Marked (Dark Ties Book 1)

by A. Vers

  “Which one of the guys pissed you off?” she asks again, like it’s no surprise.

  My face heats. “How did you ...” I exhale. “The good Captain.”

  Her pouty, pink lips turn down, and, for a moment, I want to take it back. “I’m sorry to hear that.” Her tone says the words are genuine, and I raise a brow. “It’s such a beautiful evening. No one should be angry.”

  “You have an amazingly positive outlook.” My tone says exactly what I think about it too.

  “My husband says the same thing.” She beams, and I feel bad for being so bitchy.

  Unsure what else to say, I shift a little. “Well, it was nice meeting you.” I start to walk off.

  Her heels clack over the marble. “Wait. Please.”

  I turn.

  She wrings her hands. “Are you a guest?”

  “Of a sort.”

  Her head bobs. “I know this seems strange, and feel free to say no, but are you busy today?”

  I blink. “Well, I was going to ...” I trail off.

  I need a new job. Like yesterday. There is no way I can stay here. Not permanently. And I refuse to accept any more help from Ruin. But I don’t even know where I am, let alone where the nearest town is.

  Her bright eyes seem to grow luminescent. “We have a spa here. And a theater. I know you don’t know me, but would you care to join me?”

  My eyes roam over her. She seems nice enough. Understanding, even. Ruin’s words float back to me.

  ‘You’re safe here.’

  Was that before or after he decided to act like an ass?

  Why his attitude shocks me, I don’t know. He’s a vampire. And an asshole. I should’ve known better than to think he could be nice. Trustworthy. And no matter how attractive he is, it’s best that I get that through my head now.

  As she continues to watch me with a hopeful air, another pang of guilt rises at snapping at her.

  As pissed as I am at Ruin, it’s not her fault or her problem.

  But after how he acted, a spa sounds like heaven.

  I exhale, and peer up at her with a grimace. “Do they do massages at this spa?”

  THE WOMAN, WHO INTRODUCES herself as Raina, spends the next three hours dragging me through the manor. Even with several guards trailing us from a distance, her optimistic and happy mood is genuinely infectious. She supplies an endless array of jokes and scintillating tidbits about supernaturals. Including their bedroom stamina.

  Before long, my cheeks are scalding and sore from my grin and the steady stream of laughter.

  “Vampires, in particular, seem to be insatiable,” she gushes after taking a long pull from the smoothie she ordered from the kitchen.

  I glance at her, face flaming as the novels I used to read spring to mind. “You’ve slept with one before?” I ask, genuinely curious and trying to hide it.

  She holds out her hand and the bridal set is dazzling in the lights. “Oh, honey, I married him.”

  Something must show in my expression because she stops walking. “You haven’t had good experiences with my kind, have you?”

  I blink. “You’re a—”

  Her smile is demure, but I catch twin fangs.

  My inhale leaves me choking. She hurries to my side, hands waving just above my skin.

  “Oh, Lilah, I’m so sorry,” she says, big blue eyes shining. “It’s okay. Look, sit down.” She ushers me to a low bench in front of a long painting of a meadow.

  I drop onto the ornate wood and stare at her.

  She hovers in her stilettos, face pink. “I thought you knew.” Her voice is so crestfallen that it makes my chest hurt.

  If there is an evil bone in her body, it would surprise the hell out of me.

  “How do you drink from people being so ...” I wave at her. Sweet seems wrong, but she catches my drift.

  Her face colors. “I’m a vegetarian.”

  My eyes bug.

  Laughter bursts from me, and she turns puce. It only makes me laugh harder.

  “I know,” she says, voice cracking. “It makes the whole coven seem weak. A vegetarian vampire queen ...”

  “Queen?” I squeak.

  Her expression grows even more forlorn. “Yeah.”

  I sway a bit. The damn local vampire queen.

  Holy shit.

  Iron resolve tightens her slim shoulders. “But I feed from my husband, you know. His is the only blood I can tolerate, but we make it work.”

