard, and the whole thing turned black with swirling mist. She talked to somebody on the other side. She said something about reforming somebody and meeting them at a park in town. I don’t know what getting someone out of prison has got to do with anything. Then she called Camilla to say Brandon had been taken. Camilla came over, Eleanor promised to do something for her or take something from her, and they left. She made me promise to keep you here. That’s all I know. I swear!” Farrell was nearly in a twitch by the time he finished. He backed into the wall behind him and stood as if waiting for the other shoe to drop.

  “How do you know this? You don’t live here.” Sabrina had to make a serious effort to keep up the persona.

  “I was in the closet. After Hadrian and Brandon started settling down for the day, I came back to hide in the closet. No one in their right mind would ever attack those two, right? We’ve got some of the best security around. It was weird. When I woke up, everyone was gone. No house cleaning staff, no guards, no valet, no nothing. The whole building seems to be empty, except the sleeping vamps, and they didn’t all wake up at sunset like usual. I felt compelled to leave myself, but I was afraid to go out the door,” he replied. He sat staring at her, his fangs showing as he spoke. “I don’t know how Eleanor knew where Camilla was. Eleanor just closed her eyes and called her name. I still can’t believe Camilla agreed to go with her.”

  “Eleanor has an affinity with wolves. It seems to work on werewolves, as well. She wouldn’t call Camilla with promising her a reward. It’s a balance thing. What did Eleanor say to you? How did she leave?”

  “She said you were in danger as long as you lived and muttered something about this having to end tonight. She took your necklace and went to the circle of crystals on the balcony. Camilla went with her. They started to glow when she started chanting. Then they were just gone. Poof! Both of them!” He did a flourish with his hands like a magician doing a trick. Dropping his hands to the table, he asked, “You think somebody put some magic on this place to make everybody leave? Is that why we’re alone?”

  “It is possible. It wasn’t warded when we arrived, and no one knew we were coming. That would mean a witch helped them get to Brandon and Hadrian. What time is it?”

  “It’s eleven thirty. Please don’t tell me you’re going to go sticking your neck out. If Eleanor doesn’t kill me, Brandon or Hadrian will,” Farrell pleaded.

  “Somebody here had to have helped kidnap them. They could come back or tattle that I’m not with Eleanor. Without the necklace, I’m vulnerable to being summoned. I’m not about to let you or anyone else keep me away. This is my life, damn it! And I’m tired of everyone else living it for me!” Frustration bubbled to the forefront. It boiled into anger and threatened to overflow. The replacement lightbulbs on the patio began popping; shattered glass flew in every direction. At least this time she was not out there to be cut.

  Farrell watched as the bulbs blew. His edgy twitch turned to real fear. The lights inside the apartment began to flicker. She was getting angrier. She was not some china doll to be kept on a shelf.

  “All right, I’ll go with you to Stone Mountain Park. That’s where the trade is supposed to go down, Brandon and Hadrian for Midnight’s Jewel. There is a theme park on one side. The back side of the park is just wilderness. That’s where they’ll be.” He sighed. Resignation to his fate was written all over his face. Someone was going to be mad at him no matter what. The only question seemed to be who was going to be the lesser of the evils. She guessed that, even though he was most afraid of Hadrian, his emperor was in need of rescue and had given up resisting her. She felt pity for him. He really was in a no-win situation.“Is there somewhere nearby we can go? Somewhere out of sight?” Without knowing Eleanor’s plan, Sabrina did not want to materialize in the middle of a fight in progress.

  “Yeah, there’s a Ranger Station not far from where I heard Eleanor telling Camilla to be hidden. Nobody will be picnicking this time of night. The noise from the theme park covers up most other sounds. There’s not enough time to drive. You planning on some hocus pocus?”

  “Give me your hands, Farrell,” Sabrina requested in what she hoped was a soothing manner. She offered him both of her hands. He took them cautiously. “Close your eyes and think about where we need to go.” She was amazed at how calm she was. This was a first for her. She was not sure how it would work or if it would.

  “Is it going to hurt?” There was a tiny tremble to his voice. She felt sorry for him. He was like a dog that had been beaten often and must have suffered greatly at someone’s hand in the past. She had a hard time believing Brandon did this. He had a frightening side, yes, but there was a sense of honor and fairness about him.

  “I don’t think so. You might feel dizzy when we move from one place to another, but don’t let go. Take a deep breath. Try to relax. Now, think of where we should be,” she whispered. She closed her eyes once she was sure he had.

  Instead of picturing a place in her mind, she wished to follow Farrell’s thought. Warmth spread down her hands and into the vampire. He must have noticed. He gasped and released the tension on her hands. Sabrina gripped him tighter to prevent him from letting go. The world began to spin in a dizzying spiral. Farrell said something Sabrina could not make out. She was focusing her energy on the place she wanted to go, a ranger station outside the picnic area on the wilderness side of Stone Mountain Park. The ground gave way for a brief moment before returning.

  Once the spinning stopped, she opened her eyes to a dark wooden shack. It took a minute or so to adjust to the dimly lit room. A security light in the deserted parking area outside was all the light the little shack had. She could make out Farrell’s face. His eyes were wide open and as round as saucers. He was biting his lower lip. There were puncture wounds where his fangs had dug into the meaty flesh. He was genuinely scared. It made Sabrina snigger. Who had ever heard of a fraidy-cat vampire? She stifled the snigger before it could turn into a braying laugh.

  A black SUV with heavily tinted windows pulled into the parking area beside the shack. Sabrina tugged on Farrell’s sleeve to signal he should get down. The headlights flooded the room. Had they remained standing, they would have been seen.

  They heard the truck doors open. Three men were talking, giving orders to one another. Two large thumps hit the ground. Scuffling ensued. Sabrina assumed this was Brandon and Hadrian being delivered. The urge to rush o
ut and save them was strong. Knowing Eleanor was already at work was the only thing that prevented her from acting on the urge.

  Confident, efficient Eleanor did things her own way. She could always be counted on to have a plan. Seldom did she do things for no reason. She may not have explained the reason, but it was there. Deep down, Sabrina knew Eleanor was somewhere out there in the dark, waiting to spring her plan. She also knew Eleanor had planned for her to be safely stowed away in a high-rise apartment somewhere in uptown Atlanta.

  “Get up, you fucking blood sucker,” a nasally voice ordered. “We ain’t got all night.” The sound of a body being kicked was followed by a man screaming. “He’s biting me! He’s got teeth in me!” A deep, primal growl was interrupted by intermittent body blows. Sabrina knew they were making an effort to dislodge the hungry vampire from his meal.

  A haunting howl rented the air. Sabrina dared to lift up just enough to glance out of the window. On the edge of the circle of light was a large gray-and-white wolf. It lifted its head and gave another ear-piercing howl. The men helping to remove Brandon from the third man’s leg stopped. They cut Hadrian free from Brandon’s back. He was still bound, as was Brandon. They lifted him by the ropes and dragged him in the opposite direction.

  Instead of chasing Hadrian’s captures, the wolf charged the downed man. It rolled him away from Brandon, taking a large chunk out of his calf below his shorts leg. With no hands to hold on to his meal, Brandon had clamped down with all his might. He was left with a mouthful of bloody flesh. The wolf was about to tear the man’s throat out when Brandon emerged from his hunger induced bloodlust.

  “Camilla! No! We need to question him!” he shouted at her. He was struggling helplessly against the silver bindings.