Blood Moon (4 page)

“I’m sorry to disappoint you, my dear,” Damian growled, “but my laws are older than yours.”

History filled my head at his words. The Blood Moon Corporation, or Guild as it was known then, was created during the Black Plague to keep the supernaturals in line. The year was 1349 AD. Damian’s wife, Phaedra died during the Visigoth’s attack on Rome in 410 AD. Even then he wasn’t young, having hundreds of years under his belt at the time. Damian was so much older than the BMC. I could feel hope rising at the expression on Amythist’s face.

“I know not your laws, Lord Vampire,” Amythist said as she rose to her feet, “but I do know what will happen if I violate them. The BMC is not interested in a war.”

“Neither are we, but if you come for Sarah again…”

“I will only come if your laws are obsolete. Rose will know. She’s not our boss for nothing.”

“So very true. So tell me, what is it that she has that you need?”

Amythist paused, and I could see pain flash across her eyes. “I don’t know what it’s called, but it’s used to teleport a person into the demon realm.”

“The symbol of Khor,” Dez said. “Why would you want to deal with demons?”

“I don’t want to deal,” Amythist spat, “I want to kill one.”

“There is more than one of the symbol of Khor out there,” Dez said. “Maybe if you told me why you needed it so badly, I could help you.”

“I just told you…”

“To kill. Yes. Why?”

Amythist crossed her arms. “If you approve of my reasons, what cost will the symbol be to me?”

“There will be no cost. We just want you to leave Sarah alone and stay as far away from the BMC as you can.”

Amythist smiled. “I was born as a sorceress of Verella. Do you know where that is?” Dez and Damian nodded, but I had never heard of it. “I worked as the apprentice of a powerful sorcerer, one curious about new magic. We traveled into this world to Egypt, where a new magic was. We were shocked to discover that a demon controlled it. He used his creations to feed on the souls of the Egyptian populace. Pooling our power together, we banished the demon back to his realm, but such a spell had a price. My master died.”

Amythist’s voice choked up with the pain of her memories. Her master wasn’t just her teacher; he was her lover. My heart ached for her.

“I wanted revenge, but sorcerers couldn’t kill demons with their powers. I needed more. I found the most powerful creatures I could and drained them of their power. Had I known the extent of faerie magic, I wouldn’t have bothered. Lord Vampire, you could try to kill me for what I’ve done in my past, but you wouldn’t succeed.”

“You’re immortal now,” I said and Amythist nodded. No wonder the BMC wanted her so badly. Part sorceress, part sihde, and totally immortal, she was the perfect weapon for the corporation.

“I need the symbol of Khor, so I can find that demon, kill him, and try to find a way to reverse what’s been done.”

Dez sighed. “You won’t be able to fix it. Magic so deeply embedded becomes a part of you. There’s no going back from that. But, I think there is something I can do for you.”

Hope replaced the sadness in Amythist’s eyes. “There is?”

“Yes, but you must help us.”

“Agreed.”

Before we could say anything else, lavender smoke enveloped Amythist and she disappeared. Well, that explained how she entered my room without me hearing anything.

“She’ll be back,” Dez said.

Damian dropped his arm and moved aside so I could be part of this conversation.

“The vampire laws-“ I stammered, but Damian cut me off.

“They are older than dirt. Just because I believe in them doesn’t mean they are legit.”

My heart sank. “So you told her that to, what? Buy us some time?”

Dez nodded. “Exactly. We need to figure out how to keep you safe, Sarah.”

“Don’t bother,” I muttered as I crossed to my dresser.

“Sarah, what are you doing?” asked Damian.

I slipped on a bra and black tank top. Nudity didn’t bother me as much as it had as a human. After a couple of full moons, I kind of got used to it. I tossed my pajama pants on the bed and tugged on a pair of black jeans. Damian’s hand on mine stopped me before I could grab my belt or shoes.

“Sarah?”

“Amy can’t teleport far. That means Rose is near here, probably at Haven. She needs to pay for what she did to Jared.”