  I wipe my eyes as some of my humor fades in the face of shock. “And they just accept that?”

  Her head hangs. “Mostly. Markus is not a normal leader. The coven took it in stride. But the Council isn’t too thrilled.”

  The ruling force in Europe is well known, even among the humans. Since most of the ones that sit on the Council are some of the first supernaturals, even the supes in the States seem unwilling to piss them off.

  She sits down next to me, hand tightening over her smoothie. “They threatened to send an emissary to take over the area unless Markus sent me away. He Claimed me a day later.”

  “Claimed?” I ask, confused.

  A tremble of longing rolls down her spine and her pale blue eyes spin to gold. I sit back.

  “It’s not a very well-known tradition,” she says, voice husky. “Some vampires have a second part of them, like a mate for the shifters. We call them Consorts. But where a mating is felt on both sides, only male vampires know who their consort is. And when they find them, they kind of go ... postal.”

  I stare. “Postal?”

  She giggles. “They get cranky, territorial, extremely thirsty,” she glances around, “and so damn horny it’s hard to keep them off of you.”

  My face heats. “And Markus was like this?”

  “After the Claiming we both were. It was impossible to do anything but lock ourselves in his chambers for almost a week.”

  Holy Mother of God.

  She peers at me. “And I will tell you ... I was experienced before Markus. But there is nothing like finding the other part of you. They know your body better than you do. Mainly because they will spend days learning about you. Your likes, dislikes, needs. Every touch, kiss, caress ... It’s heightened a million times over. It’s like they’re in your head doing everything so right, that you swear it’s a dream.”

  I gulp. “How are you not still in bed with him?”

  Her laughter is beautiful, just like her. “Honey, I have no idea.”

  She reaches for my hand, slowly, giving me time to pull away. When I don’t, the tension in her shoulders disappears. Her fingers grip mine. “I know you don’t like my kind,” she starts. My lips open to argue, but she just tightens her hold. “I can tell by your reaction, doll. But not all of us are bad, Lilah. But, just like humans, we have a few bad seeds too.”

  “I know,” I say softly. I turn my hand and clasp hers tighter. “And you may be one of the best seeds I’ve ever met.” And it’s true.

  Even after three hours there is something almost pure about the vampiress. Kind.

  She smiles. “I know what it’s like to be in a hard place. That’s all.” Her words are wistful, pained, and it creates a protective urge in me despite just meeting her.

  “After the accident took my ...” I pause as my throat goes tight. “When my guardian took me in, I saw firsthand the damage supernaturals can do. Not only to humans. But their own kin as well.” I shudder. “We moved from city to city. And it never changed. All the fights, the blood ... The rage.”

  She pushes my thick hair back. “Supernaturals are baser, love, primal. I’m not surprised what you saw scared you.”

  “What do you mean?”

  Her lean body turns a bit to face me. “The shifters are simple, right? They don’t understand greed or revenge. They only want safe territory, food, and sex. Preferably in that order.” She winks at me. “Now, vamps ... We are ruled by thirst. Even before the transition completes, the thirst seems never ending. Some never learn to tame it. To control it. It
’s always just there, in the back of our minds.”

  “And the Fae?”

  “Power hungry. All of them.” Her mouth tightens. “And the ruling courts are some of the worst. Demons are just as bad. It’s not your soul you have to watch with any of them but the Mammon. They will trade a demon deal for your soul or your grandmother’s Cadillac. They’re not picky. Greed is greed, after all.”

  “The Asmodai can seduce you with a word. You’ll have the best sex of your life, but the addiction to them is enough to make anyone weary. The Belphegor make you so complacent you wither away and die, and the Beel create ravenous hunger for food, drink, drugs, and sex until you drown in vice.” I stare at her in a new dawning horror. “The Sathan are killers. Cold and icy from years of wrath. Levithan care for nothing but their frigid waters and being better than everyone else. And the Lucite ... The Lucite are just as arrogant as Lucifer was when he fell.”

