B005EMAYWS EBOK (17 page)

Donavan turned away from the group that stood before him. His eyes rested on the royal crest that hung above the fireplace. It was his heritage, and it was his daughters’ heritage. They descended from the royal blood of the original vampires. This was both an honor and a curse.

He believed that the return of the creators would be far different than what Omar believed. They would cleanse this world of the progeny that they left behind. Producing an entire race of vampires had never been the intended result when they left the guardians behind. His daughters were far more important than what anyone realized.

Finally Donavan broke his silence. “Your best chance of saving her will be during the day. Obviously this is not something that a vampire can help you with.

From the second story window, Summer watched the sky turn to shades of red and orange as the sun slowly disappeared beyond the horizen. Beneath the canopy of trees, the swamp lay in thick shadow - its dangers would be well hidden by the coming darkness.

From downstairs she could hear commotion. The feeders were preparing the nest for when their masters left their coffins. If she was to have any chance of escape, she didn’t have long to do it. Once the vampires were awake, her fate would already be decided. A trek through the dark swamp would be incredibly dangerous, but that risk paled in comparison to what would await when Marius sent for her.

Candy had dressed her and left the room. Under different circumstances Summer might have felt beautiful. Her long golden brown hair was like a silk waterfall, and the gown showed off her curves like nothing she’d ever worn before. Yes, the gothic fashion suited her well, but the effort was wasted. She had no desire to look beautiful for Marius.

Out of pure desperation, Summer tried the door. Though she was sure it would be locked, at least the action of trying the door handle was better than just sitting there and waiting for them to pollute her blood with the poison of the vampire.

She was surprised when the handle turned easily. Candy had forgotten to lock it when she’d left - at least that’s what appeared to have happened. Summer suspected the girl might have left it open on purpose, to give her at least some chance at escape.

Opening the door just a crack, Summer peered out into the long hallway. It was empty as far as she could see. The hall was dim. Someone could easily be lurking in the shadows beyond the reach of the light. Holding her breath, Summer watched through the cracked door for several minutes, but nothing moved.

Slowly she opened the door and slipped out into the hall. There was no chance that she’d be able to get out the front door, she had to find another exit. The gallery and main staircase would be too risky, but Summer knew that old houses would often have a back stairway that the servants used.

Heading in the opposite direction from the front of the house, Summer silently made her way down the large hall, staying close to the walls. At the end of the hall she came across two narrow staircases. One went up toward the attic, the other down.

Summer stepped down to the first stair cautiously, wincing when she heard it creak. With no light in the stairwell to help her see, she was forced to hold onto the handrail for guidance. The stairs spiraled to the bottom floor, coming out in an area near the kitchen. A nest of vampires wouldn’t have much need of a kitchen, which explained why it too was dark and abandoned.

Summer was sure that she would find an exit at the back of the house, possibly even in the kitchen. Entering the kitchen, she felt fear gnawing at her nerves. There was no exit from the kitchen, but when she stepped into a large pantry, she found a door that led outside.

Wasting no time, she opened the door and stepped into the twilight, taking care to close it behind her. There was no sense of alerting them to her escape before they found her gone from her room.

Summer sprinted across the large expanse of lawn at the back of the house. Near the swamp were four small buildings in different stages of decay, probably left over from the days when slaves worked the fields of Louisiana’s plantations. At the last minute Summer decided to hide in one of the cabins. She needed a moment to think and to get her bearings.

Stepping through the opening where a door once stood, she found herself in complete obscurity. It was too dark to see what might be sharing the space with her, though she didn’t have a lot of choice. It was either hideout in the cabin, or risk getting caught before she even had an idea of where she would go to escape her captors. She could only hope that there were not snakes nesting inside in there with her.

Leaning against the interior wall, Summer closed her eyes and allowed herself to feel a small amount of relief. She was by no means safe yet, but at least she was out of the house.

Before she had the opportunity to contemplate her next move, she heard the back door to the house open and slam shut. Summer carefully peeked around the corner of the doorframe. He was already searching for her. Marius stood in the yard, staring out into the darkness. The vampire would definitely pick up her scent in a matter of seconds.

Summer felt along the floor to see if she could find some type of weapon. She knew she probably wouldn’t stand a chance, but she had to at least try to fight him off. The alternative was too horrifying to think about. Finally she was able to find what felt like a two by four. She quickly picked it up and hid on the side of the doorway.

An instant later, Marius was walking toward the cabins. He had already tracked her scent. With no back door to flee through, she had no choice but to try and take him by surprise. Hiding in the dark would do her little good - Marius would see her.

Lifting the wood above her head, she was ready to bring it down on him as soon as he came through the doorway.

Marius was standing just outside. “Summer … it will do you no good to run. There is no place for you to go but into the swamps, and you won’t survive an hour in that swamp alone.”