At the sound of my dead lover’s name, Damian flinched. The born vampire loved me, and it sometimes saddened me that I couldn’t return the feelings.

“You can’t,” Dez said.

“Why not?” I shook my hand out of Damian’s grip and laced on my white leather belt.

“It’s almost dawn. The vamps here won’t be able to protect you if shit goes seriously bad.”

“What would you have me do?”

“Stay with Donavan during the day. Wait until nightfall. With so many vamps backing you, Rose would be stupid to pick a fight.”

“Unless that’s what she wants,” Damian interrupted. “Old friend, you seem to forget she sent a vampire necromancer to kill me.”

“You heard Amythist’s orders,” argued Dez. “She can’t harm you or your vampires. Your people have immunity.”

“Unless she decides otherwise,” I interjected. “Rose can take as easily as she can give.”

I waited, and when no one said anything I asked, “So what do we do?”

Then my phone rang, answering the question for all of us.

Chapter Five

“Wait. Wait! Slow down, Donavan. What’s going on?”

I pressed my phone against my ear and put my finger in the other ear to hear better. Something was wrong at the DeLocket residence, and if Donavan would slow down, I would know what.

“Sarah, someone told the BMC about our baby!”

I didn’t see anything wrong with that. “Okay?”

“We got a warrant issued to us today.” Now I could hear Monique sobbing in the background. “If we don’t destroy my child before nightfall, the BMC will see that as a threat and destroy my Clan.”

“Dear God,” I whispered. I had never heard of anything so barbaric.

“What are we going to do? I’m not about to kill my unborn baby!”

Dez took the phone from me. “Donavan, it’s Desmond. We’re coming to you. It’s not safe at Malevolent Dead right now. Between us vamps and you Weres, I think we can give the Guild a decent fight.”

I sat on the edge of my bed.
Why would the BMC want to destroy Donavan and Monique’s baby?
They didn’t have a seer on their payroll, so they couldn’t know whether or not the child was evil. My stomach churned at the thought of them fighting the BMC. Donavan had lost the brunt of his Clan to Jerrikin and Jackilin Skyner. Local Weres had already approached Donavan about a merger, but Donavan refused. For eight generations his family had ruled the DeLocket Clan, and he wasn’t about to be the one to end that. The BMC might do that for him, and this time there would be no survivors to join another Clan.

My rage bubbled to the surface.
How dare the BMC do this! Were they doing this to get to me? Who in the hell called them about Donavan’s child?
Dawn was fast approaching. Even though vampires didn’t go comatose when the sun rose, it limited our defenses. Donavan’s house didn’t offer much protection for the vampires during the day. Rose could blast a vamp through the wall and poof, dust. I didn’t like the thought of staying out in the middle of nowhere with nothing to protect us, but I agreed with Dez that their home would be the safest place for Monique and her unborn child.

Dez flipped my phone closed and handed it back to me.

“Where’s that witch?” he spat at Damian. It took me a moment to realize that he was talking about T.D.. “Find her, and tell her that she needs to put up protective wards around the DeLocket’s home today. We’ll need them.” Dez frowned. “Especially tomorrow evening.”

“What happens tomorrow?”

“Monique’s twins will be born.”

Dom walked into the room. “Twins?” he asked.

“Yes, twins. I don’t see why the BMC cares so much about them. It’s not like this has never happened before.”

Dom sighed. “It has, in Pompeii. A Were and a witch had a child, and the child couldn’t control his powers nor his animal. It was a disaster.”

“Of course it was. The lone child was a fluke.” Dez sighed. “Most of the time when supernatural species mix, twins are born. In the case of Monique’s twins, one will be born a witch and the other will be born a werewolf. There will be no mixing, no disaster.”

Dom nodded and started making his way down the corridor, but not before I saw the look in his eyes.

No
.

There was no way that he called the BMC, but the guilt in his eyes told a different story.

I didn’t know what to do. I didn’t have proof, just a look of guilt in his eyes, but my gut told me that he had betrayed the Weres.