  “Which brings us to the angels.” She scoffs. “Feathered, prideful assholes. That’s what they are. If you think demons are bad ... Angels with their greater-than-thou-art attitudes and disdain for man ...” She makes a sound of distaste. “I personally have no use for them. The only one half-ass worth his salt is Horan. And even he needs to be brought down a peg or two on occasion.”

  My head reels.

  Horan is an angel. No wonder him and Caine are so tense with each other.

  And Ruin is insane for having them on the same team.

  “What I’m getting at, is you saw the worst our kind has to offer. So maybe now you can try the other side. We may surprise you.”

  Her smile is not as wide as before. It’s more hesitant, but no less beautiful for the sincerity of it. “Now, if you can stand me for a little longer, I just ordered every rom com that came out this year and no one will watch them with me. So, movie and ice cream?”

  Again there is that flash of little girl innocence. Of hope.

  Whatever I can say about the other vampires I have met, Raina is far from what I expected. It’s unnerving. But nice.

  I haven’t had a friend in years, and despite what she is, I can picture Raina as one. There is just something about her. Something that puts me at ease.

  I pull her to her feet next to me. “Raina, I wouldn’t miss it for the world,” I say, and I’m surprised by how much I mean it.

  16

  Lilah

  THE THEATER IS JUST that. With rows upon rows of high back chairs, long aisles, and rich red curtains, the only thing missing is an usher complete with little hat and flashlight. An old popcorn machine sits just inside, and Maximus stands in front of the massive screen. A long steel trolley, laden with everything needed for sundaes, is next to him. And I can’t quite quell my excitement at doing something so normal.

  Or almost normal since it’s ice cream and a movie with a vampire queen.

  “Can I ask a very personal question?” Raina asks as we fix bowls.

  I shrug. “Sure.”

  “Are you dating anyone?”

  My eyes dip to her and then sweep the empty room. “Umm ... No.”

  “Why not?”

  I start to speak then clamp my lips closed. My fingers pick at the rim of my mostly empty bowl. “I worked a lot.”

  “Worked? As in past tense?”

  My face flames so fast, I nearly pass out. “Yes,” I growl the word.

  Her blonde head turns, and she peeks at me over her shoulder as we climb to the back row of chairs. “I don’t mean any offense,” she says, like it’s not a big deal. “But there are always places in town hiring. And Underground is one of those places.”

  “Underground?”

  “The club Markus owns.”

  “What would I do? Wait tables?” The words are more disgruntled than I intend. Carnage was a way to get by. But it was never what I wanted to do with my life.

  She stops in front of the chairs, gauging the center of the screen. My lips quirk. It’s such a human thing to do.

  “We do shows at Underground,” she says. “And we can always use extra people.”

  I start to shake my head, raw terror filling me as all the shows Draven put on come back with crystal clarity. “I don’t— Shows—”

  She glances at me. “Oh not like you’re thinking.” One slim hand waves. “I mean, there are girls that are willing, sure. But we have a Druid that has his own skit. Really funny guy. Lots of ventriloquist work with shrunken heads and stuff. But it gets so busy that our wait staff is dead on their feet by intermission from all the back and forth mixing of drinks.”

  My eyes bug.

  A comedy show? With shrunken heads?

  “It’s not a forever thing, Lilah,” she continues. “But, if you need to get back on your feet, we can use a bartender.”

  Bartend? Now that I could do.

  I look at her. Really look. “What is your job?”

  She rolls her eyes, but a trace of color fills her face. “Markus has this thing about me working.”

  “Like he won’t let you?”

  Her blue eyes go wide. “Goddess, no. Nothing like that.” She blushes harder. “I worked in the adult film industry before I met him. As a vampire, I can take more damage and heal faster as long as I feed. And with my looks ...”

  I take in her almost doll-like perfection. The innocence she exudes, despite her physique, would mean big money to the right crowd. Understanding and more of that strange protective urge fills me.