Knowing he would hear even the littlest noise, Summer held her breath and stood perfectly still. Her patience paid off when he stepped inside. Summer swung the wood down on his head, stunning Marius just enough to get by him and out the doorway.

Summer ran as if she was being chased by all the demons of hell, but she just wasn’t fast enough. Marius swooped down from the night sky, knocking her into the grass. He stood over her, his face grotesque in his fury. His eyes were like pools of fire. He was a vampire that hungered for her life essence, but also her heart.

Summer screamed when she saw his sharp fangs going for her throat. She tried to push him away, but he was giving her no leeway this time. She felt his teeth sinking into the artery in her neck, but it was not as painful as she had imagined it would be. The pain of his fangs piercing her skin was gone quickly, but there was a feeling of intense pressure in her neck as he drew the blood from her body.

Slowly she felt the warmth of the night fade away. She was cold. The chill of the grave crawled over her body - luring her into that comforting darkness that is death. Though she was gasping for air, she just could not get her lungs to work. Her body was dying, and at any moment, her heart would cease to beat.

Her last thought was of Anton and the wonderful love they had shared in their short time together. She had been so sure that she would spend her life in his arms, growing old with him and loving every minute of it. Instead her fate was the grave or the vampire’s kiss.

“Don’t … turn me.” Summer’s words were barely audible. “Let me … die.”

* * *

Marius kneeled over Summer’s lifeless body. As his fury left him, the pain in his soul exploded - spreading anguish to every part of his existence. He had tried to convince himself that he’d taken her to avenge his woman’s death - he wanted her wolf lover to feel the pain that he had. Now he recognized his true motive had been love. He had let himself fall in love with his captive. His fear of losing her had sent him into a rage and now he had taken her life.

With her last words she had asked that he let her die, but he could not do that. He brought his wrist up to his fangs. He would pierce his vein and feed her the elixir of immortality. They would be together forever.

“You must,” Omar tried to reason with the grief-crazed vampire. “You know the law. It is forbidden without the Rite of Eternity. Too many have bypassed this and their creations turn on them.” Omar took a step toward him, closing the distance between them.

Defiantly, Marius slid his teeth across his wrist. Tilting Summer’s head back, he let his blood drip into her open mouth. Small amounts of the scarlet liquid escaped her mouth to drip over her red lips and onto her pale skin. He found the site of crimson against white skin tantalizingly erotic.

The first sign of regeneration was the gurgling in her throat. Her eyes opened and then he saw the light of the vampire’s hunger. Reaching up, she grabbed his wrist and brought it to her mouth to suck at his blood.

From far away he could hear Omar’s laughter. “Marius you are a fool. She will kill you.”

And then they were gone. The vampires would make their escape once again, at least most of them would.

* * *

Summer peered through the darkness with the eyes of a vampire. The night was so different - so much more exotic than she remembered it. A breeze stirred the air around her, tussling her long hair. The crickets chirped a song of darkness and serenity - that was unless she got too close. As she stepped through the grass, the night creatures fled away from her. The owls took their hunt somewhere else – someplace where they would be safe from the predator that was moving toward them. The crickets became still - their instinct for survival warning them of danger.

Yes, all of the creatures of the night now made way for a predator with an unquenchable hunger. A new vampire was almost as dangerous as an ancient, maybe even more so. For a newborn vampire, the hunger was all consuming, it controlled the vampire’s actions - it was at the very core of the vampire’s existence. All else would bow to this hunger.

With each step she took toward her maker, he would take one step back. Curiously the jaguar within her was not at battle with her vampire nature - instead the jaguar embraced the vampire, becoming one with her immortal instincts.

Marius lifted from the grown and flew toward the house. As a new vampire, she did not yet have that skill. Summer turned to follow him.

She knew no fear, only the constant gnawing hunger. Just before reaching the back door, two figures appeared in front of her. At first she was dazed by their sudden appearance, but recognition slowly crept into her brain, temporarily pushing aside the killer within her.

Penny and the small boy stared at her. Even in her crazed state, she could feel their anger. The changing had not severed her ties to the dead - still they haunted her.

“What do you want?” Summer glared at the intruders.

“Control yourself,” Penny told her, “or you will be a killer the same as he.” Blood was still pouring out of her friend’s throat. It was an illusion created by the dead to remind her of what the vampire was.

The little boy’s voice worked its way into her head. “Love is stronger than anything. It is stronger than death … it is stronger than your hunger.” He was so sweet – so innocent. How could she ignore him?

The hunger once again took hold of her, bringing with it a pain that nearly brought her to her knees.

She had no choice but to ignore the pleading eyes of her ghostly visitors. Summer stepped through them and into the house.

Most of the feeders would have fled with their vampire masters, but at least one of them had stayed behind. She could smell their fear - hear the blood rushing through their body. Summer almost seemed to glide across the floor as she searched the house, hunting the feeder.