“If we leave now, we should be able to get to Donavan’s place before the sun rises,” Dom said. “I say we take three cars. Damian, are there any vampires you want to take with you?”

Damian nodded. He picked out eight vampires, including Dom, to come with us. As we piled into the cars, I wondered if Damian had overheard my thoughts about Dom. I raised an eyebrow when the born vampire looked over my way, but he didn’t say anything to suggest he had.

We sped down the interstate, navigating through traffic with the sound of horns blaring around us. I could feel the tension in the two vampires in the back seat as the sky started to lighten. Dom turned around, reassuring them that we’d get there in time.

Pulling off the interstate at the Randa exit, I lead the way through the town and down the dirt road that twisted and turned through the woods to Donavan’s house. Screeching to a halt in front of Donavan’s home, I felt pleased to see Donavan and Jensen on the front porch, ready to invite the vampires inside.

The need for a vampire to be invited into a private residence only worked if a priest had blessed that home. It didn’t surprise me that Donavan had his large home blessed, since vampires obliterated most of his clan. Once inside, Jensen led the vamps down to the basement, where cots and a small TV had been set up for their comfort. I walked back up to the living room after making sure that Damian’s vampires were settled in. We needed to come up with a plan.

Sprawled on the couch, Monique looked like she was about to pop. Donavan gave me a small smile as Dez entered the sunlit room with Damian behind him.

“You’re lands are clear,” said Damian. “We’ll keep checking every hour. Do you have the warrant?”

Donavan silently pulled a folded sheet of paper out of his pocket and handed it to the born vampire. Opening it, Damian read over the words. I felt his anger rise through our bonds, and I approached his side to see what upset him so.

“That’s barbaric.” I gasped when I read that they wanted the fetus’s remains as proof that the pregnancy had been terminated. I looked up at Monique as her hands clutched her stomach.

Dez rushed to her side. “We won’t let them hurt you. You needn’t worry about your babies.”

Everyone in the room turned to him. “Babies?”

“What did you say?” Monique asked with her eyes wide.

“You’re having twins, my dear,” Dez said with a smile. “A witch and a Were. They are not the abominations that the BMC wants destroyed.”

Tears of relief rolled down Monique’s cheeks as Donavan hurried to her side. Dez quickly stood up and walked over to Damian and I, knowing that the couple needed some time to themselves, if even for a moment. The three of us walked into the dining room and sat at the large table.

“The BMC won’t stop coming for them, even after the babies are born,” I said. “They want them dead because of me.”

Damian nodded and I felt my stomach lurch. It was bad enough that I blamed myself for everything happening, but Damian was as well. “True as that may be, I think we will find a way to save them. The BMC’s reason has been disproved, and we have both Dez and that werewolf seer to confirm it.”

I wanted to ask how Dez could disprove it, but Damian continued. “Our main concern right now is you. Once the BMC figures out that you’re not at Malevolent Dead anymore, they are going to be banging down the front door.”

“If they come at night, we’ll have the vamps fighting alongside the Weres,” I said, “but during the day…” I shuddered. The Blood Moon Corporation would obliterate Donavan’s Clan. If somehow we all lived through this, I would leave his Clan and move somewhere far away. None of this had happened until I arrived.

Feeling my guilt, Damian wrapped an arm around my shoulders. “The BMC won’t stand a chance against all of us,” he promised. “You needn’t worry.”

I did though. I stood and walked out the door, heading into the woods as fast as my feet could carry me. I didn’t realize where I headed until the trees opened up, revealing a clearing I knew all too well.

I had killed Jackilin Skyner here. The ground and a couple of trees still had scorch marks on them from when Jackilin had caught on fire thanks to my handy Zippo. I turned from the marks, looking across the clearing to a spot on the ground. Nothing indicated that this spot was special. The grass wasn’t bent and showed no marks or stains, but I knew it. Jared stood in this spot, when I threw my silver knife into his chest.