  She drops into a chair, hands gripping her bowl of ice cream like it holds all the answers she seeks. “We were set to shoot a snuff scene here, at the manor. Markus didn’t know that’s what the movie was, though, when he rented the rooms out. I got into a fight with the producer when I wouldn’t let them ... They wanted to ...” Her expression goes distant, and terror freezes the blood in my veins. “It’s how Markus found me.” She inhales, but it’s tremulous. “Now, I don’t have to work if I don’t want to. But to be honest, I don’t know what I want to do with my life anyway. So I manage Underground for him.”

  I reach slowly for her hand. She peers at me, tears making her eyes too big. Too bright. My temper rises.

  How has she maintained such a sweet demeanor towards my kind?

  “Did Markus handle him? The producer?” I ask, voice quiet.

  She smiles softly. “Oh yeah.” She scrubs at her face with her free hand. “There was a lot of hell over it. Lot of days tied up in court and all. But the dickhead is in prison now.”

  “I’m shocked Markus didn’t just kill him.”

  “He wanted to,” she admits. “But it’s bad for the coven and bad for him.”

  “Why?”

  “Markus is older than any vamp here. His past—in Europe ... It’s just better for him not to take up a sword again.”

  Oh.

  She turns to me, taking in the angry color in my face or maybe the rapid beat of my heart. “When was the last time you had any fun?” she asks, changing the subject.

  “Um—”

  “So it’s been a while?”

  My mouth opens and closes like a fish.

  “If I wasn’t married, I’d date you myself.” I stare at her as she speaks, not a hundred percent sure she is joking. “Just to show you a good time. Granted, I doubt Markus would be mad if he could watch.”

  I laugh, surprised, and she smiles.

  “I’m not saying you have to, but come to Underground tonight as a guest. See if there is something you want there. Or someone. And go for it.” I start to speak and she holds up a hand. “I’m not asking for a forever deal, Lilah. But have a good time. Enjoy life.”

  “I don’t—”

  “And when you’re done,” she says, tugging on my hand to get me into the chair beside her. “Get a good night’s sleep and get your ass to Underground tomorrow for work.”

  My teeth dig into my lip. “Raina ...”

  She leans over and kisses me gently on the cheek. I flush scarlet. “Just one night, Lilah. Take one night to do something for yo
u . All the worries will still be there tomorrow. But now you’ll have me to help work through them.”

  I stare at her, and the first unfurling of warmth tickles my insides.

  Friendship. She’s offering friendship. And that is something I never had even with my kind.

  My eyes burn, but I offer her a watery smile. “How fancy of a club is Underground?”

  17

  Ruin

  I STAND OUTSIDE LILAH’S door, fist raised to knock. Fucking Markus. The last thing I need to do is babysit her.

  Not that she should need it as a grown damn woman. But if she is Vic’s heiress, or worse yet, the true mastermind behind Carnage ...

  I lean my head against the door. She probably doesn’t even want to see me after earlier. And who can blame her?

  My thirst left me acting like an ass.

  It wouldn’t be surprising if she was off with Caine right now. Goddess knows the Asmodean demon has quite a few tricks in the bedroom.

  I shove the thought away, unwilling to even consider it.

  Questions. That’s it. It’s the only damn reason I’m here. We need answers and Lilah has them. If she has a hand in any of that shit at Carnage, she will go down with her guardian. And I won’t lose any sleep over it.

  Before I can stop myself, I rap hard on the thick panel. There’s a small sound from inside, like a frightened squeak.

  I lean closer. “Lilah? It’s Ruin.”

  Something bangs loudly, followed by her colorful swearing. “Yeah, shit. Hang on.”

  I rock back.

  What the fuck?

  More small crashes and gasps emanate from behind the door. And I wind tighter with every damn second that goes by.

  The door opens and Lilah watches me from heavy-lidded, near sapphire eyes. Her hair is a mass of damp tangles and a rosy color rests high in her cheeks and slim neck.

  A baggy, threadbare shirt covers her to her knees. But it’s the only thing on her.

  I look past her into the room.